Bolton Wanderers

Name: Bolton Wanderers Football Club Nick names: The Trotters League: Premier League Stadium: Reebok Stadium Founded: 1874, as Christ Church FC Manager: Gary Megson   Statistics:   4 FA Cup winners (1923, 1926, 1929, 1958) 3 FA Cup runners up (1894, 1904, 1953) 2 League Cup runners up (1995, 2004) 1 Football League War Cup North (1945) 1 Football League War Cup (1945) 1 FA Charity Shield (1958) 1 Second Tier Football League First Division Champions (1997) 2 Football League Second Division Champions (1909, 1978) 1 Football League Third Division Champions (1973) 1 Sherpa Van Trophy Winners (1989) 1 Freight Rover Trophy runners up (1986) 11 Lancashire Cup winners (1886, 1891, 1912, 1922, 1925, 1927, 1932, 1934, 1948, 1988, 1990) 2 Central League Champions (1955, 1995) 1 Champions of the Reserve League North (2007) 1 FA Premier League Asia Trophy (2005) 1 Peace Cup runners up (2007)   Growth chart of the League   1994-95 – Reach Fa Carling Premiership. 1994-95 – Lost League Cup Final. 1995-96 – Roy Mc Farland replaces Bruce Rioch as manager. 1995-96 – Colin Todd appointed manager. 1995-96 – Relegated from FA Carling Premiership. 1996-97 – Division One Winners 1997-98 – Bolton leave Burnden Park for new Reebok Stadium. 1997-98 – Relegated from FA carling Premiership. 1999-00 – Promoted to Barclaycard Premiership via Play- offs. 2003-04 – League Cup Finalists 2006–07 – Nicolas Anelka becomes record signing for £ 8 million. 2006-07 – Samy Lee takes over as manager after Allardyce leaves to take Newcastle United Job. 2007-08 – Sammy Lee Leaves the manager’s post by mutual consent. 2007–08 – Gary Megson appointed manager.   Past four seasons record   Season: 2004-05, Played – 38, Won – 16, Draw – 10, Lost 12 Season: 2005-06, Played – 38, Won – 15, Draw – 11, Lost 12 Season: 2006-07, Played – 38, Won 16, Draw -8, Lost – 14 Season: 2007-08, Played – 14, Won – 2, Draw – 5, Lost – 7     History:   The Bolton Wanderers soccer club based in Horwich is a professional English football club. The club plays for the Premier League. Though the club that was formed in 1874 was initially known as Christ Church FC, in 1877 it changed the club name to Bolton Wanderers. The club was among the 12 founder members who came together to form the Football League in 1888. The Bolton has been known to spend most of their time playing the Premier League, since its formation years.    In 1894, Bolton had reached the finals of the FA Cup for the first time but unfortunately lost the match to Notts County by 4-1. On April 23, 1904, almost a decade later Bolton were declared runners-up after losing the match by 1-0 to the Manchester City rivals at Crystal Palace . However during their third attempt, Bolton won their first major trophy on April 28, 1923 by defeating West Ham United by 2–0 in the Wembley final. The final match was played amidst 127000 fans and supporters. The match that was played at the Wembley Stadium helped the club to become one of the most successful sides. The club also won recognition in 1926 and 1929 for their brave win against Manchester City and Portsmouth .   The period from 1935 to 1964 was regarded as the golden era as it was during these years that Bolton enjoyed a stay in the top rankings. In 1953 Bolton participated in one of the most reputed FA Cup finals called the Stanley Matthews Final of 1953. After a lead of 3-1, Bolton lost their match against Blackpool by 4–3. The excellent performance by Matthews and Stan Mortensen from Blackpool led to the defeat of Bolton. But since 1958, the Bolton Wanderers have not won any major credentials except their breakthrough performance against Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley. Their closest interaction with success in a major tournament came in the form of League Cup when they were declared runners-up in 1995 and 2004.   At the end of the 1986–87 seasons, the Bolton club was demoted to the Fourth Division in their football history. The efforts of the then manager Phil Neal paid off after the team got promoted back to the Third Division. The goal earned by Robbie Savage became the decisive goal which led to a victory by 1-0. Neal who remained in charge until 1992 was replaced by Bruce Rioch who had won two consecutive promotions with Middlesbrough . Under Bruce Rioch’s tenure, the club became a well known team in the Cup competitions. In 1993, players like John McGinlay and Andy Walker led Bolton to a victory by 2-0 against Liverpool at the FA Cup. The club was also successful in defending Wolves, the higher division opposition team. In 1994, in the fourth round replay, Bolton defeated FA Cup holders Arsenal by 3–1 and reached the Quarter Finals but unfortunately was defended by Oldham Athletic . The club also defeated top division opposition teams like Aston Villa and Everton .   In the year 1995, Bolton reached the Premiership under the guidance of Rioch which led them to a victory in the Division One playoff final. After the team’s success, the team management charge was given to Roy McFarland, but after being at the bottom slot for the Premiership campaign, McFarland was replaced by Todd. The Bolton board's belief in Todd was rewarded as the team won a promotion back to the Premiership by scoring 100 goals and achieving 98 league points. At the end of the 1997–98 Premiership campaign, Bolton was demoted due to a single goal difference. In 1999, though Bolton managed to reach the Division One playoff final but suffered defeat against Watford . After Todd’s resignation, Bolton reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup but was defeated against Ipswich Town and Aston Villa.   In 2000–01, after defeating the Preston North End in the finals of play-off Bolton were promoted back to the Premier League. However, the next 2 seasons were quite a struggle for the Bolton. In 2004, though they reached the League Cup final but were defeated by Middlesbrough. In 2005, they earned a qualification for the UEFA Cup after finishing sixth in the league. Towards the end of 2006–07 seasons, manager Allardyce resigned quit his job but during the last 4 seasons, he recorded top ten successive finishes. Sammy Lee, Allardyce’s former assistant took over the duties and helped in achieving Bolton's qualification for the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. However Lee left Bolton in October 2007 after failing to give some impressive team performances.   League Table This Season.   Games Played: 4 Games Won: 2 Games draw: 5 Games Lost: 7 Total Points: 11