Kevin Davies joins Preston - OFFICIAL

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Culcheth_White wrote: Beckford and Hall are very close to signing for us as well.

I hope you're right - I will have a bit of hope for the season if Beckford signs.

It would be a novelty to have a striker in the side who could actually score - I'll bet there are plenty of fans out there who have never seen a Bolton striker who actually scored goals.

John Byrom was the man!

Soul Kitchen wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Culcheth_White wrote: Beckford and Hall are very close to signing for us as well.

I hope you're right - I will have a bit of hope for the season if Beckford signs.

It would be a novelty to have a striker in the side who could actually score - I'll bet there are plenty of fans out there who have never seen a Bolton striker who actually scored goals.

John Byrom was the man!

Well said that man!! JB was the best striker ever to wear the white shirt. Of course he was called a centre forward then, not a striker

Wherever kev ends up, he'll score against us if he comes up against us, no doubt

rammywhite wrote:

Soul Kitchen wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:

Culcheth_White wrote: Beckford and Hall are very close to signing for us as well.

I hope you're right - I will have a bit of hope for the season if Beckford signs.

It would be a novelty to have a striker in the side who could actually score - I'll bet there are plenty of fans out there who have never seen a Bolton striker who actually scored goals.

John Byrom was the man!

Well said that man!! JB was the best striker ever to wear the white shirt. Of course he was called a centre forward then, not a striker

People on here wouldn't have wanted Johnny B because he was born in Blackburn, played for Blackburn and they would have been mad at him after playing over 300 games and scoring one in every 3 because he ended up back there.

I agree with you about the Blackburn connections- but the fact remains that he was hugely entertaining,had great rapport with the crowd( who had different attitudes and expectations then) and knew where the back of the net was.

And he consistently looked at least a stone overweight!!

rammywhite wrote:I agree with you about the Blackburn connections- but the fact remains that he was hugely entertaining,had great rapport with the crowd( who had different attitudes and expectations then) and knew where the back of the net was.

And he consistently looked at least a stone overweight!!

Great guy, great sense of humour and a quality player, did you ever see the team photo where he was standing in the back row and facing the wrong way?

Yes- you wouldn't get away with that now.
Another great story -don't know if it's true or not,but he missed the start of the season because he was helping his father in law build a garden wall- and he dropped a brick on his foot and broke a toe! Can't see many of todays prem players building walls!! 
They can't even build a wall for free kicks properly

I've heard of this JB guy, was he really that good ?

In reality- no. He wouldn't get a game these days given the speed and mercenary attitudes in todays market.
But he scored sackfuls of goals and interacted wih the crowd.
He was a competent footballer but a great entertainer.

rammywhite wrote:In reality- no. He wouldn't get a game these days given the speed and mercenary attitudes in todays market.
But he scored sackfuls of goals and interacted wih the crowd.
He was a competent footballer but a great entertainer.

A bit like Pele ?

Decent comparison- but Pele was a bit more skilled. JB had a competent team around him who could deliver good balls through to him and so scoring was quite easy for him. But he always made it look like it was a great art form!

I believe the Blackburn rivalry was a bigger deal then than it is now. Was a big deal not made of a Blackburn lad jumping ship to Bolton?

JB still does the odd after dinner speech and is in fine fettle. He still lives in Blackburn and has a little business selling bottled gas.

Reebok Trotter wrote: He still lives in Blackburn and has a little business selling bottled gas.

Is it Shittam gas ?

It could be. I don't think JB would turn his nose up at a spot of fracking.

I stood on Villa Park one match and we had a corner. Our hero positioned himself nicely and told Jim Coombes where the ball was going before the corner was taken. Needless to say he wasn't wrong, turning away in jubilation after tucking the ball away in his traditional manner.
Another time I remember the subs board being put up ready for a break in play. JB was to go off, he scored immediately prior to his exit and walked off the park, arm held high in celebration!
There are so many tales that fans can recall about him and all amusing. The man was a legend!!
The McDonough/Garry Jones incident was priceless.

Yesterday...

Preston North End manager Simon Grayson is still waiting for a decision from Kevin Davies as the striker mulls over his options after leaving Bolton Wanderers.

Davies is looking for a new club after his ten-year stint with Bolton came to an end earlier in the summer, and he has been linked with teams such as Sheffield Wednesday, Blackpool, Burnley and Millwall.

Preston are also interested in the free agent and Grayson admits he will have to remain patient as he tries to get his squad sorted for the start of the new season.

"We're still waiting to see where Kevin Davies is at," Grayson told the Lancashire Evening Post:

"It will come to a point where he has to make a decision, and we do as well.

"He has to get back into training and we want to know where we roughly are with the squad.

"I think Kevin has found it a little more difficult coming round to the fact that he is an unemployed footballer, as such.

"He has got a few options and has to consider which is the best one for the next year or so of his footballing career.

"We are certainly still in with a great shout of getting him, although there are other teams involved too.

"We hope to have ticked enough boxes for him to come here. If he doesn't come here we will move on to our next target because we have a few more options available to us.

"I'm in contact with Kevin every other day, finding out what is happening. He has been good enough to let us know what his thoughts are."

Also yesterday....
Dave Jones believes it would be 'fantastic' if Sheffield Wednesday can win the race to sign veteran striker Kevin Davies.

Former England international Davies is looking for a new club after being released by Bolton Wanderers at the end of last season.

A reunion with Owen Coyle at Wigan Athletic has been ruled out, but fellow Championship clubs Blackpool, Burnley and Millwall have been linked with an offer.

Davies has spoken to Jones about a possible deal at Hillsborough and the boyhood Sheffield United fan previously confirmed he is open to the prospect of joining the Owls.

Jones is waiting to see how the situation develops, but the Owls boss would relish the chance to have the 36-year-old in his squad next season.

"At the moment we're keeping all our options open," said Jones in the Sheffield Star.

"We're just waiting on certain things and for the chairman's green light on one or two other things, then we can move and if that involves Kevin Davies it will be fantastic, because he's a quality player, a senior player, and he'd be good on and off the pitch.

"But no decision has been made yet; the chairman is away at the moment, we're in Burton; when we come back we'll get our heads together and see where we are."

He's just signed for Preston North End.  

Copper Dragon wrote:He's just signed for Preston North End.  

Good luck to him.