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Life in League One begins on Saturday and will be a new experience for most Wanderers fans, but there will be a few familiar faces dotted about the division.
From former coaches to estranged players, there are plenty of former Wanderers who have dropped down to the third tier of English football.
Here, The Bolton News takes a look at some old friends who will be up against the Whites this season.
NEIL COX
Solid defender signed from Middlesbrough by Colin Todd in 1997 to help the club try and stay in the Premier League. Cox picked up a hamstring injury in only his second game at Coventry City.
After relegation he was virtually ever-present in Division One for Todd and his successor Sam Allardyce but was then sold to Watford for £500,000 just a few months after the Hornets had beaten Wanderers in the play-off final.
In all he played 94 games and chipped in with eight goals.
The 44-year-old is now assistant manager at AFC Wimbledon, who will provide the opposition for the Whites’ first league away trip of the season.
PHIL BROWN
Needs no introduction to Wanderers fans. Signed for just £17,500 by Phil Neal from Halifax, the South Shields born defender went on to captain the club to victory in the 1989 Sherpa Van Trophy final and two unsuccessful play-offs. He got it right the third time under Bruce Rioch but left midway through the next season having played 332 times, scoring 17 goals in total for the club.
Brown returned as assistant manager to Colin Todd and had a brief and successful spell as caretaker in 1999. He stayed on under Sam Allardyce and became an important member of his coaching staff before going it alone in 2005.
Now manager of Southend United, Brown has been constantly linked with a return to the club in recent years.
SANMI ODELUSI
Given a surprise chance in the first team by Dougie Freedman at the end of the 2012/13 season, the striker-turned-winger scored twice against Shrewsbury Town the following August and looked to be heading for a regular place in the side before a bad knee injury struck.
He spent time at MK Dons and Coventry City but struggled to get into Neil Lennon’s plans and was eventually sold to Wigan Athletic.
Odelusi signed a season-long loan deal with Rochdale last week after suffering more injury issues at the DW Stadium.
NIALL MAHER
Wanderers youth product who looked to have timed his first-team run just right to earn a new deal at the Macron until a red card against Cardiff City in April ended his season prematurely.
Maher, who had previously played for Blackpool on loan, has signed a 12-month deal with Bury.
NEIL DANNS
After a successful double loan from Leicester City, Liverpudlian midfielder Danns was signed on a free by Dougie Freedman in the summer of 2014. Though a regular in the middle of the park for Wanderers, his permanent spell at the club did not run as smoothly and he was released in the summer.
Danns found a local club quickly, however, and has signed a 12-month deal with Bury.
SAM RICKETTS
Brought in for £2.2million by Gary Megson from Hull City, the Wales international’s versatility across the back line proved an invaluable tool for four years until his release in the summer of 2013. He played 113 times for the Whites and scored one goal – a peach on his return from a serious Achilles injury against his next club, Wolves.
Ricketts has since played at Swindon Town on loan and now captains Coventry City.
MARVIN SORDELL
Never settled at Wanderers, and might well Go down as one of the least successful buys in the club’s history. A £3.2million buy from Watford on deadline day, the young striker struggled to live up to the price tag and hardly got a kick as the Whites tumbled out of the Premier League under Owen Coyle. After that he cut an unhappy figure under Dougie Freedman and eventually signed for Burnley for just £250,000.
The former Great Britain international has since moved on to Colchester United and then signed for Coventry City this summer.
CIAN BOLGER
Signed as ‘one for the future’ by Dougie Freedman from Leicester City in January 2013, the Irish centre-half never quite made an impression at first-team level. He was sold for £75,000 to Southend United and then loaned out to Bury. This summer he signed a two-year deal with Fleetwood Town.
GREGG WYLDE
Another much-feted youngster of the Owen Coyle era. Plucked from the mess of the Glasgow Rangers meltdown, the Scotland Under-21 winger’s move proved messy and took months for his registration to finally get sorted. Wylde was loaned out to Bury but never came close to the first team.
He returned to Scotland with Aberdeen and St Mirren then signed for Plymouth Argyle before moving to Millwall this summer.
PADDY KENNY
Vastly-experienced keeper was used as cover by Neil Lennon in late 2014 after an injury to Adam Bogdan left him with only one senior keeper in Andy Lonergan. Kenny is now a player-coach at Northampton Town.
ROB HALL
Wanderers fought hard to sign the West Ham youth product in 2013 and paid £450,000 at a tribunal, knowing the fee could quickly rise to more than £1million.
