The Ugly #1
Bolton Wanderers…0 Aston Villa... 1
4th October 1997
The Reebok was still in its infancy and Bolton had yet to record their first home win since moving to their new home. Aston Villa at home was next up – and my Villa supporting mate was making the journey from the Midlands to view his team at our new ground. It was to be an eventful day and not for the right reasons.
The barnstorming 1996/97 promotion season, a sparkling new stadium, top flight football and the signings of established high-class players like Neil Cox, Robbie Elliott, Mick Whitlow and Mark Fish meant that optimism abounded at Bolton Wanderers. A first-day 0-1 away win at Southampton whetted the appetite further. However the next few weeks of 1997/98 brought little joy beyond stopping United scoring the new ground’s first goal in a rumbustious 0-0 draw against the old foes. Our other two home games had ended in draws – Everton (0-0) and Spurs (1-1).
Villa arrived with a swagger, a decent away following and an arrogant striker called Stan Collymore. My visiting Villa mate’s ticket was for the away end and so after a quick tour around the ground to show off our new home we went our separate ways. The next time we saw each other it was amidst chaotic scenes outside the ground.
“With only a few minutes of the game remaining our centre-back Andy Todd, son of the manager Colin, engaged in a brawl of ferocious proportions with Mr. Collymore”
By 4.50pm the three points had gone Villa’s way thanks to the conversion in to the North Stand goals of a deep cross by the away side’s Savo Milosevic. However the scoreline did not tell the full story by any means.
With only a few minutes of the game remaining our centre-back Andy Todd, son of the manager Colin, engaged in a brawl of ferocious proportions with Mr. Collymore. This was no case of “handbags” to use the footballing phrase often deployed. Todd was raining blows down on Collymore and a boxing referee may well have called a halt to proceedings. This all played out close to the South Stand which housed the away support.
Both players were sent-off but tensions had been heightened between the two sets of fans and the police’s decision to allow both home and away sections to leave the ground at the same time soon backfired. Whilst events did not scale the heights of trouble often seen in the 1970s and 1980s this was still a boiling maelstrom of opposition fans and the police, some on horseback. It took some time for me to locate my mate who for a while was being herded towards the Villa supporters coaches by the panicking old bill – despite having made his way to the North West independently.
It was a warm Autumn day and fleeing the scene was not a comfortable experience. A quiet pint was sought – although in truth not even that could quell the disappointment of failing once again to record our first victory at the Reebok. Crumbs of comfort could be sought from the fact that I was not feeling as sore as one Stanley Collymore.