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<H3>Lee not ready to write off £30m Sheva</H3><SMALL id=yspartclsrc>Tue 28 Nov, 5:30 PM</SMALL><BR clear=all>
Bolton assistant boss Sammy Lee has claimed it is far too early to start labelling Andriy Shevchenko a £30million flop.Despite his lofty reputation, the Chelsea striker has done little to justify the enormous price tag that saw him prized away from AC Milan.
After seven years in Serie A, the Ukrainian has struggled to adapt to the hurly-burly of Premiership life and has so far scored just three times in league combat.
Shevchenko was virtually non-existent during Sunday's draw at Manchester United and rumours are already circulating that the 30-year-old will be offloaded, if not in January then at the end of the season.
However, Lee, who will attempt to mastermind Bolton's first home win over Chelsea in nine years at the Reebok Stadium on Wednesday, feels the critics have been too quick to judge the forward.
"People are quick to knock others and label them flops or disasters," Lee observed.
"No-one at Bolton will say Andriy Shevchenko is a flop because we all realise he is a quality player.
"But sometimes it takes a bit of time to click in the Premiership. People underestimate the difference between our league and the rest.
"The Premiership is one of the best and toughest leagues in the world and it is not easy to adapt straight away."
Indeed, there are parallels between Shevchenko's position and that of Nicolas Anelka.
While Anelka cost Bolton less than a third of the money Chelsea invested in their big summer signing, the £8million still represented the highest fee ever paid by the Trotters.
Up until last weekend, Anelka was getting plenty of criticism too, having failed to score a single league goal for his new club.
Thankfully for Bolton, his scoring drought came to an end in sensational fashion against his old club Arsenal as the Frenchman's brace helped end a run of five games without a win.
Having worked with Anelka at Liverpool, Lee knew it was only a matter of time before the nomadic 27-year-old found the scoring touch, although everyone inside the Reebok already recognised the vast contribution he was making.
"People like to make rash judgements, stick labels on players and pigeon-hole them," said Lee.
"But Nicolas has been immense since he first arrived here.
"He is a joy to work with, as I already knew from my time at Liverpool. Everyone here recognised the huge amount of effort he puts into his performances.
"I understand why people were looking at his goalscoring record but for me, strikers are not solely about scoring goals. It is about the overall contribution, the input into the team and the discipline to play for the team. In that respect, he has been excellent."
Bolton have received some good news on the injury front, with full-back Nicky Hunt likely to play against Chelsea despite limping out of the Gunners triumph with a hamstring injury.
And even Quinton Fortune, who suffered an ankle problem in the same game, might not be out for quite as long as <A href="
Bolton assistant boss Sammy Lee has claimed it is far too early to start labelling Andriy Shevchenko a £30million flop.Despite his lofty reputation, the Chelsea striker has done little to justify the enormous price tag that saw him prized away from AC Milan.
After seven years in Serie A, the Ukrainian has struggled to adapt to the hurly-burly of Premiership life and has so far scored just three times in league combat.
Shevchenko was virtually non-existent during Sunday's draw at Manchester United and rumours are already circulating that the 30-year-old will be offloaded, if not in January then at the end of the season.
However, Lee, who will attempt to mastermind Bolton's first home win over Chelsea in nine years at the Reebok Stadium on Wednesday, feels the critics have been too quick to judge the forward.
"People are quick to knock others and label them flops or disasters," Lee observed.
"No-one at Bolton will say Andriy Shevchenko is a flop because we all realise he is a quality player.
"But sometimes it takes a bit of time to click in the Premiership. People underestimate the difference between our league and the rest.
"The Premiership is one of the best and toughest leagues in the world and it is not easy to adapt straight away."
Indeed, there are parallels between Shevchenko's position and that of Nicolas Anelka.
While Anelka cost Bolton less than a third of the money Chelsea invested in their big summer signing, the £8million still represented the highest fee ever paid by the Trotters.
Up until last weekend, Anelka was getting plenty of criticism too, having failed to score a single league goal for his new club.
Thankfully for Bolton, his scoring drought came to an end in sensational fashion against his old club Arsenal as the Frenchman's brace helped end a run of five games without a win.
Having worked with Anelka at Liverpool, Lee knew it was only a matter of time before the nomadic 27-year-old found the scoring touch, although everyone inside the Reebok already recognised the vast contribution he was making.
"People like to make rash judgements, stick labels on players and pigeon-hole them," said Lee.
"But Nicolas has been immense since he first arrived here.
"He is a joy to work with, as I already knew from my time at Liverpool. Everyone here recognised the huge amount of effort he puts into his performances.
"I understand why people were looking at his goalscoring record but for me, strikers are not solely about scoring goals. It is about the overall contribution, the input into the team and the discipline to play for the team. In that respect, he has been excellent."
Bolton have received some good news on the injury front, with full-back Nicky Hunt likely to play against Chelsea despite limping out of the Gunners triumph with a hamstring injury.
And even Quinton Fortune, who suffered an ankle problem in the same game, might not be out for quite as long as <A href="