It's worth celebrating just how unbelievably shit our beloved neighbours, the self proclaimed "greatest club of the world" have become. Compared to their insufferable spell of success under old purple nose, the current state of affairs is the stuff of dreams and could never have been foreseen in our wildest dreams

• Now 12 years without a Premier League title
• Lost their status as the club with the most Prem titles - now 20-20 with Liverpool with the scousers far likelier to get to the 21 mark in the next year or two
• NOT the most successful club in English football, Liverpool again. 
• A 15th placed finish, their lowest since being relegated to the old Division 2 in 1974 
• A stadium that is essentially crumbling having been neglected for many years.
• Finances in a mess
• Several reports this week that their support abroad (especially in Asia) is hemorrhaging 
• Beaten by a Spurs side who are even more dreadful than they are in a European final. 

Feel free to add to the above list. There must be plenty of other elements of their decline to crow about.

We've got our own woes as have most clubs. On this quiet Saturday with no footy until tonight and very little other sport of note it's worth reflecting just what depths these arrogant cunts have plumbed. What a pleasure it is to see their cretinous support base having to keep its head down and feel what it's really like to be a football fan.

The only downside is that we were in the Prem in the wrong decade. I rather suspect we'd have chalked up several memorable wins home and away if our spell had been 10 years on from the one we had.

 

26 minutes ago, Stig said:

The stats being scoreline, scorers and team sheet. The only stuff that matters as opposed to shots on target, xg and all this other nonsense.

One question for the older folk on here, why was the attendance 32k for this match? I'm imagining Normid was after this in the 80s but it's still way down on the 60k attendances of the absolute peak of Burnden. Was it gradually reduced for safety, or had various bits of the stadium turned to seating by then?

The days of 60k crowds were long gone, and although we got 50k v Everton in the league cup semi in 77, league gates never got near to 40k in the 70s, I think the best we got was about 35k even in the top div.

And the Lever End was seated at the start of that 78/79 season, following promotion, so the capacity was down to about 40k (someone may have an accurate figure).

I'd also guess the stated crowd was those actually turning up unlike today's "tickets sold".  The weather was poor all day (fog/freezing) and it was mad Friday just before Christmas so every chance some couldn't get there on the day, or just decided not to travel/stay in the pub.

34 minutes ago, Stig said:

The stats being scoreline, scorers and team sheet. The only stuff that matters as opposed to shots on target, xg and all this other nonsense.

One question for the older folk on here, why was the attendance 32k for this match? I'm imagining Normid was after this in the 80s but it's still way down on the 60k attendances of the absolute peak of Burnden. Was it gradually reduced for safety, or had various bits of the stadium turned to seating by then?

Used to see official attendances of 18-20K in those days when the place was fairly rammed

Cash on the turnstiles. Creative accounting….

4 hours ago, BobyBrno said:

It varies depending on age and where you live. Speak to any Bolton or United fans on the borders of the two conurbations and you’ll get a different reaction. Less so when we are in different divisions of course but when we are, it’s a different story. I was brought up in L/H & Walkden and it was intense at times. It’ll be reignited when we next meet but it’s looking more likely that they’ll be coming down than us going up.😉

Most Man yew tourists don’t even know where Bolton is. 

 

13 hours ago, gonzo said:

Hated them will all my heart as a kid and youth. 

Had Munich 58 scrawled all over my text books. 

They did their best to ruin my childhood. Black Sunday was the worst day of most of our lives. Only bright point seeing how bubbling and full of hate Burnden was that day. Think United realised that day the true feeling.

But let's not pretend their general match going fanbase has ever seen us as anything else than a tasty away day.

Unless you live in pink zones like LH and stuff or we're around in the 60/70s they just don't give a fuck about us and never have. Leeds take their 3rd place in rivals by a distance. 

My hate for them wained in that last few seasons in prem. I grew up a bit realised we could never lay a glove on them in the long run and they just generally don't care about us, it's all one way so what's the point in spending my life full of hate for a global corporation that barely knows we exist.

I still hate them, they'll always be the first result I look for, this time is fantastic watching the fuckers squirm and realise their fall from grace. But in reality Wigan and Blackpool are better to hate. Because they hate us. 

