Sunderland Vs Wolves Preview

May 12, 2011 By

As satisfying as it was to comprehensively beat the Baggies at Molineux last Sunday, we all know it could prove to be nothing more than the mother of all false dawns.

With two games still to play, victory in the Black Country Derby will count for sweet diddlysquat if we fail to get the results we need against Sunderland and Blackburn.

I personally believe 4 points will definitely get the job done and 3 might just get us over the line. Anything less and I think we’re toast.

As it stands

Despite our destiny now being firmly in our own hands, we’ll also be looking at results from elsewhere.

 

Should Blackpool fail to beat Bolton at home this weekend, it’s a big ask for them to go and get a result at Old Trafford on the last day, even if United are winding down by then. It’s do or die for the Seasiders on Saturday, but I suspect they’ll get something. Anything other than a Blackpool win would be huge for Wolves.

West Ham and Wigan have the mother of all six pointers to contest on Sunday. The Hammers need a win to have any chance at all of surviving, where as a win for Wigan would put them in a strong position heading into their final game at Stoke. By the time this one kicks off, we’ll know exactly what constitutes a good result for Wolves. Should we win at Sunderland, West Ham won’t be able to catch us and victory for them at the DW would also put us out of Wigan’s reach. However, should we lose at the Stadium of Light, a draw would probably be the most favourable outcome, relegating West Ham and leaving us ahead of Roberto Martinez’s side.

Blackburn and Birmingham can’t be discounted just yet either. Rovers host Man Utd, where anything other than defeat would be a bonus ahead of their trip to Molineux. Blues are at home to Fulham and they’ll want to win that one to guarantee safety. Otherwise, they’ll likely be heading to White Hart Lane on the final day needing a result, which is far from ideal.

Wolves battled to a 3-2 home win over Sunderland

Of course, Wolves can make all of the above academic by winning their final two games and that has to be the aim.

Sunderland, as we know, are ravaged by injuries, particularly up front. Having sold Darren Bent to Villa in January, they’ve subsequently seen Fraizer Campbell, Danny Wellbeck and Asamoah Gyan all sidelined indefinitely.

Added to that key players such as Gordon, Turner, Cattermole and Bramble are also sitting out the season, which has left Steve Bruce seriously short of options as the campaign draws to a close.

Credit to them though, they’ve pulled together and achieved some wonderful results in recent weeks to ensure their own Premier League safety. Last weekend’s victory at the Reebok Stadium was a stark reminder to Wolves, as if they needed it, that they’re in for a tough game, regardless of Sunderland’s injury meltdown.

However, you can’t help but think that this is a wonderful opportunity to bag a monumentally important away win, especially off the back of last Sunday’s heroics. I can’t see Mick picking anything other than the same eleven, which is:

Hennessy

Foley
Craddock
Mancienne
Elokobi

Guedioura
Henry
O’Hara
Hunt

Ward
Fletcher

I can’t possibly question that selection either. The bench should be strong too, with the likes of Jarvis, Milijas, SEB and maybe even Kevin Doyle all available to throw on.

Prediction League

Despite being called “deluded” and “s*** for brains” by Albion fans in last week’s preview, I correctly predicted a 3-1 win for Wolves….so there. Exeter Wolf and Jon Sidwell (who also said Fletcher would score twice – bravo) got it bang on the money too. Each of us pick up 3 points.

A whole raft of people plumped for a Wolves win and because after all it was a Black Country Derby, I’ll name you all. Take a bow Jed, Wolverine, Mark Davies, New York Wolf, These Are The Days, Super Kev Doyle, Stourbridge Wolf, Clive from Houston, Clemens, Philly Pete, Johnok, Yoda, Cheerio Mick, Rob in Dubai, Tipsy McStagger, t‘OM, Bazza and last but not least, Lawro.

Phew!

I reckon it’ll be a draw this weekend. Given the season we’ve had, I just can’t envisage going into the final game knowing we’re all but safe. It’s seems like destiny for it to go right to the wire, although I sincerely hope it doesn’t.

2-2.

If you’re making the long trip up north, have a great time, get right behind the lads and give them the support they deserve after last Sunday.

Up The Wolves.

* Just a quick note to say thank you for all the kind emails I had last week in support of both the blog and me personally. I took a bit of a pounding from Albion fans in the preview and removed a stack of comments. I don’t like doing that, but they were snide, pointless remarks that added nothing to the conversation. I made this blog so Wolves supporters would have a place to chat without the constant backdrop of annoying wind-up merchants and I fully intend to keep it that way.

