Bolton Wanderers F.C.

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Full name

Bolton Wanderers Football Club

Nickname(s)

The Trotters

Founded

1874 (as Christ Church FC)

Ground

Reebok Stadium
Burnden Way
Horwich
Bolton
England
(Capacity 28,723^[1])

Chairman

Manager

League

Premier League, 16th





Home colours





Away colours

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football club based in Horwich, in the Borough of Bolton, 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 (69, as of 2007-08)^[2]

1 History
- 1.1 Early history
- 1.2 Recent history
2 Honours
3 Premier League Record
4 Memorable games
5 Colours and badge
6 Players
7 Management
8 Notable former players
9 Notable managers
10 Managers
11 Shirt sponsors
12 References
13 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

The club was founded by the Reverend John Farrall Wright in 1874 as Christ Church FC, but changed its name to Bolton Wanderers in 1877. Bolton were one of the 12 founder members of the Football League, which formed in 1888.^[3] 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.

Bolton won the celebrated 1923 F.A. Cup Final.

In 1894 Bolton reached the final of football's oldest competition, the FA Cup, for the first time, but lost 4–1 to Notts County at Goodison Park. A decade later they were runners-up a second time, losing 1–0 to local rivals Manchester City at Crystal Palace on April 23, 1904.^[4] On April 28, 1923 Bolton won the cup at their third attempt to win their first major trophy, beating West Ham United 2–0 in the first ever Wembley final. The match, famously known as The White Horse Final was played in front of over 127,000 supporters. Bolton's centre-forward, David Jack scored the first ever goal at Wembley Stadium. They became the most successful cup side of the twenties, also winning in 1926 and 1929, beating Manchester City and Portsmouth respectively.

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. In 1953 Bolton played in one of the most famous FA Cup finals of all time - The Stanley Matthews Final of 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.

Bolton Wanderers have not won a major trophy since 1958, when two 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 thrilling 1-0 win at Wrexham. Wrexham missed a penalty in the opening 30 minutes and both teams squandered a succession of chances. Bolton's Robbie Savage hit the post from a free kick before the ref blew the final whistle. 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.

In the early part of Rioch's tenure, Bolton gained a giantkilling reputation in cup competitions. In 1993 Bolton 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 (2-1) that year before bowing out to Derby County (4-0). In 1994 Bolton 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 (and then Premier League) Oldham Athletic. Bolton also defeated top division opposition in the form of Everton (1-0) and Aston Villa (3-1) that year.

[edit] 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.^[5] 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,^[6] 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^[7] and was replaced by Gary Megson.^[8]

Megson guided Bolton to survival with a 16th place finish, helped by remaining unbeaten in the final 5 games of the season.

[edit] Honours

Major Honours:
FA Cup Winners (4) - 1923, 1926, 1929, 1958
FA Cup Runners up (3) - 1894, 1904, 1953
League Cup Runners up (2) - 1995, 2004
FA Charity Shield (1) - 1958
Second Tier:
Football League First Division Champions (1) - 1997
Football League Second Division Champions (2) - 1909, 1978
Football League First Division Play-Off Winners (2) - 1995, 2001
Third Tier:
Football League Third Division Champions (1) - 1973
Football League Trophy Winners (1) - 1989
Football League Trophy Runners up (1) - 1986
Others:
Football League War Cup Winners (1) - 1945
Football League War Cup North Winners (1) - 1945
FA Premier League Asia Trophy Winners (1) - 2005
Peace Cup Runners up (1) - 2007
Lancashire Cup Winners (11) - 1886, 1891, 1912, 1922, 1925, 1927, 1932, 1934, 1948, 1988, 1990,
Reserves:
Central League Champions - 1955, 1995
Premier Reserve League North Champions - 2007

