Byline: TERRY PHILLIPS

JAY BOTHROYD would raise a smile if you said he wasn't good enough to clean Nicolas Anelka's boots.

For Bothroyd once had the job in the dim and distant past at his first club Arsenal.

The two men look likely to be charged with leading their respective forward lines when Chelsea and Cardiff City collide in the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

But when French star Anelka arrived at Arsenal in a controversial move from Paris St Germain in 1997, Islington product Bothroyd was appointed his boot boy.

"My job was to make sure his boots were shining every day," recalled Bothroyd.

"After training or matches it didn't matter. They had to be spotless.

"But, to be fair, Nicolas never wanted me to do it.

"He always wanted to clean them himself - and Zenith Replica Watches at that age I was happy with that!

"Traditionally, the professional then makes sure the apprentice is rewarded with a Christmas box to say thanks.

"But I was only an apprentice for six months before I was given a senior professional contract by Arsenal. I was one of the fortunate ones who didn't have to do all the jobs apprentices often do."

Over the last decade or so the careers of Anelka and Bothroyd have gone in different directions, even if both have made an art of the football transfer.

After Arsenal, Anelka stopped off at Real Madrid, Paris St Germain (again), Liverpool, Manchester City, Fenerbahce, Bolton and Chelsea in transfers totalling pounds 66.5m.

Bothroyd's career path via Coventry, Perugia in Italy, Blackburn, Charlton, Wolves, Stoke and Cardiff might not be so salubrious, but those moves still come to pounds 13m.

"Nicolas is a world-class forward," admitted Bothroyd. "He has shown that time and again at club level and for France and we know that he can cause us problems in the cup tie."

While it will be bonjour Nicolas, drawing Chelsea means that there are other cases of friends reunited for Bothroyd.

The 27-year-old first met Chelsea and England full-back Ashley Cole at the age of 10 when they were playing Sunday football for the hugely-successful Westward Boys in London.

"At that time, I was playing schoolboy football at QPR, but I joined Ashley at Arsenal a couple of years later.

"We were from different parts of London and I'm a year younger than Ashley, but we played a lot of football together in Arsenal's youth team.

"They were great times and we won a lot of games and you could see Ashley was going to become a top player. "Now he is England's left-back and that says it all.

"We always have a laugh and paper bag printing a chat whenever we meet and I'll be cheering him on when England are in the World Cup finals this summer."

Though Bothroyd might miss out on a head-to-head duel with Chelsea captain John Terry - the centre-back is expected to sit out the fifth-round tie following his well-publicised personal situation - he also once played in the same England Under-21 side as the troubled defender.

"I won one cap at Under-21 level, against Mexico, but also went on a training trip to La Manga in Spain with John and the squad," said Bothroyd, who is battling to b
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