Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers are one of the oldest clubs in England. They were founded way back in 1874 and have been at the 28,723-capacity Reebok Stadium since 1997. Before that they competed at Burnden Park for 102 years. The club hold the record for most number of seasons in the top flight without winning the league, currently standing at 72.

Despite never tasting success in the top-flight Bolton have been a successful Cup side. They have won the FA Cup four times (1923, 1926, 1929, 1958) and they have won what is today the Championship three times. In the League Cup they have finished runners-up twice, whilst in the English top-flight they have finished third on three occasions.

During the Sam Allardyce tenure, between 1999 and 2007, Bolton achieved relative success. He started by getting the club back into the Premier League in 2001, and from there he started to establish them as a Premier League side. In the 2004-2005 season Allardyce led the Trotters to a sixth place finish, which meant that Bolton qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. 

Allardyce secured the club more European football after leading Bolton to a seventh place finish in the 2006-2007 season. He resigned not long after to take up the vacant Newcastle managerial role. After the departure of Allardyce the club steadily declined and by 2012 the club had been relegated to the Championship after ten years in the top-flight.

Striker Nat Lofthouse is regarded as a hero by the Bolton faithful. The forward scored 255 goals in 452 appearances for the club. He also scored both the goals in their 2-0 FA Cup victory over Manchester United in 1958. In more recent times there has been the Nigerian international Jay-Jay Okacha. The midfielder captivated fans with some majestic displays as he helped the club avoid relegation in 2002-2003 season, as well as being named captain at the start of the 2003-2004 season. Other notable players include bushy haired Ivan Campo and former Real Madrid defender Fernando Hierro.

The club's traditional rivals are Bury, who are situated just seven miles away. This rivalry has been somewhat diluted due to the clubs rarely being in the same league. 15 miles away are Blackburn Rovers who, with Bolton, were founders of the Football League. It is Rovers who are now considered their biggest rivals. The Trotters are also known to have an enmity towards fellow Lancashire club Wigan Athletic, as well as lesser rivalries with Tranmere Rovers and Burnley.

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