When a blanket of snow and ice covered Wolverhampton last winter, when steam rose from Diogo Jota’s crumpled body after another assault, some of us cast our minds away from the ceaseless Championship slog and dared to imagine how salvation would present itself if we ever reached the Promised Land.
On the sole occasion I dared to dream, it looked exactly like Molineux last night, in all its glorious splendour.
Old gold shirts gleaming, the stadium crackling and our magic man Diogo wheeling away to the South Bank’s deafening acclaim.
It was meant to be exactly like that moment, when 30,000 fans erupted under a fuzzy night sky. When Wolves were harmonious in the Premier League.
A hard beginning maketh a good ending, with an early deflected goal giving an ominously talented Chelsea side the lead, on the back of our winless run that has had some questioning the messiah who got us here in the first place. But a rousing second half performance – one which underlined that the strength of the wolf is indeed in the pack – ensured a signature win against one of the finest sides around.
Many wanted a Plan B after recent results and depending on interpretation, Nuno provided one via the outstanding Gibbs-White in a withdrawn no10 role (and Raul and Diogo either side). It was more of a tweak to the 3-4-3 system and also a nod to the adage that players win games, not systems alone. In a nutshell, we upped our levels significantly on recent weeks with everyone deserving an 8-out-of-10 minimum, from Rui right up to Raul.
Some highlights of an incredible evening featured immense last ditch tackles by Bennett and Boly at the end of the first half and start of the second. Romain Saiss reminded us what we’ve been missing in the middle of the park, while Gibbs-White shimmered in a performance of giddy proportions. And in Diogo Jota, we were reunited with our matchwinner, whose winning goal might even be more significant than the result itself.
To stay on the coat-tails of Chelsea in the first half took some doing, as Sarri’s men led us a merry dance at times, enjoying rucks of possession through some supremely talented interplay. That we were only a goal down at half time was actually a positive of sorts, as we were able to stay in the game.
Then within the blink of an eye we were 2-1 up. Molineux lit up the senses in the only way it can. Every kick, every cry and every gesture from a feverish Nuno thereafter added brushstrokes to a memorable work of art, enriched by the blue of Chelsea.
It was one of those nights. It was exactly how I dreamt it.
Great summary Ben, deserving of at least an 8 out of 10…
Significantly we upped our performance levels completely compared to the Watford and Cardiff games. In fact, we always up our performance levels against top six sides! I won’t say we need a Plan B against the lower sides but maybe we need a Plan A Mark 2 against more physical non-technical sides. I was concerned that Neves was goaded into a yellow against Cardiff, thereby losing him for Chelsea, but that was even a blessing in disguise. We are definitely not a one-man team by any stretch of the imagination.
Apart from the sublime performance by MGW, the most significant thing was the return to form by Jota. He was kicked to death in the championship last season and that must have affected him mentally this season. That’s behind him and us now.
Thank you DWW! An 8 out of 10 eh?! I’d settle for that every blog
I’m so proud, normally against these teams something happens like a bad ref decision or something, mind you I thought Bolys tackle was a stone wall penalty so can’t complain.
Great performance from every single player, boy did we need that result.
So satisfying beating those cockney Prima Donna’s.
The officials did everything they could to give Chelski the edge, and that 5 minutes of injury time lasted forever.
Nuno don’t drop Bennett again, he saved our arse with one of the best timed tackles I’ve seen.
MGW what can I say, unbelievable player for such a young age.
Thank you Nuno
Thank you Fosun
Thank you the players….
I have been a supporter for over 65 years, during which time I have witnessed some magnificent individual moments which will always stand out in the memory.
Now I have another one. ‘THE BENNETT TACKLE ”
What absolutely magnificent defending. The guy came out of nowhere at huge pace, before making the perfect sliding tackle on a guy with the goal at his mercy. The timing was first class. The technique perfect. Ball first and then the man. Willian must have thought he`d bee n hit by a runaway bus.
As you say Bennett is a rock at the heart of our defense. Nuno there is surely no way you can leave him out.
For this oldie too, this was a memorable match. With, for me, two (at least) unforgettable memories.
Yes, Mike, the Bennett tackle.
But also, the MGW pass + the Jimenez goal. That was a much more difficult goal than Raul made it look. A decisive, superb firmly hit first-time shot along the ground, which turned the game around. Combined with the beauty of the pass, that play will remain with me as a truly outstanding moment in my Wolves-watching history..
To see Jota”s neck muscles bulging and straining with delight after scoring the winning goal was a great moment. At last, he had scored a Premiership goal and obviously felt great relief .
