A roller-coaster ride but we just need breathing space

Ahoy, mateys.

Remember the summer, when the league fixtures came out, and how these past five weeks looked through your prospect-finder?

“A nice bit of calm sailing after the early storm,” you’d have been forgiven for thinking. Sure, we knew it’d be hail ‘n’ hurricanes against Chelsea, City and Liverpool but, with due respect to our recent opponents, we were entitled to expect respite against the likes of WBA, Palace, Stoke and Sunderland. Instead, it’s been like rounding the Cape of Good Hope, each of these “routine” games taking on the air of a make-or-break semi-final, full of hurtling and huzzahs.