NEW season. Same old story.

But, out of the gloom of this North West derby, did Blackburn Rovers fans get the briefest of glimpses of a potentially brighter future under Mark Hughes?

For nearly an hour yesterday, this neighbourly dispute between two of Lancashire's oldest adversaries was a total non-event and about as riveting as one of Sven Goran Eriksson's team talks.

But then enter David Bentley, stage left, the man once described as the new Dennis Bergkamp at Arsenal, and suddenly this damp squib of a game changed complexion completely.

Bentley's arrival, as a 58th minute substitute, completely reinvigorated a Blackburn Rovers side that, until then, would have struggled to fight its way out of a wet paper bag.

Playing in his preferred position just off the frontman, the England Under 21 international's subtle craft and guile in the final third shone out like a beacon in what had previously been a sea of mediocrity.

Rovers have been crying out for someone to unlock defences for the best part of 12 months now.

It's no coincidence that Hughes' side were the Premiership's lowest scorers last season with a paltry return of just 32 goals over the course of the campaign.

And they've continued in a similar vein this term, this being the third successive game in which they've failed to find the net.

But, as Rovers' goal-starved followers filed away from the Reebok last night, they could at least console themselves with the thought that more entertaining times may lie just around the corner.

Bentley did enough to suggest in his brief cameo appearance that he could be a huge crowd pleaser in the months ahead, and with Craig Bellamy close to a return after injury, too, things can surely only get better in the final third of the field from a Blackburn perspective.

"That's why we've brought David to the club because we feel he can give us a little bit more creativity and a little bit more composure on the ball," said Hughes, in reference to his new recruit.

"I thought he made a real impact for us when he came on and that can only augur well for the future.

"He's a young man who's come to Blackburn, he wants to do well, he wants to make an impression, and he certainly did that today.

"He showed the ability to manipulate the ball and pick a pass and he's going to be a good player for us."

Bentley's contribution apart, in terms of entertainment value, this was a cracking advert for the cricket!

Unlike the cavalier spirit of the Ashes series, here, you had two teams determined to cancel each other in what developed into a midfield stalemate.

The result, not surprisingly, was a tedious, sprawling mess of misplaced passes and mistimed tackles.

Sam Allardyce, the Bolton manager, later tried to justify the need to sacrifice style for substance, claiming the Premiership is all about results these days.

But when you're asking supporters to part with their hard-earned cash every week, surely clubs have a duty to try and entertain where possible, otherwise there will come a day when they find themselves playing to empty stadia.

"There wasn't much entertainment today but necessity overrules entertainment sadly," admitted Allardyce, with chilling honesty.

"At the end of the day, you keep your job by putting points on the board and if you lose 5-4 then you get booed and you get the sack."

The first half was an instantly forgettable affair as both sides struggled to string two passes together.

Rovers were virtually non-existent as an attacking force and Matt Jansen looked an increasingly isolated figure on his own up front, repeatedly flicking the ball into the 'no man's land' beyond Wanderers' shaky defence.

Bolton, meanwhile, fared little better and became increasingly reliant on the long ball forward, hoping to feed off the scraps from Kevin Davies' nod-downs in and around the box.

Stelios set the tone for the afternoon with a scything challenge on Robbie Savage in the 11th minute but referee Graham Poll resisted the temptation to show the Greek a yellow card - a sensible course of action, perhaps, so early into proceedings.

The same player should have been cautioned 10 minutes later, however, when he attempted to get Savage booked with a blatant dive on the right touchline but, amazingly, Mr Poll took no action.

Still, that incident failed to spark the game into life and the chronic lack of guile became glaringly obvious with each misplaced pass.

In a rare foray forward, Kevin Nolan headed high and wide of the target, then Ivan Campo failed to accept an even better opportunity three minutes before the break, the Spaniard heading over after beating Brad Friedel to Gary Speed's free kick.

The second half was little better until Bentley and Shefki Kuqi were summoned from the bench in the 58th minute, a move that provided Rovers with fresh attacking impetus.

Within moments, Bentley crossed from the left and only a last-gasp interception from Bruno N'Gotty prevented Kuqi from heading the visitors in front.

Then Steven Reid, who until then had been subdued, pounced on a mistake from Henrik Pedersen only to see his 20-yard piledriver brilliantly tipped aside by Jaaskelainen.

Suddenly, Rovers were starting to look far more threatening and Bentley forced Jaaskelainen into evasive action once again with an audacious chip from the edge of the area.

Wanderers' only real chance of a note was a Jay-Jay Okocha free kick that stung Friedel's palms, but Allardyce eventually ended up replacing his Nigerian talisman with an extra defender, a clear indication of his growing anxiety in the closing stages.

Rovers' best chance fell to Lucas Neill in the 80th minute following a mix-up between Jaaskelainen and Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim.

But, with the goal at his mercy, Neill skewed his shot hopelessly wide and with that disappeared any hopes of a first away win of the season.

Mark Hughes will no doubt be the happier of the two managers this morning after Rovers picked up their first point on the road.

But there was little else to set the pulses racing on an otherwise drab afternoon.

Bolton (4-3-3): Jaaskelainen; Campo, N'Gotty, Ben Haim, H Pedersen; Nolan, Okocha, Speed; Diouf, Davies, Stelios. Subs: Gardner (for Stelios, 56), Borgetti (for Davies, 70), Hunt (for Okocha, 78) Not used: Nakata, Walker

Referee: Mr G Poll 7

Bookings: Bolton; Campo Rovers; Savage, Matteo

Sendings off: None

Attendance: 24,40