I’m sure my optimism will resurrect itself soon enough with the phoenix-like qualities necessary for any Bolton fan, but the international break is definitely welcome at this point. I’ll be back later in the week with a news round up, and any news of our internationally-inclined Trotters, I’m off to sleep away the pain!

I’m not saying we deserves a win, or even a goal, but 4-0? I think 2-0 would have been a much fairer result. Bolton played well and attacked well (though they floundered in the final third) through the first half, and while Chelsea totally outclassed them in the second half, they didn’t give up and kept going forward despite the increasing deficit.

There were definitely encouraging things to take away from the game. Chelsea are a fantastic team, I was blown away in parts of the game by the beauty of their football. The inescapable fact of the matter is that Chelsea has massive amounts of money and Bolton don’t, Drogba alone cost about as much as Bolton has spent in the last two years. Chelsea aren’t a team we will ever be able to beat easily, and they aren’t the team we need to be taking points from.

While I’m not bitter about the loss in hind sight (I wrote the first part of this blog right after the game, and I’m finishing it the next morning), I am bitter about the blow to our goal difference. And let’s be honest, watching the ball going into the wrong net four times hurts. But overall it wasn’t a horrible result.

That’s all I plan on saying on the matter (to be quite honest I’m a little sick of writing about Chelsea), but stay tuned as my father will be doing a guest blog for me on the game. He was in England for family reasons and managed to make it to the Reebok (breaking his 10 year streak of never seeing the Wanderers lose at home). I should have that up sometime Monday or Tuesday, til then!

I do realise I may be overreacting a bit, but anyone who has followed Bolton knows how hot and cold they go. This probably wasn’t a blip in form it will come back again and again this season. While Megson has been able to produce moments of brilliance from an admittedly less than brilliant squad, his trouble has always been consistency. He may get them to perform well for a couple games, but then, like clockwork, they’ll start looking like school boys again.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that two key players were left out (Jussi Jaaskelainen and Kevin Davies). I have a little theory that they’ve caught the dreaded swine flu. Gary Megson excused Kev’s absence with some story of stitches, but I sincerely doubt Kevin Davies would let something like facial stitches stop him from participating against such quality opposition. Whoever our four lucky players with swine flu are, get better soon.

I decided against dissecting the match (as you have probably realized), one it would be a lot of “Chelsea looked good whilst Bolton imploded around them”, and two I can’t find full highlights so it wouldn’t be very informed anyway.

As Megson pointed out, they brought on a sub that was worth 28 mil, which is about as much as Bolton have spent in the past two years. In many ways a club like Bolton will never be able to compete with a club like Chelsea. They don’t have the depth, quality, glamour, cohesion, and coaching that Chelsea are privy to. But they’re worth more than a 4-0 shut out. We can only hope that the players go out on that pitch with something to prove.

Gary Megson did as promised field a full strength side. He basically fielded what I think is our strongest 11 (with the exception: I would replace Ricketts with Steinsson). Unfortunately, even though I was home sick from school, I was not able to watch the game as I couldn’t find a stream (Side note: could any of you find a stream? Or even watch it on television? Anywhere in the world? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t broadcast), I also can’t find any highlights (though I found some video of the Elmander goal-lovely) so if anyone can direct me to that it would be amazing (For an UPDATE look at the bottom of the post). I did listen to the game via BBC London on the BBC site (which was an amazing experience, but I’ll get to that in a second). Now right into it:

The first half was quite a bit of attacking with very little finishing. It was end to end stuff (the radio commentators called it pulsating about 83 times over the course of the game). Most of the non-Bolton-centric match reports suggest that West Ham played the better football in this half, however the radio commentators and match reports written by Bolton fans suggest the opposite. I’m going to say it was probably pretty even, with both teams attacking, and not defending particularly well (fancy that, Bolton not defending particularly well!). Klasnic looked pretty good, and as I said in the past he has time to get better. Often it takes strikers a lot longer than other players to regain match instincts and confidence. If nothing else his start will inspire Elmander. Last season Elmander had no competition, but now he has to prove he’s worth the start. Clearly something clicked with him as he scored for the first time in almost 9 months, but we’ll get to that later.

