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Dougie Freedman's Bolton Wanderers signings - where are they now?

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Sluffy

Sluffy
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Before you read this article, keep in mind how much of Eddie's fortune got spent on all of this lot! - and this is following from Coyle's utterly disastrous spell in charge - Sluffy


The Scotsman was in charge of the Trotters for fewer than two years, but made more than 30 signings during that time

The season after relegation from the Premier League saw a change in the dugout for Bolton Wanderers just a few months in as the club sought to win immediate promotion back to the top flight.
Dougie Freedman became Wanderers boss towards the end of October 2012 after being appointed as Owen Coyle's successor, who was let go by the club after Bolton were mired in the bottom half of the table.
Freedman joined from Crystal Palace where he had a long association as both a player and later as the Eagles manager.
His first season at the Reebok Stadium ended with Wanderers just missing out on the play-offs by goal difference to Leicester City.
The 2013/14 season would prove to be Freedman's only full campaign in charge of the club, and he would lead them to a 14th place finish in the Championship.
But after a dismal start to the following campaign and with the Trotters sitting 23rd in the table, Freedman departed Bolton by mutual consent on October 3, 2014.
During little under two years at the club, Freedman signed more than 30 players at Bolton, either permanently or on loan.
With today marking seven years since his dismissal, here are those that the Scot signed to play for the Whites, and where they are now.

2012/13

Jacob Butterfield
The midfielder was the first signing of Freedman's reign, joining the club on loan from Norwich City.
A short term deal, he left Bolton at the start of January to return to his parent club before heading out on loan to Freedman's former club, Crustal Palace.
Since then, his clubs have included Middlesbrough, Huddersfield Town, Derby County, loan spells with Sheffield Wednesday and hometown club Bradford City, and was previously with Luton Town before his release this summer. He's currently a free agent.

Craig Davies
Striker Davies was the first permanent signing made by Freedman, who joined from Barnsley in January 2013.
He scored four times in his first season, but failed to find the net for Bolton in the following campaign, where he was shipped out on loan to Preston North End in League One.
Davies made 30 appearances in the 2014/15 campaign before making moves to Wigan Athletic, Scunthorpe United, Oldham Athletic and Mansfield Town, where he was released in 2020.

Cian Bolger
A signing from Leicester City, Bolger failed to play a single game for Bolton during his 18 months with the club.
The centre back was sent out on loan to Colchester and Southend, before signing permanently for the Shrimpers in 2014.
He has since been at Bury, Fleetwood Town, Lincoln City and Northampton Town but now plies his trade with Larne in the NIFL Premiership.

Medo
Mohamed Kamara, known as Medo, joined permanently from Partizan Belgrade in January 2013.
He made nearly 60 appearances for Bolton before dropping down the pecking order and having his contract cancelled by mutual consent in January 2016, before having a loan spell with Maccabi Haifa.
Since leaving the club, he has been at HJK Helsinki, Al-Kuwait, Kazma Sporting Club, and is now with Finnish side FC Haka.

Craig Dawson
The defender joined Bolton on loan from West Brom in January and played 16 times for Wanderers as they narrowly missed out on the play-offs.
His impressive goal tally of four included netting three in successive games against Hull and Peterborough.
He went back to West Brom and has played most of his career in the Premier League, before leaving the Hawthorns last summer to stay in the division with Watford.
He is now in his second season with West Ham United.

Jan Gregus
The Slovakian joined on loan from Czech side Banik Ostrava in January 2013, but was mostly used for the club's development sides.
The midfielder returned to his parent club the following year and has played for Jabonec, FC Copenhagen and is currently with MLS outfit Minnesota United.
He also made his Slovakian national team debut in 2015 and has more than 25 caps for his country.

Steve De Ridder
A midfielder signed from Southampton on loan, he spent just over a month at Bolton and only made a few appearances.
The Belgian has since played for FC Utrecht, FC Copenhagen, Zulte Waregem, Lokeren and is currently on the books at Sint-Truiden.

