Interesting thread this. I was trying to think of the crucial games we have won away since we have had a decent team and I can barely think of any. I had a look after the New Year to see how we did since 2004-05...
2006/07 (6th):
Played: 9, Won: 2, Drew: 5, Lost: 2. Points gained: 11/27
2007/08 (5th):
Played: 9, Won: 4, Drew: 2, Lost: 3. Points gained: 14/27
2008/09 (5th):
Played: 9, Won: 2, Drew: 5, Lost: 2. Points gained: 11/27
2009/10 (8th):
Played: 10, Won: 3, Drew: 5, Lost: 2. Points gained: 14/30
2010/11 (7th):
Played: 9, Won: 2, Drew: 2, Lost: 5. Points gained: 8/27
2011/12 (7th):
Played: 11, Won: 2, Drew: 7, Lost: 2. Points gained: 13/33
2012/13 (6th):
Played: 9, Won: 1, Drew: 5, Lost: 3. Points gained: 8/27
So you can see that from that, although we were mostly tough to beat away, there was a lot of frustrating draws and when it came down to it, away from home, we didn't get the wins we needed to push us on from 6th/7th position too often. For me, that has been the reason we have never been able to make the top 4 in that time. Our most impressive season after the New Year, away was in 2007/08 when we came 5th (which was our 65 point season and our highest ever points tally in the Premier League era).
At it turns out, this season is looking like following a similar trend as it stands, as we have failed to win any of our 3 games since the New Year in the league away from home:
2013/14 (Currently 5th)
Played: 3, Won: 0, Drew: 2, Lost: 1. Points gained: 2/9
Spurs on Sunday is a massive game for us, as is Chelsea in a few weeks. I think if we're to challenge seriously for the top 4 we need to be taking 3-4 points minimum from those 2, just like we managed against Man United and Arsenal back in December.
