Bolton Club Information

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About Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football club based in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently in the Premier League.

Founder members of the Football League, Bolton were a successful cup side in the 1920s, winning the FA Cup three times. The club won the cup a fourth time in 1958 thanks to two Nat Lofthouse goals. A leaner spell followed, reaching a nadir in 1987 when the club spent a season in the Fourth Division. The club regained top-flight status in 1995 after a 15 year absence; their current spell in the top division started in 2001. In 2005–06 they participated in European competition for the first time, reaching the last 32 of the UEFA Cup. Bolton qualified for the 2007–08 tournament by finishing 7th in the 2006–07 Premier League season and this time they managed to reach the last 16 of the competition. Bolton Wanderers moved to the Reebok Stadium in 1997. Their former home was Burnden Park.

Bolton have spent the highest number of seasons in the top flight without winning the title

Bolton's Colours and badge

Bolton Wanderers' home colours are white shirts with navy trim, worn with navy shorts and socks. Their current away kit colours are black with turquoise 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 2003. 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.

Notable 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 was nicknamed Big Sam by the media and fans of the club. Manager from 1999-2007.

Bolton's Recent history

Bolton reached the Premiership in 1995 under the management of Rioch, thanks to a victory over Reading in the Division One playoff final. Rioch left to take charge at Arsenal after the promotion success and was replaced by Roy McFarland, who was joined by his former assistant Colin Todd. Bolton were bottom for virtually all of the 1995–96 Premiership campaign and Bolton dismissed McFarland on New Year's Day 1996 and appointed Todd in his place. Todd was unable to save Bolton from relegation as they lost their penultimate game 4-1 to Manchester United, but the Bolton board kept faith in him. 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.

Bolton were relegated on goal difference at the end of the 1997–98 Premiership campaign. Bolton reached the 1999 Division One playoff final but lost 2-0 to Watford. Todd resigned as manager soon after and was replaced by Sam Allardyce. Bolton reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, Worthington Cup and play-offs but lost to Aston Villa, Tranmere Rovers and Ipswich Town respectively. In 2000–01 Bolton were promoted back to the Premier League after beating Preston North End in the play-off final.

Bolton struggled in the following two seasons, but survived in the Premier League. The 2001/02 season began with a shock as they destroyed Leicester 5-0 at Filbert Street to go top of the table. They won their next two games, including a narrow victory over Liverpool, and were suddenly the Premiership's pace setters. Despite a memorable 2-1 win away at Manchester United, they went into an awful slump during the middle of the season and needed a Fredi Bobic hattrick against Ipswich Town to survive. 16th place was secured despite losing the final three games. The arrivals of experienced international players Bobic and Youri Djorkaeff proved vital, as did the emergence of Kevin Nolan and Michael Ricketts.

In the 2002-03 season Bolton made a poor start and, despite another win away at Manchester United, they were bottom until a vital and spectacular 4-2 win against Leeds at Elland Road. Despite suffering from a lack of consistency, Bolton ground out the results needed and secured survival in a final day 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough. The star of the season, Jay Jay Okocha, was another high profile signing and would go on to be a legend at the Reebok Stadium.

Bolton reached the League Cup final in 2004, but lost to Middlesbrough. Nevertheless, Bolton finished eighth in the league, at the time their highest finish in their Premiership history. In 2005 Bolton finished sixth in the league, thus earning qualification for the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. The following season, they reached the last 32 but were eliminated by French team Marseille as they lost 2-1 on aggragate. In April 2007, towards the end of 2006–07 season, manager Allardyce resigned. In his final four seasons at Bolton, Allardyce had recorded consecutive top ten finishes, a record of consistency bettered only by the big four of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Allardyce was replaced by his assistant Sammy Lee, who secured Bolton's qualification for the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. After gaining only one league win in eleven matches, Lee left Bolton in October 2007 and was replaced by Gary Megson.

Megson guided Bolton to survival with a 16th place finish, their safety being confirmed on the final day of the season, as they went on an unbeaten run for their final five games, and broke Bolton's record transfer fee with the signing of Johan Elmander from Toulouse for 11 million pounds on the 27th of June 2008