Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Bolton Wanderers
	Bolton Wanderers crest
Full name	Bolton Wanderers Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Trotters
Founded	1874, as Christ Church FC
Ground	Reebok Stadium; Horwich; Bolton; England
Capacity	28,723
Chairman	Phil Gartside
Manager	Sam Allardyce
League	Premier League
2005-06	Premier League, 8th
Home colours	Away colours

Bolton Wanderers Football Club are an English professional football club based at the Middlebrook complex, in the Borough of Bolton, in the North West of England. They are currently in the Premier League. In 2005–06 they participated in European competition for the first time but were knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the round of 32 by Marseille.

Bolton Wanderers moved to the Reebok Stadium in 1997. Their former home was Burnden Park. The club's president is Nat Lofthouse and their manager is Sam Allardyce.The club's chairman is Phil Gartside. Other personnel include Sammy Lee (assistant manager) and Ricky Sbragia (first team coach).

History

Early history

Bolton Wanderers was founded in 1874, and its original name was Christ Church FC. They were one of the original 12 founder members of the Football League. Having remained in the Football League since its formation, Bolton have spent more time in the top flight (Premier League/old First Division) than out of it.

From 1935 to 1964, Bolton enjoyed an uninterrupted stay in the top flight- regarded by fans as a golden era, spearheaded in the 1950s by Nat Lofthouse. They would not return to the top flight until 1978, where they lasted but two seasons before a period of further decline set in.

Bolton Wanderers have not won a major trophy since 1958, when two Nat Lofthouse goals saw them overcome Manchester United in the FA Cup final in front of a 100,000 crowd at Wembley. The closest they have come to winning a major trophy since then is finishing runners-up in the League Cup, first in 1995 and again in 2004.

At the end of the 1986–87 season, Bolton Wanderers suffered relegation to the Fourth Division for the first time in their history. But the board kept faith in manager Phil Neal and they won promotion back to the Third Division at the first attempt. The deciding goal was scored by Robbie Savage in a 1-0 win at Wrexham. Neal remained in charge until the summer of 1992 when he made way for Bruce Rioch, who a few years earlier had won two successive promotions with Middlesbrough. Being rivals and neighbours of the small town of Bury they still seem unable to beat the Shakers (Bury's nickname).

Bolton reach the Premiership

Bolton reached the Premiership in 1995, under the management of Bruce Rioch, thanks to a victory over Reading in the Division One playoff final. After being 2–0 down at half-time, two goals from Bolton in the final 15 minutes of the game forced extra time and they went on to win 4-3 and return to top division football after a 15-year exile. They had been on the losing side at Wembley a few weeks earlier, having lost 2-1 to Liverpool in the League Cup final.

Rioch left to take charge at Arsenal after the promotion success. He was replaced by Derby County manager Roy McFarland, who was joined by his former assistant Colin Todd. Bolton were bottom for virtually all of the 1995-96 Premiership campaign and despite several new signings, Bolton dismissed McFarland on New Year's Day 1995 and appointed Todd in his place. Todd was unable to save Bolton from relegation but the board kept faith in him. It is worth noting, however, that Bolton's form improved noticeably under Todd with 19 points from their last 16 games.

The Bolton board's loyalty in Todd was rewarded when they won promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt thanks to a season in which they achieved 98 league points and 100 goals in the process of securing the Division One Championship. They could have achieved 100 league points and 100 league goals save for drawing the last game of the season at Tranmere Rovers 2-2.

A second relegation and another promotion

Bolton were relegated on goal difference at the end of the 1997-98 Premiership campaign, going down to Division One with the previous season's other two promoted sides— Barnsley and Crystal Palace. Bolton reached the 1999 Division One playoff final but lost to Watford. Colin Todd resigned as manager soon after and was replaced by Notts County's Sam Allardyce.

1999-00 brought disappointment for Bolton under their new manager as they lost in the semi finals of the Division One playoffs, the League Cup and the FA Cup. However, happier times were around the corner as in 2000–01 Sam Allardyce and his team got it right by beating Preston North End 3-0 in the Division One playoff final with goals from Gareth Farrelly, Michael Ricketts and Ricardo Gardner respectively. The club was then promoted back to the Premiership.

