Phil Neal's leave of absence (?)

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Older readers,

Office conversation has turned to managers taking leave of absence during the season. I seem to recall Phil Neal being absent for a couple of games, with the BEN being somewhat cagey about why; I think it was in his last season (91/92), and I remember it as starting with the Peterborough away game. Checking the fixtures it seems that we visited Peterborough three days after the epic Cup defeat at Southampton (and thereafter panned Hartlepool 4-0 away).

Anyone else remember Neal being absent, or do I need to up my dosage?

[bobo the clown]

Rings no bells in North Wales DSB.

[Harry Genshaw]

Can't remember owt either -although I do recall that 4-0 win at Hartlepool being a big surprise. Didn't he get Ron Atkinson in once to lend him a hand - a few years earlier than this I think

[Lord Kangana]

I remember his team going missing a few times, b'dm tish etc.

[Norpig]

I seem to remember at the time we did not have the backroom team or scouting network we now have, so meaybe he was on a scouting mission. Leaving his assistant in charge (his name escapes me at the moment). Apart from that I leave these memories firmly at the back of my mind! Although a good day out in Wrexham!!

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I seem to remember at the time we did not have the backroom team or scouting network we now have, so meaybe he was on a scouting mission. Leaving his assistant in charge (his name escapes me at the moment). Apart from that I leave these memories firmly at the back of my mind! Although a good day out in Wrexham!!

Mick Brown, he of the skull-like sunken eyes.

[LeverEnd]

I seem to remember at the time we did not have the backroom team or scouting network we now have, so meaybe he was on a scouting mission. Leaving his assistant in charge (his name escapes me at the moment). Apart from that I leave these memories firmly at the back of my mind! Although a good day out in Wrexham!!

Mick Brown, he of the skull-like sunken eyes.

All he seemed to do was shout abuse at players and make them tighten up. Worse than some of the muppets near me in NSL.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I seem to remember at the time we did not have the backroom team or scouting network we now have, so meaybe he was on a scouting mission. Leaving his assistant in charge (his name escapes me at the moment). Apart from that I leave these memories firmly at the back of my mind! Although a good day out in Wrexham!!

Mick Brown, he of the skull-like sunken eyes.

All he seemed to do was shout abuse at players and make them tighten up. Worse than some of the muppets near me in NSL.

Neal needed an assistant though – as you say, before that he was doing all the coaching and scouting himself...

And if I'm right about this leave of absence, Brown led us to a 4-0 win, can't be bad...

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

August '88 he definitely had a couple of coaches to help with training. I wrote to Phil Neal that year asking if I could attend a training session as I was writing about football training for a study that counted towards my exam grades. I was lucky enough to be invited along to a wet and grey Burnden Park. Phil Neal spent the whole day with me and I got to talk to the players and watch the training. Sophisticated stuff it was. About an hour was spent running up and down the steps in the stand, followed by some running around the track. We then moved under the stand to a small indoor area for a bit of standing in 2 lines and passing the ball back and forth. My main memories were of Phil Neal being a nice fella, Julian Darby acting the goat the whole time and 2 YTS lads getting fined a quid for leaving their boots behind. If I recall YTS was about 13 quid back then, so quite a sum of money! Back to the coaches. I don't remember much about them, but I do remember there being 2 present on the day.

It was a great day for a near 16 year old. I do wonder if in this day and age if such a request would be granted, let alone the manager spending hours with me asking what were probably dull and inane questions.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

August '88 he definitely had a couple of coaches to help with training. I wrote to Phil Neal that year asking if I could attend a training session as I was writing about football training for a study that counted towards my exam grades. I was lucky enough to be invited along to a wet and grey Burnden Park. Phil Neal spent the whole day with me and I got to talk to the players and watch the training. Sophisticated stuff it was. About an hour was spent running up and down the steps in the stand, followed by some running around the track. We then moved under the stand to a small indoor area for a bit of standing in 2 lines and passing the ball back and forth. My main memories were of Phil Neal being a nice fella, Julian Darby acting the goat the whole time and 2 YTS lads getting fined a quid for leaving their boots behind. If I recall YTS was about 13 quid back then, so quite a sum of money! Back to the coaches. I don't remember much about them, but I do remember there being 2 present on the day.

