Bolton Wanderers FC

Ok – I’ll admit now that the scoreline flattered us a little. Boro had plenty of chances and, had Tuncay been a little more accurate with his finishing, the score could have been considerably different. But he didn’t and the fact of the matter is this will go down in the annals as a comprehensive victory.

On the day, Boro’s defending was awful. Cahill had time to stub out a fag before notching his first Reebok goal of the season. Despite what Megson said on MOTD, Matty Taylor’s shot should have been stopped and Davo was allowed time to slot his goal home. However, poor defending doesn’t always gift the game to opposing teams – chances have to be taken and we certainly took them. Add to the above Ricky’s goal (his fourth in the league this season) and the result made for a very satisfying day at the office, even if the performance didn’t quite blow people away.

Cause for concern? Elmander’s form, yet again. He simply doesn’t look up to the task of being a successful Premier League striker. Also, Muamba failed to impress yet again.

Causes for optimism? This result puts us on the brink of safety and was much needed ahead of a trip to Stamford Bridge next Saturday. We should get enough points from the remaining fixtures to retain our top-flight status and, although that will disappoint some fools who actually wouldn’t have minded seeing us relegated just to get rid of Megson, that is all we can ask for this season.

My heart said a win here, my head said a draw. Should I be happy, then, with the final result? Possibly, but I’m not. West Brom are, quite simply, a poor team and we’ve only taken 2 points from them this season. That isn’t really good enough. It’s not enough to say that Scott Carson had a great game. It’s not enough to say that Matty Taylor almost took the Baggies to the sword single-handedly. The fact of the matter is, we should now be another 2 points closer to safety.

Plus points? The form of Taylor is very welcome at the moment, whilst Davo continues doing what he does best (what’s that? He’s not in the England squad but Carlton Cole is? What a fantastic surprise…).

Minus points? Quite simple really – the form of Elmander, Muamba and, more recently, McCann, continues to cause concern. At the moment, the rest of the team are carrying these players and that isn’t on when we’re scrapping for points. It seems that Megson has the same virus as Alex Ferguson at the moment – playamisfitbigmoneystikerevenwhenthey’renotperformingjustbecauseyoushelledoutalotofmoneyforthemitis. Elmander is similar to Berbatov in one respect – the managers paid a lot of money for these players and, despite piss poor form, seem reluctant to drop them, presumably because of the huge initial outlay. Sorry Gary but that isn’t enough of an excuse – Elmander just isn’t cutting the mustard at the moment and should be dropped (in favour of Smolarek) for what is a huge game at home to Middlesbrough.

The worst display of the season (and, having wasted 2 hours of my life on the Everton & Wigan games, that’s saying something). In fact, quite possibly the worst performance  I’ve ever seen by a Bolton team.

I agree with Megson saying that we simply need to draw a line under it but there are deeper lying problems to address here. O’Brien did have a bad game but it isn’t his only one of late. He looks a shadow of the man who won last season’s player of the year award and, as harsh as this sounds, serious consideration should now be given to replacing him with Sebastien Puygrenier, before O’Brien’s already fragile confidence is shattered any further.

Another who hasn’t performed particularly well of late is Gavin McCann, who had a shocker. Unable to pass to a fellow team-mate, McCann might as well have been playing for Fulham. We were woeful in midfield and couldn’t wrestle control of the game from the likes of Murphy and Etuhu.

And then we have Johan Elmander. I’ve attempted to back Elmander many times via this column but the time has come to stop doing that and face facts – the guy is not fit to be in the first team. He lacks confidence. He has the pace of Robbie Coltrane 10 minutes after polishing off a mixed grill. His first touch is poor. He looks to be a very expensive white elephant. Will Megson continue to play him simply because of his lofty transfer fee? It certainly seems that way. Again, this may seem harsh, but we are entering a crucial period and we can’t afford passengers, of which Elmander currently is one. Makukula certainly isn’t the answer, so I’d either play 5 across the middle in support of Davo (with Taylor and Gardner making it a front 3 whenever possible) or do a straight swap – Smolarek (who wasn’t even on the bench on Saturday – I hope due to a minor injury…???) for Elmander. We are now, in this topsy-turvy season, just 4 points off the bottom 3. We can’t have any more performances like this.

To be fair to Fulham, they looked good. Hodgson certainly set them up to get something from the game and credit to him for that. Stand-out performers were Andy Johnson, Simon Davies and the very impressive Bernard Hangliderland (though, to be fair, Bolton’s primary tactic of hoofing the ball toward a centre-back who must be 6’5” did make things pretty easy for him – he won everything in the air).

Bloody decent strikers. I feared James Beattie before this match and that fear was well-founded. 2 goals from 2 confident strikers undid us but, to be honest from what I could see, Stoke fully deserved the win. Megson has had a go at the team for yet another poor away performance and, whilst it’s home form that will have the major say in this league, our away form is a concern. Capitulation at Everton not so long ago and now this. Something has to be done about it and I’m sure Megson will work on it.

Though let’s not take anything away from Stoke. They don’t drop many points at the Britannia and this was a deserved victory. How I wish we had James Beattie at the moment – he is Premiership class and is proving it since signing for Stoke. Experienced and adept, it’s no surprise that he’s banging the goals in. In stark contrast, Elmander really seems to be struggling at the moment. He’s got a few games under his belt since returning from injury but the goals just aren’t there. It could be that it’s taking him a while to return to full fitness. It could be that he’s still struggling coming to terms with the English game. It could be that he’s simply not good enough. Regardless – the question has to be asked; how long does he stay in the team? I still believe Smolarek could do a job given a start or two and that has to be considered if Elmander continues misfiring.

