Man of The Match: Martin Petrov

I guess we have been spoiled the last few weeks. Every Bolton Wanderers performance this year has had three or four players (at least) for which one could make a decent case as MOTM. Today there were none. Really. I spent the two hours after the game staring at my notes, re-watching parts of the match, replaying it in my head, and I honestly am not sure that anyone deserved it.

I could do something cheesy like give it to the fans, or something bitter, like give it to the referee or not giving a penalty when the Norwich keeper took down David Ngog. Given what happened the final 30 minutes or so, a case could be made for Fabrice Muamba, but it was more our luck than Muamba's play that prevented Norwich scoring. So who should it be?

Mark Davies was solid, but nowhere near as good as he has been. There was a huge drop-off from Nigel Reo-Coker. All things considered though, I think I have to give it to Martin Petrov. He put in several good crosses that no one was able to finish, forced the keeper into a couple good saves, and covered a lot of ground down the left side. It's faint praise though, both goals came from that side.

So Congratulations Mr. Petrov, today's champagne bottle contains very warm, very flat vinegar.