Asides from the fact that we conceded a goal just before half-time in all three of them (which seems to kill us off with 45 minutes still to play), all three matches saw us at least match our more illustrious opponents, if not out-play them, in the first half, only for the second half to result in a much poorer performance. Against Marseille, I could pass it off as the squad not quite experienced enough to handle the pressure that comes with leading against such a big club on the continental stage. Against Liverpool, I figured that we were just too tired as the season draws to a close.
Against Chelsea, I have a different reason as to why we lost. For the first time this season, I believe that the finger of blame as to why we lost is pointed squarely at Sam Allardyce.
Now, I know that Allardyce isn't the most popular of managers. The Jared Borgetti following can't stand to see how little playing time Borgetti gets. Opposition fans love to critisise Big Sam, be it his physical appearance, or his playing style. You get the feeling that some of them would rather die than watch England play the long ball should Sam get the job. But those of us who have watched Bolton on a regular basis for many a year know just what a good job Allardyce has done. We are all fully aware that we may not even be a Premiership club, let alone one that harbours ambitions of a UEFA Cup run now, without Big Sam. So we tend to overlook it when Sam gets things wrong from time to time.
However, there can be no overlooking the fact that Sam got it wrong on Saturday, big time. Borgetti and Ricardo Vaz Te did not deserve to be substituted at half time. Neither appeared to have picked up an injury during the first half, and as a result, have every right to feel hard done by. When Vaz Te hit the post in the first half (the best move of the half, including Chelsea's goal), it was a result of those two combining superbly. I noticed that at one point, Borgetti was really getting stuck in, showing some of the work ethic that the rest of the club shows. Vaz Te was constantly in space down the left flank, and Geremi certainly had his hands full in dealing with him. In my opinion, Kevin Davies certainly wasn't any better than either of those two.
Once Sam had made that change, the match was over. We never once looked like posing a threat to Petr Cech's goal in the second half. Only against Blackburn way back in September have I been as bored as I was during the second half. Neither Stelios nor Henrik Pedersen looked remotely threatening. The only time I think we had a chance of scoring was when someone whipped in a dangerous cross. The general feeling around my end was that if Borgetti had still been on the pitch, he would have gotten onto the end of it. But it wasn't to be.
There were a few positives about the match though. Abdoulaye Faye had one of the most composed matches I've seen him play. I'd say that was his best performance since returning from the African Nations. Bruno N'Gotty had a solid game, as usual, kept Hernan Crespo in his back pocket at all times. Ricardo Gardner was excellent at left back, as he has been on an almost regular basis for us this season. Surely only Kevin Nolan and Jussi Jaaskelainen can realistically claim to have had a better season than him for us?
Tal Ben Haim was looking comfortable at right back...up until the introduction of Arjen Robben. From then on, a good performance turned into a nightmare for him. I didn't think he should have been sent off though. Yes, his second yellow was a booking, I've no problems with that. But I thought he was harshly done by for his first - he had no time to get out of the way of Robben, who went down a bit easily for my liking.
Gary Speed was as professional as ever, although he got lucky to avoid a booking in the first half for a high challenge. Good to see Ivan Campo making a start, although he did get caught in possession once or twice, not something you can afford to do against Chelsea.
As for Chelsea, it was a very similar performance to what they showed in the corresponding fixture last season - soak up our first half pressure, then kill us off in the second half. And just like last season, they won the league at the Reebok again - the only difference this time is that it's not mathematically complete...yet. On the whole, I've no complaints with Chelsea's team, except for two players. Joe Cole could well be PFA Player of the Year this season, as he's had a fantastic year. But he was virtually anonymous on Saturday - barely even noticed him. And Didier Drogba should have been sent off long before his substitution.
In the first half, he ignored the refs repeated whistling in favour of a confrontation with Bruno. That in itself mertitted a yellow. After Terry's goal, Drogba chose to taunt our fans - another bookable offense. When he did finally get booked, for handball, he should have received another for dissent in his refusal to walk ten yards to the referee. A dirty, dirty player is he.
For those who believe it ain't over 'til it's over, you can take some consolation out of Blackburn's defeat to Liverpool yesterday - a few good results and we could be back in it. For those of us who have simply accepted that we're out of the European race now (and there's a fair number of us), we need to make sure we regain 7th place, as if we've applied for the InterToto cup, that's the position we need. It seems to be an annual thing now that we lose five matches or so in a row - lets end this one today at West Brom...