MARK Fish has been given a licence to thrill.

Colin Todd says his new centre half can go wandering, if and when the fancy takes him, provided his teammates provide the defensive cover.

The South African international, raised a few eyebrows with his bursts from the back in the frantic opening minutes of the Manchester United game.

The man from Lazio came to England with the reputation of being an adventurous defender but no-one really expected him to make surging runs into the United penalty area just minutes into his debut.

Many a manager would have had an attack of the vapours but Todd - one of England's finest footballing centre halves - was cool.

"I'm not going to stop him doing that because he does it so well," the manager explained. "Just as long as other people occupy the space he leaves. Per Frandsen sat in for him during the United game so there was no problem."

Bolton fans have wasted no time in greeting every touch by the new man with booming cries of "Feeesh!" - a tradition at his former clubs and when he plays for South Africa.

But some Wanderers fans aren't aware of the custom. "What are they booing Fish for?" one was heard to ask after the Spurs game. "I don't know," came the answer. "I think he played well!"

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.