wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
we have done it
away to west ham was always gonna be one of our toughest games - due to the physical nature of allardyce's sides
now it goes down to next Sunday.......super sunday, or suicide sunday!
if we could beat city at anfield (and swansea get a result at home to a tired CL-fecked Chelsea).
5 cup finals to go - one of the hardest ones was won today.
We have a pretty poor record against London teams going back over a few years. That's two weeks running we've known a win puts us top, which in itself brings it's own form of pressure.
We had the crowd to help us last week, but this was very different, and because of all those things I'd say it was our best win of the season.
It's still City's to lose, but just as important as our result was Everton's. They are the form team below us and know they have everything to play for still, and as long as their results hold up, they could do us a massive favour by beating City in the penultimate game of the season, giving City little time to recover. They have a great chance of 5th, seeing as the Mancs are six points behind having also played a game more, and will believe they can get 4th, as they are a point behind Arsenal with a game in hand over the Gunners.
This could be the turning point of the season with Everton placing themselves where they have and us winning again.
It's all about belief and confidence now - something we will have as our sequence of consecutive wins continues and it could dent the other two teams morale if we keep responding to their attempted pressure with a win each time.
City's games in hand are home against Sunderland on Wed 16th April and home against Villa on Wed 7th May. Both are very, very winnable, making a win, no matter how, for us next Sunday, absolutely crucial.
If we beat City, it could also work in Sunderland's favour (and additionally our's) for the game after, and with Sunderland still in with a chance of escaping the drop due to their games in hand, we could help ourselves by helping Sunderland maybe knick a point against a demoralised City team.
City and Chelsea at home and Palace away (final trip to London of the season) are definitely the harder of the games left. Norwich, which is the game after the City one, is the biggest potential banana skin with them in 17th place and still not assured of avoiding the drop.
At least we have home advantage for the last game of the season, as do City, unlike Chelsea who are at Cardiff, who may be down by then, but that could see them relax with the pressure off.
Hopefully, being at home won't bring it's own pressure and the crowd will need to put their nerves aside and just focus on driving the team on, no matter what other scores may come through during the game. That I see as our biggest obstacle, that the crowd get nervy and it transmits to the players. The crowd will need to have their game of the season and treat like the old European nights and employ the spirit of Istanbul.
