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Bolton's full league record this season:-
Leicester 0 5 Bolton
Bolton 1 0 Middlesbrough
Bolton 2 1 Liverpool
Leeds 0 0 Bolton
Bolton 0 1 Southampton
Blackburn 1 1 Bolton
Arsenal 1 1 Bolton
Bolton 0 2 Sunderland
Bolton 0 4 Newcastle
Man Utd 1 2 Bolton
A. Villa 3 2 Bolton
Bolton 2 2 Everton
Ipswich 1 2 Bolton
Bolton 0 0 Fulham
At the time of writing, newly-promoted Bolton lie 9th in the table, and are only one point behind Spurs. A win for either team would take them above Manchester United, who are suffering unprecedented poor form at the moment. Bolton might be one of the less fashionable clubs, but Glenn Hoddle knows only too well of the need to beware of Sam Allardyce and his professional support team. Bolton famously topped the league at the start of the season, and have taken some remarkable scalps so far - not least of which were Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Indeed, Bolton's away form has been better than their home record. They have a plus 6 goal difference away, compared to minus 5 at home - not helped by a disastrous defeat at the hands of Newcastle United. The only away defeat was at Villa Park, and that is the only away match in which they have conceded more than one goal. A tough match is in prospect, spiced of course by the fact that Spurs' next home fixture will be against the same opposition for a place in the semi-finals of the Worthington Cup.
Here is Brian Judson's preview of the game
Premier Pl W D L For-Ag Pts
Home 2 1 1 0 3 - 2 4
Away 2 1 1 0 4 - 3 4
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Total(Prem) 4 2 2 0 7 - 5 8
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Football Lge
Home (Div 1) 29 17 5 7 57 - 31 39
Away (Div 1) 29 9 3 17 38 - 52 21
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Total(Div 1) 58 26 8 24 95 - 83 60
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Football Lge
Home (Div 2) 2 2 0 0 3 - 1 4
Away (Div 2) 2 1 0 1 1 - 1 2
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Total(Div 2) 4 3 0 1 4 - 2 6
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Total(Prem) 4 2 2 0 7 - 5 8
Total(Div 1) 58 26 8 24 95 - 83 60
Total(Div 2) 4 3 0 1 4 - 2 6
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Grand Total 66 31 10 25 106 - 90 74
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Monday's game against Bolton Wanderers will be a prelude to our 5th Round
Football League Cup tie against the same opposition next week. I thought
that I'd talk about a few of the players who have been associated with
Bolton over the years.
One of the most famous players to have played for Bolton Wanderers was
'Nat' Lofthouse. He played for them for many years and was one of the
Bolton players who were unluckily beaten by a Stanley Matthews inspired
Blackpool in the 1953 Cup Final, 4-3. Lofthouse won 33 caps for England in
an international career that ran from 1951 to 1959, scoring 30 goals. In
an era where it was permissible to shoulder charge the goalkeeper, an
event that sometimes led to goalkeepers being injured, Lofthouse famously
shouldered Harry Gregg across the goal-line as Bolton beat Manchester
United 2-0 in the 1958 FA Cup Final, a competition overshadowed by the
Munich Air Disaster of 6th February 1958.
A former Spurs player who also played for Bolton Wanderers was George
Hunt. We signed him from Chesterfield in June 1930 and he scored 138
League and Cup goals for us before leaving for Arsenal in October 1937. He
did not stay there very long before making the further move to Bolton
Wanderers in March 1938. He played for Bolton until November 1946 and then
wound down his career at Sheffield Wednesday, retiring in May 1948. He was
then appointed coach of Bolton Wanderers and did not retire until
September 1968.
Another player who has played for Spurs and Bolton Wanderers is Gudni
Bergsson. We signed him in November 1988 and he turned professional in
February 1989. He later left for Bolton, for whom he continues to play,
although he is now well into his 30s.
Neil McNab is another player who has played for both clubs. He was one of
Bill Nicholson's last signings before resigning as Manager. McNab was
spotted playing for Morton as a teenager and was signed by Spurs on
amateur forms in February 1974. He turned professional on his 17th
birthday but had already made his debut for Spurs as a substitute against
Chelsea in April 1974. Neil was more or less a regular with Tottenham
until Spurs were thrashed at Liverpool, 7-0, in September 1978, and McNab
was dropped by Keith Burkinshaw. McNab stormed out of the club and
eventually signed for Bolton Wanderers in November 1978. His sojourn there
was not long as he made the further move to Brighton in February 1980. At
various times he went on loan to Leeds and Portsmouth before making the
further move to Manchester City in July 1983. He stayed with them until
signing for Tranmere Rovers in December 1989. It was McNab's misfortune
that his time at Tottenham saw Spurs with one of the club's strongest ever
midfields in Ardiles, Villa and Hoddle. In any other Spurs team, McNab
would probably have earned the same sort of recognition these three have
now.
Monday's game will be another close match. Bolton have set out their stall
and have demonstrated they are a much better side than they have been in
their previous spells in the Premiership. Spurs are going to have to be at
their best to beat Bolton on Monday night but I am confident they are
capable of beating the Trotters. Again, it will be a case of Spurs having
to be very patient. Hopefully, Spurs will win 2-1 with a very late goal
nicking the points.
COME ON YOU SPURS!
Brian
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