On Friday, Wolves found out they’d been unjustly punished by the Premier League for supposedly handing Manchester United 3 points. Yesterday they committed the same offence against an out of sorts Chelsea side, albeit in less notorious fashion.
You see, despite dominating the Champions-elect for long periods, missed chances at one end and mistakes at the other, ensured the points eventually ended up where they were supposed to.
Drogba was the difference in a tight game
What’s so frustrating, is that it could so easily have been different.
Had Kevin Foley not needlessly wandered over to the left to get involved with a throw-in, we probably wouldn’t have been so easily cut open by Chelsea’s slick counterattack in the space he left behind, culminating in Didier Drogba’s opener.
Had Christophe Berra been stronger and not allowed a simple punt up field to become a through ball, a second goal for the visitors and for the imperious Drogba probably wouldn’t have arrived.
Had Petr Cech not made two outstanding saves to deny Guedioura and then Foley a priceless equaliser, the final scoreline could have been turned on it’s head.
But it’s all frustratingly hypothetical in the end and a less biased onlooker would almost certainly point out ‘that’s why they’re at the top and you’re struggling at the bottom’.
They’d be right too.
It was a performance full of guts, determination and no small amount of skill from Wolves, but ultimately it proved fruitless because of a handful of key moments, which is an all too painful reminder of how difficult life in the Premier League can be.
Speaking of cruelty, how many more dire refereeing performances will we be subjected to this season? Fortunately, the plethora of decisions wrongfully given against Wolves didn’t cost us, but it certainly didn’t aid our cause either. And how the linesman failed to spot a blatant elbow in the face of Adlene Guedioura from John Terry is beyond me. A no-questions sending off in my opinion. Chelsea fan’s would probably disagree, as they’re seemingly blind to any of Captain Fantastic’s wrong-doings.
Hardly surprising though that good old JT found it necessary to plant one on Guedioura, as the French midfielder once again laid down an impressive marker in his second home start. He must be one of the first names on the teamsheet for next weekend’s trip to the Reebok after another all-action display.
Doyle was once again at his superb best, ably supported from midfield by the clever passing of Jones and another livewire display from Jarvis.
At the back, I thought Zubar was brilliant, cutting out the sloppy errors and using his power and pace to good effect. There’s been a few calls from the Molineux faithful to restore Foley to his favoured right-back position, but I think that would be harsh on the enthusiastic Frenchman, who has all the attributes to be a star in this side. Perhaps he could be moved into the middle at the expense of the faltering Berra?
Most encouraging from yesterday’s display was the emerging feeling that this group of players have developed a clear understanding and seem comfortable with the roles they’re being asked to fulfill. That bodes well, even if it has taken us 26 games to achieve.
The general consensus seems to be that performances up to the standard of our last two games will be enough to keep us out of trouble.
You’d be hard pressed to disagree.
I think USA’s position was poor for the 2nd goal, he seemed to lose “where is goals were”
Plenty of positives from yesterday.
Currently watching a very poor Bolton performance !
Frustrating is definitely the right word. Cech was in out standing form and i think he was having one of those games where nothing would have gone in. Shame the two goals were because of silly defensive mistakes, have to agree with ade as well, thought Hanhemman came out a little too early and got in Berra’s way. Many a positive to be taken though and says a lot that we are wanting more from playing chelsea. We just need to take these performances against the best teams and put them against the teams around us.
11 games left, in my book we need 5 more wins to be safe. Gunna be tough but with everything crossed and with the team looking settled in this new 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 system im hoping for the best.
btw hope the blog keeps going well. Im uping and leaving the country soon. Traveling through Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia for 4 months and then heading to Nz / Fiji and working in Oz for a year. Anyway this place will be the site i use for all decent wolves chat as 606 does my head in. I’ll be taking my wolves top as well so any aussie wolves fans give me a shout!!
Sam, sounds like an excellent adventure mate. I’m jealous.
