Burnden Memories???

Know some of us will have plenty and mostly good. 

One of mine would be a league cup replay v Liverpool in 67 when Liverpool were really a great team back then, we beat them 3-2.

It was the build up to the game, making our own banners out of believe it or not Bed Sheets and then to win, fantastic.

What's yours?

Loads of great Burnden memories.
My first match in 1963 against Stoke even though we lost 4-3.
Play-off second leg v Wolves with McGinlay scoring two and punching one of their players and managing to stay on the pitch.
Countless Wyn Davies headed goals where he soared like an eagle and appeared to hang in the air for ever before nodding in crosses from Franny Lee, Gordon Taylor and Ronnie Phillips etc.
Syd Farrimond sliding tackles that frequently deposited opposing wingers in a heap onto the running track surrounding the pitch.
F.A.Cup semi-final 1966 Everton 1 United 0.
Worthy's goal v Ipswich.
Sam's headed goal v Sunderland.

Wow, I could write loads for this thread, virtually every trip to Burnden was an experience.

Obviously, as HP says above, the play-off semi final against Wolves was magical. Ditto coming back to draw 2-2 with Liverpool and Arsenal in the FA Cup.

But the games against Swindon Town in the League Cup always stick in my mind, not the ones where we ended up going to Wembley, but the earlier ones when Barry Cowdrill scored that 35 yard volley and had it disallowed for off-side, and we were so injury hit that central defender Mark Came had to play upfront. They were my first taste of the "big time".

1977 League Cup Semi against Everton, I took a milk crate to stand on, crowd was over 50,000. We lost 1-0, Duncan McKenzie missed a penly but Bob Latchford scored near the end to knock us out.

One that sticks out for me is, as a child, seeing Ossie Ardilles playing for Spurs on a glorious sunny day and being amazed at how the ball appeared to be glued to his foot.

Tony Caldwell scoring five in one match.

Rocking up at 3:02pm every Saturday (don't think I witnessed a kick off for about five years in the early 90's) and standing in "Loser's Corner" near the Lever End with the other drunken late-comers.

Mutley the Special Plod who used to patrol the Burnden Stand on the look-out for serious criminal activity (dropping waggon-wheel wrappers and such like).

Elaine and The Yellow Van Crew from the Paddock, who once sang "Elaine, Elaine.....she's havin' a piss!" for an entire half. (Sounds odd now and it doesn't even scan, but it was funny on the day. Honest.)

Robbie, Robbie.....show's yer arse. Robbie, show's yer arse.......(big pause.......pulls shorts up crack of bum) Wahaaay!! scream the Paddock.

Simpler times.......

Stuffing spurs 6-1 in the white hot years. The games against Blackburn, all genuinely competitive and yet still able to have a friendly banter with my rovers supporting mates after the match.  Earlier and my personal fave, a 1-1 draw with Mansfield Town on a wet Tuesday night in February, my first ever time at burnden on a night match. 

The very last game at Burnden, 4-1 against Charlton to give us 98 points for the season but 102 goals scored. 

I miss the atmosphere we had there but not the stadium itself. I think the Reebok is so much better appointed and far more comfortable to get to and use. That said perhaps the fact there's no standing area detracts from the atmosphere sometimes. I think that from a football sense most of my favourite memories are from Burnden Park but in truth I'm glad we don't have the sort of problems my dad faced, ie hooliganism so bad against some sides he couldn't take his sons to the game. I've been able to take my oldest lad since he was six or seven and recently I was there with my wife and all four of our children. It was an expensive day to be sure but in the early to mid eighties it wouldn't have been possible to even consider it. I'm glad those times have changed. I love nostalgia as much as any middle aged man but I can't pretend everything was warm and fuzzy back then. IMO football has improved both on and off the field over the last thirty years BUT sadly it's got greedy and that's alienating a lot of people now and rightly so. I suppose it was to be expected when Sky came in and the Premier League was created.

