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A666 derby

Sport	Association Football
Teams	Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers
First meeting	Blackburn Rovers 6-2 Bolton Wanderers 1881–82 FA Cup (19 November 1881)
Latest meeting	Blackburn Rovers 2–0 Bolton Wanderers 2018–19 EFL Championship (22 April 2019)
Stadiums	Ewood Park, Leamington Road (Blackburn) Toughsheet Community Stadium, Burnden Park and Pikes Lane (Bolton)
Statistics
Meetings total	172
Most wins	Bolton Wanderers 70
Most player appearances	Bryan Edwards, Eddie Hopkinson, Ronnie Clayton 11 appearances
Top scorer	Nat Lofthouse 8 goals for Bolton Wanderers
All-time record	Blackburn Rovers (60) Drawn (38) Bolton Wanderers (70)
Largest victory	Blackburn Rovers 7–1 Bolton Wanderers 1889–90 Football League (21 December 1889) Blackburn Rovers 6–0 Bolton Wanderers 1912–13 Football League (26 October 1912) Bolton Wanderers 6–0 Blackburn Rovers 1924–25 Football League (22 April 1925)
Blackburn Bolton Locations within North West England

The A666 derby is an English association football rivalry between Lancashire and Greater Manchester football clubs Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers. The derby has been played across numerous divisions and cup competitions, most notably taking place in the Premier League from the mid 1990s, throughout the 2000s and into the early 2010s.

Following Bolton Wanderers’ promotion back to the Premier League after beating fellow Lancashire rival Preston North End 3–0 at the Millennium Stadium in the 2001 Football League First Division play-off final. Blackburn would face Bolton a minimum of twice a season, every season for over a decade straight, until both sides were eventually relegated in 2012. With both clubs suffering from their owner's financial mismanagement. Neither Blackburn nor Bolton have yet to return to the top flight, however they have since crossed paths on occasion in the EFL Championship.

The rivalry and nickname originates from the fact that both Blackburn and Bolton are close geographical rivals, as the two Lancashire towns which are only 10 miles apart, are connected by the A666 road. The road itself is considered by some to be haunted, often being nicknamed "The Devil's Highway"^[1][2] due to the number 666 being associated with the Devil, as well as the road's high accident rate.^[3]

The first A666 derby took place on 19 November 1881 in an FA Cup tie at Leamington Road, Rover's old ground. Blackburn won the game 6–2 in front of a crowd of 4,000.^[4] The two would not cross paths again until the formation of the Football League in 1888.

Both clubs were part of the twelve original founding members of the Football League in 1888, making them among the country's oldest and most historic football teams.^[5][6][7] The two sides have met on 172 occasions, making the derby one of the most contested fixtures in English football history.^[8] Due to the two clubs' long professional histories, across many divisions, the league fixture has been across played the top three tiers of English football, as well as the FA Cup and League Cup. The two sides also met in the Anglo-Scottish Cup in 1976, and again the following year, with both sides seeing 2-0 wins respectively.

One of the most important derbies played between the two sides was on 22 March 1958, when Bolton Wanderers beat Blackburn Rovers 2–1 in front of a crowd just shy of 75,000 at Maine Road in the FA Cup semi finals. Bolton went on to beat Manchester United 2–0 in the final at Wembley to win their 4th FA Cup.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

More recently on 26 August 1995, Blackburn Rovers who were the reigning Premier League Champions, travelled to Burnden Park, where they were beaten 2–1 by a newly promoted Bolton team. The match was Bolton Wanderers' first ever win in the Premier League, and was also the first A666 Derby in over 12 years.^[15]

Other notable matches between the two in recent decades include:

Blackburn 3-4 Bolton: 10 January 2004. The highest scoring affair between the two in the 21st Century so far. Kevin Nolan scores in 14 seconds, giving Bolton the lead, Blackburn respond quickly, with Vratislav Greško equalising the 3rd minute. Two more Rovers goals from Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole see a comfortable 3–1 lead in front of 23,538 at Ewood Park by the 34th minute, however Bolton's Youri Djorkaeff pulls a goal back for Wanderers before half time. Stelios Giannakopoulos scores an equaliser for Bolton this time, in the 73rd minute, before Nolan who opened the scoring scores the winner for Bolton on derby day.^[16][17]

Bolton 1-2 Blackburn: 13 January 2008. Kevin Nolan scores in this fixture again, as Bolton take the lead minutes before half time. Blackburn comeback in the second half, with a 53rd minute equalising goal from Christopher Samba, followed by a 90th-minute winner by Jason Roberts to give Rovers the win at the Reebok Stadium. This win was very condemning for Gary Megson's Wanderers side, as they got a wake up call to what life would be like without star striker Nicolas Anelka. Bolton went on to exit the UEFA Cup in the knockouts to Sporting Lisbon, with fans' frustration at the club's lack of ambition as well as the tactics used by Megson meaning his pragmatic prioritisation of league placement over European silverware, is still looked back on as a missed opportunity by many Wanderers fans.^[18][19][20]

Bolton 2-1 Blackburn: 24 March 2012. This was Bolton's first game following the on pitch collapse and heart attack of Fabrice Muamba at White Hart Lane.^[21] The tragedy that occurred was used to galvanise the Bolton squad, as the team put in a shift to win the derby, with a first half brace from David Wheater enough to seal the three points. The game itself was one where geographical proximity and historic grudges were put aside, as Rovers fans joined the home faithful in emotional support for Muamba.^[22][23]

Bolton 0-1 Blackburn: 6 October 2018. Bradley Dack's goal is all that separates the sides, in another loss for Bolton during a time of turmoil for the club. This was the last competitive derby played at the University of Bolton Stadium, (or UniBol). Bolton would go on to experience severe financial difficulties, being relegated from the EFL Championship later that season, they would receive a 12-point deduction in EFL League One the year after, as the club entered administration and were less than an hour away from liquidation, seeing them face back to back relegations, taking them to fourth tier for the first time since 1988, and only the second time in club history.^[24][25]

Additionally, the two clubs met in a 2021 pre-season friendly at the UniBol, which ended as a 2–2 draw.^[26]

The fixture is fondly remembered by iconic players from both sides, namely Stuart Holden who spoke memorably about his winning goal in the derby.^[27]

There is also a point of conversation about how important the fixture is, due to the fact that both clubs have other perhaps more memorable rivalries with other teams, Blackburn have a well known hatred towards Burnley, with those two sides taking part in the East Lancashire derby, whilst Bolton have a modern rivalry with local Greater Manchester side, Wigan Athletic, as well as their more traditional derby with Bury, however the latter were expelled from the Football League in 2019, and the chances of the two playing each other again in the next few years are incredibly unlikely. That being said the two clubs share a historic dislike for each other, and when the fixture takes place there are consistently many eyes on it across the county of Lancashire, this is clear as multiple polls on what clubs fans of the two sides considered as their rivals yielded each other in the results.^[28][29][30]

References