Well I certainly lived up to my lowly prediction league status last night. What a result and boy am I glad I got it so hopelessly wrong.
Now that is what the EPL is all about !!!!
A magical night at Molineux when 28,000 souls were shouting, singing, screaming and enjoying a wonderful victory against Chelsea – it really felt like we had finally arrived in the Premier league. The 2,500 or so Chelsea fans below us in the Steve Bull stand didn’t spoil the atmosphere with their endless boring chant of Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea ….. and it only added to the sense of enjoyment to see loads of them sneaking out 5 mins before the end. My grandson is not normally allowed to night games during school terms but he was given special dispensation last night because we were playing a ‘big team’. The look on his face as Jota celebrated the winning goal will stay with me forever!!
Make no mistake – Chelsea are a better team than us and they had over 70% possession & lots of chances. What they didn’t have was the guts, character, drive (whatever you want to call it) that we had in abundance. If we can continue to play to this standard then we can quickly forget our November blip and start looking upwards again.
It is difficult to pick out individuals because it was a wonderful team performance but I have to mention Gibbs – White and Bennett.
Morgan GW made Fabregas look ordinary and Ryan B was immense for the whole game. The added bonus was Dendonker getting 10 mins at the end.
By the way the coverage on MOTD was absolute shit – it was no where near reflecting on how well we played. OODCL
Cannock bit harsh on MOTD: most of the analysis spent eulogiesing MGW. And for long periods Chelsea played us off the park.
Great write up Ben ,what a game that was, waiting for the whistle to blow at a bit after 5-30 am this morning wasn’t much fun , you could feel how much the win was worth to us , particularly Nuno who’s boss was in the stands, Diogo , who has waited so long for that goat,(watch him go now) and mgw taking his chance with the confidence of someone much older, just brilliant and well worth having almost no sleep last night
Tired! Yes but over the moon,
Nobody wants to play us when Molineux is rocking and long may it continue
Utw
Thanks Marney. There were so many positives to take from the game. Jota back on form, MGW, Vinagren and Doc with endless energy supplies. Even the Donk made an appearance! The scenes at the final whistle were a joy to behold.
I think we are probably the best newly promoted team ever in the Premier League.
We had, last night, what I reckon was a season defining moment.
Not Diogo’s first goal of the season, or the magnificent win, but Ryan Bennett’s tackle.
Just like last season, when “that goal” is mentioned, everyone knows it was Neves and his Derby marvel, so when “that tackle” is mentioned, we will all immediately cast our minds back to last night.
Not only did it stop a certain goal, but really fucked with their minds.
You could see Willian’s think bubble, filled with “I’ve scored”.
Sorry, chap, our Ryan got ya.
Last night is what we dream about, and what us old farts remember from a century ago, Wolves under floodlights, destroying the opposition.
There were two regulars at the bar in the pub yesterday afternoon, and me.
I watched the whole game, glued to the big screen, and screamed meself hoarse.
And I’ve watched the goals and highlights at least 50 times, and the more I watch, the more I realize that both goals were sublime and would have carved open any defence in the land.
My theory on why we have not played well, so far, against the dross of the Prem, is that they all consider us a “big club” and raise their games accordingly.
Don’t worry, all you lesser teams, we will be regular top fourers soon!
Very proud to be a Wolves fan, yet again, and to cap it all, my long awaited Wolves away top arrived yesterday.
It will be worn with immense pride on Sunday.
With respect to your comment that:
“My theory on why we have not played well, so far, against the dross of the Prem, is that they all consider us a “big club” and raise their games accordingly.”
I don’t think so. Instead I think it’s down to the fact that we have done well this season against those teams considered to be the best in the PL, but we haven’t been faring anything like so well recently when playing against the teams in and around the bottom half. Why is that? Because the “big teams” are looking to play football, looking to play a passing game that’s easy on the eye and stamped with a cultured approach. Of the top teams Chelsea, more than anyone possibly, with the addition of Citeh, fit that description to a tee. They pass the ball to death, pass it for the sake of it.
In total contrast to that, the “lesser teams”, when they come up against an opponent who’s known to like to get the ball on the floor and play a constructive game, do their best to shake them up and knock them off their stride by giving them as little time on the ball as possible and by making the game a physical, rather than a technical contest.
Our players are not best suited to that and when we have a midfield containing no ball-winning capability we suffer because of it.
This was why many of us were saying that Nuno needed to recognise this weakness and change his midfield approach because of it. To his great credit he did so and we reaped the benefits last night.