Beating Man city 3-0 in the 3rd round of the league cup in 1971. 3 Bolton old boys turned out for city,Freddie Hill,Wyn Davies and Franny Lee. The Hero of the night was Garry Jones ,who scored a hat trick,but in my opinion they were all heroes that night. Warwick Rimmer had lee in his pocket and a crowd of over 42,000 made it a night to remember. I was barely able to speak for 3 days.Franny Lee got some terrible stick. If only the Reebok could match Burnden for atmosphere. Happy days.

Yep remember all the above with fond memories, Also remember when Graham Taylor came with Wolves just after he was England Manager,and Turnips started landing around the dugout from the Paddock. I had a few years as a kid when i was a ball boy, in those days you went in through the front door and into the home dressing room, a real thrill for a 13 yearold carrying your boots.

And you could kick the ball to players none of this poncy having to role it, we had to change in the boot room which was in the home dressing room so got to see the team warming up, this was the Hill, Hoppy Davies era. trouble is you had to do the reserves as well, big place the embankment with no one on it.

Frank Worthington's wonder goal against Ipswich. The brawling on the terraces and who can forget the invalid cars parked up around the side of the pitch.

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Culcheth_White wrote:Frank Worthington's wonder goal against Ipswich. The brawling on the terraces and who can forget the invalid cars parked up around the side of the pitch.

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That is an image embossed on my mind from my youth! I can always remember asking my Dad why the bloke was able to sit in the warmth of his car while we froze in the stands! Said I'd nick one one day and roll up on a match day in front of him!


Burnden memories (almost typed mamories Culcheth!). Cheering for Charlton in the away terraces when they scored in the last match (4-1) at Burnden and singing, 'You're not singing anymore' to the other Bolton fans!

Anything and everything that John Byrom did.
Terry Wharton's sideburns
Tad   Nowak with his 12 foot strides!
And the referee Maurice Fussey racing up and down the pitch.
Peter Reid breaking his leg on new Years day in the snow (year?) against Everton

rammywhite wrote:.
Peter Reid breaking his leg on new Years day in the snow (year?) against Everton

Wasn't it January 78? He collided with George Wood in the Everton goal when the pitch was covered in snow. Iirc the game was abandoned

Reebok Trotter wrote:

rammywhite wrote:.
Peter Reid breaking his leg on new Years day in the snow (year?) against Everton

Wasn't it January 78? He collided with George Wood in the Everton goal when the pitch was covered in snow. Iirc the game was abandoned

You're right. The game was abandoned at half time Every other game was abandoned before the start.
The referee was called Trelford Mills- I remember that as I thought it was a gormless name.
The guy who ran the line that day ended up working for Ramsbottom Kitchen Co.- he fitted our kitchen.
He told me that the Police asked for the game to be started then abandoned as if it was abandoned before the kick off  (and broadcast on radio) all the Everton fans would do U-turns on the East Lancs road and cause even more chaos.
Therefore they started knowing full well that the game would finish at half time.
And Reid ,knowing this, still broke his leg.
I don't know whether to believe the guy or not. But he was a damn good plumber

Maurice Fussey was a legend! Once saw him slip on a wet pitch and sail majestically along the ground over the touchline and crash down into the cinder track.Brilliant!

rammywhite wrote:You're right. The game was abandoned at half time Every other game was abandoned before the start.
The referee was called Trelford Mills- I remember that as I thought it was a gormless name.
The guy who ran the line that day ended up working for Ramsbottom Kitchen Co.- he fitted our kitchen.
He told me that the Police asked for the game to be started then abandoned as if it was abandoned before the kick off  (and broadcast on radio) all the Everton fans would do U-turns on the East Lancs road and cause even more chaos.
Therefore they started knowing full well that the game would finish at half time.
And Reid ,knowing this, still broke his leg.
I don't know whether to believe the guy or not. But he was a damn good plumber

I think Reidy did his knee. It was a bad injury because he was out for nearly twelve months and we lost our most creative midfield player. They wouldn't play matches in those conditions nowadays.

