Sam Allardyce's best ever Bolton XI?

Sam Allardyce best XI at Bolton Wanderers including Jay-Jay Okocha, Gary Speed and Eidur Gudjohnsen

By Chris Hammer

Football

Fri May 01, 2020 · 5y ago

Sam Allardyce's legendary era at Bolton Wanderers ended on April 29 in 2007 so we look back at his finest players at the club.

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Sam Allardyce may not have managed any of the world's elite clubs - or indeed won any trophies - but he has revitalised the careers of many star names and cult heroes.

Big Sam's career as a boss took off during his pioneering spell at Bolton Wanderers, where he spent years bringing together an eclectic mix of globe-trotters and journeymen, who had either lost their way or merely aged out of favour elsewhere, and somehow got them all to play to his unique tune that was continually branded overly physical and direct.

Those who watched the Trotters closely during this period will know this was a lazy, uninformed criticism or just sour grapes from managers and fans of sides who regularly struggled to work out a way to deal with it. Think predominately Arsenal, Tottenham, any other London club (except Chelsea) and Rafael Benitez.

He took the club from the lower reaches of the Championship in 1999 to as high as fifth in the Premier League by the time of his resignation on April 29, 2007, just two games before the end of another impressive season, while he managed European qualification twice and also reached a Mike Riley-ruined League Cup final. Admittedly, I say that with a degree of bias.

Since then, his formula for 'success' has never been anywhere near as appreciated as it was at Bolton although he's never tasted relegation and arguably left Newcastle, Blackburn, West Ham, Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Everton in a better position than when he joined thanks to his 'fire-fighting' abilities. And he had a 100% record as England boss too!

As you'll see highlighted below, many of 'his' players had creativity, skills, flair and charisma in abundance to compliment the braun. If they could have all been brought together in their prime at exactly the same time, then the club's major trophy drought dating back to 1958 will surely have ended.

Bolton's all-time XI under Sam Allardyce

(NB, If I'd widened the net for an all-time Allardyce XI featuring players of other clubs he managed, only Blackburn's Ryan Nelson and Michel Salgado would stand a chance of squeezing in.)

GOALKEEPER

JUSSI JAASKELAINEN (1997-2012 at Bolton, 424 games, 106 clean sheets)

The Bolton legend was one of the finest shot-stoppers in the business and his heroics between the sticks were instrumental in their Premier League survival and rise into Europe.

Two of many standout memories are the time he saved two late penalties in a 1-0 derby victory at Blackburn and also when he defied goalkeeping science to make a dramatic double block in the famous 2-1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford during their first season back in the top-flight.

It's no wonder he was voted by Bolton fans as the club's fourth best player ever to feature at the stadium.

So highly-rated by his former boss, who continually talks up the importance of clean sheets, the pair were reunited in 2012 when Allardyce brought him to West Ham and proved he still had it.

DEFENDERS

RICARDO GARDNER (1998-2012 at Bolton, 342 total games, 23 goals)

Started life at Bolton as an unpredictable attacking force and even scored one of the play-off final goals back in 2001 that sent Wanderers into the Premier League but over time, Allardyce transformed him into a dangerous left wingback.

The fact he went onto play over 400 games for the Trotters and was a key part of such a memorable era highlights how well Big Sam could reinvent players already at his disposal - and not just those who had lost their way elsewhere.

Some say Allardyce's decision to transform him took away his potential to score many more goals - but when he did find the net, it tended to be memorable. As Newcastle and even Bayern Munich found out.

FERNANDO HIERRO (2004-05, 29 games, 1 goal)

Yes, you may say he played more in a defensive midfield role during his highly-impressive season with Bolton, but I'm shoehorning him in here because Ivan Campo gets that other spot in the team.

And it's not as if he didn't excel in this position during a legendary career for Real Madrid and the Spanish national side.

Despite being the ripe old age of 36, Hierro hadn't lost much his all-round world-class ability and it stood out during his 29 games with the Trotters, helping them finish sixth in 2005 and qualifying for Europe via their league position.

Hierro's wonderful spell may have been short but his presence helped Bolton reach unchartered levels in the modern era.

Everyone urged him to stay but he retired instead.

Fernando Hierro enjoyed his time at Bolton

BRUNO N'GOTTY (2001-06, 172 games, 7 goals)

Bruno N’Gotty has to be worked into this defence as he was such a formidable figure at the back during a period when Bolton needed to transform from survivors into climbers.

The former France international, who boasted a wealth of experience at the highest level with Lyon, PSG and Milan, turned his successful loan spell into a permanent move at the end of 2001/02 and became a rock for the next four campaigns.

He was a real threat in the air from corners too, scoring seven goals including a last-gasp goal against Manchester United which sent the Reebok wild only for a cruel equaliser to deny them a famous win, while he also netted against Sevilla and in Bolton's unforgettable League Cup semi-final with Aston Villa.

GUDNI BERGSSON (1995-2003 at Bolton, 317 games, 26 goals)

The Icelandic legend was already a firm favourite with the Bolton fans long before Sam Allardyce arrived having already helped the club earn two promotions to the top-flight.

