Trouble on the terraces

[paulhanley]

A few more quirky memories: 

Oldham turning up at Burnden when their game at Blackburn had been postponed. Spent the time mouthing off in the away part of the Paddock with the Gillingham fans

A Blackburn fan getting in with the Bolton fans in a match at Turf Moor only for the Burnley fans to point him out - leading to a bruising experience for him.

Carlisle having a go in the Burnden Terrace seats with tiny numbers just before we got relegated to Div 4 with them.

A crazy Newport fan taking up residence in the Manny Road terrace and offering fisticuffs to anybody who came within 5 feet - including old bids. He was going through the whole Welsh song book: Sospan Fach; Men or Harlech - you name it. A total mentalist. Then half a dozen lads appeared to give him what he wanted and he made them back off just by being hyper. In the end they settled for keeping a distance and chanting "burn your bungalow down Taff" to the tune of "tie me kangaroo down" by Rolf Harris. The stewards asked him to move and he frightened them to death as well. This would have been around 83 or 84.

 

[leigh white]

Cardiff away was always a rough place, i remember 4 us going in the car in 80 and parked in the city centre for a few scoops in town, went on the open ended away end and must have been about 50 Cardiff lads spoiling for a ruck, Bolton ran into them and scattered them all over the place. They got escorted out the end and went outside to start lobbing bricks all through the match into our end. After the game one of the lads who came with us decided to get on one of the coaches parked outside the ground, we walked back towards the city centre. The scariest walk that day of my life. Cardiff mobs everywhere stood on the street corners. We got sussed out half way back and made a dash for it, ran down a side street with bottles and stones wizzing past our heads, we turned a corner and another mob heard all the commotion and started running towards us. We saw an open door and ran in and shut it behind us and asked this old Asian bloke to phone the police. Cops arrived soon after, one massive bloke got out the car then the car sped off. The cop escorted us back down the street with Cardiff fans on both sides of the road shouting abuse and trying to take a swing at us. The copper had a walking stick and kept swinging it about at them. When we got about 5 mins away from the multi story car park, he said you should be ok from here now, all the Cardiff dickheads will have gone in the pubs. 

[Traf]

1 hour ago, BoltonBoy80 said:

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. 

One of our defenders moved out of the way of Hughes' shot. 

[Ruba Mustafa]

When Chelsea came up in 83 it was near the end f the season and we were expected to win. They brought loads and were in the manny rd where I stood. Clive walker ripped us apart and scored the winner.  I was a cheeky young rascal in them days and at the end of the game me and my mate went down near the tunnel as the players left the pitch. “Colin, Colin, Colin!” I shouted to Colin Lee as he walked off. Eventually he heard me and looked up at us and smiled to us. “F*** off you w******!” I shouted to much hilarity til it all kicked off around us! :lol:

In 84 I shat myself when Sheffield Utd came in the manny rd. There were loads of them but they kept quiet in the main and I learned a lesson. I’d realised that there were loads of them but I wasn’t happy about it. One of them, aged about 28 (old bastard!) went to the front and shouted “come on u Bolton b******* , who wants ago at me?” Nobody did.

I seriously pondered it for ages but decided against it, I would have got leathered.

it still rankles me that I didnt, still pisses me off, but it taught me to always be aware of your surroundings and the situation before kicking off, something I put to good use in later years. 

 

[Roger_Dubuis]

2 hours ago, paulhanley said:

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! 

 

We played Leeds in the League Cup in 1977, so they came over in 3 consecutive seasons.It went off down Manchester Road and on the forecourt at the League Cup tie and as you say in the ground in 78/79.I remember Leeds throwing a smoke bomb into the Paddock as well as the  bricks.

[Johnnyrotten]

2 hours 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

Not sure that's fair, as if you're talking about November 86 at Boro, it was a Tuesday night in November.  I drove to that with my usual away game mates and we got a good 0-0 draw, took about 300 after losing at home to Brentford 3 days earlier.  Not really ideal circumstances for taking a mob!  I remember that walk back to the car in the threatening terraced streets, not daring to say a word to each other and breathing a sigh of relief when we were all in the car with doors locked.

We've never taken more than a few hundred to Cardiff in good times or bad and the one time we had an important game their in the mid 80s it was a Friday night in Div 4.