In summary, I’m not too despondent - this was almost expected. The next game is at home to Fulham a week on Saturday and we do need to beat them. Hopefully Megson will sort out the away form by the time we head to the Hawthorns later on in the month – defeat there really would be a disaster…

Not the greatest of games but a fantastic result for Bolton. Perhaps a surprise to see Andy O'Brien back in the starting line-up in place of Puygrenier but he did well alongside my man-of-the-match - Gary Cahill. Cahill was excellent today and, if Fabio Capello has looked at him over recent weeks, he should take another glance now. Cahill is in excellent form and, along with Jussi, Taylor and Davo, now forms the spine of the team. Young Mark Davies also looked impressive today and as for Davo - well, it goes without saying these days. The man is immense.

Comedy value came courtesy of Butt and Taylor's little fish-slapping dance. Quality came courtesy of the move which led to Ricky netting with his first touch of the ball - an inspired substitution by Megson. This victory leaves us in 10th place on 33 points - 7 clear of the drop zone. Another couple of wins and I would say we'll be safe - given the remaining fixtures we have, this is surely achievable? On the flip-side of that, we're just 3 points behind West Ham in 7th. What a crazy season...

A good day all round though I do fear for Newcastle this season. They need some quality in defence and midfield and they have a difficult run in. Fingers crossed fellas but I can see it going down to the wire for them...

In case you didn't see it, here's Taylor and Butt's little spat:

Predictable headline but bloody hell - how West Ham didn't come out of this game with anything is beyond me. After a completely unexpected opening, we simply sat back and relaxed, thinking the game was won. West Ham played some crisp, incisive, fast-moving football and, at times, were a joy to watch - Zola is starting to craft a team in his own image. However, his front-men let him down today (Carlton Cole injured? You little liars!). It was just as well, as the second half was like watching the Alamo. Cahill, Puygrenier and Davies (Kevin) the stand-out players for us. Elmander wasn't fit (to be expected), and the number of times we looked like little lost sheep was unbelievable.

However, I'm not complaining. The points are all important and 3 were very welcome today. Another winnable game is on the cards next Sunday (at home to Newcastle), especially if Matty Taylor and Davo can keep up their current hot-streaks in front of goal. A pretty good weekend could be bettered tomorrow if Fulham can beat West Brom. Set the bottom 3 adrift and the rest of us can stop worrying...

Lets not spend too much time reviewing the actual match yesterday. We were shocking. Everton were excellent and could have won by 5 or 6. The display was abject, appalling and woeful. Megson's formation was confusing at best, downright foolish at worst. O'Brien at right-back? Jesus...

Right - match review over. Let's look now at something far more important - the scope for bouncing back quicky with an impressive performance. The squad excuse cannot be used for yesterday as, in BWFC terms, the quality of the 3 subs used was pretty good (Basham, Riga & Smolarek). Cohen, Hunt and Elmander should be back before too long, giving the squad a fuller and safer look about it. That can only be a positive. The fixtures between now and Easter are:

West Ham (H), Stoke (A), Fulham (H), West Brom (A), Middlesbrough (H).

I'm predicting (and these words may come back to munch a king-sized chunk of flesh from my hefty arse) that we'll get enough points from those games to be relatively comfortable for the final 6 weeks or so of the season. I cannot see Megson allowing for such a poor performance again and the players, if they have an ounce of pride between them, should be busting a gut to prevent another performance like Saturday's. Fingers crossed, as many more like that will see relegation as a very real prospect... 

Get in there! What a fine result and performance which should go a long way to getting the clueless element of the Reebok off Megson's back for a while. Megson apologised yesterday for what he said on Wednesday (though he had absolutely no need to - how he kept quiet for so long is a mystery to me) and hopefully we won't see such vile personal abuse again.

However, it was squeaky bum time for 12 minutes or so when it looked like a repeat of Wednesday's match at Blackburn (or possibly a worse outcome) was on the cards. But thankfully the new captain fantastic Davo did the business for the second time in the game and got us a much deserved (and welcome) victory. Following on from Puygrenier's first goal for the club, this was welcome relief. The papers will doubtless make much of the fact that Spurs were very poor for much of the game (with Pavlyuchenko and Modric particularly shocking) but let's give credit where it's due - Bolton fully deserved the win. There was a fair amount of battling going on but, as the press will no doubt choose to overlook, some very nice football too, much of it eminating from Mark Davies. The new signing had a phenomenal full debut and looks yet another piece of astute business by Gary Megson. Confident, skillful and seemingly reveling running at the opposition, we haven't seen such an assured and, dare I say it, cock-sure performance since the days of Djorkaeff and Okocha. Perhaps Nolan won't be missed after all.

Fair play to Darren Bent for taking his chances and proving 'Arry to be woefully wide of the mark when comparing him to his missus the other week but it would hav been a travesty had we not won the game. Well done the lads, especially the Davies clan and Megson himself, for emerging triumphant from a very testing week. Let's take this level of performance to Goodison next Saturday and we may well shock a few people. Megson to add the February manager of the month award to his November accolade? With only 2 league games falling this calendar month I doubt it but it will be interesting to see how we fare away to Everton and at home to West Ham.

