Bolton evening news
It isn't just rovers fans staying away. "Wanderers, who averaged 26,718 in 2003-04 are currently running at 22,566 and, apart from the game against newly-promoted Watford, crowds are all well down on last season's corresponding fixtures: Tottenham (26,634 down to 22,899), Middlesbrough (22,733 to 21,164) and Liverpool (27,604 to 25,061).
The Spurs and Liverpool games were screened live on Sky TV, which will have had a bearing on the crowd figures, but there is no denying that there is a worrying trend developing, the first signs of which became evident in the summer, when season ticket sales slumped from last year's record 19,000 to an estimated 16,000 (Wanderers have repeatedly declined to reveal the precise figure) despite prices being pegged.