On 9th March 1946, over 85,000 people piled into Burnden Park.
Eager football fans had gathered at Bolton Wanderers’ former home ground for the club’s highly-anticipated second-leg clash against Stoke City in the Sixth Round of the FA Cup, but not long after kick-off, the crowd began spilling onto the pitch and the game was temporarily stopped as the pitch was cleared.
However, at this time, two barriers collapsed and the crowd fell forward, crushing those underneath.
The crush resulted in injuries to hundreds of Bolton fans and the devastating deaths of 33 people, making it the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history, until the Ibrox Park disaster in 1971.
The disaster happened at the ‘Railway End’ of the ground – which closed in 1997 – where, in common with many other post-war grounds, facilities were rudimentary and the bank was crude, with just dirt and odd flagstones for steps, and although there was room towards the Burnden side of the ground, part of the stand had been requisitioned by the Ministry of Supply and had not yet been returned to normal use following the war.
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Additionally, the turnstiles at the east end of the Railway Embankment – which adjoined the Burnden Stand – had also been closed since 1940.
As was common practice back then, fans paid at the turnstiles to enter, rather than buy tickets beforehand, but as a result of this, the end became packed and over capacity and it was decided to close the turnstiles at 2:40pm.
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This did not stop more people entering the ground though.
Bolton News / Bolton Council
Desperate to catch a glimpse of the game, people began climbing in from the railway, climbing over the closed turnstiles and, when a locked gate was opened, entering through it. This lead to pressure from the ‘Railway End’ and meant that many fans were “inexorably pushed” along the side of the pitch, around the far end and eventually right out of the ground, before inevitably spilling onto the pitch itself.
Once the pitch was cleared, the game was restarted, but quickly halted again when a police officer came onto the pitch to speak to the referee to inform him there had been a fatality.
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Despite this, the game was still allowed to continue under what were described as “sickening” circumstances.
It ended in a goalless draw.
But the score meant nothing in light of the tragic event, which is still known to the people of Bolton and Stoke, the wider Greater Manchester community and football fans across the globe as one of the “greatest tragedies in football history”.
The disaster directly lead to a subsequent official report published by lawyer and MP, Moelwyn Hughes, which recommended more rigorous control of crowd sizes, and a conference on the licensing and regulation of sports grounds where it was recommended that, as a voluntary code, local authorities should inspect grounds with a capacity of 10,000 spectators. It was also agreed safety limits should be in place for grounds of more than 25,000 capacity, turnstiles should mechanically record spectator numbers, and grounds should have internal telephone systems.
The aftermath of the event may have meant that positive, necessary and life-saving change was brought about for the future, but tragedy still remains and the victims of that dreadful day in 1946 will nevertheless, always be remembered.
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Today, 75 years on, Bolton Wanderers will mark this “poignant day” in history.
? Today is a poignant day in the history of Bolton Wanderers Football Club.
75 years ago, 33 supporters attended a match at Burnden Park and never returned home. We shall remember them. pic.twitter.com/VzF3NrfEWD
When the team faces Cambridge United in a League Two clash at their home ground – the University of Bolton Stadium – this evening, a minute’s silence will be observed and the players will wear black armbands.
The club is also releasing a series of videos about the disaster on their social media channels during the day, a book of remembrance will be displayed outside the ground and a special matchday programme has been produced to mark the anniversary.
Outside the ground, the flags will fly at half mast and wreaths will be laid before the game kicks off.
The current Bolton squad are well-aware of the disaster’s significance on its 75th anniversary, with Wanderers manager, Ian Evatt, aiming to mark the occasion with a win, saying: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking to think that people went to watch a football match and didn’t go home again.
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“That is really, really heartbreaking and sad.”
Bolton Wanderers
He continued: “For the 75th anniversary, we want to go out there and perform to the level to give them the respect and the memory that they deserve and that’s as far as it goes.
“We understand the importance of it, we understand the importance of the occasion, and we want to go out there and win. The players are all aware of it, of course… [and] want to go out there and perform to the best levels they can for a number of reasons, and that is the main reason.
“We can’t forget and we never will forget.
“Those 33 names will live long in the memory of this football club as part of our existence and rightly so”.
Football Manager 25 has been officially cancelled following delays
Danny Jones
Beloved videogame simulator Football Manager 25 has been officially cancelled following continued delays.
The long-standing game where players take control as virtual managers of football teams has been a mainstay of digital sporting entertainment for more than three decades.
Developed by London-based studio Sports Interactive and published by gaming giants SEGA, the game hasn’t missed a single season since it began life as Championship Manager back in 1992.
However, following two significant delays to this year’s title, Sports Interactive have confirmed that Football Manager 25 has now been cancelled, despite countless pre-orders having already been made.