Even though we shouldn't be surrending a 2-goal lead to any team outside the top 5, I'm still trying to maintain a positive outlook. I'd have taken a point prior to the game and I still firmly believe the remaining fixtures will provide enough opportunities to rack up enough points to maintain our place in the Premier League, but this was still a disappointment. Good to see our 2 top scorers this season adding to their tally and good to see another fine Jussi display. Not so good to see us clinging on for dear life at the end and definitely not good to see the amount of flak Megson took (more of that in a separate post).

Some interesting team selections too. Puygrenier starting in place of Andy O'Brien? Makukula starting again, even though he was blowing out of his arse after an hour? Basham (deservedly so) starting again? Mark Davies coming off the bench in place of Makukula to make his debut? I'm not having a pop at Megson here - just interesting talking points...

Another big game to come at home to Spurs on Saturday. Normally I'd settle for a point in that one too but we have to be aiming to beat Harry's mob. Hopefully he'll undermine their confidence by severely slagging off another 3 or 4 of his first team squad over the next day or two. Go on 'Arry, there's a good boy...

Connected to my bid to keep my pecker up and remain positive (more of which to come in a separate post), and to honour the BBC digging up the mighty Pam Ayres for a triumphant (…???) appearance on last week’s ‘QI’, the latest match review will be written as a piece of rhyming verse. Just in case the likes of Brian Sewell happen to chance upon this blog thanks to a yearning for football writing allied to a bit of culture…

The dark days of January will soon fade away,

Perhaps, now, a win may come our way.

With depressing regularity we find,

That the ‘big four’ always cane our behinds.

And so to the turn of the champions of the world,

Shorn of their superstars, their fringe players unfurled.

But even with Evans, Anderson & O’Shea,

They still have enough to make the Super Whites pay.

We had the odd chance; it’s fair to admit,

But we didn’t capitalise, our finishing was shit.

Makakula a surprise start, on his own up front,

Why that stupid shove on Vidic, the big crazy…sausage…

Defending like Michael Caine in the classic film ‘Zulu’,

It was backs-to-the-wall, the Reds found no way through.

Chris Basham was the link between defence and midfield,

For an untried young kid, he proved an effective shield.

Jussi, yet again, pitched a virtuoso show,

A titanic battle unfolding between him and Ronaldo.

The Portugese preener kept firmly at bay,

The sour face spoke volumes, it just wasn’t his day.

But oh how we knew as the clock ticked away,

That the resolute defence would slip up and we’d pay.

It really didn’t come as a great surprise,

When the jammy red bastards netted before our eyes.

A moment of class from young Carlos caused trouble,

Squared up poor Dimitar, who snapped from his big surly bubble.

And just did enough to hit the back of the net,

The miserable, piss-faced, bone-idle get.

Let's get a very swift review of the game itself out of the way. 9 man defence (as the British media, Reuters, The New York Times and every man and his dog have reported on today), awful game, relentless Arsenal pressure paid off in the end.

Now, let's discuss the deeper issues of the day. Due to injuries to Nicky Hunt (???), Gary Cahill and Ebi Smolarek, plus suspensions for Gretar Steinsson and Kevin Nolan, Megson only named four subs. Of those four, three were relatively untried youngsters (Bogdan, Fojut and Obadeyi) whilst the other was Riga, who hasn't figured much this season anyway. Youngster Chris Basham made his first start for the first team after just a couple of minutes of previous Premier League experience. Is there a club in the Premier League who needs signings more desperately than us this month? What an appalling situation, especially when so many players left the club in 2008. I'm not saying those players would be first-team regulars now but this is ridiculous. And now Elmander is injured too - hopefully nothing serious. 

As a footnote, what the hell was Megson doing subbing a sub? Apparently Riga didn't look injured so what a perfect way to crush a player's confidence. Any positives to take from this weekend - absolutely none. What a shambolic state of affairs. I'm off to drink myself into a stupor and ponder how quickly it will take Prince Harry to fully morph into his grandfather...

Please don't tell me January is to be as depressing as December. We're just 5 points clear of the bottom club in the league, we were knocked out of the Carling Cup at the first hurdle by the mighty Northampton Town and now we're out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle. All we have to look forward to is retaining our Premier League status. Save for a flukey Smolarek goal, this was cut and dried for Sunderland and, despite fielding a virtual full-strength team, we still gave in too easily. Could have been a good year too, seeing as though Liverpool play Everton and Man United play Spurs in the next round. Too depressed to add anything else - next 2 league fixtures are, as I've said on many occasions recently, Arsenal and Man United. What a treat...

A shambolic display, completely inept and reminiscent of Sunday league football (albeit piss poor Sunday league football). I really do feel like leaving the review there but I'll elaborate a little. The performance today was an absolute disgrace and plunges us right back into trouble. The 4-4-2 formation simply did not work and a poor Wigan team were made to look better than they actually are (though at least they had some fight in them). After everything I said on here yesterday, Davies had a really poor game on his return but, to be fair, there wasn't a single Bolton player to emerge with any credit. Elmander, despite chasing every loose ball, was very poor on the ball. An extremely pedestrian midfield was ridiculously poor and a defence shorn of Gary Cahill's undoubted class looked there for the taking. Credit to Wigan for diving about as if they were Bambi on ice (how does someone of Zaki's build go down so easily?) - that really embellished a really poor game of football. And just what has Ebi Smolarek got to do to get a decent shift in on the pitch? Has Megson caught his missus in a compromising position with the Polish international or what?

