Complacent Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 v Bolton Wanderers 2
Once upon a time Bolton Wanderers were, to coin the phrase du jour “a northern powerhouse”. At the height of their fame in the Fifties they could rely on the robust qualities of local talisman Nat Lofthouse to terrorise opposition defences and it was Lofthouse who lead them to their singular triumph a 1958 FA Cup triumph over Manchester United, albeit the side devastated by the Munich air disaster. In 1964 they relinquished top flight status becoming something of a boomerang club until 1995 when they rejoined the “elite”. In the ensuing years they managed to lure the likes of Youri Djorkaev and Jay Jay Okotcha to Burnden Park which was something of an oddity, given that their manager at the time was the dour route one exponent Sam Allardyce. Sad to say that since those heady days the only thing in which Bolton can now claim any expertise is racking up debt – at the last count something of the order of £170 million which with an average home gate of around 10,000 is slightly worrying. But that is what happens when you engage in the lottery of spending a fortune to regain premier league status. The Club is up for sale but the list of those willing to take them over is as thin as a Heinz Minestrone. It is odds on that at some stage in the not too distant future this one time northern powerhouse will declare bankruptcy with all that that entails for the supporters and the town. Something to ponder when next you moan about missing out on that sure fire Croatian striker, with the £10m price tag and salary to match.
When Wolves last played Bolton at home their ex striker Dougie Freedman was in charge of the Trotters. As is so often the case however, Dougie was unable to repeat the success he had enjoyed at Crystal Palace and with no sign of improvement in October 2014 the door was shown. In his place came Neil Lennon, whose record during a four year managerial stint at Celtic was impressive. That said Bolton has proved a far sterner challenge as their current position, bottom of the Championship, would attest.
Yet for much of this evening’s game you would think that it was Bolton and not Wolves who were mid table. Though they were 1-0 down after a mere two minutes for much of the game it was the visitors who were by far the more creative and but for the lack of a cutting edge up front they might not now be in such dire straits. When in the 76th minute James Henry (who two minutes earlier had been warming the bench) cut inside the left back Dean Moxey before curling his left footed shot beyond the outstretched hand of Ben Amos, there was a collective sigh of relief. At last the Molineux crowd could relax in the knowledge that three points were secure.
It would appear that Coach Jackett thought the same. Off came Tommy Rowe and Joe Mason to give George Saville and Jack Price some game time. Then in the 81st minute Wellington Silva, who had spent the whole evening taunting Dominic Iorfa, sneaked unseen at the far post to head home a cross that should never have reached him.
Six minutes later Emile Heskey, the man who perfected the role of the non scoring centre forward, conned referee Frederick Graham into giving a free kick against Danny Batth. Step forward substitute Stephen Dobbie who from 25 yards curled the ball into the net, leaving a somewhat bemused and embarrassed Carl Ikeme to return it to the centre circle.
As performances go by Wolves this was up there with the worst. No pace, no invention, against a side bottom of the table. Not much more to say.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Ikeme 5, Iorfa 5, Batth 6, Ebanks-Landell 6, Doherty 5, Coady 5, McDonald 5, Rowe 5 Sub Saville, Van La Parra 6, Sigurdarson 6 Sub Henry Mason 6 Sub Price
Bolton Wanderers: Amos 7, Vela 6, Dervite 7, Holding 6, Moxey 6, Feeney 7, Spearing 6, Davies 6, Silva 8, Trotter 5 Sub Dobbie, Woolery 6 Sub Heskey
Attendance: 17,825
Referee: Frederick Graham 7
©Mark Brennand