PAUL TAIT – DANNY VAUGHAN
TAIT, Paul
DOB: 24th October 1974
Other clubs: Everton, Runcorn, Northwich Victoria, Crewe Alexandra, Hull City, Bristol Rovers, Rochdale, Chester City, Boston United, Southport, Barrow
Paul was signed on a free transfer from Everton on 22nd July 1994. He made his Latics League debut on 3rd September 1994 against Barnet at Springfield Park in a game that resulted in a 1-2 defeat for the Blues. In total he made 1+4 League appearances for Latics without scoring. He signed for Uni Bond Division One side Runcorn on 1st August 1995. He returned to playing League Football when Crewe Alexandra snapped him up from Northwich Victoria on 30th June 1999 on a monthly contract. He is currently (January 2012) out of the game after being released by Barrow, who at the time were managed by ex Latic Darren Sheridan, in May 2009.
TANKARD, Allen
DOB: 21st May 1969
Other clubs: Southampton, Port Vale, Mansfield Town, Hednesford Town, Stafford Rangers
Honours: Football League Trophy winner 2001 (Port Vale)
Allen, a former England youth international, arrived at Springfield Park on a free transfer from Southampton on 4th July 1988. He turned out to be a very dependable defender and he stayed at the club for five years. He made his Latics League debut on 27th August 1988 against Bristol Rovers away from home in a game Latics won 2-1. He played 205+4 League games for Latics during which time he scored 4 League goals.
After winning the Player of the Year Award at the end of season 1992/93 and failing to agree personal terms with regards to a new contract at the end of season 1997/98 he joined Port Vale on 26th July 1993 for a fee of £87,500.
Mansfield were to be his last Football League club and he played non league football for Hednesford Town and Stafford Rangers before hanging up his boots. He is now retired from the game and runs a minbus and coach hire firm with his wife.
TAYLOR, Brian
DOB: 2nd July 1949
Other clubs: Durham City, Coventry City, Walsall, Plymouth Argyle, Preston North End
Full back Brian arrived at Springfield Park after being signed by Larry Lloyd on loan from Preston North End, in March 1982 to shore up Latics’ promotion charge following a short term injury to Alex Cribley. He made his Latics League debut on 27th March 1982 against Hereford United at Edgar Street and the game resulted in a 0-3 defeat. In total he made 7+1 League appearances without scoring before returning to Deepdale.
Brian sadly died in 1993 when he was just 44 years old.
TAYLOR, Colin
DOB: 25th December 1971
Other clubs: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Preston North End, Doncaster Rovers, Runcorn, Telford United
Colin, a former England youth international, joined the Blues on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 1992. He made his Latics League debut on 28th January 1992 against Fulham at Craven Cottage. The game resulted in a 1-1 draw and Colin scored Latics’ goal. He was to figure in 7 consecutive League games, scoring 2 League goals before returning to Molineux.
TAYLOR, Ryan
DOB: 19th August 1984
Other clubs: Tranmere Rovers, Newcastle United
Honours: England Under 21’s (3 caps)
Ryan was signed by Paul Jewell on 13th July 2005 from his only previous club, Tranmere Rovers, for a fee of £750,000. He was the second outfield player Latics had ever signed as a Premiership club. He played his first Latics game in a pre season training camp in Denmark. The game was played on 20th July 2005 against Elite 3000 and Latics won the game 0-0. He made his Latics League debut as a 63rd minute substitute for Gary Teale against Charlton Athletic on 20th August 2005. The game resulted in a 0-1 defeat. On Friday 7th October 2005 Ryan made his England Under 21’s debut when he came on as a substitute for Anton Ferdinand in a European Championships qualifying game against Austria at Elland Road. Also playing in the game was his Latics team mate Leighton Baines who was making his fifth England Under 21’s start. This was the first time in the club’s history that TWO of their players were representing England!
