Albert Einstein once defined insanity as ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.` If that`s the case then Bolton`s depleted squad will shortly be reduced still further as most of the players are led away, gently but firmly, by men in white coats.
The one moment of quality, in this the drabbest of games between Bolton and Aston Villa was Ashley Young`s curling shot in the 11th minute that proved to be the winner, but he was given time and space to pick his spot. Does that sound familiar?
‘Thereafter, we huffed and puffed and, although we did manage to push them back in the second half, apart from those 10 minutes at the start we did not reach the standards I expect,` said Wanderers boss Owen Coyle almost echoing a certain ginger gentleman who used to hang around these parts.
That`s putting it mildly. In the Villa goal, Brad Friedel was so untroubled that he could have stayed home and opened his Easter eggs without any change to the score line. The home side`s sole attacking ploy of booting the ball into the penalty area and hoping for the best hasn`t proved profitable so far, so it`s a bit dim to persist with the tactic, but that`s Bolton in 2010 for you.
The only other noteworthy event occurred at the final whistle as Jack Wilshere confronted Stewart Downing after the Villa man had tripped Vladimir Weiss. Downing did well not to laugh, it must have been like being faced by an angry teddy bear. Arsenal`s less then effective midfielder should leave the petulance for when he returns to the Emirates.
‘You will never amount to anything,` one of Einstein`s teachers told him. That prophecy proved incorrect, but the words apply to this Bolton side, which is the worst for a decade.
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