Bolton Wanderers star who snubbed West Ham is a cult hero | OneFootball

Ricardo Gardner became a cult hero and even a legendary figure at Bolton Wanderers during his 14-year stint at the club.

Bolton Wanderers’ modern-day so-called ‘golden era’ came through the 2000s, with Sam Allardyce’s Trotters not just bloodying the noses of the elites but coming on the verge of wrestling their way into joining them.

From near misses on top four finishes and UEFA Champions League qualifications. Cup runs that should have taken them deep in the UEFA Cup and saw them lose a League Cup final at the Millennium Stadium as a top six side. An FA Cup semi-final on penalties at Wembley Stadium as a second-tier club was also a big achievement.

Throughout that time, ‘Big Sam’s Galacticos’ produced some cult heroes such as Jussi Jaaskelainen, Kevin Nolan, El Hadji Diouf and Kevin Davies, balanced against genuinely world-class stars of the game like Bruno N’Gotty, Youri Djorkaeff, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Jay-Jay Okocha and Nicolas Anelka.

One man who perhaps falls into the former, but that shouldn’t detract from his quality as a player, would be Ricardo Gardner; a player who is still remembered fondly by Wanderers supporters.

Ricardo Gardner was electric at Bolton Wanderers

It is extremely rare for teams in leagues as obscure as the Jamaica Premier League to receive hefty transfer fees for players, but that is exactly what happened in 1998.

Having shone for Jamaica at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, Bolton Wanderers decided to pursue a move for Ricardo Gardner, and managed to bring him to the then Reebok Stadium for a fee believed to be around £1 million from Harbour View.

In his first season in England, Gardner played a key role in helping Wanderers finish sixth and reach the First Division play-offs, having become an instant hit and reached cult hero status within a month of the new campaign when he scored an 88th-minute winner to give Bolton a 3-2 victory at The Hawthorns against West Bromwich Albion in a game in which Gudni Bergsson had been sent off for the Whites.

He remained key as Wanderers continued to knock on the door of promotion and, when Sam Allardyce replaced Colin Todd in the 1999/00 campaign, the left-footed Jamaican stepped up to the plate.

Bolton gained promotion back to the top-flight in Allardyce’s first full season as manager in the 2000/01 season, defeating Lancashire rivals Preston North End by three goals to nil at the Millennium Stadium, in a game in which Gardner scored alongside Gareth Farrelly and Michael Ricketts.

Having been playing domestic football in Jamaica, within a few years, Gardner had become a Premier League player, and he would go on to continue to flourish in a star-studded Wanderers side.

Ricardo Gardner established himself as a club legend

Over the following 11 seasons, Gardner would go on to make close to 250 of his 410 overall Bolton appearances in the Premier League, and very rarely look out of place.

Gardner, a versatile left-sider who could play on the wing, or at wing-back or full-back, enjoyed his best campaign playing as a left-back during the 2005/06 season, as Bolton finished eighth in the Premier League, frustratingly tailing off with two victories in their final nine matches. He was named Bolton’s Player of the Year for that season.

He continued to be a key man as Bolton’s Allardyce-era ended and the stint of Gary Megson took place, often being the only exciting reason for Wanderers supporters to go and watch their often dire and turgid style of football.

Gardner’s slaloming runs from kick-off or through the middle of the park were often highlights for Bolton supporters, with the 111-cap Jamaican always getting fans to the edge of the seats.

97 of his international caps came whilst with Bolton, which is the most of any player whilst at the club, just highlighting the impressive consistency and longevity of the flying winger.

In the summer of 2011, with Allardyce taking charge of West Ham United and bringing in an array of Gardner’s former teammates such as Abdoulaye Faye, Nolan, Joey O’Brien and Ricardo Vaz Te, with Jaaskelainen to join a year later, Gardner rejected an offer from the Irons to sign a new one-year contract extension at the Reebok.

A show of loyalty to the club rather than to Allardyce further etched Gardner into the hearts and minds of Wanderers supporters, with Gardner going on to enjoy a 14-year stint.

His time at Bolton ended with an injury that prevented him from helping the Whites avoid relegation from the Premier League in 2012, but he had already ensured he became a Wanderers legend over a period where there were plenty to choose from.