Just four days later he played his first full game for England against Poland. He earned his third cap in the play-off, first leg against France at White Hart Lane that resulted in a 1-1 draw in front of an Under 21’s record crowd of over 34,000 on Friday 11th November 2005.
Things then went horribly wrong for Ryan, after making 3+8 Premiership appearances without scoring he broke his leg. At the beginning of April, during his comeback efforts he broke his ankle in a reserve game against Newcastle United, and that ended his season prematurely. He remained on the sidelines until 13th January 2006 when he made a comeback against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a game that resulted in a 4-0 defeat.
After making 38+18 Premier League appearances for Latics, netting 6 times, he was transferred to Newcastle United on 2nd February 2009. The deal also involved Charles N’Zogbia signing for a club record fee of £6,000,000, a new club record.
A bit of Ryan Taylor trivia – did you know that Ryan is the grandson of former professional wrestler Tony St Clair?
TAYLOR, Robin
DOB: 14th January 1971
Other clubs: Leicester City, Kettering Town
Honours: Represented British Universities in the World Student games
Robin, who was born in Germany, was signed by Bryan Hamilton from his former club Leicester City in November 1989. He came highly rated (by Hamilton) but by the end of the season he was relea
sed.
His first Latics appearance for the club was on 5th December 1989 in a 1-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in a Leyland Daf Vans preliminary round game at Springfield Park. His one and only appearance in a League encounter was when he was a used substitute in the game against Cardiff City at Ninian Park on 3rd February 1990.
He left Latics midway through the following season and drifted into non league football with Kettering Town after unsuccessful trials at West Ham United and Sheffield United.
TAYLOR, Steve
DOB: 18th October 1955
Other clubs: Bolton Wanderers, Port Vale, Oldham Athletic, Luton Town, Mansfield Town, Burnley, Stockport County, Rochdale, Preston North End, Mossley (manager).
Honours: Third Division Championship winner (Burnley) 1982
Steve was a Harry McNally signing from Burnley for the start of season 1983/84. During the season he struck up a good understanding with his strike partner Alex Bruce. He made his Latics League debut on the opening day of the season, 27th August 1983. The game was against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park and resulted in a 0-0 draw. He was to stay at Springfield Park for just the one season before signing for Stockport County. In total he played 29+1 League games for the Blues, scoring 7 League goals in the process.
TEALE, Gary
DOB: 21st July 1978
Other clubs: Clydebank, Ayr United, Derby County, Plymouth Argyle, Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday, St Mirren
Honours: Scotland (13 caps),
Scotland Under 21’s (6 caps),
Scotland B (1 cap),
Second Division Championship winner 2003 (Wigan Athletic),
Kirrin Cup winner 2006 (Scotland)
Championship play offs final winner 2007 (Derby County)
Gary arrived at the JJB Stadium on 14th December 2001 for a fee of £275,000 from Ayr United. Manger Paul Jewell had been keeping tags on Gary ever since he played a pre season friendly against Latics for Ayr United in the Blues’ pre season tour of Scotland five months earlier. He arrived hot on the heals of new goalkeeper John Filan who was signed for £600,000 just a coupler of hours earlier. He made his Latics League debut the following day against Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park as Latics drew 1-1. By the end of season 2002/03 he had established himself as a first team regular as the Blues clinched the Second Division Championship. He kicked on during the First Division campaign and by the end of that historic 2003/04 season he had made 89 League appearances and scored 5 League goals.
Gary was a member of the squad that won promotion to the Premiership by the end of the following 2004/05 League campaign. scoring 3 League goals in 29+9 League appearances. It is interesting to note that Gary was one of EIGHT players who played in the promotion winning game against Reading and the Second Division Championship winning side who played against Barnsley in the final game at the JJB Stadium in 2003. He signed for a further two years at the JJB Stadium on 17th June 2005.
