Yet Mick McCarthy stubbornly persists with the notion that ‘if we play as well as that in every game, we’ll be fine’.

I’m inclined to disagree.

Scholes stayed cool to slot home the winner

We can definitely perform admirably for ninety minutes in every match, create the better chances, fail to take any of them, concede silly goals at the other end and still go down.

In fact, I’d say it’s an all too familiar tale of woe for many teams that have previously sampled the bitter taste of relegation.

Don’t get me wrong, I was impressed with almost everything about this gutsy display from Wolves. Every single player showed a firm commitment to literally turn the table on it’s head and send the visitors back up north with their tales planted firmly between their legs.

Yet at the crucial moments, our plucky team once again failed at the most crucial component of any football match. Scoring a goal.

On at least three occasions, I was just waiting to see the net bulge from what looked more like foregone conclusions than good chances.

Sam Vokes in particular should be having nightmares about that guilt-edged miss in the dying seconds, with Edwin van der Sar’s goal so completely at his mercy. Any shot on target would surely have resulted in a priceless equaliser, so it quite literally felt like a dagger to the heart seeing the ball disappear into the night sky.

It was a shame because our endeavours merited a point at the very least.

Kevin Doyle was one player who once again didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. In the first half particularly, he ran United ragged and looked as good as anything they had to offer, which is saying something given the multi-million pounds worth of talent in red shirts. It was just a shame he couldn’t cap a fine performance with a goal, dragging his best chance wide after cleverly working the space for himself.

Our midfield three were quite simply superb.

Henry harried and hassled throughout and was much more proactive with his approach in possession, using the ball far better.

David Jones was much the same and excellent in getting forward to support Doyle.

But the star of the show for me was Guedioura. I was disappointed with his offering at Bolton, but this was a timely return to form. He powered into tackles, emerging with the ball almost everytime, passed intelligently and surged forward when the opportunity presented himself. I just wonder how far he might have gone, had Vidic not chopped him down following one particularly impressive display of dribbling.

At the back, Berra was much improved, but Ward continued to struggle at times against the impressive Valencia. In saying that, he was always going to have his work cut out, so it wasn’t surpising that the tricky winger jinked his way passed our make-do left-back on a handful of occasions.

Craddock performed almost flawlessly but his one error in judgment cost us dearly; Paul Scholes showing ruthless composure to sidestep the desperate tackles and slide home the winner. How we long for someone to show such ice-cool predatory instincts.

Zubar was easily our best defender on the night. Cancelling out Nani completely, rising highest to head numerous balls away from danger and even getting forward when he could, most notably in the build-up to that horror miss from Vokes. He looked gutted at full-time and it’s hardly surprising after such a swashbuckling display went unrewarded.

Like so many others, he deserved better.

But it’s now onwards and upwards to Turf Moor for easily the biggest game of the season to date, where we quite simply have to take the chances we create.

Winning would be season-defining.

Losing is unthinkable.

Wes Brown’s slip. Kenny Miller’s goal.

Michael Oakes’s heroics.

Ronaldo’s crap haircut.

What a day.

How unfortunate that many aren’t using this match as an excuse to relive that glorious occasion, preferring instead to focus on the infamous night at Old Trafford back in December.

Wolves have already lost twice to United this season

Much like Michael Jackon’s death, you’ll always remember exactly where you were when you heard the news that Mick McCarthy had made ten changes to the Wolves side.

I doubt any of us will forget that match in a hurry and even if you wanted to, the media persist with ramming it down our throats.

Like me, you were probably a little vexed at the time but had no idea about the furor this would cause and the subsequent monotonous debate that would rage on, even to this very day. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of hearing about it and could throttle the Premier League for dragging it up again with that ridiculous non-fine.

This time around, I’ll settle for the strongest eleven Wolves can muster, giving their all to try and get a result, much like the class of 2003.

But realistically, what are our chances of a repeat performance?

Well, we’ve performed admirably at home recently, taking four deserved points off Spurs and Liverpool, as well as giving Chelsea a run for their money. We’ll need to play just as well, if not better to get anything from the Champions. That means keeping our shape defensively for the entire game and giving their best players no time on the ball.

Easier said than done.

It goes without saying we’ll need another superhuman display from Kevin Doyle, which is perhaps the only thing you’d bet your house on getting. I think there’s a vulnerability in the United defence that could be exposed, particularly with Ferdinand still out and Vidic struggling for form. Or maybe I’m just clutching at straws?

