TWENTY years after Gerry Taggart’s famous ‘goal that never was,’ Wanderers are finally getting the technology to stop such an injustice happening again.

As the doors of the brand new ‘futuristic’ Reebok Stadium were opened for a Premier League game for the first time on September 1, 1997, few could guess the long-term ramifications of the events which unfolded.

We will never know what might have happened to Colin Todd’s exciting team had referee Stephen Lodge or his linesmen spotted the Northern Irishman’s header had crossed the line before being hooked away by Everton defender Terry Phelan.

The game – the first competitive fixture at the newly-built stadium - ended goal-less, but several months later the dropped points came back to haunt Bolton as Howard Kendall’s Blues stayed up on the final day by goal difference, the Whites toppling back into the second-tier.

Two decades on, and Wanderers’ promotion to the Championship means they are required to add another high-tech gadget to a stadium which has stood the test of time well.

The Hawk-Eye system, used extensively in tennis and cricket for several years, will be implemented across the division this season for the first time.

Hawk-Eye has generally proved to be a success in the Premier League since its approval in 2013. The system is already used in the latter stages of the EFL Cup and play-offs.

The EFL confirmed they would be bringing it into the Championship in April and the move was officially given the nod by clubs at the league’s AGM this summer.

But the gadgetry does come at a cost – and Wanderers will pay £80,000 for the equipment which has been installed over the last couple of months, along with running costs for the future which are, as yet, unknown.

Officially known as the Goal Decision System, it uses a series of 14 high-speed cameras placed at strategic points in the stadium to track the movement of the ball from different angles. The feed transmits back to a central unit at the stadium, which can show multi-angle replays and even remove player images from a crowded penalty area to give a definitive decision.

When a decision is made, a signal is quickly sent to the referee to indicate whether a goal has been scored.

Video replays may have had a false start during the Confederations Cup this summer but it appears technology will eventually force its way into football, for better or worse.

Colin Todd – the Bolton boss who was forced to dismantle much of his side after relegation – still finds it a bitter pill to swallow.

“When you think what that goal cost us all those years ago, what would have happened if the technology was available back then?” he told The Bolton News. “It’s hard not be upset about it, even now.

“The game has changed with all the money at stake now – and not for the better in many ways.

“If we had stayed up that season it would have meant another year of Premier League money to build with, and then, who knows what we could have done?”