Louie Barry worry knocked back as Bolton Wanderers eye Stockport County scalp | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers have been urged not to focus too much on Stockport County key man Louie Barry ahead of the League One play-off final.

This weekend sees Bolton Wanderers take on Stockport County in the League One play-off final – two years since losing the same fixture to Oxford United at Wembley Stadium.

Ever since their fall into League Two after financial ruin in the late-2010’s, Bolton have steadily rebuilt the club, on and off the pitch, with the goal of returning to the Championship at the very least.

That mission to get back into the second-tier seemed on track for much of the Football Ventures era but has stalled in recent seasons, with this being their third play-off campaign in four years.

Now, though, they head to Wembley Stadium on the back of a mature performance in the semi-finals to ensure a 2-0 aggregate victory against Bradford City, while Stockport saw Stevenage off by three goals to nil over the two legs.

The Hatters possess some real quality and have had the better of it over their Greater Manchester rivals in recent years, with a famous FA Cup win in 2021 when they were a National League side, which has been backed up by three wins and a draw in four League One clashes in the last two seasons.

One man that Stockport relied upon in the final third in that time is Louie Barry.

Louie Barry in form but Bolton urged to resist being too distracted by him

Louie Barry has begun to rediscover his previously electric Stockport form, having rejoined the club back on a permanent deal from Villa in the January transfer window.

A late-season hat-trick and some excellent performances in the play-offs against Stevenage, including a trademark style goal in the second-leg at Edgeley Park, will be a concern for Bolton this weekend.

However, with Bolton boasting their own barrage of attacking outlets, FLW’s Bolton Fan Pundit Liam O’Meara has urged the Whites to focus on themselves first, before worrying about Barry and the opposition.

Liam says: “Louie Barry is a very good player, but I wouldn’t say I’m sat fearing Louie Barry.

“Not because he can’t hurt Bolton, he definitely can – he can hurt most teams. This is a League One play-off final and, in my opinion, the third and fourth best teams in the league, so you’d expect to have good players.

“He’s not the only one. I think (Ollie) Norwood could have a big say on this if it’s going to be a good day for Stockport as well.

“Of course Louie Barry can hurt us. I would say that Jordi Osei-Tutu has been one of our better performing players over the last few months. He certainly had a very good game in the away leg of the semi-final away at Bradford, so I’d like to think he can get up against him.

“They have good players but so do we, and I think what we need to focus on is what we bring to the table and I think we’ll be OK.”

Bolton will believe they have found control under Steven Schumacher

Steven Schumacher, in his first full season at the club and with a completely transformed squad and recruitment department, has done a fine job this season.

The concerns that many supporters may have aren’t necessarily to do with the management of the side; with key issues being a profligacy in attack and lapses in concentration at the back.

Their scoring issues appeared to be solved as the season came to an end, but that became offset against a previously stern defence, at least in terms of numbers, shipping more and more.

The play-off semi-final against Bradford, though, appeared to see Bolton find the perfect balance with maturity and, most importantly, control; limiting what was a limited Bradford attack.

Jordi Osei-Tutu was tremendous in the second-leg of that tie and his battle against Barry could well prove decisive at Wembley on Sunday – but there will be a hope that Wanderers have found enough control to ensure Barry doesn’t find too much space and becomes capable of isolating the former Arsenal man.