Yabba-Dabba-Doo!

There’s more than a hint of Bedrock about Bolton Wanderers. Of course, they have people of genuine quality who can really play – Anelka and Campo for instance – but the style is undeniably more savage than sophisticated. A matter of intimidation rather than inspiration.

Their pragmatic, predominantly physical approach has taken them near to the top of the Premiership and enabled them to record victories over technically superior teams of the calibre of Arsenal, but never to outplay them. Unlike the Gunners, they appear to be incapable of raising football to the exalted level of an art form. For Bolton, it seems, are destined to be rooted in Bedrock, with Big Sam Allardyce superb as a sort of surrogate Fred Flintstone and Sammy Lee an utterly convincing Barney Rubble.