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We made our weary way to Derby to what was billed on social media as the Bolton Wanderers relegation party at the iPro stadium.
The Pride Park area is well stacked with eateries, so we treated ourselves at Frankie and Benny’s.
David Wheater showed his mischievous sense of humour by keeping his hands firmly in his pockets as the team arrived and were filmed on Periscope again.
As usual, the day went downhill rapidly after kick-off with the only surprise being that we held out for 13 minutes, when Johnny Russell beat Ben Amos with another long-range shot.
With no means of holding the ball up front until Emile Heskey came on at half time and the midfield determined to give the ball away, the match became a question of how many Derby would get.
Thanks to the nets being the regulation size, we kept them down to four as they fired shot after shot at Ben Amos’s goal.
The Bolton fans were in good form all afternoon and greeted Zach Clough’s penalty like a Champions League winner.
Renditions of "We’re going to Shrewsbury" and "Bolton 'til I die" summed up the spirit of the fans and brought admiration and applause from the Derby fans.
The day was all about the fans. Although we’ve known it’s been inevitable for weeks if not months, we haven’t given up on the Wanderers, unlike the team, management and board.
We’ll be there next season in League One and whatever division we find ourselves in thereafter.
What has hurt most this season is that we have gone down without a fight and that is not the Bolton way.
What has happened to the Bolton spirit where if you kicked Bolton Wanderers, you kicked Bolton?
Despite the off-field chaos, this squad of players should have performed much better.
What is really worrying is that I don’t think that our decline has bottomed out yet. The new owners have got a mammoth task to sort things out.
Inevitably, well-paid players out of contract will go but the problem comes with the overpaid players still in contract.
If nobody will take them off our hands, they are going to use up a large share of our salary cap in League One, set at 60 per cent of turnover.
Add to that loyalty bonuses and unpaid wages still to be financed and the outlook is not great.
Source
The Pride Park area is well stacked with eateries, so we treated ourselves at Frankie and Benny’s.
David Wheater showed his mischievous sense of humour by keeping his hands firmly in his pockets as the team arrived and were filmed on Periscope again.
As usual, the day went downhill rapidly after kick-off with the only surprise being that we held out for 13 minutes, when Johnny Russell beat Ben Amos with another long-range shot.
With no means of holding the ball up front until Emile Heskey came on at half time and the midfield determined to give the ball away, the match became a question of how many Derby would get.
Thanks to the nets being the regulation size, we kept them down to four as they fired shot after shot at Ben Amos’s goal.
The Bolton fans were in good form all afternoon and greeted Zach Clough’s penalty like a Champions League winner.
Renditions of "We’re going to Shrewsbury" and "Bolton 'til I die" summed up the spirit of the fans and brought admiration and applause from the Derby fans.
The day was all about the fans. Although we’ve known it’s been inevitable for weeks if not months, we haven’t given up on the Wanderers, unlike the team, management and board.
We’ll be there next season in League One and whatever division we find ourselves in thereafter.
What has hurt most this season is that we have gone down without a fight and that is not the Bolton way.
What has happened to the Bolton spirit where if you kicked Bolton Wanderers, you kicked Bolton?
Despite the off-field chaos, this squad of players should have performed much better.
What is really worrying is that I don’t think that our decline has bottomed out yet. The new owners have got a mammoth task to sort things out.
Inevitably, well-paid players out of contract will go but the problem comes with the overpaid players still in contract.
If nobody will take them off our hands, they are going to use up a large share of our salary cap in League One, set at 60 per cent of turnover.
Add to that loyalty bonuses and unpaid wages still to be financed and the outlook is not great.
Source
