Bolton Away

[Dutch Uncle]

  Personally like most Rovers fans I was furious at how Bolton treated us with so little respect.And nobody will ever convince me that the only reason that game was postponed was that Bolton had 2 home games in a week and the receiver just didn't have the funds to put them on and needed to buy time..

  However after supporting this club and remembering how it felt when you genuinely felt that it was all over and we were finished..If having to go through this inconvenience actually helped Bolton buy some time and contributed to their survival as a Football club then it's a small price to pay..

I agree with this. It is a shame Bury were unable to survive, but if we helped Bolton then that is good for football IMHO.

However, and I may well be wrong, but I cannot remember any official comment from the Bolton club expressing any apology to DRFC and fans for inconvenience caused. I would be delighted to be wrong because such a statement would go a long way softening the apparent arrogance of the club and lack of respect/empathy for other clubs as expressed by WingCo above.

[Bristol Red Rover]

However, and I may well be wrong, but I cannot remember any official comment from the Bolton club expressing any apology to DRFC and fans for inconvenience caused. I would be delighted to be wrong because such a statement would go a long way softening the apparent arrogance of the club and lack of respect/empathy for other clubs as expressed by WingCo above.

An official full unreserved apology is the very least they could do. However there's several things Bolton could do as a gesture of good will. Putting out the same squad they had at the time is the only fair one that would gain respect.

Other gestures include paying for Rover's fans travel, and/or offering free away tickets (yes I believe that may not be allowed, but the EFL could be wise and allow this).

[i_ateallthepies]

The EFL won't be faced with having to make a decision on that one BRR.

[Chris Black come back]

Won’t believe game is actually going to be replayed until stadium is built.

[Campsall rover]

It's not only the Bolton fans that were wind up merchants that behaved disgustingly the club at Bolton did. No pride or honour or sportsmanship from them. I'll gladly see them get relegated and hopefully into the conference too.

That way they may learn a little bit more respect for us "smaller" clubs.

You say “smaller clubs”  well how big a club are Bolton now?
Think a club is only as big as it’s status and Bolton will be a league 2 club very soon.

No guarantee they will bounce back next season and if Gary Hill is still manager next season then the conference is a more likely venue for them at the end of 2020/21 than a return to League 1

So Bolton in my mind is now a Small Club even if some of their delusional fans think they are a Premier League Club.

Disagree with you there. One of my pet hates in football is when people say things like “Leeds/Forest/Wednesday should be in the top flight” based on their history - it’s rubbish, they are where they deserve to be. However it doesn’t make them smaller clubs than, say, Brighton or Watford just because they are in the league below them. There are all sorts of things that determine (for me) what makes a big club - historic success and fan base for example - and the league they currently reside in doesn’t really come into it.

Yes but you can see the point i am making surely.
Bolton may look a big Club compared to Macclesfield or Morecambe next season but compared to Bradford City and Plymouth Argyle if they are still in League 2 next season they will not look big.
In fact unless they storm the league it is likely their gates will be lower. So are Bradford and Plymouth big clubs? In league 2 maybe they are. Everything is comparative.
Put Bolton in the Championship and would you say they are a big club?
Compared to Leeds, Wednesday, Forest, Derby, WBA, Stoke, Middlesbrough, Cardiff, Bristol City, Birmingham City, Fulham etc etc they are not.

[NickDRFC]

It's not only the Bolton fans that were wind up merchants that behaved disgustingly the club at Bolton did. No pride or honour or sportsmanship from them. I'll gladly see them get relegated and hopefully into the conference too.

That way they may learn a little bit more respect for us "smaller" clubs.

You say “smaller clubs”  well how big a club are Bolton now?
Think a club is only as big as it’s status and Bolton will be a league 2 club very soon.

No guarantee they will bounce back next season and if Gary Hill is still manager next season then the conference is a more likely venue for them at the end of 2020/21 than a return to League 1

So Bolton in my mind is now a Small Club even if some of their delusional fans think they are a Premier League Club.

Disagree with you there. One of my pet hates in football is when people say things like “Leeds/Forest/Wednesday should be in the top flight” based on their history - it’s rubbish, they are where they deserve to be. However it doesn’t make them smaller clubs than, say, Brighton or Watford just because they are in the league below them. There are all sorts of things that determine (for me) what makes a big club - historic success and fan base for example - and the league they currently reside in doesn’t really come into it.

Yes but you can see the point i am making surely.
Bolton may look a big Club compared to Macclesfield or Morecambe next season but compared to Bradford City and Plymouth Argyle if they are still in League 2 next season they will not look big.
In fact unless they storm the league it is likely their gates will be lower. So are Bradford and Plymouth big clubs? In league 2 maybe they are. Everything is comparative.
Put Bolton in the Championship and would you say they are a big club?
Compared to Leeds, Wednesday, Forest, Derby, WBA, Stoke, Middlesbrough, Cardiff, Bristol City, Birmingham City, Fulham etc etc they are not.

I can read the point you are making, I just don’t agree with it. I think you’ve also contradicted yourself - you said “a club is only as big as it’s status” but then in your hypothetical scenario of Bolton being in the Championship you say that some clubs of the same status would be bigger.

Bolton are hardly a massive club but at League One and especially League Two it’s hard to deny that they are/would be a big fish at that level. They’ve spent a large portion of their history in the top flight, won the FA Cup several times and played in Europe - that makes them a big club in my eyes. You might not agree but that’s how I see it.

[Campsall rover]

I don’t see Nick how i have contradicted myself at all.
Being a big club is all comparative and it depends what information you use to make those comparisons.
Bolton in my eyes are anything but a big club as they stand now and to you they are a big club.
I think we should leave it at that. Opinions Opinions 

[Catte]

I kind of agree with most of the comments to some extent.

Pet hate is hearing pundits say they would love Leeds to be back in the Prem as that is where they belong, this to me is arse and you need to be careful what you wish for as they have more than their share of nut jobs following them looking to make a name for themselves.

Are Bolton a big club, well most of the fans who have followed as long as I have would say no, the Prem we were punching above our weight, we loved it but without Sam Allardyce it is unlikely we would have stayed anywhere near the length that we did. We were not a big club then somewhere between Bournemouth and Crystal Palace for a comparison. Are we a big club in this league we probably should be, but we are not yes teams like to come to our stadium and they all fancy playing us.
Will we be a big club next season in the 2nd Division if Bradford are still there we will probably be on a par with them. We have some history we have some ambition but I suspect next season at least at the start we will be back down to our core of loyal fans and most will be my age struggling to remember when Djorkaeff, Jay Jay, Hierro, Campo, Stuart Holden, Jaaskelainen, Stelios and Ivan Klasnic used to turn out for us.

As a fan our job is to dream and hope those in charge know what they are doing, sadly for some time now the last bit has been missing.

[Metalmicky]

I kind of agree with most of the comments to some extent.

Pet hate is hearing pundits say they would love Leeds to be back in the Prem as that is where they belong, this to me is arse and you need to be careful what you wish for as they have more than their share of nut jobs following them looking to make a name for themselves.

I think we're all hoping it's time for some..........

[Catte]

PMSL, will probably steal that

[Metalmicky]

I see that MK dons got a late winner to extend the gap between Bolton and safety to 20 points.... with only 19 games to go, this is going to be some revival if they are to escape...

[dickos1]

A big club is a big club regardless of their current status.
Bournemouth aren’t a bigger club than Bolton, Bradford just because they’re currently in the prem