HE is not a Russian oil tycoon with a seemingly bottomless well of cash or a mysterious Arab sheikh who may or may not emerge as the saviour of a desperate football club he supported in his college days.

From the Bolton Evening News, first published Tuesday 30th Dec 2003.But Eddie Davies has brought something to Bolton Wanderers that neither Roman Abramovich nor Mubarak al Khalifa could ever offer Chelsea or Leeds - roots.

Little Lever born and a product of Farnworth Grammar School, he traces his support for Wanderers back to Nat Lofthouse and the FA Cup winners of 1958.

He supported from a distance as he built a successful career, but in recent years he has emerged, quietly and unassumingly, as the biggest benefactor in the club's history.

That is why his fellow directors, including chairman Phil Gartside and chief executive Allan Duckworth, have no qualms about handing control to this local boy made good.

Not that there are many options. Repeated appeals for financial assistance have fallen on deaf ears and the pressure is mounting so, by the end of the month, Eddie Davies will own Bolton Wanderers, lock, stock and almost every drop of the barrel 94.52 per cent of it.

He may be a quiet man but nobody has ever had a bigger say in the way the club is run.

However, supporters should not get carried away with the idea that Sam Allardyce will suddenly have millions to spend. Wealthy though he is, the Isle of Man-based businessman is not in the same financial league as Abramovich.

Nevertheless, his investment £14 million should the share issue be approved has helped Wanderers make a go of it in the Premiership. Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo as Mr Gartside puts it are only here courtesy of Eddie Davies.

But the executive chairman of Strix Group, whose controls and connectors in small domestic appliances are used by 20 per cent of the world's population, will insist on Wanderers being run on a sound business footing.

He has no plans to change the club's management structure but, until the pressure of the debt burden of £38m is eased, he will keep a tight rein on spending.

"Eddie's put his money where his mouth is," Allan Duckworth said bluntly.

"He's been around for four years; he's not somebody we met last week.

"We needed additional funding to secure the continued support of the banks and he has provided it. We're talking about a Bolton lad who is investing heavily in his own club."

Phil Gartside revealed: "The rest of the board put unsecured loans into the club totalling around £500,000, which have shown our commitment to Eddie. In turn, he has shown his confidence in the management of the club. He's given us his wholehearted support, verbally and financially."