Staying up

Bolton went top of the Premiership after winning their first three games of the 2001-02 season, but failed to keep up their winning ways and wallowed away to 16th place in the final table - just enough to secure their first-ever Premiership survival, and their first top flight survival since 1979.

Bolton struggled throughout 2002-03 but managed to stay up, winning their final game of the season 2-1 against Middlesbrough thanks to goals from Per Frandsen and Jay Jay Okocha. The victory condemned West Ham United to relegation. In 2003-04, despite a poor start which saw them lose 6-2 to Manchester City and 4-0 to both Manchester United and Premiership newcomers Portsmouth, Bolton nevertheless enjoyed their best season for some 50 years. They reached the League Cup final, losing 2-1 to Middlesbrough. Despite this setback, Bolton finished eighth - much higher than most pundits had predicted them to finish when the season began, and could even have gone one higher on the final day mid-May 2004 had they won their last match; however, a 2-0 defeat at home to Fulham (Bolton's then-bogey team in the Premiership) saw their excellent season end on something of a disappointing note. However, although nobody could have known it at this time, better things were still to come...

Qualification for Europe

Bolton's impressive progress continued in 2004-05. They secured an impressive sixth place finish - equal on points with European champions Liverpool, who finished fifth by goal difference - and qualified for European competition (the UEFA Cup) for the first time in their history. Only a 1-1 draw away at Portsmouth in their penultimate match of the season (when they conceded a last-minute equalizer to the South Coast club having led most of the match) prevented them from jumping both Liverpool and fourth-placed Everton into the final Champions League slot.

Bolton's renaissance continued into 2005-06, when they achieved another eighth place in the Premiership. The club's first foray into European football saw them knock out Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the opening round. In the group stage they played Turkish giants Besiktas, Vitória de Guimarães, Zenit St. Petersburg and eventual winners Sevilla in which they were unbeaten. They progressed in the knockout stages where they were knocked out by Marseille in the last 32.

A further sign of the club's recent progression came when Sam Allardyce was linked with the England manager's job after it was announced that Sven-Göran Eriksson would step down after the 2006 World Cup. Allardyce was also linked with the Newcastle manager's job until it was given to Glenn Roeder.

Bolton broke their transfer record in August 2006 with the £8 million signing of French striker Nicolas Anelka from Turkish side Fenerbahce. His first goals came in the 3-1 victory over Arsenal, his old side.

Season Ticket Price Cut

On February 20 2007, Bolton Wanderers became the first club in the Premier League to announce a price reduction (10%)of their season tickets (for the forthcoming 2007/2008 campaign). Other clubs (Manchester City and Chelsea) announced price freezes, but Bolton were the first to claim an actual reduction.

FA Cup history

Bolton Wanderers were the first team to win the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium, beating West Ham United 2-0 in 1923 in what would be remembered as the White Horse Final. The Bolton scorers that day were David Jack and John Smith. This was not Bolton's first cup final. They had lost previous finals to Notts County and Manchester City before eventually becoming victorious.

They also won the FA Cup in 1926, 1929, and 1958 beating Manchester City, Portsmouth and Manchester United respectively.

Bolton also played in one of the most famous FA Cup finals of all time - The Stanley Matthews Final - in 1953. Bolton lost the game to Blackpool 4-3 after throwing away a 3-1 lead. Blackpool were victorious thanks to the skills of Matthews and the goals of Stan Mortensen.

In 1993 Bolton Wanderers beat FA Cup holders Liverpool 2-0 in a third round replay thanks to goals from John McGinlay and Andy Walker. The club also defeated higher division opposition in the form of Wolves that year before bowing out to Derby County.

In 1994 Bolton Wanderers beat FA Cup holders Arsenal 3-1 in a fourth round replay, and went on to reach the Quarter Finals, bowing out 1-0 at home to local rivals Oldham Athletic. Bolton also defeated top division opposition in the form of Everton and Aston Villa that year.

