Report card

As we’ve done it for the last two seasons, I thought I’d keep up the tradition of posting end-of-season marks for each individual player.

Please note that ratings are based on the contribution that each specific player could reasonably be expected to make in the appearances they made.

Hennessey

Left exposed

Wayne Hennessey – Made more saves than any other keeper in the Premiership – not that he had much choice. Personally, I thought he had a strong season that was slightly tarnished by a few soft goals and gaffes. 8/10

Dorus De Vries – Didn’t get a kick in the league until the dying embers. Acquitted himself reasonably, but couldn’t halt the avalanche of goals conceded. 7/10

Carl Ikeme – Got the second half against Wigan, but nothing else. Can’t really judge. 7/10

Kevin Foley – Injuries prevented him having anywhere near the same impact as previous seasons. But even when he did play, he rarely reached the standards he’s capable of. 5/10

Ronald Zubar – Another one plagued by injury for large chunks of the season. Same old Zubar when he was out on the pitch – flitting between sublime and ridiculous.  5.5/10

Matt Doherty – Came on at Anfield and impressed. Not seen much of him since. Obviously has ability but faces stiff competition, particularly if Zubar hangs around next season. 7/10

Roger Johnson

From bad to worse Roger

Roger Johnson – Looked the business for a handful of games at the start, but soon went bankrupt. Had a mini revival around Christmas, notably away at Arsenal and Spurs before things turned really sour. Hasn’t helped himself with comments on and off the field. 4.5/10

Richard Stearman - Somehow started the season as first choice right-back, but thankfully ended up playing more games in the middle where he belongs. For the most part, he did alright. 5.5/10

Christophe Berra – Impressed me with his consistency throughout the first half of the season. Got on with his job and didn’t make any mistakes. Went downhill badly from December onwards though. 5.5/10

Jody Craddock – Injuries destroyed his season. Only got on the pitch once – at home to Sunderland – but limped off before the end. 7/10

Stephen Ward – Played every minute of the Premier League season. Immense for the first 10 games, but couldn’t maintain the standard and put in some woeful performances when we desperately needed better. Probably the pick of our defenders though, which says it all.  7/10

George Elokobi – With Wardy dominating the left-back slot, poor George didn’t really get a sniff. Looked very poor on the odd occasion he emerged from the bench. Could he do better in the middle? 4/10

Kightly Vs Villa

Welcome back Kites

Michael Kightly – A small glimmer of hope in an otherwise miserable season? Finally fit again and discovering the form we know he’s capable of. Superb goals that should have proven vital against Aston Villa and Bolton were turned to dust by his team mates inability to defend. 7/10

Stephen Hunt – I remember being very impressed with Hunt in the opening 3 games, but his form went down the toilet with the team. Injuries didn’t help, but are we wrong to expect better? 4.5/10

Adam Hammill – Sure he’s raw, but on the rare occasion he made it onto the pitch, his raw talent was plain to see. I just don’t think Mick had the patience to iron out the kinks. Maybe Ståle does? 5/10

Karl Henry – You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. In the games he was injured or suspended – which were numerous – the midfield was completely lost. Coupled with Frimpong’s injury, his absence was a significant nail in our coffin. I could have strangled him for his petulance in the Villa game. 7/10

Dench today, gone tomorrow

Emmanuel Frimpong – Thought he was our saviour after impressive outings against Chelsea and Spurs, capped by a scintillating 45 minutes at home to Villa. Gone for good a week later at QPR. What might have been hey? 8/10

Nenad Milijas – Nenad must have been on the fags more than usual this season, as he barely got a kick. Why TC never gave him a go as the season quietly slipped away I’ll never know. That said, he was average at best when he did get on. 5/10

Dave Edwards – I love and hate him in almost equal measures. Not the sort of player who can win you a game single-handedly, but always puts in a shift for the team. To his credit, I would say he’s one of only a few players whose standards didn’t drop. 6.5/10

Adlene Guedioura – See ‘Adam Hammill’. 5/10

Eggert Jonnson – It’s not his fault is it? Looked a yard off the pace to me whenever he played though. 4/10

David Davis – Finally made the breakthrough and impressed in the handful of games he played. More to come hopefully. 6.5/10

Jamie O’Hara – The club have openly admitted they put huge faith in the impact he’d have over the course of a full season. He most definitely didn’t live up to the billing. Score some important goals against Wigan and Swansea, but never really got going. Injuries seemed to be a problem throughout. 5/10

Doyle

That's how we felt Doyler

Matt Jarvis – My personal choice for player of the season. Not always on top form, but the only player capable of dragging us forward and asking a question of the opposition. Starting to score goals now too. A shame he’ll probably leave. 8.5/10

Anthony Forde – Another youngster to make the breakthrough and looked capable enough. Thrown in at the deep end against Arsenal at the Emirates and came through impressively. 7/10

