Bolton Wanderers fans column, Straight From the Stands

Highs and lows of 2023

by Liam Hatton

SO, as we near the end of another calendar year with Christmas fast approaching, a lot of the Bolton faithful are hardly joyous at present with Wanderers’ recent form seemingly unravelling.

There is quite a bit to be said about what is going right and what is not at the moment, but I thought I would keep it more light-hearted this week and look through some of my highlights of 2023.

Best moment of 2023

I mean this goes without saying doesn’t it? Obviously promotion did not happen, however, it was not all doom and gloom as we had the chance to watch Bolton win a cup final at Wembley, even if it was ‘only’ the Papa John’s Trophy.

What an occasion that was - an utterly dominant display which resulted in a 4-0 win over Plymouth Argyle. The scenes when each goal hit the back of the net were unrivalled with close to 40,000 Bolton fans in near delirium.

Worst moment of 2023

Well, it would be hard to define this year as an abject failure as Ian Evatt and his squad have showed elements of vast improvement, but I suppose you would have to revert back to earlier this season and the 4-0 loss to Wigan Athletic.

It was just an embarrassing performance, with Wanderers being well and truly humbled on the day. I do not understand the issues when it comes to facing Wigan as they always seem to struggle, whether that is a mental barrier or not remains to be seen.

I would say it hasn’t impacted Bolton’s season too much as they are still in a healthy position, but the last couple of games have them looking nervously around at other teams coming into form.

Best player of 2023

Now you could look at this in a number of different ways - are we taking into account performances from last season or this campaign? I have judged it throughout 2023 as a whole, therefore I feel this one man deserves his flowers.

Dion Charles has to be my pick. I know strikers are judged on their goal tally and whilst I do not want to make my call purely based on that, his goals have been huge for Bolton.

21 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions last year and 14 goals in 24 games so far this season tell the story. The first 20 goal a season striker since Michael Ricketts, it feels good to say that we have a guy who knows where the back of the net is.

Honourable mentions to Ricardo Santos who has been as imperious as ever, Josh Sheehan has enjoyed a good 2023/24 campaign also. We also cannot forget those who have left, namely James Trafford and Conor Bradley who put in huge shifts too.

Best goal of 2023

There are some good shouts here to be honest. We could talk about Kyle Dempsey’s strike against Barnsley following some wonderful build up play throughout the team, but I cannot look past Aaron Morley’s free kick against Charlton Athletic near the top of the year.

It was some distance out, but Morley stood over the ball and the technique required to hit the strike the way he did takes some doing. Watching and hearing it cannon off the post and in, leaving the keeper stranded live on Sky was glorious.

Ricardo Santos clutches the Papa Johns Trophy at Wembley alongside his team-mates (Image: camerasport)

I laughed, I cried, I yawned...

by Tony Thompson

WHEN I look back on 2023, two big moments stand out.

The first is standing there among 34,000 fans at Wembley and watching my team lift a trophy, something I honestly never thought I would see again.

The second is driving back from work and listening to the Barnsley game on the radio, knowing by the tone of Jack Dearden’s voice that we were heading for defeat and another season in the gloomy backwaters of League One.

I don’t often get asked to write on a certain subject for this column but last week I got a message to pick out the things that have made me ‘laugh, cry and yawn’ from 2023. So, with a glass of red wine (or two) for inspiration, I have selected the following.

Funniest moment has to go to Ricardo Santos in the Papa Johns Trophy final when he was asking the stewards how many more stairs there were to climb to get to the Royal Box. I must have watched that clip back 20 times.

The other thing that springs to mind is a few weeks back when the pasties set on fire in the East Stand. I was in the office when my phone started buzzing with people sending me the video, which I am told has now had more than 250,000 views.

It doesn’t take much to bring me to tears. I watched A Miracle on 34th Street the other night and was blubbing about 10 minutes in.

I was more peeved that upset about the play-off defeat, and the result against Wigan Athletic, being honest. It was annoying knowing that we wouldn’t get another day out at Wembley, where I think we would have beaten Sheffield Wednesday, but I do think it was too soon for us to go up, as the Owls have since shown.

I’m going to pick that awful mix-and-match kit they are selling at the club shop. I honestly hope no serious money has gone into making it because, for maybe the first time in my life, it made me question whether I really needed eyesight?

One thing made that me yawn in 2023 – aside from the back three messing about with the ball too much (am I right?) – was the continual ref bashing you see on social media after a game. As someone who has occasionally picked up a whistle for a Sunday League game, I can tell you it isn’t an easy thing to do.

I am all for debating errors because, as all humans do, referees make mistakes. I don't think it should go beyond that, though, and some fans make out as if there is a conspiracy against their team. It bores me to tears.

Josh Sheehan, George Johnston and James Trafford commiserate each other after defeat at Barnsley in the play off semi-final (Image: Camerasport)