The relationship between Mick McCarthy and us nuggets is rather like any marriage or partnership that matters.

The hedonistic highs, the miserable lows and all of those infectious idiosyncrasies in between are underpinned by patience, understanding and a refusal to take either party for granted.

Now might be the time to call Relate then, because judging by the scenes at Molineux, those values are eroding fast.

Jonas does his best impression of a Wolves fan

Defeat to Newcastle – however unlucky – is of huge concern when it is our fourth on the bounce and third at home.

It was more the whole experience though, that felt like a full blown tear-up between ‘husband and wife’ that was more worrying.

Incessant bickering and sniping from the stands whenever Karl Henry dared touch the ball, to the moment he got substituted to the loudest cheer of the day.

A reaction to make Mick scream with anger.

A team selection to make fans do likewise.

There is definitely no love lost between either party right now, with both at their most irritable worst.

Mick can point to the hapless incompetence of referee Mark Halsey for depriving us of a blatant penalty and his dishonest linesman flagging a clear goal at the death.

But fans will argue that we get the luck we deserve when Adlene Guedioura and Adam Hammill are ignored once again and Milijas dropped altogether.

The same fans will feel then completely vindicated when both players changed the game after coming onto the pitch.

That McCarthy works with these players on a daily basis makes such decisions all the more baffling.

Times change. Results have done likewise, while superior performances in the Carling Cup surely demanded recognition at the very least.

Insufferable levels of irritation then follow, manifesting itself in a reaction to Mick’s on-field lieutenant that made me cringe in pain.

Fickle? Maybe.

Or a cry for help from a set of supporters who feel completely unloved and ignored right now.

Any season ticket holder present for our Premier League ‘adventure’ under Mick will have seen 14 home wins out of a possible 42 games.

The three year monotony of a leaky defence, inability to play 4-4-2 and ever widening win-loss ratio is excruciating.

As is the clear understanding that we are in for our third successive relegation battle in three years.

Three minutes separated us and NPower League football and how Steve Morgan puffed his cheeks.

Yet only Roger Johnson was purchased in the most arrogant, misguided interpretation of the term ‘progress’ ever imaginable.

So we are destined to struggle and destined to lose against a team like Newcastle with a referee so biased in their favour.

In rugby terms, the first hour was akin to watching England with unforced errors a plenty along with predictable slow-ball that was easily dealt with.

True, their keeper made three inspired saves in chances created in isolation, rather than continued phases of play.

Then Guedioura and Hammill came on and changed then game like we have all been saying they would.

Fletcher again showed Doyle up as our only direct attacking option and deserved his goal from a Hammill cross.

The little Scouser then showed Jarvis up with another brilliant delivery that should have led to an equaliser, but for a linesman’s flag.

Common sense amongst most fans says the team that finished this game starts the next one at Albion, or at least features Hammill and Guedioura in some form.

Judging on past history, Mick McCarthy’s interpretation will differ.

And so the feud continues…

As encouraging as seven points from the first three games was, zero points from the last three was galling.

OK, so two defeats you might have expected sandwiched that miserable trouncing from QPR, but regardless, the feel-good factor around an increasingly vacant Molineux has well and truly gone down the toilet.

Last season was fairly incident free

That glorious sunny afternoon we dismantled Fulham already seems a lifetime ago.

But nothing lifts the doom and gloom like a solid home win and it’s about time Newcastle tasted defeat.

In case you don’t know, Alan Pardew’s side have yet to lose this season, winning three and drawing three of their six Premier League games thus far.

That run includes two draws on the road against QPR and Villa, as well as a narrow one-nil victory over Sunderland.

Summer signings like Obertan, Ba and Cabaye seem to have bedded in quickly, replacing the likes of Enrique, Nolan and our old friend Joey Barton with the minimum of fuss.

They’ve got other highly rated players too, such as the tough-tackling Tiote and the returning Ben Arfa, who is a definite match winner on his day.

The Team

For Wolves, Mick has to go back to the drawing board after a trio of defeats.

The obvious solution is to revert back to the same starting eleven that began the campaign so impressively and that’s fully what I expect him to do.

Richard Stearman is the only injury doubt that could scupper that plan, but I reckon he’ll probably play.

Hennessey, Stearman, Berra, Johnson, Ward, Hunt, Henry, O'Hara, Jarvis, Fletcher, Doyle

Should Stears not play, it seems young Matt Doherty could be line for a start. If that happens, I’ll be interested to see how he gets on after an impressive 45 minute cameo at Anfield last weekend. Good luck to him.

Guedioura, Hammill, Milijas and Edwards are all decent options from the bench, but with SEB still out and no news on the McFadden deal, we remain short of cover up front. Lets hope we don’t need it.

