AND with one goodbye message, the Premier League era was gone.

Almost as much as Stuart Holden refused to admit his body would not let him make a competitive comeback, so Wanderers fans did not allow themselves to completely concede the midfielder would never return to action in a Bolton shirt.

The fairytale ending, however unlikely as time wore on, could never be entirely ruled out until last night.

At 30, our favourite Texan native officially called time on his career and gave us what those Americans so often refer to as closure.

For Bolton fans it is hard not to be bitter. Those heady days under Owen Coyle that promised so much, yet delivered so little, would have been different had Holden stayed fit.

The American was the classy ying to Fabrice Muamba’s more industrious yang in a midfield that was playing as well as anything Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal had to offer.

Little old Bolton were ready to take on the elite again, only this time they were doing it in style.

It was all coming together in a quite wonderful way until that day at Old Trafford when Holden left the field on a stretcher, his career effectively ruined from there on in.

Wanderers’ hierarchy did their level best to hide the extent of the injury but that meant we never truly embraced what a feat of strength it was for Holden to make any playing return at all, however brief.

“I used to be a Manchester United fan but then they broke my leg,” he joked, in one of his regular video updates on Facebook.

And that is exactly why the lad who played just 38 games for Wanderers – in a team that will be remembered chiefly for their failures in his absence – will always be welcome back in these parts.

Holden let us in. He’s about 75 per cent American, and they tend to be more open about emotions than us Brits. But through all the hours of video in the gym working towards a comeback there wasn’t a hint of negativity and I think he appreciated that he was giving a bit of hope back to Bolton fans, just as much as their messages of support were helping him.

Typically, on the day he announced his retirement and introduced newborn baby daughter Kennady to the world, Holden also sent another direct message of thanks to his adopted hometown.

His association with the club is far from complete, of that I am positive. Holden has taken an active interest in the formation of the Supporters’ Trust and once life as a first-time dad calms down don’t be surprised to see him get involved in one way or another.

Right now it is probably a good time to say thanks. To the guy who scored that goal against Blackburn Rovers, who sat with the fans at Bury, who sent the paper a thumbs-up picture from his hospital bed after his first big knee operation, who signed an autograph on his first day at the club to my cousin - who is also called Stuart Holden.

It was all too brief – but it was certainly a pleasure.