Trotters turn down a fast buck from QuickQuid

Now here's something you don't find every day in the world of football: an instance of ethics and principle triumphing over cold, hard cash. Last week we reported that Bolton's hierarchy were receiving flak from fans and local MPs alike for the decision to sign a shirt sponsorship deal with payday loans company QuickQuid. Remarkably, people power has now prevailed and the club have backtracked, issuing a statement admitting: "Whilst we anticipated some negative responses from the initial agreement, we underestimated the adverse reaction to the sector of business in which the sponsor operated".

What chance a similar scenario playing out at St James' Park? None. While the Wonga deal initially stirred up some controversy and opposition, the kerfuffle has since died down (no doubt to the considerable relief of both club and company) and there's no longer the sort of public pressure that would be required to force Jabba, Llambiarse et al to reconsider. If it was going to happen, it would surely have happened shortly after the original announcement was made - and even then the hierarchy is hardly renowned for its receptiveness to fans' voices. As it is, we're lumbered with endorsing a company who operate in a sector recently lambasted for "widespread irresponsible lending" by the Office of Fair Trading and branded "out of control" by Citizens Advice. And there we were hoping that being associated with irresponsibility and excessive behaviour was very much a thing of the past...

Cashing in

So it seems we're not the only club to come under fire for checking our ethics at the door and leaping blindly into bed with a payday loan company. Following the news that Bolton's new sponsor is QuickQuid, a local MP and several fans have been swift in their condemnation, arguing that the move tarnishes the club's reputation while legitimising an industry described as exploitative. All of which should sound very familiar to regular readers of this site - and we haven't changed our perspective or softened our stance since then.

Incidentally, .com have reported that we're lining up a pre-season friendly against Blackpool and that it's surely no coincidence that we'll both have the Wonga logo emblazoned on the front of our shirts next season...

Ups and downs

Not Toon-related, but Saturday's trip to the Madejski to witness Reading at first hand occasioned this post assessing the starts made to the 2012-13 season by the Royals and the five other teams either promoted from or relegated to the Championship. It was a bit upsetting having to be complimentary about Fat Sam, but there was at least the consolation of getting to mention Kevin Nolan being the Mackems' bogeyman.

HBA: how bloody awesome?!

Newcastle Utd 2 - 0 Bolton

Who says lightning doesn't strike twice?

With twenty minutes of January's FA Cup tie against Blackburn remaining, we were in desperate need of a spark of inspiration. It came from HBA, who danced and wriggled his way past defender after defender before finishing with aplomb. It was one of the finest strikes St James' Park will have witnessed in its long history, and acclaimed by a delighted Silver Fox as "technically the greatest goal I've ever seen". Lightning had very definitely struck once.

And yet, with seventeen minutes of yesterday's match left and the danger of a disappointing result starting to loom large, HBA did it again. Fewer opponents were left trailing in his wake, perhaps - but he still turned his man beautifully, ran with pace from inside his own half, kept his footing after being clipped by a lunging tackle from Mark Davies, bisected Bolton's statuesque centre-backs and prodded perfectly past Adam Bogdan. It was another moment of individual brilliance the likes of which precious few other Premier League players could produce. He's found his fitness and form, and we've found his best position - this could be just the start of something very special indeed for us and a player with "magic in his feet".

One thing's for sure: HBA's splendid solo effort certainly wasn't a goal the game deserved. Prior to the Frenchman taking matters into his own hands, we'd struggled to create much of note. In the first half Dreamboat volleyed over when well placed on the edge of the area, but it's telling that one of our only other efforts was a 30-yarder from fit-again skipper Sideshow Bob that Bogdan clutched comfortably and that we actually came closest when Bolton's Hungarian 'keeper punched HBA's curling free-kick into the face of his own defender Sam Ricketts, the ball flying behind for a corner. As was highlighted by Alan Hansen on Match Of The Day (in arguably the first bit of insightful punditry he's managed for years), Papiss Cisse showed excellent movement but nevertheless had little opportunity to enhance his already formidable reputation further.