Hall had joined on loan the previous season and inexplicably been plunged into a debut on the last day of the season, a must-win game against Blackpool. He lasted just 37 minutes before being hauled off.
The following season proved only slightly better – after scoring his first goal against Shrewsbury he featured inconsistently for the first team under Dougie Freedman and then less so for his successor Neil Lennon.
The speedy winger made his last appearance for Wanderers in a 1-0 defeat at Ipswich in March 2015, by which time his transfer fee had risen to £750,000.
He left on loan to MK Dons until the end of his contract and signed for Oxford United this summer after sustaining a serious knee injury.
HAYDEN WHITE
Arrived as a speedy winger-turned-full-back but left a centre half, White cost £75,000 at tribunal from Sheffield Wednesday in June 2013.
He was plunged into a debut the following season after Tim Ream suffered a broken nose at QPR and started the following game against Leicester City.
But White’s Bolton career never really took off and he spent a large amount of time on loan at Notts County, Blackpool, Bury and Carlisle United.
After his release in the summer the defender signed a two-year deal with Peterborough United.
CHRIS BASHAM
Signed from college in Durham where he worked part-time at McDonalds, Basham was one of the few youngsters to emerge during Gary Megson’s time at Wanderers.
After coming through the last couple of years of the academy the midfielder made 21 appearances over two seasons for the Whites and scored in a memorable 4-3 defeat at Chelsea before moving on to Blackpool in a £1million deal in August 2010.
Basham now plays for Sheffield United, who face Wanderers on the opening day of the season.
JOE RILEY
Academy graduate who joined the club aged seven before moving through the youth ranks and making his senior bow in a 5-0 win over Stoke City in the Premier League. Full-back Riley was tipped for big things until a series of injuries curtailed his progress.
He left Bolton having played just nine times for the first team in four years but rebuilt his career in a loan spell with Oxford and joined local rivals Bury.
Riley signed for Shrewsbury Town this summer.
DEAN HOLDEN
Local-born full-back who made 21 appearances for the club between 1999 and 2002 and would have made many more had it not been for a serious broken leg sustained against Sheffield United in March 2000.
Holden went on to play for a further 12 years at the likes of Oldham, Falkirk, Shrewsbury, Chesterfield and Walsall, amassing more than 350 appearances.
Holden had a spell at caretaker manager at Oldham but is now on the coaching staff at Walsall.
Source
From former coaches to estranged players, there are plenty of former Wanderers who have dropped down to the third tier of English football.
Here, The Bolton News takes a look at some old friends who will be up against the Whites this season.
NEIL COX
Solid defender signed from Middlesbrough by Colin Todd in 1997 to help the club try and stay in the Premier League. Cox picked up a hamstring injury in only his second game at Coventry City.
After relegation he was virtually ever-present in Division One for Todd and his successor Sam Allardyce but was then sold to Watford for £500,000 just a few months after the Hornets had beaten Wanderers in the play-off final.
In all he played 94 games and chipped in with eight goals.
The 44-year-old is now assistant manager at AFC Wimbledon, who will provide the opposition for the Whites’ first league away trip of the season.
PHIL BROWN
Needs no introduction to Wanderers fans. Signed for just £17,500 by Phil Neal from Halifax, the South Shields born defender went on to captain the club to victory in the 1989 Sherpa Van Trophy final and two unsuccessful play-offs. He got it right the third time under Bruce Rioch but left midway through the next season having played 332 times, scoring 17 goals in total for the club.
Brown returned as assistant manager to Colin Todd and had a brief and successful spell as caretaker in 1999. He stayed on under Sam Allardyce and became an important member of his coaching staff before going it alone in 2005.
Now manager of Southend United, Brown has been constantly linked with a return to the club in recent years.
SANMI ODELUSI
Given a surprise chance in the first team by Dougie Freedman at the end of the 2012/13 season, the striker-turned-winger scored twice against Shrewsbury Town the following August and looked to be heading for a regular place in the side before a bad knee injury struck.
He spent time at MK Dons and Coventry City but struggled to get into Neil Lennon’s plans and was eventually sold to Wigan Athletic.
Odelusi signed a season-long loan deal with Rochdale last week after suffering more injury issues at the DW Stadium.
NIALL MAHER
Wanderers youth product who looked to have timed his first-team run just right to earn a new deal at the Macron until a red card against Cardiff City in April ended his season prematurely.
Maher, who had previously played for Blackpool on loan, has signed a 12-month deal with Bury.
