Having seen how quickly Nicolas Anelka’s fortunes changed at the weekend, it was with a sense of trepidation before the visit of Chelsea to the Reebok Stadium this evening that Bolton Wanderers refused to buy into the belief that Andriy Shevchenko is not cut out for English football.
Shevchenko has struggled to adapt to the hurly-burly of the Barclays Premiership since his £30.4 million move to Stamford Bridge in the summer, but Sammy Lee, the Bolton assistant manager, believes that it is too early to brand the Ukraine striker a flop.
After watching his club’s £8 million acquisition from Fenerbahçe in the summer score his first two Premiership goals in the 3-1 win against Arsenal on Saturday, Lee does not think that it will be long before Shevchenko hits the goal trail.
“No one at Bolton will say Shevchenko is a flop because he is a quality player,” Lee said. “Sometimes it takes time to click. People underestimate the difference between our league and the rest.”
Shevchenko’s poor performance in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday contrasted with Anelka’s the day before and the England coach is adamant that the best is yet to come from the 27-year-old France forward.
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“Nicolas’s input since he came here has been immense,” Lee said. “There’s more to Nicolas’s game than scoring goals.”
Victory against Arsenal moved Bolton up to third in the Premiership and Lee believes that they will have to be at their best again to overcome Chelsea, whom he likens to the dominant Liverpool teams of the 1970s and 1980s that he represented.
“What they possess, which Liverpool did, is a work ethic, a great team unity, strength and quality in depth and great organisation,” Lee said.