The Silver Fox made a relatively bold half-time switch, withdrawing Perchinho (less effective in the role of the injured Mr T than he has been in defence) for Shane Ferguson and moving Spidermag inside. Ferguson gave us added thrust down the left side, as well as extra energy, exemplified when he chased the ball the length of the field until it ended up back with Bogdan.

But it was the visitors who, sensing the possibility of a vital win against off-colour hosts in their bid for survival, suddenly created a flurry of opportunities. First Chris Eagles stepped inside a couple of tackles only to be denied by Tim Krul's foot from close range, then Martin Petrov's potentially lethal low cross just evaded Darren Pratley, and finally Mark Davies failed to make a good connection with a cross when Dreamboat found himself unexpectedly in central defence.

It was at that point that HBA thankfully came to the rescue, raising the temperature with a free kick that span narrowly wide before going one better and grabbing us the lead. Indeed, lightning could have struck for a third time soon afterwards had he not, after another mesmerising run (combined with a lucky break of the ball), elected to pass to the offside Cisse rather than take on the shot himself.

The victory was duly sealed, however, courtesy of Big Lad. Demba Ba's replacement outmuscled Tim Ream on the right wing, the American defender throwing himself to the floor in a futile attempt to win a free-kick. When Big Lad crossed, Cisse looked offside but, as against West Brom and Liverpool, the flag stayed down and the Senegalese hotshot celebrated his tenth goal in just nine appearances since joining the club from Freiburg.

There was no way back for Bolton, but just to make sure the Silver Fox removed HBA, rewarded inevitably with a standing ovation, and introduced Raylor for the closing few minutes.

Once again, then, it was hardly vintage stuff, but flashes of sheer class secured a fifth successive win (and with a third consecutive clean sheet too). Coupled with Spurs' unexpected home humbling by Norwich and Clint Dempsey's late equaliser for Fulham against Chelsea (not forgetting the Mackems' 4-0 trouncing at Everton, of course), it was about as satisfying a day's action as could have been hoped for. We've now drawn level on points with Spurs, two ahead of the Blues and two behind Arsenal (although the latter have a game in hand). You know, we might just need those passports after all...

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Quality B&B not to the Trotters' taste

Bolton 0 - 2 Newcastle Utd

Given our propensity for Boxing Day calamities (and a winless sequence stretching all the way back to 1988), a trip to Bolton - where we'd lost seven out of eight and suffered a 5-1 shellacking last season - was not really the post-Christmas fixture we'd asked Santa for. Thankfully, as it turned out the more telling pre-match stat was that the Trotters had been beaten in all but one of their home games this campaign, and we strolled to a comfortable victory.

Clinical finishing by B&B (HBA and Demba Ba) ultimately proved the difference between the two sides but arguably of equal importance was the return of Mike Williamson, who started a match for the first time since early May. If memories of the torrid time he endured at the Reebok last time out were playing on his mind, it certainly didn't show. The Silver Fox singling him out for post-match praise was also a comment on James Perch's efforts to fill the central defensive breach, of course - but, as harsh as it might seem, the truth is that Williamson looked to be the Premier League defender that Perch simply isn't.

A largely incident-free first half will have come as something of a relief to anyone in the sold-out crowd suffering from a pounding festive hangover, if not to the Match Of The Day editors. Raylor, restored to the starting line-up in place of the injured Davide Santon, forced Jussi Jaaskelainen into diving to push away a 25-yard free-kick, while Tim Krul had to do the same to deny Martin Petrov. Leon O'Best had an opportunity towards the end of the half but headed wide, his early-season golden touch seeming to have deserted him.

After the interval the Trotters' £4m turkey David Ngog helped create an opening for strike partner Ivan Klasnic, only for the Croatian to trip over his own feet. Helpfully for us, that haplessness soon spread throughout the home side. HBA, on for O'Best (who had left the pitch muttering his dissatisfaction with an entirely justifiable decision by the Silver Fox) on the hour mark, took just eight minutes to get onto the scoresheet. Chris Eagles surrendered possession cheaply to Spidermag, and the overlapping Raylor's low pull-back was elegantly stroked home on the volley by the substitute for only his second Toon goal.

