bigmick wrote:Tricky game this one I think. Bolton have won handsomly a couple of times on the road recently and are no pushovers. That said, the law of averages says we'll win one at Home sooner or later and I fancy we'll put in a bit of a performance and win comfortably. i don't really know why I think that, I've just got a feeling.
Since my record of predicting results and scores is so abysmal, I had to quote this as it's a novelty. Like I said, just had a bit of a feeling.
Seems only fair to say seeing as we won and played well that once again if I had been around in the middle of the night, I would have said that I didn't like the team. I don't like Kuyt up top at all, and I think that Benayoun for Kuyt weakens us down the right. Equally, I don't like leaving Masherano on the bench at all.
All that said (purely for the benefit of my crew of stalkers who regularly accuse me of only appearing after defeats), you have to conclude that I was wrong. By all accounts a top performance and just what the doctor ordered to blow a few Home cobwebs away.
Despite being the arch anti-rotationalist, I guess this is one of the two times of the season (along with Easter) where some styling is probably going to be needed, so quickly do the games come. My guess is we will see a reversion to the 4-5-1 against Newcastle, and I would agree with it if we do. Hopefully whoever plays can keep up the momentum.
One thing which isn't really apparent yet but will become increasingly so as time goes on, is that each time we match the results of the teams following us the pressure on them just cranks up a notch. The number of games they have to bridge the gap ticks down and they simply cannot afford to lose ground. If, and pobviously it's a fairly speculative and hopeful if, we could string seven or eight wins on the bounce together now it could get really interesting.
The reverse of all the draws, and the "wasted opportunites to really open up a gap", is that the chasers wasted opportunities to catch up as well. We are now entering a crucial stage of the whole race, in which it is fair to say there are now officially three runners.