Bolton Wanderers

English League One
2 Feb 2027
Tuesday
Process
27 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Jordan Hugill has said yes to Trento

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bolton Wanderers have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Boardroom

Bolton Wanderers close the window on a squad of their own making

1 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Market

Thierry Gale attracts admirers

The name of Thierry Gale has come up in conversations Bolton Wanderers were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

A row about effort at Bolton Wanderers

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Atsuki Ito was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

A falling-out at Bolton Wanderers

Akin Famewo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

Bolton Wanderers rebuffed over Oscar Schwartau

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Norwich City have kept their man, and Bolton Wanderers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Ryan Hardie is carrying Bolton Wanderers

13 goals and a season average of 7.21. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Match

Stockport County take the points off Bolton Wanderers

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief

Back issues
26 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Ryan Hardie leads the rout of Wycombe Wanderers

5‑1, and Ryan Hardie took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bolton Wanderers tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Player ratings

A brace, and Sam Dalby takes the afternoon — 9.77

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sam Dalby provided it, and the 9.77 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Ethan Erhahon asks to leave Bolton Wanderers

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

A day Ryan Hardie will not forget

3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.

Market

Bolton Wanderers say no — this time

The offer from Pianese for Jordan Hugill was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Squad

Sam Dalby is carrying Bolton Wanderers

16 goals and a season average of 7.28. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Tempers go at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Ryan Hardie among the goals in a wild afternoon

6 goals in one match, Ryan Hardie on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Bolton Wanderers and Wycombe Wanderers.

Market

Bolton Wanderers sell Nathan Broome for $530.0K

Nathan Broome has left for Wycombe Wanderers in a $530.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

In brief

25 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Gaizka Larrazabal was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 30. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Market

Bolton Wanderers turn down Lincoln City for Ethan Erhahon

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Boardroom

Jack Dallimore signs for Oldham Athletic while still at Bolton Wanderers

The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Jack Dallimore has agreed terms with Oldham Athletic for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.

Squad

Words exchanged at Bolton Wanderers

Eoin Toal and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Words at Bolton Wanderers training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Atsuki Ito is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Transfer targets

Bolton Wanderers rebuffed over Tiago Caballero

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olimpia have kept their man, and Bolton Wanderers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The terraces

Bolton Wanderers supporters have found a favourite in Samuel Iling-Junior

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Iling-Junior has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Match

Bolton Wanderers get the job done against AFC Wimbledon

A 1‑0 win over AFC Wimbledon, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Sam Dalby makes it 200

200 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.

In brief

24 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 35. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Jorge Gaitán asks to leave Bolton Wanderers

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Tempers go at Bolton Wanderers

Eoin Toal was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Atsuki Ito falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Ian Vera

Bolton Wanderers asked and Estudiantes said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Luciano Cariaga wants to go home

“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Bolton Wanderers know it.

The dugout

Lee Gregory gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Loan watch

9 goals on loan for David Abimbola

16 appearances at Accrington Stanley and the goals keep coming. Bolton Wanderers are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

The dugout

The form table has caught Akin Famewo

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

In brief

23 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

A brace, and Ryan Hardie takes the afternoon — 8.90

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ryan Hardie provided it, and the 8.90 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Luciano Cariaga puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bolton Wanderers, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

The season belongs to Max Conway

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Bolton Wanderers have had the benefit of it.

Market

Vis Pesaro come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Bolton Wanderers did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Words exchanged at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Match

Cardiff City take the points off Bolton Wanderers

Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Sam Dalby is carrying Bolton Wanderers

14 goals and a season average of 7.22. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Ryan Hardie falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

Sporting CP tell Bolton Wanderers: Rafael Nel is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

In brief

22 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

No mercy from Bolton Wanderers

Exeter City will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Bolton Wanderers were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 33. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

3 goals for Sam Dalby

The match ball belongs to Sam Dalby, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

The dugout

Jorge Gaitán: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bolton Wanderers have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

A falling-out at Bolton Wanderers

Eoin Toal and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Sam Dalby at his very best

Marked 10.00. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bolton Wanderers.

