Bolton Wanderers could become unstoppable if Chelsea loanee begins to flourish | OneFootball

Chelsea loanee Teddy Sharman-Lowe has the potential to help Bolton Wanderers reach the next level in League One.

It is very early in the season to declare a team to beat in League One, especially when they actually reside in the middle-of-the-table, but Bolton Wanderers are inching their way towards that status.

That is a view shared by EFL pundit George Elek, speaking on the Not The Top 20 Podcast this week, and there is a very good reason for that, with the Whites’ performance level having been consistently high throughout the campaign.

They are unbeaten since a 2-0 loss to Stockport County at Edgeley Park on the opening day of the campaign and, even in that outing, the Trotters were probably the better of the two sides.

That has been a theme of their campaign and recent weeks have begun to suggest that things are finally clicking in terms of an improved effectiveness in the final third of the pitch, best shown by their clinical and quality attacking in a 4-1 defeat of local rivals Wigan Athletic recently.

Their underlying numbers in attack have been well discussed throughout the campaign and, as Steven Schumacher explained in a post-match interview after another frustrating 1-1 draw against Blackpool in late-August, it appeared to be just a matter of time until a team was on the end of a heavy Bolton win.

With the likes of Thierry Gale and Marcus Forss now laying down a marker in the front four alongside Mason Burstow and Amario Cozier-Duberry, attention will now to turn to ensuring the back-line can stand up to the test and, most importantly, that Teddy Sharman-Lowe can begin to flourish.

Teddy Sharman-Lowe can turn Bolton Wanderers into the team to beat in League One

Having joined on loan from Chelsea this summer after being a part of the England U21 squad that defended the UEFA U21 European Championship title this summer, Teddy Sharman-Lowe has been instilled as the ‘number one’ at Bolton, ahead of American goalkeeper Tyler Miller and former Swansea City shot stopper Nathan Broome.

Sharman-Lowe, who helped Doncaster Rovers to the League Two title last season with some big performances in the latter stages of the campaign, has a couple of standout qualities, with his ability on the ball quite remarkable.

His long-range passing, and the speed and precision of it, has majorly helped Bolton with the way in which they want to play with a direct and aggressive counter-attacking style.

Indeed, his passing accuracy of 74.4 per cent ranks him in the top 10.1 percentile of League One goalkeepers after nine games, highlighting just how good he is in this deparment - per FotMob.

However, much like how Bolton were underperforming their attacking numbers until a recent spurt of eight goals scored in three matches, they are conceding more than they should do.

They have conceded the fewest shots in the division, whilst taking the most, and, according to FotMob, have the lowest expected goals against in League One, too, which is always a good indicator of a very strong team.

Sharman-Lowe, therefore, is letting in more goals than he should and that has perhaps undermined Bolton’s start to the season from a results perspective – but not much needs to change for that to improve.

Teddy Sharman-Lowe hasn’t disgraced himself for Bolton

When the overall performances are good and the underlying data is what it says it is, people become quick to look for a scapegoat as to why the Whites aren’t simply winning every game.

The player to blame, therefore, is the man essentially responsible for preventing the goals going in and, in this instance, that is Sharman-Lowe; despite the fact he hasn’t really been at fault for much.

Bolton have only conceded more than one goal in a game on just one occasion, that aforementioned loss to Stockport, and, since then, dominant displays have been undermined by a slightly below par piece of goalkeeping, a lack of judgement or sheer bad luck.

Of the six goals conceded by Bolton since the defeat against the Hatters, two of them can fall into the ‘bad luck’ category, with Blackpool’s Dale Taylor hitting the post, only for the ball to bounce off the back of Sharman-Lowe and in, and Reading’s Andre Garcia having a shot from the edge of the box blocked and loop in over the head of the Trotters keeper.

It can be reasonable to level David McGoldrick’s strike to beat Sharman-Lowe at his near post against Barnsley as fairly average goalkeeping, whilst Freddie Draper’s header after 20 seconds for Lincoln City did go straight down the middle.

As for poor judgement, Wigan got their consolation from an excellent Paul Mullin strike, but only after retrieving the ball from Bolton trying to start a fairly needless counter-attack, whilst Leyton Orient opened the scoring at Brisbane Road as a result of Sharman-Lowe hesitating to sweep up from a ball in behind.

These are all goals that, spread out over the course of a season, barely get a mention other than through a cry of frustration from Schumacher.

But, for them to all be bunched together and deny Bolton wins they should have, does seek to make an issue when there isn’t really one there.

The forwards weren’t scoring as many as they should have – but now appear to be clicking. If the defence, and Sharman-Lowe in particular, can start to flourish, then Wanderers, maintaining their current performance level, may well become the dominant side in League One this season.