Robert Hall
Joined initially on loan from West Ham, but was later signed permanently by Freedman upon his release and went on to play just over 30 games for Wanderers.
He was released in 2016 and had spent some of that time on loan at MK Dons in two spells.
Hall was at Oxford United since 2016 but joined National League outfit Barnet in the summer.

Danny Butterfield
Another loan signing, Butterfield joined from Southampton and played half a dozen games over the space of a month.
After leaving Bolton, he spent a season at Carlisle United before spending three campaigns at Exeter City and retiring in 2016 with nearly 570 appearances in the game to his name. He's now delved into a career in coaching.

2013/14

Alex Baptiste
Baptiste joined Bolton on a free transfer after leaving Blackpool in the summer of 2013.
The defender played 43 games for the Trotters that season, but was loaned out to Blackburn Rovers for the following campaign, before making a permanent move to Middlesbrough in 2015.
He has since had spells at Sheffield United, Preston, QPR, Doncaster Rovers and is now back at the UniBol under Ian Evatt.

Marc Tierney
The left-back joined from Norwich but only played nine times for Bolton after suffering an ankle injury against Yeovil Town.
After he failed to recover from it, he was forced into early retirement from professional football, which he announced in April 2015.

Hayden White
Joining Wanderers after turning down a professional deal at Sheffield Wednesday, White played only five games for Bolton before leaving the club permanently in 2016 to join Peterborough United.
He had loan spells with Carlisle United, Bury, Notts County and Blackpool while with Bolton.
White is currently with Walsall, where he has been permanently since 2020.

Conor Wilkinson
Coming through the ranks at Millwall, the striker penned a three-year deal with Bolton over the summer of 2013.
He made 17 appearances during his time there, but had a nomadic existence on loan mostly at Chester FC, Torquay United, Oldham Athletic, Barnsley, Newport County, Portsmouth and Chesterfield.
He joined Gillingham permanently in 2017 and had two spells at Dagenham & Redbridge, and is currently with League Two side Walsall.

Jermaine Beckford
The striker joined from Leicester City and went on to make 51 appearances and score 11 goals.
The Jamaica international spent the 2014/15 campaign away from Bolton on loan at Preston, before joining the Lilywhites for good in the summer of 2015.
After two seasons at Deepdale, Beckford spent two years at Bury and confirmed his retirement from professional football aged 35 last August.

Gary Fraser
Joined from Hamilton Academical, but ended up not making a single appearance after being sent out on loan to Partick Thistle, whom he joined permanently in January 2014.
The midfielder has since had spells at Greenock Morton, Forfar Athletic, Cowdenbeath and is currently at Peterhead.

Andre Moritz
The Brazilian spent just one season with Bolton, but scored seven goals in nearly 30 outings.
He left when his contract expired in the summer of 2014 and has since played for Mumbai City, Pohang Steelers, Burirram United, Denizlispor, Avai and Londrina. He's currently without a club.

Jay Spearing
The midfielder joined from boyhood club Liverpool initially on loan at the start of the 2012/13 season, but the move was made permanent and Spearing penned a four-year deal.
Eventually being named Wanderers captain, Spearing went on to play 173 times for Bolton and scored 10 goals before leaving in 2017 after failing to agree fresh terms.
He spent time on loan at Blackburn in 2015 and was at Blackpool from 2017. He joined Tranmere Rovers in 2020.

Arran Lee-Barrett
The goalkeeper penned a deal which eventually ran to the end of the season after joining from Millwall.
He failed to make an appearance and retired from football after leaving Bolton in 2014.

Neil Danns
The midfielder initially joined Bolton on loan from Leicester City and scored six times over 38 games.
It prompted Freedman to sign Danns permanently in the summer of 2013 when his Leicester deal expired, and overall played 116 times for Bolton, scoring 11 goals.
He left the club for Bury in 2016 and spent time on loan at Blackpool in 2017. He is currently with the reformed Macclesfield FC.

