SOUTHAMPTON won at home on Saturday with Paul Sturrock in charge; last night, with the same 11 players, they lost there with Steve Wigley in the dugout. Rupert Lowe, the chairman, was already under fire for his bizarre, early-season switch of manager on Monday, so the last thing he needed was for such stark statistics to give further ammunition to his detractors.
That Southampton trailed for the final 83 minutes of the game added to the ire of the home fans, who heaped abuse on a chairman whom they blame for destabilising the club. Wigley is supposed to be a permanent appointment, although, given the way in recent years that the Saints managers have gone marching in and out of the club, only the most optimistic incumbent would consider himself anything other than a caretaker.
Wigley blamed the team and himself for the fans’ uprising. “We brought that on because of our performance,” the head coach, who stood in for two games last season after Gordon Strachan’s resignation, said. “We let the fans down. Unfortunately they turned on other people rather than vent their feelings on us.”
They could also blame Bolton, who have changed from sublime to ridiculous and back again in three games. Joint top after thrashing Charlton Athletic but then dismal in defeat by Fulham, they were excellent last night. “We completely dominated most of the game,” Sam Allardyce, the manager, said.
Bolton have been rivalling Liverpool for Spanish acquisitions, but Fernando Hierro again began on the bench last night while Julio Cesar was omitted. The latter was replaced by Radhi Jaidi, a Tunisian, who made a fine debut having spent his whole career in his home country.
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Southampton had fallen behind in the seventh minute of Wigley’s first spell in charge, at home to Everton, and they did exactly the same last night, Henrik Pedersen beating the offside trap to collect Nicky Hunt’s pass and drive the ball home.
It was the Dane’s third goal of the season and Jay-Jay Okocha matched his feat in the 27th minute from the penalty spot after Graeme Le Saux had scythed down Stelios Giannakopoulos. Jussi Jaaskelainen, the Bolton goalkeeper, was twice troubled by skidding shots from Fabrice Fernandes and tipped over a 25-yard chip from Rory Delap, but, five minutes from time, he spilled Paul Telfer’s cross into the path of Peter Crouch, who scored his first Southampton goal.
SOUTHAMPTON (4-4-2): A Niemi — P Telfer, C Lundekvam, D Higginbotham, G Le Saux — F Fernandes, D Prutton, R Delap (sub: P Crouch, 68min), A Svensson — J Beattie, K Phillips. Substitutes not used: Y Folly, J van Damme, P Smith, B Ormerod. Booked: Delap.
BOLTON WANDERERS (4-3-3): J Jaaskelainen — N Hunt, B N’Gotty, R Jaidi, R Gardner — A Okocha, I Campo, G Speed — S Giannakopoulos (sub: K Nolan, 80), H Pedersen (sub: F Hierro, 90), K Davies. Substitutes not used: K Poole, L Ferdinand, T Ben Haim. Booked: Campo.
Referee: S Dunn.