Words by Gordon Sharrock and Pictures by Julie Berry

LAMB'S testicles, raw squid, and black pudding ice cream were on the menu when game for a laugh Bolton Wanderers' chairman Phil Gartside kept his side of a zany sporting bargain with his high-flying Premiership stars.

The fun-loving soccer boss joined willing members of the Reebok backroom staff as they tucked into the celebration feast to mark the team's sensational start to the season, which has seen them knock the giants of Liverpool, Leeds and Arsenal out of their stride and put mighty Manchester United in the shade.

And Dean Holdsworth, Mike Whitlow and Anthony Barness kept a watching brief to make sure they savoured every morsel.

The bizarre banquet -- the main course of which was a mouth-blistering phail curry with basmati and snail rice -- was all in the name of team spirit, the first leg of a forfeit scheme drawn up by the chairman and his players in an attempt to generate the same "Crazy Gang" camaraderie that helped the unlikely lads of Wimbledon compete at the top level for 14 years!

It was hardly the most palatable of menus and definitely not for the squeamish but Mr Gartside will not complain if he has to go back for more. "I'll do forfeits every week," he pledged, "because it will mean the team is doing well. But no one could have asked any more from any one of them than they have given already. The spirit throughout the club is fantastic."

The deal, which was put to the Wanderers' chief by striker Dean Holdsworth -- a member of that infamous Wimbledon team -- involves nominated members of the club's coaching and administrative staff being given forfeits if Wanderers win a Premiership game by three clear goals. Lose by four and the players do the forfeit.

The 5-0 win at Leicester on the opening day of the season put the staff's resolve and taste buds to the test last night.

"Full marks to them for taking part," Holdsworth laughed as the plates appeared. "They have all been fantastic sports. We postponed it a fortnight ago because of the terrible tragedy in America but the timing's right now. It's about togetherness and team spirit and making sure the staff feel part of that too -- all of them.

"The chairman has been top drawer. When I put the idea to him before the start of the season I wasn't sure how he would react but he was all for it. I worked closely like this with the chairman at Wimbledon, who was a very extravagant man and a very clever man and this guy's up there with the best."

The players, who are also sending manager Sam Allardyce and a second group of staff members into Bolton town centre on a charity cash dash dressed in clowns' outfits, are doubly determined not to let their standards slip after the seeing the specially prepared menu at the Belle Epoque brasserie in Knutsford (not their usual fare, incidentally).

Barness, a member of the Wanderers' defence that is winning widespread acclaim, joked: "It'll be 11 men behind the ball in future after seeing what's in store for us if we ever suffer a heavy defeat. The lads won't be wanting to have to do any forfeits like this!"

Club captain Whitlow, who has been in outstanding form, is keeping his fingers crossed. "It has been a great laugh," he said, applauding the diners. "Let's just hope the staff, who are such an important part of the set-up here, don't get any laughs at our expense."