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.