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Tony Kelly can’t wait to sample a White Hot night from the other side of the fence at Anfield, even if he has to upset an old family friend in the process.
It is 22 years since he helped Bruce Rioch’s Wanderers knock out FA Cup holders Liverpool on their own patch, etching an indelible mark in the club’s history books.
This weekend Kelly will be part of the 5,500-strong travelling army hoping to witness another famous result.
For that to happen, however, the former Burnden Park midfielder admits he will come in for some stick back home on Merseyside.
Kelly is an old mate of Liverpool skipper and fellow Huyton native Steven Gerrard, who is desperate to leave for America this summer by lifting another trophy for his boyhood club.
But the 50-year-old would be happy to leave him disappointed if it meant Neil Lennon’s side could book their place in the fifth round.
“I’ve known Steven since he was a kid and I know he wants to bow out at Liverpool with a trophy,” he told The Bolton News. “I think he’s been spoilt – he’s won enough.
“I’ll have a laugh and a joke with him when I see him. I’ll pat him on the back, regardless of the result.
“I’ve got Liverpool fans running right through my family, and Ma Kelly has told me I’m not welcome back in her house if Bolton win. I’m treading a fine line.
“Memories of the White Hot night will never leave me. But I’m going as a supporter this time. I’m taking my partner Symone and her five-year-old grandson Owen – and this will be his first away game, so it’s extra special for me.”
Saturday evening’s televised game has been the talk of the town since Wanderers were paired with the Reds, and Kelly is delighted to see the FA Cup back on the club’s agenda.
“The FA Cup is a big part of this club’s history,” he said. “I think for most clubs it doesn’t really get going until the later rounds but when you get a game like this, it gets the whole place buzzing.
“Go back to Nat Lofthouse lifting it in 1958. He was there at Anfield that night (in 1993) and I remember him coming into the dressing room afterwards. He gave me a big hug and said ‘I told you cocker, things would turn out alright.’
“People say it has lost some of his magic but memories like that still bring a tear to my eye.
“The sound of Anfield Road and the Centenary Stand filled with Bolton supporters, even The Kop clapping us off at the end – that will never, ever leave you.”
In Wanderers’ Premier League era, a trip to Anfield almost became par for the course but Kelly feels the time spent out of the top flight has made this game all the more significant to fans.
“We used to get this game quite regularly in the Premier League and maybe now we’ve been out of it for a while, it reminds you how special it was,” he said.
“I don’t care who you are – when you’re on the pitch and you hear You’ll Never Walk Alone, the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.
“Everyone at the football club wants to get back to those days but you haven’t got a divine right to be there.
“This is a one-off. For 90 minutes we haven’t got anything to lose.
“We’ll show respect but when the whistle goes the tackles will start flying in. Nothing changes in cup football, it’s about who gets the job done on the day.”
And Kelly believes the pre-match team-talk at Anfield will be an easy one for Lennon.
“If you can’t get fired up once you see that sign in the tunnel, then I don’t think you should be playing professional football,” he said. “Bruce didn’t have to say anything special to us and I don’t think Neil will either.
“The only thing Bruce kept speaking about was David Lee switching wings – and he absolutely stormed it that night. He was unplayable.
“Everyone loves the underdog. I think a lot of people will be willing us to win the game but we shouldn’t be drawn into saying we’re going to do this, or that.”
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It is 22 years since he helped Bruce Rioch’s Wanderers knock out FA Cup holders Liverpool on their own patch, etching an indelible mark in the club’s history books.
This weekend Kelly will be part of the 5,500-strong travelling army hoping to witness another famous result.
For that to happen, however, the former Burnden Park midfielder admits he will come in for some stick back home on Merseyside.
Kelly is an old mate of Liverpool skipper and fellow Huyton native Steven Gerrard, who is desperate to leave for America this summer by lifting another trophy for his boyhood club.
But the 50-year-old would be happy to leave him disappointed if it meant Neil Lennon’s side could book their place in the fifth round.
“I’ve known Steven since he was a kid and I know he wants to bow out at Liverpool with a trophy,” he told The Bolton News. “I think he’s been spoilt – he’s won enough.
“I’ll have a laugh and a joke with him when I see him. I’ll pat him on the back, regardless of the result.
“I’ve got Liverpool fans running right through my family, and Ma Kelly has told me I’m not welcome back in her house if Bolton win. I’m treading a fine line.
“Memories of the White Hot night will never leave me. But I’m going as a supporter this time. I’m taking my partner Symone and her five-year-old grandson Owen – and this will be his first away game, so it’s extra special for me.”
Saturday evening’s televised game has been the talk of the town since Wanderers were paired with the Reds, and Kelly is delighted to see the FA Cup back on the club’s agenda.
“The FA Cup is a big part of this club’s history,” he said. “I think for most clubs it doesn’t really get going until the later rounds but when you get a game like this, it gets the whole place buzzing.
“Go back to Nat Lofthouse lifting it in 1958. He was there at Anfield that night (in 1993) and I remember him coming into the dressing room afterwards. He gave me a big hug and said ‘I told you cocker, things would turn out alright.’
“People say it has lost some of his magic but memories like that still bring a tear to my eye.
“The sound of Anfield Road and the Centenary Stand filled with Bolton supporters, even The Kop clapping us off at the end – that will never, ever leave you.”
In Wanderers’ Premier League era, a trip to Anfield almost became par for the course but Kelly feels the time spent out of the top flight has made this game all the more significant to fans.
“We used to get this game quite regularly in the Premier League and maybe now we’ve been out of it for a while, it reminds you how special it was,” he said.
“I don’t care who you are – when you’re on the pitch and you hear You’ll Never Walk Alone, the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.
“Everyone at the football club wants to get back to those days but you haven’t got a divine right to be there.
“This is a one-off. For 90 minutes we haven’t got anything to lose.
“We’ll show respect but when the whistle goes the tackles will start flying in. Nothing changes in cup football, it’s about who gets the job done on the day.”
And Kelly believes the pre-match team-talk at Anfield will be an easy one for Lennon.
“If you can’t get fired up once you see that sign in the tunnel, then I don’t think you should be playing professional football,” he said. “Bruce didn’t have to say anything special to us and I don’t think Neil will either.
“The only thing Bruce kept speaking about was David Lee switching wings – and he absolutely stormed it that night. He was unplayable.
“Everyone loves the underdog. I think a lot of people will be willing us to win the game but we shouldn’t be drawn into saying we’re going to do this, or that.”
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