My memory is trying to keep the scaffold pole wielding Bolton fans out of the away end and then battling all the way up Manny Rd and on to the station.

The Swindon town semi final second half come back that took us to Wembley for the first time in 37 years.Then like buses the Reading play off again at Wembley 4-3.Keith Branagans save,probably the most important save in modern Bolton history.Bobby Moore getting sent off v Fulham in a leauge cup match when the ref played about 100 minutes and blew up once Mike Walsh equalised 2-2.it was history because Moore had never been sent off in his career prior to that night.Too many nights seeing the floodlights the excitement as a nipper.The old ground had soul,although it was time we needed a new ground.

Reebok Trotter wrote:

rammywhite wrote:You're right. The game was abandoned at half time Every other game was abandoned before the start.
The referee was called Trelford Mills- I remember that as I thought it was a gormless name.
The guy who ran the line that day ended up working for Ramsbottom Kitchen Co.- he fitted our kitchen.
He told me that the Police asked for the game to be started then abandoned as if it was abandoned before the kick off  (and broadcast on radio) all the Everton fans would do U-turns on the East Lancs road and cause even more chaos.
Therefore they started knowing full well that the game would finish at half time.
And Reid ,knowing this, still broke his leg.
I don't know whether to believe the guy or not. But he was a damn good plumber

I think Reidy did his knee. It was a bad injury because he was out for nearly twelve months and we lost our most creative midfield player. They wouldn't play matches in those conditions nowadays.

Worst game (30 minutes approximately) of my life that one. I was 20 minutes late getting in due to the snow so watched Reid collide with Woods, missed our goal (Worthy?) saw their goal which came about because a back pass stuck in the snow (Bob Latchford maybe?), and then it was abandoned at half time so nobody got their money back.
I think we played in red strips which went down like a lead balloon but at least you could just about make out the players in a snow storm.
The game was in '79 and we ended selling Reid to Everton for a cut-down price of £60k in '82 which was set so low because of the injuries he had. The irony.

Remember all those vividly. Byrom's hat trick v Stoke always sits in my memory.
Boxing day 78 was the Reid scenario, 1-1 when the game was abandoned, Worthington scored, won the rematch.

wanderlust wrote:

Reebok Trotter wrote:

rammywhite wrote:You're right. The game was abandoned at half time Every other game was abandoned before the start.
The referee was called Trelford Mills- I remember that as I thought it was a gormless name.
The guy who ran the line that day ended up working for Ramsbottom Kitchen Co.- he fitted our kitchen.
He told me that the Police asked for the game to be started then abandoned as if it was abandoned before the kick off  (and broadcast on radio) all the Everton fans would do U-turns on the East Lancs road and cause even more chaos.
Therefore they started knowing full well that the game would finish at half time.
And Reid ,knowing this, still broke his leg.
I don't know whether to believe the guy or not. But he was a damn good plumber

I think Reidy did his knee. It was a bad injury because he was out for nearly twelve months and we lost our most creative midfield player. They wouldn't play matches in those conditions nowadays.

Worst game (30 minutes approximately) of my life that one. I was 20 minutes late getting in due to the snow so watched Reid collide with Woods, missed our goal (Worthy?) saw their goal which came about because a back pass stuck in the snow (Bob Latchford maybe?), and then it was abandoned at half time so nobody got their money back.
I think we played in red strips which went down like a lead balloon but at least you could just about make out the players in a snow storm.
The game was in '79 and we ended selling Reid to Everton for a cut-down price of £60k in '82 which was set so low because of the injuries he had. The irony.

That's right wanderlust, Arsenal, I think, offered £600,000 for Reidy just before that injury and then he went for £60,000 after the knee ligament damage, still went on to play for Everton and England!! BWFC robbed again, all though he coud'nt bring down Marradonna in that World Cup game.
Could'nt get up the hill in Darcy Lever in our car after the game, was it Boxing Day or New Years Day?