AT the end of a week in which football's finances were scrutinised at every level, Wanderers proved that money does not always buy success writes Gordon Sharrock

According to the balance sheets, Fulham should have outclassed, outpassed and outplayed them. They did in this fixture a year ago and, having spent upwards of £27 million of Mohammed Al Fayed's fortune in a Harrods-style shopping spree, the fear was that the gulf in quality would be wider than ever.

But Big Sam's Surprise Guys - £33 million in debt and forced to scour the bargain basements for their signings - had already defied the critics, embarrassed the bookies and taken points off the top five finishers in last season's Premiership.

And, if they had found a cutting edge to match the rest of their play - faultless at the back, industrious in midfield - they would have had the three points their performance deserved rather than the one they had to settle for.

Jean Tigana was a study in cool as he strolled out of the Reebok, briefcase in hand, keeping his thoughts to himself. But the Fulham boss must have wondered how it was that his team, reinforced by expensive purchases, had been bettered - and they were - by all but two players who were in the Wanderers' ranks last season.

That, according to Simon Charlton, has made all the difference.

The seasoned full-back, treasuring every kick and tackle on his return to the Premiership, believes Sam Allardyce's faith in the players who won promotion is paying off.

"Most managers wouldn't have done that," Charlton maintains. "Okay, he's had the financial restraints and obviously the money trouble at the club has meant he has had to stick by last year's team. But the lads have responded to that and he must be so pleased. He's shown the faith in us and we are repaying that faith.

"That's why I put him up with the best managers I've played under. I've had some good ones and some bad ones but he's at the top.

"If you look back to last season and the lessons Fulham taught us in this fixture, we were absolutely miles behind them. This time we've played them off the park. I really believe that.

"But this is the Premiership, the big stage and the players here have lifted their game to a higher level. We have shown we can be a force.

"And I believe that's good for football because, if you're a neutral, you want to see the teams like Bolton succeed. They know that, compared to most, we are a small club. Fulham spent millions strengthening their team, while we've spent £750,000 ... It's great."

Of the 13 players used on Saturday only Bruno N'Gotty, borrowed from Marseille, and Rod Wallace, rescued from the wilderness on a free, are new to the Reebok this season. Yet Wanderers played a quality of football few would have thought them capable of a year ago.

Fulham still passed the ball well - to the point of over-egging the pudding at times - and in Louis Saha, Barry Hayles and Luis Boa Morte they have tricky, quicksilver attackers who would be a handful for any defence.

Yet, for all that, Jussi Jaaskelainen was as redundant as the groundstaff shocked to find Fulham had cleaned their own dressing room before heading back to London, impressing the Wanderers' chairman, Phil Gartside, who'd noticed they'd brought their own sweeping brush!

This truly was a welcome clean sheet - their first in the Premiership for 10 games - and for that, the Reebok keeper can thank a defence marshalled by Bergsson, who gave a masterclass.

We have seen quality performances aplenty from the captain in recent years - performances we have come to take almost for granted. But this had to rank as one of his most commanding.

His awareness, positioning and timing were impeccable. He was calmness and confidence personified and with fellow veteran Mike Whitlow beside him and Paul Warhurst patrolling just in front, every move the Fulham forwards made was met with the most stubborn resistance, almost contemptuously at times.

Only once were they breached, 12 minutes from time, when Boa Morte managed to force his way outside Bergsson, coaxing Jaaskelainen out of his goalmouth to tee up Sean Davis for a crack at an unguarded net. But the midfielder's shot rose harmlessly over the bar.

The let-off was no more than Wanderers deserved. They were solid and organised throughout and with an ounce or two more luck, might have got the goal that would have brought that elusive home win they have been looking for since beating Liverpool on August 27.

Fulham fans complained of "Boring, boring Bolton" on Radio Five Live's Six-O-Six phone-in as they headed back to London but they must have forgotten, or chosen to ignore the closing minutes of the first half when Edwin Van Der Sar made two saves from Kevin Nolan then looked on helplessly as Michael Ricketts' audacious chip floated just wide of the post.

What they were acknowledging was that Wanderers simply did not allow Fulham's cultured midfield quartet go anywhere near putting the finishing touches to the intricate patterns they wove with the pass-and-move game Tigana demands they play.

Davis, John Collins, Steed Malbranque and Sylvain Legwinski are accomplished exponents of the art but Warhurst, Nolan and Per Frandsen were equally industrious, doubly determined and, with Wallace and Ricardo Gardner offering width, more effective.

Allardyce suggested the performance was the best yet at the Reebok but was only sorry it didn't bring the three points he, his players and the supporters desperately wanted.

It was disappointing to see that, for all their efforts, they mustered no clear-cut chances and for that they can blame only themselves. So often they got into good positions with the width that Fulham so desperately lacked, only to squander the opportunity with some woeful crossing - N'Gotty being one of the main culprits but Charlton and Gardner faring little better.

Ricketts, on whose goals they have relied heavily, started brightly and it was more for the want of service rather than effort that he failed to score in his fifth successive Premiership game.

Allardyce admitted he was being greedy in wanting all three points but, consoling himself with 20 points in the bank, he has riches he could never have dreamed of when Wanderers' played such a poor second fiddle to Fulham last season.