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luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog

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1luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Thu Jul 28 2016, 22:59

karlypants

karlypants
Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse

For those of you who haven't been on the Bolton Nuts website or forum before (in which case where have you been because you're missing an awesome site) I am a 47 year old Trotter who has been following BWFC for forty years, thirty of them as a season ticket holder in my own right. This is my first attempt at a BWFC blog and I plan to make it a weekly event. There'll also be 'mini-blogs' if we have a mid-week game or if something of immediate and genuine impact (good or bad) happens between the 'main' Friday missives. It's my hope you'll enjoy them and that some other fans will want to add a blog or two of their own. Right now it's my intent to have one of these ready for you to read and comment on every Friday and I'd like to briefly thank sluffy for letting me do them. I'd also like to thank (in advance) karlypants and BoltonTillIDie who I understand will be judiciously editing these and adding appropriate images or video as needed. Anyway let's get down to business.


Third Tier, No Money, New Manager, No Stars, New Owners.

Don't Worry, We've Been Here Before.


On first glance it would seem to be a very gloomy time to be a Trotter. The club has just suffered relegation to League One, the new owners don't appear to be on the best of terms, there doesn't appear to be any money in the kitty for transfers in and a new manager sits at the helm of a club that has just released a lot of players and is on the verge of selling one of our best young prospects. We've barely avoided administration of not outright liquidation and the new season is just a few weeks away. However what strikes me isn't all the bad or negative things that have happened in the last few months, it's the remarkable, almost uncanny parallels between the 2016/17 season and events that took place thirty years ago before many of our current fans were even born.

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If anything that situation was even worse, we'd barely escaped extinction, we'd been relegated to Division 4 (League 2 to those not old enough to remember life before the Premier League), our ground was a wreck and we'd sold a chunk of the Embankment to the now defunct and then infamous Normid store chain to keep some money, any money in the kitty. Crowds were falling, the players were whomever we could get and we seemed to be going nowhere fast. By the end of the 1980's the immediate threat of extinction had faded largely thanks to Lifeline and the continued support of both Gordon Hargreaves and the Warburton Family but even though we felt a little bit more optimistic about things and we had got out of the bottom flight we didn't seem to be doing much else which was by and large fine by many fans, myself included. For the most part we were just happy we still had a club to support. There might not have been many of us but those of us who were still there were fiercely loyal to the club but not even we really believed we were 'big' in the sense that someone like Leeds United could claim. None of us really expected to be brushing shoulders with the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal (the two most successful clubs of the time) on a regular basis any time soon. It was far more likely to be Carlisle United we'd face next season rather than Manchester.

What none of us knew, not even the most cock-eyed optimistic Trotter alive could even have dared to dream was just how radically things were about to change for the better. When the 1990's began you could be forgiven for thinking Bolton Wanderers were just one more small, skint Northern club who bumped along in the bottom two divisions and that would always be the case. Yes we'd made it back up to Division Three (League One) but after two miserable failures in the play off's we'd sunk to mid-table obscurity and (as more than one sports writer opined at the time) we'd seemed to have found our level. No one really liked or disliked us, we weren't at all important in the football world and what glories we had enjoyed were all in the very distant past. Or so it seemed.

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On the 29th of May 1992 Bolton Wanderers officially announced the appointment of a new manager by the name of Bruce Rioch. He was a former professional footballer who had been well respected in his time on the field most notably with Derby County with whom he had won the football league in 1974-75 under the late great Brian Clough but despite a solid playing career which included 24 caps for Scotland he hadn't really shaken the earth as a manager. In fact he'd started his managerial career as a player manager at Torquay United in the early 1980's before a short stint in the USA as manager of Seattle Sounders in the now defunct NASL (North American Soccer League) before returning to England to manage Middlesbrough and later Milwall, jobs he'd performed in solidly albeit unspectacularly. By and large his appointment went unremarked and barely noticed by anyone except the Bolton Evening News and BBC North West. Most of the football world, most especially the media were focussed on the creation of the new Premier League and whether or not the fledgling Sky Sports channel (which back then was just one channel) could actually make it work commercially. No one could have guessed that it was the start of a totally incredible period in the history of Bolton Wanderers that would later come to be known as 'The White Hot Years', a period in which clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United would actually dread seeing our name come up against theirs in any cup competition, a period that would see us jump from the third tier to the Premier League in just three seasons and along the way play brilliant football with players who are now rightfully lauded as 'Legends' among the Trotters faithful.

I'll cover Bruce Rioch's time in charge in the next blog. All I will say now is that younger fans need not think the fact we're in the third tier means things will be boring or the football will be dire. As this is the first blog in what I hope will become a series I simply think it's appropriate to say we've been here before and far from being the disaster it appeared to be it was actually the springboard for some of the most exciting times to be a Trotter that I can remember. So chin up boys and girls because if we perform half as well under Phil Parkinson as we did under Bruce Rioch then good times are right around the corner.

