Fix up, look sharp
Okay hands up. Who's bricking it?
It's Bolton. It's at the Lane, it's imperative, must-do, must-not-fail, a do or die game with the pressure completely on us leaving Bolton to play anyway they wish to, party popper hats on head if they want to dress up for the occasion. But fear should not be a factor in all this. It should be embraced and approached with the same type of focused tactical guile we showed against Arsenal but with us forcing the issue, then dictate the tempo and push forwards with some of the style and swagger displayed against Chelsea. No room for under-achievement (as seen at OT).
This, ladies and gentlemen, is business time. Final home game of the season. And it's been a roaring success for Harry Redknapp, with his continued galvanisation of the club. Just three more steps to go before we reach the door (key under the mat) needing a gentle unlock and push to open wide, gatecrashing the party, pissing in the plant pots and proceeding to scare the shit out of the hosts. I'm bored of the timid games of knock-down ginger.
Since the Cup semi-final defeat, I've persistently quoted 'to dare is to do' and it has never been better illustrated and performed than the two London derby games which gave us the 6 points that have kept us in this race, because let's face it, anything less and we'd have been out of it.
Spurs choke? Spurs bottle it? I guess when we are underdogs and not expected to win, we ooze the right balance of spirit and belief to upset the odds. The question marks have always been whether we can do the same when expectations are high. There was hype surrounding our game against United and we came unstuck.
We're expected to win tomorrow. Mancini is at it (kidology) saying how 5th would be fine for his side. And mathematically, even Liverpool could steal into 4th if results go their way. And Villa, out of nowhere, are a serious threat. All eyes on us.
And I guess that's why some of you are also bricking it a little too. Because it's in our hands, which makes it ours to lose. It's only natural to be nervous. Bad enough when it's just a bog standard match, let alone one that involves a priceless set of three points.
Bricking aside, I'm still well up for this. Everyone is. 12th man and all that. The players are equally passionate about what's at stake. You look at them and you believe in them more than at any other stage in recent years. The noise inside WHL has to be epic, regardless of the fact that the Bolton fans will have all travelled down together on a single skateboard.
The City game on Wednesday is massive, right? Wrong. It's not important. I don't care for that game. Only Bolton should be in our mindset. The immediate future is the only priority. The priority being this: Take all three points and be damned with the rest of the world. They all want us to fail, they all expect us to fail. Facebook is relying on the traffic. So buckle up, take your Imodium, and sing until your lungs give out. Get through this one, worry about mid-week during mid-week when priorities have moved on.
Carpe Diem Cras. Thought we could do with a different Latin soundbite to replace the usual dumb down English translation that tends to make an appearance round about now.
So fix up, look sharp. And make 'em dizzy.
COYS.
