After the 1-0 home defeat to Pompey back in October, I don’t think many Wolves supporters envisaged us being safe and sound by the time this return fixture came along.
But as we head down to Fratton Park on Saturday, that’s exactly what we are – safe.
So despite the importance of finishing 14th being talked up by the powers that be, I hope Wolves will play with a bit more freedom and maybe even give a few fringe players a chance.
Pompey got their first win of the season at Molineux
First and foremost, I’d like to see SEB given a start, preferably alongside Doyle in a two man attack. Having finally registered a Premiership goal from open play, I think these last two games represent a good opportunity for our number nine to build up some momentum, which he can hopefully carry into next season.
I’d also like to take a look at Zubar at center half, so why not shift him across instead of Berra or Craddock and allow Foley to enjoy a couple of games in the position where he’s truly comfortable? That probably won’t happen.
Milijas and Guedioura should both be given starts, particularly the latter who only has two games to earn a permanent deal. On a side note, I’ll be gutted if we don’t sign him up as he’s already shown he’s got what it takes and has the potential to be a real force.
Of course Henry is back from his ban too and I’d expect Mick to immediately restore his skipper to the starting XI. As we know, Ward’s season has been ended by injury and Matt Jarvis probably won’t be fit in time to play.
So my guess at what the team WILL be is:
Hahnemann
Zubar
Craddock
Berra
Elokobi
Foley
Henry
Jones
Edwards
SEB
Doyle
And this is the team I’d LIKE to see:
Hahnemann
Foley
Zubar
Craddock
Elokobi
Edwards
Henry
Guedioura
Milijas
Doyle
SEB
I know my eleven is lacking any sort of width, but let’s face it, if Jarvis isn’t going to make it, we’re pretty screwed anyway. Unless of course, Kightly has made a miraculous recovery. Speaking of which, where the hell is he? I haven’t heard an update on his injury for a good while now.
It’s almost impossible to predict a result, given that you never know what team Portsmouth will put out. I just hope it’s a decent game with a few goals, for the sake of everyone making the long trek down there.
I’ll go 3-1 to Wolves.
If you are heading down to the seaside, have a great time, enjoy the day and get behind the lads.
Up The Wolves.
2-1 to the Wolves. SEB and Doyle.
Malone has been brought back from his loan early, maybe he will get a chance. Would be a good bit of experience for him if he got a couple of games.
Kightly will be ready for pre-season, I think. I can’t see him playing Milijas left mid, and apparently Mujangi has been doing well in the reserves. I’d rather have Milijas in the middle, and Adlene on the right/left. Guedioura is much more likely to have a go at the defender and attack.
Agree that Adlene and SEB should be given starts and that Adlene should be signed up. Lets face it how many other players have we seen take the ball around a man and take a shot this season?
I think the game will be a draw (or even a wolves defeat I’m afraid to say!) The pressure is off though – so who cares! although I would be really happy to be wrong!
It would be nice for Doyle to get on the score sheet – probably could do with a goal.
We should play the Wolves Ladies, coz Portsmouth will not put any tackles in being scared of injury before the cup final.
Which means Ward (injured or not), The Hof, Surman and Halford can all get a game coz they are all big girls blouses anyway.
And at center forward, ready to have the everlovin’ shit kicked out of him, we present…drum roll…
Jez Greaseball Moxey, that legend in his own mind, who will make the ball disappear the same way our team’s money seems to.
We can dream.
FOWB
Forgot about the additional variable of the cup final! Rate our chances a little better now!
Thomas
You thieving swine…. Your stole my team right out of my memory bank, while I was dreamin in work today…. The attacking one, of course…. This is an opportunity you dont often get in the prem, to change things, experiment, etc., just for the sake of it….. & not have to worry too much about the result !!! I think the second team would wipe the floor with Pompey & it would be nice to overturn the Oct result.. We can dream,but I dont expect too many changes…..
Have a great day out all of you who are travelling…. Did I hear something last week about fancy dress ???
Lots of people are going with bandages and fake blood. It’s the Jody Craddock appreciation day!
Nonsense. We need as many points as possible.
What kind of loser attitude is it that says “we stayed up so that’s good enough”?
If we get more points, then no one will be able to say we only stayed up because the other teams were so bad.
Do top half of the table teams say “Let’s put Joe in and give him a chance since we are safe”?
Irrespective of what you think of his footballing ability,i fail to understand why any wolves supporter would want to slag off Ward as a girl’s blouse.What i see is an out and out tryer, often playing out of position,fully committed to the team effort which has been pivotal to our survival.
Also,we’ve stayed up without spending silly money on transfer fees and wages but by follwing a consistent policy of buying young and hungry players who still have a resale value if they don’t make it at this level.I bet both Portsmouth and Hull fans now wish they’d had Jez Moxey running their finances .Wolves,at last,are a club with a clear plan where everyone from the 3 M’s to the team AND THE SUPPORTERS are pulling together.Success depends on it.