[leigh white]

8 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

We've never taken more than a few hundred to Cardiff in good times or bad and the one time we had an important game their in the mid 80s it was a Friday night in Div 4.

We took a couple of thousand in 78.

[BoltonBoy80]

I don’t think either Cardiff or Swansea have really done much up here.

We’ve definitely taken it to Swansea.

We’ve had some ding dongs with both Birmingham and stoke late 80’s/early 90’s. 

[Johnnyrotten]

19 minutes ago, Roger_Dubuis said:

We played Leeds in the League Cup in 1977, so they came over in 3 consecutive seasons.It went off down Manchester Road and on the forecourt at the League Cup tie and as you say in the ground in 78/79.I remember Leeds throwing a smoke bomb into the Paddock as well as the  bricks.

That Leeds game in League Cup made a huge impression on me.  It was my first 'big' game having started going a few months earlier.  I couldnt believe how many Leeds brought and how they seemed to completely take over the embankment, looking from my safe vantage point on Paddock.  And Leeds in their bright yellow kit under the fantastic floodlights looked so glamorous, with Eddie Gray etc ripping us apart.  I didnt care about the result I I just wanted to get home safely in the end.

[Johnnyrotten]

12 minutes ago, leigh white said:

We took a couple of thousand in 78.

Fair enough I wasnt aware of that, definitely not taken many in last 40 years.

[snowball]

12 hours ago, Mannyroader said:

That Newcastle game their fans tore down an advertising hoarding for Henrys (a bar in town owned by Warburtons?). We won 3-1 with Tony Henry getting 2. A Newcastle fan methinks.

wasnt Henrys where McDonalds is now used to be China Gardens,? thought Henrys was more a burget type restaurant with a bar maybe remember that sign being torn down and tossed about. first home match of season IIRC. also remember Henrys sponsoring the officisl fixture list posters that year 

[leigh white]

6 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

Fair enough I wasnt aware of that, definitely not taken many in last 40 years.

We would've won promotion that day at Ninian Park if we would've won, got beat 1-0 and had to wait for that glorious night at Ewood a few days later.

[Mounts Kipper]

37 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

Not sure that's fair, as if you're talking about November 86 at Boro, it was a Tuesday night in November.  I drove to that with my usual away game mates and we got a good 0-0 draw, took about 300 after losing at home to Brentford 3 days earlier.  Not really ideal circumstances for taking a mob!  I remember that walk back to the car in the threatening terraced streets, not daring to say a word to each other and breathing a sigh of relief when we were all in the car with doors locked.

We've never taken more than a few hundred to Cardiff in good times or bad and the one time we had an important game their in the mid 80s it was a Friday night in Div 4.

That Boro game at theirs was the only time I’ve ever seen the gate open at end of the game and no one step outside the dimly lit terrace street was packed with Boro waiting for us, the police closed the door and gave it 20 minutes for them to clear off. Thank fuck they did. 

[Mounts Kipper]

30 minutes ago, BoltonBoy80 said:

I don’t think either Cardiff or Swansea have really done much up here.

We’ve definitely taken it to Swansea.

We’ve had some ding dongs with both Birmingham and stoke late 80’s/early 90’s. 

The only time I’ve seen Cardiff bring a big mob was mid 70s think it was an FA cup  game, I arrived at Burnden about 12.30 in those days and there was about 25 coaches already at the ground, sadly for them the game got called off. 

Edited April 1, 2020 by Mounts Kipper

[leigh white]

Swansea away in a night match in 76 was a bit wary for the one coach of lads in the League Cup. 

[RONNIE PHILLIPS]

17 minutes ago, Mounts Kipper said:

That Boro game at theirs was the only time I’ve ever seen the gate open at end of the game and no one step outside the dimly lit terrace street was packed with Boro waiting for us, the police closed the door and gave it 20 minutes for them to clear off. Thank fuck they did. 

Went to the re-arranged cup game, can't remember what year, maybe 78? Stan Cummins got both in a 2-0 defeat. It was proper moody, Ayresome was an intimidating place on a cold January night. 

[leigh white]

Looking back on our League Cup run in 76/77, i only missed Fulham away. It was mental at Bradford City, crazy at St Andrews with the replay with Fulham on the car park with the Birmingham, Swansea away outnumbered to fuck, Derby away wasn't to bad, Everton home and away was total mayhem in both legs.

