Thank you Kevin Davies

Super Kevin Davies was the embodiment of Bolton Wanderers. He epitomised what the once great club was all about for the majority of their long tenure in the Premier League: fighting (and winning) against the odds, carrying on despite what many may say about you, not taking any shit or being scared of anyone or any team, battling away and becoming so difficult to play against that teams despise playing you.

It was Sam Allardyce who set that plan in motion, but it was Kevin Davies who kept the spirit of it long after Big Sam departed.

After a long 22 years in the game, with plenty of ups and probably just as many downs, Kevin Davies has retired from professional football.

What else is there to say, but thank you?

The striker, the captain, will forever be a legend in the hearts of every Wanderers supporter, his name will still echo around the concourse and boozy nostalgic tales of how good Bolton really once were, long after many other names have faded from memory.

When us who grew up watching the grit and fight of Davies become an age where we're bringing our children to watch Bolton, we will tell stories of Kevin Davies' heroics, much like our fathers did about Sir Nat Lofthouse and Super John McGinlay.

The legendary fable as to how he scored the equalising goal at the Allianz Arena, against no other than Bayern Munich. The inspirational story of how, against all the odds, he finally earned his belated and much deserved England debut at the ripe old age of 33. Picking up a booking in the process, naturally. The historic battles with Arsenal, Manchester United and whoever else dared to take him on, all coming worse off, just ask Sir Alex, Tom Cleverly or Patrice Evra.

Playing on with broken bones. Scoring goals. Bullying defenders. Leading us with pride, through victory and defeat. My personal favourite moment? Davies completely taking out Alexander Kolarov when the game was literally 16 seconds old.

I've no doubt forgotten loads of moments, probably your favourite, but that's what's so special about Davies - he made so many.

Kevin Davies didn't just play for Bolton Wanderers, he was Bolton Wanderers, and we will never see his like again.

Perhaps I'm overstating it a bit and hyperbole is getting the best of me, but sod it. No matter what the future holds for this club, whether we fall even further into the abyss, whether we cease to exist and result to mere memories that fleat in the wind like ash, or whether we rise from said ashes once more to the upper echelons of football.

No matter what, the legend of Kevin Davies will live on.

Thanks for the memories, Kev, because they were fucking great.