Bolton Wanderers FC

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…