Bolton opened the second half with a series of attacks, but the West Ham goal was to come against the run of play. As Matt Taylor tried to clear what was by all accounts a poor corner from Diamante, he merely put it in Ilunga’s path, Ilunga then scored from point blank. Again our defending of set pieces was suspect, that’s something we really need to work on. Taylor was, however, quick to make up for his mistake. He continued to create chances for Bolton from free kicks or corners (of which Bolton had 21 by the way, further proof of their attacks). Finally with only 4 minutes of regular time, Taylor sets up Kevin Davies for a diving header, which pushed the match into extra time.

Bolton continued to threaten in extra time and the match commentator continued to use the phrase “pulsating football” in about every other sentence. Elmander had come on 14 minutes before the start of extra time and he was eager to prove why he deserved to be named in the starting 11. Both he and another substitute Lee Chung Yong sought to make themselves useful, but it was Muamba, who had been pestering Green all night, who’s shot deflected for the dear Gary Cahill to score.

Lee and Elmander would get their chance though as Elmander slid to push in Lee’s cross and seal Bolton’s win. As I said earlier he hasn’t scored in almost 9 months (since December 13th to be exact) and I have a feeling that his competition jogged a little sense into him. As it bloody well should, we paid 10 million for that man, we did not pay 10 million for a striker who can’t score. Hopefully Elmander will set about justifying his transfer fee soon.

Conclusions:
All I can say is I hope Fabio Capello was paying attention as Gary Cahill has been in impeccable form recently and definitely deserves an England go. I reckon he should play (if not start) in the friendly against Brazil in November, especially now that Upson is injured (though I’m not sure how long he’ll be out, anyone?). Cahill has more than earned his cap, and the chat on BBC’s 606 suggests than not just Bolton fans think that. There’s even rumors circulating that he may go to Juve or AC Milan come January. I desperately hope he doesn’t, but quite honestly at this point I wouldn’t blame him.

So being an American I hadn’t really ever listened to sport on the radio, except for my yearly trips to England (my dad’s English, we go visit family and friends, and of course see the mighty Whites), and even then I had never heard anything I really care about on the radio (a tennis match once, and a bit of FA Cup involving no teams I cared about really). And basically my conclusion is: it’s awesome. Every fan should do it at some point. It’s a completely different experience, I felt as though I had stepped back in time to 50 years ago. I pictures grim faced old men listening with me, thousands of miles away, muttering darkly to their dinners. In short if you’re a silly American/not British like me, listen to a radio commentary of a match someday, you’ll not regret it.

I would also like to bring to your attention some very encouraging statistics. We forced 21 corners. That’s proof we were actually hassling their defense instead of just shooting long balls up to Super Kev and crossing our fingers that he’d do something. Also we had 24, that’s TWENTY FOUR, shots and of those 24, 14 were on target! How amazing is that? Ladies and gents, finally, it appears as if we might be, dare I say it? Dangerous.

And finally, on the fans. Although the attendance was very low (I believe I read 8050 on the BBC), the fans at the Reebok actually supported their team. They got behind Bolton and encouraged the win instead of chanting negatively as they have been recently. There’s no doubt that a positive atmosphere does help the players, and hopefully such a positive result will help convince the Negative Nelly’s amongst us to stop it. Megson commented on how it helped the team, and he almost apologized for Bolton’s recent form. This is all progress.

I believe that’s all I have to say, please ignore the giddy-17-year-old-girlness that snuck in there, I’m afraid I can’t help it. This game just gave me so much hope! I’ll be sure to keep you updated on who we draw for the 4th round, til my match preview my dears!

UPDATE: Reader Luka gave me this link to the goals. I found a higher quality video, but it excludes the Elmander goal. There don’t appear to be any highlights videos with more than just the goals.

One of the best chances for the Wanderers was scuffed by Gary Cahill, he headed a cross from Matty Taylor right over the bar. The cross itself was a little to high and Cahill did well to get to it at all, it would’ve been a stunning header had it been on target, but as it is I think he did as well as to be expected. Taylor did not have a good game by his standards, and was largely out of it.

There weren’t that many shots on target coming from either side (just 4 each by the end of the game) but Jussi definitely made the best save of the match. Whelan nearly scored off a free kick, but Jaaskelainen dove and pushed the ball wide of goal. One of Delap’s infamous throw-ins provided a bit of nail biting for the Wanderers later on, and they were lucky to get away without conceding.

