Do you remember Bolton Wanderers? Once upon a time, they were one of those Premier League sides everyone hated to play against. Never too flashy or glamourous – the Trotters were notoriously hard to beat. In their 11-year stay in the English top league, they fielded some top-class players, including the one and only Jay-Jay Okocha. These days, after a decade of turmoil, they are competing in the third tier.But on Sunday, the Wanderers’ fans got a chance to remember their biggest stars and reminisce of the good times as some of their best players returned to Bolton for a charity match.THEY DID IT 😍😍😍 #bwfc pic.twitter.com/JN0nNsd4Za— Taylor Jones (@taylorrjones) November 14, 2021 Kevin Davies, Henrik Pedersen, Ricardo Gardner, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Ivan Campo and Ivan Klasnic appeared once again in Bolton under the firm tactician Sam Allardyce as the Bolton Legends XI faced the current Bolton side in a charity exhibition. And it goes without saying that the legendary Nigerian superstar Okocha was the man everyone relied on to provide entertainment. Just as it was in the good old days. Of course, the 48-year-old Super Eagle icon duly delivered.Saturday, 18.00: (2.20) Wycombe (3.25) Bolton (3.45)The match was a part of fundraising for the treatment of Wanderers defender Gethin Jones’ mother, who has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. The club organised this friendly to help out their player and gather a few familiar faces again. The final result wasn’t that important as Bolton’s current players ran out 7-4 winners against the aged (but not faded) stars of the club’s Premier League era. The first goal of the match was an Okocha penalty. The Nigerian celebrated in style, recreating his old celebration dance with boss Big Sam. The Allardyce-Okocha dance has a back story, with the original dating back to 2002, when the former PSG midfielder first arrived to the quiet town of Bolton. Going on to make 124 appearances for Bolton, both he and Allardyce left the club in 2006 – signalling the end of an era.
Bolton weren’t exactly a club flush with cash when Allardyce took them into the Premier League via a Play-off final victory over Preston North End in 2001. Unlike many of their Premier League contemporaries, even those down the bottom end of the table, Bolton always had to cast their net a little wider to find talent, often on frees or loans. And yet somehow, Allardyce was able to entice the likes of Youri Djorkaeff, Ivan Campo, Fernando Hierro, Nicolas Anelka and Okocha – top-class players who’d won World Cups and the Champions League – to come somewhere they’d struggle to locate on a map.🕺🏼 Iconic. pic.twitter.com/C4spI2dJsT— Bolton Wanderers (@OfficialBWFC) November 14, 2021 Since dropping out of the Premier League in 2012, Bolton never looked like coming back. And to make matters even worse, they oscillated between the EFL League One and EFL League Two, the country’s third and fourth tier, with many financial problems, ownership changes and general disarray. Long gone are the days of Bolton Wanderers signing players from Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, but at least they’ve got some good memories to cherish.Thank you, Jay-Jay and Big Sam for this lovely trip down memory lane.