The truth is – Ward is not a left back! But he has played the position to the best of his ability – and in the premier league this has been exposed against quality opposition. Yes he cost us points in some games, but he also made SEBs goal on Saturday. He’ll never have the pace of Jarvis but can provide left footed back up – and at 24 he still has time to improve.
If we had played big George there all season with his terrible distribution – I doubt we would be in the position of safety we are in now.
Decent left back top of the shopping list for the summer.
Anyone else notice Lee Naylor is out of contract at Celtic this summer…
hmm. not sure about naylor!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Surely we have moved on from Lee Naylor!
Anyone think Malone will get a chance. Supposed to be good, maybe we don’t need to buy a left back?
haha. Me neither, just thought I’d try for a reaction
I think we’ll get a draw and then we are safe……hold up……we’re safe…..I still can’t believe it……. 2 games to so…..safe……? How effin boring!!
What has happened to the if we win by 3 clear goals, Burnley lose by 2, West Ham get a draw and if my Nans left knee holds out we’ll be safe senerio…..
Oh well, party on.
Still think Moxey is a bit of a greasy dago but good on ya slick back. Can you know sort it so I can have a pint AND a piss in the Steve Bull upper instead of the usual either/or?
On a serious note, its still a must win game for me. Am I right in thinking the higher the place the more ££ we get…?
Well, Mick’s confirmed Mujangi Bia is playing tomorrow so I look forward to getting a proper look at the bloke.
I know first impressions haven’t been all that encouraging, but he hasn’t really had a fair crack of the whip yet. Hopefully he can turn it on tomorrow with the pressure off.
Also, how exciting to hear we’ve got a mega-bucks kit deal with a leading sports manufacturer…………………..BURRDA.
I shall look forward to seeing the strips and hope they’re as good as the ones they’ve designed for Qatar and Kuwait, the other two notable footballing giants they’ve made the kits for.
You couldn’t make this stuff up could you?
This BURRDA be some sort of joke…
I’ve just seen the announcement of the new kit manufacturer!!!! What a joke!! Burrda. Go to their website and check out the kits. no wonder they need to pay us 3 million to wear them! In these ever changing times at Molineux this deal has the Moxey stamp all over it. Maximum revenue for the club and minimum value for the fans. you can virtually guarantee that these have a very low cost per unit allowing Jez to make maximum profit now that we are all excited about wearing a premiership shirt again.
In the polls on various websites adidas and Nike consistently scored highest in fans polls for who they’d like their teams kit to be manufactured by. Whilst I’m sure The Wolves might not be an attractive enough team for either of them (at the moment. lol) Their are other manufacturers who would have been massively more appealing to the fans, especially when it comes to things like training tops and coats etc. Which are another valuable source of revenue for the club. Unfortunately we are now stuck with them for the next three years. So we’ll have to live with it!
On a brighter note congratulations to Mick and the lads for a fantastic season. I shall be there cheering you on next year. It just might not be in a Burrda shirt!. lol
I agree about the disappointment.
If you’ve got a big name brand you know the shirts will always be decent, but this is more of a gamble.
Let’s at least wait and see what the tops look like. Perhaps we’ll be pleasantly surprised.
This season’s isn’t great, let’s be honest.
With my business hat on, it becomes clear that the likes of Adidas, Nike and alike aren’t as desperate to promote their brand so even if they put an offer on the table, it would be stacked heavily in their favour because they don’t need the deal.
The opposite seems to be happening here i.e. a lesser brand paying much more to get the deal.
If the shirts turn out well, it’s a great deal all round.
And hopefully because this is their first foray into the big leagues, they’ve put a great deal of work into the design.
Surely we want the club to get the most money they can from the Kit-Maker? And if its made at slave labour prices I’ll deal with it if it means more money we can spend on players. Better than patting ourselves on the back about our fancy fair-trade Nike kit in my opinion. Sorry!
Probably would have to agree Adam. My favourite ever kit was a Scoreline number, with Manders paint and ink sponsorship (the letters faded in the wash!). One of my more recent favourites was the in-house shirt which was an old gold number in 2002. However, I’ll reserve full judgement until I see the kit myself though. If its of dog shite quality, then please allow me to agree with Blowfeld!!
Does this mean the first team will be wearing those ninja masks next season?
Sorry my mistake they’re BURKAS!
This will probably be removed as deemed politically incorrect! Apologies for those easily offended (Kightly fans included)!
You gonna burn in hell for that one!!!
See you there!!!
If anyone gets offended by that, then they need to get a life.
Like all politically incorrect jokes, they are just that, jokes.
If it makes someone laugh, then brill.
If not, try again.
