Player Ratings: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Shrewsbury Town

What an underwhelming game. Let's get straight into these ratings.

Ben Alnwick - 6

Didn't have much to do, to be honest, as Shrewsbury’s prowess in the final third was pretty non-existent. Distribution has improved somewhat.

Andrew Taylor - 7

One of his best games in a Wanderers shirt. Defended well and was also a genuine threat going forward. Fingers crossed we can make his loan deal permanent once the end of the season rolls around.

Mark Beevers - 6.5

Not a bad game on his part by any means, although I’d say his performance was overshadowed by that of his defensive counterpart. Slightly caught out for their goal.

David Wheater - 8

Was in the right place at the right time to poke home two scrappy goals and was also very solid defensively. I’m delighted we re-signed him. How can you not love this man?

Lawrie Wilson - 6

Mr Consistent of late. Didn’t do anything groundbreaking, but we don't expect him to. So much better than Buxton.

Jay Spearing - 5.5

A bit of an off-game for Jay, in my opinion. He was good defensively but going forward I don't think he did much in the way of positive moves. Gave the ball away a lot, which isn't like him. One too many helpings of turkey, I reckon.

Tom Thorpe - 6

Did his job and broke up play well, but I have to say that I much prefer Derik in that role.

Zach Clough - 6.5

It took him 65 minutes to register anything remotely positive, which was in the form of a ducking, diving run infield and a stinging shot towards the opposition goal. An off-game for the local lad which we’ll also put down to a Christmas hangover.

Josh Vela - 6.5

Whatever happened to Zach Clough also happened to Mr Vela, although I think his anonymity in Monday’s game was largely down to lack of service. I said it a few weeks ago but Vela gets so frustrated when his runs aren't picked up - if Spearing/Thorpe aren't on form going forward, neither is he.

Sammy Ameobi - 5

Very, very poor game from Sammy. I can only remember him registering one take-on in the first half, and his second half was even more uneventful. He's supposed to be one of our best players, but it's not often your best players go missing. He needs to perform consistently for us to do well.

Gary Madine - 8.5

Maybe I’m biased because I really like Madine but I genuinely believe he's one of our best players. I said it in both my Man of The Match (which he won) and Five Things pieces, but Madine’s work is crucial to how we operate going forward. It might not be pretty and he might not be scoring 20 goals a season, but he's an integral piece of the Bolton Wanderers puzzle.

I’m not even going to bother giving Derik and Chris Taylor ratings as they weren't on for long enough to warrant a number. We’ve got a massive game against Scunthorpe on Saturday, so I really hope all 11 white shirts are firing on all cylinders. God knows we’ll need it.