By Mark Heys
October 14 2006

Football great Peter Beardsley is expecting a tough game as two of his old teams go head to head in the Premiership tommorow afternoon. The former England international was surprised to learn that he had represented seven of the current top flight clubs when the question was asked in a quiz recently.

In twenty years as a professional Beardsley managed to accumilate spells with Newcastle United, Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United, Manchester City, Fulham and the Wanderers.

He enjoyed his football with each of these clubs but does have a slight tinge of regret about the way his year long spell with Bolton developed between 1997 and 1998.

Beardsley came to the Reebok Stadium in a blaze of glory nine years ago, and the then Bolton manager Colin Todd was confident that the playmaking forward could keep the team in the top tier of English football.

However, it proved to be a move that failed to work out for all concerned and Beardsley was on his way to Fulham via a loan spell at Manchester City after just a few months in Lancashire.

The 45-year old is backing Newcastle to be victorious when the two teams meet tommorow but he knows that Bolton will make it tough for the Magpies as they go in search of their first Premiership home win since the opening day of the league season.

"I got asked the quiz question about three months ago. In the end it turned out to be me, but I didn't know the answer!" revealed Beardsley to the Newcastle Evening Chronicle

"To play for over a third of the teams is an amazing stat to be fair, but I had a great time at all of them. The only one that didn't go so well for me was Bolton.

"The people at Bolton and the football there was amazing. It is a magnificent, caring, friendly club. Newcastle is my team, though, and I know it will be tough for the lads.

"Bolton are physical in the sense that they can run all day. They are very fit and they have people like Gary Speed, so we know it will be tough tomorrow."