Bolton Wanderers column: Football family and defensive cover

If you are a football fan then the sport can be wonderful - having your mood determined on a weekly basis by 11 players who decided to sign for your club once upon a time and are bound by a contract. It sounds an odd concept on paper, doesn’t it?

The sport can also be infuriating, case in point when the team you grew up supporting drops down to the fourth tier or has faced ownership issues in the past.  

However, you were woven into the Bolton Wanderers fabric - which in my case was because my dad showed up with a season ticket back in 2002, although truthfully it started even beyond that point - you realise that after all this club have been through, it is the true definition of a family. 

At this point last week I had submitted my Cheltenham Town preview. I wrote about how the run of upcoming fixtures could prove to be a problem, but conversely that Bolton have managed it well and have a chance to achieve their ultimate goal of promotion. 

Not for one second did I, or any other fan for that matter, expect last week’s game to transpire the way it did. For Iain Purslow, a Wanderers fanatic just like you and I, it was a chance to watch his beloved team - another fixture on the way to hopefully gaining promotion come the end of the season. 

In attendance with his son, just like so many people who go to games with their parents, children, grandparents, nieces, nephews and so on. Football brings us all together for 90 minutes, whether you are a surgeon, or a retired paramedic, or a doctor, just like those in attendance who selflessly stepped in to try and save Mr Purslow’s life. 

I feel ultimately that whatever happens between now and the end of the season, nothing that Bolton could achieve on the pitch would make me as proud as the way the club and the fans have conducted themselves over the last week. The tribute before the Luton Town game and the minute's silence was touching. 

My thoughts and prayers continue to go out to Iain’s family and friends.  

On what was a tough night this past Tuesday, Wanderers were ultimately knocked out by Luton, but they can come away from the game with their heads held high. Now it represents one less game for Bolton to worry about, although the fixtures still continue to come thick and fast. 

The Cheltenham game has been rearranged for next Tuesday, but there is also a danger of the Leyton Orient fixture being postponed due to the weather conditions.

Ian Evatt is not concerned about a fixture pile up however, stating that to gain promotion you have to win games no matter how the cards may fall.  

The incoming rush of matches alongside three fit senior centre backs currently available does present a problem, forcing Evatt to rethink his approach in the transfer window with Wanderers hit hard in that particular area. 

But for now, even after such a difficult week, it is business as usual for this team. We all have full faith they can cross the finish line. 

Has anyone got Mbete's number?

by Tony Thompson

Will Forrester faces a spell on the sidelines (Image: Camerasport)

Football is a cruel sport sometimes, isn’t it? 

Just when Will Forrester gets a decent run in the team, something me and plenty of other fans have been calling for since he got signed from Port Vale, he gets struck down by injury. 

Dan Nlundulu didn’t really look like he fit anywhere until his last few games, then just as it looked as if he was going to go places, boom, another injury which puts him on the treatment table for months. 

Injuries always play a big part in title races. Portsmouth have lost a few big players in the last few weeks and look what has happened to them of late? I’m sure they were supposed to be lifting the trophy in November, weren’t they? 

When Gethin Jones went away for some nice warm weather and some international caps for Australia, we all worried about that part of the pitch and I am pretty sure there are only three proper centre-backs left in the squad now. Surely that means the club has to invest in another one, even if it is only on loan? Has anyone still got Luke Mbete’s phone number? 

The way the fixtures are stacking up for us in the last few months of the season it is obvious to me that there is going to be more injuries, just natural wear and tear. I love that the manager has faith in his squad but I can’t pretend that I am not worried they will run out at some stage. 

I get that you don’t want to flood the squad and upset the harmony but if we can bring in two or three versatile players on loan, just in case, I’d be a happier chap. 

Finally, I’d like to pass on my thoughts and prayers to the family of Iain Purslow, the fan who passed away after last week’s game against Cheltenham. 

I was working at the time of the game, and someone sent me a screenshot from Sky Sports saying there had been ‘crowd trouble’ – something I now know caused all sorts of upset among the Bolton supporters. I thought it was weird and when I got five minutes checked The Bolton News’ website to see what had happened.

I have watched games in that stand many times down the years and I wonder how many times I must have passed him, conversed with him, laughed, cheered, and cried with him, all without knowing each other’s name. 

A reminder, as if we needed one, to enjoy every minute we get.