Straight From the Stands: Dear Wanderers, we've one wish for Wigan Athletic

Wigan's players celebrate after putting a fourth goal past Wanderers last season (Image: CameraSport - Andrew Kearns)

Time to end the misery, please...

by Liam Hatton.

NINE years, 11 months and 12 days, or 3,634 days, or 519 weeks. Pick your poison because no matter how you dress it up, Bolton Wanderers’ recent record against bitter rivals Wigan Athletic has been nothing short of horrendous.

Over the last five years alone Bolton have been beaten 4-0 on two separate occasions alongside an equally depressing 5-2 loss. If you were to talk about one team having another side’s number in recent time, we may as well start calling ‘that club down the road’ the Yellow Pages.

Since the last time Bolton managed a victory against Wigan they have had two different owners, gone into administration, were on the verge of liquidation, dropped to League Two and gained promotion back to League One. Wigan themselves? Well they nearly copied our flow word for word by teetering close to the edge as well, before they were saved at the death by their current owners.

Both clubs have had it rough on and off the field, which begs the question right now: Can - or will - Bolton ever, ever, ever get a win in this fixture again? If it is to happen, there will not be a better chance than this weekend for Ian Evatt, with Wigan’s fan base seemingly turning against their manager with a squad that is undoubtedly weaker than it has been in years.

That is the thing with local derbies though, you just have to throw form out of the window. I was confident heading into the playoff final that Bolton would win comfortably and look how that turned out. So as long as I am taking in oxygen, I will never go into this particular fixture with any sort of confidence that we will get the three points.

Call it PTSD or call it whatever you want, but these games over the last few years have really done a number on me. James McClean may be gone, but there is no doubt that Callum McManaman will be walking out of his Cryotherapy chamber on Friday afternoon, ready to turn into prime Luis Figo.

I can talk about Tuesday’s win over Huddersfield in that cup (I can’t even keep up with the name as it seemingly changes every other month) and how Bolton played some really exciting stuff. Should that fill me with confidence? Again, yes it should, if this were any other fixture. But not this one.

It is representative of more than bragging rights, and although a win would be so sweet for Evatt after all the back and forth between him and Wigan’s fanbase, it would also go a long way to taking some pressure off his own back, whilst showing that this team can indeed show up when they are playing in a high pressure environment.

Lose and the pitchforks will be there for all to see, and I truthfully believe that we would have ventured way past the point of no return.

So.. no pressure? Of course not, it’s just another game, right? This needs every single player to show up and be counted. Them lot are expecting to get battered for the first time in a long time, and that is honestly what scares me the most.

Please Bolton. Please.

Will Forrester showed his worth in midweek - could he keep his place? (Image: CameraSport - Lee Parker)

More than bragging rights

by Lee Sidebotham.

I don’t think it can be underestimated how big this game is.

For us, today’s match can finally kick-start our season as we gain some much-needed momentum in arguably the most important period of the year However, if we lose then promotion will suddenly feel like miles away. We can’t drop points against sides like Cambridge, Wigan and Shrewsbury and expect to be up there come the end of the year.

For Wigan, a win could see them escape the relegation fight. A loss however will more than likely drop them into the relegation zone, with an uphill battle for the rest of the season on the cards.

Despite Southwood putting in some impressive performances in the cup, I think there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Baxter must start in net.

Honestly, I’ve been impressed with Forrester since his injury comeback and wouldn’t be against starting him over Jones on the right-hand side of a back trio with Johnston and Santos.

On the wing, I would start Osei-Tutu alongside Schon. Both have really impressed me in recent matches. Inverting our wingers is still somewhat an experiment, so only Evatt can really judge if we try it again. Williams for me is a very good impact sub and he’d be one of the first I’d look to bring on if needed.

Ideally, I’d look to play three in midfield for this game, more than any other. But with injuries in that department, it looks like we have no choice but to play Thomason and Matete only. Thomason has gained somewhat of a reputation with EFL refs over recent years and needs to make sure every tackle is timed right. We can’t afford having to sub him off to avoid a red card.

Up front there’s arguments for all five of our strikers to start. Form wise Lolos perhaps has the strongest case. But personally, I would pick Collins, Charles and Adeboyejo and look to bring on the Greek midway through the game if needed. Oh, how good would another 97th minute winner be!? We need to ensure we’re clinical up front and take our chances when they come. We cannot afford to make costly errors such as Charles’ open goal miss against Huddersfield this week or Victor’s blunder against Mansfield. Wigan will punish us.