[MancWanderer]

Never actively got involved but got caught up many a time

70’s - was a youngster stood on the Burnden Paddock with my Dad which was a great view to see it kicking off on the Manny Road terrace or the Embankment. Those days I don’t remember anything ever happening on the Burnden side or the Lever End. Always the Embankment. Wolves when they beat us. Fucking hell. Went on all game without a break. And the explanation of The Warbies standing ground under the Warburtons advertising hoarding explains a lot now.

I’ve no idea why but for that Chelsea game when they took the Lever End we were in the Wing Stand. One of those times that I wish I could ask my dad why?. He was Burnden Paddock come hell or high water. I suspect that he knew that it would be carnage and wanted to keep us safe. Abiding memory is Chelsea running from the Embankment and simply jumping in the Lever End with little resistance but seeing Tony Scott who was older and lived near me (family owned Scott’s Brake Linings at the bottom of Tonge Moor Road) wearing a black trench coat and those leather chequerboard driving gloves leading the charge from the Lever End into the Embankment as a great big fuck you

80’s was when it really hit home for me. Again, not interested in the trouble, but although we had small home crowds, fuck me away from home we were the absolute dogs. You had the fighters, you had the alehouses, and you had a small percentage of those that followed BWFC no matter what - the scarfers and elderly. Forget today’s attendances, in those days we took places over. I was either the driver or an alehouse. No matter where we went we took towns over and it always attracted trouble. And the fighters were never far away. Maybe I’m remembering through rose-tinted spectacles but it always seemed that wherever we collected in a boozer it always came down on us. They waited for us. And our lot happily gave it back in spades

Barnsley - that FA Cup game - fuck me I’ve never seen violence inside or outside a ground like that

Huddersfield - the old ground. 1-0 thanks to Trevor Morgan. We were locked in after the match on that open terrace when it was pissing down and when we came out the hail of bricks was summat like out of Saving Private Ryan

Wrexham - that game - fuck me they were unhappy that we’d taken over their ground. That was a bit hairy getting away from there 

Strange looking back on it all. If it had carried on like that I wouldn’t have two BWFC supporting daughters and would have missed years of going to games because they were the reason we had ST’s for so many years 

Memories of my youth though.,,,

Edited April 1, 2020 by MancWanderer

[miamiwhite]

1 hour ago, Mounts Kipper said:

The only time I’ve seen Cardiff bring a big mob was mid 70s think it was an FA cup  game, I arrived at Burnden about 12.30 in those days and there was about 25 coaches already at the ground, sadly for them the game got called off. 

Only time I've seen Cardiff bring a decent mob was approx 87/88....they got smashed all over early doors round the Alma/Trotters/Clarence.....same day the infighting happened at the Wagon and Horses.

 

Surprised no one has said the full story re Bradford in the Burnden stands.....us lot led by BW and his merry men had bought tickets on the day,as you did,  for their section of the stand......talk about madness down below in the tea bar when 100 of us in Burberry, Aquascutum, Tacchini, Ellessee, Pringle etc walked into there.....absolute bedlam. They then in retaliation launched seats into the Paddock.

 

Best mob for game lads for me was Boro at the Sweet Green, no ifs and buts, they turned us over big time that day.

Numbers wise, Leeds 82/83.....coach after coach after coach of pissed up fellas with taches who wanted a brawl. We had no chance numbers wise 

Biggest mob of smart lads......Chelsea in 82/83.......they ruled the roost, but our lot mobbed up afterwards outside Parkers Ride and Drive.....decent running brawls all the way onto Bradshawgate near the Pack Horse....pics on the net re this.

 

Best ever to to toe.......Derby 1985....down Lower Bridgeman Place, about a hour and half after the game ...40 a side.....went on for about 20 minutes until a passing filth van went past.....that was one tasty punch up....one of our well known top boys of that era getting a cast iron drain pipe smashed into his knee....only to wrestle it off the Derby lad and twat him with it over the head.

 

Biggest let down....1986, Wigan at home in the Freight Rover final.....their poxy shit scared mob turning up at almost half time and walking across the Embankment which was closed off to home fans by then....heard classic tales off their main boys re how they kept delaying coming and coming, thinking their numbers would improve.....then they got a late train purely to save face, the shitbags.

