ARCHIVE: The Dark Ages #1
Part 1 – Season 1983/84
In May 1983 on a hot London afternoon, Bolton Wanderers suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Charlton Athletic, and therefore completed the process of decline from Division One football to Division Three, all in three ignominious seasons.
The writing had been on the wall, with two successive close escapes from relegation and a board – through its own mismanagement – unable to provide any significant funds for team strengthening. When it came however, relegation was still hard to swallow for a club that had spent only two of its 106-year history in the lower divisions. The summer of 1983 proved to be as miserable as the previous campaign as manager John McGovern was forced into a cost-cutting exercise at the behest of those running the club, losing the likes of Jim McDonagh and Paul Jones. The final links with the top flight seasons of the late 1970s were thus severed. McGovern’s four summer signings hardly raised hopes of a serious attempt to mount a challenge for promotion and an immediate return. John Platt, a goalkeeper from Oldham, Peter Valentine, an inexperienced central defender from Huddersfield and Eric Snookes, another defender from Rochdale all cost the club nothing. Tony Caldwell on the other hand proved to be a different story. Signed from Horwich RMI for a nominal fee, he was to score the goals that at least gave Wanderers fans some hope for most of the season.
The rest of John McGovern’s squad was based largely on youth: Simon Farnworth was to have an exceptional year in goal and was only 19 at the time. In defence Neil Berry, a Scottish apprentice, made the giant leap from the reserves into the first team and competed for the central roles with Valentine and old favourite, ‘mad’ Gerry McElhinney. The two regular full-backs were as contrasting as one could get – Ray Deakin at left back was often adequate but occasionally mishap prone. Meanwhile, on the opposite flank, right back Brian Borrows gave the impression all season that he was capable of playing at much higher levels. The mysterious Eric Snookes barely appeared.
The midfield was occupied for most of the season by a trio of youngsters who had all come through the Bolton ‘system’. Steve Thompson made the centre his own although, in those early days of his career he was never a crowd favourite. Neither was Warren Joyce, stockily-built and energetic, he was forever made scapegoat in the event of a defeat. Neil Redfearn was one of the side’s most consistent performers and of course went on to have a great career elsewhere. Even John McGovern made the odd cameo appearance in the twilight of his playing career, whilst yet another youngster, Steve Saunders, occasionally stepped into the fray.
“Neil Redfearn was one of the side’s most consistent performers and of course went on to have a great career elsewhere.”
Up front was simply a question of who was to partner Caldwell. It came down to two options, Simon Rudge and Wayne Foster, both of whom were reasonable if nothing special. Rudge was about 5”5’ so, of course, whenever he played, Valentine and McElhinney would lump the ball downfield as far as possible. Foster had already been around for a few seasons but made little impact. Then came Jeff Chandler, who was by far and away the most skilful player at the club and was to prove too good for most of the full backs in the division.
The season began with the unenticing prospect of a home fixture against Wimbledon. Only 3,992 tuned out to witness an abysmal first half display, which the ‘prototype’ crazy gang dominated. Half-time was a salutary experience, viewing the vast expanses of empty terracing baking under the strong heat of the sun, the overwhelming feeling of lethargy and stagnation pervaded Burnden Park from top to bottom. However, in the second half there was a remarkable turnaround as Jeff Chandler and Simon Rudge scored in an impressive attacking 45 minutes. Wimbledon kicked everything above grass level and the Wanderers won 2-0.
The following week saw a 3-0 League Cup win at Burnden over Fourth Division Chester, and an accomplished 2-0 away victory at Bradford, Tony Caldwell scoring three goals in seven days and establishing himself as the new hero of the town. The next fortnight, however, was to reveal the inconsistent nature of the young outfit that McGovern was hoping would mature quickly. Sandwiched between the first ever league defeat at Gillingham (2-0) and the League Cup exit at Chester (who won on penalties) came one of the most incredibly one-sided matches ever witnessed at Burnden Park. The 8-1 slaughter of Walsall remains a legendary result in the history of the club from an era that had very few highlights. Tony Caldwell scored five, inducing the overpowering belief that ‘We are too good for this division’. It was a feeling that lasted a very short period as a 1-0 defeat at that footballing Mecca Scunthorpe brought us all back down to earth.
“The 8-1 slaughter of Walsall remains a legendary result in the history of the club from an era that had very few highlights.”