Liam Feeney
The winger played only four times in his initially loan spell from Millwall, who recalled him early due to injury problems at the Den.
Feeney later joined Bolton permanently when his Millwall contract ended and went on to make a total of 92 appearances and score eight goals.
He also spent time on loan at Ipswich Town and Cardiff City and later moved to Blackburn Rovers. He has been at Tranmere since the summer.

Kevin McNaughton
The Scot had two loan spells with Wanderers, the first of which was an emergency 28-day one from Cardiff in September.
He later spent the following season on loan with Bolton and made a total of 22 appearances.
Since leaving Bolton, McNaughton has had spells at Wigan Athletic, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Forfar Athletic and Kirriemuir Thistle.

Joe Mason
The forward spent time at Wanderers across three loan stints from parent club Cardiff.
An initial one ran from November 2013 to January 2014, before a second spell between February and April 2014.
A third and final loan lasted from August to January 2015, with Mason finding the net 10 times in 30 matches.
He later moved to Wolves from Cardiff and has had further loans at Burton Albion, Colorado Rapids and Portsmouth. He is currently at Canadian club Cavalry FC.

Lukas Jutkiewicz
Joining at the end of January 2014 on loan from Middlesbrough, striker Jutkiewicz scored seven times in 20 appearances for the Trotters.
After leaving, he signed a deal with newly promoted Premier League side Burnley, and after an initial loan spell at Birmingham City in the 2016/17 campaign, he joined the Blues permanently and remains there at present.

Alan Hutton
The former Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur defender joined Bolton in an emergency deal from Aston Villa at the end of February 2014, which was later extended to the end of the season.
He played nine times for Wanderers and returned to Villa at the conclusion of his loan spell.
He remained at Villa Park until being released last year, and confirmed his retirement from professional football in February.

2014/15

Dorian Dervite
The Frenchman joined Bolton on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic in the summer of 2014.
Dervite went on to play 99 times for Wanderers and scored twice before leaving in 2018 to sign for Charleroi in Belgium.
The centre back has since had a loan spell at NAC Breda and is presently with French outfit Renaissance Mons 44.

Ross Fitzsimons
The goalkeeper joined from Freedman's former side Palace but failed to play for the Wanderers first team.
He was loaned to Bishop's Stortford FC before leaving Bolton and has since played for Braintree Town, Chelmsford City, Notts County and Chesterfield.

Andy Robinson
A signing from Southampton initially on loan, the midfielder failed to make a first team appearance for Bolton and a permanent contract was later cancelled after he didn't settle in the area.
He has since been at Dorchester Town, Gosport Borough, Havant & Waterlooville and Weymouth.

Liam Trotter
Initially joining on loan at the end of January 2014, Trotter signed for Bolton permanently over the summer of 2014.
He went on to play 73 times for Bolton and scored six goals before leaving permanently in 2017 for AFC Wimbledon, but also spent time on loan at Nottingham Forest.
He last played for Orange County SC in the USA.

Dean Moxey
Another signing who Freedman would have been aware of, defender Moxey joined from Crystal Palace in 2014 and spent three seasons at Bolton.
The left-back played 82 times for Bolton and scored twice before leaving in 2017.
Since then, he has played for hometown club Exeter City and is now with Torquay United.

Andy Hughes
Mancunian Hughes registered as a player at Bolton but did not end up making an appearance for the club.
He later took caretaker charge for one match only against Bournemouth following Freedman's departure.
He has had coaching stints at Rotherham United, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield Town.

Quade Taylor
The central defender made only one appearance for Bolton on the final day of the 2014/15 season against Birmingham City.
He had joined the club from Crystal Palace and left Wanderers in 2016.
He has had spells at Dagenham & Redbridge and Braintree Town, and has been at Dulwich Hamlet since 2016.

