Great Match!

Shame about the result.  Bolton lost, yes, but they did present themselves in an admirable manner, particularly in the last 30 minutes.

And no, I do not know what the hell Jussi Jaaskelainen was doing on the Silva goal.  Sometimes a goalkeeper, no matter how reliable, just has a howler.  Normally I don't talk about fashion on the blog, but the new home keeper's shirt is just atrocious.  Hot pink?  What is this, a Poison concert in 1987?

For me, the most impressive performance was that of Martin Petrov.  That was why we signed him.  When he is fit and on form, he is still one of the best wingers in the league.  Now, he is not going to be that good, especially for 90 minutes, in all 38 league matches this season.  But if he can keep putting in those types of crosses fairly consistently, he is going to create a lot of goals for us.  His accuracy of passing, combined with Ivan Klasnic's finishing skills, will create a lot of goals for Bolton Wanderers this season.

Next is a Carling Cup match with Macclesfield, followed by a visit to "high-flying" Liverpool.  Given the lack of squad depth at Bolton, it will be interesting to see if Owen Coyle presents an opportunity to some of our really young players Wednesday, or mostly sticks to the first team.

Bolton's Starting XI vs. Queen's Park Rangers

And so it begins...

Owen Coyle's first line-up is posted, and there is no doubt the manager has been hamstrung by injuries to Stuart Holden, Lee Chung-yong, Sam Ricketts, and Tyrone Mears.  Tuncay will not be available as his work permit has not cleared.  Now I don't know Coyle's plans, but for me, all 5 of those players would be starting if they were fit.  So here is a look at what the gaffer has conjured up with our remaining squad players;

Chelsea - 1 Bolton - 0

Chelsea had a spell of about five minutes in the second half of this match where they really looked a threat. They scored their goal, had an effort cleared off the line, and forced a good save out of Jussi Jaaskelainen.  Other than that, they looked a lot like Arsenal at their absolute worst.  Loads of possession, but no cutting edge, no chances created, no evidence of even the desire to score a goal.

Bolton on the other hand, looked fairly good, especially during the first half.  One of the TV analysts even argued that Wanderers had created the better chances.  A lot of this was down to Fabrice Muamba and Stuart Holden (Pictured, Below).  Chelsea's three-man midfield of Michael Essien, Ramires, and Frank Lampard is probably worth £60 million, and they were dominated by the two central men in the Bolton midfield.

Muamba and Holden covered more ground than the Chelsea three, snuffed out any threats they made, and created some chances at the other end.  Just an epic, box-to-box performance, from two players under 25 who cost a combined £5 million.  Both have recently signed contract extensions, and neither has shown any desire to leave Bolton.