In the meantime, if you'd like me to write a blog about something specific such as a particular player or perhaps a specific season then why not drop me a line via BoltonNuts.co.uk and I'll do my very best to accommodate any requests I get either as part of the 'main' blog which will come out once a week or if it's a particularly interesting topic I'll write it up as a separate 'Special'. Either way why not check out the rest of the Bolton Nuts forum and site, it's well worth the time. Until next week take care and I hope you've enjoyed (or at least stayed awake till the end) the first 'Piper's Piece'.

luckyPeterpiper









Last edited by karlypants on Thu Aug 25 2016, 11:27; edited 5 times in total

2luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Thu Jul 28 2016, 23:09

Sluffy

Sluffy
Admin

Great read Peter, thank you.

Brought back a load of good memories especially the away 'Normid' end!

Can't wait for your next blog.

3luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Fri Jul 29 2016, 00:21

BoltonTillIDie

BoltonTillIDie
Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse

Fantastic LPP looking forward to the up and coming blogs.

4luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Fri Jul 29 2016, 10:24

Reebok Trotter

Reebok Trotter
Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse

Good read is that Peter. I loved the Rioch period at the club. He brought back some pride and that was no mean feat.

More please!

5luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Fri Jul 29 2016, 12:06

wanderlust

wanderlust
Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse

Tend to forget that Bruce was only with us for 3 years, but what a turnaround during his tenure. Incredible.

6luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Fri Jul 29 2016, 13:02

Bwfc1958

Bwfc1958
Tinned Toms - You know it makes sense!

Good read that Pete, nice work. 

I have to admit I feared the worst when I saw you had a blog and thought I might have to set aside a good 4 days to read it  Very Happy

7luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Fri Jul 29 2016, 13:38

luckyPeterpiper

luckyPeterpiper
Ivan Campo
Ivan Campo

Bwfc1958 wrote:Good read that Pete, nice work. 

I have to admit I feared the worst when I saw you had a blog and thought I might have to set aside a good 4 days to read it  Very Happy
No mate, I am trying to keep them to a manageable length and unlike my general posts on here I have the time to edit them properly before I submit them. Basically I aim to make them all around this length (although some will be a bit longer but not by much) because I think that should be enough to cover the most pertinent points. And like I said in the blog itself if you've got suggestions for something you'd like me to write about then let me know. I actually enjoy doing this sort of thing and find it quite relaxing.

8luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Fri Jul 29 2016, 16:07

xmiles

xmiles
Jay Jay Okocha
Jay Jay Okocha

Good start LPP. Looking forward to reading more.

9luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Wed Aug 03 2016, 10:27

karlypants

karlypants
Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse

Piper's Piece Number 2

The Bruce Rioch Years

1992/93 Season



To those who've read the first blog welcome back. If you haven't seen it then don't worry, you can find it here [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

Anyway, this blog is about Bruce Rioch's first season in charge of BWFC and boy wasn't it a corker? In fact the first hint that this season was going to be incredible and very different from what had happened over the previous eight or nine years came in the very first match of the season. Our opponents were Huddersfield Town, a side that was well respected in the Division (now known as Division Two rather than Three thanks to the newly formed Premier League) and were seen as genuine promotion contenders and play off certainties. While the game was at home (Burnden Park) it was expected to be quite a tough start for us and I for one would probably have been happy with a point.

However we didn't just win, we dismantled Huddersfield. The end score was 2-0 but honestly it could have been 4 or even 5. The goalscorers were Julian Darby and the now legendary John McGinlay. While it wouldn't be true to say it sent shockwaves through the division it did surprise me, not just the win itself but the manner of it. We'd played fast, attacking football and done it not just well but with real style and flair, something we hadn't seen since the heady days of Ian Greaves and Frank Worthington. We quite literally brushed Huddersfield aside and made them look positively ordinary in doing it. The crowd had been around the 8,000 mark but in the second half especially you could have been forgiven for thinking it was three or even four times that thanks to the sheer volume of our delighted singing. Even so we didn't get carried away, we'd seen false dawns before and so when we went home we were delighted but we still didn't really think we were going to keep up that level of display for the whole season. And the next match, a defeat at Brighton by 2 goals to 1 (our goal came from Walker) quickly brought us back down to earth with a bump. But even there we'd played pretty well and been unfortunate to leave with nothing. However it's impossible to be a Trotter without having a certain amount of pessimism and so there were plenty of us who felt the Brighton result was a more realistic indicator of where we actually were than the Huddersfield result. As it turned out the doomsayers weren't just wrong, they were miles off the mark.