Wigan now have a 5 point cushion on us. Our next 2 league games are Arsenal away and Man United at home. We are just 3 points ahead of Stoke in 18th position. Am I hacked off? Exceedingly. In what is turning out to be a bizarre season, a couple of defeats can easily plunge you into trouble. Megson's November manager of the month award now seems an age ago. Bah humbug and roll on 2009...

It's a phrase I'm starting to use a little too often for my own liking here but there was a certain inevitability about this result. Our woeful league record at Anfield being the main reason. Liverpool simply steamrolled us and highlighted that they have to be considered as genuine title contenders now - Christ knows what the final score would have been had Torres been fit. Some of their play was sublime at times, particularly the build-up to their third (Keane's second) goal - a delightful piece of football involving Reina, Alonso, Benayoun and Keane. All credit to the Scousers - they fully deserved this victory.

What to say about Bolton? Well, one topic must be discussed, and that's Kevin Davies dropping to the bench. I'll use a separate post to rant about that one but it certainly seems an unfathomable decision by ginger Mourinho. That he came on for the second half makes no difference - Davo should start every game, simple as. The ploy to play Muamba in order to free Gardner and Taylor to wreak havoc on the wings simply backfired (in a huge way), though at least Megson has admitted this. The team simply couldn't compete though, as alluded to by Megson, it's the games against teams other than the big 4 that will define the season. It was good to see Smolarek get some action (and look impressive at the same time) - hopefully a sign of things to come. All in all, an (inevitable!) bad day at the office. Come on lads and get a result against the bloody pie-eaters...

What a game of football. In a Premiership where there have been quite a few low-scoring games recently, and as ridiculous as this sounds, this game could easily have ended with 9 or 10 goals. It would be easy (and predictable) to report on Portsmouth’s obvious problems at the moment but, instead, I’d rather concentrate on BWFC. This was a tremendous, and deserved, victory against a team who can cause problems on their day. I have to admit that the Portsmouth goal was a moment of absolute top quality, with a sensational outside-of-the-boot ball from Krancjar providing Peter Crouch with the type of opportunity he simply doesn’t miss from. But the game was virtually over inside the first 4 minutes.

Perhaps it was predictable that Matty Taylor would score against his former club, but what a well taken goal it was. Bamboozling Sylvan Distin before lashing home, Taylor is on a good scoring run at the moment and is quickly becoming our most important goal threat. Dangerous from set-pieces and open play, he is now showing the form which led to rumours of England call-ups during his Portsmouth days and it is vital that he stays fit. It was also a peach of a strike from Ricardo Gardner (which leaves me eating a large slice of humble pie following numerous digs at his shooting prowess…) and Steinsson and Nolan came close on occasion too. It is especially pleasing that the goals are now being spread throughout the team – this is something which stood us in good stead during the heady Allardyce days and is crucial to our success this season too. Long may it continue.

Finally, and not for the first time, praise must be given to Kevin Davies, who was, as ever, outstanding. Chasing every last cause, harrying, closing down and winning virtually every challenge he contested, Davo gave the kind of performance which has made him a cult hero at the Reebok. It would be nice for him to receive some real recognition outside the club (and, as bizarre as it may sound, I do believe he could fill in the ‘Heskey role’ within the England team), though he surely knows how valued he is here.

Absolutely typical of us to catch Villa on one of their red-hot days, especially (as alluded to in the match preview) Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor. The future of English football looks very bright indeed with players like this and Gretar Steinsson will be having nightmares about Young for a long time to come. Not that I’m having a dig at Steinsson there (he isn’t the first right-back to be ripped apart by Young this season, nor will he be the last) but there must be some way of stopping Young (other than hoofing him into Row Z). Our defence in general is looking extremely schizophrenic this season. At times strong, organised and resolute, they do have an alarming tendency to collapse like a pack of cards at times (as witnessed again on Saturday). Media interviews show that Megson is clearly bothered by this, so hopefully he’ll be putting in extra hours on the training ground to sort it.

This month was always going to be tricky after the highs of November, with games against 3 of the 5 best teams in the league (just Liverpool to come on Boxing Day now). The home games against Portsmouth and Wigan were always going to be the key fixtures, even more so now given the last 2 results (and considering that we have Man United and Arsenal to come in January). Positives to take from Saturday? Good to see Elmander keep up his recent run of goals with an exquisite finish. Also good to see Davies notch again. It was also good to see a number of other chances created (particularly for Steinsson and Taylor), which is imperative if we are to remain in this league beyond the end of the season. Also, elsewhere, it was good to see Newcastle wallop Portsmouth yesterday. Hopefully they’ll be rock bottom (confidence wise) when they come up here next Saturday. Fingers, toes and all other bits crossed…

Just how many inevitables could there be in any one game? It was inevitable that Chelsea would win here (they always do) and break the record for consecutive away wins (for which they deserve huge amounts of credit – that is a ridiculously impressive achievement). It was inevitable they would win 2-0 (3 out of the previous 5 Reebok fixtures have ended with that scoreline). It was inevitable that Anelka would score. It was inevitable that, given I couldn’t pick my nose for much of this season, I’d guess at a 2-1 win instead of deciding not to invest a couple of quid on an inevitable Anelka-Scores-First-And-Chelsea-Win-2-0 bet (DOH!). God, I hate the word inevitable now…

To be fair to the lads though, whilst the Chelsea juggernaut continued to press ahead at a rare old pace, we gave them a good game (as predicted). Yes – the defending was poor for the Anelka goal (though it was a fine cross in from Boswinga) but the defence have been outstanding in recent weeks, so I’m not going to labour that point any longer. We certainly had some good attacking play (Elmander, Davo and Taylor all going close) and, on another day, we might have achieved a little more against an unusually ropy looking Peter Cech. It pains me to say it (especially when it’s a player who I detest and consider to be a cheating, diving, smug little turd) but Deco’s goal was a moment of genuine quality.

