For all fantasy managers who have feasted on the productivity of David Silva and Sergio Aguero, today was famine.

Loud insults were directed at television screens around the world today from those of us who were looking forward to Aguero and Silva being turned loose against the dolts from Bolton, especially if Aguero or Silva had been designated Captain for the match. However, our hopes were dashed when Roberto Mancini not only left them on the bench but never put them in the game. Unfortunately, it was another example why players from Manchester City are a risk to have on your fantasy roster.

Going into the match Aguero was the second highest fantasy point producer and Silva was number three. Perhaps there was advance notice that Mancini would rest his two stars in anticipation of Thursdays Europa match with SP Lisbon; however, I missed any mention of this.

Manchester City with its bloated budget has the depth of players that allows Mancini to rest some of his regulars and that is what he did today. Also not getting into the game against Bolton was Aleksandar Kolarov who had played 90 minutes in each of the past three matches and looked the strongest he has been all season.

The man with the blue scarf (Scarfcini) has no reason to reveal what his lineup will be to accommodate the needs of fantasy managers before squads are locked in. It’s just that today it was one of those weekends when we were looking forward to big numbers from Aguero and Silva. I'll admit it, I was greedy.

The players Mancini had in the lineup included Mario Balotelli who has now scored eight goals in the nine matches he has started. For all of his off-the-field problems and on-the-pitch antics, the lad returns impressive points for his fantasy salary of 7.1 million.

Predicting Mancini’s future lineups will be even more difficult once Carlos Tevez is deemed ready for team selection.

On another subject, how much longer can AVB remain on life support? Chelsea is rotting from within and today’s defeat at WBA has the team at a new low in performance, confidence, morale and leadership. It may just be a coincidence, but there is a remarkable timeline that shows the team began to unravel when assistant coach Ray Wilkins was sacked. It’s not likely Wilkins will be brought back in any capacity but Rafa Benitez has said he is ready to report aboard should he be asked to right the bad ship Chelsea. Benitez is part of another timeline; namely, the career of Fernando Torres who has been a flop since he came to Chelsea. It was under Benitez that Torres excelled. Could Rafa be the one to turn on the defogger for the blonde Spaniard?