Bolton Wanderers Paper View (a)

Spot-on Speed traps unlucky Watford

League's new boys are forced to pay penalty for a lack of imagination at the top level

There are times when football feels desperately unfair. It was unfair that a game as poor as this should have been graced by a goal of any nature, and doubly unfair that when it arrived, four minutes into injury time, it went not to Watford, who had three times emerged from the dire hodgepodge of aimless hoofing to hit the woodwork, but to Bolton Wanderers.

The home side had not managed a meaningful shot on target until then, but when Danny Shittu tripped Idan Tal, Gary Speed thrashed in the resulting penalty.

"I thought it was a staggering performance," their manager, Aidy Boothroyd, said. "If I focus on the short term I'm very disappointed, but on another day we might have won by three or four. If you hit the woodwork three times and the keeper four, statistically you know that eventually you'll get results." The Sunday Independent

Speed handed a late present

Premiership newcomers Watford could not have suffered a crueller blow than this. Still seeking their first win since their unexpected elevation via the play-offs, Aidy Boothroyd's eager scavengers struck the woodwork three times only to see Bolton steal victory through a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Gary Speed, who celebrated his 37th birthday on the eve of the game, emerged as the home side's hero, admirably keeping his cool before smashing in the spot kick after Danny Shittu had tripped substitute Idan Tal close to the by-line.

It was a clear-cut foul and referee Mark Clattenburg had no option but to penalise Shittu. Boothroyd acknowledged this despite bemoaning the injustice of the final scoreline. "We'd given a staggering performance," he said. "On another day we might have won by three or four. Yes, it was a penalty but Danny's a wonderful player, fits perfectly into our culture and I'm sure he's going to get better and better for us. If we keep playing like that as a team, we're going to start getting something from games." Sunday Telegraph

Shittu's aberration allows Anelka and Bolton to ride luck

Nicolas Anelka had been in the dressing room for more than 20 minutes when Watford defender Danny Shittu suffered the mental aberration that decided the outcome of the Frenchman's debut game. Of all the reasons for buying Anelka, lucky talisman was presumably not high on Sam Allardyce's list, but that is precisely the role the club's record £8million served on his first start.

Shittu inexplicably chose the 94th minute of the game to swing his leg at Bolton substitute Idan Tal, who was going nowhere fast near the goalline, in the process handing the home side a penalty kick that Gary Speed stepped up and successfully converted.

But this was an instantly forgettable Wanderers victory and one that underlined the difficulty they will face in accommodating Anelka into their preferred 4-3-3 formation. It took Allardyce just 35 minutes to decide that it was impossible yesterday and revert to a 4-4-2 system, by which stage his side should already have been a goal behind after an impressive start by Watford. The Observer