Premiership: Bolton Wanderers 4 - 1 Charlton Athletic

Who needs Stelios? Or Kevin Nolan? This was Bolton's first Premiership game this season in which they did not have one of their two key midfield men starting and Jay-Jay Okocha also began on the bench. What a risk for Bolton's manager, Sam Allardyce, against a side managed by one of his rivals for the England job, Alan Curbishley, but the vindication was emphatic.

There is still time for those committee men at Soho Square to reconsider if they think Steve McClaren is the best of a bad bunch. Bolton's poor form beforehand could be blamed on Allardyce relying too heavily on tried and tested stalwarts. Forget that accusation. Having taken just one point from their six preceding games, this remoulded Bolton outfit decimated a poor Charlton team who had gone six months without an away win.

It was clear Allardyce would either be made to look very brave or very foolish with his team selection. With Bolton 3-0 up after 31 minutes, he was made to look ingenious. Allardyce's new-look line-up quickly demonstrated an impressive understanding. Hidetoshi Nakata's clever reverse pass found Jared Borgetti who shot cleanly but was denied by Osei Sankofa's block.

That chance buoyed Bolton and they were not looking like a side who failed to score in their previous four games. A 438- minute goal drought was broken when Kevin Davies cut the ball back for Nakata on the right touchline and his looping cross was headed beyond Thomas Myhre's reach by Ricardo Vaz Te.

A second followed when Ivan Campo's free-kick was flicked on to a post by Borgetti who aimed to poke the ball beyond Myhre at the second attempt as the Charlton keeper fumbled. The ball ran loose and Davies was on hand to bundle in.

Davies returned the favour to Borgetti for Bolton's third. His flick-on set free Borgetti and, although there were suspicions of offside, the Bolton forward did not check his run and, with Charlton's defence lagging behind, struck in with a fierce shot.

There seemed no chance of a second-half Charlton comeback. They managed a consolation when Jay Bothroyd and Jaaskelainen contested a high ball. Bothroyd won the header, but Jaaskelainen followed it up with a punch to his head and the resultant penalty was scored by Darren Bent.

It counted for little as Davies profited when Myhre spilled Okocha's throw, lobbing the ball back over the goalkeeper's head and tapping in late on. The Bolton fans' chants of 'Who needs Mourinho? We've got Sam Allardyce' resonated. Are the FA listening?

Man of the match: Kevin Davies

Sam Allardyce has shown that no big-name player is safe in the first team, but there is surely one man he cannot do without. A poacher's double was snared and he played a key role in the other two.