Who remembers when Avi Cohen signed for Liverpool, and the joke went round that as he was a jew, he didn’t work on Saturdays.
That was in the good old days when we had footie at the civilized time of 3.00pm on Saturday, or 7.30pm on Wednesday. Bollocks to the tv schedules, there were none!!
FOWB
You say that, but i’ve seen teams in the conference with nike kits, but if we’ve saved money then fair does
Oh how I love the blog, and the clockwork mice it produces!!!
Mr new kid on the blog, don’t you yet understand we have stayed up despite moxey’s financial give it to me plan, and despite not spending money on quality players, and definitely despite Ward’s presence in the side.
Hard worker he may be, and that is debatable, but he is still crap.
Thank goodness for Hull and Burnley and Portsmouth, since those very poor clubs have been worse than us.
Next season will be tougher, as there does not seem to be any whipping boys coming up, and the only team who might get stuffed every week is us, BECAUSE of moxey’s fiscal policies, unless something drastic takes place in the summer.
Its all very well having up and coming youngsters, but if all the team is made up of them, and we get relegated, we will not be “at this level”
Quite the oxymoron, isn’t it?
Like Scottish goalkeepers, or Army Intelligence.
FOWB
To be fair though, you don’t want to be spending money you haven’t got and end up like Pompey, Leeds, Southampton etc and to stay up without spending much was a good achievement, Burnley couldn’t manage it.
We will have to spend for next year. The play off winners will be a whipping boy and Albion will be as good, or should that be as bad, as us. It will be a struggle again next year, but we wouldn’t want it boring now would we?
Clive, our points total would have kept us up last year too and there are still two games to go.
But we were not in the Prem last year.
Our points total last year, if we had been in the Prem, would have won the title, and we would be in the Champions league next season, and our points total from nineteen bow and arrow would have seen us relegated, promoted or staying put or whatever, and if my auntie had bollocks she would be my uncle, proving once and for all that “what if” is irrelevant, and what counts is what has happeneed this season, and what will happen next year.
I say it again, if we don’t get rid of the bulk of the squad, and get a lot of new, experienced players, we will struggle a lot more than we did this year, get relegated, and not get back up for many years.
Ben, when did you start washing your clothes?
FOWB
I mean our point total this year is high enough to have kept us in the Premier league in the 2008-2009 season in which Newcastle was demoted.
Guess what?
It was also good enuff to keep us up this year!!
Read wot I writ.
Who cares about previous years points totals?
Irrelevant
It’s this season and beyond wot matters.
I’ve had a few margaritas, so bollocks to you if my spellin’ is all to cock.
FOWB
Kightly has apologised to the fans and thanked the players for giving him a chance to play in the Premier League next season. Sounds like he’ll be fit for pre-season. What a bonus that would be if we started with him next season.
Hope we use the £3million kit deal to sign Adlene and not just to pay the fat controllers bonus!
Why do we have a history of really naff shirt manufacturers? Most teams have had at least one decent spell of Adidas, Nike etc. But we always seen to have sh*te like Nutmeg and now Burrda! Still £3million cant be argued with (after all it is half a Kevin Doyle almost!)
I only got my new kit at the start of this season and had to pay £8 to have the Premier league badges ironed on! Robbing b@stards should keep the kit for at least two seasons or offer a discount. I feel sorry for all the families that spent a fortune on them for their kids – after the Sunderland game the ungrateful little buggers wont even want to wipe their arse with them!
All those parents spending a fortune on replica kits know what it was like to raise Robbie Keane now (given the amount of ‘boyhood clubs’ he has signed for over the past two years!)
http://www.wolves.co.uk/page/BloggerComp?WT.mc_id=blogcomp
A competition to blog for the world cup. You have to submit a funny world cup moment. Thought Thomas and Ben might want to take a look. For over 18s
Cheers for the heads up Louie, but I’m actually already writing for The Telegraph during the World Cup.
More to come on that subject when the Wolves season winds up…
Great stuff on The Telegraph. Look out for the Irish Examiner also, I was asked to give a mini-review of our season. High Point, Low Point and Player of the Year.
Online it will be also, unless you live in Ireland
well you got the score right, Thomas, but wrong way round.
The result proves everything I’ve been saying, we are shite, and to have been doubled by the bottom club, when we put out our supposedly best team. Rubbish, utter rubbish.
Should have played the girls, they would have put up a better display, and at least they have nice legs and tits to look at.
Roll on the transfers, coz we need a shitload.
FOWB
We weren’t even THAT bad. Three bad bits of defending, Marcus should have saved the last two and SEB should have scored twice. Mujangi was our most dangerous player so what does Mick do? Bring Lumes (or Lump) on. Big chris wasn’t bad , much better than in previous games,but it changed our style. we went for it and got done on the counter.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter and we move on to the sunderland game. Look out for the sports section of the Observer tomorrow.