On 6th December 2005 he played for the Scotland B team in a 2-0 win over Poland, having a hand in both goals. On 1st March 2006, just days after his Carling Cup Final appearance for the Blues he made his full Scotland debut against Switzerland at Hampden Park. He was a 46th minute substitute for Barry Ferguson but he couldn’t help the Scots salvage anything from a 1-3 defeat.
He featured in 20+4 Premiership games for the Blues without scoring, this brought his Latics career total up to 104+32 League appearances and 8 League goals scored. He was also a member of the team that played in Latics’ first major Cup Final, a 0-4 beating in the Carling Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium. Gary took part in the Kirrin Cup in Japan for Scotland immediately prior to the season finishing. He earned his second full cap when he played in the team that beat Bulgaria 4-1 on 11th May 2006.
Two days later he played against Japan as Scotland won the tournament after a 0-0 draw against the hosts. He left the JJB Stadium on 11th January 2007 to sign for Derby County for a fee of £600.000. His last league game for Latics was the Premiership clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Boxing Day 2006, a game the Blues lost 3-1. His final Latics league career total read 111+37 appearances and he netted 8 league goals. His time at Pride Park saw him loaned to both Plymouth Argyle, Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday on 28th July 2010.
He is currently (January 2012) plying his trade with St Mirren.
THOMAS, Hendry
DOB, 23rd February 1985
Previous clubs, Deportivo Olimpia, Colorado Rapids
Honours, Trinidad and Tobago (38 caps, 2 goals)
Hendry was signed by Roberto Martinez on 9th July 2009. Outgoing Latics boss Steve Bruce was thwarted in an effort to sign him for Latics at the start of the previous season and it is reported that Bruce was also keen on taking Thomas to Sunderland with him.
He made his Premier League debut for Latics on 15th August 2009 against Aston Villa at Villa Park in what was the opening game of the new season. The game resulted in a 2-0 victory for the Blues who continued an impressive record of never losing at Villa Park in a top flight encounter. By the end of the season (2009/10) he had made 27+4 Premier League appearances without scoring.
He was part of the Honduras team that played in the 2010 World Cup tournament for Honduras, along with Latics team mate Maynor Figueroa and ex Latic Wilson Palacios. His Latics career as at the end of season 2011/12 consisted of 49+6 Premier League appearances without scoring.
He signed for Colorado Rapids on 20th August 2012 after being released by Roberto Martinez along with Steve Gohouri, Hugo Rodallega and Mohamed Diame two months previously.
THOME, Emerson
DOB: 30th March 1972
Other clubs: Internacionale, Academica Colombia, Benfica, Tirsense, Sheffield Wednesday, Chelsea, Sunderland, Bolton Wanderers, Derby County, Vissel Kobe
Emerson arrived at the JJB Stadium on a free transfer from Bolton Wanderers on 4th August 2004. The Brazilian signed a two-year contract and followed his Reebok Stadium team mate of the previous season, Per Frandsen, to Wigan. He made his Latics League debut on 21st August 2004 against Brighton and Hove Albion at the JJB Stadium. He replaced Ian Breckin late in the game which the Blues won 3-0. Throughout most of the campaign he struggled with injuries and at t
he end of the campaign he had made 11+4 League appearances without scoring. He goes down in Latics folklore by being a member of the squad that saw Latics gain promotion by the end of the campaign.
On 27th October 2005 he joined Derby County on loan after failing to break into the first team due to the excellent for of Stephane Henchoz and Arjan De Zeeuw. He had made 2 League Cup appearances but his ex coach at Bolton Wanderers, Phil Brown, then manager of the Rams, offered him the chance of first team football and after a two week wait Paul Jewell sanctioned the move. He made just 3+1 League appearances without scoring whilst at Pride Park, returning to the JJB Stadium on the eve of their Carling Cup Fourth round clash with Newcastle United at home. Thome was in the ‘reserve’ team that promptly went on and beat the Magpies strongest possible team – 1-0! Unfortunately he broke his cheek bone on the half hour mark and took no further part in a quite outstanding game, which turned out to be the last for the club.