Does this mean that we’re out of the woods now and back on a gravy train? No, and again Nuno has said exactly that himself. We now come into another series of matches against lower lights who will all be trying to follow the Cardiff, Huddersfield etc etc example and limit our time and space in which to allow our creative superiority to flourish. So we now need to show that we can solve this conundrum too and put together a nice little run of wins.
Valid points, but why then haven’t the likes of Chelsea etc been beaten by the lesser teams?
I think someone, somehow has put a collective rocket up our player’s arses, in a very positive way, and it has dawned on all of them that we CAN beat every other team in this league, but first we have to beat ourselves mentally, and get over the mind block of “the big six” being somehow superteams.
As you say, the next couple of matches will be as big a test as last night, but I am confident yesterday’s result was season turning, for the good.
Yep, fair enough Clive. Our results against the top 6 teams though have been very good all season so far. The recent bad run came against the lesser teams who clearly sought to shut down the Neves & Moutinho supply line by getting in their faces and giving them no time on the ball. It was surprising to see us struggle against that approach since, last season in the Championship, we faced that sort of opposition all of the time and came through the challenge with flying colours. But then of course, we were routinely playing Saiss in a ball-winning role in midfield which acted as a counter to that sort of opposition. That’s why I think we have to adopt it again from now on when facing one of the more physical teams, whereas when playing a team form the top of the league we can focus on playing our football more.
It will be interesting to see the team selection for Newcastle who are a team down near the bottom, but in my opinion not an out and out clogging team like Cardiff and so on.
No need for analysis, comment it was just a sheer delight to be there last night. One of my very top games ever.
Magnificent.
What a stunning night .
Nuno finally showed the flexibility many of us have called for tweaking the system , getting more grit in midfield via Saiss and the long throw . I have long advocated its use from time to time not like Cardiff or Stoke but as an occasional weapon . I even raised it when I met Jackett moons ago and he arrogantly said that is not the type of football we want to play . Idiotic . Of course we don’t want to use it all the time but as an occasional weapon when you have a man like Boly it makes perfect sense .
It is noteworthy that Liverpool now have a throw in coach .
Forward and upward .
Most goals are scored from set pieces. A throw in is just another set piece and if you can utilise to great advantage you’d be daft not to.
Glad you mentioned Saiss, Nick. I’ve felt in a minority of one maintaining that Saiss wasn’t a failure at RCB in the pre-season friendlies. Sure, Romain did not play well, but I thought the reason was that he was looking fatigued after his efforts for the Moroccan defence during the summer. I supported Nuno keeping Romain out of the team before he was fully recovered from the World Cup. Then the team was playing well, so Saiss had to wait until now to get his chance this season. Good management by Nuno, IMO.
Ironically, in the previous blog on this site I said one idea for solving our goalscoring problems was to switch Boly into the forward line and play Saiss as LCB. My assumption was that the back three would be Bennett, Coady, Saiss. Yesterday’s performance has made my suggestion of using Boly as a forward redundant for now. So Saiss comes in as a powerful candidate for a midfield place. Surely, Nuno will have a headache picking the front five from Neves, Moutinho, Saiss, Gibbs-White, Jimenez and Jota? (Not to mention Costa, Cavaleiro and Traore.) Anyway, back-up for the back three looks much healthier with Saiss joining Hause. Now he’s recovered from Russia, Saiss is a very valuable utility player.
Just shows you what I know about football…predicted 4-0 to Chelsea!!!
Fantastic write-up mate. What an evening! The character shown by the players from beginning to last was something to behold. I rate this as our best performance this season, we thoroughly deserved the points and I don’t think even the most blinkered of Chelsea fans would argue with that. Great to see Saiss back in his usual position – I really do think we’ve missed a trick not playing him more this season. Imagine his performance will give Nuno some food for thought, and a welcome headache ahead of the Newcastle game. Not sure if any superlative I can offer would shed any more light on just how good Gibbs-White was last night, but it’d be downright scandalous to comment on the game without mentioning his performance. What a fantastic talent he is. And great to see Raul and Diogo getting the goals – both have come in for some stick this season but were absolutely outstanding last night.
The challenge now is to maintain these performance levels against the less glamorous sides. Newcastle will be tough to break down but we’re more than capable of giving them a good hiding if we stand up to the challenge! Would be great to put another run together after the negativity of the last few weeks.
