The start of the 2005/6 season was significant for Wanderers for it marked the club's first taste of European football. The draw, televised live, paired Wanderers with Lokomotiv Plovdiv; the first leg to be played at the Reebok on September 15 - the return two weeks later. OK it wasn't Bayern Munich — but it was a fascinating entry into continental competition.
Manager Sam Allardyce retained the bulk of the squad that had qualified for Europe and the playing ranks were beefed up by the additions of Mexican striker Jared Borgetti, who arrived from Pachuca for £1 million, and Hidetoshi Nakata, Japan's answer to David Beckham, who joined on a season-long loan from Fiorentina. Closer to home, Ian Walker arrived from Leicester City to bolster the goalkeeping department. Abdoulaye Faye, was signed from Lens, initially on loan, though the deal was made permanent in January 2006. Meanwhile, El-Hadji Diouf was signed on a permanent deal (reported to be around the £3 million mark) after his successful season-long loan from Liverpool.
Allardyce's trusted right-hand man, Phil Brown, had decided to leave the Reebok to take up the challenge of managing Derby County in June 2005 and he was replaced by one of the most respected coaches in the business Sammy Lee.
The historic encounter against Plovdiv attracted a crowd of almost 20,000. Wanderers went behind in the first half but a Diouf leveler spared the blushes and in the second minute of injury time Nakata teed up Borgetti for the winner.
Back at home, Bolton's league campaign had got off to a fine start with wins over Newcastle, West Ham, Man City and Portsmouth in their first seven matches. Form good enough to take the team to third spot in the table.
So with a 2-1 first leg lead intact Wanderers headed off to Bulgaria full of confidence. However, when Georgi Iliev scored for the home side early in the second half, the tie was level on aggregate and Plovdiv had the advantage on an away goal. But once again, with time running out, Wanderers scored two late goals to secure their place in the group stage. Here Wanderers were drawn against Besiktas from Turkey, Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg, Portuguese side Guimaraes and La Liga force Sevilla. Allardyce was mixing up his squad to good effect and, despite a punishing schedule, the side negotiated the group stage with draws against Besiktas, Guimares and Sevilla and victory over Zenit.
In the Premier League the form continued to be impressive. In December Wanderers completed a 2-0 win over Arsenal and then a 4-0 win over Everton at Goodison. Wanderers were lying 5th after 16 games with 30 points on the board.
One disappointment came along with defeat at neighbours Wigan in the quarter final of the Carling Cup but despite the odd setback, 2006 dawned with Wanderers having lots to look forward to.
Watford and Arsenal were beaten in the FA Cup, though a succession of draws halted the progress in the league. At that stage Wanderers' resources were being stretched. The African Nations Cup in Egypt meant the club would have to cope without El-Hadji Diouf, Abdoulaye Faye, Jay Jay Okocha and Radhi Jaidi, while Ivan Campo suffered a broken foot in the game against Arsenal that ended his campaign.
In February, Wanderers entertained French side Marseille in the UEFA Cup. The first leg ended in a frustrating 0-0 stalemate. A week later Bolton's European journey came to a sad end. They went ahead through Stelios but the French side broke Bolton's resistance in the second half to win 2-1.
Off the field, with Bolton looking to get into Europe for the second successive season, Allardyce was being linked with the England manager's job. He was interviewed for the position during the Spring, though the news broke that the FA wanted Brazilian 'Big' Phil Scolari. In the end it came down to Allardyce or Steve McClaren. With speculation surrounding the England job at its most fervent, Wanderers' form hit a sudden slump with five successive defeats seeing the side slide to eighth.
Despite having been in the hunt all season, Wanderers missed out on a place in Europe again. A final day win over Birmingham came too late to rescue the season, as a demanding European and domestic campaign finally took its toll.
