Bolton Wanderers v Wolves, 14th May 1977

[@qtpieplayz456]

Wow. As a Forest fan it is hard to comprehend that this game was the key to two European Cups. Without this result it wouldn't have happened.

[@davegaskell7680]

As a Bolton fan, tell me about it! The fact that it could have been us winning Div 1 in 1978 and the European Cup the year after is one of those fantastically irrational 45+ year old grudges that being a football fan is all about!

[@trueredred859]

I was there with a bus load of forest fans @qtpieplayz456

[@phillspragg]

Was there , went on the train what a great day. All season great away matches!

[@angelicskin7756]

brings back memories ,traveled up by coach from wolves, about 20 coaches got bricked ,windows out,class atmosphere ,great day

[@caractacusbrittania7442]

Kenny hibbett, What an all time legend We were so lucky to have such a clever player, with such power in his shots. Absolute real legend.

[@alfretonred]

Thanks for posting this! Even as a Forest fan,, this was one of the best away games I've been to. I was at Trent poly at the time and went up with a mate and 3 wolves fans. Hi Keith Sangwin, if you're still around. We were right behind the goal and I remember a group of Forest fans were in the stand to our left. I didn't believe that Wolves would be bothered but the Wolves fans assured me they'd take Forest up! A cracking match and on the pitch at the end! What a great day!

[@peterturley2960]

Was there in the stand with a mate of mine from Cheltenham who was at Birmingham University at the time named Titch- Great day for The Wolves and the many thousands of Wolves supporters who attended at the old Burnden Park that day! Incidentally, Titch and i missed our coach back to Wolverhampton and ended up asking for police protection while we were stranded in the middle of Bolton town centre!! Aaagh, great days!!

[@BigGreenTimeMachine]

that first goal is fucking brilliant

[@peterturley8846]

Willie was adept at free kicks- have a look at the 'donkey' free kick, when Willie was playing for Coventry City with another former Wolves player Ernie Hunt. The game was Coventry City v Everton at Highfield Road !!!

[@grahamharlow7471]

Wolves goal defo ONSIDE

[@grahamharlow7471]

That goal was definitely Onside.. I'm a Bolton fan and was there that day..

[@stanmonzon5788]

It was a crisp competitive match. Fair play to both sets of lads

[@peteb8556]

I was there that day with my late Dad. There was lots of fighting outside the ground before the match. We had come out of the pub opposite the ground on Manchester road, heading towards the Great lever end, where the home fans traditionally massed . There was a mass charge by the wolves fans, and my Dad ended up on the floor on Manchester road. It was some of the worst exhibitions of football hooliganism we'd ever seen at Burnden park .

[@UKRichardHK]

pete b Yes as a Wolves fan I agree it must have been. The only crowd trouble I ever saw worse than this involving Wolves was when we played at home to Chelsea. Earlier that season Wolves fans were on the receiving end at Forest. I happened to miss that game but after that saw all Wolves away for the next 2 years, and this game at Bolton was probably the worst crowd trouble I ever saw.

[@carpediem4290]

Really the first goal of Wv is masterpiece of tactics. On the other hand it was a very disputed match. Goalkeeper of Wv slept very well that night! Even men of press were in danger! (Lol). Thanks for this authentic football...

[@wildbill6826]

Hibbitt & Carr, great thinking dynamos. What a free kick by both. Should be Goal of the Season.

[@alcoholicjoe6199]

Yes we was laughing thinking Carr had miss kicked it ..we were not laughing seconds later...hey oh such is life.

[@UKRichardHK]

Remember this! I was one of 8000+ Wolves fans there celebrating winning that league. Lots of trouble before the game when Wolves fans broke down a wooden fence & chased the home fans out of the other half of that end. They virtually took over the town on what should have been Boltons big day. Bolton deserved promotion with Wolves & Chelsea, including future managers Allardyce & Reid were pretty frustrated with most of the play but couldn't get a goal. Still, they won Div 2 the next year.