UTW x
Thank you Razzler!!! You’re right… It would be lovely to follow it up with another performance at Newcastle. Playing away won’t harm the way we set up either. It could suit us, with a rebellious home support rounding on Ashley too. Bring it on!
Great stuff Ben!
After about 30 minutes of the game, I thought that Chelsea were exactly the sort of team that we aspire to be like. All quick passes, finding space where none seemed to be and just… classy. And then I looked at us, game, enthusiastic but a bit slower and not so accurate and I thought just how far we are away from achieving our goal.
But then, as God, and the PMDG’er are my witnesses, in the 58th minute of last night’s match, as the umpteenth wave of Chelsea attacks broke on the sturdy sea wall that was the Wolves defence, I said to Sue “This is getting silly. You know, I wouldn’t put it past us to go up the other end and score here”.
Less than 40 seconds later we were both leaping about in front of the telly like two demented frogs that reside in ‘My lovely pond’.
Four minutes later we were leaping about in the bloody pond!!
I might have used a bit of poetic licence there, but I think you all know where I’m coming from.
What a turn around! What a match!! What a result!!!
And… What a referee!!!! What a linesman!!!!!!
I think a new law was written into the Premier League book of rules last night.
“Thou shalt not get within touching distance of a Chelsea player, particularly Mr Hazard, or thou shalt concede a free kick and almost certainly get booked”.
When it comes to life and learning, I’ve always believed in The three ‘Rs’.
R-ITES OF PASSAGE
The whole team, especially Morgan Gibbs-White went through the mill and became men yesterday.
R-EDEMPTION
A great all round performance. Back to his best. You could see the weight lifting off Jota’s shoulders as the winning goal went in.
R-YAN BENNETT LONG THROWS.. AND TACKLES1
Where the Sam Hill did that come from? I don’t know but it certainly caused a few problems in the Chelski defence. Colin will be making an offer. Well, he can sod off, he’s ours! And the tackle on Willian was one of the best I’ve seen.
Big respect to all the team – and to Nuno for giving the formation a bit of a tweak. Saiss in midfield gave us the muscle we desperately needed, and Morgan Gibbs-White added much needed pace and a real cutting edge.
Really looking forward to Liverpool now. Sue can’t make it so I’m taking my nephew to the game.
He’s a Liverpool supporter.
Should be fun!
Thanks Doog. It felt like a religious experience last night. Hallelujah! Praise Nuno!
What’s wrong with long throw-ins? They can effectively be a corner kick if far enough up pitch.
“He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy. Now F**k off” ………. And so it went on the Life of Brian. With Nuno being in the dog house lately, it was nice to see The Messiah return and the smile on his face in after match interviews said it all. So 19 points from 15 games represents a successful start to the season for a newly promoted club and another one of my 6 or 7 wins chalked off. 5 or 6 to go then we can relax, light a cigar and watch the rabbles down the road try to screw each other over to get promotion to the promised. Mind the Gap lads….
Football’s a funny old game someone once remarked. Ain’t that the truth!.
I was hoping for a draw but the win was just amazing. Our overall performance was truly excellent. Outstanding performances all over the pitch? Nope, they were of EPIC proportions!
This will have given our confidence a massive boost.
November was a shite month for us, December has started so well. Let’s hope we can move forward and show that we are a good team.
🙂
Perfect summary mate.
That win was massive.
So many ingredients went into that performance, namely:
– Some tactical flexibility from Nuno.
– Greater intensity in the press and tackling.
– More variety in the attacking third e.g. early crosses and bodies in the area / the Bennett long throw.
– The performance of Gibbs-White (wow, wow, wow).
– The return of the real Jota.
– Jimenez just leathering it.
– Bennett getting stuck in.
It all created the perfect storm for this magical evening.
I’m struggling to think of a player in old gold who didn’t make a crucial contribution or deliver a top performance.
If you’d said at the start of the season we’d beat Chelsea without starting Neves, Costa, Traore, Jonny or Cav I’d have called you crazy. With Vinagre and Gibbs-White (in particular) really coming along, Saiss reminding us what a key player he can be and even Dendoncker coming in from the cold, there’s some real depth to the squad. I still think we need a different option in attack and some physical presence in midfield but the world seems a better place after this performance.
Bring on Newcastle.
Thank you mate. It was a pleasure to write up that report. I talked of the whole not being greater than the sum of its parts in my last blog, in recent weeks… Last night was a different story. The collective effort was incredible to watch.
Great post as always Ben. Good to see you pre match. I don’t need to comment on the game as it has already all been said. I did like what I saw though, very very much.
