Bolton Wanderers sacrificed Rangers shootout for a regrettable cause | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers heavily rotated against Sporting CP in order to focus on a game that they went on to lose anyway during the 2007/08 UEFA Cup.

Bolton Wanderers are in their fifth successive season outside of England’s top two divisions, and it would perhaps be cruel for Wanderers supporters to reminisce the ‘good old days’ of the 90s and the noughties but, with knockout football in UEFA competition getting underway, we are approaching the 17-year anniversary of one of their biggest regrets.

In their second UEFA Cup campaign in three seasons, Bolton made it through a group stage that involved a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena before a famous 1-0 aggregate victory over Atletico Madrid in the Round of 32.

They then faced Portuguese giants Sporting CP in the Round of 16 and took the lead in the first-leg of that tie at the Reebok Stadium via Grant McCann before the two teams headed to Lisbon with things delicately poised at one apiece.

From there, something broke between the manager, and even the club’s hierarchy, with the supporters as Bolton gave up on the chance of a once-in-a-lifetime European run, and for what? Very little.

Bolton’s demise in Portugal

After four successive seasons of finishing in the top eight of England’s top-flight, the Trotters did find themselves in a relegation battle and so, with a place in Boltonian folklore available, Gary Megson, whether pressured by the club or not, decided to overhaul his eleven for the second-leg away to Sporting.

Despite having an excellent chance to go to Portugal and nick something special, as proven by the eventual outcome of a 1-0 loss with a goal that came as late as the 85th minute via Pereirinha, Bolton sacrificed the opportunity to prioritise league football.

As many as seven regular first-teamers stayed behind in Bolton as a second-string side put up a good fight, but what could have been so much more was not softened by Megson’s comments in his post-match interview where he said that he ‘wouldn’t change anything’ even ‘in hindsight’.

He also went on to say he expects ‘all the players left behind to put a shift in at the JJB on Sunday, and hopefully get us a result’.

That supposedly gruelling away trip of just 7.6 miles between the stadiums that Megson was referring to was Bolton’s visit to local rivals Wigan Athletic – a game that Bolton contrived to lose anyway.

Even with that defeat, Bolton avoided the drop, so there was no just cause in the end for Megson and the club’s decision to essentially throw perhaps their last ever chance at a run in European competition.

What could have been for Bolton

The bottom-half of the Round of 16 draw that season featured three English clubs, with Everton and Tottenham Hotspur alongside Bolton, as well as Rangers. Everton and Spurs were also knocked out at that stage via penalty shootouts against Fiorentina and PSV Eindhoven respectively.

What would have awaited Bolton in the quarter-finals, though, was a so-called ‘Battle of Britain’ against the aforementioned ‘Gers who, after their exploits so far in Europe that season, would have fancied their chances against over two legs.

Instead, with six clean sheets out of eight in knockout matches during that run, Rangers managed to stumble their way through to a European final – which was to be played at the then-known as City of Manchester Stadium – a ground that is situated just 16.3 miles from Bolton Town Centre.

So, rather than go all in and have a genuinely credible chance of a remarkable run to a European final that would have essentially been a nominal ‘home’ final, Bolton opted to heavily rotate their squad in favour of a 1-0 defeat away at local rivals Wigan – which had no impact on their season anyway.

The way football is now, particularly financially, prioritising league status over cup success is the norm. Perhaps in the here-and-now, retaining your league status feels important to fans, but in the future, surely they would sacrifice mediocre league finishes for cup success; they are the memories that stick.

It's the case for Bolton here, with nobody remembering Premier League survival as they would've done a Battle of Britain with Rangers and the potential European Final in Manchester.