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Wanderers Ways. Neil Thompson 1961-2021

Trouble on the terraces


BoltonBoy80

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6 hours ago, bolty58 said:

The 'maddest' would be '69 to '75 for me. '75 - '80 only slightly less so.

I suspect that there may be a correlation with youth culture. '69 skins morphed into smarter suedeheads who in turn became even smarter 'Smoothies'. The urge to fight seemed to gradually ease as efforts to be the smartest on the terraces gradually grew.

During the craziest years I recall the stabbings v Leicester and the stretcher incident, the throwing of Forest fans off the bridge into the Trent, the burning of part of Bury train station, the topless bike riding Scimitar man in Oldham, that day in Blackpool, The Moss Side razor gang, the famous five clearing the Lever End of a couple of hundred Hull fans led by a crazy with a bull ring through his nose - I could be writing all day here. Something fucking mental happened every weekend!

Love for you to put some meat on the bones of these tales Bolty , i was only a nipper them days .

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10 minutes ago, radcliffewhite1 said:

Correct, many incidents not reported 

Minor incedents. Theres nothing like the large scale disorder like the old days. Too many mobile phones about. How many got rounded up at Millwall when Everton came to dance? For most it's just not worth a lifetime ban.

Edited by Underpants
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20 minutes ago, Underpants said:

Minor incedents. Theres nothing like the large scale disorder like the old days. Too many mobile phones about. How many got rounded up at Millwall when Everton came to dance? For most it's just not worth a lifetime ban.

Obviously not large scale but still things happening 

phones yes 

millwall and everton loads helped with police enquires but not as many charged as you would think 

Edited by radcliffe white
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18 minutes ago, Underpants said:

Minor incedents. Theres nothing like the large scale disorder like the old days. Too many mobile phones about. How many got rounded up at Millwall when Everton came to dance? For most it's just not worth a lifetime ban.

Nothing like the old days. But there’s more intent for those involved. Not talking about whoppers ballooning round grounds either. 

Few incidents have been far from minor. 

Was easy back in the day :)

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7 minutes ago, radcliffewhite1 said:

Obviously not large scale but still things happening 

phones yes 

millwall and everton loads helped with police enquires but not as many charged as you would think 

Always wondered what happend to the millwall fan who slashed the scouser. I've looked but not found anything.

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11 hours ago, bolty58 said:

The 'maddest' would be '69 to '75 for me. '75 - '80 only slightly less so.

I suspect that there may be a correlation with youth culture. '69 skins morphed into smarter suedeheads who in turn became even smarter 'Smoothies'. The urge to fight seemed to gradually ease as efforts to be the smartest on the terraces gradually grew.

During the craziest years I recall the stabbings v Leicester and the stretcher incident, the throwing of Forest fans off the bridge into the Trent, the burning of part of Bury train station, the topless bike riding Scimitar man in Oldham, that day in Blackpool, The Moss Side razor gang, the famous five clearing the Lever End of a couple of hundred Hull fans led by a crazy with a bull ring through his nose - I could be writing all day here. Something fucking mental happened every weekend!

Were you or anybody else on here at the Watford away game 1969 (first away of the season) ?

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Ignore my last post remember all the games previously mentioned running round in my early to mid teens following the big boys got in some scrapes , particularly remember the Leicester game I was with Boltys kid brother seem to remember the Leicester mob arriving at Trinity St early and plod escorting them away from the town centre walking them up Derby St and down towards Burnden via Thynne St ,any of them that broke off from the main pack were picked off by Bolton lads when they finally arrived on Burnden forecourt all hell broke loose .Remember the City league cup game and the famous incident of the pop wagon turning into the mass crowd on Manchester Road City fans first taste of Corona. 

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Only time I 've been invloved at Burnden, was when Birmingham got into Manny Road South, they scored and it kicked off, weren't many of us in there but forced them through the gate and then the stewards moved the rest.

Edited by Wullie
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2 hours ago, BoltonBoy80 said:

I’m 10 years too young to have witnessed us in our prime sadly. 
Sounds like we were causing absolute bedlam for couple of seasons mid 80s. Know some older H/W lads who said we were untouchable for couple of seasons. 

