Kevin Davies says Bolton Wanderers lifted last season after the sale of Nicolas Anelka to Chelsea.
He said: "There's no doubt he's a great player but I just thought we became a closer and better team.
"It wasn't a personality thing. People say that Nic can be a bit grumpy but that's his personality. Maybe he's a shy, quiet person, I don't know. But when he left we had a meeting and asked what his qualities were. He brought us goals but there were a lot of things he didn't do which I bring to the team and that's something we talked about."