Steven Schumacher should not fall into the tempting Sam Dalby trap at Bolton Wanderers | OneFootball

Steven Schumacher must resist the temptation to once again start Sam Dalby up-front for Bolton Wanderers.

Sam Dalby helped inspire Bolton Wanderers to a dramatic turnaround against Huddersfield Town last week, but Steven Schumacher must resist the temptation to fall into the trap of finding a place for Dalby in Bolton’s starting eleven.

In West Yorkshire, faltering pre-season promotion favourites Huddersfield led faltering pre-season promotion favourites Bolton by a goal to nil heading into second-half stoppage-time.

A magnificent header from Sam Dalby, his first league goal for the Trotters, and then a dramatic winner scored by Amario Cozier-Duberry turned the game on its head for what could be a seismic result for the Whites – but they have to ensure it is exactly that, and not one that gets lost in a sea of their own inconsistency.

Bolton, at their absolute best, are perhaps the best team in the division, but failing to find consistency is costing them, and their away form had also been atrocious before that victory over Town.

Chopping and changing of the system and the team has hurt Schumacher, as well as the underperformance of summer signings such as Dalby, who has now finally shown what he can do in a Bolton shirt.

Despite that massive and potentially season-defining moment for Dalby and for Wanderers, Schumacher must now resist the urge to start the former Wrexham forward.

Steven Schumacher cannot disrupt the rhythm of Mason Burstow

The aforementioned Amario Cozier-Duberry, on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion, is grabbing the headlines for Bolton, but another loanee, Hull City’s Mason Burstow, is someone that Wanderers should be cherishing.

The 22-year-old striker, once the subject of a £1.6 million move to Chelsea before a £2 million move to the Tigers, is looking to really kick-start his striking career, and he has shown more than enough promise so far this season.

Aside from the fact that he is the top scorer in League One with seven goals so far this term, his overall game and link-up play has been magnificent, capable of playing short and linking the play with others, but also presenting himself as the target man.

That is why his link-up with Middlesbrough loanee Marcus Forss has been so impressive, as the Finland international is able to play very well off Burstow.

However, in a recent 3-0 hammering at the hands of struggling Burton Albion, Schumacher made the unusual decision to drop Forss and go to a flat 4-4-2 system in which Burstow was partnered with Dalby.

This naturally shifted Burstow into other areas of the pitch, slightly deeper than where he had been, and just disrupted the rhythm he had found, and began to rediscover in the second-half against Huddersfield.

Burstow isn’t necessarily a target man, but he is clearly adept at playing as the lone focal point furthest forward and, given his form and the potential he has shown, Wanderers should avoid tinkering with that, and that means Dalby has to remain as a substitute.

Sam Dalby can be a ‘super sub’ for Bolton

After winning what appeared to have been a very competitive race to sign Dalby over the summer, the former Leeds United man would have expected to be the main up-front for the Whites this season.

A hamstring injury early in pre-season and then the eventual signing of Burstow on a season-long loan has majorly hampered his chances, with his reputation among Bolton supporters taking a massive dip after a very poor individual performance against Burton.

His target man ability is clearly evident, and something for Bolton supporters to be somewhat excited about, but they are also attributes that would appear ideally suited to being the impact ‘super sub’ at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

As he has proven, if Bolton get themselves into a desperate situation as was the case against Huddersfield, they can knock the ball into him, and he will be able to fashion a chance from a very difficult and unusual situation, as was the case in that game.

That should also work the other way, though, when Bolton are defending a lead and need some respite; his presence at the top of the pitch should provide that by finding him and him holding the ball up.

Dalby has now shown some much-needed quality, and he has shown he can have an impact for Bolton – but having an impact, rather than being tasked with being the chief influencer from the start, is exactly how it should remain.