Great meeting up with Twix, Lilian, Stu, Jen, Steve Wolfstroker and Dougie in the Combemere pre match, and the latter two for another pint post match. Good to see you guys.
Was also great to bump into an old Army mate in the Steve Bull, who I am confident will be a blogger pretty soon.
Hope to see a number of you in Newcastle, with post match coffee and cake at my gaff.
Thank you Brompo. It was great to see you. A lucky omen I would say! What a night.
Anybody have a link to the calling of the goal by the Spanish/Mexican play by play man?
GGGGGGOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLL.
Fantastic win
Fantastic atmosphere
Fantastic character
Fantastic 3 points
Fantastic for jota
Fantastic for our confidence
Frigging fantastic
Quite superbly written as always.
I simply couldn’t see us getting anything from this given recent form so I’m fc*k*ng delighted.
MGW a revelation. Its him we’ll struggle to hold onto as much as Neves.
Can’t wait for Newcastle.
Thank you Steppenwolfe. You’re too kind. It was a memorable evening wasn’t it?!
What a brilliant night at the Molineux, fireworks, atmosphere, full house and a fantastic performance by our 14 players, Nuno and our coaching team culminating in a hard fought but deserved win. Lessons learned, we are the real deal and capable of beating anyone in this league. Rui Patricio is a world class keeper and rightly first choice. Bennett, Coady and Boly are our best back three, don’t tinker about with it. Morgan Gibbs-White must start regardless of our midfield options. He has it all in abundance, skill vision power tactical awareness and a hunger for the ball and a desire to move it forwards. He was at the heart of everything last night and in playing him in front of Saiss and Moutiniho Nuno has chanced upon a shape more suited to this league. Doherty has improved immeasurably and is now a high quality respected Premier League player who is fundamental to our team. We need to more appreciate Raúl Jiménez he works tirelessly and will score at least 10 goals this season and last nights confidence lifting goal was just reward. Jota is good enough for this level and like with Raúl last nights winner will help him grow into the great player he can be. We just need Costa to get on the score sheet now, another who works tirelessly for our team and the rewards will come I’m sure. Vinagre like MGW has enormous potential and I believe both will play for their countries senior sides. I have him ahead of a fit Jonny who I think once fit will have trouble replacing him. Finally Dendonker is a more than adequate replacement for the back 3 or even to supplement the midfield. So to summarise despite our recent run which has been a lesson learned we will thrive and grow in this league and with the likes of Traoré and Cavaleiro on the bench we are not short on options. Finally wasn’t it great to see Nuno orchestrating and demanding the crowd to become more vocal towards the end and the wonderful scenes at the end with the players linking arms and taking a bow in front of the South Bank and Nuno punching the air in unison.
Can’t really add any more to what’s already been said. A fantastic win and performance. The slight tweak from nuno having Morgan drop into the No.10 role worked to perfection. I loved the spirit, heart, passion, grit and determination of the team. After the pretty awful last 2 games this was the real wolves back to their best.
Delighted for Jota, came in and put in an excellent performance and to top it off got his long awaited goal. Just the confidence boost he needed.
3 points sets us up nicely for Sunday, being on the geordies.
COYW
Well as I said last night (after watching match of the day 50 times) In Nuno we trust. Gibbs White was outstanding . Moutinho was my man of the match but then again they were all superb . Raul run his heart out . Bennett – what a tackle the list goes on. I would of loved to have seen the look on that arrogant Chelsea fans face that stood at the bar in the Great Western and refused to move to allow others to get served . Not so smug now then are ya !
Can someone tell Conor to stop heading the ball? Almost gave them a second goal when he headed it right into the front of the goal later in the game.
Always find something negative to say, don’t you?
You need to change your handle to Kodak.
Are you kidding me? All of the negative comments people have been making here the last few weeks and it’s me you want to criticize.
Look, I know you don’t really know much about sports but if you think Nuno is not going to ream his ass over his heading the ball right into the centre of the pitch where an opposing forward is, then you know less than I ever thought imaginable.
Have a nice day.
Well of course, Timmy babe, you leave yourself wide open!!!
I’ve rarely had an easier target!
I suppose you ,being a polite Canadian, would have bowed gracefully in front of Loftus Cheek, and politely waved him through for a clear shot on goal.
A defender has to try to get in the way of a goal bound shot, and Coady was just unlucky, but at least he got partially in the way, which is more than can be said for their keeper v Raul, and their entire defense v Diogo.
But then again, what do I know about sport?