Johnny Gorman – Handed a cameo at Carrow Road as Wolves chased the game, but didn’t really make an impact. Looked ok though. Will he get more action next season? 7/10

Kevin Doyle – Poor. Terrible in fact, by his standard. And it pains me to say that. I don’t know what’s happened to him this season. Goals have always been an issue, but his performance levels have been well below par. Still does his best work alone up front. 3.5/10

SEB – 1 solitary league goal for a player whose all about goals is not a good return. Granted, he only made 22 appearances int total and just 7 starts, but he should have contributed more. 3/10

Steven Fletcher – 12 Premier League goals is an excellent return for Fletch, given the team he was playing in. I would have liked to have seen more from him in terms of overall play, but that’s only because he sets a certain standard. 8/10

Well, those are my marks.

What do you reckon?

Wigan Athletic Vs Wolves Preview

Around 5.30pm on Sunday evening Wolves will reach the pinnacle of their season – the end.

Finally, thankfully, mercifully, it’s over.

Winning the reverse fixture. A false dawn.

A campaign that began with bold aspiration, high hopes and Mick McCarthy, ends with apathy, relegation and an unknown Norwegian called Ståle waiting to take the reigns.

You couldn’t make it up.

But as we look expectantly towards a new era, Wigan continue to bask in the most successful of their club’s history.

The job Roberto Martinez has done since taking over nearly 3 years ago is nothing short of remarkable.

Dead, buried and written-off more times than I care to remember, his side have once again defied the odds (and the pundits) by remaining in the Premier League.

Hats off to them I say.

They’ve never once strayed from their footballing principles and have been handsomely rewarded with 6 wins in their last 8 games.

The Team

I can’t see it being a much different eleven to the side that drew with Everton last weekend. The likes of Foley and Jarvis probably won’t be risked given that there’s sweet diddly squat on the outcome. This would be my preferred side:

De Vries, Zubar, Stearman, Elokobi, Ward, Henry, Milijas, Kightly, Hunt, Doyle, Fletcher

Even I look at that side now and think it looks tired. It’s repeating a point that’s been made countless times before, but our options would surely have been significantly stronger with Guedioura and Hammill to choose from. Hopefully Ståle will give those players the crack of the whip they deserve in a gold shirt.

Prediction League

4 people correctly predicted a draw against Everton last time out. However, none got the scoreline.

So it’s a point a piece for Super Kev Doyle, Philly Pete, Exeter Wolf and theDOOGooder.

Big congratulations to Kowloon Wolf who will definitely finish at the top of this year’s Prediction League table. Only a maximum from Exeter Wolf or Ade in China can deny him the title outright this weekend. I’ll make an official announcement in the match report.

And speaking of the match, I think we’re going to end the season appropriately with a defeat.

Wigan will be footloose and fancy free. They’re playing with great confidence at the moment and I think they’ll do enough to get the win. 3-2.

If you’re at the DW on Sunday, have a great time and get behind the lads as you always do. The away support has been top notch all season.

Up The Wolves.

Wolves 0 Everton 0

The final home fixture in this catastrophic season perfectly befitted the occasion, neatly summing up our miserable campaign inside 90 minutes of painfully dull football.

A bright start, a brief flicker of promise before ultimately descending into complete farce.

Blocked out

If that second half is what TC defines as ‘progress’, I’ll pass thanks.

With our attack completely blunted for the last half an hour, the only thing missing was the customary defensive brainwave to hand the opposition the points they seemed to so desperately crave.

Credit to the back four and indeed the team for that. They defended manfully from the start and made sure that a good Everton side were made to work for their chances.

Elokobi got the biggest cheer of the day, bouncing on to replace the stricken Christophe Berra and capping a fine cameo with a beautifully executed bicycle kick.

Lovely stuff George.

But when the highlight of an afternoon’s football is two drunkards lolloping onto the pitch with a paper cutout of the FA Cup and the South Bank pretending we scored a goal, you know something isn’t quite right.

And as has so often been the case, the quality of the chants emanating from behind the goal was in no way matched by the quality out on the pitch.

Without the forward thrust of Matt Jarvis at their disposal, this Wolves team just appear clueless about how to forge any sort of opening.

Henry and Edwards huffed and puffed in the center of midfield but neither have the vision or technique to open the gates.

The same can be said of the effervescent Stephen Hunt, who showed trademark tenacity but offered little to the game as an attacking force – save for scooping over a rare Wolves chance after an even rarer passing move.

Michael Kightly was also muted. Every time he had the ball he seemed to determined to scamper inside rather than attacking the line, always running into traffic and losing possession. Much more should be expected of him.

