It was 13 years ago today

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Hierro made his debut.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3526292.stm

Brazilian Adriano scored the winner as Inter won a lacklustre match at a half full Reebok Stadium after a neat through ball from Alvaro Recoba.
Bolton had opportunities with Jay-Jay Okocha going close from 25 yards, Ricardo Gardner hit the post and Ivan Campo shot just wide. Fernando Hierro made his Bolton debut, playing the last 20 minutes. But Inter had further chances, with Jussi Jaaskelainen saving from Adriano and Juan Sebastian Veron going close.
Bolton keeper Jaaskelainen was also called into action on several occasions to thwart Dejan Stankovic. Midfielder Stankovic also chipped the ball over the crossbar when he should have passed the ball square to Nicola Ventola, who was unmarked. Adriano, who came on after the break, later missed Ventola's cross with the goal at his mercy.
Trotters boss Sam Allardyce gave an outing to new signings to new signings Gary Speed and Michael Bridges as he fine tunes his preparations for the new Premiership season.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... trike.html

...Bolton manager Sam Allardyce gave new £750,000 recruit Gary Speed and free signings Michael Bridges and Brazilian international defender Julio Cesar their first Reebok matches along with veteran Spanish defender Fernando Hierro, who had his first outing for Bolton in the second half.
Allardyce said: "It was a good opportunity to give the new players an early run out against top-quality opposition and I am pleased with their performances against a team that included such as Edgar Davids, Juan Sebastien Veron and other top internationals."

http://www.boltonwanderers-mad.co.uk/rp ... ndex.shtml

... Inter coach and former Leicester City striker Roberto Mancini included the former Manchester United star Juan Sebastien Veron in the starting eleven and he was roundly booed by the home crowd each time he touched the ball. Dutch star Edgar Davids was introduced as one of many second half substitutes and he was to receive a huge wave of applause upon entering the field of play.
Despite the visitors having a bulk of the possession it was Bolton who had the best of the first half chances with Nigerian midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha testing Toldo in the Inter goal within the first couple of minutes. Spaniard Ivan Campo also had the Italian stopper at full stretch with a fine shot from distance and Okocha again was to keep the former Italian international on his toes. At the other end Recoba forced a fine save out of Jussi Jaaskelainen in the Bolton goal after Milan had managed to unlock a steady Wanderers defensive line.
Euro 2004 star Andy Van Der Meyde then blazed over for the visitors following a good run down the left hand side despite having a number of teammates in better positions infield.
Jay-Jay Okocha cleverly chipped a free kick into the path of Kevin Davies but the former Southampton strikers cross was cut out before new boy Michael Bridges had the chance to get an attempt on goal.
The second half was played at a similar pace with Mancini altering his side on a number of occasions to keep his side fresh. Sam Allardyce was to give veteran Fernando Hierro his Bolton debut in place of the tiring Bridges whilst Ricky Shakes continued his run of pre-season games when replacing Ivan Campo midway through the second half.
Before his exit Campo had gone on a fine run but was unable to finish and teammate Ricardo Gardner had clipped the top of Toldo's crossbar with a fine effort. Toldo himself was later to be replaced by Jimmy Fontana but aquitted himself well against a number of finely struck Bolton efforts.
The afforementioned Adriano proved to be a thorn in the Trotters side as he went close on a number of occasions. Jaaskelainen was equal to one of the efforts whilst the other chance just lacked the cutting edge needed.
Michael Bridges worked hard in his first home appearance but the confidence building of the former Sunderland striker is still very much in its infancy. Julio Cesar proved to be a good attacking and defensive source down the left flank of the defence whilst Tunisian Radhi Jaidi proved to be as solid as his defensive partner Bruno N'Gotty when dealing with the attacking threat of the Italians. Welshman Gary Speed came more into the play in the second half with a responsive display in the middle of the park and Substitute Hierro distributed the ball well during his brief cameo role. All in all it was a very good workout and despite defeat Bolton can take a number of positives out of the display.

[BWFC_Insane]

And 13 years ago this coming January he was transfer listed by Allardyce after one of the worst defensive displays I have ever witnessed at Norwich....

[LeverEnd]

And 13 years ago this coming January he was transfer listed by Allardyce after one of the worst defensive displays I have ever witnessed at Norwich....

Hierro was?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

And 13 years ago this coming January he was transfer listed by Allardyce after one of the worst defensive displays I have ever witnessed at Norwich....

Hierro was?

Yep. Well, sort of. His availability (and that of half-a-dozen squadmates – Henrik Pedersen, Julio Cesar, Florent Laville, Anthony Barness, Blessing Kaku and Kevin Poole) was circulated in a memo that was supposed to be confidential but got leaked.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... at-1604872

[BWFC_Insane]

And 13 years ago this coming January he was transfer listed by Allardyce after one of the worst defensive displays I have ever witnessed at Norwich....

Hierro was?

Oh yes. Lost 3-2 at Norwich who were struggling. Hierro at CB, was utterly abysmal. Allardyce went apoplectic and listed him along with a few others.....

[LeverEnd]

Ha! Don't remember the game or the listing. Rose tinted specs and all that.

[Prufrock]

Scored an og didn't he? 3-2?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Scored an og didn't he? 3-2?

Au contraire, scored at the right end - but was culpable for some shit defending. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 072043.stm

[BWFC_Insane]

Don't know how to write this on the interweb without it becoming some binary nonsense.