Tim if you think Nuno is going to cream any player after a performance like that then you cannot rate him very highly as a coach.
Are there things to improve upon? Of course and Nuno.has embedded a culture of humility within the team that totally accepts that. But how the issue is addressed is another matter. A coach earns his right to be listened to by consistently displaying honesty, respect and fairness as well as strength of character and technical knowledge.
Nuno has more than earned his right and if he feels it appropriate to raise the point he will be listened to. But not by delivering a hair dryer performance.
How good was MGW last night? He will be a top, top player.
I finally got to run my marathon last weekend so I’ll now have a bit more time to blog (at least till I start training again in January :-))
I was actually quite distraught recently to read so many bloggers talk about replacing so many players and even Nuno. Wtf! One bad patch of form and we turn on them so quickly? Do people really forget so quickly how far we’ve come and where we came from? We have a manager who has delivered us to the promised land and respects the fans, always praising us … do we so quickly forget when we used to get called “numpties” (whatever that means) or “mama’s boys living at home”? Make no mistake, Nuno is a world class manager and few clubs will have anyone of his caliber. Let’s let him do his job. He will deliver, make no mistake.
And the team showed us yesterday. Chelsea shmelsea, have two of them apples courtesy of Jota and Jimenez! Look at their faces when they are playing, and when they scored. I’m telling you, these two are giving their all to deliver for Wolves. I know we could do with more striking power up front, but don’t write off Jimenez just yet. He is gold. Give him time. You’ll see. This player will turn into a menace once he’s a bit more settled and finds a run of form. I truly believe he will be great for us. And so will Jota. Wears his heart on his sleeves. Still so young! So much potential.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. We need to give the team time. Let’s forget this nonsense of Europe in the first season up, and stay with the team. This year is about galvanizing our presence in the EPL. After that, good (better) things will come. We just have to stay with the team through thick and thin. Like we’ve always done.
The way I see it, it’s a case of everyone doing their job:
* Fosun needs to keep investing and supporting Nuno.
* Nuno needs to keep coaching and growing the team.
* Players need to keep improving and giving their 100% every game.
* And us fans … need to keep supporting and sticking with our team.
We’re solid mid-table in the EPL. Magic! Bring on Newcastle on Sunday. Bring them all on! We are Premier League!
Go Wolves!
Fa cup match Liverpool live on BBC Monday 7 January. Presume will be 20:00 kick off.
I wonder if Helder is happy. That is one more bit of competition for a starting place. He has around 3 others who can start in that right wing position.
Little bit tricky for Nuno now. Drop Saiss for Neves, or MGW? Or stick with the starting line-up who performed so wonderfully last night. One of the best of times I have had watching my team.
Then after the game when a glass or two was called for was able to be a witness as to how widespread has become the appeal that Wolves now have. Three mates who had driven down from Motherwell and two guys from Bath. But most impressive a father and son from Colorado, Tony and Nate who I promised to name check on this blog. Told them this is where you come for the best insights into all things Wolves. Nate the son had chosen to follow Wolves rather than the usual suspects. Man U etc. Came over on a specially purchased package. Wow.
Honved under the Molinuex lights, Chelsea will be remembered in the same way, one of the best nights ever and boy we needed it. Great post Ben brought last night flooding back and felt a tear, I don’t do tears. More of the same please.
It was a brilliant night wasn’t it witley, and I wasn’t even there, ha , I was about to have a quick toilet break with mgw substitution but had to stop and watch as I swear the hair on the back of my neck stood to applaud!
Utw
Who needs Neves
Ruben Neves
We’ve got Morgan Gibbs-White
He’s a Wolverhampton man
He’ll be better than Zidane
We’ve got Morgan Gibbs-White.
It’s a long way home to Devon, but the big fat grin never left my face for a second as I toodled down the M5 this morning. What a night!! What a match!! What a team!!
Your summary captured the events and atmosphere perfectly Ben, and certainly better than I ever could. So I shall simply recount some thoughts that crossed my mind both during and after the game.
MGW. Those three letters will one day become synonymous throughout the football world with sheer brilliance. He’s no great prospect. He’s a great player.
Diogo and Raul. The look on their faces as they scored our goals mirrored the faces of the rapturous fans all around. It meant so much to them. Great, as a fan, to see.
Ryan Bennett. Awesome the whole game, only to top it off with ‘that’ tackle. A wonderful performance.