Squad

Bolton Wanderers count the cost of losing David Bell

32 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

A row about effort at Bolton Wanderers

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Atsuki Ito was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

Ryan Hardie was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.90. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

In brief

21 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Words at Bolton Wanderers training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Atsuki Ito is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Bolton Wanderers get the job done against Leyton Orient

A 3‑1 win over Leyton Orient, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Tempers go at Bolton Wanderers

Sam Dalby was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Ryan Hardie

Marked 8.46 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

The dugout

Akin Famewo gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

Adam Jackson has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Adam Jackson on a 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

Market

The Eoin Toal question follows Bolton Wanderers around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Eoin Toal’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

The dugout

No place in the plan for Josh Sheehan

The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.

In brief

20 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 29. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

A falling-out at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Bolton Wanderers

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ryan Hardie was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Bolton Wanderers come up short against Luton Town

Luton Town left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Lee Gregory

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Adam Jackson left the room before anybody could ask which.

Market

Bolton Wanderers and Andy Cannon are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

The dugout

The form table has caught Akin Famewo

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

Loan watch

7 goals on loan for David Abimbola

12 appearances at Accrington Stanley and the goals keep coming. Bolton Wanderers are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

In brief

19 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Bolton Wanderers tear Northampton Town apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Northampton Town, and it could have been more.

Squad

Brad Collins keeps Bolton Wanderers in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

The dugout

Luciano Cariaga: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bolton Wanderers have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Bolton Wanderers

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

Atsuki Ito falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Josh Sheehan in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bolton Wanderers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The terraces

Bolton Wanderers supporters have found a favourite in Samuel Iling-Junior

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Iling-Junior has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Player ratings

Ryan Hardie was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.26. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Samuel Iling-Junior

Marked 8.18 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

In brief

18 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Bolton Wanderers make home a hard place to visit

9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.

Match

Bolton Wanderers see off Plymouth Argyle

Three points for Bolton Wanderers, 2‑1 the final word against Plymouth Argyle in a contest settled by the finer margins.

The terraces

One of their own: Max Conway

He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Squad

Words at Bolton Wanderers training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. George Johnston is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

One of those days for Sam Dalby

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.21, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Ryan Hardie was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.19. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

The dugout

Josh Sheehan gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

No place for Jorge Gaitán in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jorge Gaitán has his answer from Bolton Wanderers; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

In brief

17 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Gaizka Larrazabal runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 34. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Atsuki Ito in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bolton Wanderers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Bolton Wanderers

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ryan Hardie was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

The goals have deserted Bolton Wanderers

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Bolton Wanderers can tell you which week it ends in.

The dugout

Chris Forino gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Nobody on the pitch touched Max Conway

7.63, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Bolton Wanderers had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

Squad

6 new faces, and Bolton Wanderers are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

Market

Luciano Cariaga is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bolton Wanderers has been clear about where Luciano Cariaga stands, which is more than many ever get.

The dugout

Adam Jackson: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

In brief

16 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 47. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Tempers go at Bolton Wanderers

Eoin Toal was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Atsuki Ito falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

Nobody wins at Bolton Wanderers

8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.

The dugout

Xavier Simons gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Eoin Toal

Defensive actions: 15. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Adam Jackson was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Bolton Wanderers dressing room was either.

The dugout

Bolton Wanderers keep their word to Corey Blackett-Taylor

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

The dugout

Víctor Álvarez dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

In brief

15 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Samuel Iling-Junior

Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Words exchanged at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Bolton Wanderers

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and George Johnston was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Kyle Dempsey gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Atsuki Ito

A mark of 7.73, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

The dugout

Ryan Hardie knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bolton Wanderers, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Adam Jackson on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

Loan watch

7 goals on loan for David Abimbola

10 appearances at Accrington Stanley and the goals keep coming. Bolton Wanderers are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

The dugout

Bolton Wanderers pick somebody else ahead of Víctor Álvarez

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

In brief

14 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 41. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Santiago Coronel stands alone

9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Match

Bolton Wanderers out of the cup

Derby County ended it 1‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Player ratings

Atsuki Ito goes up and wins it — 7.77

A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.77 for the rest of it.

Squad

Tempers go at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Bolton Wanderers training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryan Hardie is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The terraces

One of their own: Max Conway

He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Match

Atsuki Ito sends Bolton Wanderers past Burton Albion

It finished 2‑0, and it was Atsuki Ito’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bolton Wanderers.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Max Conway at his very best

Marked 8.30. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bolton Wanderers.

In brief

13 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kyliane Dong

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Words at Bolton Wanderers training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Atsuki Ito is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Kyle Dempsey in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bolton Wanderers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Lee Gregory gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Bolton Wanderers

17 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

The dugout

Brad Collins knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brad Collins trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Adam Jackson on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

Squad

Bookings catch up with Eoin Toal

One yellow too many, and a match watched from the stand. The most avoidable absence in football, and Bolton Wanderers will feel it on Saturday.

The dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Víctor Álvarez

The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.

In brief

12 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

After 8 games, Bolton Wanderers finally taste it again

The first defeat in 8 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Bradford City; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.

Squad

A falling-out at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Gaizka Larrazabal

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Bradford City take the points off Bolton Wanderers

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

George Johnston falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Late improvement for Nathan Broome

At 24 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.

The dugout

Adam Jackson: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

No hiding place for Víctor Álvarez

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Víctor Álvarez, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Brad Collins knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bolton Wanderers, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

11 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Sam Dalby drives the Bolton Wanderers comeback

2 behind and going nowhere, until Sam Dalby decided otherwise. Doncaster Rovers had done the hard part and then watched it come apart, and the noise at the final whistle was the sort a ground keeps.

Squad

Sam Dalby takes the match ball home

3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.

Match

Whatever happens, Bolton Wanderers do not lose

8 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Words exchanged at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Gaizka Larrazabal

Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Sam Dalby at his very best

Marked 10.00. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bolton Wanderers.

Match

Bolton Wanderers get the job done against Doncaster Rovers

A 4‑2 win over Doncaster Rovers, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Words at Bolton Wanderers training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryan Hardie is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Samuel Iling-Junior

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

In brief

10 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Whatever happens, Bolton Wanderers do not lose

7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

A falling-out at Bolton Wanderers

Eoin Toal and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Atsuki Ito falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Appearance number 100 for Samuel Iling-Junior

100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.

Boardroom

103% of the income goes out in wages at Bolton Wanderers

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Market

Still no ink between Bolton Wanderers and Brad Collins

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Bolton Wanderers, another week without a signature from Brad Collins.

Squad

A place in the month's best eleven for Samuel Iling-Junior

Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Samuel Iling-Junior has come out of that comparison in the side, and Bolton Wanderers have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Adam Jackson chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

In brief

  • The dugout Akin Famewo dropped after a run of poor form
  • The dugout The manager makes an example of Theo Bair
  • The dugout The plan did not have a place for Ryan Hardie
9 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Player ratings

Both of them Sam Dalby's — 9.21

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.21, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kyliane Dong

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Atsuki Ito in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bolton Wanderers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Sam Dalby sends Bolton Wanderers past Lincoln City

It finished 3‑2, and it was Sam Dalby’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bolton Wanderers.

Match

Whatever happens, Bolton Wanderers do not lose

6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Words at Bolton Wanderers training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. George Johnston is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

No hiding place for Chris Forino

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chris Forino, and the manager let it.

Squad

16 new faces, and Bolton Wanderers are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

The dugout

A satisfied Adam Jackson

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑2, Adam Jackson could afford to be generous.

In brief

8 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Cup progress for Bolton Wanderers

A 3‑2 win over Accrington Stanley, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Player ratings

Corey Blackett-Taylor beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 31. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Player ratings

Kyliane Dong, 21, steals the show — 8.10

Marked 8.10 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Squad

6 saves: Santiago Coronel was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

A falling-out at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Ryan Hardie falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

The terraces

One of their own: Rob Apter

He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Squad

Atsuki Ito reaches 200 appearances

200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.

Player ratings

Will Evans was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.24. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

In brief

7 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

Cruel end for Peterborough United as Bolton Wanderers pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Bolton Wanderers scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Player ratings

Sam Dalby scores twice — 9.14

Two goals and a mark of 9.14 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Match

Bolton Wanderers cannot stop winning

3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Match

Sam Dalby sends Bolton Wanderers past Peterborough United

It finished 4‑3, and it was Sam Dalby’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bolton Wanderers.

Transfer targets

Bolton Wanderers baulk at the price for Matty James

Wrexham wanted more than $75.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Squad

Words at Bolton Wanderers training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Atsuki Ito is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

A falling-out at Bolton Wanderers

Akin Famewo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The terraces

Bolton Wanderers supporters have found a favourite in Samuel Iling-Junior

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Iling-Junior has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Player ratings

Gaizka Larrazabal beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

In brief

6 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 29. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Transfer targets

Too dear: Bolton Wanderers walk away from Josh Benson

$2.6M was the most the club would pay and Rotherham United were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.