Hierro was absolutely fantastic for that period in the latter half of the season in midfield. Superb.

However, I often hear Bolton fans say he was the best player they've seen. He played less than half a season of good games. Yes he was superb, but probably would have been found out to some extent at a later date.

Not diminishing him in any way, but feel his brief cameo here was given a status it probably didn't quite deserve. Thats not to say it wasn't brilliant. But being fair, Campo did a similar job year after year.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Don't know how to write this on the interweb without it becoming some binary nonsense.

Hierro was absolutely fantastic for that period in the latter half of the season in midfield. Superb.

However, I often hear Bolton fans say he was the best player they've seen. He played less than half a season of good games. Yes he was superb, but probably would have been found out to some extent at a later date.

Not diminishing him in any way, but feel his brief cameo here was given a status it probably didn't quite deserve. Thats not to say it wasn't brilliant. But being fair, Campo did a similar job year after year.

I hear you. He was one of the most gifted players I've ever seen in the shirt, and helped lift us into Europe: we finished 8th the year before he came, we were 8th when he started his first game after Norwich (at Newcastle, Feb 26) and we finished 8th again the year after. But he did only play 28 league games for us; we wanted him to stay but he was 37. It was a pleasure to have him aboard, but of all the Lancashire Galacticos he was the only one who felt like we were watching a testimonial because he was the only one of truly football-pensionable age on joining us: Bruno had only just turned 30, Youri was 33, JayJay 28, Campo 28, Stelios 28, Candela 32, Diouf 23, Anelka 27.

Excuse me, there's something in my eye.

[bristol_Wanderer3]

Wonderful times!! 2004-05 was one of my favourite BWFC seasons ever, if not the favourite!! For some reason I remember beating Norwich 1-0 at home, and came away feeling I had just watched the football equivalent of the Haarlem Globetrotters. Candela played left back, Stelios scored a fantastic goal, and we had top quality all over the pitch.

[jonnybwfc]

Was reading the other day that Campo had 6 seasons with us ?! How those 6 years flied, if true. Feels like 2 to 3 now.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Was reading the other day that Campo had 6 seasons with us ?! How those 6 years flied, if true. Feels like 2 to 3 now.

Yep, came on a year's loan in Aug 02, three-year contract the next summer, kicked through the door by Megson in summer 08.

[bw@bw]

Don't know how to write this on the interweb without it becoming some binary nonsense.

Hierro was absolutely fantastic for that period in the latter half of the season in midfield. Superb.

However, I often hear Bolton fans say he was the best player they've seen. He played less than half a season of good games. Yes he was superb, but probably would have been found out to some extent at a later date.

Not diminishing him in any way, but feel his brief cameo here was given a status it probably didn't quite deserve. Thats not to say it wasn't brilliant. But being fair, Campo did a similar job year after year.

Not far off the mark.
In the first half season, defensively, he had been poor.
In the second half of that season, playing midfield, he was different class. A privilige to watch in a golden era.

Better than Le God? Probably. But even asking the question puts him a class above Campo.

[BWFC_Insane]

Don't know how to write this on the interweb without it becoming some binary nonsense.

Hierro was absolutely fantastic for that period in the latter half of the season in midfield. Superb.

However, I often hear Bolton fans say he was the best player they've seen. He played less than half a season of good games. Yes he was superb, but probably would have been found out to some extent at a later date.

Not diminishing him in any way, but feel his brief cameo here was given a status it probably didn't quite deserve. Thats not to say it wasn't brilliant. But being fair, Campo did a similar job year after year.

Not far off the mark.
In the first half season, defensively, he had been poor.
In the second half of that season, playing midfield, he was different class. A privilige to watch in a golden era.

Better than Le God? Probably. But even asking the question puts him a class above Campo.

I'd have Youri above him. And for me, Jay Jay too. Second half of the season we stayed up at West Ham's expense....I'd say for a brief window in that run in Okocha was the best midfield played in the world. Some of the things he did were truly magical. Sure it didn't entirely last, in the same way Hierro probably wouldn't have...but still that run in is probably the most absorbed I've ever been as a football fan.

[bristol_Wanderer3]

Yep that run in was incredible. Somehow us and West Ham both found top4 form for the last ten games having been terrible for the first 28 games. I still haven't figured out how Brett Ormerod missed that open goal in our crucial 0-0 draw at Southampton in the penultimate game. I have never seen a TV replay of it.

Re Campo, this never gets old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLLDva_VrJ4&t=3s

[BWFC_Insane]

I was at that Southampton game. Listening to the West Ham match under the stand. Never felt so sick before a game even started. We dug out a result somehow.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Yep that run in was incredible. Somehow us and West Ham both found top4 form for the last ten games having been terrible for the first 28 games. I still haven't figured out how Brett Ormerod missed that open goal in our crucial 0-0 draw at Southampton in the penultimate game. I have never seen a TV replay of it.

Re Campo, this never gets old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLLDva_VrJ4&t=3s

Someone should make Madine study that on a daily basis.

[LeverEnd]

Twaaaaaaattttt!!!! He's got a foot like a traction engine!
Brilliant.

[TANGODANCER]

Even now I can never hear a Westminster clock chime without thinking of "IVAN CAMPO, IVAN CAMPO"....