Dzemaili Not Good Enough

Bolton reserves went down 3-0 at home to Liverpool after a wretched performance. The line up included Ian Walker, Nicky Hunt, Blerim Dzemaili and Mikel Alonso from the first team squad but was still overrun in the second half as the visitors turned up the tempo.

The Whites were so feeble up front that it wasn`t until the 83rd minute that they had an attempt on goal when Kevin Wolze`s spectacular strike was turned away by Liverpool keeper David Martin. Bolton`s best player was Walker, who produced a string of saves to show that he retains his athleticism and reflexes, despite seeing little competitive action this season.

Liverpool went in front when Daniel Pacheco fired home and extended their lead with two penalties. The first was given away after Nicky Hunt had cynically pulled back Jordy Brouwer and the second from a Chris Basham handball.

Most disappointing was the performance of Blerim Dzemaili. The Toblerone Kid has been in full training for over two months, following a serious knee injury, but doesn`t look remotely good enough for the Premier League. He made three or four decent passes, but none of them required great vision or technique. For the rest of the time he was either anonymous or chasing the ball or opposition players and being a yard too slow to catch either.

Women will want to mother Dzemaili. Men, if they`re Bolton fans or Premiership players will prefer to slap him around. The club missed a chance to ship him out of the club in the January transfer window. They ought not to make the same mistake in summer.