Ranking Bolton Wanderers' top 7 best managers based on PPG - Sam Allardyce = 3rd | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers have had some top bosses through the doors at the Toughsheet Community Stadium over the years, taking the side through Premier League and European adventures and deep runs in the FA Cup.

With the season now over, and Bolton coming agonisingly close to achieving promotion back into the Championship but falling at the last hurdle at Wembley against Oxford United, now is a good time to look back on some of the Wanderers' best managers.

For this list, we'll be ranking the managers on a points-per-game (PPG) basis, with the only stipulation being that they must have taken charge for at least 25 games during their tenure.

Here's how they stack up...

7 Phil Parkinson (1.15 PPG)

Phil Parkinson took charge of Bolton in the summer of 2016, ending the club's protracted search for a boss since the departure of Neil Lennon.

He led the side to promotion back into the Championship in his first season at the helm, but resigned with the club back in the third tier in 2019 following a period of intense financial instability at Bolton.

During his time with the club, Parkinson oversaw 157 games, earning an average of 1.15 PPG.

6 Owen Coyle (1.20 PPG)

Owen Coyle was appointed the Trotters' boss in January 2010, having already turned out for the club as a player earlier in his career.

He got off to a good start, guiding Bolton to an FA Cup semi-final and a mid-table finish in the Premier League, but the following season would prove more difficult, suffering relegation from the top flight for the first time in eleven years.

In his 125 games in charge of the club, he came away with a 1.20 PPG average.

5 Bill Ridding (1.28)

Bill Ridding is the furthest back in history this list goes, having taken charge of Bolton in October 1950.

The legendary Wanderers boss delivered the club's most recent FA Cup trophy in 1958 with a famous 2-0 victory over Manchester United.

4 Dougie Freedman (1.34 PPG)

Years before his career switch, current Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman was in the much more public-facing role of Bolton manager.

The former Palace manager left his first role at Selhurst Park to take charge at Bolton in October 2012. He would depart the club just two years later, having almost led them to the play-offs in his first season, but struggling from that point on.

Across 99 games in charge, he came out with a 1.34 PPG average.

3 Sam Allardyce (1.52 PPG)

Widely regarded as one of Bolton's best-ever bosses, the stats back up that sentiment too.

Sam Allardyce spent a good portion of his playing career with the Trotters before becoming their manager in 1999. It would prove an inspired choice by the decision-makers at Bolton, taking the side back into the Premier League and spearheading their charge towards European football. He left in 2007 to take up the vacancy at Newcastle United.

2 Colin Todd (1.61 PPG)

Colin Todd began life in Bolton as an assistant before rising to the top job in January 1996.

It was a rollercoaster ride which saw him guide the club through relegation and promotion, but he ultimately called time on his time with the Trotters in 1999, around the time of the sale of midfielder Per Frandsen to rivals Blackburn Rovers.

1 Ian Evatt (1.73 PPG)

Topping this list is the man that's been at the helm at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in 2023/24, Ian Evatt.

He took charge of the club following a successful stint at Barrow in 2020 and has remained in post ever since. He guided the club back into League One in his first season, but has so far been unable to take the next step into the Championship, only narrowly missing out via the play-offs at the end of the 2023/24 season.