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As disappointing as it is to admit, Mark Davies came to personify Wanderers’ excess in the post-Premier League era.
A vastly-talented player, one who should have had a long top flight career, but ultimately an unfortunate midfielder who will be remembered more for his cost to the club during long spells of injury than his flashes of brilliance on the football field.
After relegation in 2012 Wanderers gambled on keeping Davies and turned down a £4million bid from Swansea City.
With bravado typical of the time, Bolton believed he would be worth twice that amount with a successful season in the Championship. A lucrative four-year deal was dangled in front of Davies which when signed, was pitched by the club as a statement of Dougie Freedman’s ambition.
Such an offer did fly in the face of his injury record, however, and within weeks Davies ruptured his cruciate ligament and was out for 10 months.
In a flash, a contract offer designed to underline Bolton’s intent to return to the big time was put into a different light. Four years on, and it can be reasoned such flagrant spending very nearly put Wanderers out of business altogether.
Not that the blame should be pinned on the player. In fact, it seems unfair Davies became regarded as an expensive luxury when neither the size of the pay packet offered by the club or his horrendous luck with injuries was actually his fault.
But as the exorbitant spending caught up with Bolton in the last couple of years, so the rationale began to change. Suddenly, the so-called ‘big hitters’ were finding blame for the club’s decline laid at their feet.
The situation came to a head for Davies last January when the midfielder’s move to Sheffield Wednesday broke down.
Experienced football administrator Terry Robinson had been brought to the Macron in an effort to negotiate some player sales and streamline some of the bigger contracts and when Davies was pulled from the squad for a game at Hillsborough – watching from an executive box with some of the Owls players – it seemed his time at the club was at an end.
Less than 24 hours later the South Yorkshiremen had backed out of the deal, citing medical concerns, prompting an informal complaint from Wanderers to the Football League.
Behind the scenes, the transfer had hit complications as Davies’s representatives were struggling to agree on severance for the 18 months left on his contract.
Davies did not want to leave Bolton, and not as the cynically-minded might suggest because of his wages. ‘Sparky’ - as he is universally known – rarely stepped forward for press interviews but behind closed doors was a bubbly and popular member of the squad.
Unlike many of his team-mates he decided against opening a social media account, remaining a family oriented and rather private person.
It is disappointing to look back at the player Gary Megson signed in January 2009 and wonder what he could have achieved had injuries been kept at bay.
The modest £1million fee paid to Wolves back then reflected the fact he had recently battled back from a serious knee problem. There was, nevertheless, a lot of bad blood surrounding the move given Chris Evans, the renowned former Molineux youth chief, had moved on to work as Megson’s assistant.
Davies had drawn comparisons to Paul Gascoigne for his bustling running style and willingness to break forward to join attacks. Ex-Wolves boss Glenn Hoddle had also tipped him for major international honours.
He made a memorable debut against Tottenham but since that perfectly-crafted performance featured in just 51 per cent of the club’s games ever since.
He provided some genuine highlights and featured in one of the most exciting midfields of the Premier League days alongside Stu Holden, Fabrice Muamba and Chung-Yong Lee.
Davies spent eight-and-a-half years with Bolton, who have vowed to stand by him as he completes his latest bout of rehabilitation for an injury which left him watching the vast majority of promotion campaign from the sidelines. A sad final chapter at Bolton. One can only hope his footballing career proves to have a happier ending.
Source
A vastly-talented player, one who should have had a long top flight career, but ultimately an unfortunate midfielder who will be remembered more for his cost to the club during long spells of injury than his flashes of brilliance on the football field.
After relegation in 2012 Wanderers gambled on keeping Davies and turned down a £4million bid from Swansea City.
With bravado typical of the time, Bolton believed he would be worth twice that amount with a successful season in the Championship. A lucrative four-year deal was dangled in front of Davies which when signed, was pitched by the club as a statement of Dougie Freedman’s ambition.
Such an offer did fly in the face of his injury record, however, and within weeks Davies ruptured his cruciate ligament and was out for 10 months.
In a flash, a contract offer designed to underline Bolton’s intent to return to the big time was put into a different light. Four years on, and it can be reasoned such flagrant spending very nearly put Wanderers out of business altogether.
Not that the blame should be pinned on the player. In fact, it seems unfair Davies became regarded as an expensive luxury when neither the size of the pay packet offered by the club or his horrendous luck with injuries was actually his fault.
But as the exorbitant spending caught up with Bolton in the last couple of years, so the rationale began to change. Suddenly, the so-called ‘big hitters’ were finding blame for the club’s decline laid at their feet.
The situation came to a head for Davies last January when the midfielder’s move to Sheffield Wednesday broke down.
Experienced football administrator Terry Robinson had been brought to the Macron in an effort to negotiate some player sales and streamline some of the bigger contracts and when Davies was pulled from the squad for a game at Hillsborough – watching from an executive box with some of the Owls players – it seemed his time at the club was at an end.
Less than 24 hours later the South Yorkshiremen had backed out of the deal, citing medical concerns, prompting an informal complaint from Wanderers to the Football League.
Behind the scenes, the transfer had hit complications as Davies’s representatives were struggling to agree on severance for the 18 months left on his contract.
Davies did not want to leave Bolton, and not as the cynically-minded might suggest because of his wages. ‘Sparky’ - as he is universally known – rarely stepped forward for press interviews but behind closed doors was a bubbly and popular member of the squad.
Unlike many of his team-mates he decided against opening a social media account, remaining a family oriented and rather private person.
It is disappointing to look back at the player Gary Megson signed in January 2009 and wonder what he could have achieved had injuries been kept at bay.
The modest £1million fee paid to Wolves back then reflected the fact he had recently battled back from a serious knee problem. There was, nevertheless, a lot of bad blood surrounding the move given Chris Evans, the renowned former Molineux youth chief, had moved on to work as Megson’s assistant.
Davies had drawn comparisons to Paul Gascoigne for his bustling running style and willingness to break forward to join attacks. Ex-Wolves boss Glenn Hoddle had also tipped him for major international honours.
He made a memorable debut against Tottenham but since that perfectly-crafted performance featured in just 51 per cent of the club’s games ever since.
He provided some genuine highlights and featured in one of the most exciting midfields of the Premier League days alongside Stu Holden, Fabrice Muamba and Chung-Yong Lee.
Davies spent eight-and-a-half years with Bolton, who have vowed to stand by him as he completes his latest bout of rehabilitation for an injury which left him watching the vast majority of promotion campaign from the sidelines. A sad final chapter at Bolton. One can only hope his footballing career proves to have a happier ending.
Source