[@davidherron7904]

thats not true at all ,never heard such bul88it ,took over the town :):)ask any lads from wolves that day and theyll tell you they got ambushed in and outside the ground and never made it to the town centre from the train station

[@davidhird3382]

Memorable day, does anyone know the name of the female wolves fan who was always in the middle of the trouble, she was at every game I went to home and away,.

[@davek834]

Was there that day 1 week before my 11th birthday, yes there was a lot of wolves that day, I remember some were climbing the floodlights putting up a flag , the perimeter fence fell over at the full time whistle when wolves fans surged forward to invade the pitch , I remember a couple of kids getting hurt being carried by police , either crushed or trampled on , the embankment at the time was not segregated, so they could of been either young Bolton or wolves fans , the atmosphere at the final whistle did feel tense, I remember my dad shouting over to me in a panicky way to hurry up we need to get going, I was still sat on the fence in the Manchester road terrace, like most kids looking at the wolves pitch invasion in disbelief , like most trouble at burden park it mainly was in the burden terrace, most games when sat on the fence there was always plenty of long haired hoolies with 2 coppers , doubled over with their arms up their back , a lot with blood coming from their heads and ears, the worst I seen was when Chelsea were relagated to the second division, there was a big presence of Chelsea in the great lever end police had e put 2 lines of bobbies in-between the fans, Bolton won that day 2-1 with David Hay scoring an own goal , a player I remember to this day, he was one of the Scotland players I got in my 1974 panini world cup sticker book

[@UKRichardHK]

@@davidherron7904 Well that's not what I saw. Wolves were in all the pubs. Bolton fans hiding their scarves running a gauntlet from the station to the ground. The Bolton lads who did go into the home part of the open terracing were chased out when Wolves fans broke down a flimsy wooden fence near the turnstiles.

[@UKRichardHK]

@@davek834 The end where Wolves were was segregated by a double fence although not high or spaced enough. At first there were some Bolton lads in the home side but they were heavily outnumbered by Wolves. At the back of the terrace near the turnstiles the segregation was just a flimsy wooden fence. Wolves fans trampled it down and charged into the home area. A load of Bolton fans ran across the pitch to the other end, and those that stayed there lay low during the game. Innocent Bolton fans were hurt when things were thrown at the home fans and some had their scarves nicked. I was on the winning side but I thought it was pretty horrible and remember I felt sorry for the Bolton fans their big day was a nightmare on and off the pitch.

[@kmgames-lh9yo]

I am watching this video from a thogdad memory lane 😁

[@andybelfield6034]

Always loved the all gold look.

[@wildbill6826]

Funny the shorts were a different hue of gold to the vest. Gone wrong in the wash maybe.

[@andybelfield6034]

@@wildbill6826 this is definitely on purpose and a traditional that is still observed to this day.

[@SuperForest78]

....one of the most important games in Forests history

[@derekpugh6819]

If we hadn't beaten Bolton. Notts forest would not have won anything. They wouldn't have been promoted. U shud always be greatful that we put you on the map. WOLVES AYE WE. 😎👍

[@colinaitken3605]

Remember seeing all the wolves coaches on the opposite carriageway near Risley, our van had broken down coming back from Crewe, every window in the fleet of buses was smashed

[@step4024]

I'd have said the ref was a Wolves fan watching that...shocking disallowed goal. But I know he was a Boro fan was Pat Partridge. Like Jeff Winter later on...he refused to ref Boro games.

[@glenndilks3931]

Went with 3 other Forest fans and stood in the away end. Have a soft spot for Wolves to this day.

[@trueredred859]

Went with a bus load from Nottingham Victory tour of market square back in Nottm

[@lolkon7856]

Who’s here after the thogden video

[@davidireson1126]

Absolutley took Bolton Town and the ground over and battered em on the pitch at the end ,happy days

[@Turrican60]

I was in the away end that and you're bang on right. There was a crazy biker Wolves fan with what looked like a motorbike chain who made a one-man assault on the Bolton fans to our right. He was swinging away with it like a man possessed, and it took several coppers to drag him out while the crowd parted like the Red Sea. Bolton soon scattered once Wolves invaded the pitch at the end and lamped them good and proper, so a shame this video doesn't show that. Lots of talk about the smashed coach windows, big deal, but we all know who owned the town that day, because Bolton got smacked and run all over the place. Reckon there were easily more than 8,000 Wolfs there, too.