I think Mick will be tempted to make one or two changes to the side for this one, but I hope he thinks better of it and sticks with:

Hahnemann

Zubar
Berra
Craddock
Ward

Foley
Henry
Jones
Guedioura
Jarvis

Doyle

I have a strong suspicion that he might look to bring Mancienne back into the side. If this does happen, I hope it’s as a replacement for Berra in the center of defence, rather than a swap for someone like Jones or Guedioura in the midfield. I think both of those players bring something to the side, so I’d be disappointed to see either left out.

Looking at the possible United team, I’d expect Sir Alex to rest at least one or two ahead of their Champions League showdown against Milan next Wednesday (Rule E20 anyone?). There’s also a few murmurs that Rooney and Valencia, arguably United’s two best players recently, are both carrying niggles and might not be risked.

Whatever side we face, it’s going to be an uphill struggle, but surely our chances of getting a result are significantly increased if one of the world’s best footballers isn’t in the opposition’s side.

Either way, I’m predicting defeat.

2-0 United.

It would be lovely to head to Burnley next weekend, on the back of a great result against the Champions, but unfortunately I think we’re going to come up short in attack once more. I hope I’m wrong.

If you’re going to the match, have a great time, try to enjoy the occasion and get right behind the lads.

Up The Wolves.

* Ben took part in a Podcast for Man Utd fansite RedCafe.net, chatting with them about this weekend’s match, the fine from the Premier League and the general goings-on at Wolves. If you want to hear what our beloved blogger had to say, you can listen to the Podcast by clicking here. It’s nearly an hour long, so if you want to fast forward to Ben’s part, it’s not long after the 40 minute mark.

* While Ben was taking part in the Podcast, I too was chatting with the opposition on the Republik of Mancunia Blog. Scott, the editor of the blog, had some interesting questions, so it’s definitely worth checking out. Read the full interview by clicking here.

* Oh, one more thing (and this is nothing more than a shameless plug for a mate’s site), but just in case you’re on the lookout for Mothers Day presents, DotComGiftShop.com really do have some great ideas. Trust me when I tell you women love the stuff they sell on this site!

For 25 long minutes at Old Trafford it appeared that our, somewhat divisive, manager might be in the process of pulling off quite a coup. A leftfield, unexpected starting line-up, announced to a shock media shortly before kick-off had commentators tearing up their research notes – and possibly those of Sir Alex Ferguson and his team too. Could Mick McCarthy have outwitted the Uber Lord King of the Mind Games?

Matt Hill - One of Ten changes from Mick McCarthy

Don’t get me wrong. Within those 20-odd minutes with the scores still standing level, United never really had too much to worry about from a Wolves team with the whole 10 outfield players rotated from White Hart Line. But then United didn’t look particularly worried about anything in general, which was surprising considering the 0-1 defeat to Villa at the weekend.

Wolves lined up with Hahneman keeping his place, and a back four of Elokobi and Mancienne in the middle, Zubar on the right and Matty Hill on the left. They were protected in the centre of midfield by Castillo and Foley, with Surman at times slightly more advanced. Halford and Friend, recalled from loan at the weekend (his name wasn’t even on the programme squad list), operated the wings, with the Hoff upfront.

A curious tempo to the game ensued. Whilst United had changes in their side, a team featuring Vidic, Rooney, Berbatov and Scholes should really have mauled us. We were opened up a couple of times, with Hahneman being called on to competently save from Rooney at short range and balls in to the box not always cleanly dealt. We even managed to carve a couple of chances ourselves – a Halford long throw eventually fell to George Friend who fired over when he should have kept his head down – but there was little outlet for us to use to relieve what pressure we needed to soak.

Our best football was played in the middle by Foley, Surman and Castillo who neatly at times knocked the ball around at close quarters – Foley in particular caught the eye, enjoying the opportunity of a more central role. But without an industrious Dave Edwards, spirited front line or cultured left peg of Milijas, we were never really able to work our way up to the final third with conviction.

Up front, Maierhoffer lolled around, pointed a lot, shrugged and got involved in some daft muscle flexing with Vidic. I recognise he’s a target man and thrives of service – but there were plenty of balls put his way and he didn’t get on the end of them to bring other people in and kept too far away from the action. He’s certainly a character – but not one that fits with the Wolves ethos of teamwork and unrelenting hardwork at the moment.