Fletcher and Doyle, starved of any real service were dominated by Jagielka on the odd occasion the ball did squirm into the Everton half. You’ll never convince me that they have or ever will forge a fruitful partnership.

In the last two games we’ve seen the major predicament that faces this group of players.

They can either play as they did against Swansea, creating chances but leaving themselves wide open at the back or, as they did yesterday, sit in and make life difficult for the opposition without offering anything going forward.

And as we know, in order to win football matches, you have to strike a balance between attack and defence, which is something that’s currently beyond TC and Wolves as a team.

Surely this much is obvious to our chairman? Or maybe not.

The fans crave decisive leadership and the sense that someone upstairs in our club realises these most fundamental of issues.

Instead, we were rewarded for a season of loyal support with a half-baked lap of honour and silence from the top brass.

Like I say, a befitting conclusion.

Wolves Vs Everton Preview

David Moyes has done another fantastic job for Everton this season.

Hamstrung by the club’s finances and their ‘sell to buy’ requirements, he’s once again juggled his resources, shuffled the pack and has the Toffees sitting just below the big hitters.

1-0 up at Goodison, only to lose it at the death

He just makes it look so easy too.

Organisation and discipline coupled with astute dealings in the transfer windows and voila! Top half guaranteed.

Nikica Jelavic is the latest bargain-buy, pinched from Rangers in January and already pinging them in left, right and center. He’s got 10 already.

Yakubu, Beckford, Saha and Arteta have all been moved on to balance the books, but that doesn’t seem to have prevented their customary upwards surge in the second-half of the season.

They’re unbeaten in their last 7 Premier League matches, dispatching Fulham 4-0 and taking a point at the Britannia in their most recent outings.

You worry for Wolves against any side that set out their stall and stay organised for 90 minutes. We just have an unwelcome propensity for self-implosion.

The Team

TC went 442 at Swansea last weekend and will probably do the same again. Unless we picked up any injuries I don’t know about, it will likely be the same eleven. I’d like to see an open game, for the sake of entertainment, so I’d go with that team:

De vries, Foley, Stearman, Berra, Ward, Henry, Edwards, Kightly, Jarvis, Doyle, Fletcher

If we do send that team out, I’m fairly certain we’ll concede, so as was the case against Swansea, we’ll need to score a few ourselves to be competitive.

Should the likes of Doyle, Fletcher and Jarvis impress, it wouldn’t surprise me to see any of them in an Everton shirt next season. I think they’re all players who could fit the criteria Moyes would be looking at.

Prediction League

Quite remarkably, nobody went for 4-4 against Swansea. However, 5 people did predict a draw.

So well done to me, Morph, Super Kev Doyle, robin and The Wanderer. Each of us take a point.

I’m hoping for a big performance to sign-off a catastrophic season of home-form and Everton are definitely due a defeat.

So against all logic and everything I’ve written above, I’ll go for a hopeful 3-1 Wolves.

If you’re at Molineux Sunday, have a great time and get behind the lads. I’m hoping we’ll get some words from our chairman after the game, which I think is the least we deserve.

Up The Wolves.

Swansea City 4 Wolves 4

Although this screwball game of Premier League football once again highlighted the crippling deficiencies of Wolverhampton Wanderers, it also served to show what might have been.

Defensively, we left our calling card.

Too much space, no closing down, non-existent marking.

Down but not out

Stand off. Stand off. Stand off.

It’s amusing to think that last season we were accused of being ‘overly physical’. Without doubt, a major problem with this current Wolves team is their aversion to ruffling feathers.

There’s just no menace, no desire and no hunger to win the ball back. The opposition do what they want.

When that’s the case, good players and good teams punish you. And for 15 traumatic minutes, Swansea did just that.

A fourth goal just before the interval after Steven Fletcher’s fantastic looping header dragged us back into the contest seemed to be the definitive nail in our coffin.

But as bad as the first half was defensively, Wolves trumped that in the second with a fantastic display of attacking football.

All of the goals were well constructed, the pick of the bunch being Dave Edwards cool run and finish after a sumptuous reverse pass from Michael Kightly.

Two other well made and well taken Matt Jarvis goals are proof positive that our offensive players can do enough damage.

The likes of Jarvis, Kightly and Fletcher are good enough for this level.

Our problem is that we’ve just never given them the platform to shine because both individually and as a team, we’re desperately weak in defence.

It’s often said that Wolves lack quality on the ball, but I believe our biggest problem is that we don’t possess enough physically strong players to upset the opposition, thus allowing our better players to show how good they can truly be.

We needed warriors over the summer, players that could add presence and put themselves about.

Presumably, this is what Mick McCarthy hoped Roger Johnson would bring to the fold back in August and what Emmanuel Frimpong would deliver when he arrived in January.

Failure and misfortune are words that immediately come to mind when you evaluate these signings.

They wrap up our season quite nicely too.