Reaction to yesterday plus more.
Afternoon to you.
First of all, thanks very much to those who wrote about yesterday’s article, whether it be on here on Twitter, the BBC or other Bolton sites. It’s very much appreciated. I’ve decided to stick the article at the top for a while, so the next few postings will appear below, like this one.
There are a few things that have come out of yesterday.
The article was put up on a couple of Liverpool sites as well as a Stoke City site. From the comments on those sites and also on Twitter, a lot of people are shocked that they have never heard of the disaster. Liverpool fans were expressing shock on the similarities between Burnden and Hillsbrough, whilst Stoke were wondering why they have never heard of it even though their club was playing.
Secondly, there was a small debate elsewhere about what the club should do regarding the disaster. I believe the fact that so few people around the country know about it shows that the club should maybe do more to educate. There was a brief mention of it on BBC North-West and Granada didn’t mention it at all. Tower FM did a better job, and it appears that they were the ones who ‘made’ Asda close the store for a minutes silence. The club put a brief article on the official website whilst the Bolton News didn’t mention it on their Wanderers page.
It was suggested that part of the reason why no one knows about the disaster is that, as a club, we don’t make it a defining point of our history. And I would go along with that. Liverpool have a memorial every year and Rangers held a memorial this year on the 40th anniversary of the Ibrox disaster. Liverpool fans are stil looking for justice for those who died at Hillsbrough and the memorial service keeps it in the public eye as memories can fade and there are young adults alive today who weren’t born in 1989.
But, not making it a defining point in your history does not mean that you shouldn’t remember it, and a perfunctory article on the official website is part of the reason why very few people, even in Greater Manchester, are aware of what happened on March 9th 1946. Come next month, both North West Tonight and Granada Reports will comment on the 22nd anniversary of Hillsbrough and the Munich Air Crash is always mentioned. Maybe the club do not do enough to lobby the local media to mention it. And for this reason, I call again for a minutes silence before the game on Saturday, in front of television cameras. I’m sure if Bolton Wanderers Football Club ask Birmingham City Football Club, The FA and ESPN if this is possible, they will answer in the affirmitive. And then, maybe next year, fewer people will be ignorant of a disaster that happened on OUR football ground.
Lastly, before moving on, I was tweeted a couple of times by people mentioning that Bolton fans sing ‘Munich Reject’ and do aeroplane noises etc. when we play United. Yes, they do. And these people are not wanted at my club. Or any club. But all clubs have them. I used to get jokes from a friend of mine who is a United fan about Hillsbrough, before I asked him to stop. A lot of United fans are of the opinion that Liverpool brought Hillsbrough on themselves, even though it could have happened to them. Liverpool fans themselves sing about Munich. And let’s not start on Rangers and Celtic.
In short, these kind of chants are not wanted in any ground, sung by any fan, and I and this site disassociate ourselves from anyone who sings distateful songs about anyone’s death. As I replied to the people who mentioned this, we shouldn’t let the minority cloud others judgement about the majority and we should educate ourselves about each other, not give oxygen to those who would bring disrepute to us.
And to those Bolton fans who sing ‘Munich Reject’ at players, here are a few names for you.
Alan Gowling, Tony Dunne, Willie Morgan, Brian Kidd and Paul Wheatcroft. All fall into the above bracket. All played for Bolton afterwards.
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Unless you’ve not been noticing, it’s FA Cup Quarter Final weekend. Hurrah. We are playing Birmingham. Hurrah. They probably won’t be trying. Hurrah. We’re all going to Wembley.
Someone needs to buy Gretar Steinsson a sat nav:
‘The closer you get to Wembley, the more excited you are. I have never been there before. I don’t even know where it is.’
North London mate. Head south and follow the smog.
After Birmingham’s draw last night, they are back out of the relegation zone. No game is easy…yadda yadda yadda….but you wouldn’t expect McLeish to play his strongest team, even if he has already said his selection will depend more on availability, such are his injury worries. It’s probably a 50/50 decision for him. Play your best who are available and risk more injuries or just give it up, you’re already in Europe. I’d prefer the second option please Alex. You don’t need another shiny trophy.
Bibi Gardner went straight into Preston’s team on Tuesday when the lost to Leeds, leaving Preston so firmly up the creek, a boat load of paddles won’t help them after Sheffield United, Palace and Middlesbrough won. At least he got a run out.
And finally, as if the banging drums weren’t enough, Big Phil has asked Danny McFly to write a song we can all sing as an anthem. I’m all for helping out local talent, and McFly have done a lot to help out SuperKevinDavies’ charity, but if we are to have a song can’t we just pick one out of the last….oooohhhh…sixty years of the charts, rather than getting a song from the front man of a band who hasn’t appeared on my i-pod since ever and who, I suspect, doesn’t appear on yours either. Still, it’s not all about you.
See what I did there? A Birmingham preview tomorrow. Until then, big up yourself.