I said in my preview that nothing less than a win would do at the KC and I stand by that. With some difficult fixtures coming up, we really needed three points to put some daylight between ourselves and the bottom three. However, a point does at least keep us on the right side of that dreaded dotted line in the short term.

There are some other positives to take from the game too. The fact that we stayed in the match and managed to claw our way back twice shows the character of the team. We could even have won it had somebody connected with Kevin Foley’s cross in the dying seconds or had Bia’s fierce drive gone a few inches either side of Boaz Myhill.

View from the Away End (click to expand)

I’m still trying to decide whether or not I’m a fan of this 4-5-1 system. It didn’t work in the first half and prompted angry chants of ’4-4-2, 4-4-2′ from the frustrated contingent of Wolves supporters. We persevered with it though and it made a lot more sense in the second half, as our wide men began to influence the game.

Jarvis in particular was immense. He twisted and turned Paul McShane all afternoon and got his reward in the second half with the deflected shot that drew us level for the second time. Foley wasn’t quite as effective down the right, but improved as the game went on and gave a typically committed performance.

In the middle of the park, Jones stood out as our best player and showed glimpses of real quality, whipping balls out to the wings and even rampaging through himself, only to be denied at the near post by Myhill. He deserves to keep his place in the team, whatever system we decide to play.

Henry and Mancienne were anonymous to start with, offering very little going forward and going missing whenever Hull attacked. Thankfully that changed in the second half, which coincided with an upturn in our fortunes. However, I’m still not sure you need them both playing in this system, as they seem to do the same job. A more forward thinking midfielder in there would add balance to the side in my opinion.

At the back, we struggled big time. Berra in particular was poor. He simply couldn’t live with the pace and power of Altidore and whenever he did put in a meaningful challenge, the referee quickly blew up for a foul. It was little surprise when the strong forward, out-muscled Berra and teed up Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink to slide home the opener.

Zubar had a mixed game. His general defensive play was good until he foolishly clattered into the back of Altidore to give away a penalty. It was a silly challenge to make and given how easily the Hull forward had gone to ground throughout the game, it was little surprise he went down like he’d been picked off by a sniper. Hunt duly smashed home the spot-kick and celebrated like a man who was happy to stay put. I might be wrong.

Fortunately, as bad as we were at the back, the home side were even worse. A nothing cross from Zubar was sliced into his own net by Anthony Gardener; a moment of comedy that is sure to feature on some cheap footballing gaffes DVD next Christmas. The same defender repeatedly gave the ball away in the build up to Wolves second equaliser too, so a bad day all round for the former Tottenham man. Not that we care of course.

Much of the time though, the Hull defence were forced into errors by the tireless harrying of our lone striker. The chants of ‘Doyle is Superman’ were more apt than ever, as the Republic of Ireland striker continued to show why we smashed our transfer record to secure his services. None of the clubs fighting it out at the bottom have a striker as good as Kevin Doyle and he could well be the difference between survival and relegation. I’m not the only Wolves fan praying he stays fit for the remainder of the season.

It’s Palace next up tomorrow in that 4th round replay and I expect a lot of changes to the team, maybe even eleven (dare I even suggest it).

I hope we’ll have celebrated the arrival of at least one more new signing by then, but who that might be is anyone’s guess.

Up The Wolves.

It occurred to me a few a weeks back that Wolves fate this season will be largely decided away from Molineux.

We took just one miserly point from three home matches against West Ham, Hull and Portsmouth. That’s not good enough. So if we’re to escape an immediate return to ‘the Fizzy’, positive results in the return fixtures are an absolute must.

Wolves only managed a point in the game at Molineux

That needs to start this Saturday with the trip to the KC Stadium. Wolves are a point and two places better off than Hull going into this match, so you might argue that a draw is a positive result. Not for me though.

We haven’t won in the league since beating Burnley in December and if we can’t get three points here, that run could continue for a considerable amount of time. Our next three fixtures are Blues away, followed by Spurs and Chelsea at home and if Wolves are sitting in the bottom three ahead of that run of games, I worry for us.

I wonder whether Mick will go all out for the win and revert to a 4-4-2 system? We did well with five across the midfield against Liverpool, but I don’t think we should be giving Hull the same respect. By going with two strikers, I think it shows positive intent on our manager’s part, which would be good to see.

This is the starting XI I’d pick:

Hahnemann

Ward
Berra
Craddock
Zubar

Foley
Milijas
Henry
Jarvis

Doyle
SEB

I have a sneaky suspicion that our manager has a few surprises up his sleeve though, so that team is by no means what I expect to see. Whatever he decides to do though, I just hope he gets it right because I don’t want to be sitting here again, writing about poor tactics costing us a result.

There is of course an interesting sub-plot to this match, with speculation surrounding Stephen Hunt’s future. The fact that this story rages on, tells me that we can expect developments before the transfer window closes on Monday. There’s conflicting views on whether Hull ‘need’ to sell in this window and that could well be the determining factor in whether the deal goes through or not.

Whatever the outcome of that speculation, the result this Saturday is paramount and Wolves need to get it.

I’m expecting a tight, cagey game, with a moment of quality giving one side the edge. I just hope it comes from a Milijas or a Doyle and not from a Giovanni or a Zaki.

My prediction: 1-0 Wolves

If you’re making the trek to the KC Stadium, have a great day and roar the lads on.

Up the Wolves.

So what was it? 2 points dropped or 1 point gained?

Kevin Doyle - Showed real promise

After what was a terrible start to the match, Wolves gradually clawed their way back in and with the chances they created, should really have gone on to take the maximum.

