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It's only natural for football fans to compare and contrast across the ages, in fact it’s half the fun.
And just recently, as Wanderers’ results have become frighteningly consistent, more people around the club are drawing parallels with that first season under Bruce Rioch.
Though history has airbrushed it slightly, the team of 1992/93 did not get going until this time of year. On Halloween, following a 2-2 draw at Preston, the team lay 17th looking anything but promotion contenders.
Reports from The Bolton Evening News at the time logged fans booing the team off the pitch after home defeats to Wimbledon and Hartlepool. How crazy to think that now?
Back then, the arrival of David Lee and John McGinlay made all the difference. No Bolton fan needs a history lesson about where Rioch’s men went from there.
Whether the two squads match up, only time will tell. Does the current side have a goal-scorer like Super John or Andy Walker? Is there a right foot as educated as Tony Kelly’s? Or can any of the wide men muster the energy Lee did in his pomp?
Those who get a glimpse of the club’s inner sanctum feel the mood on the training ground is most comparable with the Rioch days. The manager’s demeanour, the attitude of the staff, the camaraderie among the players.
And fans will not have missed the buzz of excitement on match-days, which also conjures that nostalgic feel.
This group has a chance to make their own history. What a joy it would be to see them achieve it.
Source
And just recently, as Wanderers’ results have become frighteningly consistent, more people around the club are drawing parallels with that first season under Bruce Rioch.
Though history has airbrushed it slightly, the team of 1992/93 did not get going until this time of year. On Halloween, following a 2-2 draw at Preston, the team lay 17th looking anything but promotion contenders.
Reports from The Bolton Evening News at the time logged fans booing the team off the pitch after home defeats to Wimbledon and Hartlepool. How crazy to think that now?
Back then, the arrival of David Lee and John McGinlay made all the difference. No Bolton fan needs a history lesson about where Rioch’s men went from there.
Whether the two squads match up, only time will tell. Does the current side have a goal-scorer like Super John or Andy Walker? Is there a right foot as educated as Tony Kelly’s? Or can any of the wide men muster the energy Lee did in his pomp?
Those who get a glimpse of the club’s inner sanctum feel the mood on the training ground is most comparable with the Rioch days. The manager’s demeanour, the attitude of the staff, the camaraderie among the players.
And fans will not have missed the buzz of excitement on match-days, which also conjures that nostalgic feel.
This group has a chance to make their own history. What a joy it would be to see them achieve it.
Source