Two minutes later we extended our advantage. This time it was Paul Robinson who gifted the ball to Mr T. Obertan Kenobi had time and space to measure his skidding cross into the six-yard area, where Ba made a monkey of Chelsea-bound Gary Cahill, darting in to slice the ball into the top corner. The Senegalese striker's two spectacular strikes against West Brom were ultimately without reward, so it was pleasing to see him notch an instinctive poacher's goal that did count.

Owen Coyle's response was to replace his front pairing with Kevin Davies and Tuncay, but neither the Trotters' oft-underestimated target man nor the ex-Smoggie could lever their side back into the game and we held out for a gift-wrapped win to cheer an away end in fine spirits (even the Spiderman hauled out by police...).

With the trip to Anfield and the home fixture against Man Utd to come, I don't think many would be prepared to claim that we've definitely emerged out the other side of our sticky period, but this was an unexpected and therefore particularly welcome result after our poor recent run.

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Quacking but not cracking up

Newcastle 1 - 1 Bolton

Skipper Kevin Nolan marked our return to Premier League action after a weekend off with a goal against his former club - celebrated with what he's christened "the quack" - but Ryan Taylor's red card meant that ultimately we had to be satisfied with a point.

Taylor was a surprise inclusion in the starting line-up, ASBO dropping out after picking up a tweak in the warm-up, but that was Alan Pardew's only change from the side that beat the new League Cup winners a week last Tuesday.

We began with all the offensive intent of a team out to avenge that 5-1 savaging at the Reebok in November and had already gone close twice - a Leon Best shot and strike partner Peter Lovenkrands' clever volley - before taking the lead. Cheik Tiote set about repaying us for the new six-and-a-half-year deal he's just been handed by whipping in a right-footed cross from the left that Nolan flicked past Jussi Jaaskelainen and several attendant Bolton defenders.

Best was proving himself a real unsettling force to the Trotters' central defence and ex-Smog lunk David Wheater in particular. He had one effort blocked, headed another over and was also felled in the area by Paul Robinson only to be flagged offside.

Sadly, our inability to capitalise on that dominance was to prove costly. Tiote, so often brilliant for us this season, gave us a flash of his Achilles heel, overplaying on the edge of his own penalty area. Johan Elmander nicked the ball to Daniel Sturridge and the on-loan Chelsea striker needed no invitation to shoot past Steve Harper and continue his impressive goalscoring form.

If the equaliser came harshly against the run of play, the likelihood of our being able to regroup and regain control of the match receded just eight minutes after the break. Taylor lost the ball in midfield, and while Pardew was probably right to suggest afterwards that there was no malice in his lunging tackle on Johan Elmander, referee Chris Foy was entirely justified in curtailing the Scouser's first first-team appearance for some time. Taylor, Coloccini, Williamson: if Bolton's Swedish forward ever does sign for Newcastle, then the line of new team-mates he'll be expecting apologies from will be quite lengthy...

The visitors seized the initiative handed to them, but while the holes that were opening up gave cause for alarm, particularly with Martin Petrov looking dangerous, we didn't buckle. Pardew went for insurance in replacing the out-of-sorts Spidermag with Steven Taylor, while fellow substitute Nile Ranger, afforded the best part of 25 minutes at Lovenkrands' expense, was only denied a first top-flight goal by an unfortunately eagle-eyed linesman. Bolton almost did our job for us, Robinson perilously close to chesting a back-pass beyond Jaaskelainen and Marcos Alonso a bit lucky not to join Ryan Taylor for an early bath.

A home draw against a side who had lost their previous six league games on the road, especially with the chances we created, wouldn't look too clever if it wasn't for the circumstances. As it was, though, deprived of the increasingly talismanic ASBO and having to play for well over half an hour with ten men, a point to nudge us closer to safety was probably welcome.

Other reports: BBC, Guardian