Prediction League

A giant 29 people got the end result correct last weekend, but only 3 got the scoreline spot-on too.

Well done Chippy Wolf, John I and Exeter Wolf.

I fancy it this weekend.

Newcastle have to lose sometime and I reckon we might do it.

They destroyed us at St. James’s park last season with a physical, direct approach, so we need a big performance from the skipper, which I think we’ll get.

3-1 Wolves.

If you’re going to Molineux on Saturday (or watching it over a pint – wink, wink) have a great time and get behind the lads.

Up The Wolves.

If Wolves needed bringing back down to earth after a sensational victory at Villa Park, the loss of Kevin Doyle certainly did the trick.

To be without our heroic lone frontman, potentially for the rest of the season, might well have a cataclysmic effect on our survival ambitions.

'Dirty Wolves' took a bite out of Newcastle at Molineux

But as we head to St. James’ Park looking to extend the unbeaten run to five games, Mick McCarthy will be confident, as he always is, that the squad can cope.

Newcastle themselves are still adjusting to life without a top striker, following the sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool back in January and you sense they’re a team very much limping to the finish line rather than sprinting home.

Of even more encouragement is their poor record on their own ground, with only four wins all season against six draws and five defeats. Hardly a fortress, even though they’ve plundered 32 goals at home, which is only bettered by Manchester United.

With all this considered surely there’s never been a better opportunity to return from the Tyne with a positive result?

The Wolves XI should pick itself, save the one enforced change up front, which I strongly believe will signal a return for Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who scored a superb goal in the feisty game between the two sides back in August. That means a team of:

Hennessy

Foley
Berra
Stearman
Elokobi

Hammill
Henry
Milijas
O’Hara
Jarvis

SEB

That’s definitely the team I’d pick too, although I’ll certainly have no objections if Steven Fletcher got the nod up front. Both he and SEB deserve the chance to shine in Doyle’s absence.

I do hope that Mick doesn’t adjust the shape as there’s a lovely balance to the midfield at present and I’d hate to see that compromised.

Prediction League

12 of you wise gentlemen correctly predicted victory at Villa Park last time out but only one person got the score too, so well done to Casper. Three points are yours my friend.

I’m jumping on the positivity bandwagon this weekend too and plumping for another barnstorming away win.

This is a good time to be playing Newcastle and I think we’ll get the job done.

Let the good times roll. 3-1 Wolves.

If you’re heading up to the land of Toon this weekend, have a great time and get right behind the lads. If it’s anything like the first fixture at Molineux earlier in the season, it should be interesting to say the very least.

Up The Wolves.

SEB has started the season impressively

Crunching tackles, bad decisions and well taken goals are the three things that will live long in the memory about this bruising afternoon at Molineux.

From the moment Karl Henry piled into Joey Barton in front of an approving South Bank, fairly I might add, the tone of the match was set and neither side shied away from this all or nothing, blood and thunder contest.

Kevin Doyle, Jelle van Damme, Matt Jarvis, David Jones, Adlene Guedioura, Ronald Zubar and a handful of Magpies all joined Henry in the book, some more deserving of their punishment than others.

This was a horrid match to referee, with both sides up for the scrap, but the man in the middle did himself few favours with a string of decisions that incensed the crowd and did little to appease either set of players.

The worst call, his failure to award Wolves a second half penalty was not only grossly incompetent but completely illogical. As Matt Jarvis skipped by James Perch and tumbled over the defender’s clumsy tackle, the outcome seemed obvious.

But having not given the penalty, not booked Jarvis for diving and not awarded a corner, what exactly was the referee’s conclusion? The answer to that, we will probably never know.

Of course at that point, Wolves were already a goal to the good thanks to an exquisite piece of skill and a finish to match from the resurgent Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

Plucking a looping cross out of the sky and swivelling to fire the ball home in two sublime movements was our number 9 at his ruthless best and capped a performance full of endeavour.

Mick obviously appreciated his efforts too, choosing to withdraw Kevin Doyle when the time came to introduce Steven Fletcher. That was massive statement to make but one you’re hard pressed to argue with given Blake’s early season form.

Newcastle of course have a striker bang in form too and Andy Carroll’s measured header to drag the Geordies level was just reward for a towering performance in which he won practically every header.

It’s not often you’ll see Craddock and Berra bullied in the air, but that’s exactly what the young forward achieved and it surely wont’t be long until Fabio recognises the impact this powerhouse could have on our national side.

So ultimately, the spoils were shared and whilst both teams will feel they could have won it, both can count themselves lucky not to have come away from this bruising encounter with nothing.

And the fact both sides finished with eleven men on the pitch is, quite frankly, a miracle.