While the news doesn’t come as a total surprise, with FM25 having first been delayed ahead of its initial November 2024 release date and then moved again to March 2025, many fans would
The statement reads: “Sports Interactive [SI] regret to inform that, following extensive internal discussion and careful consideration with SEGA, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Football Manager 25 and shift our focus to the next release.
“For the large numbers of you who pre-ordered FM25, we thank you enormously for your trust and support – we’re very sorry to have let you down. Please see the FAQs below on obtaining your refund.
“We know this will come as a huge disappointment, especially given that the release date has already moved twice, and you have been eagerly anticipating the first gameplay reveal. We can only apologise for the time it has taken to communicate this decision.
“Due to stakeholder compliance, including legal and financial regulations, today was the earliest date that we could issue this statement.”
Insisting that they pride themselves on “delivering the best value for money games that bring you countless hours of enjoyment”, they simply didn’t feel like they were able to release the latest FM title to a good enough standard in its current state following playtesting.
They go on to add that ahead of working on this, the studio undertook the “biggest technical and visual advancement in the series for a generation, laying the building blocks for a new era”, hence why the significant delays. The news has been met with mixed reactions, to say the least.
Don’t worry only gotta wait till November!!! Only in February FFS
— Out of Context Football Manager (@nocontextfm1) February 7, 2025
You can read the statement in full HERE, in which they also rationalise that it simply no longer made sense or felt fair to expect people to buy FM25 when it was ready only to purchase the next instalment later in the year.
Fortunately, with regular updates as well as community mods and patches to the current Football Manager (FM24 was released back in November 2023), loyal fans have been more understanding about the delays and now the cancellation.
SI signed off by stating: “Through the cancellation, every effort is now focused on ensuring that our next release achieves our goal and hits the quality level we all expect. We will update you on how we are progressing with that as soon as we are able to do so.
“Thank you for reading, your patience and your continued support. Our full focus now returns to creating a new era for Football Manager.”
Lighting a candle for the people who collect a physical copy of every Football Manager, with no FM25 their collections will be ruined forever. pic.twitter.com/M1S5LiLJtQ
Salford Red Devils confirm new owners after completing takeover
Danny Jones
The takeover of Salford Red Devils has officially been completed with the club revealing their new owners this week.
Confirming a full change of ownership on Friday, 7 February, the Greater Manchester rugby league side has handed over 100% control to an investment bank.
Pending full ratification from the Rugby Football League (RFL), news of the buyout couldn’t have come at a better time as the Red Devils prepare to get their season underway in just a week’s time.
Sharing a lengthy statement on the club site, they informed supporters of the decision “that secures the future of the club.”
The update explains that following extensive talks with stakeholders, the Community Benefit Society (CBS) and Salford City Council, the purchase of the Super League rugby club has been approved.
It has now been revealed that Salford has been taken over by a group of investors led by businessman Dario Berta, a Swiss banking insider, former director of the global UBS financial group and now CEO of Matanel, which specialises in real estate.
The update goes on to detail that Chris Irwin, the former Chief Commercial Officer at Salford Red Devils and more recently Exeter City Football Club, has rejoined the club as the new Chief Executive Officer.
Most importantly for Salford Red Devils, Berta and co.’s first act following the takeover was to clear all of the club’s debts and put forward “additional significant investment for future growth.”
This will be music to fans’ ears, no doubt, especially given the less-than-ideal order handed down by the RFL given the state of Salford’s books and recently enacted financial regulations.
The process of recruiting a new internal management structure is already said to be underway ahead of the final green light to the new owners, though it is understood to be merely a formality at this stage.
CEO Irwin is said to have met with Paul Rowley, Kurt Haggerty and the current men’s first-team squad at the Salford Community Stadium in Eccles on Friday morning ahead of training.
Although squad reinforcement is inevitable as part of the investment, the statement goes on to clarify that “there will be a selection restriction for this weekend’s Challenge Cup Third Round fixture against the Midlands Hurricanes” but will be lifted ahead of their 2025 season opener.
Significant funds will also be allocated towards stadium redevelopment and the wider club infrastructure. New owner Berta went on to state: “This is the start of a very bright and successful future for Salford…
“I’m very proud to be involved, and with Chris at the helm, I feel like we have the perfect opportunity to build something special. Our focus and dedication now is to work together with stakeholders and fans to build sustainable success on and off the pitch for the long term.”
Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, added: “I’m very happy to welcome Dario Berta to Salford and look forward to working closely together to see an exciting future for Salford Red Devils, building on the successes of the last five years.”
The Red Devils are set to get their new domestic campaign underway against St Helens in their Super League opener on Saturday, 15 February.
Meanwhile, international rugby has returned to our screens and Manchester city centre has plenty of places to watch every second of the action.