The Kitson goal was (yet) another result of poor defending. Kitson was being marked by Sam Ricketts, and he just sidestepped him to fire into goal. I will say it yet again: our defenders need to mark their men. Megson said “You will not see a worse goal to concede at any level, never mind professional football.” Jussi was also at fault here as he was too close to the near post. Had he been a foot to his right be probably could have stopped the shot.

Bolton’s best chance of the match (other than the penalty obviously) was a shot by Klasnic, which was deflected by a one handed save by Stoke’s newly returned Sorensen. It was definitely a good effort that showed a lot of control from the striker who is showing potential. He didn’t get much playing time for Nantes last season, so hopefully a couple games will give him match experience and his instincts will return to him. I think he could bring maybe 8 or 9 goals to Bolton at least.

Bolton have a certain Danny Collins to thank for their point. His incredibly rash and ineffective tackle (if kicking someone in the knee can really be called a tackle) on Ricketts allowed Matty Taylor to convert from the spot. Another lovely penalty from the midfielder sent Sorensen the wrong way and it slotted in. Though it is a bit pathetic that we have won this season are thanks to penalties.

One of the most depressing things about this match was the supposed supporters. Their boos could be heard on the television broadcast of the match and it unarguably brings the atmosphere of the match down and brings the players down. They do have a point, something needs to change at Bolton Wanderers Football Club, something big, I just wish they wouldn’t make the point when the players need their support. Right now more than ever the fans need to get behind the club and support, the players need to know that they’re playing for something.

Some notes on players: Jaaskelainen, though still a good goalkeeper, is definitely losing it a bit. I reckon he’ll only be around for one more season, two tops. His testimonial match during preseason was practically a death warrant. You don’t put on a testimonial match for a player who will be with you for a long time to come.

We’ve definitely been missing Ricardo Gardner and I’m well pleased he’s come back. Bolton lifted visibly after he came on. He’s always a hard working player and a positive influence on the players around him. He is pure class, and I can’t wait for him to (hopefully) start against West Ham on Tuesday.

Like I said earlier, Klasnic shows definite potential. He used to be wonderful for Werder Bremen, and I think he can be wonderful again. However he does need link up players, right now the closest we have are Kevin Davies and Matt Taylor, but they didn’t provide him with very much.

Alright that’s about all I have for now. It worried me how deflated Bolton looked, especially during the first half and the lack of chances is bad. Without chances you don’t get goals (could someone remind Megson of this little fact please? Thanks). Prospects could still change for Bolton, but right now we’re looking rather toothless. The coming Carling Cup tie against West Ham is worrying, but I’ll address that in my match preview (or my lazy link to someone else’s match preview, we’ll see). Til then my dear readers.

So for the first time in a while I am actually proud of the way we performed, perhaps it took the daunting task to make our players step up, or perhaps they’re responding to the increasing pressure from the fans, but I’m not much bothered either either way. Our preseason was rather mediocre (2-3 away against a non-league side is not a good result) and our performances against Sunderland and Hull were cringe-worthy, so I’m just glad that we didn’t embarrass ourselves. Going ahead twice against Big Four is not bad at all.

Now lets talk about the bad things (of which there are plenty). Once again Bolton displayed a significant lack of creativity. Both of our goals were rather shambolic. The first, off a corner, pinged about the goal mouth dangerously and our second, off a Jussi free kick, was at least partially thanks to the red shirt on the floor (and therefore unable to defend). Also neither of these were a counter attack, both being off a dead ball, which is the way to score enough goals for survival.

Bolton’s defense is shaky at best and losing Sean Davis made the task just that much more monumental. Having watched the video many times I have come to the conclusion that Lucas is a diving fairy, and that Alan Wiley needs his eyes checked. I sincerely hate cheaters, especially divers. I think that if you’re going to play the beautiful game you need to play it by it’s rules, otherwise you’re not actually playing the game. You’re just sullying the name of a great sport. Winning shouldn’t count unless you actually play by the rules set forth. Ok how-cheating-makes-me-want-to-vomit lecture officially over.

