MOTM vs Boro: Tyrone Mears

If we had put up a poll about Man Of The Match at halftime, Chung-Yong Lee would have received 100% of the votes, and rightly so. On his return to the starting XI he showed signs of regaining his masterful form of two seasons ago. He scored a goal with a tidy little finish, and had several more chances. He may not have taken all of them, but that he is getting in those positions again is definitely a good sign.

Unfortunately, Chungy is not yet match fit. he is nowhere near ready to play 90 minutes, and it showed in the second half as he faded badly. Of course, that raises the question; Why was he left on for 90 minutes? It doesn't really matter now though, as substitutions are no longer the responsibility of Jimmy Phillips.

Was Kevin Davies MOTM? Not really. He got a yellow card, threw some elbows, missed a chance or two, backed into a lot of defenders, his usual chicanery, but nothing really came of it.

How about Jay Spearing and/or Mark Davies? These two have really done yeoman's work the last few matches. They've got four attacking players (well) in front of them, a shaky defense behind them, which leaves a huge amount of ground to cover. They are also at a big physical disadvantage no matter who we play. Spearing has performed well for Bolton, and Davies seems to finally be rediscovering his fine form of last season. Their job is to lay deep, protect the back four, link them with the midfield, and control the flow of play overall. They just don't have control of the midfield.

So, my choice for MOTM is Tyrone Mears. He may be our best defender, he gets involve din attack, positions himself well, and doesn't let his man get behind him. It's kind of ironic, because most Bolton supporters desperately want young Joe Riley to win the right back job. The lad is going to have to wait I am afraid. Maybe Tyrone will share some flat grape water with him...