On 7th February 2006 he left the JJB Stadium amicably after having agreed with manager Paul Jewell to have his contract paid up. He finished his career in Japan with J2 outfit Vissel Kobe.
A bit of Emerson Thome trivia – did you know that on Boxing Day 1999 Emerson was part of the Chelsea team that beat Southampton 2-1 at the Dell? The amazing thing about that day was the fact that Chelsea’s team consisted of ALL foreign players and they became the first such team to play a League game in the history of the English Football League.
THOMPSON, Chris
DOB: 24th January 1960
Other clubs: Bolton Wanderers, Lincoln City, Blackburn, Blackpool, Cardiff City, Walsall
Chris, who was a former England youth international, was one of a trio of players signed by Ray Mathias from Blackburn Rovers for the start of season 1986/87. He made his Latics League debut on 30th August 1986 against Middlesbrough at Springfield Park, in a game that resulted in a 0-2 defeat. He was an important member of the team that reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup that season and he along with Paul Jewell formed a prolific partnership with Bobby Campbell. He spent two years at Springfield Park and he made 67+7 League appearances for the Blues and scored 12 League goals before joining neighbours Blackpool.
Chris sadly passed away, aged just 52 on 5th June 2012.
THOMPSON, Dave
DOB:
Other clubs: New Withington, Rochdale, Notts County, Preston North End, Chester City, Rochdale, Southport, Marine
Dave was a £35,000 signing from Notts County in October 1987. He made his Latics League debut against Brighton and Hove Albion at Springfield Park on 20th October 1987. The game resulted in a 3-3 draw but unfortunately for Dave he had to be substituted by Stuart Storer after picking up a nasty knee injury. He missed the next seven League games before returning to the team and becoming a first team regular for the next two years before joining Preston North End for the start of season 1990/91 after a fall out with the club with regards to it’s future ambitions having seen all the young talent at the club sold.
He won the Player of the Year Award at the end of season 1988/89 and is still fondly remembered by most Latic Fanatics for scoring the equalising goal against Liverpool at Anfield in a League Cup second round, first leg encounter. The Blues were hammered 5-2 but for the fans in Anfield that day the moment the ball hit the back of the net will live in the memory for ever.
He made a total of 107+1 League appearances and scored 16 League goals. However, his most embarrassing moment came at Bootham Crescent in a league encounter against bottom club, York City, on 27th February 1988. During the game he was taking a corner kick, missed the ball and struck the corner flag instead!
THOMPSON, David
DOB: 12th September 1987
Other clubs: Liverpool, Swindon Town, Coventry City, Blackburn Rovers, Portsmouth, Bolton Wanderers
Honours: England Under 21’s (7 caps)
Dave was signed by Paul Jewell from Blackburn Rovers on 19th January 2006. He arrived initially until the end of the 2005/06 Premiership season with a view of a permanent deal should he prove he had overcome a serious injury that had limited his League appearances for the Ewood Park outfit. He made his Latics League debut against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on 21st January 2006. The Blues won on their first ever visit to the stadium and David scored Latics’ second goal in a 3-2 victory. His fellow debutant, and fellow ex Kopite Neil Mellor, scored the winning goal with the last kick of the match! He went on to make 7+3 Premiership appearances for Latics, scoring twice, including the last ever goals scored by an opposition player at Highbury. And what a goal it was, a 37 yard free kick! He failed in his bid for a longer contarct though and was released, along with Stephane Henchoz, on 10th May 2006.
However, this wasn’t to be the end of Thommo’s Premiership career as he snubbed Championship outfit West Bromwich Albion to sign for Portsmouth on 29th July 2006. On transfer deadline day 2007 he signed for Latics’ local Premiership neighbours Bolton Wanderers and was released by the Trotters in May 2007. He finally gave up the game on 28th November 2007 due to persistant cartilage problems and intended to carry on in football as a coach.
