The Trebor Mahtal dynasty at Bolton Wanderers was in full flow as the Zambian manager led Bolton Wanderers to three consecutive Premier League titles. But all eyes were on another African legend ahead of the manager’s seventh season in charge.
A new era began in the summer of 2029 (2013) as Bolton completed their move to the 44,059-capacity Jay-Jay Okocha Arena. With that in mind, this will be the final part of this series as we try to see in the JJOA era with some silverware.
Mahtal decided it was time for change on the pitch as he moved on players who weren’t performing. That saw the likes of Nicky Hunt, Jack Wilshere, Jorge Valdivia and Mario Balotelli depart for a profit of £46.5m, while Nicolas Anelka departed at the end of his contract and joined Derby. In their place came a batch of young talents led by striker Álvaro Correa followed by a big-name signing in Joe Cole for £23m from Chelsea. And that signing forced Mahtal to adjust his 3-4-3 by dropping in an attacking midfielder.
Seeking Global Glory
The new season began with the Club World Cup, in which Bolton lost the opener 3-1 to Milan then battered Colo-Colo 8-2 and Al-Duhail 6-1. A wild game saw them share 46 shots and draw 3-3 with Inter, who scored two dodgy first-half penalties, then beat them 10-9 on penalties. A familiar opponent followed in Liverpool and Radamel Falcao’s injury-time header nicked a 3-2 win. And the Colombian was at it again in the semi as his low strike earned a 3-2 extra-time win over Lyon.
That sent them into the Final to take on Porto, who defeated Barca in the semis. Bolton made a great start as Bale put giant 6ft 8in striker Jan Schreier in for the opener then, on the verge of half time, a long throw routine saw Iván Domínguez set up fellow centre back David Luiz. Porto offered nothing and Bolton eased to a 2-0 victory to become World Champions!
Quest For Title Number Four
The first match at Jay-Jay Okocha Arena saw Man City dismissed 2-0 through Schreier and Antoine Griezmann goals. Cole got his first goal in Bolton white in a 3-1 win at home to Everton before Harry Kane followed suit in a 3-1 victory over Man UFC. But Bolton fans concerned to see Kane lineup as a right winger at home to Liverpool were immediately appeased as he laid on goals for Falcao and Cole before Schreier completed a 3-0 victory.
That kickstarted the Trotters’ season as Pablo Piatti doubles, which surpassed his three goals all of last season, led consecutive 5-1 hammerings of Newcastle and Watford. They went from strength to strength, as evidenced by a Schreier brace and Falcao’s late strike leading a 4-1 thumping of 3rd-place Everton at Goodison Park in early February.
That began the customary streak of facing all the big sides back-to-back. Bolton’s 23-game unbeaten start ended with a 3-1 loss at home to Arsenal before two goals deep into injury time stole a dramatic late 2-1 win over Chelsea, supersub Griezmann’s late strike nicked a 1-0 at Man UFC, Kane’s winner downed former club Spurs 2-1 and an entertaining 0-0 at Liverpool, in which the sides shared 33 shots.
More Champions League Challenges
The first European night at Jay-Jay Okocha Arena set a new gate receipts record of £2.1m as Bolton nicked a 2-2 against Inter. Bolton had a tough set of fixtures, starting with Schreier’s hat trick inspiring a 4-2 beating of Benfica before drawing at Middlesbrough (random on many levels), thumping Rangers 4-1 away, losing 2-0 at Milan and drawing 1-1 at Dortmund. And they missed out on the top 8 by one goal despite hammering Partizan 7-1 and Bremen 3-1.
That took them into the knockout round where they cruised past Bordeaux 7-3 before a 3-1 win at home to José Mourinho’s Inter was followed by Murillo’s man of the match performance earning a 0-0 in Italy. That teed up a quarter final clash with La Liga leaders Real Madrid, which began with another 0-0 in Spain to mark Mahtal’s 400th match in management before somehow losing 3-2 after racking up 4.02 xG. So Mahtal’s dream of European success was done and dusted.
Edging Towards More Domestic Glory
The big-game results left Bolton in prime position with a 7-point lead over Arsenal with 10 games remaining. They thumped Sheff U 5-1 before a Kane hat trick led the way in a bonkers 4-4 at home to West Ham, which reduced the lead to 6 points going into the final five games.
Kane and Luiz strikes at rivals Blackburn and Falcao’s winner at home to Big Sam’s Pompey put The Trotters within touching distance of the title. Homegrown winger Leighton Tinnion’s late goal finally got them a deserved 2-1 win at Palace and another typically dominant 2-0 win over Derby saw David Luiz lift the trophy in front of a full house at the Jay-Jay Okocha Arena.
Bolton Wanderers won a 4th consecutive Premier League title!
Bolton finished on 99 points and scored 101 goals, conceding 30 and only losing once all season, which was at home to Arsenal, so they went undefeated in away matches.
Schreier led the way with 30 goals, despite only scoring twice since February, followed by Kane (17), Falcao (16), Griezmann, Piatti and Cole (10) and Martínez and Bale (9). Armand Traoré topped the assists with 18, despite only starting 20 and making 38 sub appearances, followed by Bale and Cole (15), Kane and Piatti (14) and Griezmann 11).
That brings this little FM24 Experiment to an end, as it’s slightly annoying that we don’t have the real-life newgens coming through and the Premier League has become a little bit boring. However, we’ll be back next Wednesday with a very different challenge!
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