In previous games against the Latics, we’ve come out trying to control the pace and play our own game which simply hasn’t worked. We should look to play to Wigan’s weaknesses which there are arguably more of than previous years.

This game is more than just about bragging rights. A lot of fans have told me in recent months that they’d give Evatt until Christmas for things to start improving, otherwise it’s time for a change. Well, I think this is the game that will decide exactly that.

Jay Matete impressed against Huddersfield Town (Image: CameraSport - Lee Parker)

Heartburn over heartbreak,

by Chris McKeown.

Christmas is almost upon us, and what better way for Bolton Wanderers to give us the perfect gift to start the festivities than with an overdue win against our current main local rival, Wigan!

The supporters have waited a long time for the chance to leave this derby with heads held high and to have bragging rights.

‘You can’t win them all’ some say, and that’s true, but our form in recent times against the Tics has meant that just one win, especially now, could mean so much more.

I wouldn’t say it’s season defining but it’s very much a golden opportunity to get the supporters, the manager and team all back on the same hymn sheet and show anyone who loves BWFC, or anyone that doubts the pathway that this club is on, that we mean business.

The Huddersfield game should give a boost of confidence, Osei-Tutu and Matete both putting in high standard shifts, which in fairness was equalled across the team in the main, the three goals could easily have been more and it was a well deserved victory.

The imminent return of some important players means that Evatt is getting closer to having a full deck of cards to play with. The injury to Sheehan gives him a temporary midfield issue to navigate but there’s certainly light at the end of the tunnel regarding selection availability.

This weekend the fans need a performance with attitude, yes a win of any nature will be welcome, but just imagine what it could lead to if this team that has shown flashes of brilliance, can put it all together and find the perfect display we all know is there, on what is undoubtedly a big occasion.

The game has so much riding on it, to lose it would add to the pressure and the voices of concern would undoubtedly rise. So many times have we come away deflated (and sometimes embarrassed) against the Latics. The result on Saturday could be a major factor in how we move into the New Year. To win and the whole landscape could change in our favour dramatically.

So, no extra motivation needed- Just the collective team/ players & Evatt’s individual pride in tandem with the pride of the loyal supporters - is really all that should be required.

We can’t guarantee a win but we must take this game by the scruff of the neck and want this more than them, we must be relentless, no quarter given, none asked.

Some call it the ‘pies v pasty’ derby, well if that’s true, and if we win, I may well over indulge on our local delicacy in the celebration.

It’d be worth the potential heartburn over the almost certain heartbreak!

This is not just 'another game',

by James Scott.

After Bolton’s miserable start to the season, and positive murmurings around a recovery have come with a caveat. Like a beacon in the distance, the game at home to Wigan has crept up on Bolton, and it is time to face perhaps the toughest mental test so far.

This is not another game, and Wanderers quite simply cannot treat it as one. If Ian Evatt and the players go into the game regurgitating the rubric that ‘it’s just another game’, then suddenly flashbacks of the last two 4-0 drubbings may play out again on Saturday.

The players need to understand that this game simply means more, and it could be the defining moment in the tenure of Ian Evatt. Another humiliating defeat against the noisy neighbours could possibly spell the end. I think many fans could never possibly retain confidence or belief in the side under this regime.

However, a win could pave a way back for Evatt to regain the confidence of fans who have lost faith in Bolton and this style of play. There are few better feelings in football for fans than winning a derby, especially as Wanderers are winless in their previous nine games against Wigan.

This could promote not only a small ripple of positivity around the Toughsheet Community Stadium but could also help power Bolton through what is a very tricky month of December, packed with difficult games against good opposition.

The problem for Bolton is that they never seem to start well, with enough hunger to put the opposition on the back foot. Against Oxford in the play-off final, Paris Maghoma was clattered 11 seconds in, and from that moment on Wanderers looked petrified. A pair of early goals last season for Wigan stunned a side that had been unbeaten until that point, and there is no need to go into depth about what happened in Stockport just a few weeks ago.

Every single member of staff at Bolton Wanderers has a role to play on Saturday. Ian Evatt must find a way to get every single one of his players firing. There can be no excuses when almost every member of the first team is available in some capacity, against a Wigan side who have lost three in a row.

The players must take a hard look at themselves, and realise they are playing for something much bigger than just three points on Saturday. The game against Wigan is set to be a defining one. It is now, or it is never.