Overall, nothing to be too despondent about here. It was a reasonable performance against one of the finest teams in Europe and our season will not be judged on the games against the likes of Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool. Let’s try and get back on track against Villa and Portsmouth before heading to Anfield on Boxing Day (fingers crossed that Torres is still crocked by then…).

Doom bells ring, are you listening?

Roy Keane's beard is a-glistening.

His defence is toss, they've caused another loss,

Walking over piss poor Sunderland...

What a marvellous result (AGAIN)! Megson as manager of the month for November? The defeat to Liverpool was the only blot on a month that included 4 victories (3 of which were away from home) and I'm struggling to think of another manager who deserves it more. The North East is becoming a very happy hunting ground and, although Sunderland were dire, Bolton still needed to stick the ball in the back of the net to take the points. And stick the ball in the back of the net they did.

Good to see Matty Taylor netting again (especially as he went into my Fantasy League team earlier this week - cheap as chips too). Good to see Gary Cahill finishing with aplomb. And very good to see Elmander netting another 2 goals, in addition to his strike last weekend. Yes, he could have scored 4 in his own right but what the hell - he's on form, his confidence is growing and he seems to be enjoying his football now. The team seem united and willing to work their socks off for each other and it's paying dividends. Hopefully we'll avoid a heavy defeat against Chelsea next Saturday (who will be smarting after today, unfortunately) and pick things up again during the rest of December. The league table made for happy reading this morning and I'd hate to drop back toward the relegation zone.

Elmander for the golden boot! Taylor for England! Megson for a knighthood in the Queen's New Year honours! Nurse - the screens please - he's finally lost it!

Well, well, well. Another excellent result on the road and all 3 goals were results of 70 yard balls into the box from set-pieces and onto the head of Kevin Davies…

Well, actually, no they weren’t. The match preview for this suggested we’d get something from the game and so it proved. Steaming out of the blocks and netting two in the first 10 minutes of any Premiership game is good going and Boro were always going to find it difficult from thereon in. Matty Taylor showed yet again why he could turn out to be our main goal threat this season (and why he was right to choose Bolton over Boro) with a well taken strike, Gretar Steinsson once again showed great attacking play for his goal and the highlight of the match (for me, at least) was Elmander netting with a great little turn and finish. That should get his confidence back up and hopefully now the goals will come a little more freely. The only disappointment is that the excellent back 4 (3 of whom have appeared in every league game together this season) couldn’t maintain their run of clean-sheets, though that is a very minor gripe.

It was also pleasing to see Megson lambasting his team for switching off once the second goal had gone in. I like the fact that he won’t allow them to become complacent and there was a touch of the Allardyce about his criticism of his team, which is no bad thing at all (unless, of course, you happen to think that Allardyce was an over-rated chancer who didn’t achieve much in his time in charge of BWFC….). Overall, an excellent result and a big confidence boost ahead of Saturdays return trip to the NE to take on a stuttering Sunderland.

There was a certain inevitability about this result. Even without Torres, Liverpool are playing some excellent football this season and now have to be considered genuine title contenders (although I have said since the first day of the season that Chelsea will be champions and I still believe that to be the case). Gerrard is as brilliant as ever (given free reign to attack thanks to an excellent holding midfield pairing of Alonso and Mascherano), Kuyt has been a revelation since switching to an attacking winger, Riera has slotted in effortlessly and Keane will come good – the old adage form is temporary, class is permanent certainly applies. And then there is Torres; Liverpool could easily have scored 4 or 5 on Saturday (thanks go to Gerrard and Keane for missing simple chances and keeping the score relatively respectable); with Torres they would have done. The guy is prodigiously talented and the ball in for Gerrard’s goal was sublime genius of the highest order. If Il Nino stays fit, Liverpool will be there-or-thereabouts come May.

And what of Bolton? Well, after a promising opening 8 or 9 minutes, it was backs-to-the-wall stuff. Defending deep and in numbers, it was nothing more than damage limitation. Yes, Cahill’s goal should have stood (I won’t go on about Styles’ record when reffing BWFC games for fear of spontaneously combusting with rage) and yes, Gardner should have scored when falling flat on his arse , though the fact remains that employing the defensive tactics against the ‘Big 4’ will see us come unstuck time and time again. And why does Gary Megson state in the local press that he’s sure Elmander will come good and then stick him on the wing? My learned brother-in-law Wally said Elmander will be another Jon Dahl Tomasson, in that he’ll be labeled a flop in England (due to being played out of position) and will subsequently move to a foreign team, play in his correct position and be considered a top-notch player. Worryingly, each passing game leads me to believe this will be the case. Come on Megson – adopt a tactic that will prove me wrong here…

Just a matter of days after I ordained him a Bolton legend, Jussi kindly went and showed exactly why he deserves such an accolade. He certainly won the match for us (without him we’d be returning from the KC stadium pointless) and his performance was absolutely breath-taking. Some of his saves were simply unbelievable, not least his double-save from Marlon King and Caleb Folan in the dying stages. That the rest of the team mobbed him at the final whistle tells you everything and Jussi showed yet again why he could remain at the top of his game for another 5 years to come.

