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

[bobo the clown]

^^ I perfected the art of not looking at it. A bit like I do now with mirrors ... or I see my dad.

Anyone who never returned missed the Rioch & some Todd years Missed McGinley & Lee. The Battle of Burnden. Great cup nights, great play-offs. The 100 goal team. The water pouring through the roof. The need to wade through piss inches deep if you went to the bogs.

There became great ties there .... but that fckg wall. It makes my eyes want to bleed thinking about it.

[clapton is god]

Well, I had a short time when I decided enough was enough. I was working hard and on shifts so it was difficult to get down to Burnden regularly, but to my chagrin there were two or three seasons when I pretty much gave up the Whites. I was back for the Rioch era though when a friend persuaded me there was something happening I should react to, and around that time I managed to wangle a day job so got my first of 20+ and counting season tickets.

The wall though. I cringe with embarrassment when I think of the West Brom fans boinging and en-mass pointing at the wall singing 'what the feckinell is that?' I wanted to chant back 'its a shop, its a shop its a shop,' but I was never one for starting chants.

There's no doubt that the football was better in the 60's, some of the 70's and right through from 1993 to what, 2006'ish, but the Rioch years, short though they were and as bitter as the end was, was by far my best time following the Whites even eclipsing the Allardyce years and I don't think we'll see their like again. Burnden when it was bouncing was a magnificent, spine tingling place to be. I started on the Lever End (before the seating was installed), had a time on the embankment, moved to the Manny Road paddock and finally spent four years in the Burnden stand. I'm surprised that stand didn't fall over when McGinley and Walker were in their pomp. Its never been the same at the Bok Mac and it never will be. The matchday experience can never hope to be the same, there is just no joy in the game and we now know its going to be another long hard winter. *sigh*

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

^^ I perfected the art of not looking at it. A bit like I do now with mirrors ... or I see my dad.

Anyone who never returned missed the Rioch & some Todd years Missed McGinley & Lee. The Battle of Burnden. Great cup nights, great play-offs. The 100 goal team. The water pouring through the roof. The need to wade through piss inches deep if you went to the bogs.

There became great ties there .... but that fckg wall. It makes my eyes want to bleed thinking about it.

Nowadays they'd paint a crowd on the wall, leading to more ridicule probably...

[Lord Kangana]

These days?

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Difference between temporary works and a permanent wall though. Having said that, I'm sure Arsenal gained a few decibels from their normal crowd noise with that.

[Hoboh]

Cannot make my mind up if the Armfield or Greaves or Rioch time was best in terms of football, BSA had his moments too. What we seem to be seeing now is a spineless team full of wage drawers playing with no fun.

[coffeymagic]

The current squad is made up of almost entirely of players who are circling the drain.

Who do we have that any other club would want?

Perma-injured Mark Davies? If-it's-on-target-it's-in Bogger/Loners? Play-for -a-contract Spearing?

The rest? Bloody hell. You wouldn't recognise 'em if you fell over them.

Or saw them on a pitch, wearing a Bolton shirt with their name printed on the back.

Dougie has given us lots of 'gifts'.

Wonder if he's kept any receipts?

[bobo the clown]

Cannot make my mind up if the Armfield or Greaves or Rioch time was best in terms of football, BSA had his moments too. What we seem to be seeing now is a spineless team full of wage drawers playing with no fun.

It obviously relates to the excitement engendered not purely the football played. The later Allardyce years weren't exciting but by God I'd swap them for now. Armfield turned things round but it was solid, competent, a new hope was beginning but he left before it got properly exciting.

Greaves took that over and the footy was thrilling again. It led to hope, new self respect, a new Bolton.

Rioch did that again ... and some. Created a great unit. Despite it being at a lower level we could thrill to it, anticipate greater things. Allardyce again did that.and took it a step further. The best team in real terms I've ever seen. However, then we saw that we had our limits and were stretched to maintain that & some of the thrill & hope & anticipation left us

Since then ... well ... .

For me .... adding all the circumstances up, club and personal, the Rioch days stay with me most. "White Heat" and all that.

I do fear that if it turns round it'll be difficult to "believe" again. Hopefully a new generation will do that for me.

[thebish]

the problem with trying to judge the past against the present is that we were younger back then - and everything is more exciting and better when you are younger...

[LeverEnd]

I agree with thebish.

[Bruce Rioja]

I agree with thebish.

Hang on, hang on. You're not old enough to find yourself imbued with bitter cynicism just yet, young man. I mean, it's in the post, like......

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

In Rioch's three years we had two promotions, a cup final and maybe half a dozen cup upsets. You'd struggle to get a better three-year experience than that. His memory would have been tainted had he stayed and presided over struggle, just as Sam's memory is slightly coloured by the romance going out of it in his last year or so.

I'd vote Rioch, but zooming in even further, I will never ever forget that title season under Todd.

[William the White]

In Rioch's three years we had two promotions, a cup final and maybe half a dozen cup upsets. You'd struggle to get a better three-year experience than that. His memory would have been tainted had he stayed and presided over struggle, just as Sam's memory is slightly coloured by the romance going out of it in his last year or so.

I'd vote Rioch, but zooming in even further, I will never ever forget that title season under Todd.

Well said DSB!

[BWFC_Insane]

In Rioch's three years we had two promotions, a cup final and maybe half a dozen cup upsets. You'd struggle to get a better three-year experience than that. His memory would have been tainted had he stayed and presided over struggle, just as Sam's memory is slightly coloured by the romance going out of it in his last year or so.

I'd vote Rioch, but zooming in even further, I will never ever forget that title season under Todd.

In general the last 20 odd years have been a great time to be a Bolton supporter. In fact we have been incredibly fortuneate to have risen from the ashes and even establish ourselves back as a force to be reckoned with. For some that will never happen.

Rarely have we had season after season with little to look forward to or strive for and that is something I think sometimes is taken a bit for granted. And when we hit on slightly rockier times such as now, people should remember that there are clubs we left behind in the bottom two divisions who never got out in that period, or worse, sunk further.