BWFC_85 tells it how it is….
Yes! Wasn’t that a great win! No? What do you mean, no?
Kickin’ it with the big boys, Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and their like in the top flight, I was never a firm believer in the phrase, ‘…it all evens out over the course of the season’. I remember sometime around the 2006-2007 campaign, an alternative Premier League table was constructed after all the retrospective ‘bad decisions’ had been tallied up points-wise to their respective teams. It changed the landscape of the final league standings dramatically, obviously highlighting the point: the big clubs get the rub of the green. I don’t know how credible the source of the mock table was but I remember thinking at the time, maybe the Premier League table does tell porky pies.
Fast-forward to 2013 in the Championship and it’s widely noted (I’ve mentioned it myself) this season, Bolton Wanderers have surrendered around 30 points from winning positions. It also may come as a shock to most outsiders, some of Bolton’s best performances have come away from the pressure-cauldron of the Reebok where the points have been snatched away from the visitors through a momentary lapse in concentration, bad refereeing or both.
The home performances, however, especially the recent wins have been below the grade you would expect from a team hoping for admission into the exclusive Premiership fraternity. Bolton in several of these games have been second best for large spells. The season’s flow hasn’t changed and the meat-filling of the Whites’ wins still seem to be sandwiched with thick slices of defeats, Bolton’s 2012/13 Championship promotion campaign refuses to relinquish. After two successive away defeats, the Wanderers placed their upturned bob-sleigh back on the ice with a 1-0 win over the Terriers, finding themselves even closer to touching the final play-off birth. Although the win chewed another 2 points from the bridge over to 6th place, there were still groans post-match from disgruntled home supporters.
Surely, from where we found ourselves when we were tucking into turkey, a win is all that matters right now, right? You would think so. Some fans, however continue to scrunch their faces and spew toxins at a team that must now dread playing at ‘home’. I try to be diplomatic and comfort myself with the notion, most of the points we squandered from deserved winning positions earlier in the season now are the ones we are clawing back from our below-par home outings.
Of course, uniting the desired performance and winning scoreline to walk hand-in-hand would be wonderful but phenomena like that at this stage of the season is reserved for teams free from pressure from wherever they find themselves in the table. If Bristol City have resigned themselves to League One by the time Wanderers’ coach pulls up outside Ashton Gate, we may witness such a performance and scoreline from a home side who have already moved their chair away from the hanging sword.
At the final whistle, Tuesday, I didn’t feel angry or frustration, I felt relief and happy to get the 3 points from a team that have improved dramatically under Mark Robins. Yes the performance lacked… Well, a lot, but the 3 points to me is the seasons way of distributing it’s luck, justice and spoils to it’s rightful owners. Now I have no qualms with the notion the ‘table doesn’t lie’. The Whites find themselves in 8th position in the even-keeled Championship with Wolves at home right around the corner. I suspect the Huddersfield display is already a distant memory so get behind the boys on Saturday to bring home the bacon regardless of how the rashers are packaged.
Oh, and WE WANT MORE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!. OK, carry on…