In 2000 Bolton Wanderers reached the Semi Finals of the FA Cup at Wembley but were defeated by Aston Villa in a penalty shoot-out. The defeat meant that Bolton could not achieve the historic feat of featuring in the first and last cup finals at Wembley. Record-signing Dean Holdsworth scored his penalty after earlier missing a glorious chance to put Bolton in the final. Wanderers lost after Allan Johnston and Michael Johansen saw their efforts saved by England goalkeeper David James.

Honours

FA Cup winners (4) - 1923, 1926, 1929, 1958
FA Cup runners up - 1894, 1904, 1953
League Cup runners up - 1995, 2004
Football League War Cup North - 1945
Football League War Cup - 1945
FA Charity Shield - 1958
Second Tier
- Football League First Division Champions - 1997
- Football League Second Division Champions - 1909, 1978
Third Tier - Football League Third Division Champions - 1973
Sherpa Van Trophy Winners - 1989
Freight Rover Trophy runners up - 1986
Lancashire Cup winners - 1886, 1891, 1912, 1922, 1925, 1927, 1932, 1934, 1948, 1988, 1990
Central League Champions (reserves) - 1955, 1995
FA Premier League Asia Trophy - 2005

Memorable games

1923 FA Cup vs. West Ham United. The legendary "White Horse" final, named after the horse police used to usher the fans off the pitch to begin the game. Bolton won 2-0 in the first ever final to be played at Wembley Stadium. The club went on to win the Cup twice more in that decade, in 1926 and 1929.
1953 FA Cup Final vs. Blackpool - argued as the most exciting Cup Final ever. Bolton led for the majority of the game, but Blackpool eventually came from behind to beat the Trotters 4-3. Later to be commonly known as the "Matthews Final"
1958 FA Cup Final vs. Manchester United. - having suffered the Munich Tragedy which claimed many members of Matt Busby's team, United reached the final, only to lose to Bolton with two goals from Nat Lofthouse. Boltons team at the time were known as the £110 team, as each player was paid £10 for signing up to the game.
1979 Division 1 vs. Manchester United - two goals from Bolton legend Frank Worthington sealed a win over United at Old Trafford.
1983 - Division 3 vs. Walsall - an 8-1 win over Walsall saw Bolton's biggest win of modern times. Striker Tony Caldwell scored 5 goals in the victory to equal the club record for number of goals scored in a game. Other goalscorers were Ray Deakin, Simon Rudge and Peter Valentine.
1988 Division 4 vs. Wrexham - a 1-0 away win at Wrexham courtesy of a Robbie Savage goal sealed Bolton's promotion back to Division 3 at the first attempt. The win signalled the start of the long road back to achieving the club's past glories.
1989 Sherpa Van Trophy Final vs. Torquay United - a 4-1 win over Torquay enabled Phil Brown to lift the cup at Wembley. Goalscorers that day were Julian Darby, Dean Crombie, Trevor Morgan and Jeff Chandler.
1993 FA Cup 3rd round replay vs. Liverpool - this game really kicked off Bolton's resurgence under Bruce Rioch. Having drawn at home, Bolton went to Anfield to beat the holders of the FA Cup, with goals from Andy Walker and John McGinlay. The match is now commonly known to Bolton fans as "White Hot One", in reference to the headline in the local newspaper the following day.
1993 Division 3 vs. Preston NE - a tense game was settled by a penalty from John McGinlay which sent Bolton back to Division 2 (now the Championship/Division 1) for the first time since their fall from grace in the early 1980s.
1995 League Cup semi final (2nd Leg) vs. Swindon Town - Bolton love their cup games! Having lost the away leg, Bolton fell further behind in the second half of the Burnden leg before Jason McAteer and Mixu Paatelainen levelled the game. John McGinlay poached the winner with five minutes remaining.
1995 League Cup final vs. Liverpool - heartbreak for Bolton. Wanderers lose 2-1 in their first major cup final since 1958. Two goals from Steve McManaman put Liverpool in the lead before a late Alan Thompson consolation for Bolton.
1995 Division 1 Play Off Final vs. Reading - a true epic. Having gone 2-0 down in the first 15 minutes, Bolton's keeper Keith Branagan saved a penalty before half time, before the Whites levelled the game in the second half with goals from Owen Coyle and Fabian De Freitas. Mixu Paatelainen and De Freitas with a second put Bolton 4-2 ahead in extra time before Reading gained a late consolation. This game earned Bolton promotion back to the top flight for the first time since 1979.
2001 Bolton beat Preston North End F.C. 3-0 at the Millennium Stadium in the Division 1 Play off final, thus gaining promotion back to the Premiership. Michael Ricketts, Gareth Farrelly and Ricardo Gardner were the goalscorers.
2001 Bolton won 2-1 away to Manchester United after falling behind, thus becoming the first team since the formation of the Premiership to come from behind and win a league game at Old Trafford. Bolton's goalscorers that day were Michael Ricketts and Kevin Nolan.
2004 Bolton were beaten 2-1 by Middlesbrough F.C. to become runners up in the Carling Cup for the second time in 9 years.
2005 Bolton drew 1-1 with Portsmouth to qualify for Europe for the first time.
2005 Bolton overcome a two leg tie again Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Plovdiv to qualify fully for the UEFA cup group stage. Winning 2-1 in both games sees them through, the goals coming from El-Hadji Diouf, Jared Borgetti, Kevin Nolan, and a Tunchev own goal.