The next two matches brought back memories of football in a higher league, as we played the two sides who had been relegated, along with Bolton, the previous season. Firstly Rotherham were dismissed by two clear goals at Burnden with no response and the following Tuesday evening a goalless draw against our old sparring partners Burnley notched up a healthy (for 1983) 9,709 spectators. That game was played in a heavy mist that even the notoriously powerful Burnden floodlights had difficulty penetrating. The Lever Enders (a one season reversion to the halcyon days of the mid 1970’s as the Paddock chorus deserted to the new green seats behind the goal) waved their lighters throughout the first half giving the ground an eternal feel resembling a candlelight procession in St. Peter’s Square. Sort of. A frustrating 2-1 defeat at Bristol Rovers was followed by a 2-2 draw with Exeter City, after Bolton had been 2-0 to the good. Then came the season’s first home loss, 3-2 at the hands of Newport County. A dull goalless draw at home to Hull City was followed by a welcome 2-1 win at Vale Park. It was the second away win of the term coinciding with Tony Caldwell’s thirteenth goal. This started a reasonable run of form: home wins over Orient (3-2) and Southend (2-0) were accompanied by a goalless encounter at Sincil Bank, Lincoln. A consistent run could still not be achieved however as the next match was a 2-0 defeat at Plymouth. It was now November, and Bolton had to begin their progression in the FA Cup in the First Round, and, even worse, visit the likes of Prenton Park. A 2-2 draw with the Scousers meant a replay, which Bolton won 4-1 at Burnden, with Jeff Chandler grabbing a couple and the Wanderers faithful still unsuspecting as regards the crap they would have to put up with from Elton’s favourites in the years to come. George Oghani signed for the club at around this time and went down in the record books as Bolton’s first black player. He wasn’t, however, to make his first appearance until the 1984/85 season after as John McGovern showed a reluctance to use him.
The Christmas period was a real success, with one very notable exception: December started with a 2-0 deficit at Dean Court, Bournemouth being turned around into a creditable 2-2 draw thanks to a great second half comeback. Mansfield were dumped out of the F.A. Cup Second Round (2-0), and a 2-2 home draw was played out in a derby with Preston North End. So came Boxing Day and the prospect of a ‘new’ local derby. The trip to Wigan was one we would become familiar with over the next decade but in 1983 this was new territory. The away end, half grass and half terrace, was met with incredulity by the visiting Bolton hordes. Thankfully only a few of them chose this option, instead occupying the Wigan ‘end’ as around two-thirds of the 10,045 attendance were Bolton fans. They went home chuffed as Chandler scored the solitary goal to win as Farnworth saved a penalty, prompting hopes that this would be “the last time we’d be coming to this dump”. A hugely impressive 1-0 win over league leaders Oxford United at Burnden 24 hours later raised hopes even further. But, just around the corner was a New Year’s Eve nightmare, a 5-0 thrashing at Sheffield United. All the carefully constructed good work was wiped out and thrown away.
Bolton entered the second half of the season in reasonably good shape however. They were in seventh place and the feeling was that much could come of their position.
Sadly 1984 was to prove a miserable year as promotion dreams faded and died a slow and suffocating death. A hard-fought 2-0 victory over Millwall at home on January 2nd was followed by four bad results. Top flight Sunderland outclassed BWFC at Burnden, winning 3-0 in the F.A. Cup.
A 4-0 defeat at Wimbledon was judged to be the low point of the season thus far until Wanderers drew 0-0 at home to Scunthorpe and then lost 1-0 at Fellows Park against Walsall where Tony Caldwell was shown the red card. February began with a win, 3-0 at home to Bristol Rovers, with new signing Graham Bell from Oldham making his debut in midfield. The following Saturday a 1-1 draw was earned at Rotherham, despite Simon Farnworth limping off and Wayne Foster replacing him in goal. Mixed form continued, a 2-0 home defeat to Lincoln was sustained mainly due to Bolton ‘reject’ John Thomas who was up front for the Imps. But on the following Friday evening the Wanderers recorded their fourth away win of the campaign with a 1-0 victory over Southend, Tony Caldwell again on the scoresheet. However, Bolton looked far from convincing during their 2-0 win over Port Vale at Burnden.
“The average attendance was 5,892, decidedly mediocre and in-keeping with all other aspects of the season.”
Heralding, the onset of March was a point from a 1-1 draw at Boothferry Park. Just around the corner though was another example of Bolton’s long-running ‘London Jinx’. No Bolton team had won in the capital since the 3-1 win over Q.P.R. in the First Division days of 1978, and a 2-0 loss at Orient came as a surprise to no-one. On the other hand, neither did successive home wins over Plymouth and Exeter (both 2-0), teams who very rarely did anything at Burnden. A 3-2 win at Newport proved to be the last significant throw of the dice for Bolton as a dire run of results ensued. A 2-0 home defeat by Bradford was followed with a creditable 2-2 draw at Turf Moor. This was heaven compared to the six-game losing streak that followed, leaving Bolton fans feeling depressed. Defeats at home to Gillingham (0-1), Wigan on their first ever visit to Burnden (0-1 - a truly miserable Saturday) and Bournemouth (0-1) mingled with losses at Brentford (1-0), Oxford (5-1) and Millwall (3-0). With Sheffield United visiting on the penultimate Saturday of the season, needing three points for promotion and with a large following chanting ‘win or riot’, Bolton brought their run to an end. A 3-1 win sparked chaos on Manchester Road as rival thugs marauded in some of the worst scenes of violence since... well, since exactly twelve months earlier when a Saturday afternoon war was fought out with Chelsea.
The last game of the season was a chronic 2-1 defeat at Preston. The Whites finished 10th with the following record:
Tony Caldwell finished top scorer with 22 league and cup goals. The average attendance was 5,892, decidedly mediocre and in-keeping with all other aspects of the season.
Hopes were high for 1984-85 as it was thought the benefit of a maturing team would carry Bolton through at the second attempt.
Dark Ages – Part 1 first appeared in the last ever issue of Here We Go Again! back in 1993.