Eidur Gudjohnsen
Kevin Davies – A true Legend
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Eidur Gudjohnsen, El-Hadji Diouf, Football Association, Gary Megson, Ivan Campo, Johan Elmander, Kevin Davies, Nat Lofthouse, Nicolas Anelka, Owen Coyle, Premier League, Youri Djorkaeff | 2 Comments
Legend: it’s a word thrown round all too readily it appears these days. Scrolling down my news feed on Facebook last week, I found one friend bestowing legendary status on Javier Hernandez following his late winner for Manchester United away at Valencia. I’m sure he was caught up in the moment, or at least I hope so, and I imagine in the cold light of day, he wouldn’t be quite so keen to put Hernandez up with the ‘Kings of the Stretford End’ such as Cantona, Law and Charlton just yet although, considering the fact that the guy probably couldn’t find Old Trafford with a sat nav and more than likely believes that football was invented in 1993, nothing would surprise me.super
A proud moment for Super-kev
It’s not just fans of other clubs who seem keen to claim certain questionable players as ‘legends’. El Hadji Diouf has achieved legendary status to some Bolton fans, despite the fact that his consistency could often be called in to question and, regardless of his ‘love’ for the club, he felt the overwhelming urge just prior to our biggest match of the season at home to Sunderland to announce to the national press that, irrespective of the result of said match, he would be leaving Bolton for a big club on the continent. Now, I’ve visited Sunderland in the past and, while it does seem like another country, and sometimes another world, it sure as hell isn’t in Spain!
So what does constitute a legend? Well, in my humble opinion, in order for the word legend to have the impact it deserves, it has to be limited to certain players who have had a profound impact on the club. We have had some world class players grace the famous white shirt of Bolton Wanderers, particularly over the last ten years: Jay Jay Okocha – so good they named him twice; Youri Djorkaeff – World Cup winner in 1998 and European Championship winner in 2000; Ivan Campo – two time Champions League winner; Fernando Hierro – three time Champions League winner and five time winner of La Liga; Eidur Gudjohnsen – two Premier League titles with Chelsea and a La Liga title and Champions League winner with Barcelona; Stelios Giannakopoulos – European Championship winner with Greece in 2004; Nicolas Anelka – Premier League, FA and Champions League winner with Arsenal and Real Madrid respectively prior to his time with us, not to mention adding further Premier League and FA Cup success with Chelsea following his time at The Reebok. In total; ten domestic league titles, seven Champions Leagues, two European Championships, two FA Cups, one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one World Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal. Not to mention, the small number of 457 International caps. In short, these guys have won it all. › Continue reading
Spurs v Bolton – How the pendulum has swung…?
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 | BWFC Goals, BWFC News, BWFC People, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Gary Cahill, Gary Megson, Gudni Bergsson, Jay-Jay Okocha, Owen Coyle, Premier League, Sam Allardyce | 16 Comments
This weekend sees Bolton travel to White Hart Lane, and a clash between two famous old clubs that have 16 FA Cup
how times have changed
Finals (12 wins) and a combined total of 146 years of top-flight football between them, not to mention Spurs’ 4 League Cup wins, and 4 European trophies.
Recent history has been very different for the two clubs, with Spurs only spending one year out of the top flight since 1950, whilst Bolton have dropped through the leagues and back twice in the same period. However, looking further back in history paints a different picture of the two clubs.
Prior to 1950, Spurs had spent as much time in the Second Division as the First, and their only FA Cup win had come as a non-league club in 1901. Bolton had already won the cup three times, been runners-up twice, and spent the vast majority of their history in the top flight.
The abolition of the maximum wage in 1961 changed the football landscape at the time, and Bolton’s decline from this point onwards was dramatic and prolonged.
By the end of the 1959/60 season, Bolton were historically England’s 5th most successful club, based on average league position. At the same point, despite one league title success, Spurs were the 20th best team.
By the end of 2008, Spurs – by now winners of the FA Cup eight times, the League Cup four times, and four European trophies – had moved up to seventh in the table of overall average league positions, whilst Bolton had failed to add to trophy cabinet, had spent more time out of the top flight than in it, and slipped to 21st in the overall average league table.
In anticipation of the weekend’s clash, bwfcforum’s Statman takes a closer look at the history of the two clubs for Manny Road. › Continue reading
Desert Island Goals: Eidur Gudjohnsen v Wimbledon
Thursday, August 28th, 2008 | BWFC People, Eidur Gudjohnsen | No Comments
Great goals from Bolton Wanderers history…
In the absence of anything more current to celebrate, now seemed like an apt time to remember the days when Bolton Wanderers didn’t roll over to teams from two divisions below us in the League Cup.
So here, from December 14 1999, is Eidur Gudjohnsen scoring a wonder goal that helped us reach the semi-final of the competition.
Sadly, this goal was only seen by 9,463 Bolton Wanderers fans (even then no-one gave a toss about the League Cup). But thankfully I was sat right behind Gudjohnsen, from where it looked even better than it does in this clip…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxhMXgW70nM]
In defence of Alan Stubbs…
Monday, August 25th, 2008 | Alan Stubbs, BWFC People, Claus Jensen, Eidur Gudjohnsen, El-Hadji Diouf, Jason McAteer, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Michael Ricketts, Nathan Blake | No Comments
Not everyone thinks Alan Stubbs is a Bolton Wanderers legend…
Apparently not all Bolton Wanderers fans hold Alan Stubbs in the high regard I do. I made him the first entrant in to my Bolton Wanderers Hall of Fame last week, but the forums and discussion boards have been filled with people offering a different view.
It seems the manner of his departure from the club in 1996, when he openly admitted coveting a move to Blackburn Rovers, upset many fans enough to make them forget the six years he gave the club… six years in which he helped us reach the Premier League and a League Cup Final (let’s not get all smug after our seven seasons in the Premier League and forget just how incredible that was).
Vital Bolton Wanderers were among the most critical, writing:
We would like to wish Mr Stubbs a long and unhappy retirement. He`s welcome at the Reebok anytime. There`s a set of stocks with his name on them.
Let’s put this in some context. In the 1995-96 season we were absolutely rubbish… completely out of our depth in the Premier League. At the time, Blackburn were the league champions and Stubbs was one of the most highly-rated young defenders in the country.
Was it so wrong of him – after six years of outstanding service at Bolton – to want to seize his chance in the big time (it seems a bit ludicrous now but Blackburn were the equivalent of Chelsea back then)?
OK, so he went public with his desire to leave. Would you prefer players to orchestrate moves behind-the-scenes while continuing to take the adoration of the crowd (El-Hadji Diouf), or players who get their agent to do the dirty work (Jussi Jaaskelainen)?
If I remember correctly, the Blackburn deal fell through because they wanted to buy Jason McAteer too, and he turned them down because he’d already set his heart – albeit less publicly – on a move to Liverpool.
I never understood why Claus Jensen and Eidur Gudjohnsen got such warm receptions from Bolton fans after their departures. Neither really achieved anything and both ran for the hills as soon as they could.
Say what you like about Stubbs, and I would add Michael Ricketts and Nathan Blake to this too… however ugly their departures, at least their performances actually had a lasting impact on the club. Can the same be said about Jensen, Gudjohnsen and the much-lauded Diouf?
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