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There has been little to celebrate financially for Wanderers this season, yet fans may be pleasantly surprised that a scheme famously backed by the great Nat Lofthouse is still providing a beating heart at the club.
On Saturday night, a near capacity crowd of more than 900 members of the Lifeline lottery gathered for their free annual party at the Macron Stadium, buoyed by a 3-1 win against MK Dons.
One of the heroes of the hour, Rob Holding, joined team-mate Filip Twardzik as a guest of honour on a night that conjured up the more convivial days of Burnden Park.
The band played, wine flowed and all the talk of boardrooms, takeovers, administration and validation orders disappeared for a few happy hours.
Since the early 1970s the lotteries have provided a vital source of funding at Wanderers. But few may realise that its independent structure means the money paid in by members cannot be accessed by the club itself.
Lottery cash has been used to make some sizeable purchases, most recently the scoreboard and perimeter advertising, but also more than £3million in training facilities at Euxton, floodlights at the Lostock academy, the re-design of the North Stand and CCTV on the inside and outside of the stadium.
Even the metal sills used by supporters to perch their half-time pint, or the hand dryers in the loos were bought with the money collected by the lottery on a weekly basis.
More than £7m has been invested in all since the start of the millennium and yet these are testing times for the scheme itself.
With the introduction of the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust, fans now have another avenue in which they can directly affect the running of their club with their money.
Organisers hope fans will not see the two organisations as mutually exclusive and a relaunch of Lifeline and Goldline is currently in the pipeline to attract a new generation of supporters.
Back on December 11, 1982, Wanderers hosted Charlton Athletic at Burnden Park and were in a serious financial state.
John McGovern’s side won the game 4-1 to move up into 19th place in the old Division Two but it was what happened at the half-time interval that supporters still talk about to this very day.
Lofthouse strode on to the pitch to make an impassioned speech to the terraces, asking for people to dig deep and prevent the club from going under. He also marched out on to the car park on the Sunday morning to rally the troops before and after the game.
And his words worked, and the lottery scheme that helped keep Wanderers afloat during those uncertain times was then copied at clubs up and down the land and the great Lion of Vienna helped spread the word.
Lofthouse often gets credit for the idea but it was actually the brainchild of former chairman Terry Edge. Nowadays, Andrew Dean is the custodian, although his marches on to the pitch before kick-off and at half time are usually to accompany much more famous faces. On Saturday, for example, a tough customer for tough times in Gerry Taggart.
Dean is confident Wanderers will ride out their current financial problems and stabilise once more.
“The lotteries are just as important now to Bolton Wanderers as they were back when Nat went out to plead with the people of the town to save his beloved club,” he said.
“We can never forget what he did for Bolton Wanderers during those dark days to keep some cash-flow coming in, not to buy players or spend on wages, but to purchase the nuts and bolts of the club itself.
“We have raised a lot of money to fund projects that otherwise would not be done and it’s thanks to the public who joined the likes of Lifeline, Goldline bought instant win scratch cards or participated in the match day Golden Gamble draw that we still have a magnificent stadium and facilities.
“We’re delighted to see what the Supporters’ Trust has achieved in a relatively short amount of time because we are both looking to achieve the best for the club’s future. I hope people can continue to back both.”
Source
On Saturday night, a near capacity crowd of more than 900 members of the Lifeline lottery gathered for their free annual party at the Macron Stadium, buoyed by a 3-1 win against MK Dons.
One of the heroes of the hour, Rob Holding, joined team-mate Filip Twardzik as a guest of honour on a night that conjured up the more convivial days of Burnden Park.
The band played, wine flowed and all the talk of boardrooms, takeovers, administration and validation orders disappeared for a few happy hours.
Since the early 1970s the lotteries have provided a vital source of funding at Wanderers. But few may realise that its independent structure means the money paid in by members cannot be accessed by the club itself.
Lottery cash has been used to make some sizeable purchases, most recently the scoreboard and perimeter advertising, but also more than £3million in training facilities at Euxton, floodlights at the Lostock academy, the re-design of the North Stand and CCTV on the inside and outside of the stadium.
Even the metal sills used by supporters to perch their half-time pint, or the hand dryers in the loos were bought with the money collected by the lottery on a weekly basis.
More than £7m has been invested in all since the start of the millennium and yet these are testing times for the scheme itself.
With the introduction of the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust, fans now have another avenue in which they can directly affect the running of their club with their money.
Organisers hope fans will not see the two organisations as mutually exclusive and a relaunch of Lifeline and Goldline is currently in the pipeline to attract a new generation of supporters.
Back on December 11, 1982, Wanderers hosted Charlton Athletic at Burnden Park and were in a serious financial state.
John McGovern’s side won the game 4-1 to move up into 19th place in the old Division Two but it was what happened at the half-time interval that supporters still talk about to this very day.
Lofthouse strode on to the pitch to make an impassioned speech to the terraces, asking for people to dig deep and prevent the club from going under. He also marched out on to the car park on the Sunday morning to rally the troops before and after the game.
And his words worked, and the lottery scheme that helped keep Wanderers afloat during those uncertain times was then copied at clubs up and down the land and the great Lion of Vienna helped spread the word.
Lofthouse often gets credit for the idea but it was actually the brainchild of former chairman Terry Edge. Nowadays, Andrew Dean is the custodian, although his marches on to the pitch before kick-off and at half time are usually to accompany much more famous faces. On Saturday, for example, a tough customer for tough times in Gerry Taggart.
Dean is confident Wanderers will ride out their current financial problems and stabilise once more.
“The lotteries are just as important now to Bolton Wanderers as they were back when Nat went out to plead with the people of the town to save his beloved club,” he said.
“We can never forget what he did for Bolton Wanderers during those dark days to keep some cash-flow coming in, not to buy players or spend on wages, but to purchase the nuts and bolts of the club itself.
“We have raised a lot of money to fund projects that otherwise would not be done and it’s thanks to the public who joined the likes of Lifeline, Goldline bought instant win scratch cards or participated in the match day Golden Gamble draw that we still have a magnificent stadium and facilities.
“We’re delighted to see what the Supporters’ Trust has achieved in a relatively short amount of time because we are both looking to achieve the best for the club’s future. I hope people can continue to back both.”
Source