It was a massive night for Bolton Wanderers as they booked their place in the EFL Trophy final, securing their first visit to Wembley since 2011.
Beating Accrington Stanley 2-0 on the road with a quickfire pair of goals from Elias Kachunga and Aaron Morley in the 82nd and 84th, the Trotters managed to book themself into the Papa Johns Trophy final 100 years on from their first-ever trip to the iconic English stadium.
The hosts were forced to play with 10 men after just 20 minutes or so which might sound like an advantage for Bolton, but it also made for a very tense and defensive display, meaning they had to battle for a win at the Wham.
Nevertheless, Ian Evatt’s side managed to break down the low block in some stunning scenes.
Set to face off against fellow League One club Plymouth Argyle on April 2, this will be Bolton’s 14th showing at Wembley in their nearly 150-year history. Last time they were there they got pumped 5-0 by Stoke City in the FA Cup semi-final.
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As one of the oldest clubs in the world (1874) and one of the founding members of the football league in 1888, their recent history has been a turbulent one, to say the least, nearly going bust altogether back in 2019 and only being saved by the taxpayer, pandemic loans and a last-minute buyout.
That being said, it’s no wonder that the fans erupted in ecstasy when the full-time whistle blew and an almost requisite pitch invasion ensued.
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Bolton fans celebrating a win at Accrington Stanley pitch. The Trotters booked trip to Wembley. #bwfcpic.twitter.com/infYZ7SQ64
Speaking after the game, Evatt admitted: “This is probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my career. This is the first time I’ve felt a bit of pressure because I wanted it so much for so many people.
“Most importantly, the fans. They’ve been through so much and now, to have a Wembley cup final is something to be incredibly proud of.”
It isn’t the only big news for Bolton this week, though, as on Monday the Wanderers finally announced the new name for their iconic stadium. Safe to say it’s tickled a few…
Both Manchester United and Manchester City named as teams with the least amount of local fans
Emily Sergeant
Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been identified as being teams with the least amount of local fans, according to a new survey.
We all know that supporting a local team can be seen as a mark of credibility among a certain kind of football fan, while on the flip side of that, not following a local team is often associated with being a ‘glory hunter’. But which Premier League clubs have the highest – and lowest – proportion of supporters living close to home?
Well, YouGov decided to use its profiles data to analyse the fanbases of all 20 Premier League clubs for the 2026-27 season to get the answer to this once and for all.
And it’s fair to say that it’s not looking the best for the Manchester teams.
The study found that, overall, Brighton & Hove Albion is the Premier League’s most local team – with 56% of fans based in the South East.
Sunderland (50%) and Nottingham Forest (49%) supporters are the next-most likely to live in the same region as their teams, followed by Aston Villa, Brentford, Ipswich, Leeds, Fulham, Hull, and Crystal Palace fans rounding out the top 10.
At the other end of the table, Manchester United has the second-lowest proportion of local supporters, with only a quarter based in the North West (23%), with one in six (17%) actually living in London instead.
And then as for Manchester City – who are widely considered to be the most successful team of the modern era – it has ranked fourth-bottom for local fans, as a quarter of the club’s supporters are based in the North West, with a fifth based in London (19%).
But although both United and City have found themselves towards the bottom end of the ranking, they are not the worst offenders.
That title, unfortunately, does belong to another North West team though – Liverpool.
Liverpool is the club with the lowest proportion of ‘local’ supporters, as just a fifth are based in the North West (21%) with the next highest concentration of fans can being found in London.
Featured Image – Johnny Gios (via Unsplash)
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Manchester Storm game postponed just one week after AO Arena return due to ‘technical issue with the ice’
Daisy Jackson
Manchester Storm’s second game back at the AO Arena had to be postponed over the weekend due to a ‘technical issue with the ice’.
The ice hockey team made a record-breaking return to the venue earlier this month, attracting some 11,000 fans to watch their match against Sheffield Steelers.
But just one week later, as Manchester Storm prepared to face off against The Nottingham Panthers, the game had to be postponed.
Fans were already inside the legendary venue when a ‘technical issue with the ice’ became apparent and the game was called off.
Manchester Storm and the AO Arena said they ‘sincerely apologise’ to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption.
The game has now been rescheduled to Wednesday 14 October, with tickets valid for the new fixture.
The full statement read: “Unfortunately today’s Manchester Storm game vs The Nottingham Panthers has been suspended due to a technical issue with the ice.
“We sincerely apologise to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption and would like to thank everyone in attendance for their patience.
Danny Jones -
23rd February 2023 