It was a great day for a near 16 year old. I do wonder if in this day and age if such a request would be granted, let alone the manager spending hours with me asking what were probably dull and inane questions.

Interesting story. I've heard a few people say that Neal spent a lot of time with them in similar circumstances. The cynic might say that he loved having someone to show off to but he could easily have said no.

As for whether it would happen these days, I hear that it still does at some clubs, especially third/fourth tier ones (as we were then). It's not all bad "nowadays"

(I seem to recall Walter Joyce, father of Warren, was a coach during the 80s. No idea exactly when and a brief search seems to link him to Charlie Wright's brief but bobbins tenure, although a Burnley site claims he coached at Bolton "for eight years" "from 1977".)

[Norpig]

I seem to remember at the time we did not have the backroom team or scouting network we now have, so meaybe he was on a scouting mission. Leaving his assistant in charge (his name escapes me at the moment). Apart from that I leave these memories firmly at the back of my mind! Although a good day out in Wrexham!!

Mick Brown, he of the skull-like sunken eyes.

Oh yeah forgot about him, did he not have a coach for some of the season, I seem to remember not having much of a backroom team due to a severe lack of money?

[Norpig]

August '88 he definitely had a couple of coaches to help with training. I wrote to Phil Neal that year asking if I could attend a training session as I was writing about football training for a study that counted towards my exam grades. I was lucky enough to be invited along to a wet and grey Burnden Park. Phil Neal spent the whole day with me and I got to talk to the players and watch the training. Sophisticated stuff it was. About an hour was spent running up and down the steps in the stand, followed by some running around the track. We then moved under the stand to a small indoor area for a bit of standing in 2 lines and passing the ball back and forth. My main memories were of Phil Neal being a nice fella, Julian Darby acting the goat the whole time and 2 YTS lads getting fined a quid for leaving their boots behind. If I recall YTS was about 13 quid back then, so quite a sum of money! Back to the coaches. I don't remember much about them, but I do remember there being 2 present on the day.

It was a great day for a near 16 year old. I do wonder if in this day and age if such a request would be granted, let alone the manager spending hours with me asking what were probably dull and inane questions.

Interesting story. I've heard a few people say that Neal spent a lot of time with them in similar circumstances. The cynic might say that he loved having someone to show off to but he could easily have said no.

As for whether it would happen these days, I hear that it still does at some clubs, especially third/fourth tier ones (as we were then). It's not all bad "nowadays"

(I seem to recall Walter Joyce, father of Warren, was a coach during the 80s. No idea exactly when and a brief search seems to link him to Charlie Wright's brief but bobbins tenure, although a Burnley site claims he coached at Bolton "for eight years" "from 1977".)

Interesting story, I just remember it being a bad time to be a Bolton Fan, having said that I think I enjoyed watching football more back then than now. Maybe it is because I was younger with less expectations back then.

I did think we had less coaches back then as we had no money, is this not why the lifeline was started?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Yep, we were on a few occasions hours from going out of business, only a player sale here and there keeping the door de-wolfed. Lifeline was set up to give us an alternate "revenue stream", as nobody called it then, which is another reason why many recall that era fondly...

Under Neal and McGovern before him (and, to be fair, Charlie Wright in the middle) the club didn't have a pot to p*ss in or a window to throw it out of – hence training at Burnden after selling off Bromwich Street for housing, then half the Embankment, while the playing and coaching staff overheads were cut to the bone. It's remarkable, and under-applauded, to think of the turnaround the club made in the late-80s and early-90s.

Yep, the Rioch era was unimaginable fun, but Neal had laid the groundwork by getting us out of the basement (from whence some never return) and turning us into third-tier challengers (two successive play-off campaigns) with a taste for giant-facing cup runs (Swindon, Southampton...). He also bought the backbone of the team Rioch took out of the division – Walker, McAteer, Kelly and Stubbs (youth rather than transfer) - and would have signed Lee had the club been able to afford it.

I'm not saying Neal could have done what Rioch did – far from it, the club had gone stale and all concerned needed a change – but he's underappreciated in retrospect.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Interesting story. I've heard a few people say that Neal spent a lot of time with them in similar circumstances. The cynic might say that he loved having someone to show off to but he could easily have said no.

