Bolton tumbled out of the Carling Cup last night as they were deservedly beaten by League One outfit Northampton Town. Wanderers defensive frailties were evident in the first minute when Danny Shittu slipped and let in Adebayo Akinfenwa, but his weak effort was easily saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen. At the other end, Northampton ‘keeper Mark Bunn, saved well from Riga Mustapha`s low drive.
From here, the better chances fell to the Whites, with Ricardo Gardner forcing a save from Bunn and Danny Shittu, hitting the post and missing narrowly with a header.
The game changed dramatically on 22 minutes after Gavin McCann handled in the area and Akinfenwa converted the resulting penalty. Inexcusably, Bolton heads went down and it was no surprise when six minutes later, Akinfenwa outjumped Gary Cahill to put the Cobblers two up. Cahill completed his nightmare evening when he was sent off for a reckless challenge, seven minutes before the break.
Bolton began the second half as they started the first. Badly. The most alarming thing was how much poorer they looked as a football team, compared to their lower league counterparts. They were slower, their passing was poor and movement non-existent. Organisation was lacking as was creativity with reliance on long ball tactics reaching ridiculous levels. It was a shameful display for a team from the top flight.
Substitute Kevin Nolan pulled a goal back, eight minutes from time, but is was scarcely deserved. At the death, Heidar Helguson had the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled offside. Justice was done. Anything other than a victory for Northampton would have been a travesty.
As poor as Bolton were, Northampton`s performance shouldn`t be overlooked. They were resolute in defence, used the wide areas well when going forward and delivered a final ball into the penalty area that was infinitely superior to anything the hosts had to offer.
Alarm bells should be ringing for Gary Megson. He fielded a relatively strong side, but they were a disorganised, shambolic mess in all departments and without prior knowledge it would have been difficult to tell which side was from the Premier League and which from League One. His team were deservedly booed off at both half and full-time and the substitution of Riga drew the same response.
Despite last season`s relegation escape, the jury is still very much out on Megson. After recruiting his own backroom staff, having the entire pre-season to prepare and spending more money than any other manager in Bolton`s history, his team is still lacking in every facet of the game. As usual he was accurate in his post-match assessment of what the problems were. His job is to prevent them occurring in the first place. He isn`t doing it.
Player Ratings
Jussi Jaaskelainen 5
Got down for Akinfenwa’s headed goal with the speed of someone with an arthritic hip. He’s either in poor form or past it. Either way he shouldn’t be first choice
Gretar Stenisson 5
Keen to get forward, but his insistence on booting everything into the penalty area at the first opportunity was both predictable and wasteful
Jlloyd Samuel 5
Some good late interventions, but his habit of surrendering possession when going forward makes him a liability.
Gary Cahill 3
Easily outjumped for Northampton’s second goal. Dismissed for a rash challenge in an area where he shouldn’t even have been.
Danny Shittu 3
Made to look like the lower league clogger that he is.
Fabrice Muamba 2
Lazy and uncommitted. Easily bundled off the ball.
Joey O’Brien 2
A wretched game after an encouraging start to the season. Slow and caught in possession too easily.
Riga Mustapha 6
The odd bright moment, but well off the pace.
Gavin McCann 4
The Badger can be effective on his day. This wasn’t one of them.
Heidar Helguson 0
Sammy Lee’s worst signing. Sluggish, lightweight and seriously stupid. Achieved the impossible. Made Bolton fans miss Grzegorz Rasiak.
Ricardo Gardner 7
The one bright spot in a dreadful evening. Enterprising going forward and far better than J-Lo when reverting to left-back.
Andy O’Brien
Redeemed himself after the mistake against Newcastle. Will be carrying a millstone around his neck for the next three games. It’s called Danny Shittu.
Kevin Davies 5
Didn’t look interested.
Gave the team some forward momentum.