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Spurs v Bolton – How the pendulum has swung…?
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Gary Cahill, Gary Megson, Gudni Bergsson, Jay-Jay Okocha, Owen Coyle, Premier League, Sam Allardyce | 16 Comments
This weekend sees Bolton travel to White Hart Lane, and a clash between two famous old clubs that have 16 FA Cup
how times have changed
Finals (12 wins) and a combined total of 146 years of top-flight football between them, not to mention Spurs’ 4 League Cup wins, and 4 European trophies.
Recent history has been very different for the two clubs, with Spurs only spending one year out of the top flight since 1950, whilst Bolton have dropped through the leagues and back twice in the same period. However, looking further back in history paints a different picture of the two clubs.
Prior to 1950, Spurs had spent as much time in the Second Division as the First, and their only FA Cup win had come as a non-league club in 1901. Bolton had already won the cup three times, been runners-up twice, and spent the vast majority of their history in the top flight.
The abolition of the maximum wage in 1961 changed the football landscape at the time, and Bolton’s decline from this point onwards was dramatic and prolonged.
By the end of the 1959/60 season, Bolton were historically England’s 5th most successful club, based on average league position. At the same point, despite one league title success, Spurs were the 20th best team.
By the end of 2008, Spurs – by now winners of the FA Cup eight times, the League Cup four times, and four European trophies – had moved up to seventh in the table of overall average league positions, whilst Bolton had failed to add to trophy cabinet, had spent more time out of the top flight than in it, and slipped to 21st in the overall average league table.
In anticipation of the weekend’s clash, bwfcforum’s Statman takes a closer look at the history of the two clubs for Manny Road. › Continue reading
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Every Day’s a cup final for Mark Halsey….!
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Football Association, Ivan Campo, Jay-Jay Okocha, Nicolas Anelka, Owen Coyle, Phil Gartside, Premier League, Premiership referees, Sam Allardyce, Youri Djorkaeff | 11 Comments
The support from football fans and ordinary people in the street has been inspirational
Click the link to listen to Mark Halsey’s Exclusive interview.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/751463426e948768/
Despite hailing from Hertfordshire, Mark Halsey has firmly established himself as one of Bolton’s favourite adopted sons. After spending 12 years playing non-league football for Cambridge City and Hertford Town he began his refereeing career in 1989 and a decade later refereed the famous 1999 Football League One Play-off Final between Gillingham and Manchester City at Wembley. The same year he was promoted to Premier League status and shortly after the FIFA List of referees. He quickly established himself as one of the most popular referees in the League.
Mark was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to speak Exclusively to Manny Road & bwfcforum’s Andi Walton. He started by asking him about his current health:
MH: Yeah I’m feeling very good, I seem to be getting stronger with every game I do and it’s a bonus for me because I never thought I’d be back refereeing again, so every day is a cup final and it’s really great to be back and the reception I’ve received from the two games I’ve done at Rotherham and Port Vale and Oldham and Bristol Rovers, the fans have been absolutely fantastic and it’s been very emotional and overwhelming for me.
AW: It must have been the furthest thing from your mind getting out on the football pitch when you were in the midst of your treatment but now you’ve got to that stage, it must be a real thrill.
MH: For me to come back and, you know, I suppose…for what I’ve gone through with all my chemotherapy and my radiotherapy…I mean if you saw me at Christmas, I was nowhere near the Mark Halsey of old, you know, but I’ve worked hard and a lot of people have helped me and it’s been great. The support I’ve received from people around the country – just ordinary football fans and ordinary people in the street. They’ve been inspirational to me and they’ve got to really pat themselves on the back for the way they’ve helped me and it’s down to them that I’m back where I am now.
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The night I found Jesus
Sunday, February 7th, 2010 | Alan Gowling, BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Owen Coyle | 2 Comments
Come breezeblock, let us spread harmony amongst the forumites
Here’s a brilliant contribution from ‘breezeblock‘ a prolific poster on bwfcforum
I went to the Fulham game by train. I don’t do it very often because it’s quicker to drive and no-one complains about the smell on the M60. The trains were slightly messed up because of some essential repairs in Preston…probably having electricity or running water installed. Met up with Wayne and some of the old BWFC board regulars and had a couple of Australia’s finest auburn blush hops-based beverage served in a delightful polyethylene terephthalate decanter (Fosters in a plastic bottle). Would have been nice to have a pint at half time but the queue at 3.39pm was already fourteen deep and I gave up by 4.53pm when that number was down to seven deep. Not only does the beer taste like sheep dip but you have to suffer a similar queuing process as the animals themselves do.