 

For the record, Bristol City was 1990.

 

 

[bolty58]

7 hours ago, Take Hunt Off said:

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

Would that be the famous "Ere, who threw that facking caaan?' game?

[leigh white]

Bolton could be their own worst enemy's at times, pubs in the suburbs of Hull near Boothferry Park smashed up needlessly what we had supped in years before, and closed when we went again.

[bolty58]

10 hours ago, Good Knee said:

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. 

 

Seem to recall it started for me downstairs at The Trotters (nowt new there then!). A few had come in and said they'd seen a big mob arriving and they were going straight to the ground. Instant adrenaline rush as we knew they'd try to take the Lever End. Sink the last pint (and probably the last 8 ball) and off on our toes with a few tasty lads in tow. Not sure if you and D latched on C?

A bit like the Hull City match, a good number of Bolton waiting down the steps at the St. Peters Way side for sufficient numbers to move them. Wouldn't have been more than a couple of minutes after we got in that the charge was on. Fair play, they ran at us as we launched at them (most others who attempted to take the Lever legged it when they saw the army of ants flooding up the steps) but it was a gallant but foolish attempt as they quickly got turned and seconds later were trying anything they could to escape at the Manny Road end. Clicker gates whirring like fuck, trying to kick wooden gates down, scaling walls. A few game ones tried to put up a fight but that did not end well for them. Stabbings, brickings or just smashed to a pulp. One of the bloodiest and most vicious I ever saw at Burnden. Ruthless and relentless that day our lot.

Not even sure why. We'd had other similar skirmishes where a few kickings and punches were delivered and then it was just laughing at them running away. This one was different. Not sure if it was the fact they were cocky enough to run at us in the first place or if there'd be some history from an away match (which I couldn't recall). Whatever it was, I wouldn't have backed anyone to take on the Bolton mob that day. 

Edited April 2, 2020 by bolty58

[leigh white]

After the bit of a mauling at the hands of Chelsea in 76, we had an home game the following week against Forest, they also came down in numbers. The after match was planned to perfection, a mob of Bolton chased them up the Manny rd and an even bigger mob was waiting on the corner of Trinity St, it was like lambs to the slaughter.

[bolty58]

5 hours ago, Ruba Mustafa said:

When Chelsea came up in 83 it was near the end f the season and we were expected to win. They brought loads and were in the manny rd where I stood. Clive walker ripped us apart and scored the winner.  I was a cheeky young rascal in them days and at the end of the game me and my mate went down near the tunnel as the players left the pitch. “Colin, Colin, Colin!” I shouted to Colin Lee as he walked off. Eventually he heard me and looked up at us and smiled to us. “F*** off you w******!” I shouted to much hilarity til it all kicked off around us!

In 84 I shat myself when Sheffield Utd came in the manny rd. There were loads of them but they kept quiet in the main and I learned a lesson. I’d realised that there were loads of them but I wasn’t happy about it. One of them, aged about 28 (old bastard!) went to the front and shouted “come on u Bolton b******* , who wants ago at me?” Nobody did.

I seriously pondered it for ages but decided against it, I would have got leathered.

it still rankles me that I didnt, still pisses me off, but it taught me to always be aware of your surroundings and the situation before kicking off, something I put to good use in later years. 

 

Wise words. It doesn't always go your way - my three most prominent scars are constant reminders of that fact. Just as long as you learn the lessons as you go you'll be reet.

Sometimes you're the windscreen, sometimes you're the fly.

[bolty58]

5 hours ago, Johnnyrotten said:

 

We've never taken more than a few hundred to Cardiff in good times or bad and the one time we had an important game their in the mid 80s it was a Friday night in Div 4.

This in not accurate. Can't remember the season but there were masses of us. We were in the paddock below the main stand - earlier we'd completely taken over the local pub (Ninian Arms - Brains Ales I think?) to a point so packed you could hardly breathe never mind buy a drink. Then all the windows came in and it was on. Cardiff scattered when the pub emptied.

One other memory from that game, a really good looking blonde bird (Sun page 3 type material) came up the steps in the main stand behind us to a chorus of wolf whistles. She took it really well and smiled and waved until one big pissed up twat shouted out loudly (just at one of those weird quiet moments) "Show us yer pissflaps!". She quickly disappeared back down the steps. Cringeworthy.