paulhanley

There's been a lot of big talk over the years from Burnley about their gates.... its all melting away a little bit now. It'll surely embarrass them to finish up with a gate average lower than Blackpool and irritate them to be below Blackburn.

Average attendances: Bolton 18094 Blackburn 14996 Blackpool 13916 Burnley 12928 Results in derby matches against each other Bolton Won 3 Drawn 2 Lost 1 Pts 11 Blackpool Won 2 Drawn 3 Lost 1 Pts 9 Burnley Won 2 Drawn 2 Lost 2 Pts 8 Blackburn Won 0 Drawn 3 Lost 3 Pts 3 Final league positions 7th Bolton 11th Burnley 15th Blackpool 17th Blackburn Other points of note We've now won four games on the trot and five out of six against Blackburn. Blackpool still haven't won any league or cup game in Bolton since 1986 (but we've not won at Blackpool since 77) Burnley still haven't won any league or cup game in Bolton since 1985 Here's hoping we can welcome Wigan to the party next season.

Fuck em.

As much as he fucked up badly in his last 18 months I just can't feel huge negativity towards him. He clearly has always had feeling for the club and still does.

I think Tranmere were the new Blackpool. Now we just have Blackpool back.

I think it will be Brighton, they're very solid. They also play Palace first up, who they hate. Palace on poor form, Brighton decent.

Moyes to the DMBs. Martinez to Everton. Mark Hughes to the pie-men. Kenny Jackett to Wolves. Owen Coyle to Millwall.

Looks highly likely they'll go down now. However, if they do, I think they'll be strong in the Championship next year - Martinez or no Martinez. If they fail to bounce back at the first attempt, the decline might begin apace. First hurdle - get the turd to flush, hopefully by this time next week.

I suspect for the first month or two we will be getting either side of 16000 rather than either side of 17000 which is what we had for much of this season. If we start doing well, we'll be back up to this season's average and maybe a bit more. .

Oh boy, the pie-men now have a bit of a problem. Arsenal away next and a very in-form Villa on the last day. Feels like 38 pts is the max they can get. So Norwich, Newcastle, Sunderland just need a point each before season's end. They're definitely in Europe ........ imagine the burden of all those fixtures in the Championship. Dear fixture computer, can we have them on a grim November Sunday after they've just been to somewhere in Lithuania?

85/86, Boxing Day at Bloomfield Road, thousands went from Bolton with plenty in the home ends. Remember the pandemonium on the away terracing after David Cross scored Bolton's goal. It seemed that most of the Wanderers fans packed in to half of their Kop and half of the shallow roofed paddock down the side were lads.

If Wigan win tomorrow night the odds obviously swing heavily in favour of them staying up. Assuming they lose their following league match at Arsenal, the one thing that could upset them now is that Villa at home on the final day suddenly looks far more difficult than it did a month or so ago. Villa have Chelsea next, which means they're unlikely to have more than their current 40 pts going in to that final match and will need something from the Wigan game to be sure.

Players leaving will be largely dictated by who is out of contract. Alonso and Kevin Davies will both go due to that scenario. In an ideal world I'd get rid of Ream, Ricketts, Mills, Sordell. I'd be signing two new wingers, two new centre backs to supplement Wheater and Knight, a new striker and a creative midfielder on loan until Christmas when Mark Davies returns. So, for me, six in and six out - would maintain the wage bill at about what it is now. In reality though I suspect we'll have difficulty shifting Ream, Ricketts and Mills from the books. We've a chance of offloading Sordell.

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?

I hope not.

Feel sorry for them. Didn't feel too sorry for them this time of year 26 years ago though.

Seasider, On this thread I have asked several times where were you and all the other Blackpool fans were from 1993 and 2010? During the era of John McGinlay, Keith Branagan, Per Frandsen, Gudni Bergsson, Alan Thompson, Nathan Blake, Michael Johansen, Bob Taylor, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Simon Charlton, Bruno NGotty, Henrik Pedersen, Fredi Bobic, Youri Djorkaeff, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Kevin Nolan, Ivan Campo, Fernando Hierro, Jay Jay Okocha, Gary Speed, Nicolas Anelka, Aboudlaye Faye, El Hadji Diouf, Johan Elmander ..... you seemed to be quiet. During the days of Bolton finishing 8th, 6th, 8th and 7th as part of 11 years in the Prem and qualifying for Europe twice, drawing at Bayern Munich and winning at Red Star Belgrade, the silence from Blackpool in terms of dialogue towards Bolton was deafening. While Bolton were averaging more than 20000 for 11 consecutive seasons, some of which were comfortably than 25000, the cat must have got your tongues. Where on earth were you all? Please stop avoiding the question.

Last few home league results against Blackpool. Who remembers owt about these? 77/8: Bolton 2 Blackpool 1 (Game in March, Bolton end up promoted, Blackpool relegated by season's end) 85/6: Bolton 1 Blackpool 3 (Easter Monday, pissing down, conceded two in the last 5 mins) 86/7: Bolton 1 Blackpool 0 (Steve Thompson winner) 88/9: Bolton 2 Blackpool 2 (Trev Morgan scored for us in the 1st min) 89/90: Bolton 2 Blackpool 0 (Boxing Day game, I think) 92/93: Bolton 3 Blackpool 0 (slaughtered them with some great football, early Rioch days) 10/11: Bolton 2 Blackpool 2 (you all remember this)

Was there. It's all been said. Was with four family members and a Villa supporting mate who still talks about that night in glowing terms. One of the odd cameos I remember is all the players having gone back in the dressing room after the warm up, leaving lots of balls on the pitch. My midlands mate said: "one of these pissed up loons is going to be on there trying to boot that in the net before long". Within seconds it happened! On the whole the policing that night was very sensible. They could have dealt with those pitch invasions with baton/Robocop tactics. Instead they just guarded the halfway line and let the exuberance fizzle out.

Sorry to see him depart these shores. Unsung hero who lived through the very best of times with us and contributed at key moments.

Heh heh. Enjoyed that.

Any chance of the numb cunt being banned altogether?

You've been saying that kind of thing for the best part of 50 years.

I wasn't born in 1953. Not even close. I've never read such a load of shite in all my life. If this bloke is typical of Blackpool fans then they're worse than Tranmere, Bury, Wigan and all of our other petty detractors. I must have forgotten what they were like when we were a division or more above them for 17 consecutive seasons, not playing them once (1993-2010). Earlier in this thread I asked Seasider why we never once heard from he or his chums during all those years. He never answered. So come on then ... where were you?

With no League One, League Two, non-league stuff this weekend there'll probably be a scattering of neutrals attracted to the match on Saturday.