RIP Nat Lofhouse

The former England striker and Bolton Wanderers legend Nat Lofthouse OBE died in his sleep this weekend at a care home in Bolton. It is difficult to put into words just what Nat meant to Bolton.

Nat was born in Bolton in 1925 and he made his debut for Bolton Wanderers on March 22nd, 1941. Nat went on to play 660 games for Bolton in which he scored 441 goals. His most famous goal for Bolton was his controversial second in the 1958 cup final victory against Manchester United. After his retirement in 1960 Nat maintained his involvement with the club and over the years had spells as chief coach and manager before he was eventually given the title of lifetime club President.

Nat won 33 caps for England scoring 30 goals. His most famous goal for England was in 1952 when they were playing Austria in Vienna. Nat scored 2 goals in England’s dramatic 3–2 victory. In the process of scoring the second goal Nat was elbowed in the face, tackled from behind, and finally brought down by the goalkeeper. His bravery earned him the nickname of ‘The Lion of Vienna’.

In the early 1980’s Bolton Wanderers were languishing in the lower divisions and on the verge of Bankruptcy. At one stage they were literally days away from locking the gates for good at Burnden Park. The management at Bolton decided to launch the ‘Burnden Lifeline’ as a way of raising funds. Nat Lofthouse, described by Bolton’s former commercial director Alf Davies as the clubs only credible personality, was appointed president of the Lifeline. His picture was on all the advertising and the leaflets etc and he worked tirelessly to save his beloved club. Without him the Burnden Lifeline would never have got going and it is unlikely the club would have survived.

I can still picture Nat at the last ever game at Burnden Park when he was standing on the pitch for the last time with tears streaming down his face. I also remember the reports about how proud he was when the news broke that one of the stands at the Reebok stadium was to be named after him.

I met Nat a few times over the years and he was always the friendliest and humblest of characters. He was a real old school working class bloke who wore his heart on his sleeve.

God bless you Nat Lofthouse, we will never forget you.

Bolton to Malaga

I’m currently planning a train trip from Bolton to Malaga in May. I want to get the train from Bolton to Manchester and then the train to London. From London I want to catch the Eurostar to Paris, then the night train from Paris to Madrid and then end with the train from Madrid to Malaga. It sounds complicated but on paper but should be a relatively simple journey.

The problem is the dozens of websites all advertising different offers and deals. I don’t know where to start. Some are cheaper for the Paris to Madrid leg of the journey but are expensive for the Eurostar. Some offer great deals on Eurostar and Madrid to Malaga but the Paris to Madrid train is more expensive. I’ve looked at prices for train passes but even these are confusing.

Can anyone recommend a website or company where I can book the whole journey at a reasonable price? I want one that will sort out the bookings for all the different trains in all three countries.

Elmander & Coyle

Johan Elmander came to Bolton at a cost somewhere in the region of £10m. He is Bolton’s most expensive ever signing. We all had high hopes that we had purchased a player who could score 15 – 20 goals a season.

Well things didn’t work out for Elmander and he struggled to score goals. He looked unhappy, he had no confidence and seemed to be a complete waste if money. Suddenly this season he has regained his confidence, he is playing with a smile on his face and he is scoring some wonderful goals. At the time of writing he is the joint top scorer in the Premier league.

When Owen Coyle took over as Bolton manager he inherited a record signing who was a flop but he has used his man management skills to turn Elmander from Zero to Hero. The difference to the dark days of the Megson era is palpable. Elmander himself has criticised Megson’s style of management. He said, “It doesn’t help to stare and scream at me. I got tired the more of it I heard. Owen Coyle is a great coach, who I really enjoy working with. As soon as he came to the club I started to play well, even though the goals didn’t come right away.” Well the goals are coming now and I for one owe Elmander an apology. After witnessing his performances under Megson I just presumed he was a bad signing who would never make it in the Premier League. Happily, I have been proved wrong.

Owen Coyle has completely changed the way Bolton play. He has turned a team of long ball strugglers into one which plays exciting attacking football. The atmosphere at the Reebok has improved 100% and the feel good factor has returned.

Thank God for Owen Coyle!