Hard season ahead of Bolton

With the club in spiralling debt and their best players linked with moves away from the club, its going to be a difficult season for Owen Coyle's side.

Johan Elmander opitimised Bolton last year, after a superb first half of the season many expected them to qualify for the Europa League, yet in the second half of the season the Swede only scored one goal, with Bolton registering just the five victories in 2011, despite the goal return of January loanee Daniel Sturridge, and I can't see Bolton turning their fortune and reckon they'll struggle this year.

Coyle and Bolton earned rave reviews for the way they went about their football, however with a limited budget Coyle is going to have his work cut out if they are going to improve on their 14th placed finish. The addition of Darren Pratley is a good one and he'll fit perfectly into the Bolton team and the way they play. However after losing their top scorer in Elmander and the imminent return of Sturridge to his parent club Chelsea, it is hard to see where the goals will come from.

Pratley is Bolton's only summer addition so far

Key defender Gary Cahill is set to leave the club with the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal reportedly interested in the England defender, and with Zak Knight's fitness and form in question, it places a huge amount of pressure on David Wheater. The club are looking to bring in around £15million for Cahill, and Coyle needs the money to re-invest in his small squad, with Bolton failing to fufill the bench on numerous occasions last year due to their injury problems.

A midfield of Lee, Holden, Muamba and Petrov is strong, however their inability to score goals and stop them at the other end will always cause problems. For me Bolton need to bring in at least five more faces if they are to challenge last seasons finish, and in Coyle they have a top manager who will manage at a higher level in the future, however this year I feel Bolton are going to struggle.