"A breath of fresh air" - Bolton Wanderers urged to appoint ex-Oxford United boss Des Buckingham | OneFootball

Bolton's next recruitment could be essential to their indefinite destiny.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bolton Wanderers are the latest League One team to find themselves on the hunt for a new manager, as the club revealed that Ian Evatt had been relieved of his duties early on Wednesday morning.

Evatt, who joined the then-fourth-tier Trotters in 2020, leaves the club with an impressive 49.8% win ratio, among the most statistically successful tenures in the club's over-150-year history.

With a promotion campaign to his name, and back-to-back play-off appearances in the third-tier, on paper, it would be understandable to view Evatt's sacking as somewhat harsh under the circumstances.

However, the popular view of the supporters is that, seemingly having exhausted his influence, the former Barrow boss' reign had come to its natural conclusion, with the decision overdue if anything.

With the Greater Manchester side still finding themselves very much in play-off contention this campaign, the next recruitment could be essential to their indefinite destiny.

"We waited too long" says Bolton pundit

In an unrelenting EFL campaign, there is little time for reflection or sentimentality. Club Chairperson Sharon Brittan and co. will need to act fast in settling in a new manager if they are to maximise the club's chances of returning to the second-tier, but whom?

FLW asked resident Wanderers fan pundit Liam O'Meara, who he believes is a realistic fit for the vacant Wanderers post.

While ensuring to voice frustration at the perceived oversight of a returning Baggies boss, O'Meara makes an interesting suggestion in a man who has first hand experience of League One promotion, to the dismay of Wanderers supporters.

"Unfortunately, we missed out Tony Mowbray, who I think would have been brilliant for us. I think we waited too long in dismissing Evatt, and we missed out on that option. Obviously, he's done really well to get the West Brom job.

"In terms of available managers and realistic targets now, the one I keep coming back to in my mind is Des Buckingham. A man who obviously achieved promotion with Oxford last season, beating ourselves in the final, but what I like about the option of Buckingham is his preference of an attacking 4-3-3.

"I think Buckingham's tactics would give our team, with the amount of wide-based attackers that we have signed only to not play them in those positions, a breath of fresh air into the club, as well as a four at the back option. So for me, I think Des Buckingham."

Buckingham, who shocked the entire EFL in leading Oxford United to promotion last campaign, has been out of action since mid-December, and would likely consider a club of Bolton's stature to reinvigorate his reputation in the game.

Buckingham's tactics were the catalyst for Ian Evatt's departure

It was Evatt's defeat against Buckingham's Oxford that undoubtedly proved the catalyst for his eventual demise, as he himself has admitted that the shock Wembley defeat caused him to completely overthink his tactical approach to the current season.

He revealed to the Bolton News that he had obsessed over this defeat, completely scrapping his trusted 3-5-2 formation in pre-season after Buckingham has seemingly found a way around it.

Since then, Evatt's Bolton have had something of a tactical identity crisis as the Coventry-born manager has been unable to settle on a consistently working system. Perhaps guilty of overthinking the campaign's approach overall, this turmoil could explain the side's apparent inability to achieve any kind of consistency in form this season.

Evatt has been a tremendous servant in reigniting the fortunes of a team facing their nadir upon arrival. The man who led Barrow, or rather 'Barrowcelona', to the EFL should have no problem finding another job. However, it appears that his departure from the Toughsheet is a correct decision for all parties.