Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bolton Wanderers F.C.–Wigan Athletic F.C. rivalry

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. Malcolmxl5 (talk) 00:23, 18 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Bolton Wanderers F.C.–Wigan Athletic F.C. rivalry[edit]

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There's very little strong evidence that this fixture is a serious rivalry. I googled "bolton wigan rivalry" and there's this from Bolton's local newspaper: [1]. The title "Why the Whites’ REAL derby is a hard one to fathom" doesn't give me much hope that this is a big deal, nor does the text "Wigan Athletic are relative newcomers to the Football League scene and didn’t play Wanderers in a competitive fixture until 1983. It has taken some time for that game to really spark – but the two neighbouring towns now share enough common ground, in my view at least, to be considered rivals". Now let's look at this Bolton page on SB Nation: "On paper, this seems like the natural choice. Neither has a "natural" rival. The towns border one another. Younger fans may see Wigan as their rival, as they've only been punching at our weight for 10 years or so. But those days are gone. Wigan are back in the lower ebbs of the football league, never to be seen again. Thanks for your efforts Latics, but you fell just short. Never mind, lads". That too doesn't give me much confidence in the notabilty of this fixture, you'd certainly never here Preston and Blackpool or Burnley and Blackburn say that about each other. Now let's look at this Guardian article from 2011, when both clubs were in the Premier League: "Wigan like to look upwards to Bolton, though Bolton supporters are reluctant to look downwards and take the bait. Parts of Wigan are very close to Bolton, indeed the Reebok Stadium is handier for many Wigan supporters than Boltonians, and because there was no league team in Wigan until the 70s plenty of people who live in Wigan support Bolton. Plenty of others support Manchester or Merseyside teams, too – it is one reason why the DW Stadium is rarely filled to capacity – but Wigan's late arrival into the professional ranks means most prospective partners for rivalry have already been booked". All of these sources make it clear that any rivalry was brief, gone now, and of a low and one-sided intensity when it existed. Being close to each other doesn't make teams rivals. Harambe Walks (talk) 21:54, 10 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Football-related deletion discussions. MT Train^Talk 02:45, 11 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of England-related deletion discussions. Hhhhhkohhhhh (talk) 09:38, 11 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Delete - no evidence this is a notable rivalry. Giant Snowman 10:27, 11 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Delete - this article should be a subsection on Bolton wanderers F.C. and Wigan athletic F.C. and not it’s own article. May I add it’s not even a big rivalry. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Daps166 (talk • contribs) 18:22, 11 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Delete - Fails WP:NRIVALRY. The fact that teams have played each over a number of times and are geographically close is not a de facto indication of a rivalry. No indication that the rivalry as a subject itself has received sufficient significant coverage to satisfy GNG. Fenix down (talk) 14:11, 12 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Delete - no evidence that this is considered a significant rivalry. Of the two "controversies" listed, the fact that one occurred during a meeting of these two teams is a total coincidence of dates and not in any way an indication of a rivalry or anything else -- ChrisTheDude (talk) 14:53, 17 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.