Went one or two away games with the Horwich casuals bwfc and England  one that sticks in the mind was Blackpool away a car load of them had gone up there midweek beat a couple of locals up left calling cards on them then told them which pub we would be in on Saturday outside the town centre . Coach dropped us of then remember the pub getting surrounded a few Blackpool outside balaclavas and baseball bats pub got smashed to pieces before the police could get there .

They used to have a photographer who used to take pics of the fighting fuck knows how they got them developed.          

When they all eventually got nicked   And sent down it was the biggest football hooliganism trial  in British history at the time . One even had made himself a Freddie Kruger glove 

Edited by Farnywhite
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2 hours ago, BoltonBoy80 said:

I’m 10 years too young to have witnessed us in our prime sadly. 
Sounds like we were causing absolute bedlam for couple of seasons mid 80s. Know some older H/W lads who said we were untouchable for couple of seasons. 

I'd say Bolton had their most active mob from 1986-88.It was almost guaranteed it would be going off at a Bolton away game in the north and midlands in that era.I wouldn't say they were untouchable though.Middlesbrough away in 1986 and Cardiff away in 1988 were two big tests that they didn't show at.Middlesbrough came down to Bolton for a row in 1987 and had the better of it from what I heard so Boro were probably the hooligan kings of 86/87 in that league

To be fair to Bolton they had a go away at Bristol City in 1986 and away at Wolves in 1988, tough places to go to but as i say Middlesbrough away  and Cardiff away were no shows.Of the local clubs Burnley away was the only place Bolton received a real test in that era

I reckon Bolton were at their best in the 1970s..Leeds came over with their mob in both 1977 and 1978 and received as good as they got from Bolton.Leeds came over in 1983 and took the piss.It was a numbers game, Bolton's gates were 15,000 higher in the late 1970s than 1983 but still, having Leeds take over the Burnden Stand seats in 1983 was a shocker...I reckon 1970s Bolton was better than the 86-88 mob that caused mayhem in Divs 3 and 4.A lot of the 80s mob were no doubt the same people as the 70s one, like

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Think the main difference between the 70s and mid 80s were in the late 60 S early 70 s a lot of the fighting was inside the ground trying to take the home end bigger crowds made it harder for that to happen at burnden . 

the mid 80s with the club on its arse and low crowds you were vulnerable to big followings like Newcastle / Leeds almost doing what they wanted  in the ground  but by them the police had got a better grip of it inside the grounds

so it became more organised and away from the stadium so you found smaller clubs but with a proper firm could take anyone on we were in the 3 rd and 4th division by then . 
for example hibs were the top firm in Scotland over rangers and Celtic they would never be able to go to ibrox and run them but away from the stadium different story 

Edited by Farnywhite
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Lots of mentions on here for the ones I clearly remember seeing through the eyes of a child/early teens

The two Leeds games in the late 1970s were crazy. We won the first 3-1 after being a goal down at half time. Leeds brought thousands. I remember they opened the middle section of the Embankment and their fans poured in and filled it within minutes. At the end of the game the bit between the Embankment and Burnden Paddock was just house bricks going back and forth. Like a scene from the back end of an Orange march in Derry! 

Nobody's really mentioned Chelsea yet but four times there was mayhem at Bolton - 77, (on the pitch) 80, 82 (their fans were supposed to be banned) and 83 (the most notorious of the lot when they were all over the Manny Road and Burnden Stand seats). 

Newcastle at the start of 82/3 was definitely a scary day - slates and bricks smashing in to the perspex at the side of the Manny Road stand

When West Ham came in 81 there was a brawl in the Manny Road terrace. Didn't last long but it was intense. Old bill like the keystone cops trying and failing to get the perimiter fence gate open.

Sheff Utd at home in 84 was the most scared I've ever been at a match. Their fans were wild that day and Bolton had no answer.

Don't ever really remember local rivals causing too much of a problem. Away from home Bolton's following at Blackpool always seemed together and primed for action. Even cowards like me! They got the absolute runaround from us at Bloomfield at Christmas 77 and 85 and on the night of the Sherpa Van northern final triumph in 89. 

Blackburn, Wigan and Bury always seemed a walkover. I'll bow to those with better memories on Preston and Burnley.

