Galey's View - Mar 16

Former Hammers defender Tony Gale provides his expert view every week, exclusively on whufc.com...

FIRST and foremost, what a terrific result against Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday night. I think we always knew it was going to be a tight affair that would go right to the wire, and it wasn't much of a surprise to see the game go to extra-time.
Bolton are an extremely hard team to beat, as we have discovered on more than one occasion this season, but Alan Pardew and his team responded magnificently to the challenge and deservedly edged it to reach the quarter-finals.
There was a fear that Bolton would pin us back after they grabbed their equaliser but, as the game wore on, I thought we looked stronger and very dangerous on the break - as we proved with the winning goal early in extra-time. There were also a few positives for Alan Pardew to take from the overall performance itself. I thought Lionel Scaloni had his best game for the Club so far, and hopefully he will go on from there to produce that kind of display consistently, while Bobby Zamora also looked very lively when he came on in extra-time - showing the right attitude in coming off the bench.

THE unfortunate thing is that we have just a few days to savour the victory, before a hectic weekend that will see us play Portsmouth in the Premiership and Manchester City in the FA Cup within the space of 48 hours.
Much has been said and written about Alan's selection policy this week and the fact that he appears to be prioritising the FA Cup matches, and it's a plan that can really only be judged at the end of the season, when you look back at what you have achieved.
In my personal opinion, the best way to approach it is just to keep picking your strongest side because, if the team are winning and playing well, then adrenaline tends to kick in and tiredness doesn't become such a problem. Whatever happens between now and the end of the season, it has been a great campaign for the Club, so the players should just enjoy the experience.
One thing the defeat at Bolton on Saturday showed us is just how good Danny Gabbidon and Anton Ferdinand are together. Anton may well be able to play as a midfielder in the future but, at the moment, he is still learning the game as a central defender and, alongside Danny, he has been one of the key players for us this season.
I've watched every Premiership defence this season, and those two have been one of the best central-defensive partnerships I've seen. They are both still getting to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, but they certainly have the qualities to build a formidable unit that could be in place for years to come, and I don't think Alan will be splitting them up again soon.

IT'S going to be a tall order for us to face a tough Premiership game on Saturday and then an FA Cup quarter-final 48 hours later, but Manchester City, have the same tall order and won't be relishing the schedule.
They've also got a game on Saturday, against Wigan, which on paper is a tougher game than ours, and I am sure they will also be resting key players, as Stuart Pearce doesn't have much depth to his squad.
They beat us comfortably up there earlier in the season, when Andy Cole did a lot of damage. I don't think he is going to be fit enough to play on Monday night, so that is a bonus, and there is no reason why we shouldn't be confident about getting a result.
The big shame, of course, is that it's on a Monday night, which will make it difficult for a lot of our supporters to get up there and back the team. The Club have made a nice gesture with the free coach travel and I'm sure the fans will still travel up in their numbers for what could be a memorable night...