Bolton - best or worse than when you first started going?

[Harry Genshaw]

There'd been talk of a supermarket. It was initially intended to run along the rear of the Embankment, reducing it's depth by maybe 30% and a roof coming off it to cover the spectator area. I also think it was linked to talk of an artificial pitch. That fell through and the Burnden Wall was built. The initial plan made a lot of sense and left us with a viable football ground. What happened was a complete travesty.

That's definitely as I remember it. A roof over the embankment, astroturf pitches at the back (in fact iirc there was talk of us having an astroturf pitch for the 1st team too) and a supermarket somewhere near the ground.

Unless my memory's failing me I don't recall that much fuss about the huge carbuncle we actually ended up with

[Bijou Bob]

I remember the first home match once the Normid had been built. Can't remember the opposition but the chants of "Sing when you're shopping, you only sing when you're shopping" gave me a 'Sick with embarrassment' feeling in the pit of my stomach.

[Bruce Rioja]

[ I don't expect to see a superstore on the away end any time soon.

No, please. Just leave it. I still remember vividly the news coming out that we were selling off a half of the Embankment. I, and I assume many others thought that it would be the back half, a la Boothferry Park, so no real problem. But then the diggers moved in and the whole, sorry, embarrassing, ugly truth began to reveal itself.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Yeah, I remember the artificial pitch(es) talk. Suppose we ended up with that training square round by St Peter's Way - was that contemporaneous?

[Bruce Rioja]

Yeah, I remember the artificial pitch(es) talk. Suppose we ended up with that training square round by St Peter's Way - was that contemporaneous?

Hmm, not sure and I don't know how/where to check. It's still there btw. Prior to that there was a gravel pitch there with silver goalposts.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Yeah, I remember the artificial pitch(es) talk. Suppose we ended up with that training square round by St Peter's Way - was that contemporaneous?

Hmm, not sure and I don't know how/where to check. It's still there btw. Prior to that there was a gravel pitch there with silver goalposts.

Won the league on there with Burnden Wanderers, sponsored by Tripe 'n' Trotters...

When did we sell the Bromwich Street training ground?

[danardif1]

How did the club pass off the Normid thing as anything other than what it was - ridiculous? Wasn't around at the time so have no real knowledge of it other than seeing pics of Burnden and thinking 'what the bloody hell?'...

Must've been really embarrassing at the time... and I bet the difference between the last game at Burnden and the first game at the Reebok was pretty stark!

I personally have no memory of even going past Burnden Park, but I must've done as a kid when visiting my grandparents. I do remember being taken to the little information building at the Reebok site when it was being built, but that's it.

[TANGODANCER]

When did we sell the Bromwich Street training ground?

Not sure if the club owned that or leased it from the council. Once we moved from Burnden it made sense to get rid, but I'm not sure what transpired after that.

[Bruce Rioja]

When did we sell the Bromwich Street training ground?

Right - I give up. Can't find anything on it. I've even tried to find out when the houses on Bramcote Avenue were built and still nowt.

At a guess I'd say sometime around 80ish though.

[Gary the Enfield]

When did we sell the Bromwich Street training ground?

Right - I give up. Can't find anything on it. I've even tried to find out when the houses on Bramcote Avenue were built and still nowt.

At a guess I'd say sometime around 80ish though.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... 6100,d.bGQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bobo the clown]

[ I don't expect to see a superstore on the away end any time soon.

No, please. Just leave it. I still remember vividly the news coming out that we were selling off a half of the Embankment. I, and I assume many others thought that it would be the back half, a la Boothferry Park, so no real problem. But then the diggers moved in and the whole, sorry, embarrassing, ugly truth began to reveal itself.

My brother was a councillor. When we won promotion I was on both occasions his guest at the Town dinner in celebration for the club's success.

At the second I was on a table with a woman from Planning. I was told that
a). it was her who'd given the planning permission ... and
b). that she had absolutely no sense of humour about it and
c). I shouldn't raise the subject.

Like fck I didn't.

She left between the main course and the sweet. Apparently I'd upset her.

Not so much as she fckg upset me.

Thinking about it ... I wonder if I got banned from the Town Hall ???????

[Bruce Rioja]

When did we sell the Bromwich Street training ground?

Right - I give up. Can't find anything on it. I've even tried to find out when the houses on Bramcote Avenue were built and still nowt.