Kaiyne Woolery
The striker joined from Tamworth for £10,000 and went on to play 24 times for Bolton, scoring on three occasions.
After a loan spell at Notts County in 2015, he moved permanently to Wigan Athletic and also spent time at Forest Green Rovers.
He had been at Swindon Town from 2017 to 2020, moving to Tranmere before joining Motherwell in the summer.

Max Clayton
Moving from the famed academy at Crewe Alexandra, a tribunal later set a fee of £300,000 after Clayton moved to Wanderers under the age of 24.
But injuries have hampered Clayton's career, as he was restricted to just 30 appearances and two goals before leaving Bolton in 2017.
He then joined Blackpool, where he spent two seasons before being released in 2019. He last played for Altrincham Town.

Paddy Kenny
The goalkeeper proved to be Freedman's final permanent signing at Bolton, joining from Leeds United.
But he never made an appearance for the Wanderers first team and spent some of his year at Bolton on loan at nearby Oldham Athletic.
Since then, he has had spells at Ipswich Town, Bury, Rotherham United, Northampton Town and Maltby Main.

Owen Garvan
The midfielder signed on loan from Crystal Palace for three months and went on to make three appearances for Bolton.

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boltonbonce

boltonbonce
Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse

Don't look good on one page do they. Crying or Very sad

On their best form, I wonder how many we'd take now?

Sluffy

Sluffy
Admin

boltonbonce wrote:Don't look good on one page do they. Crying or Very sad

On their best form, I wonder how many we'd take now?

A shocking waste of Eddie's money wasn't it!

Thing is though why did it have to get to the state a manager had to bring in 30 signings in two years?

Yes I know that's been the norm for us recently - but that followed from going broke and going into Admin - this was about how a 'stable' Premier League club failed utterly for succession planning of the squad.

For my money it started with Allardyce.

Yes we had the best period in my lifetime but it was unsustainable with bringing in great players at the end of their careers, with no resale value - and paying them massive wages.

Sam was no fool and jumped ship before it hit the iceberg.

Lee was a disaster and brought in a load of duds, then we brought in Owen...

He got us relegated when we need not have been (how the fuck did he think it was a good idea to fill the massive gap left by Holden by buying Sordell???) and then brought in mediocre players on big wages and long contracts (Pratley for FOUR YEARS???) to get us back up - that wasn't going to happen was it!

All the time Gartside endorsed all of this - and Freedman's 30 player spurge!

It is what it is I suppose but little wonder why Eddie lost £200m and we ended up nearly going into liquidation.

As for who I thought were good signings out of that lot - precious few.

Dawson was the best by a country mile and the only other that was good was Jutkiewicz.

Alan Hutton deserves a mention too and at his best would walk into our team now.

I liked Feeney's efforts, he always did his best but would he have been much different to Isgrove in the team now?

A very poor return and I've got to say it - a club that before, during and after that time in question - was remarkably badly run.

Norpig

Norpig
Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse

I hated Freedman more than i hated Megson, he was that bad! Very arrogant man.

wanderlust

wanderlust
Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse

boltonbonce wrote:Don't look good on one page do they. Crying or Very sad

On their best form, I wonder how many we'd take now?
On their best form - and at a younger age obviously -  I'd take Craig Dawson, De Ridder, Tierney, Mason, Juke and perhaps a couple of others including Baps - if we could afford them.
I'd prefer Megson's signings which were generally excellent (Cahill, CYL Fabrice, Gretar, Cohen, Elmander, Shittu, a fit Sean Davis, Robbo, Ricketts and Klasnic) or Coyle's (Holden, Rodrigo, Wilshere, Sturridge, Marcos Alonso etc if at their best)
...but even Lee made a few good 'uns in their day: Jlloyd, Blerim Dzemaili, Gavin McCann, Wilhelmsson, Andy O'Brien, Mikel Alonso, Helguson...although with the benefit of hindsight I'd have thought twice about Boggers Smile

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