Two minute guide to: Bolton Wanderers
Here’s our brief preview of Port Vale’s Championship opponents who travel to Vale Park on Tuesday evening.
Match Essentials
Date: Tuesday 28 July at 7:45pm
Ticket prices: £10 Adult, £5 Concessions
Stands: The Lorne St, Hamil Road and Disabled stand are open
Port Vale
Manager: Rob Page
Last match: N/A
Recent form: N/A
Bolton
Manager: Neil Lennon
Last match: N/A
Recent form: N/A
Team News
Remie Streete – links up with Ryan Inniss
The Valiants are set to line-up with the central defensive partnership that many fans would have been hoping for – Remie Streete alongside Ryan Inniss. Apart from Chris Neal, Vale appear to have a clean bill of health so it will be interesting to see who starts in central midfield and upfront.
Bolton trialists Lawrie Wilson and Stephen Dobbie may play along with a familiar face in Emile Heskey, who is training with Wanderers.
Pre-match quote
“I’ve pretty much got a starting line-up in mind for that Crewe game, but there are still opportunities for players to impress and give me food for thought…”
– Port Vale manager Rob Page
Last time we met…
The last time the two sides met competitively was back in 2000 when Bolton defeated Vale 2-1. Wanderers’ goals came from Eidur Gudjonsson and Allan Johnson with Vale’s consolation from Finnish forward Ville Viljanen. The fixture at Vale Park also ended in defeat with Gudjonsson again on target in a 1-0 Bolton win.
Club Connections
There have been plenty of players to appear for both sides including:
Lol Hamlett was signed from Bolton Wanderers in 1949. After finishing his playing career with the Valiants he spent 25 years on the Vale coaching staff.
Ray Deakin joined the Vale in 1981 but departed for Bolton just a year later. He ended up playing over a hundred times for Wanderers before leaving to join Burnley.
Jack Round helped Vale to their highest-ever league position of fifth in Division Two in 1930-31. He had signed from Bolton in 1930 after a five year spell at the Wanderers.
In more recent times, Craig Davies, Dean Holdsworth and Jeff Smith have played for both sides.
Bluffer’s Guide
This classic game is from 1988. It features a dramatic late winner from Ray Walker and was the club’s first-ever win over the Wanderers. It’s on the OVF YouTube channel where you can find dozens of vintage Vale clips.
Our overall record is:
- Vale wins: 2
- Vale defeats: 22
- Draws: 10
Essential facts about our opponents to impress your mates with…
- Vale’s sorry record against Bolton includes two five-nil defeats (in 1900 and 1904)
- It took until 1988 for Vale to record their first win over Bolton (see the clip above)
- Vale had endured a winless run of 19 games before that 1988 victory
- But they didn’t have to wait that long to win again – Vale won an FA tie in 1988 making it two wins in a row
- The last player to score a league goal against Bolton at Vale Park was Peter Beadle in 1998.