Back to back wins against Reading and Blackpool at home (2-1 and 3-0 respectively) followed by a goalless draw away at Stoke City showed Rioch had not just used the summer well but had actually brought the team far further forward than any of us had dared to think was possible. We continued to perform well in the league despite the occasional losses but the first indicator that things had really changed came in the FA Cup. In the first round we faced Sutton Coldfield Town and won 2-1 with goals from Super John and Andy Walker. In truth while the scoreline looked close we never really got out of second gear and never looked in serious danger despite a valiant (and well applauded by both sets of fans) effort from the part timers. However in the second round we really took the brakes off. We faced Rochdale and the Bolton Evening News, the fans and even Bruce Rioch himself expected it to be a tough encounter. We had home advantage but Rochdale, another North West side had some pretty good players and we expected a rugged, blood and thunder game against our neighbours.

It wasn't. We annihilated Rochdale 4-0 and I can still remember my jaw dropping when I watched that game. The way we passed the ball around on a pitch that was already half mud half sand and basically breezed past Rochdale players as if they weren't there was a joy to behold. Jason McAteer, Andy Walker and John McGinlay (twice) found the back of the net and by the end of that one sided massacre even the most pessimistic Trotter realised this season was something special. I honestly think that until that day we'd hoped we'd be there or thereabouts at the end of the season but now we knew it. And when the third round draw was announced and we heard we were facing the mighty Liverpool (still a major force to be reckoned with despite it being four years since they'd won the league) we actually believed we had a chance, we weren't at all afraid of the 'Big Team'.

The first match was at Burnden Park and the result was 2-2. Bolton and Liverpool had fought hard but the Premier League outfit had basically underestimated us and the goals from Seagraves and McGinlay had very nearly been enough to put us through to the fourth round at the first attempt. However a replay at Anfield now lay ahead and I think it would be dishonest to say we thought we'd win there. In fact most sports writers and most neutrals were of the firm and perfectly understandable opinion that we'd blown our chance and Liverpool would put us out handily. Honesty compels me to admit that I privately agreed with them. Ten days later I (and Des Lynam among others) were proven to know nothing about football.

The date was January 13th 1993 and it should live forever in the memory of any Trotter who was there. Liverpool fielded a full strength side and the Kop was full, a sea of red, white and yellow with thousands upon thousands of the Liverpool faithful singing “You'll Never Walk Alone” loud enough to be heard from Lime Street Train Station (where I and a few friends got off the train). I'd never actually been to Anfield before and as we approached the ground I could hardly hear myself think let alone anything my friends said. The atmosphere inside the ground was electric. There was a small pocket of White and Blue banners (about 2,500 of us travelled which in those days was a lot but still dwarfed by the better than 30,000 Liverpudlians) and when the players took the field it looked like the Christians (BWFC) vs the Lions in the colliseum. It sounded like it too although we sang ourselves hoarse in a futile (initially) bid to be heard. It took exactly three minutes for that to change and you win no prizes for guessing who changed it.

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Super John McGinlay powered in a header that left thirty thousand Liverpudlians silent and two and a half thousand trotters were suddenly the loudest thing in Liverpool. Graeme Souness was so angry that we could clearly lip read his reaction (I won't repeat it here since children may read this) while Bruce Rioch looked almost as if he was saying 'I told you so' to anyone who'd doubted exactly what his players could do. In fact on a smug scale of one to ten Bruce rated a twelve right there and it was only going to get higher. For the next 76 minutes Liverpool attempted to get back into the game but they ran into a White shirted brick wall all night. Not only that but we had just about as much possession as they did and we used it better, in fact if you'd just arrived from Mars you could have been forgiven for thinking the team in white were the Premier League outfit while the guys in red were the third tier nobodies being brushed imperiously aside. Our superiority was simply confirmed in the seventy ninth minute when Andy Walker headed in the second goal.

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However the true man of the match (if you could pick one) had to be David 'shining like a, like a light' Lee. He totally dominated the Liverpool defence, he single handedly wreaked carnage and sowed confusion every time he had the ball and despite fielding seven full internationals the Reds had absolutely no answer to him. It was almost a crime that he didn't get on the score sheet at least once but he set up both goals and generally put on a display that would today have eight figure bids for his services flying into the chairman's office. The end result was that Bolton Wanderers went onto the fourth round against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool went home with their tails between their legs and an apoplectic Graeme Souness decrying them as lacking passion and fight. The video below really doesn't do justice to those amazing ninety minutes but I've included it for those who might have forgotten the goals or those too young to have witnessed this remarkable event as it happened.



