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Judging by how things have gone for Wanderers of late, an FA Cup banana skin is the last obstacle they need in their path this weekend.
Neil Lennon’s strugglers take a step into the unknown at Vanarama Conference side Eastleigh, an upwardly mobile outfit who as recently as 2002 were playing in the Wessex League – the ninth tier of English football.
Though Saturday's game was side-stepped by the television schedulers, the nation’s media will be keeping one eye out for the only non-league side left in the competition.
But at least history is on Wanderers’ side as they head to Hampshire. In 17 attempts, only one side from outside the Football League has beaten the Whites in the FA Cup since the turn of the last century.
Chesterfield hold that distinction, beating the Whites at Burnden Park back in 1911 – a decade before the Spireites were elected as founder members of the old Division Three North.
Wanderers have played host to Bangor in the snow at Burnden, faced Rossendale at Gigg Lane and Wakefield-Emley at Leeds Road and emerged unscathed.
But there have been plenty of other occasions when it has not been so straightforward, including four replayed games.
Here we take a look at some of the classic non-league tangles from the archives where it got a little too close for comfort.
November 13, 1993: Wanderers 3 Gretna 2
Owen Coyle saved Wanderers’ blushes and spared his side a verbal bashing from an irate Bruce Rioch.
The Northern League side, then playing south of the border in England, chose to switch the game to Burnden Park for more gate receipts but very nearly ruined one of Bolton’s most famous FA Cup campaigns before it even began.
Derek Townsley put Gretna ahead before John McGinlay pulled one back from the penalty spot. Mark Dobie then restored the Scottish club’s lead, prompting a fiery rebuke from Rioch at the interval.
"Bruce certainly didn't mince his words at half-time,” recalled Owen Coyle, whose two second-half goals eventually saw the Whites home safely. “We were looking at being on the wrong end of one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history. We had been used to being the giant-killers ourselves and it was a horrible feeling to suddenly be experiencing the other side of it.
"We were one very relieved team in the dressing room after the game. I don't know if we were complacent that day, but Gretna played brilliantly and we were in trouble and certainly pushed the panic button.
“As it turned out, we went on to have another brilliant run in the FA Cup that season which just shows you the fine line there is between success and failure in cup football.”
Wanderers, who a year earlier had defeated holders Liverpool, went on to beat Arsenal and Everton in two more memorable White Hot nights before losing to Oldham Athletic in the sixth round.
January 6, 2001: Wanderers 2 Yeovil Town 1
Half of Somerset seemed to follow the Glovers to the Reebok a year before they finally gained entry to the Football League. And the travelling contingent watched in shock as Warren Patmore gave them a lead midway through the first half.
John O’Kane scrambled an equaliser just before the break but Yeovil keeper Tony Pennock was proving tough to beat and it wasn’t until Michael Ricketts came off the bench for Dean Holdsworth late in the second half that Sam Allardyce’s side finally added a second.
Wanderers lost in the fifth round that season, beaten comfortably by Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park after a replay.
January 8, 2011: Wanderers 2 York City 0
If it wasn’t for Adam Bogdan’s heroics against the Minstermen, Wanderers may have never got to Wembley in 2011.
Roared on by 4,900 travelling fans the Conference club made all the running and Neil Barrett saw one close range effort stopped brilliantly on the line by Bogdan in the second half.
As a replay loomed Kevin Davies stepped up to smash home Martin Petrov’s cross. Johan Elmander quickly added a second to book a fourth round tie with Wigan.
Victories over Fulham and Birmingham followed that… but all traces of the semi-final against Stoke City seem to have been erased from our records!
January 30, 1954: Headington United 2 Wanderers 4
Now known as Oxford United, Headington packed 16,000 fans into their snow covered Manor Ground to welcome a Wanderers side that had reached the previous year’s final.
In conditions that would make a modern day player blush, Nat Lofthouse gave Wanderers the lead, soon doubled from long range by Ray Parry.
Willie Moir made it three but Headington mounted a comeback, putting pressure on Stan Hanson’s goal before finally getting themselves back into the game.
The non-leaguers, then only five years into existence, did get another goal but not before Dennis Stevens had made passage into the fifth round safe with Wanderers’ fourth.