Boardroom

Deadline passes with 13 signed and 2 gone

That is the business done at Bolton Wanderers until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.

Squad

Tempers go at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Klāvs Bethers

Bolton Wanderers asked and Catania said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Max Conway

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

The dugout

No hiding place for Brad Collins

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Brad Collins, and the manager let it.

Match

Bolton Wanderers get the job done against Port Vale

A 1‑0 win over Port Vale, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Words at Bolton Wanderers training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. George Johnston is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

  • Player ratings Nobody on the pitch touched Max Conway
  • Squad A place in the month's best eleven for Gaizka Larrazabal
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
5 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 43. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Bolton Wanderers run riot against Rotherham United

3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.

Transfer targets

Bolton Wanderers bid $2.6M for Josh Benson

The offer went to Rotherham United this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Market

Nathan Broome puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bolton Wanderers, and it is not being withdrawn.

Transfer targets

Bolton Wanderers baulk at the price for George Edmundson

Middlesbrough wanted more than $2.6M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Player ratings

Atsuki Ito goes up and wins it — 7.92

A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.92 for the rest of it.

Squad

Atsuki Ito in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bolton Wanderers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ryan Hardie reaches 100 goals

100 goals for the club, every one of them filed away in the memory of a supporter somewhere.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Pavlo Isenko

Bolton Wanderers asked and Universitatea Craiova said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

In brief

4 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Nowhere to hide for Bolton Wanderers

0‑3 against Stockport County, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Transfer targets

Too dear: Bolton Wanderers walk away from Nestory Irankunda

$6.1M was the most the club would pay and Watford were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.

Player ratings

Samuel Iling-Junior was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Transfer targets

Rotherham United tell Bolton Wanderers: Josh Benson is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

A row about effort at Bolton Wanderers

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Atsuki Ito was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Tempers go at Bolton Wanderers

Josh Sheehan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Akin Famewo

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Bolton Wanderers

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Squad

11 new faces, and Bolton Wanderers are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

In brief

3 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Transfer targets

Tottenham tell Bolton Wanderers: Brandon Austin is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Transfer targets

No deal for Tyrick Mitchell at that price

Bolton Wanderers offered $3.7M; Crystal Palace said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

Transfer targets

An offer of $1.9M for George Edmundson

Bolton Wanderers have gone to Middlesbrough with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Squad

Words exchanged at Bolton Wanderers

Atsuki Ito and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Boardroom

5 academy players handed senior numbers at Bolton Wanderers

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Match

Bolton Wanderers get the job done against Wycombe Wanderers

A 3‑1 win over Wycombe Wanderers, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

The terraces

One of their own: Samuel Iling-Junior

He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Market

David Bell steps up from the Bolton Wanderers academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. David Bell has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

One of our own: Matthew Cunningham joins the Bolton Wanderers first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Matthew Cunningham is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

In brief

2 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

An offer of $5.3M for Nestory Irankunda

Bolton Wanderers have gone to Watford with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Squad

Brad Collins gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Brad Collins has just signed for Bolton Wanderers, and for once the answer mattered.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Darren Yapi rejects the move

Bolton Wanderers had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Colorado Rapids, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Squad

Atsuki Ito signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Atsuki Ito commits to Bolton Wanderers for another 4 years.

Squad

Atsuki Ito in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bolton Wanderers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Manuel Caicedo

Bolton Wanderers asked and La Equidad said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

The dugout

No hiding place for Atsuki Ito

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Atsuki Ito, and the manager let it.

Squad

Words at Bolton Wanderers training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kyle Dempsey is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Market

Talks stall between Bolton Wanderers and Brad Collins

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

In brief

1 Edition

The Bolton Wanderers Herald

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Gaizka Larrazabal signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gaizka Larrazabal and Bolton Wanderers agree another 4 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Bolton Wanderers

Eoin Toal and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A move Jordan Hugill would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Jordan Hugill is living that version at Bolton Wanderers, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Atsuki Ito falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

Bolton Wanderers rebuffed over Hany Mukhtar

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nashville SC have kept their man, and Bolton Wanderers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Market

Talks stall between Bolton Wanderers and Gaizka Larrazabal

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

Market

49 months and counting on Eoin Toal

Still no offer on the table, and Eoin Toal’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Denys Tvardovskyi is in the works

Bolton Wanderers have made the call to Shakhtar. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Transfer targets

Bolton Wanderers ask about Darren Yapi

A loan enquiry to Colorado Rapids: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

In brief