The final result was both a welcome surprise and very pleasing too. To take 3 points from Hull is a hell of an achievement and, in what is becoming a ridiculously close league this year, took us into the top half of the table. It’s a ridiculously tight league when a couple of wins can take you from rock bottom to the verge of the UEFA Cup spots and, to flip that on it’s head, when a couple of losses can plunge you into trouble. Hopefully we can keep this momentum up and get something from the Liverpool game on Saturday, prior to 2 away trips to the North East to take on Sunderland (please Dioufy – do your old mates a favour and make a crazy tackle like that against one of us…) and Boro.

Plus points from the game: Jussi’s heroics aside, it was good to see Elmander and Gardner return to the starting line-up. Was also good to see Smolarek get some playing time – he was unlucky with a rasping drive late on and I still believe he can be an important player for us this season. In addition, the free coach travel (to be discussed further in a separate post) led to another decent turn-out and must have played a part in geeing the lads up a little.

Minus points: Hard to pick fault with anything following such a good result.

What a crazy, unbelievable, mad, bizarre season this is turning into. I honestly thought we'd get hammered today but City managed to maintain their poor away form and help us to 3 much-needed points. To think that, although we have been pretty awful lately, we are now just 3 points behind Boro in 8th place is unreal. Stoke beating Arsenal 2-1? Hull coming back from 4-1 down to give United the shock of their lives at Old Trafford? Refreshing to see and credit to both teams for going out and trying to win games. Could any of us now predict, with any degree of confidence, the 3 teams to be relegated this season? Certainly not me, and it promises to be one hell of a season.

Regarding todays game, we looked poor again until Ricky Gardner came off the bench and made all the difference. Attack minded (though still ropey at shooting, despite the goal (which he did his best to miss!)), he was a breath of fresh air and surely staked a major claim for a starting berth away to Hull on Saturday. Gretar Steinsson showed once again that, as with other right-backs at the club (stand up Nicky Hunt), he appears to be a major asset when bombing forward and getting great balls into the box. And the result was fantastic. We now have to build on this and get a positive result at the KC on Saturday, prior to the Liverpool game at the Reebok. Good show lads - hopefully this will galvanise the team, bring a little confidence back and prove to be the catalyst for a nice little run.

Regarding todays opponents, I'll be interested in Bazinho's thoughts on Hellboy's future at the club? Current form (especially away from home) is not at all good and I have a feeling that, regardless how City play, he won't be a big enough name for the oil barons???

I cannot believe I have wasted 2 hours of my life watching that dross tonight. Quite simply one of the worst games of football I've ever seen, with both teams absolutely appalling. There wasn't a single player worthy of praise - that's how bad it was. Bolton simply appeared aimless and amateurish. They were clueless, resorted to the long ball too often and, especially in the final third, couldn't pick out the simplest of passes. Allardyce took a lot of unfair stick about his so-called long-ball tactics, though his teams did play entertaining football quite often (it's hard not to with the likes of Okocha, Campo, Djorkaeff, Hierro et-al in your team). However, Megson's tactics are simply hideous, omitting skill, flair and endeavour in favour of long ball tripe. The only player I will excuse tonight is Elmander. He does look like he has the potential to be a half-decent player for us, though any chance of him actually realising that potential in this current set-up is highly unlikely.

Everton did not fair much better (Arteta, Yakubu, Osman, Saha, Lescott and Fellaini were very disappointing indeed), though they did look moderately dangerous from set-pieces and this told in the end. It will seemingly be a long season for them though at least they picked up 3 points when playing so poorly. Bolton, with Riga handed a first Prem starting berth, looked about as dangerous as the cast of Last of the Summer Wine. I have said in the past week or so that I simply can't see where the next win will come from and I still (unfortunately) have that viewpoint. Next up - a Man City team full of flair at home but seemingly piss-poor away from Eastlands. However, they'll be smarting from a defeat tonight and will surely fancy their chances on Sunday. I fancy Baz's team to win with considerable ease. As for Bolton, awful tactics, leading to a lack of goals and a lack of confidence, makes for a very worrying season indeed. I am thoroughly hacked off...

Jesus - what a day. My lazy day sat on my fat arse, watching TV and posting on CatFlap didn't materialise and now I have to review this bloody match. Well - the result was inevitable really, wasn't it? There was no way on earth an 'Arry inspired Spurs were going to do anything but beat good old Bolton. They deserved it too. Yet again though, we were awful. The local rag is scathing in it's rating of the players today and they'r not far off the mark. Jussi (daft penalty aside) saved us from a pummelling and he appears to be the only one to come out of this game with a modicum of credit. Cahill was at fault for Pavyuchenko's goal, the rest of the defence looked equally as ropey, Nolan is really struggling at the moment (as is Muamba) and Elmander is not hitting the back of the net as often as he should be doing. This is a major concern and the next 5 days are of major importance now. Home games against Everton and Man City should see some sort of return but, to be honest, I can't see where the next win is coming from. Everton will come and give us a right old game whilst City, despite looking less effective away from home, have quality throughout their team. Worrying times but a minimum of 3 points from these 2 games is essential. ..

This is now getting beyond a joke. Is Megson doing his level best to squeeze the life out of this team? His formations for home games now appear to be mirroring his away tactics, hence shite games and shite results such as this one (especially when the away team adopt a similar stance). As dull as ditchwater and no amount of free ale is going to keep punters coming back if toss like this is served up.

