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BOLTON v BORO BLAST FROM THE PAST
When we think of Bolton we think of glory, victory and success. And how many teams can invoke those feelings in the typical long-suffering Boro supporter?
But the day that changed our fortunes, 29 February 2004 will go down as the greatest day in the club's history so far- and the performance as one of the greatest too. But because of this, no love has since been lost between the sides. Whether it's Allardyce's whinging or Diouf's spitting, Bolton/Boro fixtures are now often charged and controversial affairs.
But it didn't used to be like this- things used to be a lot more cordial with our friends from the north-west. Here are some of your memories from these more loving times.
Bob End
Bolton 1 Middlesbrough 0, 11/5/1995
Middlesbrough 0 Bolton 0, 9/04/1974
Bolton away in the 1995 promotion season. We got beat 1-0, with a fat Bolton
lad explaining like a banshee that nothing was over until the fat lady sings, meaning they were going to overhaul us.
I asked if he meant his mam and the stewards had to deal with the fat boy.
'Me? Don't think so mate?'
Always wanted to see him again because we did go up. Other memory is they had a shop jutting into their ground behind the goal.
Extraordinary. It came within about ten metres of the net so knackering the views all round. Neat though, you could get three bri-nylon shirts for the price of two at half time...
Andrew Morgan
Middlesbrough 1-4 Bolton, 17/02/1996
This was the season that convinced me to be a Boro fan after about six months of being an interested 'neutral'. I know I got into football late (and I hope I am starting to make up for this now) but it wasn't until secondary school that my eyes were opened to the beautiful game.
Indeed what with peer pressure and the desire to fit in at an awkward stage of my life (I was 12), football started to assume an increasingly important part of my life as I tried to convince people that I was one of the 'cool kids'. Thus by the time 1996 had dawned I was seriously immersed in the game and was following it almost religiously (I even insisted on getting the dreaded Sky around this time too). I never knew then that it would lead to all the pain that it has given me since...
The Boro at the time were going through their traditional post-Christmas slump of winning bugger-all matches in the first three months of the year (I know, scary with respect to this season isn't it?). This was the first post-Christmas slump I had experienced and I must admit its magnetic allure was one of the reasons why I decided to follow the fortunes of my local club.
Hey, I was a depressive and I wanted more depression- typical sado-masochistic urges of the average pre-pubescent teen but I guess it made sense at the time. Maybe I felt sorry for them? Maybe I felt sorry for myself? Maybe there was a spiritual empathy? I just don't know. But I've never looked back from the Boro or the depression since. A decade is a long time after all. But in many ways some things never change.
As an innocent naïve youth I naturally thought that getting wins against promoted opposition was easy because promoted sides were usually relegated in their first season in the top flight because they were generally weaker. I had no conception of what desire, teamwork or good management could do to a side. But then the Boro were managed by Bryan Robson at this point and I don't think he had any conception of this either so I can hardly be held account to that one.
Either way I fully expected a comfortable home win against the north-west club and for us to finally pick up some points after losing our previous seven league games. After all, Bolton were rock bottom at this point so surely we could break our hoodoo, particularly at home?
Evidently not, as you can imagine my young horror as I watched one of the most humiliating performances I have ever sat through. We simply weren't in it, particularly in the second half when we were completely over-ran. Indeed the performance was very much like the Blackburn home performance on Boxing Day this year come to think of it. Sometimes we never learn.
Defensively we were poor as well, gifting our opposition with soft goals time and time again. You could tell our confidence was low after not picking up any points since 23rd December and both the players and fans were apprehensive about the future. This result didn't help that- indeed it just made things worse. Pollock scored to take the score to 1-1 but even that did not provide any spur or impetus that day. We occasionally knocked on the door but we were easily shut out by Bolton's burly full-backs- a favour that we could hardly say we returned.
Thus we were well beaten by a very poor side- indeed a side that were destined to finish bottom of the League a full nine points adrift from safety. The Boro meanwhile managed to draw their next game against Coventry but were still unable to pick up a win until a Graeme Kavanagh penalty secured a 1-0 win at Leeds at the end of March. And after that we were only going to pick up one more win for the rest of the campaign- at Sheffield Wednesday the following week.
We finished a disappointing, but lucky 12th that season. Indeed if it hadn't been for the seven points we managed to pick up in this three week spell around the turn of April we would have been relegated with Bolton. But on this February day safety seemed far from likely- eight straight defeats and no hope whatsoever. But at least we pulled out of it. Only to be relegated the following season.
I guess that's irony for you...
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