On our two elder statesmen: Eidur Gudjohnsen and Emile Heskey
Since joining last winter, old men Eidur Gudjohnsen and Emile Heskey have been tremendous both on and off the pitch for Bolton.
Gudjohnsen’s arrival touched the hearts of Bolton fans more, him being a fan favourite from his time at the club over a decade ago, and didn’t find it hard to establish himself into the Trotters’ setup.
From scoring a penalty against Liverpool, to left footed half volleys against Cardiff the Iceman has been a credit to Bolton once again.
I don’t agree with others who say that he doesn’t show his age; he does. However, the important thing is that his class is still there. I had a bit of a hype attack when upon signing he said ‘There’s some magic left’. What’s better than seeing one of your best players in recent years return, ready to conquer opposition defences again? He’s not fast. His reactions aren’t what they used to be, but hey his quality on the ball has hardly declined from ‘back in the day’ at Chelsea.
Imagine 36 year old Gary Cahill coming back to Bolton, and then getting called up to England again?
I thought Eidur Gudjohnsen got people talking a bit about Bolton again. Then a few weeks later, Emile Heskey shook the football world by joining him. He then scored on his debut.
That goal was hands down, easily the best moment of the season for me. It was against Blackburn! Not only are they are rivals from down the road, but they also have a player whom I shall not name who said of Heskey signing for Bolton ‘He was aiming for QPR but missed’. LOL. He beat you.
I’ve talked a lot about their on-field contributions which have been great. However, they’ve not been the best players in the league. What they have been is the best mentors to our young strike force; Zach Clough, Max Clayton and Conor Wilkinson may well make up our strike force next year and the experience of Heskey and Gudjohnsen will be invaluable. The five of them could be one of the most exciting in the league.
I’ve talked in depth about my appreciation for Clough and Clayton as footballers and I also think that Wilkinson has a lot to offer- he’s tall and good technically. This season hasn’t gone as well as he might have hoped but with Eidur and Emile by his side he could do really well next year.
Both veterans have been offered new contracts for the coming year and while the rest of the football world may laugh as we field two almost 40 year olds, we’ll have the last laugh when we do well.