I think it's only appropriate to end this blog here because to do otherwise would either make this blog into a novel or be a grave injustice to the rest of the 1992/93 season in which we lost just once in nineteen league games, winning fifteen of them and charging up the table into second place and automatic promotion. I'll cover that amazing two and a half month ride in the next instalment.

Until then why not check out the Bolton Nuts forum. It's the place to be for all BWFC related chat and opinion and also features awesome sections like 'Wandering Minds' where you can talk about literally anything, football related or not. To join the conversation and make your voice heard click the link below and follow the simple steps to become a member.

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I hope to see you there. Until next week this was Piper's Piece. All the best to everyone.

luckyPeterpiper


10luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Wed Aug 03 2016, 10:43

Sluffy

Sluffy
Admin

Fantastic Peter, thank you so much.

Great times we had.

Can't wait to read your next blog!

11luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Wed Aug 03 2016, 11:10

xmiles

xmiles
Jay Jay Okocha
Jay Jay Okocha

More good stuff LPP!

12luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Wed Aug 03 2016, 13:17

Norpig

Norpig
Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse

good read LPP, just watched the highlights and you forget how well we played that night, especially David Lee.

13luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Wed Aug 03 2016, 15:31

wanderlust

wanderlust
Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse

Nostalgia trip that. You just don't see a winger leaving FBs for dead and hitting perfect crosses these days - a lost art.

14luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Wed Aug 03 2016, 17:13

Bwfc1958

Bwfc1958
Tinned Toms - You know it makes sense!

Brilliant Pete! Tbh I watch those highlights often and I never get bored of them. David Lee tore them to shreds that night and to be fair to them they weren't the only team that found him unplayable. Looking forward to the next installment. Keep up the good work!

15luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Wed Aug 03 2016, 18:49

Whitesince63


El Hadji Diouf
El Hadji Diouf

I've got to say Peter, those were fantastic times and much as the years under BSA were the best years I've ever seen the White Hot years under Rioch and Todd were without doubt the most exciting. This game in particular brought us to national attention but for sheer drama the later play off final against Reading was exceptional for so many reasons. When you think now of McGinlay and Walker up front, it makes you cry to think of what we have now!! That they were supported by the likes of Lee, McAteer and Stubsy is just incredible. What a team. I couldn't get to Anfield that night but I'll never forget the excitement of listening to it and seeing the highlights. Those were the days and as you rightly say, we rose from nothing, so come on Parky let's have more of the same. ;-))

Absolutely brilliant Pete, more of the same please.

16luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Wed Aug 03 2016, 20:34

Banks of the Croal

Banks of the Croal
Frank Worthington
Frank Worthington

Great stuff, just found this video thought I'd post it on here.

17luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Thu Aug 04 2016, 00:33

luckyPeterpiper

luckyPeterpiper
Ivan Campo
Ivan Campo

Banks of the Croal wrote:Great stuff, just found this video thought I'd post it on here.

The very last game at Burnden Park. That's going to be the subject of a blog in its own right, probably in about three weeks unless something seriously important happens (such as PP departing, the club being sold again or something else of that nature). I hope you don't mind but I will certainly include the link to this video as part of it.

To Banks and to everyone else I'd just like to remind you that if there is a specific topic or match you'd like me to do a blog on then please PM me or leave a comment here and I'll do my very best to accommodate all requests either as a 'main' blog or a separate 'special'.

Right now I'm composing a blog on Summer '95 when Bruce departed for Arsenal but I'm also working on previous matches against Sheffield United as a separate blog which I hope to have ready for sometime tomorrow so kp or BTID can work their magic and have it up on matchday.

18luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Tue Aug 09 2016, 08:21

Guest


Guest

Good read. Takes me back to being 11 again. 

Although you made 1 mistake, Andy Walker scored against Huddersfield  (after about 20 seconds) not Mcginlay who was still at Millwall.

19luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Tue Aug 09 2016, 13:00

luckyPeterpiper

luckyPeterpiper
Ivan Campo
Ivan Campo

Barb Dwyer wrote:Good read. Takes me back to being 11 again. 

Although you made 1 mistake, Andy Walker scored against Huddersfield  (after about 20 seconds) not Mcginlay who was still at Millwall.
I think you're right mate but when I went back to look at the results list for that season it says McGinlay. I wish my memory was good enough to remember every single goal etc without research but it isn't, one of the burdens of middle age I guess. Embarassed

20luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog  Empty Re: luckyPeterpiper's Weekly Blog Tue Aug 09 2016, 13:05

Guest


Guest

I only know because had the Roadrunner video of that season and watched it till it stopped working. It was a stooping header at the back post. We signed Mcginlay in September that year. He made his debut at Leyton Orient.

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