The main talking point at Ewood Park this summer is the appointment of Paul Ince as manager. The former midfielder and one-time England captain has excelled in management at both Macclesfield and MK Dons, and now gets the chance he craved - to test himself at the highest level in England.
His first task - which he has set as his top priority - is to persuade his two best players, David Bentley and Roque Santa Cruz, to throw their weight behind him and Rovers as he attempts to lead them beyond the point that his old Manchester United team-mate, Mark Hughes, took them to. Stephen Warnock has already committed himself to the club following Ince's appointment.
Welshman Hughes will be a tough act to follow, but Ince looks up to the task. He's been concentrating on getting his back-room staff in place thus far, but will soon be turning his attention to the Rovers squad - familiarising himself with its strengths and weaknesses and deciding where it needs to be bolstered. He's been linked with Carlo Cudicini and even jailed Joey Barton, but at this stage it's just press talk.
Bolton Wanderers
A year ago, in the wake of Sam Allardyce's ill-fated departure from The Reebok to Newcastle, Bolton chairman Phil Gartside was waxing lyrical about how Sammy Lee would eclipse Big Sam's achievements at the club. Maybe Little Sam would have done, eventually; but he got off to such a woeful start that no-one, Gartside included, was prepared to wait and see. Out he went and in came Gary Megson, who had not yet got the seat warm at Leicester. The Foxes ended the season relegated to League One, but Bolton defied gravity to escape the drop with a point to spare.
Now Megson can shift the emphasis from damage limitation to development, and he has shown he means business already this summer by bringing in midfielder Frabrice Muamba from Birmingham for £5million, then breaking the club's transfer record with the £10million signing of Sweden international Johan Elmander. The striker, who has apparently been promised a regular start in the first team, is seen as the successor to Nicolas Anelka, who was sold to Chelsea last January.
The Trotters sorely missed Anelka's goals in the second half of the campaign, so Elmander's mission is clear. The club have a hit-list of other transfer targets including Simon Vukcevic and Milan Baros, and seem willing to spend big. Megson and the board will want to ensure Bolton improve on last year's showing - which shouldn't be too difficult.
From Football365.com
Budget: Unlikely to exceed even £15m.
What's Being Said: "I have promised the players as soon as we definitely know what's happening to us, we'll look at what's going to happen in the future" - Gary Megson.
There will be comings and goings at the Reebok this summer. Unfortunately for the club's supporters, the goings are likely to be more noticeable. Ivan Campo has already gone, El-Hadji Diouf has made his intention to depart public and the out-of-contract Jussi Jaaskelainen and Ricardo Gardner may follow. In summary, any newcomers will be replacements rather than additions.
Gary Megson has spent more of his managerial career outside of the Premier League than in it, so, given the tendency of managers to buy from the market they know best, it's logical to assume that his recruits will be bought from below. Nor would it be a surprise if he settles on a half-way house of picking from the carcass of the Championship-bound Birmingham and Reading. Sebastian Larsson, in particular, is a player who proved he is capable of performing in the top tier and would be a useful resource at the Reebok.
The unfortunate reality of Bolton's situation is that they are one of the least attractive sides in the Premier League and arguably the least enticing destination. Unlike Wigan, for whom even Steve Bruce compares favourably alongside Megson, they will not even be able to tempt prospective signings with the carrot of bumper wages.
Staying with that gloomy prognosis, it is noticeable that, mindful of the budgets available elsewhere, the bookies make Bolton the favourites to be relegated from the Premier League next season along with the latest batch of Championship trespassers. It's a grim way to start what is likely to be an equally grim summer at the Reebok.
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