What we can take away from this game is that although we still definitely have quite a bit to improve on, we are capable of getting the points. And as much as I would love to see Bolton playing lovely flowing football, right now my priority is points. As dear old West Brom (I have a huge soft spot for West Brom, doesn’t everyone?) showed us playing pretty football is not enough to survive. And survival is the most important thing for Bolton right now. So as the wonderful captain Kevin Davies said “It’s about rolling our sleeves up now, being brave, and getting points.” Be brave Wanderers. Get those damn points.

After eighty-minutes of no goals, it was getting a bit worrisome for Bolton supporters. Would we do it again? Would we give points to a lowly team that we should beat? Well, where as it might be the nice thing our mothers taught us to do, we didn’t. It was Kevin Davies, the man who could only play fifty-odd minutes against ManUre, the man that supported the Blades as a child, the man that our style of play seems to be made for, who eventually netted for us.

Bolton dominated much of the game, but a few Sheffield United counter attacks sent hearts racing. Thankfully Davies came to the rescue with a blast into the bottom right corner.

We may have won, but we lost our skipper for the next two games. Nolan picked up his tenth foul of the season and will miss Wigan and Everton. He will join Campo – who is also serving a suspension – for tea and discuss their poor behavior when we take on Wigan at the JJB next weekend. Thankfully we got Faye back from injury who was able to fill in the middle where Campo likes to play. Faye showed a great effort, and a good amount of energy, something our midfield more than occasionally lacks. While it may seem that lacking Kevin Nolan may hurt us, perhaps in the end it is something that will help us. Big Sam doesn’t like to introduce new players. For some reason, he loves to go with Pederson and keep the talent on the bench. With both Campo and Nolan out, perhaps the Iranian Andranik will get a well deserved start. And maybe, just maybe we’ll even see the likes of Idan Tal actually on the pitch. We fans can look forward to this as a time that Sam is forced to try out some of his new talent. Unfortunately, he’ll probably stick Pederson in somewhere he doesn’t belong, and move players around. Before you know it, we’ll have Anelka playing center back with El-Hadji Diouf.

Idan Tal scored for Israel in their four – nil stomping of Estonia. Israel continues to keep the pressure on England at this point.

After starting in Greece’s four – one loss to Turkey Stelios sound himself on the bench while Greece went on to a one – nil win over lowly Malta.

Michalík who wasn’t even called up for Slovakia’s three – one win over Cyprus had a spot on the bench for Slovakia in their one – nil defeat by Ireland.

Jääskeläinen started in net as the Fins lost to Azerbaijan.

Méïté and the Ivory Coast picked up a three – nil win over Madagascar keeping them atop their group with six points in two games.

El-Hadji Diouf and Abdoulaye Faye picked up a win with Senegal four – nil over Tanzania. Diouf contributed two assists. Jamaica picked up a draw in their friendly.

We did it again. We lost four to one again. A few early goals from the opposition and we were shot. Scrambling around the pitch hoping not to let too many more go by in the remaining three-quarters of a game. In all three games, the goals came early on and proved to be too big of a mountain to climb. And in all three games it seemed that there was one essential player that destroyed our defense (Downing, Keane, Ronaldo).

Oddly enough as I told you the other day that Davies wouldn’t make it due to his semi-recent injury, he started, and didn’t prove to be much help to our cause as he was subbed out after only the fifty-second minute. For some reason unbeknown to anyone with the exception of Big Sam, Pedersen started the match but was replaced after only by twenty-eight minutes by El-Hadji Diouf. Was this some tactic to save Pederson some energy after the game had more-or-less already been lost? I don’t know, but it doesn’t make sense. Come on Sam.

Most of Man U’s goals came from set pieces. Our set pieces. Their counter attacks. Aren’t we supposed to be the ones that dominate set pieces? Aren’t we a “set piece” team (aside from being a “long ball” team)? And they were our set pieces that Man U just swiped from us. Piss poor. Depressing. Yes, it’s Manchester United. A very good Manchester United side, but four to one? Our set pieces? What’s going on Sam? When are you going to get our boys together and turn this decrepit form of ours around? We’re waiting.

Hopefully we can get a win on the thirty-first when we take on Sheffield United and keep a few points between us and sixth place.