Former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Stu Holden put the boot back in on Jonny Evans, in a live Q&A on his Facebook page last night - hours after he announced his retirement from football.
Holden hosted the video to take questions from thousands of fans across the world, explain his decision to retire - two days after the birth of his first child, daughter Kennedy Rose - and to look back on his career.
The midfielder named his favourite Bolton players as Ivan 'Killer' Klasnic and Paul Robinson, while his other favourite players are national team roommate Jay DeMerit, fellow American teammates Tim Howard and Brian Ching. On being asked about his least favourite, he didn't give it a second thought:
"Yeah, Jonny Evans. He's probably my least favourite player. I hope he can come to MLS so I can give him... er, good analysis on TV."
He also described the best moment of his life as being that goal against Blackburn Rovers (below), making his debut for the USA and playing in the World Cup for them, and named his best goals as that Blackburn goal and a last minute goal for the US. And he also professed his love for Wanderers, saying:
"I think I need to mention my love for Bolton and for the Houston Dynamos. Those were the two teams in my career that I had the strongest affiliation with and I can't even thank you guys enough.
"I moved to Bolton in 2010 and I wanted to play their my entire career... Walking out at the Reebok - and it'll always be the Reebok to me, not the Macron - was amazing, especially on derby day.
"Bolton fans, man, you are something else."
His love for Bolton means he's also interested in getting involved in the BWFC Supporters' Trust. Holden said:
"Absolutely. I would want to do more than invest. I'd want to be involved in some type of role, whether as an advisor or whatever. I know that Kevin Davies and John McGinlay are involved, and it's something that I've wanted to get more involved in but I haven't dove deeper into because we've been preparing for this announcement before I can announce all the excithing things I'm going to be doing."
He also had more to say about his time with Bolton, and revealed he was close to returning to football with ex-Whites manager Owen Coyle:
"The Premier League is the best standard and the best league in the world, in my opinion. The speed of the game, the atmosphere of the crowds, the competition every game whether you're playing Manchester United, Arsenal, Wolverhampton or Blackburn that are all challenging in different ways.
"That was what I lived for. I woke up every morning with one thing in mind, getting on the training pitch to get better every day and compete against all these amazing players I played with. Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies, Daniel Sturridge, Jack Wilshere, Paul Robinson, Ivan Klasnic, Marcos Alonso - these guys made me so much better as a player, I felt like when I went to Bolton I took my level up infinitely.
"There was a lot more I wanted to achieve with them, I wanted to play in the Champions League and win trophies in England but sometimes life works in mysterious ways.
"I loved my time in MLS too and if I had no injuries after training with the US team I would have loved to come back and play for the Houston Dynamos, that was my scope. I was texting Owen Coyle saying 'I'm coming back, let's do this' but then reality just set in."
Holden also discussed the moment he knew he had to retire, saying:
"Honestly that didn't happen until a couple of weeks ago officially. I got out in the US Camp and, man, I loved it, it was like being a kid again playing soccer and doing all these great things with the national team.
"The first two weeks were awesome and I felt back to myself but then reality hit me, with little bits of pain, swelling and muscle aches and that's not what I want to do anymore.
"I love the game, I will always love soccer and I wanted to play as much as I could but it just came down to happiness and I gave it a great run but I'm just tired if fighting my body."
He also suggested that it's still possible we may see him a Bolton shirt one last time:
"I can still play soccer but not to the quality or consistency that I would want to. I could train for a week like I did with the national team and everything is great and then the next week I'm a little sore and stiff. If Kevin Davies wants me to play in his testimonial then I'm there. I can play 90 minutes, I just can't play 90 minutes four games in a row."
Holden expects to stay in the game, continuing his media work - he's commentating on the USA's match against Canada tomorrow - and is considering doing his coaching badges. So who knows, maybe we'll see him back in the UK media at some point, or at Wanderers in some capacity in the future.
Holden remains one of my favourite players I've ever seen in the white shirt of Bolton and I don't think any of us will ever forget that goal against Blackburn, so thank you Stu. I want to wish him good luck in his retirement and can't wait to see some of the videos and listen to the unfiltered commentary he has promised us on his former teammates.
You can watch Holden's video Q&A in full, including his description of the moment he suffered his second ACL injury, below:
Retirement and stuff ! Join me
Posted by Stuart Holden on Wednesday, 3 February 2016
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Posted by Stuart Holden on Wednesday, 3 February 2016