[@simonwolfendale1988]

I remember a Wolves lad trying to get in the Lever End and getting his flares caught on t'fence. Hanging upside down and getting twatted. Still a bad day for us mind.

[@steventyreman3642]

Kenny Hibbit pure class !😊😊😊coyw

[@roderickscott7429]

a young Peter Kay at 3.40 next to the dug out ?

[@Chonesy19]

Does anyone know of anywhere that has any other Bolton matches from around this period? I only ask as my dad was the number 5 for Bolton (Paul Jones, the one that gave away the free kick and put the ball in the net after the whistle) and want to see whether he was actually any good, or get more reasons to make fun of him.

[@Dermot2927]

Chonesy19 One of my favourites of the time is the Fa Cup match at Burnden v Newcastle the previous year. Malcolm Macdonald got two fantastic goals for the Mags, and it went to two replays. Without checking, I think your dad might have scored. It’s on KZbin.

[@Dermot2927]

Chonesy19 I also remember a headline in the Sun - “Jones ahoy!” He was about to be capped for England but something happened, the game was postponed or something. Very unlucky - who knows what might have transpired in his career?

[@michaelreid8806]

He was an awesome player. There’s no making fun of him! Tell him hi from me!

[@qertcoat]

This is heart-breaking, I was there on the railway embankment that day and cried my eyes out at Bolton missing promotion.

[@tdonovan4735]

Luckily they went up the next season, though

[@davegaskell7680]

Me too, as an 11 year old. Watched most of the games that season in the Burnden Paddock but was on the embankment for that one.

[@philiprobinson256]

Re:Chonsey 19 No doubt about it but your dad was a Bolton legend, and an important part of the promotion squad of the following year. Just a shame it all fell apart so quickly really as on paper we had a very good squad, especially when we bought in Gowling, Worthington and McNab etc. As for his England credentials, no doubt he should have played but at the time Dave Watson had the vertual monopoly on the No. 5 shirt.

[@nobbytang]

What a great 1st goal for wolves !!…..didn’t they both get promoted this season …

[@davegaskell7680]

No. Wolves won the league and Bolton had to win this game to get promoted but the defeat meant that they got pipped for the final promotion place by Nottingham Forest.....who went on to win Division 1 the following season, and the European Cup after that. Could have been Bolton that, had we won this game ;-)

[@simobwoy]

Charlie! hows it going bud? yeah i saw a program on tv of the best players never to play for england. Never knew how good he actually was!

[@Isleofskye]

Dod you ever hear from Charlie,9 years ago?

[@pwhiddon7948]

Was there but never saw game so much trouble before the game and after the game so you could say I was being looked after by Bolton police not just me but about 56 more wolves fans

[@Turrican60]

Shame about that. It was pretty tasty in the ground before kickoff, too. UTW.

[@UKRichardHK]

...and if Bolton could have at least drawn that game and then got points in their last game at Bristol Rovers a few days later. They would have gone up instead of Brian Cloughs Forest. Nottingham Forests incredible 1977-8 league win would never have happened if Bolton had not blown this game!

[@davegaskell7680]

If I remember correctly, we (Bolton) could still theoretically have been promoted had we won the last game at Bristol Rovers by 13 clear goals! Obviously, it wasn't to be

[@southbanker17]

Wolves ran Bolton all round the place after the game. Funny, as I had heard they were half decent!

