Bolton’s only problem against Chelsea – they didn’t test Cech
A tremendous performance from Bolton tonight at Stamford Bridge in defence and midfield – they kept both Drogba and Anelka largely quiet aside from the goal, and Ricketts and Muamba battled brilliantly in the centre against Lampard and Ballack.
Unfortunately, if you don’t get any shots on target, you’re not going to win the game – and this was exactly the problem tonight.
Indeed, goalscoring has been their problem since Owen Coyle took over as Bolton manager. Incredibly, they have scored in only 5 of 16 matches under his leadership.
Even in the one match they scored big in, against Wigan, they were flattered by the scoreline based on how many goalscoring opportunities the two sides created.
If they didn’t test Cech, it’s because they didn’t know how to. That is something Coyle has to figure out for next season, because you need to get shots on goal (obviously), but you also need to be able to engineer chances. This is what coaching is about.
Jack Wilshere is such a tremendous talent. His movement and passing at 18 is exceptional, I hope he stays at Bolton for another year. I reckon the loan move to Bolton will be the making of him. Bolton gave the chelsea players absolutely no time on the ball. The only time they scored was when Zhirkov took the right back and the central defender(right) along with him and then passed the ball to Drogba who had moved to the left by then.
Have watched Bolton a few times this year, and their quality in front of goal is appalling. Kevin Davies, for all his aerial combativeness, is dreadful with the ball at his feet.
I do like their midfield though, they really give it a go, and never really let Chelsea settle last night.
I really admire Bolton’s team. They have a great squad and if they can hang on to players like Klasnic, Chong-Yong Lee, and Gary Cahill, I can easily see them scoring plenty of goals in the future. I hate when they get criticised for playing ‘long-ball’ football, some of their passing is extremely impressive and the role that Kevin Davies plays is quite difficult. If he got a fair run with the referees… what a team
[...] A tremendous performance from Bolton tonight at Stamford Bridge in defence and midfield – they kept both Drogba and Anelka largely quiet aside from the goal, and Ricketts and Muamba battled brilliantly in the centre against Lampard and Ballack. Unfortunately, if you don’t get any shots on target, you’re not going to win the game – [...] Zonal Marking [...]