Deep in the heart of every Bolton supporter is the desire for victory against Manchester United. For many, of course, the feeling is nearer the surface and runs to hate and abhorrence of those they term ‘the scum’. I’m not one of those; I admire their skill and their dedication to an exciting, polished approach to the game. But not when they are playing the Wanderers. I want to stuff them as much as the next man. What left me deflated after this game was that, for a time, it seemed that the craving might be satisfied, only for such hopes to be dashed cruelly on the reef of their excellence. We won’t have a better chance of success. Rooney and Ferdinand were absent, we withstood the initial onslaught, we even had more shots than them. Yet, in the end, the ‘haves’ triumphed over the ‘have-nots’ because, individually, their players were better.
There had been some doubt about Robinson’s fitness and, sure enough, the knock he took last week kept him out. Of course, I had hoped that his replacement at left back would be Gardner, but it was the seemingly out of favour Jlloyd Samuel that filled the breach. Steinsson’s red card against Everton meant that he too was absent in the following eleven: Jaaskelainen; Ricketts, Cahill, Knight, Samuel; Chung-Yong Lee, Muamba, Cohen, Wilshire; Davies, Elmander. It was good to see Gary Cahill back following his life-threatening blood clot although he hasn’t been missed as much as expected: four out of our five Premier League clean sheets have been achieved in his absence.
The biggest crowd for a while saw the game begin in bright sunshine and, as expected, Wanderers were soon on the back foot. Berbatov seemed to relish the absence of Rooney and prompted by Giggs and Scholes in midfield he was a constant threat. Nevertheless the hard working Wanderers managed to contain their illustrious neighbours and limit them to two real first half chances. The first, an instinctive volley by Berbatov following a patient build-up, was well saved by Jussi. The second, coming from a corner, thankfully fell to Evans who ballooned the ball over the bar.
Little had been seen of Bolton as an attacking force, but around the half hour mark we had the best chance of the game so far. A pass from the lively Wilshire split the United defence and put Elmander clear. The angle was narrow, but the striker struck a fierce left foot shot that Van der Sar did well to save. We had weathered the storm and were coming more into the game when disaster struck. Gigg’s cross from the left appeared to be well covered until Samuel, inexplicably, placed it into the far corner. It was a dreadful, confidence draining error and the Bolton faithful were stunned. To their credit, the players responded well. It was United’s turn to defend and, but for the brilliance of their goal keeper, we would have reached the interval level. Again it was Wilshire that created the chance and Muamba’s shot was heading for the top corner until Van der Sar touched it round the post.
That was good side of the big Dutchman. The other side was visible soon after. With half time approaching, and following another fine shot from Muamba that was deflected, he tried to delay a corner and had a tantrum when Wilshire wrestled the ball from him. To make it worse, as the keeper fretted behind the goal line, we took the kick and might have scored while he was out of his goal. It would have been wonderful to have seen Fergie’s reaction if that had gone in. As it was the incident sparked some vigorous tackles and if half time had not arrived soon after, the game might have got nasty.
During the break we were entertained by Scottish pipers, perhaps in recognition of the nationality of the two managers. It was stirring stuff but I could only sit and think what might, nay should, have been. At that stage we deserved to be level, but now we had to chase the game and this would doubtless leave us vulnerable.
And so it proved, though not initially. For twenty five minutes after the restart we had the best of it. We pressed forward and the north stand was in full cry. A warning was sounded early in the half when United countered swiftly only for Berbatov to slip as he prepared to shoot, but, for the most part, the force was with us. However, during this period of ascendency we never managed a serious threat on the visitor’s goal and, midway through the half, the game turned on a controversial incident. Elmander and Vidic contested a high ball and the Bolton striker fell to the floor clutching his head. He had to leave the field for treatment and while he was off United attacked. Jussi could only parry Fletcher’s shot, and Berbatov steered the rebound past him. As I suspected at the time, the television confirmed that Elmander has been whacked by Vidic’s elbow. ‘All in the rough and tumble of a local derby’ said the MotD commentator; Elmander had to have five stitches after the game. And the offence was in the penalty area.
As it was the game was over. OC brought on Klasnic and Taylor in place of Elmander and Cohen, with Wilshire moving inside. Creatively the young loanee was a big improvement on Cohen but we never had a chance of reducing the deficit. The singing stopped, the stands began to empty, even two of the drummers left (it was Saturday night, perhaps they had another gig), and United scored two more goals. Nani, who had been well held by Rickets in the first half, tortured the full back and laid on both of them. Berbatov elegantly flicked home the first, a substitute, Gibson, scored the second. OC came on to clap the crowd at the end, but there was hardly anyone left. The bubble of hope, buoyant in the first half, was well and truly burst.
It’s cold comfort, but nevertheless worth reflecting, that the excellent Berbatov cost more than our complete squad. If you were picking a team from the twenty two starters not many Bolton players would have merited consideration, yet alone selection. There was always a difference in class, which for a time was contained by effort. Of course Sam Allardyce and Gary Megson would have raised an eyebrow at the thought of playing 4-4-2 against United. But that’s Owen Coyle. He has his way of doing things, and it’s a way that I’m all in favour of. He might do well to reflect, however, that Muamba and Cohen struggled against Giggs, Scholes and Fletcher, and that another body in midfield might have helped.
With regard to individual performances, Jack Wilshire was probably our man of the match. It was the certainly the best game I have seen him have in a Bolton shirt and he was heavily involved in our two best chances. In the last twenty minutes, when he moved from the wide position, he was always busy and looking to create. In this respect he was infinitely better than Cohen but, as yet, he perhaps needs more protection if he is to play this role. Furthermore Taylor was an inadequate replacement on the wing. Muamba did his best against superior numbers. He worked hard, won plenty balls and managed a couple of very decent shots. He has certainly developed the taste for goals.
No-one else really stood out. My pulse still goes up a beat or two when Chung-Yong receives the ball in space but he seems to be working on his all round game rather than showing the flair that was apparent in his early games. The full backs looked weak when put under late pressure and Samuel’s error was unforgiveable. Knight was probably the pick of the defenders with Cahill, not surprisingly, looking a little rusty at times. Jussi was at fault for the second goal, a player of his quality should have pushed the ball wide or at least away from the goalmouth.
The strikers are a problem. We have two guys that work like shire horses but don’t score enough goals. In addition, a number of moves broke down when the ball reached Davies. Why OC chose to remove Elmander to accommodate Klasnic I’m unsure; he was much the better of the two. As it was, the substitution would have been better not made; Klasnic was as ineffective as Taylor. There is a Wanderers striker who has scored five goals in his last four games. It’s Vaz Te, he wasn’t even among the substitutes.
There were one or two strange features in the game. For one thing, Mr Atkinson did not book a single player from either side. Having seen the television, he might reflect that in this, he was over generous to Vidic, but it must be a first in Bolton/United games. Another odd thing was that by far the majority of empty seats, at least at the kick off, were among the away supporters. If their end had been full, the crowd would have been close to capacity. There was a good ironic banner in the North Stand: ‘Hate United, Love Glazers’.
We are now half way through four games against teams from the upper echelons and from which we could not, realistically, expect any points. So far things have gone as expected. It would be nice to squeeze something out of next week’s visit by Aston Villa, who seem to be wobbling a little. We certainly need some points from somewhere if we are to stay up. Meanwhile that longing deep in the heart still needs feeding.
Perhaps next season.
