BoltonBoy80 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Between which years would you say Bolton had their finest mob(s)? In recent years it has been horrendous to see the likes of Wigan, Burnley, Blackburn Preston et al take the piss at our place. Which years would these teams have dreaded most a visit from Bolton. On our day how did we compare to our neighbours and more notorious mobs like stoke, Birmingham, Sheffield United? Were we known Nationally for having a bad reputation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burndens Bogs Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) The move to the Reebok in 1997 pretty much killed off any so called Bolton "mobs" From around 1968 to 1997 i'd say Bolton lads could more than hold their own against most opponents. Burnden Park was a fearsome place to visit for an away fan at times, especially in the 70's. There's plenty on here have more first hand experience, Edited March 31, 2020 by Burndens Bogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underpants Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) I reckon it's the same at a lot of clubs. Recently liberties have been taken at United by Palace. Us at Leeds. Italians at Liverpool. German at Arsenal. When England go abroad it's a different set of fans but it doesn't stop the locals wanting to kick em to death. Agro at matches doesn't happen week-in-week-out like it use to do. But like Bogs said the move from BP eroded any fear that most had. But it's a different game on and off the pitch now. Edited March 31, 2020 by Underpants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhanley Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 I've always had the impression that it was the 70s that was Bolton's heyday - probably more so in the first half of the 70s. Less so the 80s because numbers dropped off. Even then though we could take big followings away and rule the roost. Ask Wigan. This is however a topic on which there are very knowledgeable people on here so it'll be interesting to read what's said. Over the years I've had a read through memoirs by supporters of Oldham, Preston and Burnley who each confirm Bolton were top dogs in local terms away from the big city clubs. The Oldham and Burnley books do that thing of claiming "we got the upper hand in the end". I'm sure plenty would cast doubt on those versions of events. You'd have to say that to this day the most infamous moment was in August 1974 at Bloomfield Road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusan nikolic Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) Here in Nottingham , a lot of older Forest fans talk to me about what a nasty place burnden was in the second half of the seventies , allsorts of stories about mini buses being trashed and the like . Even a lad I know who is a Mansfield fan said after they beat us at Burnden in the full members ? Cup , they got bricks coming over the terracing at them , very lairy in his opinion. Also a local , who used to watch Spurs all over in the 70's and 80's , said to me you never went to fucking Bolton and took the piss. Edited March 31, 2020 by dusan nikolic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruba Mustafa Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 That Mansfield game was wild, one of my mates got arrested on the old boc petrol station , for some reason (prob coz we lost) every one was after their blood that night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusan nikolic Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Ruba Mustafa said: That Mansfield game was wild, one of my mates got arrested on the old boc petrol station , for some reason (prob coz we lost) every one was after their blood that night. Yep , that's pretty much the gist of what he said . Wouldn't we have been in the Area final if we won?. Edited March 31, 2020 by dusan nikolic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Egg Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 10 minutes ago, dusan nikolic said: Yep , that's pretty much the gist of what he said . Wouldn't we have been in the Area final if we won?. We would. Only 1 legged area final that year too and the winners of our game knew they would be the home team for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusan nikolic Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 1 minute ago, Duck Egg said: We would. Only 1 legged area final that year too and the winners of our game knew they would be the home team for it. No wonder everyone was pissed then , they must have lost to Wigan after they beat us. Edited March 31, 2020 by dusan nikolic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Egg Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 1 minute ago, dusan nikolic said: No wonder everyone was pissed then , they must have lost to Wigan after they beat us. Aye. The BEN had the headline "Wanderers home in on Wembley" after the draw was made. I remember being really pissed off when we lost that. We were 1 up too iirc. Their winner was scored by a bloke who always did well against us. Dave Caldwell (?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusan nikolic Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Just now, Duck Egg said: Aye. The BEN had the headline "Wanderers home in on Wembley" after the draw was made. I remember being really pissed off when we lost that. We were 1 up too iirc. Their winner was scored by a bloke who always did well against us. Dave Caldwell (?) He did , I'm sure they might have been in division 4 as well , not sure if Ian Greaves was managing them at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Egg Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 I'm too young to comment on the 70s but in the 80s the only local place I was nervous going to was Burnley. Blackburn and PNE were never any bother and we just took over places like Wigan and Bury. There was always the worry that Blackpool would be dicey due to the 70s but it rarely was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Take Hunt Off Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) In the late sixties & the early seventies we didnt take great numbers away unless it was local or maybe Yorkshire. This was more or less the norm for clubs like us .It has to be said that although some aways could be merciless in terms of getting attacked we had some absolute nutters who could be relied on to repel the home support even though the numbers were very uneven.I have to say without these guys we would have been mincemeat. So as Neil Young (the hippy) said in one of his songs 'red meat runs son , numbers add up to nothing'. Local aways were on the other hand a walk in the park because of those very numbers.I think our numbers improved a lot in the mid -late seventies paticularly farther afield . Cant comment on the early eighties as I only managed homes due to my young family/ ecomomics & all that.So someone else can elaborate on those days. Edited March 31, 2020 by Take Hunt Off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnyrotten Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 15 minutes ago, Duck Egg said: Aye. The BEN had the headline "Wanderers home in on Wembley" after the draw was made. I remember being really pissed off when we lost that. We were 1 up too iirc. Their winner was scored by a bloke who always did well against us. Dave Caldwell (?) That game had a really big feel to it, a bigger gate than for league games and good away following, the atmosphere was superb. I remember walking across the Burnden forecourt when about 8 Mansfield coaches passed and they all looked like absolute nutters. Yes they were in Div 4 and yes Ian Greaves was manager and Dave Caldwell scored the winner after we'd taken the lead (mayhem). Unbelievably that game was in May, compared to Jan or Feb for comparative cup games these days. I think the trouble afterwards reflected the fact that the defeat ended our season there and then (at home), robbing us of potentially 2 more huge games in the sun in May. I was absolutely gutted after that knowing the season had ended unexpectedly. 