[@faaarrrh]

Bad boyzzz

[@martindean5560]

I was there, and it was as always a great tussle on the pitch,and off it,between these two famous clubs.After the game Bolton were not bothered about the rucking,They were so *ISSED off,about missing out on promotion for the second season on the run by one point !, That it was case of mourning, and have a few beers and drop our tears into the pint of bitter. The two Wanderers that season were the best sides in the division. It wasnt this game, that Bolton missed out on promotion back to the first division,(since 1964). It was a slump in form, and 3 postponed games(and playing catch up) and another "heartbreaker" of a game v Everton in the League Cup semi-final in Febuary. The White Men, lost at Home, to Carlisle Utd 3-4 (22-3-76),and Sheffield Utd 1-2 (9-4-76) However,this was a good Wanderers team,with a Good manager,and the proof in the pudding was,,, Bolton, like Wolves,won the second division the year after in 1977-78

[@melprice8961]

martin dean i was at this game,being a forest fan i obviously wanted a wolves victory. bolton were unlucky to lose this game,but you finished 4th so you werent the 2nd best,we pissed you 3-1 at our place and you were lucky to get a 1-1draw with us at your place

[@melprice8961]

martin dean i respect your honesty, when watchin these highlights i still think bolton are going to score!

[@davidherron7904]

full of shit southwanker if your going to post at least post honestly ,there was some massive battles outside and in the ground but you got ambushed and whacked both inside and out ...clown

[@MrCueballhead]

check out man city vs bolton 1980 watch for an amazing set up for boltons first

[@dlamiss]

Had Bolton won this game Notts Forest would not have been league champions and subsequently won 2 european cups in the next three years

[@roderickscott7429]

would that have been on GA ?as Forest were 13 goals better off on GD which would have meant Bolton had to win.

[@dlamiss]

@@roderickscott7429 i bow to your superior knowledge you are correct Bolton needed to win this game, i have corrected the original post. remember watching the highlights of this game in the granada region about 35/40 mins worth. Never see a manager as crest fallen as Ian Greaves that day. Greaves IMHO was harshly treated by Bolton got them promoted the following season and then a half first season in division one but was sacked with the team in trouble in early 1980. His falling out with Frank Worthington seriously damaged that team in the second season back in div one as Worthington left

[@davegaskell7680]

@@roderickscott7429 Bolton had one more game after the Wolves game, away at Bristol Rovers. We (Bolton) had to either win the Wolves game and at least draw at Bristol Rovers OR draw the Wolves game and win at Bristol Rovers. We lost to Wolves so had to win by 13 clear goals in the Bristol Rovers game. Final score in that was 2-2 but it was never going to be a 13 goal win so it was this defeat to Wolves that scuppered us.......and made it the second season running that we'd missed out on promotion by a point

[@tomshea8382]

Not-So-Big Sam

[@BarryCFCOK]

Try the website: classicfootballdvds

[@jillroberts9781]

he was good . he could of play of england.

[@Isleofskye]

Who?

[@michealharrison808]

ark now hear the blackpool sing bolton ran away ran you in your own stand boxing day 80 s tommy troup got segragation gate open you scattered just for him then we all piled in took your stand bfc

[@callumcrompton2654]

It would be good if anyone knew what you were saying y'know

[@MrPeterpiper1969]

Blackpool? What has a match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bolton Wanderers got to do with Blackpool? Perhaps the orange shirts confused you :)

[@martindean2237]

BWFC ,,,,,,,,,,Typical Blackpool, full of shit,if you look in the records books in the 1970s,1980s,When WE Bolton,used to COME TO THE SEASIDE,We would double the attendance for you at Bloomfield Road.and run you all over town. i think the only time Blackpool ever got in the news for there OFF the field activitys,was when they smashed up BURY. COME ON !!!!!!! Always remember one August day in 1974 ! ENOUGH SAID

[@Dermot2927]

A Blackpool fan of all people should know it’s not appropriate to brag about hooliganism between these two clubs (google Kevin Olsson if you don’t know what I mean).

[@marcgardner868]

Talking absolute bollocks mate. You have never done Bolton home or away ever. But who cares, the Two clubs in this video Wolves and Bolton are far bigger than you donkey lashers will ever be. Have you still got that mecano stand? Even you're superior neighbours Preston would slap your lot.