Colours and badge

Bolton Wanderers' home colours are white shirts with navy trim, worn with white shorts and socks. Their current away kit colours are portuguese red with gold and black trim. Bolton did not always wear the white kit they do today, in 1884 they wore white with red spots. Bolton's traditional colours are white shirts with navy blue shorts. The navy blue shorts were dispensed with in the early 2000s. The club had tried an earlier experiment with an all white kit in the 1970s.

The Bolton Wanderers club badge consists of the initials of the club in the shape of a ball, with red and blue ribbons beneath. The ribbons controversially replaced the red rose of Lancashire following the club's move to the Reebok Stadium. The club's original badge was the town crest of Bolton.

New stadium

After 102 years at the historic and atmospheric Burnden Park, Bolton Wanderers relocated to the new 28,700-seater Reebok Stadium (named after the club's long-term sponsors) which was built five miles away from Bolton town centre at the Middlebrook complex for the 1997–98 season.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	OMA	Ali Al Habsi
2	DF	ENG	Nicky Hunt
4	MF	ENG	Kevin Nolan (captain)
5	DF	CIV	Abdoulaye Méïté
6	MF	WAL	Gary Speed
7	MF	GRE	Stelios Giannakopoulos
8	MF	ESP	Iván Campo
9	FW	DEN	Henrik Pedersen
11	DF	JAM	Ricardo Gardner
12	GK	ENG	Ian Walker
14	FW	ENG	Kevin Davies
15	MF	ENG	David Thompson
16	MF	IRN	Andranik Teymourian
17	MF	RSA	Quinton Fortune


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
21	FW	SEN	El-Hadji Diouf
22	GK	FIN	Jussi Jääskeläinen
23	MF	ISR	Idan Tal
24	MF	EIR	Joey O'Brien
25	DF	SEN	Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye
26	DF	ISR	Tal Ben Haim
27	DF	ESP	César Martín
29	FW	SVK	Zoltán Harsányi (on loan from Senec)
39	FW	FRA	Nicolas Anelka
41	DF	POL	Jarosław Fojut
44	DF	POL	Błażej Augustyn
46	DF	AUS	Scott Jamieson

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
20	FW	POR	Ricardo Vaz Té (on loan to Hull City)
28	DF	SVK	Ľubomír Michalík (on loan to Leeds United)
30	GK	ENG	Chris Howarth (on loan to Carlisle United)
42	FW	USA	Johann Smith (on loan to Carlisle United)