Joao Moutinho seemed to be flagging after an hour after pressing the Chelski midfield incessantly and giving them no peace. But as the clock ticked down, he drove himself on, and on, and on. The man has been there and done it all, but you could see how much it meant to him to secure this wonderful triumph.
Who should be dropped to bring young Ruben back in?? Some might say no one.
In future, when people speak of their greatest moments in supporting the Old Gold, I, and many others on here will be able to proudly say……’I was there’.
Wonderful to meet up with Stu and Twix and their lovely ladies and Brompto’ and Exiled in the Combemere for some fine ale and convivial conversation. All in all, a wonderful, unforgettable evening.
Where in Devon? Rellies in that area
Just outside Plymouth somebloke. Near Ivybridge.
I live about 4 miles away from Wolverhampton so for me it is 25 minutes in to town on the local bus. But I want to congratulate some of you lot on here who make immense journeys to see our wonderful team play (not always wonderful but even when we are crap it doesn’t diminish the love for all things Wolves). And to those who live in far flung places who get up at silly times in the morning to watch. I salute you too. Well done you lot. A credit to the club.
Well said cheesie.
The time will come Cheese, when I’ll be accused of being a ‘Glory Hunter’ for supporting the mighty Wolves. I can’t wait. 🙂
Difference is Wolfie that you know.i know. Every one on here knows it’s not the case.
I was called a glory hunter too, when I got my season ticket. My 7 hour round trip is nothing compared to yours though Wolfstroker.
Thanks Chessie, l came up with a mate who works shifts we managed to get back for him to start work at 1.30am great game great night.
Great write up & the game was right up – right up with the best Molineux memories.
After a minor blip we’re now 10 points clear of 18th forget 4 points away from Europe.
If the November curse taught us anything it should be that we need 40 points (maybe only 38) as our priority and then? Well then, let’s start a new dream.
No need for me to eulergise further, as the contributions above say it all.
However we should all remember that our progress to become a regular top half Prem outfit is only eclipsed by the fact that we’re all really looking to make memories & whilst I have very few from the nineties/naughties (yes Millenium stadium is still there) from following the Old Goal but I have several new additions to my top ten memories since Fosuns tenure.
Thank you Fosun, Nuno, the players, 12th man & Wolves Blog
We sing from the same hymn sheet Rick Rack mate.
And cheesie, that hymn sheet could be:
Fight the good fight
Hallelujah
or my personal favourite
He who would valiant be
COMB FWAW FOwb
getting a bit teary-eyed reading through this blog…just like when the ball hit the back of the Chelsea net twice in 4 minutes
thank you to all ( especially Ben) whose blogs so vividly captured the atmosphere and reactions during the match….its great to be able to see every game here on TV …but the sound and energy and emotion of the game are all about being there live…but I did get a clear sense of the drama and euphoria you all experienced
This team has taken the game to Citeh, Manure, Spurs, Gunners and now Chelski…so we know for sure that we belong at the top table…..there’s still a way to go before we are top six but the foundations are in place….and if you”re one of the squad don’t you want to experience that joy of great football -Wolves style- EVERY time you play?
Starting to plan trip for Fulham at home…who knows where we will be in the table for that final celebration?
well done to all the cast of characters….take a bow and an encore
UTW
I already booked plane, car and hotel, Marin.
I will be staying at The Novotel May 2nd through the 7th.
Hopefully we can meet up and swap horror stories of having to watch American sports, with their “lack of attention span ” breaks every five minutes!
Thanks Clive
Mine’s a long story but for sure we will meet.
Can you send me contact info to my cell? 9176550752
Thx
Brian
What a great performance and certainly an ..”I was there” occasion.
The overriding joy in seeing so many many positives from our team and management…. as most have covered above…. and the Ryan Bennett tackle on Willian was even more spectacular and goal saving when seen again in tv.
So it’s onward and upward to Geordieland on Sunday to, hopefully make December a month of wonderful presents and fulfilling of Wanderers fans wishes.
I’m finishing with a retort to the Chelski fans when after Coady’s OG they started singing … “are you West Brom in disguise”
Well…you load of knobheads…. we’ve already won more times over 15 games than they did over a season of 38 games ….. so p*ss off a go support Brentford…..
JUST A REMINDER ….. WOLVES 2 v 1 CHELSEA (or more correctly put …. WOLVES 3 v 0 CHELSEA)… see you at the bridge.
Good to meet up with Stu, Jen, Brompton, Wolfstroker and Dougie.
Why don’t you come up to Newcastle with us your lordship?
I’m driving, Stuwolfs navigating, the two ladies chattering on the back seat, so Lillian could sit in the middle.