As for whether it would happen these days, I hear that it still does at some clubs, especially third/fourth tier ones (as we were then). It's not all bad "nowadays"

(I seem to recall Walter Joyce, father of Warren, was a coach during the 80s. No idea exactly when and a brief search seems to link him to Charlie Wright's brief but bobbins tenure, although a Burnley site claims he coached at Bolton "for eight years" "from 1977".)

Probably wrongly put on my part. Back then I had to write a letter on the posh paper, find an equally posh envelope down the back of the bureau, cadge some money off Dad for a stamp and trudge down to the post office. These days I suppose you'd Twitter them on your phone. Not quite the same

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

As for whether it would happen these days, I hear that it still does at some clubs, especially third/fourth tier ones (as we were then). It's not all bad "nowadays"

Probably wrongly put on my part. Back then I had to write a letter on the posh paper, find an equally posh envelope down the back of the bureau, cadge some money off Dad for a stamp and trudge down to the post office. These days I suppose you'd Twitter them on your phone. Not quite the same

Not sure many managers would be on Twitter... imagine the incoming messages...

A well-written letter is still the best way to get noticed. Emails can work too but letters land on desks while emails languish on servers.

[PC1978]

Interesting story. I've heard a few people say that Neal spent a lot of time with them in similar circumstances. The cynic might say that he loved having someone to show off to but he could easily have said no.

As for whether it would happen these days, I hear that it still does at some clubs, especially third/fourth tier ones (as we were then). It's not all bad "nowadays"

(I seem to recall Walter Joyce, father of Warren, was a coach during the 80s. No idea exactly when and a brief search seems to link him to Charlie Wright's brief but bobbins tenure, although a Burnley site claims he coached at Bolton "for eight years" "from 1977".)

Probably wrongly put on my part. Back then I had to write a letter on the posh paper, find an equally posh envelope down the back of the bureau, cadge some money off Dad for a stamp and trudge down to the post office. These days I suppose you'd Twitter them on your phone. Not quite the same

I wrote to the club in the Rioch era as I was doing a course in physiotherapy and wanted some work experience. Des McBain (think that was his name) wrote me a nice letter back saying thanks for the interest but due to trade secrets in football etc. they would not be able to let me gain any work experience of any capacity in the physio side of things at the club. Understandable really I suppose.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

As for whether it would happen these days, I hear that it still does at some clubs, especially third/fourth tier ones (as we were then). It's not all bad "nowadays"

Probably wrongly put on my part. Back then I had to write a letter on the posh paper, find an equally posh envelope down the back of the bureau, cadge some money off Dad for a stamp and trudge down to the post office. These days I suppose you'd Twitter them on your phone. Not quite the same

Not sure many managers would be on Twitter... imagine the incoming messages...

A well-written letter is still the best way to get noticed. Emails can work too but letters land on desks while emails languish on servers.

Nah, Sordell will pass the tweet on to Dougie

I must go have a dig around for the letter I got back from Phil Neal. I'm sure I've still got it somewhere.

[bwfcdan94]

August '88 he definitely had a couple of coaches to help with training. I wrote to Phil Neal that year asking if I could attend a training session as I was writing about football training for a study that counted towards my exam grades. I was lucky enough to be invited along to a wet and grey Burnden Park. Phil Neal spent the whole day with me and I got to talk to the players and watch the training. Sophisticated stuff it was. About an hour was spent running up and down the steps in the stand, followed by some running around the track. We then moved under the stand to a small indoor area for a bit of standing in 2 lines and passing the ball back and forth. My main memories were of Phil Neal being a nice fella, Julian Darby acting the goat the whole time and 2 YTS lads getting fined a quid for leaving their boots behind. If I recall YTS was about 13 quid back then, so quite a sum of money! Back to the coaches. I don't remember much about them, but I do remember there being 2 present on the day.

It was a great day for a near 16 year old. I do wonder if in this day and age if such a request would be granted, let alone the manager spending hours with me asking what were probably dull and inane questions.

Don't make me laugh AT, a friend of mine wanted to do something similar for his Sport A-level except he wanted to see the U18s at Reading as he was doing something on developing young footballers, they turned him down despite the fact he had been grown up with a couple of the lads for most of his life. The club gave the reason of "Security issues".