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We have delved into our archives once again to bring a magical Wanderers match back to life.
This week, we look at the night Nathan Blake's superb angled strike humbled Kenny Dalglish's Newcastle United, then rubbing shoulders with the European elite in the Champions League.
Things didn't always go well in the 97/98 campaign for Wanderers but at this stage Colin Todd's side were going great guns - as Gordon Sharrock's report suggests below.
Subs not used: Ward, Phillips, Johansen, Beardsley, Gunnlaugsson.
Subs not used: Given, Hughes, Albert, Crawford.
Goal star Nathan Blake was elevated to the ranks of the world class strikers today after adding the Geordies to his list of Premiership conquests.
Blake 'nuked' Newcastle with a breath-taking strike to send Wanderers soaring to the 'dizzy' heights of mid-table with their second win in three of the most important days yet in their bid for top flight respectability.
It was a supremely skilful, high-powered finish that left star South African centre-back Mark Fish thankful he doesn't have to face the Welshman in his forthcoming round of internationals.
New Reebok hero Fish, who has the awesome task of keeping a rein on the brilliant Brazilians on Sunday, confessed: "I'm just glad I'm not playing against Nathan.
"Nathan's a world class player. He was superb last night and that goal was magnificent. I'm delighted he's on my side."
Fish is also delighted he came to Bolton in what is looking increasingly like a bargain £2.5 million transfer from Italian giants Lazio.
He's played a key role alongside the ever-impressive Andy Todd in helping Wanderers build a bridgehead in the Premiership - being on the losing side only once in his eight appearances - and is forecasting even greater improvements than the rise to 13th on the back of last night's win. "We are now where we deserve to be," Fish said. "In fact, not even that. We deserve to be even higher than this.
"We're a good footballing team and, with the phenomenal support we get at the Reebok Stadium, we can really go places.
"I'm sure we can continue to rise and, in a few years' time, we can be a prominent side in the Premiership. I have no doubts about that."
It might seem a small step for some but a move from 19th to 13th up the Premier League ladder represents a giant leap for the Wanderers.
What a difference three days have made! Successive single goal victories over Wimbledon and Newcastle - not the best but still two of the prized scalps - have transformed Todd's Terriers from basement boys to mid-table men.
And Fish is not alone in the Reebok camp in believing that their new-found status is just a sign of better things to come.
"There's a great feeling of wanting to be winners," the understandably delighted manager said of his hard-working players, who offered Newcastle little of hope of recovery after Blake's third decisive strike in successive Premiership games at the Reebok, which is gaining a growing reputation as the most formidable of fortresses.
Any one of the Brazilian strikers Fish will have to contend with in Johannesburg on Sunday would have been proud of the 21st minute strike that sent Newcastle home with taunts of "sour grapes" ringing in their ears - the consequence of Kenny Dalglish moaning before and after the game that Wanderers refused to put the game back 24 hours to give his players a rest after their travels over the previous five days.
Blake was being tracked by Steve Watson as Per Frandsen's accurately-placed pass floated towards the left of the Newcastle box. In a flash, it was as though he was on his own. He chested the ball down, contemptuously brushed aside his marker and drilled in a shot Shaka Hislop got down to but couldn't keep out.
And that from a striker criticised in some quarters for squandering chances!
"I've never even considered criticising Nathan for missing chances," Todd said in support of a player who is now regarded as one of the most feared front-runners in Premiership football.
"I've always had belief in him and I think he's shown that he has the belief in himself. I think he was disappointed with his performances last time we were in the Premiership and he could have had twice as many goals if he'd taken all the chances he's had this season. He certainly could have been in double figures.
"But I'd be more concerned if he wasn't getting the chances."
Not that Blake was a one-goal wonder. He played his part from first to last on a night when Wanderers came of age as a Premiership force. His early contributions ensured Newcastle were on their guard from the start and he never gave the Geordies' back four a moment's peace.
The same could be said of every Bolton player as they not only outfought one of England's most respected sides of recent years but also outplayed them.
Outclassed in the first half, Newcastle had a feast of possession in the second but never looked like hurting Wanderers, who have become more solid defensively than ever before.
They have conceded three goals at the Reebok in eight Premiership games - a statistic guaranteed to command the utmost respect and one that puts Fish, Todd, Gudni Bergsson and Mike Whitlow up among the most respected units in the land.
