see i like the baseball as well , i got into it and find it quite skillful , i said dad i quiet like the baseball been watching a bit of it , bloody girls game he said
football : 1 day he said to me look at em gloves long sleeves makes you sick dont it , look at the shin pads there like cricket pads , whats a snood - it keeps there necks warm dad , and refs and people allow this , then he said whats that there , its a under garment dad keeps em warm in the winter , cant they have a cup of tea at half time that keeps you warm , and he goes on , member the ingrowing toe nail stroy , yes dad youve told me that 1 , about 50 times , love to see 1 of these lot do it , for those who dont know dad had a ingrowing toe nail , the physio was looking at it , when dad grabbed a pair of pliers and ripped the whole thing off in 1 go , the physio nearly fainted , he put his socks and boots on and carried on like nothing had happend - he had to it was only half time after all
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Totally agree with your old man,
Ask him what he thinks about the wages players get lol,
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i have - he`s actually 50/50 about that
all tho his line is actually in my day fans paid the wages
now t.v. pays the wages
question is what do we think about wages cuz its like this - pay the players big because there the entertainers or keep the money in the board room i.e.owners and shareholders or and stone the crows this might happen lower the ticket prices
Reduce all Prem players wages by 30% and distribute the spondoolicks to Leagues 1 and 2.
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1 season with a 92 team tip up , do it that way its only once
update : im working on getting him down but its not easy ,
Tag archives : Bernie The Bolt Wright
Just the Ticket? Port vale Away.
[MAY 9, 2016]
Back in 1971, a friend and I stared at some strapping, side-burned man in a too-tight jacket having his photo taken on the pitch at Fellows park (Walsall’s previous home ground). He was physically impressive and had an air of real thuggish menace about him.
“He’s havin’ his photo taken,” my mate explained, “’cos he’s been banned from the ground and all the entrances need to know what he looks like …”
That massive hulking figure was none other than Bernie “the Bolt” Wright. A giant, uncompromising old-fashioned centre forward who terrorised defences with his ask-no-mercy, expect-no-mercy brand of play. He moved on to Everton, was involved in a very unsavoury incident there when he floored a coach but left a mark as he created an impression on the Everton fans, who, Wikipedia has it, remember him for using his head to accidentally break the toe of Sheffield Utd defender Eddie Colquhon during an attempted diving header.
He came back to Saddlers, played with us for a further four years and ended his league career at Port Vale. This weekend’s last-scheduled game of the season.
Travelling to away games, concerts or work back in those days we imbued him with supernatural powers – if there was thunder we’d say it was Bernie’s temper. Either that or Keith Moon playing Heaven’s drums.
Saturday and I’m driving back from my mother’s. She wasn’t in and it was unseasonably hot. I was thinking of getting out the fire-pit and sitting outside later in the evening with a beer. But the sky grew dark – and memories of associating thunder with Bernie came flooding back.
Here was a behemoth who plied his trade at both grounds. Was the long lasting thunder – and seriously heavy downpour some kind of omen? For whom?
I’d reminded my brother that I had the tickets for the Vale game … and that it was a 12.30 kick off. Arranged to get him at ten o’clockish. A steady drive I’m thinking; I can find the Vale ground with my eyes closed (actually incorrect and rather risky). But then – help – I could only find one ticket for the match – an all-ticket occasion, local derby!
Then it dawned on me – he had bought the tickets and kept his own. Panic over – at least for the moment.
Saddlers Widow had baked some lemon meringue pies – courtesy of passing through Bakewell on the route home from Sheffield United – Sheffield United Away | Trials and Trails: life and times of a Walsall fan – for each and every one of us (that’ll be seven then).
The M6 is apparently closed so we slip along the A34, miss the Longton turning and end up going the long way round via the A500. Stuck in traffic, there will be three thousand three hundred Walsall fans on the roads, rails and pavements. We dodge in and out of the rabbit warren side streets and end up with a near perfect spot on top of the hill. Long, warm walk down the Hamil Road, carrying the pies in a carrier bag. Half way down, compulsively checking I realize that I no longer have my ticket.
Rude words!
I send my brother onwards and go and check the car. Phew! There it is, down the side of the hand-brake! The rest of the “team” are inside, the pavements are crowded, flashing lights, police motor bikes, searched before we go in: fortunately there is no problem with the bag of desserts; though we have to take off our hats and have them rousted.
Once inside we have to queue to get through to a wonderfully crowded away end. Behind the goals. Seats are scarce but Cully has some saved for us: good spot. Quick nods and we stand and watch. It is noisy: the Saddlers fans are giving it the twelfth man business!
