Blimey Riley, not again!

Forty-eight hours after Sam Allardyce vented his spleen over St Helens referee Chris Foy's refusal to rescind Ricardo Gardner's red card at Birmingham, the most notorious official ever to visit the Reebok returned to haunt Wanderers.

He may or may not not have understood the significance but, when referees' chief Philip Don appointed Mike Riley to take charge of the Premiership's basement battle, he was asking for trouble.

The only saving grace was that Barry Knight was not sent up to wreak the sort of havoc that turned the May 2000 play-off semi-final at Ipswich into one of the biggest disciplinary farces of modern times.

But it was obvious from the minute the Leeds official went out to limber up before the game that the Wanderers' fans had not forgotten his role in last season's hot-tempered clash with Leicester, when he sent off Paul Warhurst and Dean Holdsworth and put Big Sam's heart monitor into overdrive.

And they certainly had not forgiven! Like a red rag to a herd of snarling bulls, the man in black became the focus of all the attention. Any move he made, every decision he took was examined to the point where the game itself - a tense fight for survival points - became almost incidental to those who regarded Mr Riley as a red-card just waiting to happen.

In that respect he did not disappoint. Twenty minutes in and with Wanderers having just gone a goal down, he showed no hesitation. Sprinting to the scene of an aerial collision between Bruno N'Gotty and Jason Roberts, arm pointing to the tunnel as he ran, he stopped briefly to take the card from his back pocket and Allardyce's best defender was out of the game.

Mr Riley refused to discuss the incident so it can only be assumed that, since Wanderers were awarded the resulting free kick, the "violent conduct" entry on the official blue disciplinary list suggests a charge of retaliation against the Frenchman.

But video replays, showing N'Gotty's right arm connect with the Albion striker's face but leaving the question of intent open to speculation, clearly contradict that theory.

So here we are again, analysing the performance of a referee who stands accused of putting a spoke in Wanderers' survival wheel when the real issue is whether they have the ability to haul their way out of trouble.

Meanwhile, down in London at the FA's Soho Square headquarters, the men in control of disciplinary matters are examining another outburst from the Bolton manager. Allardyce makes his point passionately and eloquently with some justification - the bottom line being that, whether right or wrong, Mr Riley should not have been appointed.

After all, the Leicester game last December, in which the visitors also had Muzzy Izzet sent off, has twice featured on the ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald prime-time programme highlighting the stresses and strains of football management.

If he was not aware himself, someone would have been wise to point out to Mr Don the wisdom of putting this particular referee in charge of another potentially explosive game.

But Allardyce wasn't daft enough to object before the game for fear of being over-ruled and making matters even worse.

That Wanderers came through the ordeal with a point - "a moral victory" in the manager's eyes - speaks volumes for their character. Apart from Ivan Campo, who could not have been closer to following N'Gotty down the tunnel if he'd tried, they showed remarkable restraint when they could easily have lost control and buckled under the pressure of anger and self-pity.

Once again their never-say-die spirit rescued a point for the third successive home game and, although Per Frandsen's 89th minute header was not enough to lift them off the foot of the table, their superiority over Albion - despite playing more than threequarters of the game a man down - was one of the most encouraging developments in recent weeks.

There was only one team in it in the second half with Campo - his Latin temperament under control after Allardyce's half-time ultimatum - starting wave after wave of attacks with an array of passing any centre-back in the world would be proud of.

That he was such a liability in the first half hour with his clumsy tackling and animated arguments with the referee and his assistant highlights the difficulty Wanderers face in balancing the credit and debit sides of the Real Madrid defender.

Not surprisingly, opinions are divided on the curly-haired Spaniard whose supreme confidence in his own ability can set nerves jangling as often as pulses racing.

And, although Allardyce was sorely tempted to take him off before he was sent off at one stage, he was glad he hadn't when he saw him dictate the direction of Wanderers' assaults on the ever-retreating Albion defence.

While the now-calmed Campo chose the route of the attacks, Jay Jay Okocha controlled the speed and made the manoeuvres to find a way through the ranks of the increasingly nervous visitors.

Such was Wanderers' dominance once Roberts had missed the target and been foiled by a vital save by Jussi Jaaskelainen, that an equaliser seemed inevitable.

But even Allardyce began to wonder whether the fates - never mind officialdom - were conspiring against him when Russell Hoult defied Youri Djorkaeff with a sensational reaction save when the Frenchman matched the quality of Michael Ricketts' cross with a close-range volley. Hoult, tutored twice a week by Wanderers' goalkeeping coach Fred Barber, collected every cross - some difficult, many routine - that was launched into his area and looked unbeatable until Simon Charlton curled in the umpteenth from the left wing and Frandsen darted in to claim his first goal of the season with a rare header.

Wanderers need no reminding that this was a game they really had to win to ease their relegation worries. Three points from eight games since that memorable victory at Old Trafford is a frightening sequence and still being rock bottom with just nine points from 12 games does nothing for their confidence.

But with Okocha and Bernard Mendy having raised the quality levels since returning and with such a dogged determination not to be denied, it was Gary Megson and his beleaguered Baggies who looked to have all the worries as they headed back to the Midlands on Saturday night.

Whether Wanderers can build on this performance will determine whether they have any realistic chance of pulling away from the drop zone. But, already shorn of the injured defensive trio of Gudni Bergsson, Paul Warhurst and Mike Whitlow, they must do without the suspended Ricardo Gardner at Leeds on Sunday week while N'Gotty will miss the games against Chelsea, Manchester City and Blackburn unless Mr Riley has a change of heart. Allardyce is not holding his breath!