Yet, although the back four was outstanding, Wanderers would have struggled to keep their seventh clean sheet in 16 league games without another hard-working performance from the midfield.
But teamwork is the key and Scott Sellars, one of the grafting midfield quartet, included Blake and Dean Holdsworth in the defensive accolades. "The back four was magnificent, which they have been in most of the games here at the Reebok," he acknowledged. "But we defended from the front. The front two lads worked tremendously hard and made it difficult for them (Newcastle) to get out.
"We went back to basics after the Sheffield Wednesday defeat and had a good look at ourselves. We knew we had the ability but our organisation was poor. But it sometimes happens that you have to hit rock bottom to bounce back.
"Things couldn't get much worse than being 5-0 down at half time but we've bounced back well. We've felt all along that we could give as good as we'd get and that we weren't that far behind everybody else. Now that we've got three points from the game in hand, we aren't."
The game might not have delivered a catalogue of goalmouth incidents but it showed Wanderers in all their glory; attractive in the first half, hard-working in the second.
Whether it was Blake's menacing contribution - Holdsworth was just a bootlace away from connecting with his co-striker's curling, right wing cross for a 2-0 lead - or the determination to chase lost causes that almost brought unexpected late chances for Holdsworth and the tireless Jamie Pollock, this was an occasion when Wanderers can rightly claim to have deserved their points.
Dalglish might have had his whinge about Wanderers refusing his request for an extra day's grace after his team's travels to Barcelona and Crystal Palace but he showed respect when he said: "Bolton are well organised and goals will be hard to come by here, especially when they score first.
"Manchester United and Liverpool both had difficulty in trying to score here.
"They played well on the break and the team did well in supporting the two central defenders. Once they had the goal they had something to hold on to and you have to say they did it well.
"We were disappointed we could not play the game 24 hours later. Our boys gave everything. If we had put the game back it would have given us extra time but the result could have been the same."
Source (There are 44 pics from the game at source!)
This week, we look at the night Nathan Blake's superb angled strike humbled Kenny Dalglish's Newcastle United, then rubbing shoulders with the European elite in the Champions League.
Things didn't always go well in the 97/98 campaign for Wanderers but at this stage Colin Todd's side were going great guns - as Gordon Sharrock's report suggests below.
- The Wanderers team that night: Branagan, Bergsson, Fish, Todd, Whitlow, Pollock, Thompson, Frandsen, Sellars, Blake, Holdsworth.
Subs not used: Ward, Phillips, Johansen, Beardsley, Gunnlaugsson.
- Newcastle: Hislop, Pistone, Peacock, Watson, Pearce, Gillespie, Lee, Ketsbaia, Batty, Hamilton (Barnes), Tomasson.
Subs not used: Given, Hughes, Albert, Crawford.
- Our Match Report (taken from The Bolton Evening News)
Goal star Nathan Blake was elevated to the ranks of the world class strikers today after adding the Geordies to his list of Premiership conquests.
Blake 'nuked' Newcastle with a breath-taking strike to send Wanderers soaring to the 'dizzy' heights of mid-table with their second win in three of the most important days yet in their bid for top flight respectability.
It was a supremely skilful, high-powered finish that left star South African centre-back Mark Fish thankful he doesn't have to face the Welshman in his forthcoming round of internationals.
New Reebok hero Fish, who has the awesome task of keeping a rein on the brilliant Brazilians on Sunday, confessed: "I'm just glad I'm not playing against Nathan.
"Nathan's a world class player. He was superb last night and that goal was magnificent. I'm delighted he's on my side."
Fish is also delighted he came to Bolton in what is looking increasingly like a bargain £2.5 million transfer from Italian giants Lazio.
He's played a key role alongside the ever-impressive Andy Todd in helping Wanderers build a bridgehead in the Premiership - being on the losing side only once in his eight appearances - and is forecasting even greater improvements than the rise to 13th on the back of last night's win. "We are now where we deserve to be," Fish said. "In fact, not even that. We deserve to be even higher than this.
"We're a good footballing team and, with the phenomenal support we get at the Reebok Stadium, we can really go places.
"I'm sure we can continue to rise and, in a few years' time, we can be a prominent side in the Premiership. I have no doubts about that."