A Zubar handball bought about a well taken Rooney penalty to break the deadlock, which arrived as a few United fans were growing a touch restless at their lacklustre gazillionairres and it was always going to be a big ask to come back after Vidic powerfully headed from a corner just before half time.

Iwelumo, Jarvis and Dave Jones were bought on in the second half but couldn’t make the required impact to create a good enough response. It was good to see Jones back, who bought with him some more varied, reaching passes that managed to find Jarvis later on in the game out on the left, but an ongoing lack of guile and strength from the winger prevented him from putting in any telling balls when he got to the touchline.

Pure, unadulterated yet mercurial class from Berbatov allowed substitute Valencia to score in the box after an hour as United strolled their way to the final whistle.

The real talking point here of course is McCarthy’s selection. What’s to be learned from it? Well, for me the positives were the two centre backs who played efficiently and as a unit. Mancienne in particular looked like he relished the Old Trafford floodlights, tackling and carrying the ball to try to spark something. I’ve already mentioned the middle three, but I thought Matt Hill worked hard too. Elokobi looked more focused and confident, though his distribution made for a couple of nervy moments.

All the players deserve credit though. It must have been a tough ask to play together for the first time like that, with the prospect of a potential thrashing given the gulf in class. The fans stuck with the team which was good too considering the controversial selection. Whilst the media has latched on to some of the “We want our money back” chants, being in the United end (my Dad and I sat amongst Scandinavians) it was tricky to hear if there was anger or irony in their voices.

So – bring on the debate. The question I’ve been asking myself is: Should we be happy to take three points from the last two games? I’ve been saying, emphatically, ‘yes’. But as the traffic jams grew longer and on the M6 heading back and news of Brum in sixth blasted out from 5Live, ‘four’ started to sound much better.

Highlights

McCarthy Defends Decision

The way I see it is, there’s three ways you can look at the timing of this fixture.

Valencia has been hit and miss at Old Trafford

1. Man Utd look vulnerable at the back with so many injuries, so it’s a decent time to play them. They’re confidence will also have taken a hit following the loss to Villa on Saturday and hopefully they’ll be feeling the pressure.

2. Man Utd will be smarting from the defeat to Villa and a backlash is likely.

3. There’s never a good time to play Man Utd.

Whichever view you subscribe to, one thing you can certainly say is that Wolves should be able to go there full of confidence and play freely. Those bonus points at White Hart Lane have put us nicely back on track, heading towards a big match against Burnley on Sunday, whereas United desperately need the win. Could that maybe play into our hands?

Even after Saturday’s heroics, I don’t expect Wolves to lay down and die. That performance is sure to have taken a lot out of the players, but we need to summon more of that same resilience if we’re to leave Manchester with anything on Tuesday night.

I don’t really need to say anything about our opponents. They’re a wonderful side, packed full of talented players that can change a game in a heartbeat. In saying that, the loss of Ronaldo and to a lesser extent Carlos Tevaz, has undoubtedly hit them hard and in my opinion, they haven’t replaced those two with like for like quality. Valencia is a good player but far from the finished article and question marks remains as to whether Michael Owen still has what it takes at the very highest level.

But even if United aren’t quite the same force they were last season, they’re still a top side who really should wipe the floor with us if they perform anywhere near their best.

We’ve had a taste of Old Trafford already this season with that narrow 1-0 defeat in the Carling Cup. How we failed to score in that match I’ll never know, given that we had at least three clear opportunities and played most of the game against 10 men. I don’t expect us to carve out as many chances tomorrow, but if we’re lucky enough to get even one, we’d better take it.

It’s a real shame that Mick can’t name the same starting eleven for the third match on the spin, due to that terrible injury to Dave Edwards. I’ve been critical of the Welsh midfielder at times this season, but his energy and enthusiasm are unrivaled, so he’ll certainly be missed. Hopefully it’s not as bad as first feared.

Anyway, here’s my predicted lineup:

Hahnemann

Stearman
Berra
Craddock
Ward

Foley
Henry
Milijas
Jarvis

Doyle
SEB

So that’s just the one change with Foley slotting in on the right side of midfield. I think Mick will want to pick a player he knows will work hard and fill the gap left by the workhorse Edwards and Foley is the obvious choice. Halford is probably still in his bad books after the tantrum he had when taken off against Blues and I don’t think he’s too keen on Surman.

