WE asked Wanderers fans to send in their questions during the international break on social media and email – and chief football writer Marc Iles has done his best to rattle through some answers.

Among the topics covered are the stadium’s digital revamp, Ian Evatt’s squad depth and whether half-time male cheerleaders should be brought in on a matchday!

Here we have compiled a shortened transcript of the Q&A – you can listen to the full version on The Bolton News’ website.

@PhiliconYT on X asked: “What was your first ever Bolton game?”

Marc says: “I had to check the date because I remember it being at Burnden Park under floodlights against Doncaster Rovers and David Felgate having an absolute worldie. I’m pretty sure it was a Bank Holiday Monday night on May 4, 1987, not long after I came up here from Gloucestershire.”

@wolsey28 asked: “Please hazard a guess over whether our previous owner has ever noticed Wanderers recent relative success. I am fascinated to know if he would have felt indifference or shame or even a misplaced flicker of pride?”

Marc says: “I am very sure he keeps an eye out for Bolton Wanderers. From the brief correspondence I have had with him in the last few years I sense he does take some satisfaction in the club heading back in the right direction.”

@wolsey28 adds: “Has he ever been on record with an comment since 2019? Seemed to have a lot of friends in the Murdoch media who would lend a platform to put his story over. Are there NDAs in place? Not much has come out.

Marc says: “As with most business deals there are non-disclosure agreements which stop certain details – mostly financial – coming out into the public domain. I would suggest once they expire there will be an opportunity for him to voice his side of the story – whether there is a sympathetic audience for it, I have my doubts. I would be confident, however, that he could rationalise some of his more controversial decision making at the time.”

@wolsey28 adds: “Last point: if you had any human insight after interviewing him: in his soul would it be a rueful acknowledgement or a Trumpian delusion unburdened with self-awareness?”

Marc says: “Let’s put it this way, if you are pressing me for an answer, I’d lean to the Trumpian side. But I would like to think he could see some mistakes had been made, or even that different decisions, or an earlier sale, could have changed the way his tenure was perceived.”

@phoward1974 asks: “Is there a chance of us signing an out of contract player?”

Marc says: “Other than players like Kieran Sadlier, who terminated their contract to facilitate a quick move outside the window, there are not many players on the market who are fit and ready to go, therefore I’d say it is highly unlikely. Bolton have fished from that pond before out of necessity and I would like to think their recruitment is more considered nowadays.”

@stuart_heaton_ says: “Marc, over the years covering the Wanderers do you have a piece of news, that nobody knows about, that if you disclosed would make us all be totally shocked and disbelieving?”

Marc says: “My natural instinct is to get news into the open – it comes with the job – but I can’t say there is anything I could legally write that would go down as some type of Roswell bombshell. I have plenty of stories and anecdotes, though, so if I ever get around to writing those memoirs it should be worth reading! Besides which, my wife made me keep a diary going back several years now, so there are a few nuggets of gold that might be worth mining yet.”

@jo_bk asks: “Half time entertainment - we used to have the Reebok Rebels, White Diamonds but what about the Toughsheet Titans?”

Marc says: “The GIF you sent with that has made me feel very inadequate! Hey, it’s 2023. I’d suggest that cheerleaders are a little outdated now but who is to say we can’t turn things on their head and have a male dance troupe? Just Ken and all that!”

@Original_Gun asked: “Is the youth system a focus for the current ownership? We are one of only three clubs in League One with zero youth products in our first team squad.”

Marc says: “There was major upheaval at the academy before lockdown, and I think the decision to remove the development squad triggered a lot of issues which took a long time to rectify. I would be surprised if Football Ventures do not look back and consider it a mistake, in fact.

“They looked at upgrading the academy before settling on the B Team idea but that too has taken some time to settle and I think we are only now looking at a group of players who could start to push for inclusion.

“The trouble is that with Bolton pushing higher each season, it is very hard for the ‘chasing pack’ to elevate to the sort of level they would need.

“That said, I know some of the younger players like Sam Inwood, Max Conway, Luke Hutchinson, Finlay Lockett, Nelson Khumbeni and a few others are considered to have a chance. Conor Carty will come back from Ireland soon, too, and I expect him to get another loan closer to home.”

@valderee53 asked: “Noting the time of Mendes Gomez goal on Tuesday, what is the fastest known goal scored by a BWFC player? I’m pretty sure I saw both Ronnie Phillips and Gordon Taylor score in under 40 secs in the late 60s.”

Marc says: “The problem is that goal times are hard to come by before the Premier League era – and I’d bow to anyone who went to Burnden and saw a faster goal than Kevin Nolan’s against Blackburn Rovers in 2003/4. I think that was timed at 13.48 seconds.

“If anyone can beat that, let me know. I’ll ask Simon Marland for an official verdict.”

Danny Taylor asked on email: “I don't know if this is an appropriate question for your Q&A but do you know anything more about the Wanderers bond?

“Obviously, they have been issued but I can't find any updates anywhere regarding what's happening with the money, etc?”

Marc says: “If you put into the bond, I’d assume all the paperwork would map out when the repayments would be due. But if you are asking about what the club intend to do with the money raised – around £4.5million in the end – then I think it’s unlikely we will get a straightforward breakdown, at least until the accounts come out.

“We have seen evidence of work at the training ground, relaying pitches and renovations to meetings rooms, and there has been work on the infrastructure of the stadium too.

“It was mentioned that some of the money would be going towards players, and we have seen a few transfer fees paid and contracts renewed this summer.”

Duncan Gregory asked on email: “I think we were informed that the new stadium screens and mid-level ribbon were making their debut at the Derby match. Any word or updates from the club on the current situation?”

Marc says: “The latest information I have is that everything is on course to be operating for the Peterborough home game on September 23.

“They had hoped for the Derby game but clearly there has been a delay. The second screen has been placed but we haven’t yet seen it in action. And the wi-fi hasn’t, ahem, been in great form either!”

Blair Patterson asked on email: “I wanted to get your opinion on where you think the squad is at in comparison to the one that lost the play-off semi final to Barnsley last season?”

Marc says: “James Trafford and Conor Bradley were nearly impossible to replace like-for-like but, personally, I think Nathan Baxter was the best free agent option out there and Josh Dacres-Cogley has been a very pleasant surprise after signing from Tranmere.

“I understand the same questions are being asked of Ian Evatt’s team – especially that age-old one about physicality and on the ‘big occasion’ – but they showed against Derby that there is a way around it.

“Overall, I think existing players like Dion Charles, Josh Sheehan, Randell Williams, George Thomason and Kyle Dempsey have stepped up a level too, so the team is starting to become more than just a sum of its parts.”