I have a go at naming the best team I can, using only players that have played for us in the Championship
With Owen Coyle on the Fantasy Football Club, naming the best players he has played alongside/ managed I thought it suitable to do the same.
However, my glittering playing and coaching career on FIFA has seemed to people somewhat dubious. In light of this I have constructed my team instead of the best players who have played for us in the Championship.
This is presuming that these players are in their top form, playing in a 4-4-2…
Adam Bogdan- On his day the Hungarian shot stopper can be the difference between winning and losing. We’ve seen majestic stops from this flying ball of fire at time and will throw himself at just about anything.
Kevin McNaughton- I had a bit of trouble working this one out. I think our best right back in recent years was Gretar Steinsson, though he seemed to have no positional awareness. At least McNaughton has this as well as bags of experience in this league for Cardiff City.
Craig Dawson- Dawson was only here for a short amount of time, but boy did he make a difference. He brought organisation (see prior article) to our defence as well as some class on the ball and goals. What a player.
Tim Ream- Our bearded friend from the States has had somewhat of an inconsistent Bolton Wanderers career, but when in form can provide composure reminiscent of a Barcelona centre back.
Marcos Alonso- A feature of Owen Coyle’s XI, Alonso has the skill you’d expect from a former Real Madrid player. He was exciting during the back end of his sole Championship season and it was the likes of himself that almost got us promoted.
Chris Eagles- I get very sad when I have to talk about him. He’s a very very talented player, one who, if things had worked out slightly differently, would’ve won Premier Leagues titles at United. He might not’ve been Ronaldo but if his attitude was right could’ve definitely been useful- sort of like Park Ji Sung was. His talent kept us going through some very rough times and his flair brought excitement to otherwise bleak away days.
Jay Spearing- During his first season in which he was our Player of the Year, the little Liverpudlian was immense in our midfield. His combination of technical ability and desire to get stuck in reminded me of his former captain Steven Gerrard. Another who, if they chose to stay at a bigger club, might just’ve been able to carve out a Premier League career. There’s still time for the lad though…
Mark Davies- Sparky Mavies, whatever you want to call him is an excellent footballer. He runs with the ball like a terrier while his technical ability is up there with the best in this league.
Chung Yong Lee- Lee, since his injury, simply hasn’t been the same player and has frustrated me at this level. However, in the Premier League he had the ability to cause real problems for top top defences. He’s still eligible for this ‘All Star’ team as he has played for us in this division but has been picked for his Premier League form. I wonder how he’ fare in the Premier League now?
Lukas Jutkiewicz- The Juke was a phenomenal player for us in this league. He joined us a player with his confidence slightly shaken after being thrown around the squad at Middlesborough and left one of the best strikers in the league. The former Everton man showed a certain fighting spirit, and once I saw it I knew how crucial it was for us to try to sign him. Though we couldn’t do so. He fully deserves his move to Premier League football and I miss him dearly.
Kevin Davies- As I said before, this is a team of players who played for us in the Championship, though their callups could be for things they did during our Premier League days. I don’t have to say much about SKD. His fighting spirit like Jutkiewicz spurred his team on and he’s compete for every ball within a 20m radius around him. His goal against Bayern Munich summed his Wanderers career up for me. It didn’t have to be anything fancy, as long as we score. Brilliant man and player.
So, there’s my ‘Championship All Stars’ team. Some of the decisions I had to make were really hard, but on the whole I think this is a decent team.
I had a great time writing this and would like you to share yours, either by emailing them to me as a guest post here- bolton@vitalfootball.co.uk or by commenting them below.