I'm still on a bit of a high after yesterday. The contrast of how this club makes me feel now compared to a year and a half ago is incredible. Last season we were worried about staying up, now we're concerned about not finishing in the top half of the table. Last season a trip to the Reebok was a depressing, soul-sucking experience, and you could tell even on tv, the place was as quiet as a mausoleum. This season, we're lively, going to the Reebok actually looks fun. And this reflects in our performances, as we now find ourselves booking a trip to Wembley (Wembley!) for the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Today we were drawn against Stoke City, which realistically is the best fixture we could have gotten.
While I would have preferred to play Reading, the likelihood of them going through at the time of the draw was slim, and I'd much rather take Stoke City on the safe side. It's by no means a guaranteed game for us, in fact last time we played them we lost 2-0 in an incredibly disheartening game. But that was at the depth of our slump and based on our form now, we appear to be coming safely out of that. I know that I'm getting rather far ahead of myself, but wouldn't it be the perfect season for us to win the FA Cup again? What better way to honor Nat Lofthouse in the year of his death? What better way to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Burnden Park Disaster? What better way for Coyle to cap his first full season with Bolton? This is a quite good Bolton team. I know that if we play our best, we can do this. Time to step it up lads.