STEVEN Schumacher missed out on the chance to win his first game in charge – but will he be forced to wait as long as some of his predecessors?

The last three men in charge of the club have got off to a losing start, and of the last 20 Bolton managers and head coaches, only nine have kicked-off with a win.

The job of Bolton Wanderers ‘manager’ was a more clerical one up to the early seventies with Bill Ridding – the man who led the team for the 1958 FA Cup win against Manchester United – the last of the old school secretary-managers.

After that there were a few topsy-turvy years in which Nat Lofthouse took temporary charge of the team and Jimmy McIlroy enjoyed a brief tenure lasting just 18 days. So, to make things more straightforward, we will be picking this up in May 1971, when Jimmy Armfield arrived at Burnden Park with the club in the third tier for the first time in their history.

Lofthouse had also been in temporary charge at the tail end of 1970/71 when Jimmy Meadows’ 11-week stay came to an unsuccessful end and many of the club’s top players had to be sold to pay the bills.

As Steven Schumacher will soon find out, the job rarely gets any easier.

Jimmy Armfield and his captain Warwick Rimmer (Image: NQ)

JIMMY ARMFIELD

Presented with a clean sheet, and a stiff challenge to get Bolton Wanderers moving back in the right direction, Jimmy Armfield was fresh out of his distinguished playing days when he came to Burnden Park. Hs first act was memorably to restore the white shirt and navy shorts combo.

His first game was a 2-2 draw at Boundary Park against Jimmy Frizzell’s Oldham Athletic. John Byrom scored both of Wanderers’ goals on the day, and Armfield had to wait a fortnight for his first victory, which came at Notts County courtesy of a double from Roger Hunt.

Ian Greaves with Frank Worthington (Image: NQ)

IAN GREAVES

Appointed just four hours before a home game against Leyton Orient, Greaves did get off to a winning start, albeit the youthful side picked that day was actually handed in by Armfield, who had accepted an offer to manage Leeds United.

A teenage Peter Reid was given his debut from the substitute’s bench during the 2-0 win, which came courtesy of goals from Roy Greaves and Paul Jones.

A fortnight later, Greaves got the first win completely under his own steam as Hugh Curran scored twice in a home triumph against Cardiff City.

Stan Anderson (Image: NQ)

STAN ANDERSON

Much had changed at Bolton by the time Greaves moved on, and they were now back in the First Division. Anderson had been assistant since George Mulhall had moved on to Bradford City in late 1978 and was initially placed in caretaker charge. But by February 1980, Wanderers had decided he would get the job permanently.

Anderson got off to a wonderful start as Wanderers, slumping at the foot of the table, beat European Cup holders Nottingham Forest 1-0 with a goal from Neil Whatmore.

George Mulhall (Image: NQ)

GEORGE MULHALL

After coming back to assist Anderson the previous season, Wanderers gave Scot Mulhall the opportunity to do things his own way in June 1981, but he job was a difficult one as several big players were released that summer to balance the books and several more were placed on the transfer list.

His first win in charge is still referred to some 44 years later as it came against Derby County at the Baseball Ground and remains the last time a Wanderers side won on the Rams’ own turf.

Chris Thompson and Gerry McElhinney scored the goals in what would be a very difficult campaign for the Whites.

Ex-Bolton Wanderers boss John McGovern (Image: NQ)

JOHN MCGOVERN

After a glittering playing career which had seen him win two European Cups, two league titles and two League Cups under Brian Clough, McGovern took his first managerial job at Burnden to be faced with some major issues on and off the pitch.

His first victory arrived on the second weekend of the season at home to Newcastle United – a game remembered chiefly for the violence off the pitch.

There were 75 arrests, primarily from the 8,000 who travelled from the North East, four police officers were injured, and major damage caused to vehicles outside the ground.

Kevin Keegan had signed in a blaze of publicity at St James’s Park a weekend earlier and he did score from the penalty spot in the second half – but not before John Henry had netted twice and Peter Reid – back from a second broken leg, had given Bolton an unassailable lead.

Charlie Wright in his playing days and as manager of Bolton (Image: NQ)

CHARLIE WRIGHT

Having steered the team to five straight wins in a caretaker spell, the former first team coach struggled to find the same success when he was appointed on a permanent basis in February 1985.

Indeed, his first victory came at the 10th attempt. York City were beaten 3-0 at Bootham Crescent with an own goal, and strikes from Wayne Foster and Jimmy Phillips.

Phil Neal and Nat Lofthouse outside Burnden Park (Image: NQ)

PHIL NEAL

The decorated former Liverpool and England international was appointed in December 1985 and wasted little time in getting his first win, two days after he walked through the doors.

