30 Years Ago This Week - Clive Walker

[paulhanley]

May 7, 1983, Bolton 0 Chelsea 1 in the penultimate game of the 82/3 season, a game I remember very, very well and one that is considered so pivotal by Chelsea fans that it has its own Wikipedia page. http://thechels.info/wiki/Bolton_Wanderers_0-1_Chelsea_(1982-83_Second_Division). The 82/3 season was similar to the one just gone in the second tier, loads of teams in danger of relegation going in to the last few games. Bolton were well on the slide with the goals having dried up and Tony Henry and Peter Reid sold. We were still outside the bottom 3 though going in to that match with Chelsea down near the bottom with us and looking in huge danger. Their fans made up around 2500 and of the 8500 gate - though few of them were in the Embankment away section. The match was basically played against a backdrop of one long riot. I was sitting in the last block of seats in the Manny Road North, which Chelsea fans invaded with all sorts of trouble ensuing. They also invaded the Burnden stand with seats being ripped out and hurled in to the paddock. Bolton fans ended up occupying the bottom rather than the top half of the terrace though many of those seats were chucked back. It was a dour game played in pissing rain and cloying Burnden mud. Clive Walker, who always scored against Bolton, got the winner with a spectacular volley very late in the game and it meant Bolton needed to win the following week at Charlton to stay up, we didn't. Chelsea did stay up and never looked back with the likes of Kerry Dixon and Pat Nevin arriving soon after to lift them to the top division. Can remember the Chelsea fans singing "one man went to mow a meadow" all the way through the game, which Bolton fans then adopted and used for the remainder of the 80s. Thirty years ago this week - anyone else have powerful memories of this day?

[Guest]

when you say "never looked back"

 

 

Weren't they relegated in the mid/late 80s?

[jayjayoghani]

missed it by one game. started going regularly 1st game of the 83/84 season

 

chelsea at home, then next up a certain Wimbledon climbing their way through the league.

 

pivotal to us too

[smithills_gent]

Powerful memories for me.

Chelsea didn't exactly invade the Burnden Stand, that implies going in the away section and breaking the police line into the home section.

Several hundred Chelsea fans paid at the gate of the home section of the Burnden Stand and there were so many of them the police didn't have the resources to move them.Leeds had done the same a few weeks before.Leeds were bullying Bolton families and pensioners but there was none of that with Chelsea.They were only interested in battling with Bolton's lads in the Paddock.

I can't remember much of the game but being in the Burnden Stand surrounded by Chelsea was an experience.It wasn't scary, they only wanted to scrap with Bolton fans who were up for it although it did cross our minds that it might not be advisable to celebrate if we scored.There were far more Chelsea fans than Bolton in the Burnden Stand.

[miamiwhite]

really naughty atmosphere that day,moody as hell. there was trouble before and after all the way up manchester road. Bolton seemed to hold their after the match especially on Bradshwgate,where loads had mobbed up

 

match was shit HTH

[Casino]

I was in the paddock

Mum was in the burnden stand and never went again

[Lever Ender in L.A.]

already moved over here by then...but was at Stanford Bridge when we were 3-1 up with a few minutes to go when Chelsea brought on Clive Walker...he ran us ragged and they won 4-3....I was in that brand new stand with England manager Ron Greenwood above me, I shouts up "Hey Ron...Worthy for England " end of the game he says back to me "was he wearing a blue number 12 shirt ?".......seem to remember Walker playing for Sunderland after that and still giving us the run around

[Mounts Kipper]

already moved over here by then...but was at Stanford Bridge when we were 3-1 up with a few minutes to go when Chelsea brought on Clive Walker...he ran us ragged and they won 4-3....I was in that brand new stand with England manager Ron Greenwood above me, I shouts up "Hey Ron...Worthy for England " end of the game he says back to me "was he wearing a blue number 12 shirt ?".......seem to remember Walker playing for Sunderland after that and still giving us the run around

 

That game made me feel like moving to LA.

[jazza]

The only thing pivotal for Chelsea was Mr Abramovic deciding he wanted a pet team

[victor meldrew]

the wooden seats knocked a fair few out in the paddock.