Youth players

––	FW	ENG	James Sinclair
––	MF	ENG	Robert Sissons
––	DF	ENG	Danny Stott
––	MF	EIR	Matthew Cassidy
––	DF	ENG	Mark Charlesworth
––	DF	ENG	Mark Ellis
––	DF	ENG	Sean Mountford
––	MF	EIR	Michael Roddy
––	FW	ENG	Leslie Thompson
––	FW	ENG	Nathan Wolfe
––	MF	ENG	Chris Basham
––	DF	ENG	Duncan Gordon
––	DF	LBR	David Gbemie
––	GK	ENG	Robert Lainton
––	GK	POL	Przemysław Kazimierczak (on loan at Accrington Stanley)
––	MF	ENG	Temitope Obadeyi
––	MF	ENG	Sam Sheridan
––	FW	GER	Kevin Wolze

Future transfers for 2007/2008

––	MF	SUI	Blerim Džemaili (from FC Zurich)
––	DF	FRA	Gerald Cid (from FC Girondins de Bordeaux)

Management

Position	Name	Nation
Manager	Sam Allardyce
Assistant Manager	Sammy Lee
First Team Coach	Ricky Sbragia
Fitness Coach	Damien Roden
Head of Sports Medicine	Mark Sertori
Conditioning Coach	Mark Howard
Youth Academy Director	Chris Sulley
Goalkeeping Coach	Fred Barber
Head of Technical Scouting	Dave Fallows
Kit Manager	Russell Byrne-Fraser

Famous former players

Listed according to year of Bolton first-team debut (year in parentheses):

1880s: James Cassidy (1889)
- Cassidy scored 101 goals in 291 games for Bolton including five goals in the club's record 13-0 win over Sheffield United.

1900s: Joe Smith (1908)
- Played for Bolton until 1927 scoring 277 goals in 492 games.

1910s: Ted Vizard (1910)
- Vizard made 467 appearances for Bolton, playing for the last time in 1931 at the age of 41.

1920s: Alec Finney (1920), David Jack (1920)
- Finney was one of the members of the successful 1920s Wanderers side who triumphed in the famous White Horse Final in 1923.
- Jack scored the first ever goal at Wembley in the 1923 FA Cup Final and played for Bolton for a number of years before joining Arsenal for a then world record transfer fee.

1940s: Nat Lofthouse (1946)
- 'The Lion of Vienna', Nat is Bolton's most famous player. The club's leading goalscorer with 285 goals he is now Bolton's Honorary President. He was capped 33 times by England scoring 30 goals.

1950s: Ray Parry (1951), Roy Hartle (1952), Eddie Hopkinson (1956)
- Parry was a member of the 1958 FA Cup winning side and made his first-team debut at only 15 years old.
- Hartle was a member of the 1958 FA Cup winning side and spent 11 years at the club.
- Hopkinson is regarded as Bolton's greatest ever keeper playing a record 578 games for the club.

1960s: Francis Lee (1960), Roy Greaves (1967)
- Bolton born Lee made his debut for the club at 16 and played for the club for 3 years before joining Manchester City, going on to win England honours and becoming a millionaire businessman.
- Another Bolton lad, Greaves played for the club for fifteen years.

1970s: Peter Reid (1974), Frank Worthington (1978)
- An apprentice with the club, Reid spent eight years at Bolton before joining Everton, going on to win England caps and play in the 1986 World Cup.
- A noted difficult man to contain both on and off the pitch, Worthington scored the goal that is considered the best ever in Bolton's history in the home league match against Ipswich Town in 1978.

1980s: Brian Kidd (1980), Steve Thompson (1982), Julian Darby (1985)
- A European Cup winning goalscorer with Manchester United in 1968 when just a teenager, Kidd came to Bolton late in his career, making them the third team in the Manchester area he played for.
- Thompson was the powerhouse in the Bolton midfield during the club's spell in the lower divisions.
- Bolton born, Darby was a loyal servant for the club before being sent to Coventry City.

