Bolton Wanderers: Eurgh....

Good evening everyone. This is my first article in a couple of months due to illness, but that`s the last we`ll hear of that as there is much more important matters to deal with. What has happened to our season?

Yesterday, I watched a team bereft of confidence, ideas or quality. It was full of players that looked all too accepting of our new lowly status in the Championship, and of any excuse they can find to why they don`t win a particular football match. They were an embarrassment; and while I find the booing from some of the fans (especially during the game and at half time) utterly moronic and somewhat counterproductive; all I felt at full time was anger.

Well, maybe I felt like laughing a bit too. I mean, it`s ridiculous, isn`t it? Just think where we were eighteen months ago. How the players we had played, how the players we still have used to play, the mentality and approach taken by one of the finest younger managers in the game, Owen Coyle. How has it come to this? At that point in time, I was worried that he`d be off to Liverpool with Woy Hodgson under pressure. If he goes after what I fear will be a spanking from Leeds on Tuesday, and I think he should, I think he`ll find it difficult to get the next vacant job in this league.

Our defence yesterday was a comedy of errors, and as the game went on, I felt less and less confident that we would keep a clean sheet. Warnock was a shining light, especially going forward, but he needs game time as his positioning was way off sometimes. Mears` positioning is always way off; I think he needs to remember that he isn`t a winger, or fast enough to get back once we lose possession. Matt Mills` ball distribution was awful, either just heading the ball forwards to the Palace midfielders or booting it out of play. Zat Knight is Zat Knight. If you think he has improved, you are wrong. If you think he has found his level, he has. SIXTEENTH IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. Not good enough.

So with this bunch of the misfits and unfits making up our backline, it wasn`t difficult for Wilifried Zaha to win a penalty in the last ten, which Glenn Murray slotted past Adam Bogdan with confidence bred from the sort of results we should be getting.

All in all, the game was very boring. Eagles didn`t have his best, but still ran through brick walls for us. Martin Petrov looked decent from the bench, and provided much more than Mark Davies had done from a wide position. Super Kevin Davies looked anonymous. In fact, he was awful. Sorry Emma, I know you don`t like the truth.

Unless I get struck down by another unusual illness, you`ll hear from me soon. Sweet dreams.