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Nigel Clough believes rival League One clubs were handed an "unfair advantage" by the EFL by being allowed to play Wanderers at the height of their financial crisis.
The Burton boss predicts issues at the end of this season if the likes of Gillingham, Tranmere and Ipswich - who put five past a Bolton team comprised mainly of youth players - come close to promotion or relegation.
“Bolton are vastly improved in the last couple of months and I only wish we had played them in August because any team who did had an unfair advantage," said the Brewers boss.
“They brought good experienced players in after August and any team who played them before that played youth or under 23 players so there is no semblance of fairness about it.
“Most teams at the start of the season were beating Bolton 5-0 but that hasn’t happened since they brought in players and got a team together.
“There are a lot of League One clubs questioning the fairness of it I think. The injustice won’t truly be felt until April and May when the five goals might make the difference between someone going up or down.
“When you get experienced players like Luke Murphy and Chris O’Grady out there on the pitch that makes a big difference. They are a much-improved team and it will be a battle for us on the back of the very busy Christmas period.
“But it’s a lovely stadium to go to and one we are looking forward to and we want to try and get three points against Bolton.”
Wanderers were due to play Burton at the Pirelli Stadium in October but the game was cancelled after they received three international call-ups.
The game has not yet been rescheduled, and Burton's continued involvement in the FA Cup meant it could not be reorganised for January 4.
Attempts to schedule the Doncaster Rovers game on that weekend have also fallen short.
Source
The Burton boss predicts issues at the end of this season if the likes of Gillingham, Tranmere and Ipswich - who put five past a Bolton team comprised mainly of youth players - come close to promotion or relegation.
“Bolton are vastly improved in the last couple of months and I only wish we had played them in August because any team who did had an unfair advantage," said the Brewers boss.
“They brought good experienced players in after August and any team who played them before that played youth or under 23 players so there is no semblance of fairness about it.
“Most teams at the start of the season were beating Bolton 5-0 but that hasn’t happened since they brought in players and got a team together.
“There are a lot of League One clubs questioning the fairness of it I think. The injustice won’t truly be felt until April and May when the five goals might make the difference between someone going up or down.
“When you get experienced players like Luke Murphy and Chris O’Grady out there on the pitch that makes a big difference. They are a much-improved team and it will be a battle for us on the back of the very busy Christmas period.
“But it’s a lovely stadium to go to and one we are looking forward to and we want to try and get three points against Bolton.”
Wanderers were due to play Burton at the Pirelli Stadium in October but the game was cancelled after they received three international call-ups.
The game has not yet been rescheduled, and Burton's continued involvement in the FA Cup meant it could not be reorganised for January 4.
Attempts to schedule the Doncaster Rovers game on that weekend have also fallen short.
Source
