Never Mind The Bollands

Phil Bolland's return to The Racecourse was anticipated by many of us with a great deal of curiosity, but like many things you look forward to, it didn't turn out as one might have expected.

Bolland was a steady presence in Brian Little's doomed side last season; indeed, he was one of the few players Little signed who could be judged a success. Thus Little's decision to release him was something of a mystery to many, although with hindsight it made sense as Little's decision-making was hardly the most reliable!

His performance at The Racecourse last Thursday raised a few eyebrows. His angry reaction to Andy Fleming's high tackle is open to interpretation-I wouldn't be too bothered if one of our players reacted like that to a poor challenge, but he went in with his studs showing too. The ref probably got it about right in showing them both the yellow card.

His forearm smash on Marc Williams was a totally different matter, a nasty attack on a player when the referee's back was turned which, if it had been spotted, would have been an easy decision. If only this was the Premiership, where the TV evidence would have brought him the retrospective he deserved. At least he was punished when his moment of clumsiness teed Jeff Louis up for our second goal.

He played like a man with a chip on his shoulder, and perhaps that's explained by the fact that apparently he has been telling people at Cambridge that he wanted desperately to stay at The Racecourse but couldn't because of his serious differences with Brian Carey. Well, judging by what we saw on Thursday he's welcome to feel that way; Westwood and Williams look like more than adequate replacements!