THORNE, Peter
DOB: 21st June 1973
Other clubs: Blackburn Rovers, Swindon Town, Stoke City, Cardiff City, Norwich City, Bradford City
Honours: Second Division Championship winner 1996 (Swindon Town) Auto Windscreens Shield winner 2000 (Stoke City)
Division Two play off final winner 2003 (Cardiff City)
Peter signed for the club from Blackburn Rovers in March 1994 in a loan deal. He made his Latics League debut against Northampton Town at Springfield Park, an encounter that resulted in a 1-1 draw. He made 11 consecutive League appearances (1 as a substitute) without scoring before returning to Ewood Park. Latics were in financial difficulties at the time and couldn’t afford to sign him in a permanent deal. Subsequently he was transferred to Swindon Town for a fee of £250,000 in January 1995 after failing to make the grade at Blackburn.
He retired from the game in March 2010 after being released by Bradford City following successful spells at Stoke City, Cardiff City and Norwich City. T
o date (May 2011) he runs his own Academy of Football and excellence that he established in November 2008.
TIERNEY, Lawrence
DOB: 4th April 1959
Other clubs: Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Phoenix Inferno, Golden Bay Earthquakes, Tacoma Stars
Lawrence was another Scotsman signed by Ian McNeill at the start of the 1980/81 season. He had to wait to make his Latics League debut until 8th October 1980. The game was against Doncaster Rovers at Springfield Park. It was the first game since the team had been publicly blasted by chairman Freddie Pye in the week leading up to it. Latics won the game 3-0 with Mick Quinn bagging all three goals. Lawrence never really established himself in the first team and made 4+3 League appearances before being released at the end of the season.
After leaving the Blues he had an indoor football career in the USA. He died in December 2011 aged just 52.
TODOROV, Svetoslav
DOB: 30th August 1978
Other clubs: Dobrudzha Dobrich, Litex Lovech, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Charlton Athletic
Honours: (Bulgaria 41 caps, 7 goals)
Svetoslav was signed by Paul Jewell on 31st August 2006 on a season long loan deal from Portsmouth. He became Latics’ eleventh new signing prior to what was the club’s second Premiership season. He joined Kevin Kilbane and Davis Cotterill on the Latics roll call as they had both been signed on long term deals earlier in the day. His first game for the club was a ‘behind closed doors friendly against Halifax Town at the New Shay on 25th September 2006. The Blues won the game 5-1 and ‘Toddy’ was among the goal scorers. He made his Latics Premiership debut on 1st October 2006 against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. After replacing Henri Camara just ten minutes earlier, he missed a 75th minute penalty and Rovers went on to win the game 2-1.
Unfortunately, Toddy’s spell at the JJB Stadium was hit by injury and he only made 2+3 appearances for the Blues, including one, his final game for Latics, that was scrubbed from the records when the game against Watford at Vicarage Road was abandoned after 56 minutes on 30th December 2006. He is currently (May 2011) back in Bulgaria plying his trade for his former club Litex Lovech
TRAYNOR, Greg
DOB: –
Other clubs: Hyde United
Greg started his career as a trainee at the JJB Stadium and his first game for the club was in the pre season tour of Scotland when he played in a 0-4 defeat at Ayr United on 28th July 2001. He made his Latics League debut on 18th August 2001 at the Withdean Stadium when the Blues lost 2-1 against Brighton and Hove Albion. He only played for the last two minutes of the game when Andy Liddell had left the pitch injured. However, this was enough time for Greg to enter the record books as the youngest player to ever play a League game for Latics since their move to the JJB Stadium.