I'm at a loss what to say about this one. Save for some howlers that really should have been nestling in the back of the net (take a bow Messers Roberts and (Snozzles) O'Brien), there's absolutely sod all constructive to say. Oh, apart from the fact that it's good to have Matt Taylor back - he's looking sharp and dangerous and deserves his place in the team. It's a shame that it's at the expense of such a loyal servant as Ricardo Gardner but Taylor is a major player for us now. Other than that, a load of turgid old toss.

We are now just one point above the drop zone and have tough home games against Everton and Man City to come. But they're after a massive game away to Spurs next Saturday. And, despite suspensions and piss-poor form, I fully expect Spurs to notch their first win. Negative? Yes, but it would be sods law. They have to get one some time, so why not next week? I'll tip them, so that means a Bolton win is definitely on the cards...

To keep the negative theme running, I really am concerned about our prospects this season. Much to say on that one, so it will have to be in a seperate post I'm afraid...

Get in there! What a result and what immaculate timing. Whilst fancying us to get something out of the game (see the preview below), I'm still ecstatic with this result. It's a real morale booster and sets things up nicely for the local derby against Blackburn a week on Saturday. A defeat would have seen us rooted in the bottom 3 though we're now in the situation where a victory against Paul Ince's mob could see us hit the lofty heights of mid-table. Here's hoping.

What today illustrated more than ever is the importance of keeping the key players available. Cahill scored and looked solid in defence. Elmander, whilst ploughing a lone furrow up front, looked industrious and showed potential. Davies continued his hot scoring streak. And Matty Taylor - well, what can we say? What an entrance, what a strike! To be fair to Megson, for once, the defensive formation worked quite well. We now need to build upon this and get a good run together over the next few games. The potential is there to do so (following Blackburn we have Spurs (A), Everton (H), Man City (H) and Hull (A)) and it's vitally important that we build upon this result.

It's good to see that Megson now has some selection problems. Taylor surely has to start the next game but in place of who? Gardner has been impressive thus far and Ginger Mourinho really seems to favour Samuel at left-back. Also, and this is my only gripe for today (and it's a repeated gripe), what the hell has Riga to do to get on the pitch? But regardless of that, this has been a good day. Let's hope the match review in a fortnight is in a similar vein.

I'll keep this simple and to the point, otherwise I'll embark on a hate filled rant that will run to around 1000 words.

* Rob Styles = complete joke. Not just against Bolton (who he does have a considerable history with) but with most teams in this league. The guy is a disgrace, and on a consistent basis too.

* I'm not accusing Ronaldo of diving. I'm not saying he didn't either, but it's irrelevant. Styles carries the can here.

* Man Utd winning was inevitable the moment Rooney stepped onto the pitch. What is it with that guy and scoring against us? Every bloody time...

* We simply have to win at West Ham next Sunday (and hope Hull keep up their hot streak in North London at Spurs).

* What the hell has Riga to do to get a start? He didn't even get on the pitch yesterday. For crying out loud. Find some way to accommodate him.

The sky is turning black & storm clouds are gathering. The ravens are fleeing the tower. The lookouts have spotted an iceberg far too late to take action. Back in 1546 Nostadamus stated 'In the year of 2000 plus 9, the dwellers at the Reebok shall go titties up'.

Ok - perhaps that's a bit much, but things are looking really bleak at the moment. We were completely destroyed by an Arsenal side who could afford to leave Walcott and Van Persie on the bench. A little positivity at seeing Song & Denilson in the starting line-up soon turned to dismay. A cursory glance at the stats shows that Arsenal had 17 shots to Bolton's 10, 17 corners to Bolton's 7 and 70.6% of the possession. We were battered. The gulf in class was huge. Arsenal were irresistable at times, whilst Bolton were poor. Shittu isn't up to the job. Steinsson doesn't look half as effective defensively as he does going forward. Samuel is a squad player at best. Gardner looks ineffective as a winger. Taking all that into account, what the hell has Riga to do to get into the starting line-up? He was straight into the thick of things upon taking the field and was Bolton's most effective player. He simply has to start the next game.

And speaking of the next game, it's Man United away. That is another battering. No doubt about it. Cahill will be back (thank Christ) but that won't make any difference at all. I can't see where the next win will come from.

Negatives from the game? Where to start.... The lack of a creative, attacking midfielder stands out a mile, as does the severe lack of depth in the squad. Just one or two injuries this season will cost us dear. Megson also appears tactically naive at the moment - his insistence on going defensive is going to cost us dear.

Positives from the game? Riga was impressive and has to start. And Davies was as committed as ever. Much has been said about his tackle on Clichy but I'll vent my anger on that one in another post...

There is an ominous black cloud hovering directly above the Reebok Stadium right now. Think the moment in Independence Day when the alien craft first appears above the White House and you get the picture. Nothing was expected from this game anyway, what with Craven Cottage being something of a Bolton bogey ground (in the league anyway), but the timing of this defeat could be very damaging indeed. There is no need to drone on about Bolton's injury / suspension list (it's been done to death on this page already) but the simple fact of the matter is the current first team squad is more threadbare than a tramps' underpants. This really showed yesterday when we were basically taken apart by a far better Fulham team who fully deserved the win. A defensive approach away from home has, yet again, failed to pay off (though Cahill is a huge miss - John Coffey (sorry - Danny Shittu) is not an adequate replacement). And that is a worry as it puts a huge amount of pressure on the home games this season. And when this defeat follows a 0-0 home draw with West Brom, the omens are very bad indeed. Things aren't helped by other teams picking up points when they weren't really expected to (thanks go to West Brom, Hull, Wigan, Boro and Fulham for that) and this is, at such an early stage, looking like being a relegation battle.

