It is no secret that Bolton Wanders have fallen into a shadow of the team that they once were.

From not paying their players, to forfeiting matches and eventual administration, the Wanderers find themselves back in League One for the second time in their last four years.

This time, though, they will start the season with -12 points as punishment for their insufficient takeover.

On their promotion two years ago, many believed that Bolton were on the start of their journey back to the top.

They finished second in England’s third tier behind Sheffield United. It was instead the Blades that have since gone on to enjoy life in the Premier League next season.

But after finishing 21^st in their first season back in the Championship and 23^rd this season, why have Bolton failed to fulfil not even half of their expectations?

Bolton came up without the squad to compete in the Championship and without the money to improve it.

Their top scorer in the League One promotion winning side was Zach Clough who scored nine goals.

For a side to get promoted with a top scorer of nine goals is quite unheard of.

This proved dividends in their following season. Their top scorer was Gary Madine with 10 who became Bolton’s saving grace… And then left the following season to join Cardiff.

Josh Magennis - their only signing that wasn’t a free transfer in the summer - won Bolton’s golden boot this season with seven.

In a staggering statistic, Bolton haven’t had a player score more than 12 goals in a league campaign in 17 years, since Michael Ricketts in their 2001-02 Premier League season.

Having that one goalscorer in your side is what often keeps teams’ shoulders just above the water of relegation as Reading showed this season with Yakou Meite.

Perhaps where else Bolton went wrong on their return to the Championship was their failure to exploit the loan market and/or use their own youth players.

Instead they opted to bring in ageing Championship players who were or are coming to the end of their careers.

Players like Gary O’Neil, Marc Wilson and Clayton Donaldson is exactly what Bolton didn’t need.

Instead they should have opted for more youth that may have brought a freshness to the University of Bolton Stadium that has since absent from the club for many years now.