- Phil Gartside
Phil Gartside (born
23 August 1941 inDublin ) is an Irishbusinessman and the current chairman of Bolton Wanderers Football Club.He is based in
Lancashire and is Chairman of Chambers of Commerce North West. Gartside was born in theDublin suburb ofWhitehall in August 1941, to parents Margaret and Patrick. He attended Larkhill Boys School andSt. Aidans C.B.S where he first donned studded boots. Gartside had a short stint as a semi-professional footballer in his youth with local sideSt. Kevin's Boys F.C. and also had trials with Aberdeen and Stoke City. Although unsuccessful this was not to be the end of Gartside's love and influence with the game of football.Gartside studied
commerce inTrinity College, Dublin throughout the early sixties and this is where he met his then girlfriendMary-Jane Sommerfield , the fundamental reason for his relocation toEngland . Gartside had his first taste of Bolton Wanderers in the early seventies, when he watched them play in a 1-0 victory over fc|Aston Villa atVilla Park . He was immediately captivated by the passion of the fans and when his then business partnerJames Connell offered him a season ticket, the Trotters became a part of his life. He bought his way onto the Wanderers board of directors in 1988 for £40,000. Eleven years later he succeededGordon Hargreaves as the Bolton chairman.While he has been Chairman the club has consolidated its position in the
Premier League and reached theUEFA Cup for the first time in their history. He has seen a number of high profile footballers arrive at the club includingNicolas Anelka ,Youri Djorkaeff ,Jay-Jay Okocha ,Fernando Hierro andIván Campo . He is a prominent football administrator and currently is a Football Association Board Member and an executive director of the new Wembley Stadium.References
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