"No brainer" – Carlton Palmer backs Sam Allardyce for Bolton Wanderers job | OneFootball

The Trotters are in search of a new boss following the departure of Ian Evatt earlier this week

Bolton Wanderers are on the hunt for a new manager following the departure of Ian Evatt from the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

Evatt’s final game in charge was the 2-1 loss to Charlton Athletic in League One, after which the board convened to discuss his position.

With the second half of the season still to play, all eyes will now be on who the Trotters appoint to fill the vacancy.

We asked pundit and former England international Carlton Palmer for his opinion on who should take charge.

Palmer names Allardyce, Lowe and Schumacher in Bolton manager race

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Palmer said: “Sad news, really, that Ian Evatt has been replaced at Bolton Wanderers.

“I think he's had a fantastic tenure at the football club I think he was there for over four years in charge.

“But I think the writing was on the wall when he came out and started criticising the players.

“So sad to see Ian Evatt go, but I'm sure he'll be back in work very soon, he’ll probably want to take a break from the game for a little while, but he did a fantastic job for Bolton Wanderers.

“There's a lot of names been mentioned to replace Ian Evatt. One of those names is Sam Allardyce at 6/1. Does Sam really want to get back in the game? I don't really know about that.

“There's a lot of players, who do I think would be a good fit for Bolton? I really think Steven Schumacher would be a good fit for them.

“And also Ryan Lowe. It's a close call between the two. Both of them have done previously well before and it'd be a close call.

“I mean, if you could get Sam Allardyce that's a no-brainer for me. If Sam wanted to work again, that’d be a no-brainer.

“They're not a million miles off the play-offs. If they get a good manager in, they've got two weeks to go to the end of the transfer deadline. Get some players in, [and] they could seriously make a push for the play-offs for the rest of the season.

“So, me, if Sam’s definitely up for the job and they can afford him and they're prepared to back him, that would be a fantastic bit of business.

“But other than that, I would think it's a very, very close call between Steven Schumacher and Ryan Lowe.

“I liked the job that Ryan Lowe did at Preston, wasn't really backed as he would like to have been backed with the money.

“So yeah, I'd go for somebody like Ryan Lowe, really would do, really was impressed with his stint there.”

Experience is the key ingredient for Bolton

Bolton’s aim, as it has been for the past few seasons, and the likely motivation behind Evatt’s departure, is to return to the Championship.

Therefore, whoever the Greater Manchester club opt to bring in, it must be someone with recent experience in that division.

It would create problems of its own if the Trotters did finally gain entry to the Championship, find they weren’t up to the task, and drop back down again.

Someone who has been in the second tier recently, like Lowe and Schumacher both have at Preston North End and Stoke City respectively, would bring with it a reputation and connections that should make that jump a smoother transition.

Schumacher also has a League One promotion with Plymouth Argyle under his belt a couple of seasons ago, giving him plenty of parallels to draw on for the task at Bolton.