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Bolton fan quits Oz job for Wembley trip
A Bolton fan has quit his £38,500-a-year job in Australia in order to fly back to England to watch his beloved Trotters grace the hallowed Wembley turf on Sunday.
Ian 'Waggy' Wagstaff, 50, was told by his boss that he would not be given the time off to travel across the globe to join the hordes of Bolton fans converging on London for this weekend's FA Cup semi-final with Stoke.
But Wagstaff would not take 'no' for an answer and informed his employers that there was no chance he would be missing the Trotters first trip to the new Wembley.
And after spending £1,000 on flights and tickets, the sheet metal worker -an Australian resident for for the past 24 years - has not been to see Bolton play since 1994, says he has no regrets.
"I've been a Wanderer all my life," Wagstaff said. "I've watched them in every league apart from the Premier League.
"I told my boss I wanted to go, but he said we were too busy. I told him I was going anyway. It's not every day you get the chance to watch Wanderers at Wembley."
Bolton's last appearance at Wembley was in the FA Cup semi-final of 2000, which they lost to Aston Villa on penalties and the Trotters last won the FA Cup in 1958, when legendary striker Nat Lofthouse scored twice in a 2-0 victory over a Manchester United side ravaged by the Munich Air Disaster.
A Bolton fan has quit his £38,500-a-year job in Australia in order to fly back to England to watch his beloved Trotters grace the hallowed Wembley turf on Sunday.
Ian 'Waggy' Wagstaff, 50, was told by his boss that he would not be given the time off to travel across the globe to join the hordes of Bolton fans converging on London for this weekend's FA Cup semi-final with Stoke.
But Wagstaff would not take 'no' for an answer and informed his employers that there was no chance he would be missing the Trotters first trip to the new Wembley.
And after spending £1,000 on flights and tickets, the sheet metal worker -an Australian resident for for the past 24 years - has not been to see Bolton play since 1994, says he has no regrets.
"I've been a Wanderer all my life," Wagstaff said. "I've watched them in every league apart from the Premier League.
"I told my boss I wanted to go, but he said we were too busy. I told him I was going anyway. It's not every day you get the chance to watch Wanderers at Wembley."
Bolton's last appearance at Wembley was in the FA Cup semi-final of 2000, which they lost to Aston Villa on penalties and the Trotters last won the FA Cup in 1958, when legendary striker Nat Lofthouse scored twice in a 2-0 victory over a Manchester United side ravaged by the Munich Air Disaster.