My lads don't hate United, theyve never even seen us play them or be remotely in the same airspace. 

Most Bolton fans under 30 wouldn't even mention United as being our rivals.

 

reckon its pretty chilled out around here now: i've got some great mates... @royal white just keeps winding them up though 😄  

43 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

The days of 60k crowds were long gone, and although we got 50k v Everton in the league cup semi in 77, league gates never got near to 40k in the 70s, I think the best we got was about 35k even in the top div.

And the Lever End was seated at the start of that 78/79 season, following promotion, so the capacity was down to about 40k (someone may have an accurate figure).

I'd also guess the stated crowd was those actually turning up unlike today's "tickets sold".  The weather was poor all day (fog/freezing) and it was mad Friday just before Christmas so every chance some couldn't get there on the day, or just decided not to travel/stay in the pub.

Just the Sunderland game in 1975 that broke the 40,000 mark.  You're right, the 60k crowds were long gone and largely a myth anyway, just the odd cup ties that got that high.

54 minutes ago, Dr Faustus said:

 

reckon its pretty chilled out around here now: i've got some great mates... @royal white just keeps winding them up though 😄  

I love it. The thing I miss most at the end of the season is winding those clowns up 😂

58 minutes ago, Duck Egg said:

Just the Sunderland game in 1975 that broke the 40,000 mark.  You're right, the 60k crowds were long gone and largely a myth anyway, just the odd cup ties that got that high.

45,500 for the best game I ever saw v Newcastle in January 1976. 3-3.

It seemed packed.

16 hours ago, BobyBrno said:

Did some declutterring this week and coincidentally came across these😊

Finished work at lunchtime as we always did the last day before Christmas. Kicked out of the pub at 3, I wandered around town wondering if the match would be on as there was some doubt. Met a Bobby friend of mine in the town hall square and he said they had been told it would go ahead. Brilliant night. 
We were well and truly back!

The top one. The only time in my life I have passed out from over excitement. Mate thought I'd had a heart attack and was panicking when I came round. Sat behind the Old Trafford directors box too courtesy of a ticket from the mates dad (yes athywhite58 - that one). Their 'masters' took some shit that night I can tell you. I was buzzing for about a month after that result - one I had dreamed of since being a nipper due to the depth and amount of disdain I'd experienced for the red shites from my dad and grandad.

7 hours ago, Big E said:

All very Wigan hating a team who don’t consider you remotely rivals 

All very Welsh scouser not to get it.

6 hours ago, Dr. Feelgood said:

45,500 for the best game I ever saw v Newcastle in January 1976. 3-3.

It seemed packed.

Sunderland was the only league game that broke the 40k barrier. The Newcastle and Everton Cup games did. A bit earlier Man City, Stoke and possibly Luton(?) cup ties too.

10 hours ago, Stig said:

The stats being scoreline, scorers and team sheet. The only stuff that matters as opposed to shots on target, xg and all this other nonsense.

One question for the older folk on here, why was the attendance 32k for this match? I'm imagining Normid was after this in the 80s but it's still way down on the 60k attendances of the absolute peak of Burnden. Was it gradually reduced for safety, or had various bits of the stadium turned to seating by then?

This is what I wrote in a post about this 8 years ago:

 

Aside from that, just looked at an old programme (Coventry 1978 - was that the  brown shirt one??) and in the letters page someone (from Hanover St. in Leyth) asked for the ground capacity breakdown at that point. Des McBain answers:

Capacity 42,466

Home Embankment 9,000

Away Embankment 6,000

Burnden Stand 2652

Paddock 10,534

Lever End 4,330

Manny Road Terrace South 2,750

Manny Road Terrace North 2,250

Manny Road Stand 4,556

Wing Stand (chortle) 928

 

Oddly, that adds up to 43,000 not 42466  - so we couldn't get our figures right even back then.

Directors box etc?

Did/do they count?

On the way to the final ever Burnden game I had GMR on & Des McBain came on.

Asked why the capacity of the stadium was less than 28,000 he said 'because our history shows that is what is needed. Though there's may be occasional lock-outs they'd be rare. So they'd allowed more inches per seat than some other new builds, there was some contingency for new seat & a complete new front row & if they were proven wrong the builders knew the process of adding a new section, but that'd be complex. Again stressing that generally 27.5k would rarely be exceeded'.

tbf he was right too.

