Today, we look at one of the uglier moments, but at least it finished the Megson era.
In our latest look back at some of the Reebok`s biggest moments, we go back to a night which wasn`t one of the greatest moments for Bolton Wanderers, but the recriminations got rid of a certain ginger clown?
The 2009-10 season, particularly the first half of it, was a struggle. Come the final game of 2009, Bolton were in the relegation zone, level on points with Hull City as the two teams met on a freezing Tuesday night. My car dashboard read -10c after the match.
Gary Megson, never the most likable of characters, had finally reached peak unpopularity. A few days before, during the Boxing Day draw away to Burnley, the travelling fans to Turf Moor were singing more songs about Owen Coyle, in the days before we got sick of him too. Megson was a man who really needed to win this game.
And it started very well. Ivan Klasnic was winning the fans` adoration in his first season with us, and in the 20th minute, it wasn`t the most entertaining first half, but at least we had the lead at half-time in a crucial game. On the hour mark, we doubled our lead, as Kevin Davies got on the end of a Paul Robinson free kick. There was breathing space, and had we kept that lead we`d have gone all the way up to 14th.
Except we didn`t. Stephen Hunt headed in Craig Fagan`s cross to ensure we wouldn`t get our first clean sheet of that season, and then Megson brought on Gavin McCann for Klasnic, a change which didn`t go down well with the fans. Just minutes later, Hull had equalised, Jan Venegoor of Hesselink nodded down and Hunt had his second of the night. Now the atmosphere was poisonous, and the bedsheets were out. The game finished 2-2.
The following morning, Megson was sacked. Owen Coyle came in, and kept us up with a couple of games to spare.