Papa Johns Trophy final: Can Bolton Wanderers underline turnaround with victory at Wembley?
- Published
Bolton Wanderers reached the Papa Johns Trophy final by beating against Accrington Stanley in February
Bolton Wanderers prepare to make the trip down to Wembley for Sunday's Papa Johns Trophy final in decent shape both on and off the pitch.
But less than five years ago, such a feat seemed impossible as they neared oblivion before a successful takeover.
The meeting with Plymouth Argyle, with both teams also battling for promotion from League One, is the chance for Bolton to underline their turnaround.
BBC Sport took a look at their change in fortunes and what it means.
'What it means to the club is huge'
Back in 2019, Bolton Wanderers were dicing with survival, with the club being given 14 days by the English Football League to complete a takeover.
Wanderers had entered administration earlier that year and were on the verge of going into liquidation before Football Ventures completed a deal to buy them just the day after Bury became the first club to be expelled from the league in 27 years.
With their playing resources already depleted because of their off-field issues, Bolton were then relegated to League Two during a Covid-interrupted 2019-20.
But it is here that the turnaround truly began, with Ian Evatt joining the club as head coach in July 2020 and leading them to promotion back to League One at the first attempt.
This season has seen the club, who were in the Premier League for 11 consecutive seasons from 2001, challenge to return to the Championship, with Bolton preparing for their trip to Wembley sitting fifth in the League One table - although they could have slipped out of the top six by the time they kick-off if results in Saturday's league programme go against them.
"What it means for this football club is absolutely huge and to see 34,000 Bolton fans travelling down to Wembley Stadium a few years after nearly losing the club is something to be very proud of," Evatt told BBC Radio Manchester.
"I'm excited of course. It would be wrong of me to say I'm not. We're in good spirits. As I've said before, I've really felt a significant uplift in energy levels and quality in the past couple of weeks.
"We've given ourselves a really good opportunity to win by playing well first and foremost, and that will stand us in good stead.
"I've never been to Wembley as a manager, it's my first time and it's something ticked off the bucket list, which is great for me personally."
An 'overwhelming' surprise from the club
Jordan Hookway was surprised by Bolton legend Kevin Davies with his tickets for Sunday's trip to Wembley
The club have been spreading the good times around their operation, singling out one member of their community staff who has been through a lot in the past 12 months.
Jordan Hookway works as a coach for Bolton Wanderers in the community, coaching juniors and adults with disabilities.
In 2022, however, he suffered a perforated bowel and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. He was off work for around seven months as he recovered from surgery.
Hookway spoke to BBC Radio Manchester as part of the EFL's Together Month, which aims to recognise the work EFL clubs do to promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
"I'm back in work but I'm not 100% with my health at the moment. I'm getting there slowly but I'm able to play football and interact with the sessions," he said.
"I wasn't able to do that a month or two ago so it's just nice to be back in the swing of things."
Tickets for Wembley have been hard to come by for Bolton fans and the club pulled out the stops to surprise Hookway and ensure he will be there, with a club legend making the delivery to their stunned employee and supporter.
"I noticed there were a couple of people asking whether we could film a session while we were sorting the teams out for the players," said Hookway.
"I said 'of course, no problem'. But I had no idea I was going to be surprised with tickets to Wembley.
"I was overwhelmed when Kevin Davies started walking towards me at the end of the session.
"It means a lot, to be honest, because the club's back on the rise which is good for us Bolton fans. The trip to Wembley is just a really nice moment to get behind the club."
'We're just treating it as a normal game'
The chance to play at the national stadium again also represents the opportunity for forward Kieran Lee to make some better memories than those of his last visit.
The 34-year-old was part of Sheffield Wednesday's starting line-up for their 2016 Championship play-off final defeat by Hull City, but is optimistic he can be more successful on Sunday.
"I played there a few years ago and it turned out to be a bad day so hopefully this time will be more positive," he told BBC Radio Manchester.
"Everyone deep down is excited but it's been business as usual, just training as normal and treating it as a normal game, which is the best way to do it.
"The past couple of years I've been here, the strides from then until now have been massive. We need to keep going and win this final and promotion. We know we've got a long way to go at the moment but everything is looking up."
With Wembley's famously sizable pitch ready to be taken advantage of, fellow frontman Dion Charles is looking forward to utilising the space as he heads into the game off the back of scoring twice for Northern Ireland in Euro 2024 qualifying, taking his tally for the season to 20 goals for club and country in all competitions.
The 27-year-old told BBC Radio Manchester: "We handle the ball well, we make the pitch big and we've got willing runners in the team. Me personally, I like to run in behind and a big pitch gives me more room to do that.
"I've got 20 now for the season which I said I would do from the start but it's time to get even more."
Analysis - Following Bolton 'anything but easy'
BBC Radio Manchester's Jack Dearden
Being a Bolton Wanderers fan over the past few years has been anything but easy or simple. Off-the-field matters have dominated the agenda at the club, but hopefully that could be about to change.
Since Wanderers last appeared at Wembley in the 2010-11 FA Cup semi-final, they've experienced several appearances in the High Court, been relegated four times, placed in administration and come close to complete liquidation.
Chuck in previous questionable ownership, players going on strike, oh, and a worldwide pandemic. It's been quite a journey.
Nonetheless, 100 years since they appeared in the first FA Cup final at Wembley, Bolton are back at the famous stadium.