For a team capable of playing football rather than simply disrupting their illustrious opponents, the rewards went beyond the results. Beating Liverpool at Anfield and Arsenal at Highbury brought national attention, while Brown’s recollections reveal the character of the players and the respect they earned along the way.
Beating Liverpool at Anfield
“I think Liverpool was the first one," Brown recalled to Football Presse. "When we beat Liverpool, we went there and, again, I think it was a replay. We went to Anfield and it was a full house. If you've ever been to Anfield back in the day, the atmosphere was fantastic. Everyone knows about the history of the FA Cup.
“We had the Anfield Road end at Bolton, and we had 10,000 or 11,000 fans come to that game. Back in the day, you used to get 25% of the tickets for an FA Cup tie, so we filled the Anfield Road end.
“After the game, we'd won 2-0, and we were walking towards our fans to thank them for coming and for their support. It was a great night. But when you turned around and looked, the Kop was still full. This was a good five minutes after the game had finished, and the Kop was still full.
“So, as captain, I started walking our players up towards the Kop to applaud them for still being there. And there was a standing ovation because we hadn't kicked Liverpool off the pitch. We had actually played football against them.
“When you're taking on the masters, and they were masters at the game, and you beat them at their own game, that's what they were standing for. I've always remembered that as one of the classiest gestures I've ever seen from the terraces towards the players on the pitch.
“They showed a lot of class. What people think about Liverpudlians and Scousers doesn't matter to me. That's what I know about them. They love their football, they're passionate about it, but when you do it right, they'll applaud you. They'll say, ‘Well played.’”
Bolton had drawn 2-2 with Liverpool at Burnden Park before travelling to Anfield in January 1993 for their third-round replay. John McGinlay and Andy Walker scored in a 2-0 victory that became one of the club’s defining cup triumphs.
For Brown, the reaction from Liverpool’s supporters was as memorable as the result itself. Bolton had gone to one of English football’s most celebrated grounds, beaten the holders and earned the admiration of the people who had watched their team lose.
Bruce Rioch’s belief and the Arsenal test
The adventure did not end with Liverpool. In February 1994, Bolton produced another memorable upset against Arsenal, drawing 2-2 at Burnden Park before winning 3-1 at Highbury. Brown remembers Rioch’s conviction that his team belonged on that stage.
“We went to Arsenal and did the same. I'm not saying we got the same reception, but we had to battle for that game, and they weren't happy at all. In fact, not many of them spoke to us after the game. It wasn't a case of people coming over, saying well done and shaking hands.
“But I always remember Ian Wright.”
The Arsenal striker was one of the opponents Brown had been battling throughout the match. Wright was a lively character on the pitch, and Brown, who was not afraid to give as good as he got, enjoyed the contest.
“Ian Wright was substituted in extra time, and I'd been having a battle with him all game. He's a chirpy character. He's one of us, you know. He's been through the ranks and learned the hard knocks of football and life.
“When he was going off the pitch, I was saying, ‘Go on, off you go! We're too good for you! Off you go!’ I was chasing him off the pitch, and he didn't like it.”
Brown expected the confrontation to continue after the final whistle. Instead, Wright’s response left him with a lasting respect for the Arsenal forward.
“He was waiting for me in the tunnel. I thought, ‘He's waiting for me here. What's going to happen?’ Remember that old tunnel? It was almost like a greenhouse.
“He'd been taken off, so he'd had a shower and got dressed, and he was waiting there for me. When I came off, I thought, ‘What's going to happen here?’ But he put his hand out and shook my hand.
“He said, ‘Absolutely brilliant. Well played. Fully deserved it. Good luck in the next round.’
“With that kind of response, you just go up in people's estimations. He went up in my estimation 100%, and we're friends now. Whenever we bump into each other at the BBC and things like that, we're fine.”
For Brown, those cup runs were about far more than the famous names Bolton eliminated. They demonstrated what a committed team could achieve when its manager genuinely believed in its ability. Just as importantly, the reactions of Liverpool’s supporters and Wright showed the respect that could follow a giant-killing performance.