19th April 2004: It may not be
all over, but it's damn close. In fact, if Sunderland fail to win
at Palace and Wigan, we'll be promoted before we kick another ball.
And that is not beyond the realms of possibility. And only if Sunderland
win both those games will a victory over Bradford not guarantee Premiership
football at the Hawthorns next season.
Megson got his tactics spot on at the Stadium of Light. It wasn't
a great football match to watch but as I've said many times, it's
all about results, particularly at this stage of the season. The feeling
at the end was very much like the one we had at Bradford two seasons
ago - Igor was the hero that day and, although JK put the ball in
the net, it was Dyer that was the real hero at Sunderland. We all
know he's quick and can frighten defenders but when he got to the
edge of the box, he showed great composure to beat the defender and
pick out Koumas. There's no doubt that he has the makings of a great
player, not dissimilar to his namesake Kieron.
The SOL is certainly a lucky ground for me as I've been present for
our last three visits which have seen a 100% return for the Baggies
- it certainly makes the long trip home that much more palatable!
Promotion may be all but certain, but catching Norwich is not going
to be easy. They are on a run of five straight victories and so seem
to coping well with the pressure, but then they are away from home
for three of the last four, one of which is at Sunderland. It would
be brilliant to go up as Champions, but I think we'll have to win
our last four to do it - not impossible but certainly not easy.
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