It might seem a small step for some but a move from 19th to 13th up the Premier League ladder represents a giant leap for the Wanderers.
What a difference three days have made! Successive single goal victories over Wimbledon and Newcastle - not the best but still two of the prized scalps - have transformed Todd's Terriers from basement boys to mid-table men.
And Fish is not alone in the Reebok camp in believing that their new-found status is just a sign of better things to come.
"There's a great feeling of wanting to be winners," the understandably delighted manager said of his hard-working players, who offered Newcastle little of hope of recovery after Blake's third decisive strike in successive Premiership games at the Reebok, which is gaining a growing reputation as the most formidable of fortresses.
Any one of the Brazilian strikers Fish will have to contend with in Johannesburg on Sunday would have been proud of the 21st minute strike that sent Newcastle home with taunts of "sour grapes" ringing in their ears - the consequence of Kenny Dalglish moaning before and after the game that Wanderers refused to put the game back 24 hours to give his players a rest after their travels over the previous five days.
Blake was being tracked by Steve Watson as Per Frandsen's accurately-placed pass floated towards the left of the Newcastle box. In a flash, it was as though he was on his own. He chested the ball down, contemptuously brushed aside his marker and drilled in a shot Shaka Hislop got down to but couldn't keep out.
And that from a striker criticised in some quarters for squandering chances!
"I've never even considered criticising Nathan for missing chances," Todd said in support of a player who is now regarded as one of the most feared front-runners in Premiership football.
"I've always had belief in him and I think he's shown that he has the belief in himself. I think he was disappointed with his performances last time we were in the Premiership and he could have had twice as many goals if he'd taken all the chances he's had this season. He certainly could have been in double figures.
"But I'd be more concerned if he wasn't getting the chances."
Not that Blake was a one-goal wonder. He played his part from first to last on a night when Wanderers came of age as a Premiership force. His early contributions ensured Newcastle were on their guard from the start and he never gave the Geordies' back four a moment's peace.
The same could be said of every Bolton player as they not only outfought one of England's most respected sides of recent years but also outplayed them.
Outclassed in the first half, Newcastle had a feast of possession in the second but never looked like hurting Wanderers, who have become more solid defensively than ever before.
They have conceded three goals at the Reebok in eight Premiership games - a statistic guaranteed to command the utmost respect and one that puts Fish, Todd, Gudni Bergsson and Mike Whitlow up among the most respected units in the land.
Yet, although the back four was outstanding, Wanderers would have struggled to keep their seventh clean sheet in 16 league games without another hard-working performance from the midfield.
But teamwork is the key and Scott Sellars, one of the grafting midfield quartet, included Blake and Dean Holdsworth in the defensive accolades. "The back four was magnificent, which they have been in most of the games here at the Reebok," he acknowledged. "But we defended from the front. The front two lads worked tremendously hard and made it difficult for them (Newcastle) to get out.
"We went back to basics after the Sheffield Wednesday defeat and had a good look at ourselves. We knew we had the ability but our organisation was poor. But it sometimes happens that you have to hit rock bottom to bounce back.
"Things couldn't get much worse than being 5-0 down at half time but we've bounced back well. We've felt all along that we could give as good as we'd get and that we weren't that far behind everybody else. Now that we've got three points from the game in hand, we aren't."
The game might not have delivered a catalogue of goalmouth incidents but it showed Wanderers in all their glory; attractive in the first half, hard-working in the second.
Whether it was Blake's menacing contribution - Holdsworth was just a bootlace away from connecting with his co-striker's curling, right wing cross for a 2-0 lead - or the determination to chase lost causes that almost brought unexpected late chances for Holdsworth and the tireless Jamie Pollock, this was an occasion when Wanderers can rightly claim to have deserved their points.
Dalglish might have had his whinge about Wanderers refusing his request for an extra day's grace after his team's travels to Barcelona and Crystal Palace but he showed respect when he said: "Bolton are well organised and goals will be hard to come by here, especially when they score first.
"Manchester United and Liverpool both had difficulty in trying to score here.
"They played well on the break and the team did well in supporting the two central defenders. Once they had the goal they had something to hold on to and you have to say they did it well.
"We were disappointed we could not play the game 24 hours later. Our boys gave everything. If we had put the game back it would have given us extra time but the result could have been the same."
Source (There are 44 pics from the game at source!)