It’s not going to rain so we could tie you to the roof, you know it makes sense and the fresh air will do you good!!
Why don’t you wrap some stringy mesh around me and I could lie on the roof rack as if you’re taking a Xmas tree up to Newcassel….
Roof rack? Bloody hell you want luxury now!
Someone called me?
You would look like Frodo after Shelob trussed him up, in Lord of the Rings.
Come to think of it, you go to New Zealand a lot, where the movie was made, and
you bear an uncanny resemblance to Frodo, short, bald, pointed feet and ears.
Does Lillian know to whom she is married???
Throughout last season Saiss was the perfect foil for Nevez, providing steel in front of the back three. Last night showed us just what we have been missing this season. In my book Saiss was immense from start to finish There is no way he should be left out at the weekend.
Truth be told, after that superb team performance maybe Neves should be on the bench this Sunday –it would do him no harm to realize that he has to up his game from recent standards if he wants a regular pick in this great Wolves team
All the times we have played well and lost.
All the times we have let them get a goal back.
All the times its gone against us.
Tonight it went for us against a better team who it went against. They missed lots of close chances.
Our defense deserves o gold medal for its second half performance and super Bennetts tackle!
MGW – wow. Selection problems. Will Neves get back in!
Most enjoyable second half I can ever remember!
UTW.
Nuno we love you.
Darren.
Photo on the back page of The Times this morning of MGW over the headline “is this the future for England” linked to an article by Tim Nash on page 74.
Tim describes Morgan’s being spotted as a 7 year old by Wolves scouting system and his careful nurturing by the academy through to his starting place on Wednesday.
So well done to all involved in bringing through this potential diamond and to those who, hopefully will give him his final polish.
Thanks for the right up, Ben. Totally nailed it.
Absolutely brilliant night on Wednesday and a committed performance from our boys. I shouldn’t name names but ….MGW (wow!) and really pleased that Diogo has opened his PL account.
Great to see the guys and the gals in the Combermere.
On the way to Cardiff for a a Christmas do. The fun never stops.
The old adage of never change a winning side has never been more poignant than it is for this weekend.
Ruben should start on the bench if Nuno decides to stick to the age old rule and replace moutinho at some point during the second half maybe.
My opinion for what it’s worth is one of confusion as to whether neves is indeed a better player than moutinho I think they are so similar that it doesn’t really matter.
Has that been the problem over the last few disastrous results ?
Almost to a man we have realised that we needed an enforcer in the middle and the suspension of neves came as a blessing in disguise as it forced Nuno to change tack at what was a crucial time in the development of the team.
That , after the Chelsea result, should not be undone and I don’t think it will be but.. we continually see top teams change their set ups to suit different opposition.
I personally don’t think we have that luxury just yet as we don’t have the superb quality in depth of the top sides .
We do have options to tweak the side and possibly the side that beat Chelsea is not the side to beat Newcastle.
Nuno i reckon will keep the winning side and see how it pans out with all his other options on the bench to change it if he needs to.
So for me it’s neves on the bench…….for now
Being as thou there isn’t another game for 48 hours, a bit of light entertainment:
That’s Brilliant Rick Rack…(pissin me self loffin) . Cant wait for tonight .The landlord of my local is a shite fan and a coupe of regulars are Vile fans . Just gonna stand there with a pint of Stella and a great big proud Wolves grin !
I really couldn’t give a shit who wins but I hope they end up kicking sevens shades of shit out of each other !
Couldn’t pass the day without saying RIP Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks. I still play their first album ‘Another Music in a different kitchen’ regularly and it still sounds as good today as it did in 1978. Seen them live on many occasions. Judging by the tributes coming in on social media from the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, REM, Peter Hook and even Duran Duran their music was highly influential and crossed the seas. A little bit of my youth died with Pete yesterday.
I saw them way way back, I can’t recall where and I think joy division were support !
That sounds a cracker Jim. No wonder you can’t remember it!
No calls for Patricio to be dropped in this episode of the blog?
No suggestions NES will be picking up his P45?
I wonder why?
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/7841005/jody-craddock-wolves-artist-teaching-son/
Vile 1-0 up. Doe know who to hate the most. Suppose sandwell really.never used to hate vile that much till last season.arrogant wankers.perhaps a draw. 3 from each side sent off and about 3 broken legs on each side.
And they still have floodlight pylons. Of course we left them behind 25 years ago. Shit sandwell equaliser and the locals come scurrying out from their outside toilets to celebrate.