Reasons to be thankful

Many Wanderers fans will know that today is Thanksgiving in the United States of America.

Every fourth Thursday in November, families gather together to enjoy plenty of food & (American) football. It’s a time where many reflect on the past year to state what they’re most thankful for.

I’m in the States for my first ever Thanksgiving, ready to enjoy such culinary treats like sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, so I thought I’d look back on the past year and see why we should be thankful to be fans of Bolton Wanderers.

As Wanderers fans, what do we have to be thankful for?

Well, the ownership seems like a great place to start. This time last year, the future of our beloved Bolton Wanderers seemed bleak. A side spiralling out of control on the pitch in The Championship, whilst simultaneously dying slowly off it. Debts were racking up, there was unrest in regards to wages paid late & then never at all.

After three hellish years under the tyranny of he who shall not be named, Football Ventures finally seized control of the club at the end of August. A couple of months into their ownership & it’s clear to see that they have the best interests of the club at heart. Football creditors have been paid (almost) & there seems to be a business plan in place that will hopefully result in a positive future for the club.

They’re keen to engage with fans & have strong community values, it’s not the incoherent waffle and public spats of the previous regime.

Next, I’m thankful for what’s happening on the pitch (besides last Saturday, fuck).

For a long time, the majority of fans didn’t look forward to Bolton matches. It felt laboured. It felt ultimately like a chore. To have to go & watch a team who were clearly not in the right head space lose again & again was draining. You’d see a rare win here and there, though the majority of the time the result was a predictably lethargic & disappointing defeat.

Now, we have a side who are up for the fight of trying to claw themselves out of the precarious position they were in thanks to the adminstration points deduction.

Keith Hill is a manager who might come out with a bewildering quote from time to time, but he’s certainly getting the best out of his players on home soil. We've won more games recently than in our previous thirty-odd games.

We’ve got a striker in Daryl Murphy who is the first player in nearly nine years to score in four consecutive league games.

Regardless of whether we stay up or go down, the future looks bright on the pitch. The squads average age has decreased & for the first time in a long time, there are several youngsters who can or will play a part in the first team.

I’m thankful we still have a team to support.

I’m thankful that everyone else in the league has grown to hate us.

I’m thankful that Bolton Wanderers has a future.

Up the positive points, shithousing Whites.

Happy Thanksgiving.