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Alex Ferguson doesn’t give a toss about Gary Megson
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, Gary Megson | No Comments
Alex Ferguson goes in to hiding after hearing Gary Megson thinks they're mates now. Pic from tpower1978
Alex Ferguson goes in to hiding after hearing Gary Megson thinks they're mates now. Pic from tpower1978
The Bolton News falls for the United boss’ mind games
I Twittered last night about the appalling levels of hypocrisy on Five Live Sport, who went seamlessly from talking about how out of order football fans are for abusing players to then justifying Alex Ferguson’s abuse of referee Alan Wiley.
But Five Live aren’t the only ones who’ve swallowed Fergie’s spin.
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Sky targets Bolton Wanderers fans with new version of ad campaign
Saturday, September 12th, 2009 | BWFC News | 3 Comments
How Sky’s Premier League marketing campaign would look in the real world
We know how you feel about supporting Bolton Wanderers, because we feel the same (Image courtesy of ElPablo)
Sky’s subtle and understated-as-ever marketing campaign for their Premier League coverage this season is a series of TV adverts and posters featuring the line ‘we know how you feel about football, because we feel the same.’
Leaving aside the rather patronising assumption that all football fans are replica-shirt wearing, 606-calling halfwits (OK, a lot are), the other problem with these ads is that they’re too general, aimed at fans of every club without thought for the fundamental differences in the emotional make-up of fans of clubs as diverse as, let’s say, Bolton and Manchester United.
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Reebok Round-Up (06.02.09)
Friday, February 6th, 2009 | BWFC News, BWFC People, El-Hadji Diouf, Gary Megson, Kevin Davies, Mark Davies, Matt Taylor, Sebastien Puygrenier, Youri Djorkaeff | No Comments
What Manny Road has been reading about Bolton Wanderers over the last week or so
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Recommended reading (8.1.09): Bolton Wanderers are ‘technically insolvent’
Thursday, January 8th, 2009 | Ali Al-Habsi, BWFC People, David Jack | No Comments
- Image via Wikipedia
What Manny Road has been reading (and thinking) about Bolton Wanderers over the past few days
- Four Four Two documenting how money took over football, including reference to Bolton’s David Jack becoming the first £10,000 footballer (those must have been the days to be a Bolton Wanderers fans… three FA Cups in seven years, the best players in the land in our team etc etc).
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How to follow Bolton Wanderers v Portsmouth
Saturday, December 20th, 2008 | BWFC News | No Comments
For when the snippets on Five Live and Soccer Saturday just aren’t enough
Whatever your excuse – sickness, living too far away (mine) or ripping your season ticket up in disgust a few weeks ago – here’s the Manny Road guide to following the game online…
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Why Jussi Jaaskelainen still doesn’t deserve a testimonial
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 | BWFC People, Jussi Jaaskelainen | 1 Comment
Bolton Wanderers legend he may be, but testimonials are outdated…
There was a big debate on the BBC 606 Wanderers message board last week about Jussi Jaaskelainen. It started after someone posted a link to my piece from the summer in which I said Jaaskelainen doesn’t deserve a testimonial from Bolton Wanderers.
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Recommended reading (22.10.08): Kevin Nolan speaks for the fans, Rob Styles takes another victim and Phil Brown does his sums
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 | BWFC People, Gary Megson, Jlloyd Samuel, Kevin Nolan, Phil Brown, Sam Allardyce, Sammy Lee | No Comments
What Manny Road was reading (and thinking) about Bolton Wanderers yesterday…
- Wondering why the headline wasn’t ‘No shit Sherlock’ for this story in which Kevin Nolan says the Wanderers will not be challenging for Europe this season. Nolan also says:
We’re trying to change it slowly from the Sam Allardyce and Sammy Lee era. But the wheels are in still in motion trying to do that. The fans are starting to come round to the fact that it’s changing.
Really? Which message boards is he reading?
- Reading this brilliant dossier on the many cock-ups of Rob Styles after the hapless ref made another blunder during the Newcastle v Manchester City game on Monday night. The starting XI of Styles’ victims of course includes Jlloyd Samuel.
- And finally… after reading yet another interesting and engaging interview with the increasingly impressive Phil Brown (he came across brilliantly on the BBC’s Inside Sport programme the other night too), wondering why the answer to this equation (best young manager in the Premier League + long history with Bolton Wanderers + still lives in Bolton) isn’t Gary Megson sacked, Phil Brown coming home.
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