The 2026/27 season marks 25 years since my first ever Bolton Wanderers season ticket.
Bolton’s return to the Premier League in 2001/02 was the start of an 11-season stay in the top flight – the club’s longest consecutive spell at that level since the 22-season spell they enjoyed between 1935 and 1964.
With me only being seven-years-old when the 01/02 season started, my memories of it are patchy but I do vividly remember the infamous 2-2 draw against Leicester City where we had two players sent off, and in particular the vitriol directed at Leicester’s Robbie Savage, who had to be subbed off for his own safety.
Then of course there was being top of the table after the first few games of the season, the 2-1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford – which I watched on TV and later owned (and wore out) on VHS – and strangely enough Bo Hansen wearing and scoring in golden boots that I later begged my mum to buy me.
But it’s fair to say that my knowledge of football back then isn’t what it is now and there are large swathes of that season that I have no recollection of.
Helpfully, you can now watch 20 minute highlights of every single Premier League match on the official Premier League website. So as a bit of a passion project, as we (hopefully) start our journey back to the top flight, I’ve decided to go through season-by-season and see what stands out.
1) Old guard vs new signings
Gudni Bergsson was my hero growing up, but I probably didn’t appreciate some of the other more unsung heroes of our squad such as Paul Warhurst or Simon Charlton (although I did have a soft spot for Mike Whitlow because he looked like my dad).
When non-Bolton fans talk about Wanderers in the Premier League, it’s always Okocha or Campo or Stelios mentioned, but actually it were these players that came up from Division One with us that helped get us off to that great start.
As the season went on, some of them started to struggle with the relentless nature and quality of the Premier League and it’s interesting to see the likes of Bruno Ngotty, Stig Tofting and Youri Djorkaeff arrive and integrate into the team alongside some of those real old-school British players, to varying success.
2) Michael Ricketts
Talking of players who came up with us from Division One, Michael Ricketts probably had the most high profile season.
Starting off as a super sub, it eventually became impossible to leave him out of the starting line-up.
He looked like he had everything – strength, an impressive turn of pace, and most importantly, the ability to score all kinds of goals. By February, he’d racked up 15 in all competitions and got a very well deserved England call-up.
I may be the only person in the world who actually got ‘Ricketts 9’ on the back on my England top and sadly his England debut against Holland was very forgettable (or memorable for the wrong reasons) and he didn’t manage to score a goal for the remainder of the season.
After that game, he looked like a shadow of the player he had been and was eventually dropped, as Fredi Bobic came in on loan from Borussia Dortmund to try and help us stay up.
3) Red cards and outfielders in goal
Jussi Jaaskelainen is the most red carded goalkeeper in Premier League history with four and two of those came this season.
The first – and most high profile – was for handling outside his box against Newcastle United. Bo Hansen famously replaced him in net with 30 minutes left to play due to Bolton having no sub keeper on the bench and his first act was to pick Laurent Robert’s free kick out of his net.
What has been lost in time – probably because Hansen conceded three goals as Bolton lost 4-0 – is that the Danish forward actually made a couple of really decent saves.
Another thing lost in time is that Hansen wasn’t the only outfielder to play in goal for Bolton that season; Nicky Southall also had to go between the sticks against Derby County after Jussi was sent off for a professional foul.
One quirk that I didn’t realise (or had forgotten) is that a red card didn’t automatically mean you missed the next game. Instead a judgment would be made and you’d often be suspended for the next match after that.
This meant that Jaaskelainen was able to play in that famous win over Manchester United that I mentioned earlier, in which he made a sensational double save to deny Paul Scholes and Andy Cole, despite it being the match directly after that Newcastle one. Instead, he was suspended for a match against Aston Villa the following week.
4) Style of play
One of the most stark contrasts that I noticed is with the style of play across the whole league.
It was naturally much more direct and quick, as the influence of managers like Pep Guardiola were not yet a factor.
This lack of control seemed to lead to a lot more chances. I know I’m only watching 20 minute highlights but I’m fairly confident that if I watched 20 minute highlights of some of our most recent games, they wouldn’t be anywhere near as end-to-end.
The threshold for what constituted a foul or a card also seemed to be a lot higher (apart from the aforementioned game against Leicester when Mike Riley totally lost control).
However, one thing that I do associate much more closely with the ‘modern’ game is inverted wingers, so I was really surprised to see the very left-footed Ricardo Gardner operating off the right on a number of occasions, with a right-footed counterpart coming in from the left.
5) Kevin Nolan
I feel as if Nolan deserves his own paragraph. Only two months into being 19 when the season started, Nobby must have been one of the most exciting young players in the whole of the Premier League at this time.
His highlight was obviously his superb volley against Manchester United but, like Ricketts, he seemed to have absolutely everything that you’d want from an all-action midfielder.
England’s midfield group was exceptionally strong back then and even Scholes was shunted out to the left but it does surprise me that he never got a call-up as a bit of a wildcard and the fact he only ever played twice for the U21s is very hard to believe.
Other observations
- I remember being fond of Rod Wallace when I was a kid (possibly because he was vertically challenged like I was) and watching these games back made me realise he really was an unsung hero, who had a frightening turn of pace and popped up with a few key goals.
- Due to our home and away kits both clashing with Blackburn Rovers home shirt, we had to wear the 2000/01 away top – most famously worn in the Play-Off Final – for our game at Ewood Park. Considering Henrik Pedersen joined after the Play-Offs and never really established himself this season, it was very strange seeing him in particular wearing that kit.
- Some of Per Frandsen’s free kicks and general playmaking in the first part of the season were a sight to behold.
- Our ageing defence led to some real issues throughout the season as they succumbed to injury, with their replacements not often covering themselves in glory; Kostas Konstantinidis getting two yellows within a minute against Everton in my first ever away game is a particular lowlight but Colin Hendry and Djibril Diawara also put in some generational stinkers against Chelsea and Leeds, respectively.
What are your stand-out memories of the 2001/02 season? Let me know in the comments.
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