Remember that first season most of our gates were bang on 25k.

Littleraly 2 seasons later they were down to 10k. 

 

1 minute ago, gonzo said:

Remember that first season most of our gates were bang on 25k.

Littleraly 2 seasons later they were down to 10k. 

 

Whitt, stop posting under Gonzo's ID.

9 hours ago, bolty58 said:

 amount of disdain I'd experienced for the red shites from my dad and grandad.

Just to highlight this, my grandad used to do the Pools. He'd take nearly a week to put what seemed like 47,000 fucking crosses on a coupon. Went on for years - never won a fucking sausage.

Whilst he and my grandma would be preparing the Saturday tea, he'd have me in her rocking chair watching the teleprinter and shouting out 'any interesting results and score draws'.

Assuming the DMB's had been involved in a score draw or big win or loss (preferably the latter) and I shouted out their score, within a minute he'd be in the doorway with a tea towel over his shoulder, arms down firmly by his side with a face like thunder and say "What have I told you? When you say those two words you follow them with (spitting noise whilst looking at the floor)".

He was fucking ace my grandad.

 

57 minutes ago, bolty58 said:

Whitt, stop posting under Gonzo's ID.

Luke Littleraly

14 hours ago, Duck Egg said:

Just the Sunderland game in 1975 that broke the 40,000 mark.  You're right, the 60k crowds were long gone and largely a myth anyway, just the odd cup ties that got that high.

Thanks for correction, completely forgot about Sunderland.  42,680, amazing crowd for Div 2.

Biggest crowd in Div 1 was 35.2k v Liverpool. 

There were 2 more games after that in 78/79 (Villa and Spurs), total crowd for both games 35.2k! (the two lowest of the season).  79/80 highest crowd was Man U (32k), loads of crowds under 15k that season even before we were certain to be relegated, less than 9k v Coventry.  

Saw this posted on another site. Average gates for 1956/57. Ours was under 25k in a season where we finished 9th in the top flight.

56 minutes ago, yardbones said:

Saw this posted on another site. Average gates for 1956/57. Ours was under 25k in a season where we finished 9th in the top flight.

Bury have never had 12k fans😂

57 minutes ago, yardbones said:

Saw this posted on another site. Average gates for 1956/57. Ours was under 25k in a season where we finished 9th in the top flight.

Some that stand out are those where they've got average crowds greater than probably any league crowd they've managed for one game in last 40 odd years: Bristol Rovers 22k, Orient 17k, Grimsby 15k, Newport, Colchester, Accy, Hartlepool, Torquay all 8 or 9k; most suprising to me Workington over 8k, they can't get 800 now (still in their great old ground too).

saw this earlier

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Midnite Football (@midnitefootball)

before anyone thinks I'm siding with Liverpool I also saw this

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Jim Keoghan (@jim_keoghan)

On 01/06/2025 at 22:04, Dr Faustus said:

 

reckon its pretty chilled out around here now: i've got some great mates... @royal white just keeps winding them up though 😄  

Maybe. 😊 I did say that age was a factor. Back in the sixties, they were still moaning about the 58 final. L/H was invaded by Salford types so being a Bolton fan at school was difficult but also a test of character. I think I won. Whenever the conversation about the final came up, the usual ‘we would have won if the ‘Babes’ hadn’t perished at Munich. Fair point. I then told them that we beat the ‘Babes’ 4-0 at Burnden in the September before the disaster. They all shut up and treated me and the club with more respect from then on. Knowledge is power. 
I didn’t tell them that the ‘Babes’ beat us 7-2 in the January at OT!

I have many friends who are Salford types. 😊

4 hours ago, yardbones said:

Saw this posted on another site. Average gates for 1956/57. Ours was under 25k in a season where we finished 9th in the top flight.

Good to see us higher than Burnley, PNE, Blackpool, Blackburn etc. 

13 minutes ago, paulhanley said:

Good to see us higher than Burnley, PNE, Blackpool, Blackburn etc. 

And still are.