Ian Evatt has mixed feelings over the idea of having an Arsenal-style documentary at Bolton Wanderers as he believes it would be great for supporters to get more an insight into life at the Whites but is uncomfortable with it potentially encroaching on the dressing room dynamic.
The Amazon Prime series charts the Gunners under Mikel Arteta last season. It is the latest in a long line of football-based documentaries which have also included the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Liverpool and also Wrexham.
Wanderers under Evatt have had a taste of what that would be like. A pair of short episodes entitled 'Born to be a Wanderer' were released on YouTube and covered the promotion-winning 2020/21 season out of League Two.
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Evatt revealed that conversations over having a similar documentary have been taken behind the scenes at Wanderers, with the Bolton boss admitting to watching the Arsenal one. The Bolton boss can see positives and negatives to the idea.
On the one hand, he believes it would be great for supporters to gain an insight into behind the scenes to life at the University of Bolton Stadium. He feels fans would get to know him and the whole club functions better.
An example of this came as Evatt recalled that while on holiday, he approached a Wigan Athletic supporter over abuse directed towards the Wanderers boss on social media. At the end of the conversation, the pair shook hands and the unnamed Latics fan admitted that the Bolton boss is not what the public persona around him is sometimes portrayed as.
But on the other hand, Evatt believes the dressing room is a private place where things between him and his squad can be freely spoken about. He feels that the players could find that strange and potentially a sideshow, but the Bolton boss believes the idea is an interesting debate.
Evatt said: “We’ve had this conversation. I think it would be amazing for the fans to get a true insight into how it really it and how hard everyone works, not just the football department, but how the whole club functions. Neil (Hart) works extremely hard and his team behind the scenes and you get to know these people on a personal level.
“It’s hard because people portray how we are as people by how the team plays on a Saturday and also the snippets they get from you guys (the media) and sometimes people could think I’m not a very nice guy.
“I’ll tell you a short story now that I know the Wigan fans hate me and that’s fine, I’m absolutely fine with it. My first day on holiday, there was a Wigan fan around the pool and he gave me shedloads of abuse on social media which got fed back to me.
“I approached him and we ended up shaking hands and said ‘actually, you’re quite a nice guy’ and I said ‘well I actually am quite a nice guy!’. I’m portrayed to be the big bad wolf but I’m actually okay, I think I’m a decent fella and I think you’ll (the media) vouch for me.
“To get a true insight it would be great for people to see that and then form their own opinions based on how we are on a daily basis and not based off interviews. But having said that, I would find it slightly strange, I’ve got to say.
“I think the players would as well because those four walls are really personal and private and what gets said in those four walls, I want to remain between myself and the players. Obviously I will share with you (the media) some stuff that I think can be shared and should be shared, but I think it’s a really personal space and would it affect what I say? Maybe.
“Would Mikel do all those drawings and would he get the lightbulb out without the cameras there? I don’t know, maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t, but for me it’s the chicken and the egg, isn’t it.
“I think it would be really great for people to get to know you on a personal level, but I also think that’s a really personal space and a personal thing and I wouldn’t want it to become a side show and detract from what we’re trying to do here.”
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