November 14, 1992: Wanderers 2 Sutton Coldfield Town 1
Even the Wanderers fans gave a standing ovation to Beazer Homes League side Sutton as they walked off the pitch at Burnden Park.
As Barry “Crazy Legs” Cowdrill played his former club, the Whites looked to have passage to the second round sorted as Andy Walker made a goal for David Reeves in the first half, before Reeves repaid the favour midway through the second half.
The Midlanders rode their luck, relying heavily on keeper Dale Belford, but a mix-up between Jason Lydiate and Keith Branagan gifted a goal to Andy Dale and set up a grandstand finale.
Royals fans will feel they should have had a replay as a mistake from Mark Winstanley allowed Bob Whittingham to nip in and curl a shot past Branagan for what they thought was the equaliser. The linesman disagreed and the goal was chalked out for offside.
After beating Rochdale in the next round, the White Hot era really kicked off with a memorable triumph against Liverpool at Anfield.
November 17, 1990: Witton Albion 1 Wanderers 2
The Match of the Day cameras were poised for an upset as Phil Neal’s side travelled to Cheshire and they nearly got one.
Floodlights at Wincham Park were a little on the dull side, so the match was brought forward by an hour. And the early start seemed to catch Wanderers on the hop as Karl Thomas raced through the middle of the defence to open the scoring.
Thankfully for the Whites, they quickly recovered their poise and goals from Julian Darby and Paul Comstive booked a place in round two.
After coming out on top of a seven-goal thriller against Chesterfield, Wanderers again took on non-league opposition in the third round.
Tony Philliskirk’s goal was enough to see off Barrow and book a meeting with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
January 4, 1964: Bath City 1 Wanderers 1
Southern League side Bath had already beaten non-league giants Yeovil and Wimbledon to reach round three and proved tough opponents at Twerton Park.
With a quarter of an hour left the home side took the lead through Ken Owens. Wanderers would be heading for relegation from the top flight that season but managed to draw level with just three minutes to go thanks to a penalty from Francis Lee.
The replay was won 3-0 in front of 27,000 at Burnden. The Whites failed at the second attempt against Preston in the next round.
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Neil Lennon’s strugglers take a step into the unknown at Vanarama Conference side Eastleigh, an upwardly mobile outfit who as recently as 2002 were playing in the Wessex League – the ninth tier of English football.
Though Saturday's game was side-stepped by the television schedulers, the nation’s media will be keeping one eye out for the only non-league side left in the competition.
But at least history is on Wanderers’ side as they head to Hampshire. In 17 attempts, only one side from outside the Football League has beaten the Whites in the FA Cup since the turn of the last century.
Chesterfield hold that distinction, beating the Whites at Burnden Park back in 1911 – a decade before the Spireites were elected as founder members of the old Division Three North.
Wanderers have played host to Bangor in the snow at Burnden, faced Rossendale at Gigg Lane and Wakefield-Emley at Leeds Road and emerged unscathed.
But there have been plenty of other occasions when it has not been so straightforward, including four replayed games.
Here we take a look at some of the classic non-league tangles from the archives where it got a little too close for comfort.
November 13, 1993: Wanderers 3 Gretna 2
Owen Coyle saved Wanderers’ blushes and spared his side a verbal bashing from an irate Bruce Rioch.
The Northern League side, then playing south of the border in England, chose to switch the game to Burnden Park for more gate receipts but very nearly ruined one of Bolton’s most famous FA Cup campaigns before it even began.
Derek Townsley put Gretna ahead before John McGinlay pulled one back from the penalty spot. Mark Dobie then restored the Scottish club’s lead, prompting a fiery rebuke from Rioch at the interval.
"Bruce certainly didn't mince his words at half-time,” recalled Owen Coyle, whose two second-half goals eventually saw the Whites home safely. “We were looking at being on the wrong end of one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history. We had been used to being the giant-killers ourselves and it was a horrible feeling to suddenly be experiencing the other side of it.
"We were one very relieved team in the dressing room after the game. I don't know if we were complacent that day, but Gretna played brilliantly and we were in trouble and certainly pushed the panic button.
