AFTER weeks of wondering if Martin Dobson was about to jump ship to manage Burnley, Bury celebrated tying their man to a new three-year deal at Gigg Lane.

It had been a busy week for the Shakers in 1986, as the club added strikers Liam Robinson and Alan Taylor, and midfielder Peter Butler to their squad for the 86/87 campaign.

They also secured new contracts for goalkeeper Phil Hughes, midfielder Trevor Ross, winger Winston White and striker Carl Harris.

But arguably the most exciting signing of the lot was that of Dobson, who had moved into management at Bury two years earlier and led the side into Division Three.

“Martin has done well off limited resources, bringing in players with a lot of potential – players like Phil Hughes, who was in the Irish World Cup squad,” chairman, Terry Robinson said.

“This is what we hope will be the start of a growth period for the club.

“We have attracted a certain amount of cash from fund-raising, a new share issue and from a new major shareholder and we are investing money into new players.

“We want somebody in charge who can administer all that and Martin has already proved he can do it.” 

Flashback photo

Bury Times:

Bury travelled for an FA Cup second round game against Crewe at Gresty Road in December 1994, and emerged 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Lennie Johnrose and Tony Rigby. We found this picture in the archives, which does not have a caption – so can you identify the obscured Shaker? If you can, send an email with the answer to burysport@nqnw.co.uk for a shout out in next week’s paper.

This week in Shakers history

1977: Bury sold defender Tony Bailey to Preston North End for £10,000, ending a three-year stay at Gigg Lane. It was also revealed that teenage striker Wayne Entwistle had dislocated his shoulder whilst on holiday in Torquay.

1980: Jim Iley was confirmed as Bury’s new manager – and one of his first actions was to sell fans’ favourite Danny Wilson to Chesterfield for a massive £150,000. Iley appointed Micky Pickup as his first team coach and Wilf McGuinness as his reserve team manager.

1985: Bury completed the signing of young Burnley full-back Lee Dixon, who had played alongside Martin Dobson at Turf Moor. Going the other way was Wayne Entwistle, who completed a £20,000 transfer to Carlisle United.

1988: Sammy McIlroy was on the verge of re-signing for Bury after a short spell playing in Austria. The veteran Northern Irishman joined another new face in midfield, Gary Leonard, who had signed from Shrewsbury.