The Bolton News: First for news and sport in Bolton

I vividly remember never once feeling Wanderers would be denied

6:00am Friday 18th January 2013

NO-ONE could have known it at the time, but Wanderers’ amazing FA Cup triumph over Liverpool in January, 1993, was the start of a rennaissance that would see the good times rolling again – initially at Burnden Park and then at the Reebok Stadium.

McGinlay: David Lee gave the best individual display I have ever seen

6:00am Friday 18th January 2013

JOHN McGinlay has spent 20 years waiting for someone to emulate David Lee’s display against Liverpool that White Hot night, and still hasn’t seen anything like it. Though the Scottish strikeforce of McGinlay and Andy Walker grabbed the goals at Anfield, it was the little man in the middle of the famous picture who really proved the star of the show. David Lee – now in charge of Wanderers’ Under-18s with another hero of the night, Tony Kelly – was memorably switched to the left wing to give Liverpool full-back Mike Marsh the runaround of all runarounds. And McGinlay ranks Lee’s individual display on the night as the finest he has ever witnessed. “Honestly, I still think that is the best performance I have seen from any one player, in any one game, ever,” he told The Bolton News. “I have watched the highlights back on YouTube many times and there’s the odd break for my goal, and then for Andy’s. Otherwise, it’s David Lee, David Lee, David Lee. And that’s not clever editing, that’s what it was like. “Mike Marsh tried to rip his shorts off, his shirt, they tried absolutely everything to stop him. “He got chance after chance – put them just wide, just over the bar – he should have scored a hat-trick at least. But he was absolutely unplayable that night. “And because of his performance, it probably overshadowed a few others. Tony Kelly pulled the strings in midfield, Keith Branagan made some great saves, the boys at the back were fantastic. “But you think back and it really was about David Lee that night.” McGinlay had grown up worshipping Liverpool and Scotland hard-man Graeme Souness and the legendary Kenny Dalglish, and confessed that the weight of history that night at the famous old ground had threatened to overawe some of the players. “It was a nervy time. It was the first time that the majority of us had been to Anfield – let alone those dressing rooms and the magic sign, and everything else,” he said. “You start thinking about all the players who have been there, the tradition and the history, and then you see people like Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish around the place. “The team couldn’t wait to get out on to the park to see if that would settle us down and get rid of some of that nervous energy. “But Bruce Rioch knew we were struggling a bit. He was a very clever man, he’d have a laugh and a joke when it was appropriate. “We’d done everything the same as any other game, all the preparations, the hotels, the meals, and he took the sting out of things because of the calmness he showed before the game.” Many thought Wanderers’ best chance had gone after they had surrendered a 2-0 lead at Burnden. “We’d tried to gain the advantage by leaving the heating off, so that the ball would be skidding on all over the place,” McGinlay recalled. “Liverpool were furious when they turned up on the Sunday. “When they turned up and saw the park, they knew we were playing games. “At 2-0 it was probably our lack of experience at that level that didn’t get the game killed off. “But I think by winning the tie at their place put us even more on the map. “And we didn’t just beat them 2-0, we murdered them. It could have been four or five.” McGinlay admits to giving in to a bit of nostalgia once in a while and watching the game online – and recently joined Andy Walker and David Lee in signing a special commemorative poster issued by The Bolton News. And the former Scotland international believes the high regard in which fans still hold the team of that day is testament to the bond the players shared on and off the pitch. “When you get old like me, you get someone send you a link on Twitter or on an email and always have a little look,” he smiled. “It still excites me just as much now to watch it as it ever has, even when I played. “It shows that the supporters still watch the clips and remember the night – they wish those times would come back in many respects, and I hope they will. “We’ve had some good times since then, but it does show how well the teams over that small number of years were thought of because fans still hark back to them. “It was the team spirit. It’s a different game nowadays, but that principle still applies. “Everything we did, we did together. If we went to play golf, those who couldn’t play came to caddy. “And it showed on the park. If one goes down, they all go down. And I’m a big believer in that. “Teams knew they could come and play football with us but they also knew if they came and kicked us, we could match them that way too.” McGinlay’s own cherished memory of the night is the sight of thousands of Liverpool supporters having stayed behind after the final whistle to applaud the Bolton players from the pitch. “What made it even sweeter was that after we’d celebrated for two or three minutes with our fans, everyone was going daft, and the whole team were doing pictures,” he said. “But all of a sudden someone taps me on the shoulder and points to The Kop – it looked like no-one had left. “As we turned round, we all instinctively started walking towards the half way line and they started applauding. What a show of respect that was. “That will live with me forever. They had recognised this wasn’t a fluke, we’d outplayed them.”

Tony Kelly's magic card trick

6:00am Thursday 17th January 2013

IF you scan through the highlights of the White Hot game online, in between the jinking runs from David Lee, the magnificent headers from John McGinlay and Andy Walker and Keith Branagan’s all-important saves, there is a fiery exchange between Tony Kelly and Liverpool’s Israel international striker Ronnie Rosenthal.

The line-up that night: Where are they now?

6:00am Thursday 17th January 2013

KEITH BRANAGAN: Age: 46; Appearances: 263; Position: Goalkeeper.

Hansen's dig spurred us on - Phil Brown

6:00am Thursday 17th January 2013

PHIL Brown – captain of the White Hot Wanderers – reckons Liverpool legend-turned pundit Alan Hansen inadvertantly played a part in inspiring their Anfield triumph.

Keith Branagan: Our support that night was magnificent

6:00am Thursday 17th January 2013

GOALKEEPER Keith Branagan kept a memorable clean sheet at Anfield on the famous White Hot night but, as the 20th anniversary is marked, it is the vociferous Wanderers hordes that still stand out most when he recalls the occasion.

Bruce Rioch: Stubbs' pre-match slip broke tension and settled the nerves

6:00am Wednesday 16th January 2013

HE managed great players with mesmerising ability, but on one famous night at Anfield, former Wanderers boss Bruce Rioch says an accidental slip in the dressing room was just as vital to victory.

Teamwork was key to our iconic image

6:00am Wednesday 16th January 2013

LIKE many landmark events of its kind, White Hot came about through a combination of spontaneity and expertise.

Walker in a winter wonderland with his McGinlay partnership

6:00am Wednesday 16th January 2013

AS prolific striker partnerships go, Wanderers fans have not seen many that can rival the one shared by Andy Walker and John McGinlay.

Greatest night of my life as a Wanderers fan

6:00am Tuesday 15th January 2013

FOR Bolton supporters of my generation, this match stands out head and shoulders above the rest.

How the 'White Hot' phrase was coined

6:00am Tuesday 15th January 2013

THE words “White Hot” have become firmly established in the footballing vocabulary of Boltonians since that famous night in Liverpool 20 years ago.

David Lee: Anfield glory night still gives me goosebumps

6:00am Tuesday 15th January 2013

IT was a night that Wanderers fans will never forget, and neither will the players if David Lee is anything to go by.

Now read all about White Hot 2 and White Hot 3

6:00am Monday 14th January 2013

WHITE HOT 2: January 19, 1994

Editor of the time recalls the White Hot years

6:00am Monday 14th January 2013

Andrew Smith was the editor of the Bolton Evening News when Wanderers won at Liverpool on that famous FA Cup night.

Original match report and stories from the following day's Bolton Evening News

5:29pm Friday 11th January 2013

FROM THE BOLTON EVENING NEWS Thursday, January 14, 1993