MEMORIES of Nicolas Anelka slaying United at the Reebok, Gary Speed breaking City’s hearts from the penalty spot and Kevin Davies battering Tottenham into submission are still relatively fresh in the mind of many a Bolton Wanderers supporter.
Not so long ago the mighty Whites took on the so-called Big Six as equals in the Premier League and, on their day, were well capable of giving each of them a bloodied nose.
History will not have entered into the money-oriented minds of The Glazers, Sheikh Mansour or Stan Kroenke when they signed on the dotted line for the European Super League – but a quick check back shows that Bolton boast 229 wins against United, City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs; not many teams outside the top-flight can make that sort of statement.
Times have changed, as have Bolton’s fortunes. But it is the promise that one day they will return to the top table and claim a 230th victory against the current glamour boys of the English game that fuels each and every member of staff at the stadium, from the kit man to the manager himself.
Take away the destination and the journey does not exist. And if the European Super League is allowed to go ahead as planned, its impact on domestic football will render climbing that ladder again a pointless exercise.
All manner of sanctions have been threatened to the breakaway clubs, from banning their players in international competition to expelling them from the Premier League altogether, but it is hard to see those threats as anything but hot air right now.
If United, Liverpool and Co are allowed to play in what is effectively a closed shop, then their participation in the regular league is moot. Even if they are able to resist playing weakened teams, what incentive is there for an Everton, a Leicester City or a West Ham United if the Champions League and Europa League is effectively nullified?
More importantly, what motivation is there for a Bolton Wanderers to claw their way back up from League Two to stand again as equal to the biggest clubs in the land?
For all the pain fans have endured in the last few years – financial ruin, player strikes, food banks, successive relegations – none of them would trade-in those magical European nights against Atletico Madrid, Red Star, Bayern Munich. They opened up a football experience most Bolton supporters thought they would never get – and though it was scary at times, it can never be taken away.
If the ESL plan is successful, then no other club of Bolton’s stature gets to experience the thrill of mapping out a journey to Macedonia or flying into Sunny Beach, Bulgaria.
That might not float Roman Abramovic’s boat (or yacht) – but he does not represent the football fan, he is not even in the same category as the multi-millionaire players he employs. He is a filthy rich man aiming to get richer.
As a newspaper we asked the question yesterday: Who can stop the Big Six? The answer might just be ‘everyone’ – if it is a collective effort.
Wanderers fans will watch their team with just as much passion and pride when they take to the field against Carlisle tonight as they did at Old Trafford, Anfield or the Etihad. And that, dear readers, is a point missed completely by the Greedy Six.
Bolton, Wigan, Bradford, Swindon, Carlisle – or any other club that has seen the view from the top of the mountain – now has to do what they can to make sure the money men do not seal off the route back up to the peak.
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