At a guess I'd say sometime around 80ish though.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... 6100,d.bGQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I found that, Gary, but it doesn't tell us when we sold it. Thanks anyway.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I remember going to Bromwich Street to watch a Wanderers XI take on a Mike Sweeney XI for some charity or other. I'd say I was about seven or eight, which would put it at 81/82ish, although I could have been younger - Sweeney was at Piccadilly Radio from 1980 onwards. You would imagine the club sold the training ground before ruining the Embankment; that would also tie in with the need for the astroturf pitches being a publicly announced "driver" for the Normid deal.

[William the White]

God, you have to wonder at the shite we went through in the years and years of decline...

May we please avoid a return to that stinking pit of despair and humiliation...

[mcflykyle182]

My first game was the 2000 FA cup semi final when I was 7, so that's the first team I saw. I'd say its a good example of how the quality of the second tier has improved as I'd say we have a better squad now, even though back then we were a force to be reckoned with in the league and did generally better.

[Lord Kangana]

Each to their own, but I vehemtly disagree with that. Jussi in nets? Gudjohnson up front? Off the top of my head, Whitlow (?) Gudni (?) Jensen, Fish, Frandsen (or was he over at Blackburn then?). Even Dean "Apollo 12 ready to Launch" Holdsworth was a better striker than we have on the books now. Wasn't Robbie Elliot there as well? A squad light-years ahead of this one.

[Lord Kangana]

And re:Bromwich Street, my dad recollects that it was about, or just prior to, The Embankment Fiasco. Its a while ago now, though.

[CAPSLOCK]

When did we sell the Bromwich Street training ground?

Right - I give up. Can't find anything on it. I've even tried to find out when the houses on Bramcote Avenue were built and still nowt.

At a guess I'd say sometime around 80ish though.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... 6100,d.bGQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Houses went up about 88/89

[Prufrock]

Each to their own, but I vehemtly disagree with that. Jussi in nets? Gudjohnson up front? Off the top of my head, Whitlow (?) Gudni (?) Jensen, Fish, Frandsen (or was he over at Blackburn then?). Even Dean "Apollo 12 ready to Launch" Holdsworth was a better striker than we have on the books now. Wasn't Robbie Elliot there as well? A squad light-years ahead of this one.

Yup, that squad was way better. I'm pretty confident none of the current lot are going to end up playing for Barcelona!

This was the line-up for that game:

Jaaskelainen
Bergsson
Fish
Ritchie (in the days when loanees were loanees)
Whitlow
Johansen (the last thing my first 'favourite player' did as a Wanderer was miss a penalty in the shoot-out )
Jensen
Elliot (imagine having to put our a make-shift midfield in an FA Cup Semi!)
Johnstone (see 'Ritchie')
Holdsworth
Gudjohnsen (currently a free agent. JSL)

And off the bench: Warhurst and O'Kane.

Struggling to think of any of the current lot who'd get in that team!

[Aanvalluh]

I think it was a LC game v Wigan I went, unusually, into the Manchester Road Paddock walked up the ramp and looked left and saw a fckg great wall, coving half the length of the pitch and, stunningly, about 4 feet from the cinder track wall. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Quick internet search seems to point to 1986 as being when the Normid went up - probably over close season. http://bwfcstats.com/1980/page8.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; says the second home game of the 86/87 season (first was a Saturday, you may have been busy elsewhere) was League Cup vs Bury. We drew 0-0 to go out on aggregate, and the following Saturday there were fewer than 4,000 on vs Darlington...

In my head it was a night-match but it being League-Cup against an annoying local rival and us losing the tie all rings bells.

I admit to being so stunned the match took very much a back seat.

There'd been talk of a supermarket. It was initially intended to run along the rear of the Embankment, reducing it's depth by maybe 30% and a roof coming off it to cover the spectator area. I also think it was linked to talk of an artificial pitch. That fell through and the Burnden Wall was built. The initial plan made a lot of sense and left us with a viable football ground. What happened was a complete travesty.

And probably why many saw it and never went back...

As for my first team - I was around when Hopkinson had his testimonial and caught the back end of Roger Hunt but the first team I can remember - early through late 70's probably contained Byrom, Waldron, Jones, Allardyce, possibly Charlie Wright (+Reid?), a young Whatmore and almost certainly Thompson. Better than today's team? Better to watch, I feel.