Bolton head into the second half of the Premier League season with their prospects still on a knife-edge.
Lewis Rutledge feels Bolton's second half of the season could go either way after a topsy-turvy first half
Bolton head into the second half of the Premier League season with their prospects still on a knife-edge after an up-and-down campaign from August to December.
The Trotters set out with realistic expectations after coming close to relegation last term, when only a five-game unbeaten run kept them afloat and their survival was not guaranteed until the final weekend.
El-Hadji Diouf, a key performer last season, was also sold to Sunderland over the summer and there were concerns about whether Gary Megson had strengthened his squad sufficiently to guide Bolton back into the top half of the table.
Bolton made a perfect start as they cruised to a 3-1 victory over newly-promoted Stoke on the opening day, with Johan Elmander finding the target on his competitive debut for the club.
Elmander was Bolton's big summer signing and Megson would have been relieved to see the Swedish forward get off the mark at the first attempt after bringing him in for around £8million.
Supporters who feared that Elmander would make the same sort of modest impact as compatriot Christian Wilhelmsson were not given many more reasons to change their opinion over the next three months as the former Toulouse player struggled to adjust to life in England.
However, he ended his goal drought in the 3-1 win at Middlesbrough in November and has since demonstrated that he can be a deadly finisher when he is full of confidence.
Fabrice Muamba, who also arrived at the Reebok Stadium before the start of the season, has yet to show such composure in front of goal, most notably when he squandered a glorious chance against Manchester United in September.
In fact scoring goals has been something of a problem for the whole side and there has been little in the way of support for Elmander and Kevin Davies, with the exception of Matthew Taylor who has netted five times already in the league.
The aforementioned clash with United, which ended in a 2-0 victory for Sir Alex Ferguson's men, came in the middle of a sticky period for Bolton which also included defeats by Fulham, Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton.
Megson probably felt at the time that luck was not on his side and Bolton were the victims of an outrageous penalty decision at Old Trafford as Jlloyd Samuel was adjudged to have fouled Cristiano Ronaldo when it appeared he had won the ball with a fine tackle.
Bolton got back on track with a hard-fought 2-0 success against Manchester City at the start of November and went on to enjoy their best form of the season, picking up 12 points from five games to earn Megson the manager of the month award.
The sequence of results catapulted Bolton from the bottom three into the top half of the table and allowed Megson to settle on a side which had a strong, balanced look to it.
Davies and Elmander have linked up well in attack and there is plenty of steel in midfield with the tough-tackling Muamba joining Taylor, Kevin Nolan and Grant McCann.
Jussi Jaaskelainen, whose future seemed uncertain last season, has re-established himself as No.1 ahead of Ali Al Habsi and has been typically reliable in the Bolton goal.
Bolton's defence has been less consistent but mostly they have been difficult to break down, with Andrew O'Brien and Gary Cahill forming a solid partnership and Samuel and Gretar Steinsson also offering something going forward.
Ricardo Gardner has also done well when called upon and the likes of Riga Mustapha and Ebi Smolarek have shown potential from the substitutes' bench, but Megson's worry will be that his squad is too small to get through to next summer.
He may decide to venture into the transfer market to bring in some experienced cover and one or two shrewd additions may be enough to keep Bolton in the hunt for a place in the top eight.
The danger is that one or two poor results could leave Bolton glancing over their shoulders, with the league currently so tight and just a few points separating teams in the relegation zone from those just outside the European places.
Bolton have shown too much to suggest they will be dragged into another scrap for survival, despite a poor festive period, and they have already claimed four crucial wins on the road to complement their home results.
They are currently 11th in the table and fans will be looking forward to the rest of the season with optimism rather than trepidation.
