Bolton Wanderers F.C.–Wigan Athletic F.C. rivalry

The fixture between Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic is an English football rivalry played between the two clubs.

The two stadiums, the Macron Stadium and the DW Stadium are separated by just 8 miles, creating a rivalry between the two sets of supporters. The fans of both clubs both consider the other to be one of their main footballing rivals, leading to a heated atmosphere at these matches. The derby has been contested throughout the divisions over the years including the Football League,^[1] and more recently the Premier League. Bolton were relegated from the Premier League in 2012 after 11 consecutive seasons in the top flight and Latics followed a year later in 2013 after 8 consecutive seasons in the top flight. The two clubs met most recently in the Football League Championship on 21 March 2015, playing out a 1-1 draw at the DW Stadium with Martyn Waghorn scoring an injury time Wigan equaliser after youngster Tom Walker had earlier given Bolton the lead with his first ever senior goal.^[2]

Wigan suffered relegation from the Football League Championship on 28 April 2015, therefore putting the rivalry between the two teams on hold. At the conclusion of the 2015/16 season, Bolton were relegated to the Football League One, while Wigan earned an immediate return to the Football League Championship. As a result, the two teams will not have league meetings until at least 2017/18 season.

History

^[3]

Head-to-head record

Results

Managers

Years	Bolton Wanderers manager	P	BW	D	WA	Wigan Athletic manager
1983–85	John McGovern	3	2	0	1	Harry McNally
1985	Charlie Wright	1	1	0	0	Bryan Hamilton
1985–86	Phil Neal	4	3	0	1
1986–89		6	1	2	3	Ray Mathias
1989–92		7	5	2	0	Bryan Hamilton
1992–93	Bruce Rioch	2	2	0	0
2001–07	Sam Allardyce	5	1	1	3	Paul Jewell
2007–09	Gary Megson	4	1	1	2	Steve Bruce
2010–12	Owen Coyle	8	3	4	1	Roberto Martínez
2013–14	Dougie Freedman	2	0	1	1	Uwe Rösler
2015	Neil Lennon	2	1	1	0	Malky Mackay

Crossing the divide

The following players have played for Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic.

• Ali Al-Habsi
• Ádám Bogdán
• Paul Comstive
• Craig Davies
• Wayne Entwistle
• Simon Farnworth
• Gareth Farrelly
• Dave Felgate
• Per Frandsen
• Scott Green
• Chris Herd
• Emile Heskey
• Jussi Jääskeläinen
• Andy Kellett
• Tony Kelly
• David Lee
• Adam Le Fondre
• Paul Lodge
• Kevin McNaughton
• Ryo Miyaichi
• Sanmi Odelusi
• Neil Redfearn
• Ian Seddon
• Stuart Storer
• Greg Strong
• Andrew Taylor
• Steve Taylor
• Emerson Thome
• Chris Thompson
• David Thompson
• Stephen Warnock
• Stuart Whittaker
• Kaiyne Woolery

In addition to this a number of people have links to both clubs including:

• Bruce Rioch has managed both teams, taking charge of Bolton between 1992 and 1995 and Wigan between 2000 and 2001.
• Owen Coyle played for and managed Bolton and was for a short time the manager of Wigan in 2013.
• Ian McNeill had two spells managing Wigan in 1968–1970 and 1976–1981 and was chief scout at Bolton between 1992 and 1996.
• Walter Crook, Malcolm Barrass, Johnny Ball and Warren Joyce played for Bolton and later managed Wigan.
• Mark Seagraves played for Bolton between 1990 and 1995 and was also on the coaching staff at Wigan under Paul Jewell's management.
• Dean Crombie played for Bolton between 1987 and 1991 and was also on the coaching staff there for nine years. He is currently an opposition scout at Wigan as of 2016.
• Phil Hughes played for Wigan between 1987 and 1991 and was goalkeeping coach at Bolton between 2010 and 2012. He returned to Wigan in 2013 in a coaching role.
• Andy May played for Bolton in 1988 and was on Wigan's coaching staff.
• Dave Galley, Andy Mitchell and Nick Worth have held the role of physiotherapist for both clubs.
• Sandy Stewart was assistant manager of Wigan under Coyle having previously held the same position at Bolton.
• John McGinlay held the position of chief scout at Wigan under Coyle having spent five years as a player at Bolton.
• John Henry managed the Bolton Development Squad between 2010 and 2012 and took up a similar role at Wigan in 2013.
• Lee Butler played for Wigan between 1996 and 1998 and in 2016 was appointed as the goalkeeping coach at Bolton.

Controversies

In a 2012 Premier League meeting, 17 Wigan Athletic supporters were banned by the club for several years as flares were set off during their 2–1 away win.

In the November 2014 fixture between the two sides, Wigan's Northern Ireland-born midfielder James McClean was strongly criticised for not wearing a poppy on his shirt as a mark of respect to those killed at World War's I and II. McClean later wrote an open letter to Wigan chairman Dave Whelan and the club's supporters explaining his decision. This game also proved to be the last in charge of Wigan for Uwe Rosler as he was relieved of his duties the following week.

References