By the end of season 2002/03 that was his only appearance for the club although he did play in two pre season friendly games. He never played a competitive game during Latics’ Second Division Championship winning season (2002/03) or their first in Division One. He was however, given a one-year contract along with another former trainee, David Moore on 1st July 2004. He didn’t get a game during Latics’ Championship season (2004/05) and on 30th March 2005 he was loaned to Hyde United along with David Moore who had just returned from a loan spell at Bury. On 23rd December 2005 he joined Hyde United on a free transfer.
His last game for Hyde was on 30th October 2010 against Vauxhall Motors. This was his second start (and last) for the club in four years. He is currently (January 2012) out of the game.
TUNKS, Roy
DOB: 21st January 1951
Other clubs: Rotherham United, York City, Ipswich Town, Newcastle United, Preston North End, Hartlepool United, Blackburn Rovers (goalkeeping coach), Newcastle United (goalkeeping coach), Tranmere Rovers (goalkeeping coach)
Honours: Freight Rover Trophy winner 1985 (Wigan Athletic)
Roy was signed from Preston North End for £7,500 by Larry Lloyd in November 1981 following injury to John Brown and Lloyd wanted an experienced man between the sticks as Bob Ward was the only other keeper at the club. He made his Latics League debut on 7th November 1981 against Hereford United at Springfield Park. The game resulted in a 1-1 draw.
Roy never really looked back after that and went on to become one of the best goalkeeper the club has had. His stay at Springfield Park lasted until the end of season 1987/88 when he joined Hartlepool United for a brief spell before returning to Preston as goalkeeping coach. In total he made 245 League appearances for the Blues and was very popular among the fans. He is currently (January 2010) the goalkeeping coach of Tranmere Rovers.
UNSWORTH, David
DOB: 16th October 1973 November 1956
Other clubs: Everton, West Ham United, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Ipswich Town, Sheffield United, Burnley, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End (caretaker manager)
Honours: England (1 cap)
England Under 21’s (7 caps),
FA Cup winner 1995 (Everton)
David, a former England full international and captain of the England Under 21’s, signed for Latics from Premiership rivals Sheffield United on a free transfer until the end of the season on 5th January 2007. He was the third signing in the January transfer window following Andreas Granqvist and Kristofer Haestad to the JJB Stadium. He made his Latics Premiership debut on 13th January 2007 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where an injury ravaged Latics side was beaten 4-0. He went on to make 6+4 Premiership appearances, scoring once.
Ironically, the goal he scored was the winning penalty that kept Latics in the Premiership during the final game of the season. Unbelievably, the opponents that day were his former club, Sheffield United who were beaten 2-1 at Bramall Lane, a result that meant the Blades themselves went down. Three days later on 15th May 2007 he was released by new manager Chris Hutchings.
He signed for Burnley on a free transfer on 11th August 2007 and made 29 league appearances and scored once for Owen Coyle’s team before leaving Turf Moor on 30th June 2008. His next, and final port of call as a player was at Huddersfield Town with whom he had a successful trial period in t
he summer of 2008. However after just 4 league appearances without scoring, injury forced him to hang up his boots on 30th March 2009
He then joined Preston North End as a youth development officer shortly afterwards before promotion to become the clubs first team coach. On 30th December 2010 he was made caretaker manager of the club following the sacking of Darren Ferguson until the appointment of Phil Brown on 6th January 2011.
URQUHART, Billy
DOB: 22nd November 1956
Other clubs: Rangers, Caledonian/Inverness Caledonian Thistle,
Honours: Scottish League Cup winner 1979 (Rangers)
Billy, no relation to George, was signed by Ian McNeill in November 1980 for a fee of twenty thousand pounds from Glasgow Rangers. He made his Latics League debut on 8th November 1980 against Bradford City at Springfield Park, a game that resulted in a 0-0 draw. A big striker in the mould of Simon Haworth, he never really set Springfield Park alight and by the time he left the club at the end of the season following the appointment of Larry Lloyd as manager, he had played 5+5 League games and scored 2 League goals. After leaving Latics he signed for Caledonian and played for them whilst the club changed their name to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
URQUHART, George
DOB: 22nd April 1950
Other clubs: Renfrew Juniors, St Mirren, Guildford City, Ross County, Macclesfield Town,
Latics boss Ian McNeill had tried to sign George when he took over as manager of Northern Premier League Latics in 1976. However, he had to wait until the end of October 1979 to acquire his services. He made his Latics League debut as a used substitute on 1st September 1979 in a game against Portsmouth at Springfield Park which the Blues lost 1-2. He stayed at the club until the end of the following 1980/81 season when he was released after making 63+5 League appearances and scoring 6 League goals in the process. George is currently (July 2010) working as an agent for a number of top class footballers.