“As it turned out, we went on to have another brilliant run in the FA Cup that season which just shows you the fine line there is between success and failure in cup football.”
Wanderers, who a year earlier had defeated holders Liverpool, went on to beat Arsenal and Everton in two more memorable White Hot nights before losing to Oldham Athletic in the sixth round.
January 6, 2001: Wanderers 2 Yeovil Town 1
Half of Somerset seemed to follow the Glovers to the Reebok a year before they finally gained entry to the Football League. And the travelling contingent watched in shock as Warren Patmore gave them a lead midway through the first half.
John O’Kane scrambled an equaliser just before the break but Yeovil keeper Tony Pennock was proving tough to beat and it wasn’t until Michael Ricketts came off the bench for Dean Holdsworth late in the second half that Sam Allardyce’s side finally added a second.
Wanderers lost in the fifth round that season, beaten comfortably by Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park after a replay.
January 8, 2011: Wanderers 2 York City 0
If it wasn’t for Adam Bogdan’s heroics against the Minstermen, Wanderers may have never got to Wembley in 2011.
Roared on by 4,900 travelling fans the Conference club made all the running and Neil Barrett saw one close range effort stopped brilliantly on the line by Bogdan in the second half.
As a replay loomed Kevin Davies stepped up to smash home Martin Petrov’s cross. Johan Elmander quickly added a second to book a fourth round tie with Wigan.
Victories over Fulham and Birmingham followed that… but all traces of the semi-final against Stoke City seem to have been erased from our records!
January 30, 1954: Headington United 2 Wanderers 4
Now known as Oxford United, Headington packed 16,000 fans into their snow covered Manor Ground to welcome a Wanderers side that had reached the previous year’s final.
In conditions that would make a modern day player blush, Nat Lofthouse gave Wanderers the lead, soon doubled from long range by Ray Parry.
Willie Moir made it three but Headington mounted a comeback, putting pressure on Stan Hanson’s goal before finally getting themselves back into the game.
The non-leaguers, then only five years into existence, did get another goal but not before Dennis Stevens had made passage into the fifth round safe with Wanderers’ fourth.
November 14, 1992: Wanderers 2 Sutton Coldfield Town 1
Even the Wanderers fans gave a standing ovation to Beazer Homes League side Sutton as they walked off the pitch at Burnden Park.
As Barry “Crazy Legs” Cowdrill played his former club, the Whites looked to have passage to the second round sorted as Andy Walker made a goal for David Reeves in the first half, before Reeves repaid the favour midway through the second half.
The Midlanders rode their luck, relying heavily on keeper Dale Belford, but a mix-up between Jason Lydiate and Keith Branagan gifted a goal to Andy Dale and set up a grandstand finale.
Royals fans will feel they should have had a replay as a mistake from Mark Winstanley allowed Bob Whittingham to nip in and curl a shot past Branagan for what they thought was the equaliser. The linesman disagreed and the goal was chalked out for offside.
After beating Rochdale in the next round, the White Hot era really kicked off with a memorable triumph against Liverpool at Anfield.
November 17, 1990: Witton Albion 1 Wanderers 2
The Match of the Day cameras were poised for an upset as Phil Neal’s side travelled to Cheshire and they nearly got one.
Floodlights at Wincham Park were a little on the dull side, so the match was brought forward by an hour. And the early start seemed to catch Wanderers on the hop as Karl Thomas raced through the middle of the defence to open the scoring.
Thankfully for the Whites, they quickly recovered their poise and goals from Julian Darby and Paul Comstive booked a place in round two.
After coming out on top of a seven-goal thriller against Chesterfield, Wanderers again took on non-league opposition in the third round.
Tony Philliskirk’s goal was enough to see off Barrow and book a meeting with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
January 4, 1964: Bath City 1 Wanderers 1
Southern League side Bath had already beaten non-league giants Yeovil and Wimbledon to reach round three and proved tough opponents at Twerton Park.
With a quarter of an hour left the home side took the lead through Ken Owens. Wanderers would be heading for relegation from the top flight that season but managed to draw level with just three minutes to go thanks to a penalty from Francis Lee.
The replay was won 3-0 in front of 27,000 at Burnden. The Whites failed at the second attempt against Preston in the next round.
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