4-3-3 was developed and established by Ajax and the Dutch in the early 70s, as part of their Total Football. Nowadays it's rarely used, since it greatly weakens the midfield. When used indeed, it is more of a 4-5-1 with 2 defensive midfielders and 2 wingers with full attacking mentality, which turn the system in a clear 4-3-3 when attacking.

Our 4-3-3 starting 11 at Bolton can be seen at the graph below, as chosen by the assistant on the season's first day.

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This time we will see results the other way round. How many times have you received this reaction from the fans?  Although the board seems not to be outrageous, not yet at least, the fans have been conspiring to throw me off the club!

Why is this?  Well, a 15th place for a start.

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The defense has greatly improved, yet despite the three attackers, attack is worse than ever, scoring a mere 47  in 18 league matches, and 51 if you take cup matches into account as well.

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I can't definitely say that those bad performances with 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 formation are completely independent of Bolton's lack of suitable players, who could fit in these tactics, but definitely  formations with three attackers seem , so far, something to avoid.