2 days earlier we'd played promoted Bradford in our last home game (0-2), there was loads of trouble at that game as many will recall (bricks chucked near Happy Shop etc). Went from looking forward to a great end to season to limply losing last 4 games conceding 12 goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burndens Bogs Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 What year was the Mansfield game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dusan nikolic Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Burndens Bogs said: What year was the Mansfield game? 85? Edited 18/05/85 Edited March 31, 2020 by dusan nikolic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mounts Kipper Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Ruba Mustafa said: That Mansfield game was wild, one of my mates got arrested on the old boc petrol station , for some reason (prob coz we lost) every one was after their blood that night. Was often mini buses and coaches bricked going back towards St. Peter’s way after the games saw it many times as I normally walked back to LH after matches in the 70s and 80s. Edited March 31, 2020 by Mounts Kipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mounts Kipper Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) 32 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said: That game had a really big feel to it, a bigger gate than for league games and good away following, the atmosphere was superb. I remember walking across the Burnden forecourt when about 8 Mansfield coaches passed and they all looked like absolute nutters. Yes they were in Div 4 and yes Ian Greaves was manager and Dave Caldwell scored the winner after we'd taken the lead (mayhem). Unbelievably that game was in May, compared to Jan or Feb for comparative cup games these days. I think the trouble afterwards reflected the fact that the defeat ended our season there and then (at home), robbing us of potentially 2 more huge games in the sun in May. I was absolutely gutted after that knowing the season had ended unexpectedly. 2 days earlier we'd played promoted Bradford in our last home game (0-2), there was loads of trouble at that game as many will recall (bricks chucked near Happy Shop etc). Went from looking forward to a great end to season to limply losing last 4 games conceding 12 goals. Bradford turned out some numbers that day, think Stapleton was manager and they completely outclassed us. Edited March 31, 2020 by Mounts Kipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Casino Posted March 31, 2020 Moderators Share Posted March 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Johnnyrotten said: That game had a really big feel to it, a bigger gate than for league games and good away following, the atmosphere was superb. I remember walking across the Burnden forecourt when about 8 Mansfield coaches passed and they all looked like absolute nutters. Yes they were in Div 4 and yes Ian Greaves was manager and Dave Caldwell scored the winner after we'd taken the lead (mayhem). Unbelievably that game was in May, compared to Jan or Feb for comparative cup games these days. I think the trouble afterwards reflected the fact that the defeat ended our season there and then (at home), robbing us of potentially 2 more huge games in the sun in May. I was absolutely gutted after that knowing the season had ended unexpectedly. 2 days earlier we'd played promoted Bradford in our last home game (0-2), there was loads of trouble at that game as many will recall (bricks chucked near Happy Shop etc). Went from looking forward to a great end to season to limply losing last 4 games conceding 12 goals. Few days after bradford, we won at cambridge, didnt we 3 2 Day of the fire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bolty58 Posted April 1, 2020 Members Share Posted April 1, 2020 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitestar Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Yeah, just ask honest reliable lads from any club about the mid 70s BWFC. Every honest one of them would tell you Bolton had it on top with most and could mix it with anyone. 80s was a bit different as we struggled on the pitch we were seen as bully boys off it due to us mostly playing minor clubs week in week out, yeah we had a laugh bit it was too easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farnywhite Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 From what I remember of the 80s the main ones were the Newcastle game when keegan had just signed for them and they tried to get in the manny road from the embankment. Sheff Utd in the paddock when they got promoted and Bristol city when they got promoted outside the ground . Also the Burnley and boro games stand out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mannyroader Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 6 minutes ago, Farnywhite said: From what I remember of the 80s the main ones were the Newcastle game when keegan had just signed for them and they tried to get in the manny road from the embankment. Sheff Utd in the paddock when they got promoted and Bristol city when they got promoted outside the ground . Also the Burnley and boro games stand out 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farnywhite Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 5 minutes 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. Remember after the game being at the bus stop at the side of the newsagents on Manchester road and the police had tried to keep them back after the game till the home fans had left and seeing the gates on the embankment being lifted of there hinges and them flooding out decided not to wait for the bus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonzo Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 There’s not many have been more active than our lot in this country over the last 4-5 years. We’re just shit at home. There’s plenty folk won’t know about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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