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Heard about someone taking a milk crate and camera into grounds to snap their lads for future reference. Boro rated us but think they got better hand at sweet green. Can’t recall Cardiff doing anything in Bolton. 
Went to carling cup final v Boro on coach with some older horwich lads. Some cracking stories. 

35 minutes ago, Farnywhite said:

Went one or two away games with the Horwich casuals bwfc and England  one that sticks in the mind was Blackpool away a car load of them had gone up there midweek beat a couple of locals up left calling cards on them then told them which pub we would be in on Saturday outside the town centre . Coach dropped us of then remember the pub getting surrounded a few Blackpool outside balaclavas and baseball bats pub got smashed to pieces before the police could get there .

They used to have a photographer who used to take pics of the fighting fuck knows how they got them developed.          

When they all eventually got nicked   And sent down it was the biggest football hooliganism trial  in British history at the time . One even had made himself a Freddie Kruger glove 

 

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1 hour ago, Johnnyrotten said:

I think we lost 3-2 but stand to be corrected.

Won there 3-2 in 1981 coincidentally.

If that Cambridge match was the same day as the Bradford fire then we were 3 nil up at one stage. Think we were on a TR85 coach that day.

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Just now, Underpants said:

If that Cambridge match was the same day as the Bradford fire then we were 3 nil up at one stage. Think we were on a TR85 coach that day.

Only our second ever black player appeared in that game and scored. Roger Walker!

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33 minutes ago, Roger_Dubuis said:

I'd say Bolton had their most active mob from 1986-88.It was almost guaranteed it would be going off at a Bolton away game in the north and midlands in that era.I wouldn't say they were untouchable though.Middlesbrough away in 1986 and Cardiff away in 1988 were two big tests that they didn't show at.Middlesbrough came down to Bolton for a row in 1987 and had the better of it from what I heard so Boro were probably the hooligan kings of 86/87 in that league

To be fair to Bolton they had a go away at Bristol City in 1986 and away at Wolves in 1988, tough places to go to but as i say Middlesbrough away  and Cardiff away were no shows.Of the local clubs Burnley away was the only place Bolton received a real test in that era

I reckon Bolton were at their best in the 1970s..Leeds came over with their mob in both 1977 and 1978 and received as good as they got from Bolton.Leeds came over in 1983 and took the piss.It was a numbers game, Bolton's gates were 15,000 higher in the late 1970s than 1983 but still, having Leeds take over the Burnden Stand seats in 1983 was a shocker...I reckon 1970s Bolton was better than the 86-88 mob that caused mayhem in Divs 3 and 4.A lot of the 80s mob were no doubt the same people as the 70s one, like

Bolton went to Bury to have a go with Middlesbrough think that was 86, Boro at home think we got surprised at how early they arrived and size of mob, only mobs that did have success in Bolton in the 80s were the proper mobs such as Chelsea, Sheff U, Bristol City, Boro, and all of those had to be at their best and mob handed but still had a real battle on their hands despite our crowds being sub 10k, mind you that 10k had a large %  of not rights,. As an aside what happened to Man U at OT in 89 when we marched in and out with hardly a challenge. 

Edited by Mounts Kipper
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6 minutes ago, Mounts Kipper said:

Bolton went to Bury to have a go with Middlesbrough think that was 86, Boro at home think we got surprised at how early they arrived and size of mob, only mobs that did have success in Bolton in the 80s were the proper mobs such as Chelsea, Sheff U, Bristol City, Boro, and all of those had to be at their best and mob handed but still had a real battle on their hands despite our crowds being sub 10k, mind you that 10k had a large %  of not rights,. As an aside what happened to Man U at OT in 89 when we marched in and out with hardly a challenge. 

Wasn’t united away 91. Hughes 80th minute winner? 
Was stood at bottom of terrace. I’m positive if philiskirk takes his chance on half time there would have been a crush. 

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24 minutes ago, Underpants said:

If that Cambridge match was the same day as the Bradford fire then we were 3 nil up at one stage. Think we were on a TR85 coach that day.

Aye

Bradford wripped burnden stand to bits

Few days later, we played at cambridge while valley parade burned down

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