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ON a day where the financial future of Bolton Wanderers came under such scrutiny, the club will also mourn its’ greatest-ever benefactor.
The epitome of a local lad made good, Eddie Davies made possible more than a decade of Premier League football, and gave a generation of fellow Bolton supporters their greatest footballing memories with a team his funds helped to construct.
Under the management of Sam Allardyce and the chairmanship of Phil Gartside, ‘Little Old Bolton’ bloodied the noses of the top flight elite, secured four successive top-eight finishes and their first-ever European campaigns.
But none of this would have been possible without the considerable financial backing of a former Farnworth Grammar School pupil who had made his millions selling kettle parts.
‘The Bank of Eddie’ was a term used jokingly in the carefree days as Bolton built their way towards the top and managed to stun the footballing world by securing famous names such as Youri Djorkaeff, Jay Jay Okocha and Fernando Hierro.
He watched, home and away from the directors’ box, as Wanderers scrapped their way to the top table and then proved that they belonged there.
Never one to step into the spotlight, Davies was famously media-shy, and rarely gave interviews as the Bolton Wanderers owner for 13 years. But his enthusiasm for the club did not diminish even as fortunes dipped following the departure of Allardyce in 2007.
Davies busted the club’s transfer record to sign the likes of El-Hadji Diouf, Nicolas Anelka and then Johan Elmander and by the time he sold the club on to new owners in 2016, the next set of accounts showed he had wiped off close to £200million.
The process of selling the club – which had become a serious drain on cash resources after relegation from the Premier League in 2012 – was difficult for all involved. At the height of the problems, Davies also lost a close friend and ally in former chairman Gartside.
Some speculated whether his legacy had been tarnished as Bolton battled to survive without his financial backing but the act of wiping such a gigantic sum from the books had never been seen before in the club’s history and may never do so again.
Even after passing on the torch to Ken Anderson and Dean Holdsworth his influence at the club remained strong. He retained a smaller financial interest and took on the title of life president, keeping the ear of both men in the boardroom and offering advice.
A statement from the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust – an organisation which Davies had been keen to see get off the ground – paid tribute to him after news broke of his death at the age of 72.
“We are saddened and shocked at the passing of Eddie Davies. Our thoughts and condolences go to his family and friends at this sad time.
“Eddie was BWFC through and through and he was pivotal to the success of our club in recent times.
“His presence around the stadium on a match-day will be greatly missed by staff and supporters alike. RIP Eddie.”
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/16835520.remembering-former-bolton-wanderers-owner-eddie-davies/
The epitome of a local lad made good, Eddie Davies made possible more than a decade of Premier League football, and gave a generation of fellow Bolton supporters their greatest footballing memories with a team his funds helped to construct.
Under the management of Sam Allardyce and the chairmanship of Phil Gartside, ‘Little Old Bolton’ bloodied the noses of the top flight elite, secured four successive top-eight finishes and their first-ever European campaigns.
But none of this would have been possible without the considerable financial backing of a former Farnworth Grammar School pupil who had made his millions selling kettle parts.
‘The Bank of Eddie’ was a term used jokingly in the carefree days as Bolton built their way towards the top and managed to stun the footballing world by securing famous names such as Youri Djorkaeff, Jay Jay Okocha and Fernando Hierro.
He watched, home and away from the directors’ box, as Wanderers scrapped their way to the top table and then proved that they belonged there.
Never one to step into the spotlight, Davies was famously media-shy, and rarely gave interviews as the Bolton Wanderers owner for 13 years. But his enthusiasm for the club did not diminish even as fortunes dipped following the departure of Allardyce in 2007.
Davies busted the club’s transfer record to sign the likes of El-Hadji Diouf, Nicolas Anelka and then Johan Elmander and by the time he sold the club on to new owners in 2016, the next set of accounts showed he had wiped off close to £200million.
The process of selling the club – which had become a serious drain on cash resources after relegation from the Premier League in 2012 – was difficult for all involved. At the height of the problems, Davies also lost a close friend and ally in former chairman Gartside.
Some speculated whether his legacy had been tarnished as Bolton battled to survive without his financial backing but the act of wiping such a gigantic sum from the books had never been seen before in the club’s history and may never do so again.
Even after passing on the torch to Ken Anderson and Dean Holdsworth his influence at the club remained strong. He retained a smaller financial interest and took on the title of life president, keeping the ear of both men in the boardroom and offering advice.
A statement from the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust – an organisation which Davies had been keen to see get off the ground – paid tribute to him after news broke of his death at the age of 72.
“We are saddened and shocked at the passing of Eddie Davies. Our thoughts and condolences go to his family and friends at this sad time.
“Eddie was BWFC through and through and he was pivotal to the success of our club in recent times.
“His presence around the stadium on a match-day will be greatly missed by staff and supporters alike. RIP Eddie.”
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/16835520.remembering-former-bolton-wanderers-owner-eddie-davies/