Jay-Jay Okocha: Bolton was a "waste of time"

Jay-Jay Okocha stayed with the Lancashire for four years from 2002, he made 145 appearances.

His time in Bolton coincided with their rise up the Premier League under Sam Allardyce, a period that also included a League Cup final appearance and a European campaign.

It all seems like such a long time ago now though.

Robbed of star men Stuart Holden and Lee Chung-yong for virtually the entire campaign, Bolton struggled throughout and finally paid the price when they failed to overcome Stoke on the final day, which ended an 11-year stay in the top flight.

Okocha felt the collapse was inevitable after a steady decline over the previous few years.

"We changed the image of the club," Okocha said. "We established the club in the Premier League and we thought they would build from there.

"But all our efforts have been thrown away. It feels like all that work was wasted."

It could be argued that Bolton were living beyond their means signing stars like Okocha, Ivan Campo, Fernando Hierro and Youri Djorkaeff in the first place.

Owner Eddie Davies has been trying to keep a tight rein on spending as Bolton's debts escalated over £100 million, a situation that life in the Championship is unlikely to improve.

"I have been following the Premier League very closely because once you have been a footballer you have an affinity with the game," Jay Jay said.

"It was a sad season for Bolton but it was bound to happen. When you don't spend or invest in the future, you can't always get away with it."

"They have been playing cat and mouse with the club for some time now and the cat has caught up with the mouse. It is a pity.

"We laid a good foundation at Bolton but unfortunately for the fans, they have to deal with Bolton being a struggling team again."

Source Telegraph