Never mind. There's always the next game or two to look forward to for improved performances and a few points on the board.    What's that?    The next 2 games are Arsenal (H) and Man United (A)?    Oh bollocks....

After saying last week that winning home games will be crucial this season, it came as no surprise to see the lads struggling against one of last seasons promoted clubs, which simply isn't good enough. If Ishmael Miller had brought his own boots rather than Wayne Sleep's ballet shoes, the Baggies would have had all 3 points. Fair enough, we were missing 3 of our most important players, though there should still be enough quality in the squad to take care of West Brom. 6th place in the league is not to be sniffed at though that isn't much to be optimistic about, given that we are on 4 points and Everton (3rd bottom) are on 3 points. Hopefully Smolarek can fill in for Elmander over the next month or so, but it's asking a lot for him to hit the ground running in such a way. Another option is Riga, who looked skillful, talented and exciting when replacing Joey O'Brien after 15 minutes yesterday. He could prove to be a very astute signing and has all the attributes to be a Reebok cult hero quite soon. World Cup qualifiers next weekend mean there's a break before the next fixture away at Fulham on Saturday week. A vast improvement on this tepid and toothless display will be necessary if we're to take anything from a Fulham team I've been quite impressed with so far this season. Though I'm still keeping my fingers (and everything else) crossed that Bullard will be lining up for us rather than against us in that game...

Sometimes you have to thank the Lord for small mercies. I missed tonights game due to a very important first band practice in 3 weeks ahead of a gig on Saturday (the North-West's finest Indie covers band, in case you're wondering, though I won't mention the name here in case it gets me into trouble). Thank Christ for that. So this review is largely based on the opinion of my good mate Paul Howard (or 'Howard' as he's known to his highly imaginative friends).

The starting XI actually looked quite reasonable; largely a full strength team with the welcome/intriguing additions of Shittu, Riga & Helguson. Whilst Riga looked promising, Howard thought that Shittu looked suspect and added that Helguson is the worst striker ever to wear a Bolton shirt. My 'Worst Bolton XI', to be posted here over the next day or two, will dispute that but, all the same, that's a pretty dismal summary of the night's events. Just to compound the misery of losing to a League One team (and credit where it's due to Northampton - well done fellas), Gary Cahill was sent off and will allegedly miss Saturday's game, which really pours salt into the wound. Overall, a terrible night's work. Here's hoping confidence isn't dented too severely and the players soon get over such abject misery, even if it will take the bumper crowd of just over 7000 a little longer to do so...

Well, well, well. After a convincing opening day victory, this was a rather sobering wake-up call. Despite Bolton deserving something from the game, Newcastle took the spoils with a header from an Oompa Loompa. How can that ever happen? Also, how can Kevin Nolan be taking penalties? It is alleged that Nolan has never taken a penalty in the top flight before Saturday but, regardless of that fact, surely Matty Taylor is now the obvious choice? Though, to be fair, it wasn't just that penalty miss which cost Bolton dear - a succession of missed opportunites also contributed. Elmander exiting after 14 minutes with a hamstring injury was a major cause for concern, as was Taylor sustaining a toe injury just after the hour mark. Despite fairly positive performances all round, Samuel doesn't look too convincing at left-back and it's surely time for Ricardo Gardner to claim his rightful place in the team?

This league is already turning into an intriguing one. The bookies favourites for bottom spot have picked up a very impressive 4 points from 2 games (congrats to Bolton fave Phil Brown there - long may it continue, Senor Sunbed). A fine win for Stoke was also noted and suggests that we may not have an out-and-out whipping boy this season. Home form is certainly going to be crucial and winning ways need to be restored this Saturday against West Brom. Hopefully a morale-boosting caning of Northampton in the cup on Tuesday will restore confidence levels ahead of that one.

Well, well, well. Considering this was a fixture I wasn't exactly relishing, I'm very happy indeed. A convincing win, good performances all round and top of the league (for 22 hours anyway..) - marvellous stuff! Stoke didn't exactly provide the toughest of opposition but excellent performances from new boys Elmander and Muamba, along with stalwarts such as Davies, Nolan, Cahill etc, made for a very pleasing day indeed.

It banishes the nightmarish memories of this time last season when Sammy Lee made an awful start in charge (Rusty Lee would have done a better job...) and it was especially pleasing to see Elmander net on his debut, going some way to ramming the words of ignorant, southern-biased critics who proclaimed him a waste of money firmly down their pimms-quaffing, jellied-eel gobbling throats. Roll on next Saturday, when my loyalties will yet again be divided (originally from the North East and with a Toon mad father, I always find NUFC v BWFC games difficult to call). So here's to a high scoring draw with both teams going on to take the top 2 positions next May. Nurse, the screens please. The mad fella is on a flight of fantasy and needs his medication again...

Formed 1874. Founder members. Three FA Cups in 20’s. Nat Lofthouse – Lion of Vienna. Super Frank Worthington – Elvis fanatic. 80’s doldrums. Colin Todd – back on track. Big Sam – miracle worker. Djorkaeff, Okocha & Campo – legends. UEFA Cup. Anelka – world class. What’s he doing here? Lack of cash – goodbye Big Sam. Thanks for the memories. Megson – same all over again? The jury’s out…