Jussi Jaaskelainen tells all on failed transfer to Tottenham

Speaking exclusively with Ladbrokes, Jussi Jaaskelainen has revealed just how close he actually was to mega transfer away from Bolton during his playing career.

• "Coming from Finland, in 1997, having played for Vaasan for two years. I was working as an electrician at the same time as when I was playing, because the football in Finland was more or less a semi-professional level."
• "After a while, it just felt like the players weren't exactly anything special, it was more just a case of everyone going in and doing their job. That's it, really. It probably took me a year or two to settle down in Bolton, but after that it was a brilliant place for me."
• [On Sam Allardyce] "There's so much more to him than what people in England perhaps think. It's extremely hard for people to understand though if you haven't been a part of it, and experienced it. He was able to bring in some unbelievable players, and he took advantage of opportunities."
• "Sam learned quite a lot from Fergie [Sir Alex Ferguson] and I think they became really close friends. And I think that's where a lot of the attention to detail came from. You know, what I'm talking about now is something which is just normal nowadays, but back in the early 2000s, we were definitely ahead of our time."
• "There are a couple of stories out there around potential moves away during my time at Bolton, although honestly I think some of them, like the links to Manchester United... I can't remember exactly what year it was, but I injured my back, maybe in 2005, while I was in talks with Tottenham."
  

Coming from Finland, in 1997, having played for Vaasan for two years. I was working as an electrician at the same time as when I was playing, because the football in Finland was more or less a semi-professional level. So when I moved to England, I actually went to Norwich on trial, and played a friendly for them before Bolton came along. It was a huge step up, of course. I can remember coming in and we were in the Premier League in that first season, but then we got relegated, and that's when I started playing... it took us three seasons to win promotion back to the top-flight.

The sheer volume of games was something which was difficult for me to adapt to at first. You know, you probably play the same amount of games in three months in the Championship as you would in a whole season in Finland! It was very intense, but once you get used to the atmosphere, an the stadiums, you start to realise you have a real chance of doing well. After a while, it just felt like the players weren't exactly anything special, it was more just a case of everyone going in and doing their job. That's it, really. It probably took me a year or two to settle down in Bolton, but after that it was a brilliant place for me. 

I'd only recently met my now-wife a few months before I moved to England, so we moved in together very quickly! You've got to think, all those years ago, things were so different; you didn't have player liaisons or anything like that. You had to find your own house, your own car, all of these things... the club did help a little, but for the most part you were on your own - it was nowhere near like it is now.

Big Sam [Allardyce] arrived and things just changed, almost straight away. You know, so much happened behind the scenes, and we had so many names coming in, and there were different challenges and targets with him - my main focus was on making sure I was growing with the team, because I just wanted to be a part of it all. I'm not really sure, to be honest, when and where the name Big Sam came from, or when it started. I'm pretty sure he came in on day one and said we could call him Big Sam, although I could be wrong! 

With Sam, we're talking about someone who was incredibly underrated, and often a lot of the work he did with his team got overlooked for his supposed style of play. He was very ambitious, right from the start. You know, he came in and wanted to take the football club back to the Premier League. He was always willing to learn, and was constantly bringing people in who were going to help make us better as players. There was so much attention to detail within every department with him, and he was good at pretty much everything. He covered everything. 

There's so much more to him than what people in England perhaps think. It's extremely hard for people to understand though if you haven't been a part of it, and experienced it. He was able to bring in some unbelievable players, and he took advantage of opportunities. You know, he brought in Ivan Campo from Real Madrid. because he recognised he wasn't playing, and he was able to convince him to sign for us. We had incredible resources available to us - you know, very good physios, all of that kind of thing. People don't see that we saw, but if you look at that side, and what we did - finishing in the top eight in four consecutive seasons, that tells you everything you need to know about Sam. 

Sam learned quite a lot from Fergie [Sir Alex Ferguson] and I think they became really close friends. And I think that's where a lot of the attention to detail came from. You know, what I'm talking about now is something which is just normal nowadays, but back in the early 2000s, we were definitely ahead of our time, and that gave us so much confidence going into games, because we always felt like we were more prepared than our opponents... and all of that was down to Sam. 

There are a couple of stories out there around potential moves away during my time at Bolton, although honestly I think some of them, like the links to Manchester United, were more rumours and nothing else. I did have a chance to move to Sunderland, but that was a little bit later in my career, maybe in 2007, but then I decided to sign a log-term contract with Bolton. There was also a chance for me to sign for Galatasaray at one stage, when I was about to become a free agent, but I only ever wanted to stay in the Premier League. 

I can't remember exactly what year it was, but I injured my back, maybe in 2005, while I was in talks with Tottenham. They never really got going, though, because they just fell through straight away, when I got injured. I was so happy at Bolton, though. My family were happy, and that was the biggest thing for me.  

To be honest, I've never really felt like I left Bolton. It's strange, because I went on to play for a couple more teams in England, but even when I signed for West Ham, and spent three seasons there, my family were still living in Bolton, and so I was travelling up and down the country. Bolton has always felt like my home, so I never really wanted to go anywhere else. Even now, when I come back to England, it still feels like home to me. Football is a big part of my life, but my family is even bigger, and they were happy in Bolton, so that was where we were always going to stay. 

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