Bolton Wanderers fans' column: Straight from the stands

By Liam Hatton

IN a week dominated by cup games, Bolton Wanderers return to league action against Cheltenham Town as their focus shifts once more.

Truth be told the last two games have been rather successful as Ian Evatt’s men put in a good account of themselves against Premier League outfit Luton Town, coming away with a 0-0 draw and forcing a replay.

That game was then followed up with a 3-1 win against Accrington Stanley to progress to the last eight of the EFL Trophy, a result which gives them a chance to continue their defence and edge one step closer to a Wembley return.

You cannot really complain about either performance as it has proven to be business as usual. However, the pressure continues to ramp up and whilst Bolton still competing on three different fronts is nothing to be scoffed at, my pessimistic mind does look at the number of games coming up and if the squad is big enough to manage the load.

I am not doubting the team for a second but take Bolton’s fellow promotion rivals for example - Derby County were knocked out by Bradford in midweek and also exited the FA Cup in the first round. Portsmouth are out of both cups, Peterborough were beaten by Leeds in the FA Cup but still remain in the EFL Trophy, whilst Barnsley can focus purely on League One.

Bolton are the only team amongst the top six to remain in the FA Cup and EFL Trophy and whilst it has not proven to be an issue at the moment, it is something to keep an eye on.

I understand the need to progress though and I would never want my team to lose purely to focus on the league campaign. For example, winners of the EFL Trophy last 16 fixtures each pocketed a cool £40,000, with the prize money proving to be an incentive in addition to offering up priceless memories like we had at Wembley last year.

Portsmouth fielded a weakened side en route to their exit in the EFL Trophy to focus on the league, but since that defeat they have drawn twice, won once and lost the remaining two games as their gap between first and second place has shrunk to two points.

So, the argument that focusing on the league is the way to go falls short, and I feel that Evatt has managed his squad well in terms of personnel changes. He obviously fielded his best team against Luton, but the changes he made against Accrington - including handing starts to Luke Matheson and Zach Ashworth - were a nice touch if only to see how they fared in a meaningful game.

A potential fourth round FA Cup tie against either Crystal Palace or Everton away would represent more money in the club’s pockets, alongside the replay against Luton which should see a sizeable crowd.

Money talks, especially for teams at this level so I can fully understand why Evatt wants his team to keep themselves busy. You always have the worry at the back of your mind that the fixture pile up could prove to be too much, but there are worse problems to have, I am sure.

Another trip to Wembley or an FA Cup run is something we should never turn down. Promotion, however, is still priority number one.

Lofty the Lion engages in a spot of pre-match hoovering (Image: camerasport)

One for the Swifties

By Tony Thompson

MY daughter loves Taylor Swift and would emancipate me in a heartbeat if I chose to use this column to deride her music.

I have tried to sympathise with the Swifties and, believe me, I have listened to just about every song she has ever released. I don’t know if Taylor subscribes to The Bolton News, and if so, I apologise unreservedly, but she is not for me.

My taste has always been a bit less polished. I love Depeche Mode, New Order, The Cure, I’ll even listen to a bit of The Smiths and try to put to the back of my mind what Morrissey has become.

In the car, though, we have to find common ground. My wife’s musical taste begins and ends with The Greatest Showman Soundtrack, she doesn’t get a vote, but where is the musical ‘Switzerland’ between Joy Division and Taylor Swift? Abba or Queen, apparently. They are our go-to playlist for long trips, or at least when her head is not buried in a phone or tablet.

Why am I mentioning this? Well, it got me wondering how easy it is to find common ground between 16,000 season ticket holders. The answer is, not easy at all.

For every old chap who would like to see us stick to the songs they played at Burnden Park, there are two young whippersnappers who want something loud, filled with bass with a title that has at least three artists ‘featuring’ somebody else.

I don’t care for any of the songs that the club shortlisted this week but nor would it spoil my week if one of them ended up being the clear cut winner (so long as it isn’t Hi Ho Silver Lining, as that just reminds me of Wolves). I would also run a mile if they put on Taylor Swift.

I would just like to be able to hear whatever they play properly. The speakers in the West Stand and North Stand are terrible and if a club like Accrington Stanley can get their sound system right then surely Bolton Wanderers can do the same?

The one thing before kick off that everyone gets behind is reading out the team names but I think the tinny speakers makes that a harder job for the announcer than it needs to be. Lofty the Lion would be better stringing together tin cans sometimes but at least now there are snazzy advertising boards we can read the names as they are yelled out.

The crowd does have a big part to play and they will play it. If I know anything about Bolton supporters it is that they could moan in the Olympics but when the team really needs them, they come through.