Saddlers Legends

Roger Boli- possibly one of the most underated Saddlers players of the last 20 years.

The man who was most famous for being the brother of former french legend Basile and having famous friends such as Eric Cantona arrived at Bescot in 1997.

He had spent the previous 7 years in France with Lens and played over 220 games during that time.

During his one and only season with Walsall he found the net 12 times in 41 appearances but that doesn’t really do Boli’s performances justice.

Working in harmony with another Bescot great Jeff Peron, Boli bamboozled defences and often showed touches that Cantona himself would have been proud of.

The highlight of his brief Walsall career was a goal at the Theatre of Dreams as Walsall took on Man Utd in the FA Cup. Despite a 5-1 scoreline, Boli’s goal and the resulting celebrations will stay with most Saddlers fans forever and a day.

Boli’s quality however meant that it didn’t take long for bigger clubs to come sniffing around and in a £150k deal he moved north of the border to Dundee Utd.

Unfortunately that move saw Boli’s career nosedive and he only played 10 more games (3 for Dundee Utd and 7 for Bournemouth) before retiring.

Since the end of his playing days, Boli has become an agent in France.