Preview: Bolton Wanderers vs Wrexham

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You can shove your Peter Drury and your Sky Sports Premier League double header up where the sun don’t shine.

Because this is the real Super Sunday.

Deadpool rocks up at the ToughSheet, in what could be a tired title for Ryan Reynolds’ 12th remake of his famous superhero character’s travails.

Despite two iffy performances in the first week of the season, the bad smell that permeated BL6 all summer after the Wembley debacle has dissipated somewhat, after a gritty (perhaps scabby would be a better adjective) 2-1 win at Leyton Orient, a place we lost last season, and a Lazarus-esque penalty shoot-out comeback that meant progression in the Carabao against Mansfield.

Further brightening the spirits were the arrivals of three brand-new shiny toys at the back end of last week. They came in the shape of ex-Arsenal academy wing-back Jordi Osei-Tutu on a 2 year deal from Bochum, perennial League One promotion winning midfield all-rounder Jay Matete on loan from Sunderland, and the big one; John McAtee, the summer’s main target who arrives on a three year deal courtesy of Ian Evatt’s buddy Rob Edwards willingness to let him play regular football, for an undisclosed fee thought to be upwards of seven figures.

The fact that we had (briefly, thanks to a hastily deleted Pete O’Rourke tweet) seemingly lost out in the fight for his signature to the Hollywood allure, and bucket loads of cash in North Wales, makes his capture all the sweeter. And he’s made a good impression thus far, laying on a sitter for Dion Charles within 5 minutes of coming on, with which Dion promptly swiped at fresh air.

Apart from some Premier League loanees, and some other targets which Evatt believes may fall into place as the window’s madness comes to its chaotic conclusion, our main business looks done.

We’ve plugged gaps and upgraded; the influx should give a group, already set on banishing the spectre of that god-awful day in mid-May, the impetus it needs to thrive in the first half of the campaign.

No further injuries were suffered during the dour encounter with the Stags on Tuesday night, which was lit up by two great goals. George Thomason’s placed effort that kissed the bar just about besting DKD’s bustling run and finish.

There is a mooted return for Kyle Dempsey after a knee issue kept him out of our latter pre-season preparations. He would only make the bench at best, with Evatt already given a selection headache by the bright displays of Matete thus far, potentially making the difficult, and previously unthinkable, idea of dropping Josh Sheehan more than a distinct possibility.

The only real dilemmas for Evatt probably lie in which of Victor Adeboyejo or Dion Charles should lead the line, and whether he feels George Johnston can start two games in four days, while managing his return from the ACL injury that ruled him out of the whole of last season.

If not, can he trust Jack Iredale to perform more reliably than he managed at Orient?

The Aussie left sider was seemingly caught out by the sun from Dan Happe’s ball from the back, which led to Charlie Kelman’s smartly taken equaliser.

Chris Forino played the full game on his debut in midweek, after a minor knee injury ruled him out of pre-season, but Evatt’s post-match interviews suggested a slow approach to integrating him into the first team through cup ties at first. The broken and dislocated toes that Will Forrester suffered falling down some stairs sums up his Bolton career, and rules him out for at least 12 weeks, while Gethin Jones is still at least ten days away from a return after his own knee surgery.

The department that seemed the strongest in terms of numbers going into the season all of a sudden is our most depleted.

Bench considerations; like whether to include the hero of midweek, in Luke Southwood to back up the hero of last weekend Nathan Baxter, as Evatt tends to do in ‘big games’, and whether a centre-back will be needed in reserve instead of Randell Williams, who also made his return on Tuesday from the foot issue that ruled him out of Wembley.

The gaffer may decide that with Osei-Tutu finishing his debut last Saturday evening at left wing-back (while I stared longingly at a blank Sky screen), that is ample cover for both wing spots in the team. These are the selection quandaries that will occupy Evatt’s mind while the rest of the league play out their games tomorrow afternoon.

Here’s how I hope we line-up:

Roll on Sunday and a full stadium; but will there be a Hollywood ending for Wrexham, or will it be sunny in Horwich for the Wanderers.

An entertaining Desmond, as Jack Marriott and Elliot Lee goals cancel out Eoin Toal and McAtee strikes.