Thanks for supporting the blog. It’s much appreciated. I look forward to comments from exotic locations.
Hi Sam, I’m in Perth if you ever want to catch up and watch a game. I think Dazza is in Brisbane too…
Yes, I’m here in Brisbane Sam, always good to catch up and pass on some realism
Likewise in Sydney, hope you have a safe trip and might see you down under!!
Agree with the write-up Tom, a very accurate reflection of a frustrating day. However, I think you missed the most frustrating part. How did Henry slip when presented with the rebound of Cech’s save from Foley?! Sat behind the goal in the North bank I was already celebrating!
Difficult to remain too down after the performance though, and I’m confident we’ll get something at Bolton if we play the same way (especially after their performance today!). Just need Tottenham to carry on the good work done by Blackburn and Villa today…
Andrew, I couldn’t quite make out whether Henry should have done better or not. Looked like the ball didn’t quite run for him and he was off balance, but a second look might well prove otherwise.
heartening performance, but it still concerns me that we might rue our failure to bring in another quality front man during the window. 4-5-1 seems to be working-as long as you don’t concede and end up chasing the game.
as an aside, the game did confirm, as if it were needed, that chelsea represent everything i hate about modern football. chequebook prima-donnas, to a man.
seem to believe they can commit fouls at will, but whinging and whining about every decision or perceived indiscretion against them.
suppose i should be grateful that the little sh– ashley cole wasnt playing.
It seems to me the more money they have and the more successful they are, the top team’s players get uglier and uglier.
Drogba must have been abandoned at birth.
Fabregas must have been fed by catapult.
Rooney’s mum must have tied a lamb chop round his neck, so the dog would play with him.
Sorry, but I gotta take something positive from the game, and our team, fans and even manager are better looking than the rest…..even tho’ MM struggles to speak English, just lke Wenger, Benitez, Ferguson, Ancellotti, Mancini and all the other spaghettis!!!
Yes, I’m on me second margerita.
FOWB
It’s so disappointing that we can pull out a performance like that and not win, and not do the same against the likes of Wigan. However, the last three home performances have given me hope, and the fact that everyone else around us lost. Trouble is, 4 of our next 5 games are away, so we’ll need to be picking up points, starting next week.
Also frustrating is that Chelsea had two shots on target all game and won 2-0, we’ll never have a better chance against them than that. It is a shame Henry couldn’t have blasted the ball from where he was.
Agree with mdwright that 4-5-1 is good at 0-0, but are we going to come back playing that way?
We can’t win, let alone score, at home, so these next 4 away games are a relief. This ridiculous 4-5-1 system is abysmal, and we need points (4 would be good) from these 4 away games. we won;t get them by surrendering possession with our lame hoof and hope “game”. Our main problem, I reckon, is our bench…whoever we bring on lacks impact, quality and impression… the 3 subs we brought on Saturday were so poor it was laughable. You kne wthen it wa sgame over. Chelsea were very poor, so were Liverpool, and we should have taken more poinst than this. We are now hoping , in this very average PL, that there are 3 less than average teams , compared to our disticntly average squad. …and for goodness sake…Ward… you can;t play at left back… you are clueless!!!
Finally, someone who agrees with me, and sez so.
Ward, pleeeeeeeeeeez ask for a transfer, or break your fuckin’ leg.
I am now on my fourth or fifth, who cares, margarita.
FOWB
For the uninitiated, that means Fuck Off W… B….
Sorry for the dots, but cannot use bad language on the blog.
Scooped…..call me, you bald fart
If only the season started now. I feel that we now have a team that is balanced, well organised, tight and tough to beat, with a some real talent too.
I just wish Mick had arrived at this set-up a month or two ago, or even the start of the season!
I know that he has had injuries to deal with (Doyle at the beginning of the season, David Jones, etc) but I worry.
If we play like that, then I have every confidence in us beating Bolton, and getting the results we need.
It will go right down to the wire.