It’s happened again

It’s happening again, Bolton Wanderers it’s happening again”

And arguably it was even more successful than first time around. In fact there’s no arguably about it. It was definitely more impressive than last time.

I had real worries about visiting Bolton so early in the season. They had started very well, and were sitting pretty at the top of the division.

But then again we had started very well too. Apart from ten minutes against Carlisle we could have visited the Tough Sh**t with a 100% record.

Bolton’s start to the season had been relatively straightforward. Though I’m not sure Cheltenham, Lincoln or Fleetwood will be troubling the upper echelons of the division in 2023/24.

So the self declared best side in the league (c) Ian Evatt must have wondered what hit them as Shaun Maloney’s side got everything right on Saturday afternoon in Horwich.

Bolton are still favourites to be promoted this season and rightly so. They’ve had three years in this division now, getting closer each year with the same manager and the same nucleus of the squad together.

By rights this should be their season, but you would have thought it was Wigan Athletic who were the promotion favourites with how we performed on Saturday.

Latics looked unbelievably clinical against Bolton and that’s without even having Jordan Jones and Jonny Smith in the squad.

Latics are well ahead where any of us expected at this stage. The minus eight deduction, the final reminder of the failed Phoenix 21 project has been smashed and in four matches.

To do it in the style they did at Horwich was amazing and will live long in the memory both this season and in future seasons.

But we can’t become complacent, it’s been a remarkable start but we’re still only four games in.

The aim this season is still survival but no one would blame Wiganer’s if they started looking beyond that and Northwards.

All credit goes to those bonafide Wigan Athletic legends – Shaun Maloney and Graham Barrow. Alongside Gregor Rioch, Stephen Crainey and everyone else involved.

We’ve been ensured a club to support and maybe the pain of last year will spur us on, spur us on to better things.

We’ve a side full of Wigan bred players alongside some fantastic young talents and we’re playing beautiful football.

It’s a long way away from John Sheridan the last time we emerged from a crisis.

We’ve been so lucky.

On to Barnsley and those purveyors of social justice and moral values with their “rules are rules” mantra from over the Pennines.

Ironic that three years later we find ourselves in exactly the same position as those loveable Tykes. Despite their representation’s to our EFL hearings and the request that we pay for their said representation.

Bad luck lads.

Barnsley like Bolton have started the season in blistering form. Devante Cole, formerly of this parish seems to finally be living up to the form he showed a few years ago.

It’s going to be a difficult game but with the confidence of our young side at the moment who knows what may happen.

Sean Livesey

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