His position in defence was never under threat during Big Sam's tenure, which started by reaching the FA Cup and League Cup semi-finals before a heartbreaking play-off defeat to Ipswich.

Bergsson, who scored in the following year's play-off semi-final at West Brom, was able to celebrate a third promotion without any future pain of relegation and despite Allardyce's efforts to keep him another season after their final-day survival against Middlesbrough in 2003, he retired and became a lawyer.

MIDFIELDERS

IVAN CAMPO (2002-08, 194 games, 14 goals)

Although he didn't enjoy quite the glittering career of Fernando Hierro at Real Madrid, Campo pips his former team-mate for this defensive midfield role in our Allardyce XI purely for his longer-term impact at Bolton and his ultimate cult hero status.

Originally sent by the Spanish giants to the Reebok Stadium on loan in 2002, Campo took the club, supporters and the miserable weather to his heart, staying until 2008 and playing almost 200 games.

A 43-yard goal against Tottenham was his most spectacular moment but overall he'll be remembered by his feisty style, character, versatility and his knack of cheekily trying to 'give himself free kicks' by clutching the ball after going to ground. Sometimes it worked.

Ivan Campo had a unique way with referees

JAY-JAY OKOCHA (2002-06, 145 games, 18 goals)

With uniquely gifted players like Jay-Jay Okocha, it's sometimes best to let their actions do the talking.

The Nigerian superstar not only put smiles on every fans face with his dazzling array of skills that bamboozled the opposition - but there was an no shortage of substance behind the show-stopping style.

He scored spectacular goals, he scored important goals and he never went missing when his team needed him the most - during both their times of struggle and when flying high.

His crucial - and fantastic - strikes against West Ham and Middlesbrough effectively kept Bolton up in his debut season (2002-03) while his unforgettable bending free-kick against Aston Villa helped them reach the 2004 League Cup final.

Bolton fans even had t-shirts printed "Jay-Jay – so good they named him twice" and as recently as 2017 they voted him their best ever player in the post-Burnden Park era.

GARY SPEED (2002-06, 139 games, 14 goals)

The late, great Gary Speed arrived at Bolton after a legendary six-year stint at Newcastle but was as ageless as ever by becoming a formidable, dependable figure in the Trotters midfield for a further four seasons.

In December 2006, he became the first player to make 500 Premier League appearances while his goal against Reading in August 2007 made him the only player, at that point, to have scored in every Premier League season. Ryan Giggs, of course, later matched this record and eclipsed it a year later.

YOURI DJORKAEFF (2002-04, 81 games, 21 goals)

Having tasted the World Cup '98 and Euro 2000 double with France, Youri Djorkaeff's career was drifting to a rather damp squib ending until Sam Allardyce snapped him up in 2002.

Three years later, a revitalised Djokaeff had become an integral part of the Bolton side and contributed copious amounts of flair, passion and attacking threat which saw him contribute 21 goals in all competitions.

His finest strikes include an overhead kick at Charlton while towards the end of the 2002/2003 he scored a priceless goal which helped them come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Arsenal as they beat the drop by just two points.

EIDUR GUDJOHNSEN (1998-2000 & 2014, 97 games, 32 goals)

This might be one of the biggest surprises in the team considering the Icelandic talisman never actually played in the Premier League for Sam Allardyce - and nor was he even part of the promotion-winning team!

However, in Big Sam's first campaign as Trotters boss, which saw him take charge in October 1999 with the club in disarray, Gudjohnsen showed his star talents by scoring 21 times in all competitions as they reached the play-offs and semi-finals of both the FA Cup and League Cup.

Such was his qualities, Chelsea signed Gudjohnsen for £4.5 million and he went on to score 54 goals, win two Premier League titles and a League Cup before securing a dream move to Barcelona.

Some may argue that Nicolas Anelka should have this spot alongside Kevin Davies, but the Frenchman didn't play for too long under Allardyce either!

KEVIN DAVIES (2003-2013, 407 games, 84 goals)

Kevin Davies typified the Sam Allardyce era, becoming a Bolton legend for his work ethic, loyalty and his all-round influence on the club for 10 years.

Davies was at a crossroads in his career following his release from Southampton but there's no questioning the direction he helped the Trotters take under Big Sam.

As a true centre forward, he put the team at the heart of his battling performances, and while he wasn't the most prolific of scorers in Premier League history, his efforts allowed the likes of Okocha, Djokaeff, Stelios and El Hadji Diouf to cause havoc.

Of his 84 goals, however, was the small matter of a famous late equaliser at the home of Bayern Munich.

He was voted as Bolton's second best player behind Okocha since the club moved from Burden Park so his place in this line-up was a no brainer.

Big Sam's Best XI

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Subs Bench

Rather than pick five, here's a long list of other Big Sam favourites who were unable to make the final XI.

Henrik Pederson
Mike Whitlow
Tal Ben Haim
Kevin Nolan
Per Frandsen
Nicky Hunt
El-Hadji Diouf
Stelios Giannakopoulos
Nicolas Anelka
Michael Ricketts (for that one great season and a half of form!)

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