They Played for Both Clubs: Colin Hendry, Blackpool

As Bolton Wanderers travel to near-neighbours Blackpool this Tuesday, it became time to write about "They Played For Both Clubs." Despite excellent candidates including Sam Allardyce, Chris Basham, Alex Baptiste, and Phil Brown, I decided to go with one Edward Colin Hendry.

Born in Keith, Scotland on 7^th December 1965, Hendry spent his formative years up North, primarily with Dundee where he made 41 appearances, scoring twice. He began to create a formidable reputation both as a defender and, surprisingly, a striker - and caught the eye of Blackburn Rovers, with whom he signed in 1987.

Converted then into a central defender, Hendry would go on to be one of the first names on the team sheet at Ewood Park over the next decade over two spells. His first took in two seasons before a move to Manchester City, then managed by Howard Kendall. Hendry was voted as Player of the Year at City, before a fall-out with Kendall's replacement, ex-Bolton Wanderers and England man Peter Reid, which saw him return to Blackburn Rovers in November 1991.

Rovers had just begun to enjoy the wealth brought in by fan and local steel magnate, Jack Walker, who had hired Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish to take the club on. Hendry was to become club captain, making 235 appearances over the next seven seasons. The undoubted highlight of his second spell at the club was lifting the Barclays Premier League trophy as Champions, powered by the goals of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, beating Manchester United to the punch.

Aged 33, he moved to Glasgow Rangers for £4m, though fell out with Dutch coach Dick Advocaat and was moved on after just 22 appearances to Coventry City in 2000 where he would again make a fleeting impact, with just 11 appearances. It was this crossroads in his late career that brought him to Bolton.

In 2000/1, Bolton Wanderers were under the stewardship of Sam Allardyce, and the club found itself in the First Division, attempting to get back to the Premier League via the Play Offs. Hendry came in on loan initially, making a huge impact complimenting fellow defenders Gudni Bergsson, Mike Whitlow, Anthony Barness and Simon Charlton. Bolton had lost South African Mark Fish to Charlton Athletic and were light at the back.

Hendry's experience and rugged play won the fans over quickly, and his loan move was soon made permanent. That season he made 26 appearances for the club. Wanderers finished the season in third place, beating Preston North End in the Play Off Final at the Millenium Stadium, Cardiff.

The next season, Hendry took the number 5 shirt and took his place in the centre of defence, however Allardyce was constantly on the lookout to improve his squad, and Hendry fell out of the picture. He left to join Preston in February, before being finally released by Bolton at the end of the 2001/2 season.

After his release he joined Blackpool on a free transfer, where he made a further 14 appearances before retiring at the end of the 2002/3 season, having made over 500 league appearances, scoring an impressive 40 goals.

Hendry made 51 appearances for the Scottish national side, despite only making his debut aged 27. He was named captain for the 1998 World Cup in France, playing in the opening game - a gallant defeat to Brazil. He then took his first steps in management in 2004 when he was appointed manager of former side Blackpool, but was sacked in the following November 2005 following a poor run of results.

He has since taken up a variety of coaching roles in the game both North and South of the border, before rejoining Blackburn Rovers under Steve Kean. He acted as first team coach and has since become the manager of the club's under-21 team.