We know what we have to do; win by two clear goals at a team with one of the best home records this season … and a mean defence too. Then we depend on Doncaster beating Burton Albion, who start the day three points ahead of us.
There is tremendous energy about those pre-kick off moments: the pitch, the skies hot and clear. Just around the corner from “our end” are the Port Vale “choir”; strange that the two opposing fans are so close together: this is not normal … but, seriously? The Walsall fans are there to support their team, egg ‘em on, drive the team on. And the songs and encouragement is spinal Tap eleven. There are beach balls, inflatable crocodiles, killer whales, balloons, and bananas bobbling about. People in fancy dress. Big smiles, handshakes, and a will to win!
…oh and a killer Lemmy track to get the blood stirred up (Lemmy Kilminster born in Stoke on Trent: citizen of rock and roll excesses, bless ‘im).
We kick off defending “our “ end. Because that is the second part of the job: don’t concede goals!
Oh and did I mention we had to win by two goals?
Former Walsall full back ben Purkiss is pushing up forwards. He’s against the flying-all-season Rico henry, so is, we guess trying to deny him room to run. God luck with that then. Lalkovic is really fired up, he is so passionate and inclined to get carried away, but is a good ball carrier – and unpredictable. Perhaps we need that today?
Non-stop noise – and people all around with smart phones to get the news from Doncaster.
Vale are a physical team, bit rough in some of the challenges. We have the players to go toe-to-toe with this, but, when one of our runners is fouled we all want a free kick. The referee waves play on. We have the ball, the advantage – and Downing is running in to put the ball. Into. The. Net.
The away end, crammed and crowded goes bouncing crazy. One nil up? So early! Wonderful. Just what the doctor ordered! And Downing? Pushing up so far forwards?
Well, don’t knock it, if it works.
Soon we are pushing up again. Using the wings – and Forde is a revelation – again. Chambers using his energy and experience. Everybody standing up – off the pitch as well as on it. Another sweeping attack and the ball is in the net again. Tom Bradshaw has got his twentieth goal of the season! Tanking through in a way that Bernie Wright would have recognised.
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Always pleased to be of assistance.
This and other articles written by my good friend from sixth form days at Cannock Grammar School. 49 years later and still attending matches home and away with the same group less one. 
If somehow we could transport the '74-'75 team into today’s side, we would easily walk this league.
Big and small (Wright and Buckley) would absolutely terrify defenders.
Those who never saw them play missed of the best moments in the club’s history, those of us who did, will never forget.
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I have so many happy memories of that team. Everyone remembers the cup win over Man U and then Newcastle but the first game at Old Trafford, the 0-0 draw was magnificent. Those two were just better than the United players and Acker Birch had a great game too.
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They were a great team to watch. Even if you take out the wins over ManUre and Newcastle, we still had lots of entertainment. Much of football in the 70s was sterile and defensive, try and stop the other team playing. Walsall, I thought, was like a little oasis where we had full backs like Harrison, Caswell and later on Brian Taylor, who could all play, exciting wingers like Miah the Flyer and Acker Birch (and that Brian Taylor chap as well), George Andrews who could pass the ball better with his head than most players could with their feet, and of course, The Buck. Five seasons of brilliance from him, not many better than him to watch in England at any level back then.
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It’s difficult to describe how Bernie played because he was not like other players. Sometimes he would seem to plough through defences. He didn’t foul anyone and you could not really call them dribbles but he would beat man after man and the crowd was screaming in support. Defenders were terrified of him.
One of my other favourite teams was when the Buck was player/manager. We looked like scoring at any time.
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You can say that again. 
But we know he wasn’t just about brute strength, he could play a bit. I remember one nice bit of skill out on the left, turned the full back hither and yon and then hit a great cross for George to nod in. He did lots of things like that.
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Loved watching George time his leap at the back stick to perfection and nod the ball home
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We look back through rose-tinted spectacles but one real difference in those days was that the squad remained reasonably stable from year to year. People did come and go but the three mentioned each played more than 150 times for us, Buckley more than 400. You got to know them. In more recent times, we have had seasons when we haven’t had 11 players under contract a week or two before the season started.
The team that beat Manu was:
Mick Kearns, John Saunders, Brian Taylor, Dave Robinson, George Andrews, Stan Bennett, Nick Atthey, Colin Harrison, Bernie Wright, Alan Buckley, Alan Birch
Every one of those played for us for several seasons.
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love it when you lot go on about 74/75 - im sad cuz i did not see it but does make me laugh , you lot love it , got the everton fans banging on about his spell , they love it too , almost like he only turned out for 2 clubs , 1 troubled , 1 with success i guess … but fair play to you lot the man utd and newcastle games sound like something else , can imagine fellows park rockin as well
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