A number of players have played just the one match for Bolton Wanderers. Some well-known names in football and some perhaps not so well-known. Andy Oakes joined the club as back-up to Jussi Jaaskelainen ahead of the 2004/05 season, on loan from Derby County and he made a solitary appearance for Sam Allardyce’s side.
Retiring from the professional game in 2009 at just 32 years of age, Oakes started his journey in football with Macclesfield Town – just a short journey from his town of birth, Northwich.
Dropping down the ladder pretty early on after failing to make the grade at Moss Rose, Oakes played in non-league locally with Winsford United before being picked up by Hull City who offered the stopper a second chance in the professional game.
Playing 20 times for The Tigers during the 1998/99 campaign, he was snapped up by Derby County in the summer of 1999 for a fee of £460,000 and was almost immediately shipped out on loan to Port Vale.
Making just 46 appearances during six seasons with the Rams, shortly before the end of his time under contract at Pride Park he joined Wanderers on loan early on in the 2004/05 campaign. His one and only appearance for the club came in a 2-1 Premiership home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.
Oakes played the full match with Kevin Poole on the bench as his backup, and despite El Hadji Diouf giving Allardyce’s men the lead goals from Gavin McCann and Thomas Hitzlsperger secured an away victory for David O’Leary’s side.
The stopper went onto have spells with Walsall, Swansea City and Darlington before putting an end to his career as a professional footballer.
Oakes’ One Game for Wanderers:
13 November 2004
Bolton Wanderers 1 (Diouf 21)
Aston Villa 2 (McCann 41, Hitzlsperger 89)
Reebok Stadium | FA Premiership
Wanderers: Oakes, Hunt, N’Gotty, Hierro (Campo 81), Jaidi, Diouf, Speed, Nolan (Vaz Te 89), Gardner, Pedersen, Davies
Unused Subs: Poole, Cesar, Ben Haim.
Villa: Sorensen, Delaney, De La Cruz, Mellberg, Samuel, Hendrie (Ridgewell 89), Whittingham (Hitzlsperger 63), Solano (Moore 75), McCann, Angel, Cole.
Unused Subs: Postma, Davis.