1990s: Alan Stubbs (1990), Andy Walker (1992), Jason McAteer (1992), John McGinlay (1992), Owen Coyle (1993), Mixu Paatelainen (1994), Guðni Bergsson (1995), Per Frandsen (1996), Eiður Guðjohnsen (1998), Claus Jensen (1998)
- Stubbs was a consistent performer in defence. After leaving Bolton, Stubbs was successful in Scotland with Celtic, beating testicular cancer into the bargain, before joining his boyhood club Everton.
- Andy Walker joined Bolton Wanderers from Glasgow Celtic and was a prolific goalscorer for the club until he sustained a bad knee injury in a game against Swansea City.
- McAteer's midfield performances were a major part of Bolton's meteoric rise during the 1990s .McAteer is currently seeing his career out with Tranmere Rovers.
- Aka 'Super John' is still well regarded at the club, being the last goalscorer at Burnden Park. McGinlay scored a number of crucial goals in big games during his time with the club. He now resides in America with his family in Cincinnati
- A qualified lawyer in his home country of Iceland, Bergsson was captain of the team that kept Bolton in the top division for the longest period since the 1960s. Was persuaded to put off his retirement from football twice by manager Sam Allardyce.
- Frandsen's transfer to local rivals Blackburn Rovers was the final straw for manager Colin Todd who resigned soon after. Ironically, Frandsen did not stay at Ewood Park long and returned to Bolton. Saw out his career at another Lancashire club, Wigan Athletic.
- Guðjohnsen, now at Barcelona, moved from Bolton to Chelsea in the summer of 2000 after Bolton lost in that year's playoff semi-final. It was Bolton who gave him a fresh start after injury threatened his career and, during his time at Chelsea, he was still greeted with affection whenever he played at the Reebok which was reciprocated.
- Now at Fulham, Jensen left Bolton at the same time as Gudjohnsen when they failed in their promotion bid in 2000.

2000s: Michael Ricketts (2000), Bruno N'Gotty (2001), Youri Djorkaeff (2002), Jay-Jay Okocha (2002), Fernando Hierro, (2004), Hidetoshi Nakata, Jared Borgetti (2005)
- The first Bolton player to be capped by England since Freddie Hill, Ricketts subsequently lost form, fell out with Sam Allardyce and was transferred out of the club.
- Bruno N'Gotty was an immense presence in defence for Bolton Wanderers and helped to establish the club in the top half of the Premiership. He was given a free transfer in 2006 and joined Birmingham City.
- Known as 'Le God' by Bolton fans, Djorkaeff was the first high profile name to sign for Bolton in the 21st century, paving the way for future big names like Okocha, Campo and Nakata. Initially signed on loan from Kaiserslautern to help in the survival battle of 2001–2002 (a move that helped him win a place in France's 2002 World Cup squad) he played for the club for a further two years.
- A member of FIFA's Best 100 living players, manager Sam Allardyce made Okocha captain when Bergsson retired. T-Shirts stated that he was so good they named him twice.
- Real Madrid's European Cup winning captain, Hierro was only at Bolton for one year but became a firm fan's favourite. His signing proved that Bolton were becoming a name in European football.
- Former Japan international midfielder and captain, who spent seven years in Serie A, before signing for Bolton.
- Mexican all-time leading goalscorer spent one season in Bolton.

Famous managers

Charles Foweraker - 3 times FA Cup winning manager during the 1920s. Manager from 1919–44.
Bill Ridding built an FA Cup winning team in 1958 at a cost of just £110. Manager from 1951–68.
Bruce Rioch took the club into the Premiership for the first time in their history following two promotions in three years. During that time the club enjoyed a number of good cup runs in which higher placed teams, often from the Premiership, were defeated. Manager from 1992–95.
Colin Todd secured promotion to the Premiership in 1997 with a club record 98 point tally. Manager from 1996–99.
Sam Allardyce took Bolton to the Carling Cup Final in 2004 and brought European football to the club for the first time in its history when qualifying for the UEFA Cup in 2005. He is nicknamed Big Sam by the media and fans of the club. Manager from 1999–present.