Half-Term Report: Bolton

Last season Bolton survived because they began well, winning their first three games, an achievement they crowned by beating Manchester United at Old Trafford in October. This time they opened with a 4-1 defeat by Fulham and have struggled ever since, although once more they managed to embarrass United. The fact that this match, on 11 September, was the last time Bolton were able to keep a clean sheet tells its own story and their manager, Sam Allardyce, has come to curse his side's habit of conceding late goals. But for last-minute lapses of concentration, Bolton would have drawn with Arsenal and Liverpool and beaten Chelsea and Blackburn. Even now those six lost points seem very costly. All the evidence suggests that, despite the flair of Jay-Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff, they will be near or in the relegation zone.