Han was a member of the Imperial Acadamy. He rescued Chewie from an Imperial officer, who ordered Han to kill him. Chewie then gave Han a life debt. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
Now regarding EU.
You are incorrect, whoever stated that most people think it's poodoo. The EU is generally well liked. It's sanctioned and approved by Lucas and Lucasbooks/Lucasarts and Lucasfilm. That's a lotta Lucas. While it is true that some of the early EU has since been discarded (The main brunt of it being Owen Lars as Obi Wan's brother and Boba Fett's history), there is still a lot of it that fits into the Star Wars timeline.
However there is one general rule. In terms of canon (ie what take more importance in the event of a conflict), the movies prevail. If the EU says something, and the movie contradicts it, the movie is correct. No matter what.
If you look at it this way. Palpatine was never mentioned in the original Star Wars, nor was the Sith, yet both appeared in the EU novel, albeit indirectly, Splinter of the Minds Eye. Does this mean Palpatine is EU? From a certain point of view, yes.
All that matters in context of the timeline continuity is the movies. Anything else that interferes with that is secondary. The NJO for example is all good as it takes place 20 years after RotJ so there's not much conflict. The EU has no bearing of any further movies though.