Final Five Things: Bolton Wanderers 3-0 Peterborough

So after all that, Bolton Wanderers did the job and promotion to the Championship is ours.

A 3-0 win against a less-than-arsed Peterborough United was secured via goals from Jem Karacan, David Wheater and Adam Le Fondre, and a great time was had by all.

I might do a Five Things piece reflecting on the whole season later in the summer, but for now let's look back at the Peterborough game and see what comes to mind:

1. Phil Parkinson - The Right Man at the Right Time

Being honest with ourselves, I think you would struggle to find a Bolton fan who was clamouring for Parkinson to take the job when it was available last summer. His reputation as a pragmatic, if unspectacular manager, went before him - and let's not forget how we Bolton fans love a boss with a bit of lustre.

However, you would now similarly struggle to find a supporter who doesn't think that Parkinson is the man for us.

Pragmatism is exactly what we needed. There might have been a lack of four and five nil thumpings, but we got over the line - and does anyone really care how we got there?

2. The Case for a Settled Defence

Whilst Parky might have tinkered with formations and his goalkeeper from time to time, the benefits from him playing a settled backline cannot be understated.

Dorian Dervite, David Wheater, Mark Beevers and Andrew Taylor have become a formidable unit, as our goals against column shows. I know there have been the odd occasions here and there where the formation may have changed but when it counted, Parkinson relied upon the men named above, and they deserve all the credit for making us so tough to beat.

I would hope that Dervite, Wheater and Taylor are given new deals with us as that familiarity will be a real asset next season.

3. Gary Madine - Football Machine

I said as much in last night's LOVPOD, but I though Gary Madine's shoulder injury showed us a different side to the lad.

Forced to rely less upon physicality and more upon his footballing prowess, he was really impressive and hats off to him for the performance.

Aided by the tireless running of Adam Le Fondre, Madine continued to lead the line but it was with the ball at his feet that surprised me most.

I've been looking for a different perspective on the player for a while now and I'm glad that it was made so obvious at the weekend.

4. Atmosphere

What a fantastic day out it was. From start to finish the fans got behind the team and willed them on to success.

It was an old-school sort of atmosphere and one that has been missing for the last five seasons or so. I really hope that it continues into next season.

The pitch invasion (well, the second one), was brilliant and created memories that will last forever. Credit to Josh Vela who was the last to leave the pitch, posing for hundreds of photos with fans including one with yours truly. Superb.

5. Bolton Wanderers Football Club

That's us. Finally. It feels like we have our club back.

This little website was founded by Matilda Hankinson and Mark Yesilevskiy. As a pair of American Bolton fans they wanted an outlet to write about the club they loved. I was delighted to take Mark and his wife Jenny to their first ever home game on Sunday, and huge credit has to go to the club for the part they played in the occasion.

Paul Holliday and Lee Anderson pulled out all the stops to welcome the happy couple. A pre-game stadium tour gave them chance to step into the dugout and to see the pitch from the highest possible vantage point. Even before that, the chance to meet and have photos taken with several of the first team and Kevin Davies itself.

The game was enough of a memory in and of itself but I can only imagine the sort of memories that will be taken away of the occasion.

It's great to see that my little club has fans based all over the world, but for the club to take the time out of a huge game to make these fans feel special and to remember their day as they no doubt did makes me hugely proud to be a Bolton fan.

Well done all, and well done Bolton Wanderers. Love you to bits.