West Ham 1 Bolton 2. Highly unwelcome news from the East End. Please let that be the end of the Wanderers’ revival …
Rapidhammer, one of my partners in crime at FootballUnited.com, has just posted a match report headed “I hate Bolton”.
Since I had come to regard the Hammers as certainties to climb out of trouble, I hate them tonight. This was surely a home banker. How could they do it to us?
Can Sunderland fans also take a spot of comfort from the outcome? No Premier team will draw a fourth home game on the trot, will they? No Bolton team can win twice away in a row (and a third successive Premier game at that), can they?
That cosy coupling of notions would leave a home win on Tuesday as the only option remaining.
A Bolton fan will be back here within the next 36 hours to crow about his team’s run, boldly predict another Wanderers triumph on Tuesday and set us all worrying about dropping into the bottom three – something we’ve been trying so hard to do for months.
But we also know we CAN win. We DO have players who should be able to make the difference.
Steve Bruce has one last chance, perhaps, to produce something that would at least give the impression that our season can be turned around. I am not saying defeat on Tuesday, or another unhelpful draw, would leave him out of a job come the morning.
Niall Quinn tells the SAFC club website Bruce is not under pressure:
“I’m the first person to realise the fans haven’t had a lot to cheer about. Steve Bruce has only been here nine months and it takes a while for a team to settle in. But we’re really happy that we have the spine of a side that can consistently get into that top 10.”
That would be far comment if we were not actually back in a familiar relegation dogfight.
The impact of another failure (and against lowly opposition) on our fans’ morale, which is already at rock bottom, would be alarming.
Let’s just settle for a mild Ha’way the Lads for now, avoid booing anyone in red and white stripes before the final whistle and hope that, at long last, Bruce and his team give our frustrated, betrayed fans something to restore the smiles.
Bolton Fan here, I will take a point now , so will OC I expect.
With the smallest squad in the Prem and a few injuries , Davies about to be suspended for telling the truth about Mark Clattenburg and Muamba on 9 Yellows about to pick up a 3 match ban.
A point and no bookings please, followed by 3points on Saturday in the Pie Derby 2nd helping v Wigan.
Sunderland will be keen to get back to winning ways, but some how Zat Knight has become a Prem class centre half, and Ricketts and Steinsson have been excellent, our other full back Paul Robinson is best left with no comment, other than I can see why WBA went down. As soon as Cahill get back we have to give him a rest.
OC is doing a fine job, Elmander has to come good soon, he is playing for the team but looks Heskey class when finishing.
Time for Ivan Klasnic to roll into town and get back on the goal bandwagon , he will have at least 3 games whilst SKD is serving his 3 match Clattenburg ban.
Everton, Man U, Villa , Chelsea to come after Wigan, makes it very important we get at least four points from Sunderland and Wigan.
‘No Bolton team can win twice away in a row…’
You mean like we did against Portmouth and Birmingham? And against Middlebrough and er, Sunderland, last season?
That said, Sunderland haven’t won for years and we’re really good at enabling rubbish football teams to end such runs.
I’m sorry we couldn’t do Sunderland a favour! Now I’m unsure which result I would fancy come Tuesday. Maybe a draw would suit West Ham best, but if Bolton’s going to move up the table anyway, maybe Sunderland shouldn’t leapfrog the Hammers too;).
West Ham’s remaining home games are against Wolves, Stoke, Sunderland, Wigan, and ManC. We still need 13 points to be virtually save on 40 pts. 4 wins from the home games and one more point would do.
This time round we don’t need a miracle as we did in 2007 when the Hammers had only 20 points after 29 games. The team just has to deliver! Well, I hope they won’t be that nervous in the upcoming games against the two “big four clubs”! Gianfranco Zola still hasn’t achieved a win against one of them. And every run comes to an end. Someday.
Bolton Fan here – at the start of the season i really fancied Sunderland to kick on and its a shame to see a side that was playing both a slick and physical game.
I anticipate a home win for you boys even with our revival, we’re prone to a couple of defensive errors and clusmy challenges a game so if you keep the pressure on you’re likely to get a goal or two. Imperative you shut down Lee on the right wing and hope that Davies (who has had a dreadful season as a whole) doesnt fancy it like he did against the hammers. We’re quite solid down the centre so your best option is to get behind Lee, who is poor defensively, or attack robinson on the outside and whip in quick hard crosses as we struggle with those generally…
Saying all of this…i hope we win!