DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

Total Belief

How Bruce Rioch Brought the Good Times Back to Bolton Wanderers

Chris Evans author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Pitch Publishing Ltd

Published:22nd Apr '24

Should be back in stock very soon

Total Belief cover

Total Belief looks back at three incredible years in the early 1990s when Bruce Rioch transformed the fortunes of a football club on its knees.

In the summer of 1992, Bolton Wanderers were a club in distress. With an aging stadium and struggling in the league, chairman Gordon Hargreaves made the difficult decision to sack manager Phil Neal and employ Bruce Rioch and his assistant Colin Todd.

Over the next three seasons, Bruce began to change attitudes by instilling a new mentality. Working his players hard on the pitch and restricting their lives off it, Bruce won the hearts of players and fans alike.

With his blend of youth and experience, Bruce took Bolton on incredible cup runs with attractive attacking football that finally brought the crowds back to Burnden Park. The story ended with yet another cup run and two trips to Wembley, including one of the most dramatic comebacks of all time. Sadly, the celebrations were cut short as Bruce Rioch left to join Arsenal, but his legacy lives on.

"Take a walk down Manny Road as Sgt Major Rioch grabs a sleeping giant by its bootlaces and drags it from its slumber to the promised land. Chris vividly captures the sights and sounds of a key time in Bolton’s history. A warts-and-all telling of how one of the game’s great names returned to its rightful place - thanks in no small part to the graft and guile of a canny son of a Scots Guard."

-- Mike Keegan * Daily Mail *
"The book takes you through a rip-roaring era of football for the Wanderers under the leadership of Bruce Rioch. He didn’t disappoint as a manager, and you won’t be disappointed reading about it." -- Jack Dearden * BBC Radio Manchester *

"A fantastic book covering one of the most memorable eras in Bolton Wanderers’ famous history… Chris provides a proper in-depth insight into the Bruce Rioch revolution, a truly cracking read."

-- Derek Clark * Bolton

ISBN: 9781801507011

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

256 pages