”Take the next step" - Reaction given to Bolton Wanderers, Steven Schumacher news | OneFootball

We asked our Bolton Wanderers fan pundit if he thought Steven Schumacher would be a good replacement for Ian Evatt

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Former Stoke City boss Steven Schumacher has been deemed a suitable replacement for Ian Evatt at Bolton Wanderers after Schumacher helped Plymouth Argyle to win the League One title in 2023.

Bolton Wanderers are on the hunt for a new boss after Evatt was sacked, bringing down the curtain on his four-and-a-half year stay at the club, and the Trotters will be looking for someone who's able to help them return to the Championship.

Bolton have been out of the second tier since 2019, and while they came ever so close under Evatt last season, losing the League One play-off final, things have been more difficult this season and his departure isn't a huge shock.

Alan Nixon reported that Schumacher is in the frame to take over at The Toughsheet Community Stadium, and Bolton have been told it would be a smart appointment.

Steven Schumacher, Bolton Wanderers verdict emerges

We asked our Bolton Wanderers fan pundit, Liam O'Meara, whether he believes Schumacher would be a good appointment.

Speaking to Football League World, Liam said: "Yes, of course.

"The thing that appeals to me about Steven Schumacher is that he took over a successful team in which Ryan Lowe had built and Plymouth, and he maintained those levels of success, if not surpassed performances.

"So you can see that natural progression element at Bolton, a team that has all the pieces they can go and take on the next step.

“With Stoke it didn’t really work out, but I don’t hold too much regard to his time at Stoke, as they’re a very difficult club to manage, and I think very few have been able to turn that around and the club seems to have lost all its momentum. It sort of reminds me of us when we were stagnating in the Championship before our finances took hold.

“I don’t really put too much value in that, but in terms of the job he did at Plymouth, that was a really strong League One team. We saw it up close. We weren’t quite a top two side at the time, but we were a play-off contender and beat them in the EFL Trophy final.

"We blew them away, but it wasn’t a reflection on them, it was just one of those days in a cup final. They were a fantastic team."

Appointing Steven Schumacher should be a no-brainer for Bolton Wanderers

If Schumacher is keen on the job, then it would be a real coup for Bolton Wanderers, as the former Plymouth and Stoke boss has shown he's an excellent manager at League One level in the past.

Schumacher led Plymouth to the third-tier title in 2023, no mean feat when you consider that they beat now Premier League side Ipswich Town to the title, and he was also doing a good job in the Championship before leaving to join the Potters.

You can't read too much into how his time at Stoke went because the manager's job there has proven to be a poisoned chalice since they were relegated to the Championship in 2018, and Schumacher fared considerably better than his successor Narcis Pelach did.

He is definitely someone who could still get a Championship job now, and he's been linked with a number of jobs recently, so if Bolton could convince him to drop to League One it would be an excellent appointment.

As a young manager with proven League One pedigree, Schumacher could take Bolton back to the Championship if given time and he should be their number one target to replace Evatt.