"I was lucky to be a part of the town" - Gudni 25 yrs after signing for Bolton

Gudni Bergssson has told Wanderers fans to keep faith in testing times on and off the pitch.

The Icelander was signed at Burnden Park exactly 25 years ago for the initial bargain fee of £65,000 and made his debut in the Coca Cola Cup final against Liverpool.

He went on to play another eight seasons for the club, winning promotion three times under three different managers.

And in a special message to Bolton fans currently looking after their families with no football as a distraction, he hoped the community spirit which made him fall in love with the town will prevail.

“I didn’t expect to play for Bolton 25 years ago but it is an honour and a privilege to have done it,” he told The Bolton News. “I was lucky to be a part of the town, my kids grew up there, and it became my home.

“Whether we had success or hard times at Bolton Wanderers we were all in it together – the players, the staff, the coaches, the fans. The whole community was part of what we were doing.

“I hope that stays close again because things will improve, I am sure of that.”

Bergsson, now the head of the Icelandic FA, also forecasts better times for the club after a forgettable season in which its very existence was threatened.

“The fans were treated badly by the previous owner, it was such a disappointment with Ken Anderson in charge,” he said. “From what I saw and what I heard it was not going in the right direction – but the club can rise again.

“We have to make sure we recharge that spirit and that the club is ambitious.

“If you get the right strategy, the right business plan and get the right people around you then anything is possible. And the onus is now on the owners to build the club up again.

“It will take some time but it will be worth it in the end.”

Source

karlypants wrote:

Gudni Bergssson has told Wanderers fans to keep faith in testing times on and off the pitch.

The Icelander was signed at Burnden Park exactly 25 years ago for the initial bargain fee of £65,000 and made his debut in the Coca Cola Cup final against Liverpool.

He went on to play another eight seasons for the club, winning promotion three times under three different managers.

And in a special message to Bolton fans currently looking after their families with no football as a distraction, he hoped the community spirit which made him fall in love with the town will prevail.

“I didn’t expect to play for Bolton 25 years ago but it is an honour and a privilege to have done it,” he told The Bolton News. “I was lucky to be a part of the town, my kids grew up there, and it became my home.

“Whether we had success or hard times at Bolton Wanderers we were all in it together – the players, the staff, the coaches, the fans. The whole community was part of what we were doing.

“I hope that stays close again because things will improve, I am sure of that.”

Bergsson, now the head of the Icelandic FA, also forecasts better times for the club after a forgettable season in which its very existence was threatened.

“The fans were treated badly by the previous owner, it was such a disappointment with Ken Anderson in charge,” he said. “From what I saw and what I heard it was not going in the right direction – but the club can rise again.

“We have to make sure we recharge that spirit and that the club is ambitious.

“If you get the right strategy, the right business plan and get the right people around you then anything is possible. And the onus is now on the owners to build the club up again.

“It will take some time but it will be worth it in the end.”

Source

I'd be interested to know what exactly Gudni had heard or seen and who he had heard it from?

I never saw Ken Anderson as a saintly philanthropist but what I did see was a club in free fall when Anderson took it on with the considerable handicap of having Dean Holdsworth as a quasi partner drawing an unjustified salary and landing the club with an additional £4m debt repayable in 16 days at an interest rate of 24%.

What I saw was someone saddled with unaffordable commercial arrangements and even more unaffordable wages costs. What I saw was someone who steered the club away from the rocks, helping it regain Championship status at the first attempt and, even more notably, helping it stay there against all the odds whilst being only one of three clubs in the Championship to make a profit - thanks, of course, to KA persuading Cardiff City to part with £6m for the services of G Madine Esq.

What I also saw was someone who had no time for nitwits or the noxious lynch mob mentality stirred up, virtually since his arrival at the club, by the Supporters Trust and the Bolton News.

But the mob would not be denied their quarry and Ken Anderson, in the end, proved unable to persuade anyone to take on a Championship club where the average annual loss is £15m.

So come on, Gudni, tell us what you've heard and what you realistically expected Ken Anderson to achieve and how you expected him to achieve it.

Gudni obviously played in the same team as Holdsworth, so knew him personally.

It was also Gudni who was closely associated with Daniel Izza and recommended that he joined the fledgling 'Steering Group' before they formed into the SY (with a Board made up entirely of Steering Group members).

We know what the ST backed Holdsworth and wanted Anderson out.

I don't think anyone needs to be Einstein to work out who were telling him their side of the story!

For a clever man (he's a lawyer and President of Iceland's FA) you would think he would check out both sides of the story than just believe your mates without question - I know I would - before going public with my opinions in the press.

Sluffy wrote:Gudni obviously played in the same team as Holdsworth, so knew him personally.

It was also Gudni who was closely associated with Daniel Izza and recommended that he joined the fledgling 'Steering Group' before they formed into the ST (with a Board made up entirely of Steering Group members).

We know what the ST backed Holdsworth and wanted Anderson out.

I don't think anyone needs to be Einstein to work out who were telling him their side of the story!

For a clever man (he's a lawyer and President of Iceland's FA) you would think he would check out both sides of the story than just believe your mates without question - I know I would - before going public with my opinions in the press.

You would think that, Sluffy, I agree entirely.

But if you knew Dean Holdsworth, wouldn't you also tread a bit more warily even if you weren't a trained lawyer?

Daniel Izza is a lawyer too but experience has taught me that there are quite a number of lawyers who seem to struggle to get their heads round basic financial facts and realities. I still find it very odd though.

Are you two bellends set on dissing every former player?

Let me know when you get to Steve McAnespie.