Wanderers 2 Liverpool 3

YOU have to cast your mind back a long, long way to find the last time Wanderers were accused of being “too nice” but that is the damning indictment Gary Megson has delivered on a squad currently stuck in their worst sequence of league results for nearly five years.

His words might raise a stifled giggle in some quarters, mostly outside Lancashire, where Bolton are still blindly portrayed as the Premier League’s bad guys, who revel in duffing up the rich kids. Oh, if that were the case.

There was a time when Liverpool would have feared coming to the Reebok. And it would have shown up clear as day in Rafa Benitez’s pre-match rants.

But that has gradually changed and the Reds now know exactly what to expect when they make the short trip down the M62 — and more often than not, it is three points.

Wanderers earned their reputation for ruffling feathers and upsetting apple-carts not just because they excelled at the ugly stuff. Sam Allardyce got most of the credit but regular onlookers know that the formidable will to win, at any cost, ran right through the team a few short seasons ago. At present, the same simply cannot be said for the current set of players.

As people, there can not be a more pleasant bunch of lads in the whole Premier League. Megson has built a squad on the ethics he holds dear — honesty, integrity and work-rate. And that might be the problem, nice guys finish last.

Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva and Dirk Kuyt won’t have minded the deafening jeers they got from the Wanderers faithful for continually baiting referee Alan Wiley, they had three points to celebrate.

Clearly not in top gear, Liverpool used every trick in the book to gain the upper hand and eventually, class won through.

But you can not help wondering if an old school Bolton side would have twice surrendered a lead so meekly, even with a man disadvantage after Sean Davis’s harsh sending off. It is a fact not lost on Megson, who made a cheeky attempt to bring back one of the major components of the old guard this week with a loan bid for Kevin Nolan.

His effort did not come off but it shows exactly what he, and many others think is absent in the camp at the moment.

“One of Kevin’s qualities is exactly what we are missing,” Megson said after the 3-2 defeat. “His drive and honesty to stand up and say ‘that’s not good enough, we’re not having it’. There were a few things out there that were not acceptable, so if no-one has said anything it’s just going to keep on happening.

“The only person saying anything is me at half time and after the game. And by then, it’s too late.

“Not everyone leads in the same manner. Kevin Davies leads in a different manner to the way that I would but when you see something on the pitch that is wrong, if you don’t say something, then it’s going to happen again, and again, and again. When the manager is consistently saying it, that breeds resentment and ill-feeling. For every thousand words I can say, if a player uttered one it could have a lot more impact.”

Megson has a fortnight to digest a third straight defeat, a tenth winless game if you take last season’s limp finish into consideration.

But he has only a couple of days to find the player or players that he feels can arrest the slide, heading into vital games at Portsmouth and Birmingham and at home to Stoke.

Wanderers were probably surprised to find themselves in the lead on 34 minutes when Kevin Davies provided the telling touch to Johan Elmander’s header back across goal.

Liverpool had been on top despite not looking at their best, with Fernando Torres guilty of missing a couple of good chances.

They were gifted an equaliser just before half time, however, as Zat Knight could only clear to the edge of the box and Glen Johnson was given room to check on to his left foot to drill the ball into the bottom corner.

Within two minutes of the restart, Tamir Cohen— making his first start of the season— restored the Whites’ lead with a neat half volley. But the game was soon turned on its head as Davis was handed a second yellow card for a trip on Lucas.

No sooner had the former Portsmouth midfielder touched his opposite number than Liverpool were surrounding referee Alan Wiley demanding that action was taken.

Davis had picked up his first booking for needlessly kicking the ball away after a foul on the same player just before the break – so had the Reds not put pressure on the official, perhaps commonsense would have prevailed.

Within a few minutes the Merseysiders had ruthlessly taken advantage. With the bar still shaking after an earlier thunderbolt from Gerrard, Kuyt combined perfectly with Torres for the Spanish hitman who hammered a shot past Jaaskelainen from 10 yards out.

Megson tried to reshuffle but had to pull Fabrice Muamba off the man-marking duty he had performed so well on Gerrard, leaving the England star free to direct proceedings at his own pace.

The midfield ace had spent most of his afternoon, hands on hips, complaining at his rough treatment at the hands of his Wanderers counterpart.

But freed from his shackles, it was no surprise then when he burst through to smash the winner seven minutes from time.

All the Sunday reports commended ‘brave’ Bolton for their part in a thrilling game but the praise will subside over the coming days to leave only a league table with Wanderers occupying one of the bottom three places.

Megson is not the only one hoping they will soon rediscover a mean streak.