VALENCIA, Luis Antonio
DOB: 4th August 1985
Other clubs: CF El Nacional, Villareal, Recreativo de Huelva
Honours; Ecuador (25 caps, 4 goals),
Serie A de Ecuador championship 2005 (El Nacional)
Football League Cup winner 2010 (Manchester United)
Alan Hardaker Trophy winner 2010 (Manchester United) (LC Final MOM)
Community Shield winner 2010 (Manchester United)
Luis arrived at the JJB Stadium on 3rd August 2006 on a season long loan deal from Villareal that was expected to be made permanent for the following season. He was signed after being voted one of the World Cup 2006’s best young players of the tournament. He played 21+1 times for Ecuador, whilst with CF El Nacional and Villareal, although he was on loan to Recreativo de Huelva at the time. His work permit and visa arrived the day prior to Latics’ final pre season friendly against Vitesse Arnhem at the JJB Stadium and he came on as a substitute during the game that resulted in a 1-1 draw. He made his Latics Premiership debut on 19th August 2006 against Newcastle United at St James’ Park, with Latics going down 1-2. He went on to make17+5 Premiership appearances, scoring once before returning to Villareal to ponder over a two-year contract offered by new Latics manager, Chris Hutchings.
However, despite him not agreeing to those terms he did agree to stay on at the JJB Stadium for a further season long loan on 10th June 2007.
After making a further 11 Premiership appearances without hitting the net he finally decided that his future lies in Wigan at the third time of asking when Steve Bruce persuaded him to sign a three and a half year deal, which cost the club almost five million pounds, on 18th January 2008. By the end of season 2008/09 he had made 78+6 Premiership appearances for the Blues, netting four times.
He was never to play for the club again after that campaign as he moved to Manchester United for a club record fee of £16.000.000 on 30th June 2009.
VAN AANHOLT, Patrick
DOB: 29th August 1990
Other clubs: Chelsea, Coventry City, Newcastle United, Leicester City
Honours: Holland Under 19’s (2 caps)
Holland Under 21’s (4 caps)
Premier League Asia Trophy winner 2011 (Chelsea)
Patrick was signed on a season long loan from Chelsea on 31st August 2011. Latics became his fourth club as a loanee player and he played his first game for the club on 13tth September 2011 in a Carling Cup second round game against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The game resulted in a 2-1 defeat for the Blues. His Premier League debut came four days later at Goodison Park, a game which also resulted in defeat, this time by 3-1.
He played just twice more for the club before cutting short his stay at Latics, returning to Chelsea on 6th January 2012.
VAUGHAN, Danny
DOB: 18th February 1972
Other clubs: Crewe Alexandra
Danny was signed by Kenny Swain from Crewe Alexandra for the start of season 1993/94. During the pre season friendlies he looked to be a real good prospect and scored a hat trick against Skelmersdale United, a game in which he was the star of the show. Great things were really expected of him. However, by the start of the season proper he was injured.
He made his Latics League debut on 21st August 1993 against Torquay United at Plainmoor. The game resulted in a1-1 draw but Danny was substituted during the game by Neil Ogden after still feeling the after effects of his injury. He was in fact to play just 2+2 League games for Latics without scoring before he had to retire from professional football.
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