COLIN Todd ended a seven-year association with Bolton Wanderers today having played a central role in one of the most exciting periods in the club's history.

When he teamed up with Bruce Rioch in the Summer of 1992, Wanderers were in the doldrums of the old Third Division - Phil Neal having been judged to have taken the club as far as he could in the previous six and a half years.

Three seasons later, Bolton fans were celebrating a dramatic Play-off victory over Reading that earned them Premiership status for the first time.

Alongside Rioch, with whom he'd worked and later succeeded as manager at Middlesbrough in the late 80s and early 90s, Todd shared in two promotions and a string of exciting cup runs, including the memorable Coca-Cola Cup success of 1995, which eventually ended in a gallant 2-1 defeat by Liverpool in the Wembley final.

When Rioch quit Burnden Park that summer, Todd stayed on to link-up with his old team-mate, Roy McFarland.

The pair had enjoyed success as a formidable centre-back partnership in Derby County's League Championship triumphs of 1972 and 1975 and with England - Todd winning 27 caps. But they could not reproduce the magic of their playing days in an ill-conceived and ill-fated joint-management venture. McFarland was sacked in January 1996, leaving Todd in sole charge.

He could not prevent Wanderers being relegated from the Premiership that season but a year later they were back in the top flight on the back of a record-breaking Division One title win, finishing 18 points clear of the field.

In characteristically decisive actions, he had sold Alan Stubbs to Celtic for £3.5 million and Sasa Curcic to Aston Villa for £4.5m but the introduction of Danish duo Per Frandsen and Michael Johansen alongside Alan Thompson in midfield provided the service for John McGinlay and Nathan Blake to become the most feared attacking partnership outside the Premiership.

Playing an exciting brand of attacking football that bore the Todd hallmarks of passing and movement, Wanderers scored 100 League goals that season.

The second assault on the Premiership proved much more respectable than the first but once again it was to end in failure - defeat at Chelsea on the last day of the 1997-98 season saw Wanderers relegated on goal difference.

The yo-yo syndrome appeared to have kicked in again last season when, with well over half the games played, Wanderers were in second place behind Sunderland. But they faded badly and in the end were relieved to rescue a place in the play-offs.

A thrilling victory over Ipswich in the semi-finals took them back to Wembley but there was to be no repeat of the 1995 triumph.

The 2-0 defeat by Watford sparked a financial crisis that meant Todd, who two years ago spent £10 million on four players - including £3.5 million on record signing Dean Holdsworth - could not afford free transfers and was even told he could not sign a player on loan.

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