New book in the works from Paul Fletcher about the decline of the club, laugh a minute I'm sure.

BN is doing some extracts from it in the coming days, interesting to see his quote about the move to Reebok Stadium as "probably the biggest mistake in the club's history"

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/17673248.how-i-came-to-find-the-religion-of-football-at-burnden/

Wasn't there a book out at Christmas about the decline of Bolton town centre? We might as well have one about the decline of the football club.Paul Fletcher describes well the excitement of walking to a match at Burnden, there is none of that gained from catching a bus  or train  to Horwich.

I'm interested in his explanation of why it was the worst decision in the club's history to move there.I'd go for Eddie gambling on giving the likes of Megson and Coyle a £40 million  wage bill, and in Megson's case a £40 million transfer budget as being the club's biggest mistake.We'd have been fucked if we'd taken that gamble and lost  at a redeveloped Burnden

Should never have left Raikes Lane

Biggest mistake we ever made was signing the likes of Petrov, with no relegation release clause.

48 minutes ago, dazl1212 said:

Biggest mistake we ever made was signing the likes of Petrov, with no relegation release clause.

Petrov was ace

1 hour ago, Mr Grey said:

I personally like going to aways that are Town/City centre proximity, (20 min walk at most) Sheff Utd, Wolves, Rotherham, Barnsley, Blackpool and maybe just PNE and Shrewsbury at a push. London games are different, some are better than others, but always enjoy a trip to our Multi-cultural liberal elite capital.

You then have plenty of time in the town centre for food & ale, for us Rail users it's part of the day.

I love the Reebok, but even the pubs in Horwich close by have closed, although if you fancy a trot up Rivington Pike beforehand, that might wet your whistle.

I don't miss Burnden, just miss going into the town centre before and after, however Bolton TC has become a proper shit hole, so I suppose we ain't missing much.

If you can walk from Shrewsbury Town centre to the ground in 20 mins you must have legs 30ft long 😁

Paul Fletcher, the man who couldn't wait to get away and get his name all over the next stadium project within months of the Reebok opening.

He likes to brag about how big his influence was with the stadium but in reality he got ignored a lot of the time and was no great loss.

4 minutes ago, RONNIE PHILLIPS said:

If you can walk from Shrewsbury Town centre to the ground in 20 mins you must have legs 30ft long 😁

I was thinking that too!

There's a good boozer on the left that takes 20 minutes to get to, 20 minutes for a couple of pints and then another 20 minutes to the ground!

Shrewsbury was my favourite away day at the old ground but the dreary, out of town, all seater ground has spoiled it.

37 minutes ago, Mr Grey said:

Okay 25, cracking place though, so worth the extra walk or taxi fare 😀

If I remember we had to get a jog on for the train😀

 

1 hour ago, Mr Grey said:

Okay 25, cracking place though, so worth the extra walk or taxi fare 😀

The walk from that last pub was far enough for my liking 😊

If you live in the area surrounding the Reebok, it's not too far to walk, whereas presumably going to burden was.

I understand being in the centre makes it accessible to more fans wanting to walk, but I doubt as many folk would want to as they did decades ago. Societal changes.

Worse thing about the Reebok is the freezing cold and wind in winter.

3 hours ago, RONNIE PHILLIPS said:

If you can walk from Shrewsbury Town centre to the ground in 20 mins you must have legs 30ft long 😁

Think we managed it in 25. Naively thought we’d have no problem getting a taxi from the town centre at 2.10pm, had no luck so stuck on Google Maps and hoped for the best. Half 2 we passed a bloke coming out of his house in a Shrews shirt and asked him for a lift, bearing in mind Google Maps reckoned it was another half hour walk - he ended up taking us on a shortcut along the river and over a golf course and we were getting a pint in the ground by 2.40pm! Good job it was a nice day, mind. 

I never quite took to Paul Fletcher back in the day, he always seemed a bit poncey looking and lightweight to be a Bolton player back then..

Admittedly, around that  time we had Gary Jones and Alan Waldron who both looked a bit camp - but they were both BWFC through and through and were great players for us.

Obvs there was no such thing as homophobia in the Manny Rd North back in the 70's.

Edited May 30, 20197 yr by Burndens Bogs

He reckons he was sold to Burnley for 70k to save the club & wasnt even told where he was going till it was a done deal.Lofty was the manager at the time .

They were scrimpy days for sure nothing like the Burnden scenes he describes in his early years & you certainly wouldnt expect those local bread manufactures to help out!

As an aside I watched Fletcher play his central league debut v Burnley .He was overshadowed by a fifteen year old wearing black rimmed glasses !! name of Leighton James.

 

 

I remember Paul Fletcher presenting the medals when we won a football tournament at Turton School around 1971. I thought i'll never wash that hand again - i think it lasted until i got to the changing rooms. My Dad taught him at Smithills school.

Age old argument usually purported by those who live in a rose tinted wonderland that think the likes of Okocha, Campo, Hierro etc. would have come to Burnden. 

This bloke writes a book about our current demise to make some cash. He can fook off. 

 

Edited May 31, 20197 yr by Plums

I have no idea who he is and think he should shut up. times change and we move on. sick of silly old bastards saying we should have stayed at that dump that was Burnden. Don't get me wrong good memories but it was a shithole. hard to get to and a nightmare to get away from.

Dunno about the last bit, E, we were in the Burnden Terrace for years and if you were light on your feet back to the car you'd be home (on occasion) in time for the 5.05pm highlights on ITV

12 minutes ago, Kane57 said:

Dunno about the last bit, E, we were in the Burnden Terrace for years and if you were light on your feet back to the car you'd be home (on occasion) in time for the 5.05pm highlights on ITV

Where did you live, Weston Street?

13 hours ago, Burndens Bogs said:

I never quite took to Paul Fletcher back in the day, he always seemed a bit poncey looking and lightweight to be a Bolton player back then..

Admittedly, around that  time we had Gary Jones and Alan Waldron who both looked a bit camp - but they were both BWFC through and through and were great players for us.

Obvs there was no such thing as homophobia in the Manny Rd North back in the 70's.

I know exactly what you mean. He looked like a bit of a chinless Bolton School boy rather than a Smithills lad & always looked like his mum had got him ready for training.

Jones & Waldron had great 'feather' cuts, which were trendy at the time but I could imagine Fletcher 's parents combing his hair for him every day before packing his satchel.

1 hour ago, Kane57 said:

Dunno about the last bit, E, we were in the Burnden Terrace for years and if you were light on your feet back to the car you'd be home (on occasion) in time for the 5.05pm highlights on ITV

horseshit. again. it was a fucking nightmare. we parked miles away just to try and make it home for 6

Big E is light on his feet.

Burnden had a lot wrong with it but getting to and from it was never a problem imo.  

1 hour ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

Where did you live, Weston Street?

More or less

2 hours ago, Big E said:

I have no idea who he is and think he should shut up. times change and we move on. sick of silly old bastards saying we should have stayed at that dump that was Burnden. Don't get me wrong good memories but it was a shithole. hard to get to and a nightmare to get away from.

5-10 minutes walk with free parking (outside my house) - or 12 hours if we swerved by the local on the way home.