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How the national press reported Bolton’s 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns

The Times thought Bolton were worthy of all three points. It says Bolton’s goal had been coming for a long time when it eventually arrived from the boot of Matt Taylor in the 67th minute and also points out that West Brom failed to get a shot on target all game – even their equalising goal needed a massive deflection from Danny Shittu.

But, as the Mirror points out, the Wanderers only had themselves to blame for failing to win after Taylor passed up a golden opportunity late on. The Guardian also suggests that Bolton should have been more positive after taking the lead rather than sitting back and inviting Albion to attack – an invitation which they happily accepted.

The News of the World says that Albion might even have gone on to win the game themselves, although that would have been unfair on the Wanderers.

The Observer saw things slightly differently, pointing out that West Brom dominated possession in the early stages of the game as Bolton struggled to get in to the game.

All the papers report that Gary Megson felt humbled by the positive reception he received from the Baggies fans, although the Express points out that it must have made a nice change for a manager who is “still not universally loved by Bolton fans”, as the Mirror rather delicately puts it.

More importantly, there’s also an admission from Megson in most of the papers that he was out of order for the comments that saw him sent to stand late on (Megson in “I was wrong” admission shocker, anyone?).

For now, though, it’s Tony Mowbray who’s feeling the heat. But seeing the effectiveness of Bolton’s style of play at close quarters wasn’t enough to convince the West Brom manager that his attempt to pass and move his way to Premier League survival is futile. He told the Independent that he wouldn’t compromise, despite the fact that his side were out-muscled for much of the game.

Disagree? Have your say in the comments below…

Watch West Brom 1-1 Bolton Wanderers video highlights here

Read the fans’ view of the game here

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Your guide to all the predictions and Mystic Meggery ahead of Bolton’s trip to West Brom this afternoon

Reasons to be cheerful
1. Our chances of winning this game are better than 50/50… because under Gary Megson we have only lost 49 per cent of our matches.

2. Megson should get a good reception from the fans… the West Brom fans that is. Tony Mowbray certainly wants him to get a good welcome and Jonathan Greening has been having sleepless nights over it too, but Megson himself is not so optimistic about what the atmosphere will be like.

3. West Brom are six points adrift from safety and have lost their last three home games.

4. The tipsters in the Mirror think we’ll win – and we’ll take that, even if one of their pundits is Graham Poll.

Reasons to be fearful
5. If we play anything like we did against Fulham last weekend then we don’t stand a chance… and if that happens then the welcome Megson gets from the home fans could soon be drowned out by the booing from the Bolton end.

6. And it doesn’t help that Megson has been talking us down all week and looking over his shoulder, rather than looking where he’s going.

7. Abdoulaye Meite has been ruled out through injury, which means they might play someone who can actually defend… which is exactly what appears to have happened when their new defensive partnership stepped in against West Ham on Monday.

8. Tony Mowbray, like every other manager who’s been asked about it this season, isn’t scared of our physical approach.

9. We’ll be without Mark Davies, aka the the only player with any creativity in the centre of our midfield.

10. The referee, Howard Webb, isn’t exactly Kevin Davies’ best mate.

11. We failed to sign James Morrison from the Baggies in the January transfer window, so no doubt he’ll pop up and score the winner.

What do you think? Have your say in the comments below…

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