[edit] Premier League Record

Season	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	Pos	Qualified for
1992-93	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1993-94	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1994-95	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1995-96	38	8	5	25	39	71	-32	29	20	Relegated
1996-97	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1997-98	38	9	13	16	41	61	-20	40	18	Relegated
1998-99	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1999-2000	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2000-01	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2001-02	38	9	13	16	44	62	-18	40	16
2002-03	38	10	14	14	41	51	-10	44	17
2003-04	38	14	11	13	48	56	-8	53	8
2004-05	38	16	10	12	49	44	+5	58	6	UEFA Cup
2005-06	38	15	11	12	49	41	+8	56	8
2006-07	38	16	8	14	47	52	-5	56	7	UEFA Cup
2007-08	38	9	10	19	36	54	-18	37	16

[edit] 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 arch rivals United at Old Trafford, completing the double after Bolton won at home 3-0 earlier in the season.
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 lose 2-0 at Villa Park in the Carling Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg but win 5-4 on aggregate to reach their first major cup final in 9 years.
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 at Fratton Park in their penultimate game of the season to qualify for Europe for the first time. As the result also guaranteed that Portsmouth would not be relegated from the Premiership that season, both sets of fans invaded the pitch at the end of the match.
2005 Bolton overcome a two leg tie against 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.
2007 Bolton drew 2-2 with Aston Villa at home in their final game of the season to finish 7th in the table and secure qualification for Europe for the second time in their history.
2007 Bolton drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in Munich in a UEFA Cup group stage game, Ricardo Gardner and Kevin Davies got the goals.
2007 Bolton beat Manchester United 1-0 at The Reebok Stadium through a Nicolas Anelka goal. This was the first time Bolton had beaten United at home in 29 years.
2007 Bolton were the first British team to beat Red Star Belgrade in Belgrade. A Gavin McCann first half goal sealed a 1-0 win in the UEFA Cup.
2008 Bolton beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the home leg of the last 32 of the UEFA Cup with El-Hadji Diouf scoring the winner. A scoreless draw in the return leg saw Bolton advance further in European competition than ever before.
2008 Bolton beat Sunderland 2-0 on May 3rd, this victory more or less gained them safety. El-Hadji Diouf scored the first goal for Bolton.

[edit] 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 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.

[edit] Players

[edit] Current squad

As of 15 May 2008.^[9]

No.	Position	Player
2	DF	Nicky Hunt
3	DF	Jlloyd Samuel
4	MF	Kevin Nolan (captain)
5	DF	Abdoulaye Méïté
9	FW	Heiðar Helguson
11	DF	Ricardo Gardner
12	GK	Ian Walker
14	FW	Kevin Davies (vice captain)
15	DF	Grétar Steinsson
19	MF	Gavin McCann
20	FW	Ricardo Vaz Té
21	FW	El-Hadji Diouf
22	GK	Jussi Jääskeläinen
23	MF	Blerim Džemaili

No.	Position	Player
24	DF	Joey O'Brien
25	MF	Tamir Cohen
26	GK	Ali Al Habsi
27	FW	Daniel Braaten
29	FW	Zoltán Harsányi
31	DF	Andy O'Brien
32	MF	Matthew Taylor
33	DF	Gary Cahill
34	GK	Adam Bogdan
37	FW	James Sinclair
38	MF	Robert Sissons
41	DF	Jarosław Fojut
43	FW	Nathan Woolfe

[edit] Out on loan

None

[edit] Youth Squad

No.	Position	Player
-	MF	Aaron Mooy
-	FW	Temitope Obadeyi
-	GK	Tom Brocklehurst
-	FW	Christopher Stokes
-	MF	Sam Sheridan
-	FW	Marcos Michail
-	FW	Danny Ward
-	DF	David Gbemie

No.	Position	Player
-	GK	Robert Lainton
-	DF	Matt Carlisle
-	DF	Michael Burns
-	FW	Kevin Wolze
-	FW	Song Yang
-	MF	Stuart McDonald
-	GK	Jay Lynch
-	FW	Michael O'Halloran

