Few places better symbolise the Barclays Premier League’s confused relationship with the worldwide and the local, the traditional and the modern than the Reebok Stadium. Named after a company founded in Bolton that calls itself “an American-inspired global brand”, inside a whizzy electronic advertising board jiggled the words “Carrs Pasties, Bolton’s Favourites”.

Next to a board for Chorley Electrical stood the Fox Soccer Channel logo. Maybe people were watching this in their millions in the United States, but only 18,544 were in the stadium. So does this mean that Bolton Wanderers should do more to woo fans in Horwich than in Houston? Can they – should they – do both?

David James had the most original take on the rumbling debate. Goalkeepers are different and James is more different than most. In his newspaper column yesterday he expressed concern at the plan to play overseas because he is worried about clubs increasing their carbon footprints. James caused significant damage to the environment on Saturday, provoking widespread devastation among home fans and players whose team dominated yet lost, largely thanks to his masterful display.

“His performance was as good as I’ve ever seen from a goalkeeper,” Gary Megson, the Bolton Wanderers manager, said. Harry Redknapp, the Portsmouth manager, described James’s save from Tamir Cohen in the final moments as a contender for stop of the season and suggested that the 37-year-old can continue playing into his forties. He played a full game for England last week for the first time since May 2005.

“I’m not going to come in and waste people’s time,” James said. “If I didn’t think I could genuinely stake a claim – because at the moment I feel as though I can stake a claim for the [2010] World Cup, of course – it’s a waste of my time being there. I want to play for England, but who wants to get a couple of friendlies and then say I’m not having any more of it?” James is not sure if he can call himself “England’s No 1” again. “But I’m not concerned,” he said. “There is a lot of importance put on being the No 1 and the ethos of the team has to be the prevalent view. I think Paul Robin-son had missed one start in something like a year and a half before the Austria game [in November], so he obviously was No 1. It doesn’t create competition.”

Team ethos is Bolton’s mantra under Megson. Although stereotyped as a direct team, they were at their best when passing short and quickly, while their long ones went awry. With their impressive workrate and organisation, it is not surprising that they have conceded only three league goals this year.

But with Nicolas Anelka sold and Saturday’s lone striker, Kevin Davies, spending more time outside the penalty area than in it, they need onrushing midfield players to supply the goals. It was a concept that worked for England against Switzerland last week, but not here because of James’s goalkeeping and Bolton’s woeful finishing.

Davies said that Anelka’s departure to Chelsea need not be mourned. “He purely scored goals for us,” Davies said after the game on Saturday. “As a team we look solid together and we could have had two or three simple goals today.”

Portsmouth were insipid and Bolton had enough chances to win 39 games, with Matt Taylor the chief culprit against his former club, but Lassana Diarra, clearly offside, scored a late winner. And the crowd in bars and internet cafés from Kuala Lumpur to Cape Town went wild, or at least raised their eyebrows a couple of millimetres.

How they rated

Bolton Wanderers (4-1-4-1): J Jaaskelainen 6 – G Steinsson 6 G Cahill 7 A O’Brien 7 R Gardner 7 – I Campo 6 – E-H Diouf 6 K Nolan 7 D Guthrie Y 6 M Taylor 5 – K Davies 6 Substitutes: G Raziak 6 (for Diouf, 60min), S Giannakopoulos (for Taylor, 82), T Cohen (for Guthrie, 87) Not used: A Al Habsi, J Samuel. Next: Blackburn (a).

Portsmouth (4-4-2) D James 9 – Lauren 5 S Campbell 6 H Hreidarsson 5 N Pamarot 5 – R Hughes Y 5 L Diarra 6 P Bouba Diop 5 N Kranjcar 4 – M Baros 4 J Defoe 6 Substitutes: L Aubey 5 (for Pamarot, 27min), Kanu 5 (for Baros, 46), J Utaka (for Kranjcar, 74) Not used: J Ashdown, S Davis. Next: Sunderland (a).