NEIL DANNS
After a successful double loan from Leicester City, Liverpudlian midfielder Danns was signed on a free by Dougie Freedman in the summer of 2014. Though a regular in the middle of the park for Wanderers, his permanent spell at the club did not run as smoothly and he was released in the summer.
Danns found a local club quickly, however, and has signed a 12-month deal with Bury.
SAM RICKETTS
Brought in for £2.2million by Gary Megson from Hull City, the Wales international’s versatility across the back line proved an invaluable tool for four years until his release in the summer of 2013. He played 113 times for the Whites and scored one goal – a peach on his return from a serious Achilles injury against his next club, Wolves.
Ricketts has since played at Swindon Town on loan and now captains Coventry City.
MARVIN SORDELL
Never settled at Wanderers, and might well Go down as one of the least successful buys in the club’s history. A £3.2million buy from Watford on deadline day, the young striker struggled to live up to the price tag and hardly got a kick as the Whites tumbled out of the Premier League under Owen Coyle. After that he cut an unhappy figure under Dougie Freedman and eventually signed for Burnley for just £250,000.
The former Great Britain international has since moved on to Colchester United and then signed for Coventry City this summer.
CIAN BOLGER
Signed as ‘one for the future’ by Dougie Freedman from Leicester City in January 2013, the Irish centre-half never quite made an impression at first-team level. He was sold for £75,000 to Southend United and then loaned out to Bury. This summer he signed a two-year deal with Fleetwood Town.
GREGG WYLDE
Another much-feted youngster of the Owen Coyle era. Plucked from the mess of the Glasgow Rangers meltdown, the Scotland Under-21 winger’s move proved messy and took months for his registration to finally get sorted. Wylde was loaned out to Bury but never came close to the first team.
He returned to Scotland with Aberdeen and St Mirren then signed for Plymouth Argyle before moving to Millwall this summer.
PADDY KENNY
Vastly-experienced keeper was used as cover by Neil Lennon in late 2014 after an injury to Adam Bogdan left him with only one senior keeper in Andy Lonergan. Kenny is now a player-coach at Northampton Town.
ROB HALL
Wanderers fought hard to sign the West Ham youth product in 2013 and paid £450,000 at a tribunal, knowing the fee could quickly rise to more than £1million.
Hall had joined on loan the previous season and inexplicably been plunged into a debut on the last day of the season, a must-win game against Blackpool. He lasted just 37 minutes before being hauled off.
The following season proved only slightly better – after scoring his first goal against Shrewsbury he featured inconsistently for the first team under Dougie Freedman and then less so for his successor Neil Lennon.
The speedy winger made his last appearance for Wanderers in a 1-0 defeat at Ipswich in March 2015, by which time his transfer fee had risen to £750,000.
He left on loan to MK Dons until the end of his contract and signed for Oxford United this summer after sustaining a serious knee injury.
HAYDEN WHITE
Arrived as a speedy winger-turned-full-back but left a centre half, White cost £75,000 at tribunal from Sheffield Wednesday in June 2013.
He was plunged into a debut the following season after Tim Ream suffered a broken nose at QPR and started the following game against Leicester City.
But White’s Bolton career never really took off and he spent a large amount of time on loan at Notts County, Blackpool, Bury and Carlisle United.
After his release in the summer the defender signed a two-year deal with Peterborough United.
CHRIS BASHAM
Signed from college in Durham where he worked part-time at McDonalds, Basham was one of the few youngsters to emerge during Gary Megson’s time at Wanderers.
After coming through the last couple of years of the academy the midfielder made 21 appearances over two seasons for the Whites and scored in a memorable 4-3 defeat at Chelsea before moving on to Blackpool in a £1million deal in August 2010.
Basham now plays for Sheffield United, who face Wanderers on the opening day of the season.
JOE RILEY
Academy graduate who joined the club aged seven before moving through the youth ranks and making his senior bow in a 5-0 win over Stoke City in the Premier League. Full-back Riley was tipped for big things until a series of injuries curtailed his progress.
He left Bolton having played just nine times for the first team in four years but rebuilt his career in a loan spell with Oxford and joined local rivals Bury.
Riley signed for Shrewsbury Town this summer.
DEAN HOLDEN
Local-born full-back who made 21 appearances for the club between 1999 and 2002 and would have made many more had it not been for a serious broken leg sustained against Sheffield United in March 2000.
Holden went on to play for a further 12 years at the likes of Oldham, Falkirk, Shrewsbury, Chesterfield and Walsall, amassing more than 350 appearances.
Holden had a spell at caretaker manager at Oldham but is now on the coaching staff at Walsall.
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