That being said, Hull could easily of been two up before half-time; effectively killing the game as a contest. And unfortunately that’s the reality of the Premier League. Sluggish starts like this will end up costing Wolves dearly, especially against more ruthless opposition.

We just weren’t at the races in the first half.

Even Geovanni’s opener seemed a soft goal to giveaway. The effortless way Hunt danced passed Halford to stand the cross up, was only as sickening as the fact that nobody was able to read the flight of the ball well enough to prevent the tiny Brazilian from stealing in to score. 

And the marking didn’t improve. Ghilas should have doubled the visitor’s advantage with a free header at the back post but fortunately sent a tame header right down Hennessy’s throat.

Things weren’t going much better at the other end either. Doyle looked lively but wasn’t being allowed to get into positions where he could really do damage. Halford was winning every flick-on in and around the box but nobody was gambling to get on the end of them. All in all, it was pretty depressing stuff.

Keogh had our best two chances, twisting and turning in the box but eventually skying one effort and shooting right at Myhill with another. 

We looked like a team that desperately needed something to fall our way, so we were counting our lucky stars when it did.

You couldn’t ask for a better start to the second half as Craddock flicked on for Stearman and the England Under 21 international volleyed home emphatically. 

What a relief.

From there though, we didn’t need any breaks, just a bit more potency in the final third.

Keogh ran clear and tamely poked his shot wide, Doyle smashed a point-black volley against Turner on the line and Vokes headed wide in the dying seconds with the goal at his mercy. 

And while all this was going on at one end, Hull were offering practically nothing as an attacking force at the other; making the eventual final score all the more dissapointing.

So even though it was a game we could easily have lost, you can’t help but feel slightly deflated that we didn’t win.

I continue to have great faith in this squad of players, but we must start to convert these promising performances into goals and wins. 

Of course this situation will be significally aided when the likes of Kightly, Ebanks-Blake and Iwelumo return to action. And if you haven’t heard the good news, Kightly is back in training next week, inline for some kind of involvement against Blackburn in a fortnight.

With SEB also likely to be available soon, that little bit of cutting edge in the final third could prove the difference at the business end of games.

And ultimately yesterday’s performance illustrated that Wolves really need to start taking care of business.

Allow me to start with a couple of groveling apologies.

Phil Brown - Coming to a tanning salon near you

I haven’t been able to update the blog as I would have liked this week. Turns out I actually have to do some work for my full-time job, who knew? Secondly, I couldn’t find the time to hunt down a Hull fan to write a preview, so you’re stuck with me I’m afraid.

But let’s take that as a positive. As much as I enjoy getting the views of the opposition, this is a Wolves Blog after all, so let’s have a preview from the right side of the fence for a change.

So Hull City come to Molineux this weekend for a match I’m certain we can win.

I’m equally convinced that Mick will deploy a 4-4-2 and bring Doyle into the starting XI. That leaves just one question in my mind: Who gets dropped?

Here’s my predicted line-up:

Hennessy

Stearman
Mancienne
Craddock
Elokobi

Jarvis
Henry
Milijas
Halford

Keogh
Doyle

This would mean Dave Edwards is the unlucky man that drops to the bench (with Ward also missing out through injury). Although that’s harsh after a couple of typically energetic performances, I’ve got to believe Mick will sacrifice his running for the quality that Milijas brings to the side.

Anyone got a different predicted XI? Surely nobody thinks he’ll stick with 4-5-1?

It will also be interesting to see who makes the bench. What a bonus ball it will be to have SEB at our disposal should we need to call on him, but given the fact he hasn’t kicked a ball since the West Ham match, I’d be surprised if he played a major part.

One player that still won’t be making an appearance is Michael Kightly. I’ve seen in the comments that many of you are asking the same question I’ve been thinking; What the hell is going on? I mean the vague references to his injury and likely comeback date are just ridiculous. We were told in pre-season he wouldn’t make the start and needed a few weeks to shake-off some knocks and get back to full-fitness. Since then, nothing. Knowing our luck with injuries, I immediately fear the worst. And although I don’t think his fitness dictates where we’ll finish this season, not having him available is a big blow to our prospects.

Anyway, let us gaze scornfully across to our opposition for the weekend.

As much as we all hate Phil ‘My God He’s So…’ Brown, you might have to concede that he’s done a pretty good job with Hull City (even with that ridiculous Bluetooth headset). Getting them promoted was an incredible achievement, and much like Burnley this season, they were immediately written off. OK, they couldn’t buy a win towards the end of last season but the bottom line is, they stayed up (cue Big Phil on karaoke – cringe).

Their initial lack of summer recruitment gave me hope they’d be in serious trouble, but they’ve since brought in a couple of useful players. Hunt from Reading is a constant nuisance and has already weighed in with a few goals, Olofinjana we know all about (what’s the bet he plays like Patrick Vieira on Saturday) and most importantly, two unknown strikers.

If like me you watched the highlights from their victory over Bolton last week, you must have been impressed by Ghilas and particularly Altidore. Although one match is never enough to make a truly accurate assessment, those two players certainly posed a significant threat. I just hope our back four can continue to perform well and keep them quiet.

I fancy Hull to struggle again this season and be operating around the same region of the table as ourselves. For me, that means this home fixture falls into the category of a ‘must-win’. That isn’t to say we’ll be relegated should we not pick up the maximum, but we need home victories against the likes of Hull if we’re going to survive.

Can we do it? Of course we can. We need our attacking players to perform, but I have confidence from recent matches that the likes of Jarvis, Milijas, Keogh and Doyle can come up with the goods and bag us the points.

Prediction: 3-1 to Wolves. Doyle to score first.