The Ugly #3
Blackpool…1 Bolton Wanderers…1
26th December 1985
It had been seven seasons since Bolton had played Blackpool and the smouldering 1970s atmosphere between the two sets of fans had very clearly not gone away. A Boxing Day reunion was on the fixture list at the end of 1985 and the police completely under-estimated the away support.
It was one of those fleeting periods of optimism as a 1980s Bolton fan. Liverpool legend Phil Neal had been appointed the new BWFC player manager in mid-December 1985 after the sacking of Charlie Wright. In his first game the Whites beat Doncaster 2-0 at an excited Burnden. Next up was a fixture that had been ringed in red pen since the summer publication of the fixtures – Blackpool away.
A series of feisty second tier derbies had been played between Bolton and Blackpool in the 1970s. In the last two in 1977/78, the Wanderers completed a hard-fought double on the way to promotion while Blackpool slithered to relegation having looked safe in mid-table. The Bloomfield Road match was over the festive season in 1977 and a truly vast Bolton away following provided half the 25,000 gate.
By the mid 80s Bolton’s star had also dramatically fallen and 1985/86 saw Blackpool back on the fixture list after the Seasiders’ promotion from the fourth tier the year before. At Burnden during the Autumn the Manny Road North regulars had been singing horrible and provocative songs about the murder of ’Pool fan Kevin Olson in a stabbing amidst violence on the Kop before a Bolton match in 1974 – for them it was a case of “forget Wigan and Bury” – this was the big derby of the season. With the excitement of the new managerial appointment a big and volatile away support was guaranteed. Away trips for me and other family members had become quite rare – but for this one we left the turkey butties and tinsel at home and set off for the coast in our Vauxhall Viva. I can readily recall Bolton fans with scarves streaming out of car windows all the way west.
“Next up was a fixture that had been ringed in red pen since the summer publication of the fixtures – Blackpool away.”
By 1985 Bloomfield Road had become decrepit. That 25,000 gate at Christmas 1977 was unimaginable at the same venue in 1985. The big open Kop behind the goal was closed for safety reasons and the rest of the ground was decaying. The club and police placed Bolton fans in half of the “East” side terrace but long before kick-off it was full to bursting – in fact if anything it looked too full and somewhat unsafe. Only a limited number of turnstiles were open and slow-moving queues of Bolton fans snaked away from those entrances with police searches of everyone entering slowing things down further.
In the hours before the game a good number of away fans had been boozing in the Ramsden Arms pub – a regular haunt of the home support. Inevitably those locals took objection and battling in and around the pub ensued with snooker balls and cues being hurled. Other flashpoints also occurred on the streets of the resort. Just like the 70s Blackpool was bringing out the worst in Boltonians and the sight of BWFC fans on their territory brought about a visceral siege mentality among the home fans.
We’d decided the home end was the safest option and we were sitting in the West Stand along with a good number of other away fans who wished to avoid trouble. It was an area of the ground populated by old folk and families. Some queue-avoiding Bolton fans opted for the less safe terrace behind the goal opposite the Kop and a small number of punch-ups became evident while other BWFC fans jumped the perimeter fence and were walked to the away end by the police.
Kick-off was still to arrive when the eyes of everyone in the ground were drawn behind the goal as hundreds of Bolton fans appeared from nowhere on half of the closed Kop. They streamed on to the old terrace and before long it too was looking pretty full. It was an impressive sight that was too much to bear for around two dozen Blackpool fans further down the West Stand from us. They sought to march across the Kop goalmouth from the side terrace to confront the away fans but the police backed them off. It later became clear that the first of those Bolton hordes had not been “admitted” to the Kop, they’d booted their way in. It’s very likely that the police took the view that it was safer for them to be in the ground than rampaging around Blackpool that Boxing Day afternoon – and thus they let it all happen. Indeed they delayed kick-off by 15 minutes to get the general levels of chaos around the ground back under some level of control.
“Kick-off was still to arrive when the eyes of everyone in the ground were drawn behind the goal as hundreds of Bolton fans appeared from nowhere on half of the closed Kop.”
It’s safe to say the police had completely under-estimated the Bolton following that day. Ought they to have known better given events of the 70s and that vast following in 1977? To be fair Bolton were only attracting 4-5,000 at home. But most of them seemed to have turned up at Blackpool with perhaps a few extra thrown in.
In terms of on-the-field matters Bolton were in their habitual mid-80s lower mid-table third tier rut while Blackpool were in the top half of the league and favourites for the game regardless of the presence of Phil Neal. Following that delayed kick off Tony Caldwell immediately missed a glorious chance for Bolton – but then the balance of play in the first half reflected those league standings with the kitchen sink being thrown at BWFC. An aerial bombardment of crosses from all angles were dealt with by the Wanderers backline with Neal trying to martial his troops. At one point one of his clearances skewed wildly in to touch and the home fans around us hooted with delight. The derision cascaded down from the terraces.
Half time was reached at 0-0 and as winter darkness descended Blackpool Tower glowed on the horizon behind the Kop and its brooding BWFC inhabitants. Blackpool pressure continued in the second half but Bolton had posed a few threats of their own. Nonetheless it still came as a surprise when half way through the second period Warren Joyce crossed and our experienced striker David Cross thundered home a header. Scores of us in the home end were up celebrating. Despite the toxic atmosphere I don’t remember that being a problem in our “family” area. In the East Stand and the Kop the visiting support celebrated in semi-demented fashion and you could sense a deep unease around Bloomfield Road. After experiences in the 70s Blackpool v Bolton meant home fans on constant red alert for away fans in home sections.
“By 1985 Bloomfield Road had become decrepit.”
In that second half Blackpool were kicking towards the Kop and their pressure intensified in the final 20 minutes as they searched for an equaliser. We thought we’d nicked a great derby win until the very last minute when Paul Stewart (later of Spurs) headed the equaliser from close range. It was hard to know whether to be happy or sad – an away derby draw was respectable but so much more had been within our grasp.
I didn’t see any trouble after the game but with so many Bolton fans around and such a heightened atmosphere in the tightly packed roads around the ground it’s hard to imagine there was none. We made our way down the M55 and M6 back to our festive family homes oblivious to the aftermath in the Blackpool darkness.
That Phil Neal inspired Bolton optimism was put on hold when the next match away at Bury was postponed due to a frozen pitch. Then on New Year’s Day we lost 2-1 at home to Wigan after the ref mistakenly sent off Bolton number 8 Steve Thompson. He’d previously booked Wigan’s number 8 and put the wrong player in his book. He thought he was giving Thommo a second yellow. You couldn’t make it up.
On that Boxing Day though it was a case of old acquaintances being renewed. Bolton were back in town in large numbers and left their mark as intended – and Blackpool knew it. The 1980s may have been a low point in Bolton’s history but this was a reminder of what the support base could deliver, even if not all of it was palatable or lawful.