Bolton Wanderers F.C. Reserves and Academy

Bolton Wanderers Reserves
Full name	Bolton Wanderers F.C. Reserves
Nickname(s)	The Trotters
Founded	1874 (as Christ Church FC)
Ground	County Ground; Leyland
Manager	Alan Cork (Reserves); Jimmy Phillips (Under-18s)
League	Premier Reserve League; Premier Academy League
2007-08; ; 2007-08	Premier Reserve League North 10th; Premier Academy League; Under-18 Group C, 9th
Home colours	Away colours
	Current season

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[edit] Reserve team

Bolton Wanderers Reserves play in the Barclays Premiership Reserve League North. They also participate in the Manchester Senior Cup, although in recent years the teams entered in this competition have featured an increasing number of youth players.

The current Reserve team manager is Alan Cork, who was appointed in the summer of 2008. Bolton Wanderers Reserves play their home games at the County Ground in Leyland, the home ground of the Lancashire F.A.

Throughout the history of Bolton Wanderers F.C. many of the club's best known players have progressed through the reserve team. These include current first team squad members Nicky Hunt and Joey O'Brien and former captain Kevin Nolan.

[edit] The Academy

The Bolton Wanderers Academy was established in 1998 and is based at the club and the main training ground. It replaced the older, more informal youth system, and enables the club to focus their youth development and scouting, employing new techniques and FA standards.

It is overseen by former Bolton Wanderers F.C. player Jimmy Phillips. It provides a stepping stone for youngsters to progress to the highest levels of football at Bolton Wanderers.

Scouts attend many local youth matches looking for talented boys. A boy will then be invited to attend training sessions at the Academy. They are taken in as young as the age of eight. At this age, the boys start by simply attending after-school training sessions, but as they reach their middle-teens, their academic needs will be taken over by the Academy if they are deemed athletically-talented enough.

Between the ages of eight and twelve the boys play in eight-a-side games of three twenty-minute periods. It allows the boys to play as defenders or as attackers in small groups within a system and is not as physically-demanding as playing eleven-a-side matches.

The first player to graduate from the Academy to the first team was the former club captain, Kevin Nolan who had previously been on the youth books of Liverpool. He has since been followed into the first team by Joey O'Brien, Ricardo Vaz Te and Bolton born Nicky Hunt

[edit] Players

[edit] Reserves

The following players are expected to play for the reserves during the Premier Reserve League 2008-09. In addition, all members of the first team squad are eligible to play for the reserves, as are players from the Academy. Additionally, some of the younger players in the reserves may still feature for the academy side:

As of 08 August 2008.^[1] Squad Numbers refer to players' first team squad number (for season 2008-09), where applicable. Reserve and youth games are 1-11.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Ádám Bogdán
25	MF	Tamir Cohen
29	FW	Zoltán Harsányi
30	DF	Chris Basham

[edit] Academy (Under-18s)

The following players are expected to play for the team during the Premier Academy League 2008-09.

As of 07 August 2008.^[2]

Year	Name	Pos	Age
1st	Grant Spencer	MF	16
1st	Joe Riley	DF	16
1st	George Pawley	FW	16
1st	Maison McGeechan	FW	16
1st	Tom Eckersley	DF	16
1st	Javlon Campbell	FW	16
1st	Adam Blakeman	DF	17
1st	Rhys Bennett	DF	16