The 2007–08 season was the 130th season in Bolton Wanderers F.C.'s existence, and was their 7th consecutive year in the top-flight, and covers the period from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008. Having finished seventh the previous season, Bolton had qualified for the UEFA Cup.
Regular season
After finishing runners-up in the Peace Cup Bolton entered the new season under the management of Sammy Lee. Lee, who had previously worked under former manager Sam Allardyce, had taken over from Allardyce towards the end of the previous season, but had yet to record a league win.
The league season kicked off at home, against Newcastle United, now managed by Allardyce. Three first-half goals for Newcastle ensured an early defeat. This was followed by an away defeat to Fulham. By the time Bolton lost 3–1 to Portsmouth, the club found itself at the bottom of the league. However, a 3–0 win over Reading lifted them off the basement. Another bright note was that striker Nicolas Anelka had found the net in three of the four games in August and found himself towards the top of the Premier League scoring charts.
Back to back defeats to Everton and Birmingham City saw Bolton quickly return to the bottom three and Lee come under pressure for his job. An unconvincing away draw in the UEFA Cup to Macedonian side FK Rabotnički, only saved by a late equaliser from Abdoulaye Méïté, was followed by a 1–1 home draw against fellow strugglers Tottenham Hotspur. Much-needed relief was found in an extra time win over Fulham in the Carling Cup but an early season six pointer against bottom side Derby County only yielded a draw and meant that Bolton finished September only one place above their opponents.
The UEFA Cup home leg against Rabotnički was won 1–0 with another goal from Anelka. However, if Bolton were looking for an easy passage through the group stage they were disappointed as the draw put them up against former European Cup winners Bayern Munich and Red Star Belgrade as well as highly regarded Portuguese side Braga and Aris from Greece. Meanwhile, there appeared to be problems at the club behind-the-scenes, marked by the confusion when Gary Speed stepped down as player-coach. However, there was little confusion to what happened following Bolton's 1–0 home defeat to Chelsea on 15 October, with Lee being relieved of his duties on the Monday. Assistant manager Archie Knox was put in temporary charge until a new manager was found. Steve Bruce, Paul Jewell and Chris Coleman were linked to the job. In the meantime, Bolton lost again, this time to Arsenal 2–0 on 25 October Gary Megson was appointed as manager following his resignation from Leicester City. While chairman Phil Gartside said, "We feel Gary is the right man to take Bolton forward," some fans were decidedly unimpressed, stating that it was "possibly the most bizarre and clueless appointment this season". Megson sat in the dugout for 1–1 draw that evening at home to Braga in the UEFA Cup before taking charge fully in the home game against Aston Villa, that also finished 1–1. The month finished with Bolton being knocked out of the Carling Cup by Manchester City 1–0, the game being settled late on by a controversial penalty.
A late Kevin Nolan goal saved the day at West Ham United in the first game in November. Bolton then travelled to Germany to take on Bayern Munich. Few fancied Bolton to come away with a result, but an early goal from Ricardo Gardner and a late equaliser from Kevin Davies gave Bolton a valuable point in their attempt to qualify from the group stage. Seemingly buoyed by this result Bolton finished the month unbeaten, drawing 0–0 with Middlesbrough, beating Manchester United 1–0 (giving Megson his first win as manager and Bolton's first home win against their neighbours for thirty years) and drawing with Aris in the UEFA Cup, Stelios Giannakopoulos scoring an injury-time equaliser against his countrymen.
Bolton's busiest month of the campaign started with a 4–0 hammering at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield. but this was quickly followed by another famous European night as Red Star Belgrade were beaten 1–0 as Bolton qualified for the last thirty-two of the UEFA Cup, the occasion slightly marred when some fans were held in a hotel in the Serbian capital. This was followed by a 4–1 derby win over Wigan Athletic, in what turned out to be Gary Speed's last game for the club, and another defeat to Manchester City, 4–2. When the draw for the last 32 of the UEFA Cup was made, Bolton were given another tough draw, paired with Spaniards Atlético Madrid. The day after the draw was made fellow strugglers Birmingham City were despatched 3–0, but this was followed by two defeats over the Christmas period to Everton and Sunderland.