Phil Gartside, Bolton Wanderers' Chairman, Dies Aged 63.

Phil Gartside has passed away after a short battle with cancer, aged 63. He worked on the Bolton board for 28 years, 16 of those as chairman.

Tributes have been pouring in from the Bolton community.

Phil has been a personal friend for over 30 years and this is a very sad day for everyone associated with Bolton Wanderers.

On behalf of Eddie Davies, the board and everyone associated with the club we send out deepest condolences to all Phil's family and ask that their privacy is respected during what is a difficult time for all involved.

Brett Warbuton
Vice Chairman of BWFC

Appreciate there will be many views of Phil Gartside out there. Important to remember he presided over #bwfc in good times and bad.

— Marc Iles (@MarcIles) February 10, 2016

No matter what our situation, he was still #bwfcfamily. RIP to Gartside and thoughts are with his family. #bwfc

— Natalie Turner (@Nat_BWFC) February 10, 2016

I'm sure Gartside's legacy will be discussed, both on and off this site, extensively, however I hope we can take one moment to recognise that he was just like the rest of us. He loved our club and the people in it and dedicated a large portion of his life to trying to better it. People on Twitter, some of whom claimed Gartside never had an illness, will debate the merits and, more often than not, the flaws of his tenure. Maybe we should all, in this sensitive moment, celebrate all the good times we witnessed, together.

Whether you like it or not, his impact was profound and he will always be a wanderer.

Rest in peace, Sir.