David Cross scored both goals in a 2-0 victory against Doncaster Rovers in front of just 4,546 supporters at Burnden but his second did not arrive until late January at Walsall.

Bruce Rioch and his Bolton chairman Gordon Hargreaves (Image: NQ)

BRUCE RIOCH

Much has been written about the arrival of ex-Scotland international Rioch and the pride he poured back into the club when he was installed as Neal’s successor in May 1992.

He won his first match in charge against Huddersfield Town thanks to a rapid early goal from Andy Walker and another from Julian Darby. And though early-season form was inconsistent, it wasn’t long before the team was burning White Hot.

Colin Todd and Roy McFarland (Image: NQ)

ROY MCFARLAND/COLIN TODD

Post-Rioch, play-off hero Fabian DeFreitas and Alan Stubbs scored against Blackburn Rovers in what would be a first win for the doomed combination of McFarland and Todd in the Premier League.

Todd went out alone from January 2, 1996, and John McGinlay’s penalty earned him a first victory against Wimbledon as the team launched a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful fight to avoid the drop in the second half of the season.

Sam Allardyce (Image: PA)

SAM ALLARDYCE

After Todd’s successful and fondly remembered spell ended in resignation over the sale of Per Frandsen, Sam Allardyce came in from Notts County to launch a frankly unimaginable spell in Bolton’s history.

Phil Brown may think himself unlucky that an excellent run in caretaker charge did not get him the job – but Big Sam came back to rip up the script, and earned a first win at the fourth attempt in the league as Swindon Town were beaten at the Reebok 2-0 with goals from Bob Taylor and Bo Hansen.

Sammy Lee on his first day in charge at Bolton (Image: PA)

SAMMY LEE

With Allardyce’s long reign over and a summer of frantic rebuilding still looking only halfway finished, Sammy Lee’s disastrous reign began in August 2007 and would see him win just one of 11 league games.

That solitary triumph, at the fourth attempt, was at home to Reading thanks to goals from Gary Speed, Nicolas Anelka and Daniel Braaten.

His only other win was in the UEFA Cup at Rabotnicki, with Anelka again responsible.

Gary Megson

GARY MEGSON

It took the ‘Ginger Mourinho’ four league games to chalk up his first win after being appointed fresh from a 41-day reign at Leicester City in October 2007. That spell had also seen him take a back seat to Archie Knox in a 1-1 draw against Braga in the UEFA Cup.

But Megson started in style, and Anelka’s 11th minute goal gave them a first home win against Manchester United since December 1978.

Owen Coyle

OWEN COYLE

The former Bolton striker secured his first win in charge against Sheffield United in the FA Cup fourth round with Gretar Steinsson and Johan Elmander on target.

His first league win came against his former employers, Burnley, in an emotionally charged night at the Reebok settled by Chung-Yong Lee’s second half strike.

(Image: PA)

DOUGIE FREEDMAN

The Scot was appointed in late October 2012 after a messy separation from Crystal Palace and took a backseat as Sammy Lee and Jimmy Phillips took charge of a 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.

Freedman’s ‘official’ first game was a 2-1 win against Cardiff City, with Martin Petrov and Chung Yong Lee on the scoresheet.

Neil Lennon

NEIL LENNON

There were always going to be fireworks with Neil Lennon in charge at Bolton and things got off to a dramatic start in October 2014 as Matt Mills supplied a winning goal at Birmingham City.

But Lennon was sent from the touchline by the end of the game when he encroached upon the pitch after Craig Davies missed a penalty.

Phil Parkinson

PHIL PARKINSON

After his appointment in June 2016, Parkinson wasted no time chalking up a first win – and it was done with typical efficiency at home to Sheffield United, who would go on to win the League One title ahead of the Whites that season.

Jay Spearing scored the winning goal and the clean sheet was one of 19 clean sheets in all competitions that season.

His second win a week later at AFC Wimbledon was the first away from home for Bolton in 495 days.

Keith Hill before his first game in charge at Rotherham (Image: Camerasport)

KEITH HILL

After a whirlwind weekend in which the club, fresh out of administration, appointed a new management team and bought an entire squad, it was not a surprise that it took a while to settle.

Hill lost 6-1 at Rotherham in his first game in charge and it was eighth time lucky at Bristol Rovers on October 22, 2019, where Luke and Daryl Murphy scored to hand the Boltonian his first victory.

Ian Evatt was appointed in July 2020 (Image: Camerasport)

IAN EVATT

Like Hill, it took some time for Evatt’s new squad to gel in the post-Covid era, and he actually became the first Bolton manager to lose all of his first five games in charge league and cup before finally racking up a win at Harrogate in a game played at Doncaster Rovers.

Eoin Doyle and Nathan Delfouneso scored the goals at the Keepmoat, with no fans allowed inside the building.