Independent Bolton Wanderers website Burnden Aces have given us an insight into what we can expect from new signing Liam Gordon. Burnden Aces have over 11k followers on Twitter and have an independent Podcast “Walking Down The Manny Road” which is available on itunes and Spotify.
Here are their thoughts –
When Liam Gordon arrived at Bolton in the summer of 2020, he did so at a time when the club was desperately trying to assemble a playing squad following relegation, administration and the COVID-19 enforced curtailment of the previous campaign.
Ian Evatt had been appointed manager just a couple of months earlier, although it quickly became apparent that Tobias Phoenix – Head of Football Operations – was largely responsible for player recruitment. Phoenix would depart the club later in the year after just 10 months in his role, with many pointing the finger of blame solely in his direction for a poor start which had left Wanderers deep in relegation trouble to non-league.
Thankfully, at least on our part, things improved following the January window and we put together a remarkable run which saw us rise all the way up into 3rd place and seal promotion back to League One at the first attempt.
Many of the players signed during Evatt’s first transfer window have since been moved on, most of whom without much fanfare, although Gordon is one who can leave with his head held high.
A regular in the early part of the 2020/21 campaign, Gordon would ultimately lose his place following the January acquisition of Declan John and was sent back to his previous club, Dagenham & Redbridge, on loan.
He returned for a second season at the University of Bolton Stadium and perhaps played more than he would have expected, in main part due to niggling injuries sustained by the aforementioned John, but featured just once in the final four months of the campaign as he was made to settle for a substitutes’ role at best.
With Whitehawk and Dartford amongst his other clubs, Gordon’s career path has been predominantly outside of the EFL so Walsall supporters shouldn’t be surprised to discover there are some flaws to his game.
Although Gordon is more than adequate in an attacking sense – a quality the modern full-back needs to have in their game – he often struggled with defensive positioning and was targeted by some of the more physical wingers out there.
His pace could sometimes get him out of trouble but Bolton needed to look at bigger and better if they are serious about mounting a promotion push next season, and so that spelt the end of Gordon’s time with us.
The key reason why social media would have been very positive about Gordon when his move was announced earlier in the week would be because of his attitude.
When you’re in and out of a team, sent out on loan and then don’t feature for long periods, it would be easy to voice discontent to the press. Gordon never once did that, was always supportive of the club, and it’s obvious to see from those who remain with us just how much he was valued within the dressing room.
At this stage of his career, League One football is clearly a step too far. There are definite improvements to be made if he is to make it at League Two level but time is on his side and with regular first-team football, he’s a low-risk signing that will only get better.
We would like to thank Burnden Aces for their insight into Liam Gordon and wish them and Bolton the best of luck for next season.