[edit] Management

Position	Name	Nation
Team Manager	Gary Megson
Assistant Manager / Performance Director	Chris Evans
First Team Coach	Vacant
Goalkeeping Coach	Fred Barber
Assistant Goalkeeping Coach	Neil Edwards
Academy Director	Jimmy Phillips
Head Physiotherapist	Andy Barr
Physiotherapist	Steve Foster
Assistant Physiotherapist	Paul Lake
Chief Scout	Colin Harvey

[edit] Notable former players

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

1880s: Jim 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), John Ritson (1966), 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.
- Ritson played over 300 games for the club and helped them climb up through the leagues.
- Another Bolton lad, Greaves played for the club for fifteen years.

1970s: Tony Dunne (1973), Peter Reid (1974), Frank Worthington (1978)
- More noted for his spell with Manchester United, Dunne's surprise exit from Old Trafford proved to be to the Wanderers advantage as his experience helped the club from the old Division Three to Division One in five years.
- 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), Brian Borrows (1983), Asa Hartford (1985), Julian Darby (1986)
- 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.
- Borrows was a bargain £10,000 signing from Everton and later was a stalwart of the Coventry City team.
- Hartford lent his experience to a young Bolton side at the tail end of his career.
- 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.
- John McGinlay a.k.a '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), Fredi Bobic (2002), Jay-Jay Okocha (2002), Ivan Campo (2002), Stelios Giannakopoulos (2003), Fernando Hierro (2004), Gary Speed (2004), Hidetoshi Nakata (2005), Jared Borgetti (2005), Nicolas Anelka, (2006)
- 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.
- Former German international striker, Bobic scored Bolton's first ever Premiership hat trick against Ipswich Town to ensure the club avoided relegation in the 2001-02 season.
- 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.
- The flambouyant Campo was a member of the Real Madrid team which won the UEFA Champions League in 2000. His lively, often eccentric personality was a welcome feature at Bolton between 2002 and 2008.
- Small in stature but big in heart, Giannakopoulos, or Stelios as he preferred to be known during his days in England, was a European Championship winner with Greece and a goalscoring outlet for Bolton for five years.
- Real Madrid's European Cup winning captain, Hierro was only at Bolton for one year but became a firm fan's favourite.
- Record appearance holder in the Premiership, who spent three successful years with Bolton, making over 100 appearances.
- Former Japan international midfielder and captain, who spent seven years in Serie A, before signing for Bolton.
- Mexican all-time leading goalscorer, Jared Borgetti, spent one season in Bolton.
- The club's record signing when he joined in August 2006, Anelka spent a season and a half at the club before, like Guðjohnsen, moving to Chelsea.

[edit] 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

[edit] Managers

Years	Manager
1874 - 1885	Tom Rawthorne (As Secretary)
1885 - 1886	J.J. Bentley (As Secretary)
1886 - 1887	William Struthers (As Secretary)
1887	Fitzroy Norris (As Secretary)
1887 - 1895	J.J. Bentley (As Secretary)
1895	Harry Downs (As Secretary)
1896 - 1898	Frank Brettell (As Secretary)
1898 - 1910	John Somerville
1910 - 1915	Will Settle
1915 - 1919	Tom Mather
1919 - 1944	Charles Foweraker
1944 - 1950	Walter Rowley
1951 - 1968	Bill Ridding
1968 - 1970	Nat Lofthouse
1970	Jimmy McIlroy
1970	Jimmy Meadows
1971	Nat Lofthouse
1971 - 1974	Jimmy Armfield
1974 - 1980	Ian Greaves
1980 - 1981	Stan Anderson
1981 - 1982	George Mulhall
1982 - 1985	John McGovern
1985	Charlie Wright
1985 - 1992	Phil Neal
1992 - 1995	Bruce Rioch
1995 - 1996	Roy McFarland / Colin Todd
1996 - 1999	Colin Todd
1999 - 2007	Sam Allardyce
2007	Sammy Lee
2007 -	Gary Megson