Whatever our manager chooses to do though, I just hope he doesn’t tinker too much with the shape of the side. Our players are beginning to understand their roles and disrupting that would be a big mistake.

In terms of a prediction, I think it’s too big an ask for Wolves to get something from this match, following the exertions of Saturday. Confidence will be sky-high, but I believe we’ll be on the wrong end of the final score, probably something like 3-1.

I just hope that whatever the outcome, we remain confident and upbeat for Sunday’s six pointer against Burnley.

If you’re making the trip to Old Trafford, have a great time and roar the lads on. The support at Spurs on Saturday was again phenomenal by all accounts and more of the same is needed.

Up The Wolves.

You’ll never be given a better opportunity to go to Old Trafford and register a win, so Wolves must be kicking themselves this morning that they didn’t make their advantage pay.

Michael Kightly - Back in action

Of course you could argue that the sending off was the worst thing that could of happened to us. Before Michael Kightly was cynically hauled to the ground, we’d actually looked bright on the counter attack and capable of causing damage. When United went down to 10 men, suddenly the impetus was with us to take the game to them and we simply didn’t have enough in the final third to get the job done.

There were a few Wolves players that disappointed me; Milijas offered very little in his second half cameo and I was perplexed by how deep he was playing, particularly when we were chasing the game. The Hoff put the effort in, but there was very little quality.

Hahnemann was also very poor and lucky not to cost us goals when nearly robbed of possession twice. Anyone thinking he’s a challenger for Hennessy’s shirt should think again, on this performance at least.

The reason we lost though was a poor collective team performance that lacked any real spark or imagination. I was just waiting for someone in a gold shirt to take the game by the scruff of the neck and turn it our way. But it just never happened.

There was the odd positive. Kightly looked sharp, particularly in the first half and he must have played himself into contention for Sunday. Doyle did very well when he came on and looks every bit a £6.5 million player at the moment.

The return of Foley and Craddock is also good news. They both performed well and offer much needed defensive options to the squad. It will again be interesting to see if either of these players get the nod for Sunday. I personally expect the same back four that started the Fulham match.

But none of these little pluses disguise what ended up being a disappointing night for Wolves.

It’s funny really because had we gone there and been soundly beaten, we all would have dismissed the match as a training exercise. But because we were presented with this marvelous opportunity to throw the holders out in their own back yard, we’re left frustrated thinking what might of been.

Who’d be a Wolves fan hey?

Of course, the United side that will take to the field tonight will be much different to the one that pulled off that dramatic victory over their city rivals at the weekend. But however many changes Ferguson makes, don’t expect an easy ride.

Michael Owen - Back in business for United

Michael Owen will almost certainly start the match, as will players like Nani and Valencia, who have been in and out of the Red Devil’s side so far. With that kind of quality on the pitch, I expect Wolves to be under the cosh for much of the game.

There will undoubtedly be one or two stars sitting on the bench as well, ready to come on and change the game should Wolves have the audacity to make it a close contest or dare to cause an upset.

But enough about United, what can we expect from the boys in old gold?

Well, it’s already been confirmed this morning that Kightly, SEB and The Hoff will all start tonight giving us some good attacking options, even if two of those players are lacking sharpness. Alongside them, you’ll probably see players that didn’t figure against Fulham or those that haven’t really been given a chance in the league.

Here’s my predicted lineup:

Hahnemann

Foley
Zubar
Berra
Hill

Milijas
Jones
Kightly
Edwards

SEB
Hoff

Of course I’m not sure on a few of these players, but I think Mick will have to start one or two that figured on Sunday due to injuries. It’s a shame as I would have liked to have seen Surman play. But it’s a great chance for the likes of Milijas and Zubar to show what they can do and maybe force their way into contention.

The outcome of the game will probably come down to how strong a team Sir Alex fields. If it’s a particularly inexperienced side, I expect we’ll give them a good game and could possibly sneak the result. However, the addition of one or two more established names will make it a much different proposition.

With Mick stating openly that we’re going there to attack, I think this has the potential to be an entertaining contest.

Based on the fact I think we’ll face a much changed United team, I’m going for a 3-2 win with SEB to score the opener.

If you’re one of the people rich enough to afford the ludicrous £41 ticket price for tonight’s game, have a great time and roar the lads on.

Up The Wolves.