Wolves 3 West Bromwich Albion 1

May 8, 2011 By

“Bloody Ward.”

An all too familiar cry of anguish went up as I spat out the team news at precisely 11.32am, crammed inside a Costa Coffee surrounded by stressed-out gold shirts (because all the pubs in town were astonishingly slammed shut).

By the time I arrived at the ground, I couldn’t determine whether I was shaking because of the caffeine rapidly flooding into my bloodstream or because Matt Jarvis had been dropped. I eventually reasoned it was the latter, but also had something to do with the fact that Milijas was once again on the sidelines and Hammill wasn’t even in the squad.

It just seemed mental.

Need a hero? Take your pick.

But as some scientist-bloke shrewdly pointed out, there’s a thin line between insanity and genius; a point which has been repeatedly accentuated this season by ‘Mad Mick’ and his tactical epiphanies.

There’s a similar divide between love and hate too, which I myself have flittered between in recent weeks, pondering the plight of our manager. But today, however begrudgingly you want to admit it, he got it bang on the money.

For starters, he brought Stephen Hunt back into the side, a player built-to-measure for a Black Country Derby. When I said in the preview I expected Wolves to explode out of the blocks like a pack of rabid animals, I didn’t think Hunt would take it quite so literally.

But he did you know; buzzing around the pitch like a man possessed, snapping at ankles and rascally getting into as much trouble as he possibly could.

He was also the chief architect of Albion’s downfall, delivering both crosses that led to Wolves establishing a decisive foothold midway through the first half.

The Baggies marking was non-existent, but that should take nothing away from Steven Fletcher and Adlene Guedioura for twice putting themselves in there to benefit from the others vital knockdowns.

It was the least Wolves deserved having muscled into the ascendancy early on and generally shown a greater appetite for the scrap.

For the visitors, it was the kind of performance they would have secretly feared as their side struggled to get started.

Sure they threatened at times, Jerome Thomas constantly asked questions from the left and Peter Odemwingie posed a threat whenever he was given ample time and space to run at our back four.

But it was Wolves who came closest to scoring again just prior to the interval, when Fletcher somehow contrived to head wide from another incisive set piece. It was an astonishing miss really, but the Scot soon made up for it minutes after the restart.

You always got the impression Meite was capable of a big mistake and so it proved when he clumsily let the ball slip under his foot, allowing Fletch to sprint in and coolly slot home Wolves’ third.

Dreamland.

Sadly though, it didn’t last.

A sluggish outstretched leg from Guedioura saw Albion correctly awarded a spot-kick and Odemwingie did the rest, firing confidently passed the outstretched arm of Hennessy.

View from my seat (pre-match)

Suddenly it was game on, panic stations and the distinct possibility of the worst kind of misery.

Thomas ran clear and crashed a shot off the bar, Hennessy smartly clawed out Cox’s flick and Tchoyi nodded a fabulous opening over the bar when left inexplicably all alone in the box.

Phew.

But as the seconds ticked agonisingly by and the Albion blitz eventually subsided and the sun started to shine again, suddenly everything in the world seemed good.

And then through the steamy haze, a mirage. A vision. It must surely have been a dream?

Stephen Ward plucks the ball out of the vivid blue sky, audaciously lifting it over the defender in one beautiful, seamless movement before shrugging off the attentions of another stripey shirt and taking aim at the hopelessly exposed Albion goal. It couldn’t be, could it?

Then, reality, as he slammed his fierce shot narrowly wide having done all the hard work in crafting the space.

What a shame. That was his moment and he deserved that goal.

But still, he should hold his head up high for a performance that took all the bile, disgust and criticism (some deserved, some not quite so) he’s received all season and became a hero, at least for this one glorious day. Why wouldn’t you smile for him?

And why wouldn’t you smile for Mick McCarthy?

If you’re prepared to rip him to shreds, as I myself have in recent weeks for a string of logic-defying brainwaves, you have to be willing to tip your cap to him on a day like today.

Sure, we might ultimately come up short in our quest for survival, but today was a stark reminder that you write off this team and this manager at your peril.

Oh, and my man of the match?

Bloody Ward of course.

Wolves Vs West Bromwich Albion Preview

May 5, 2011 By

Anyone else sick of moaning? I know I am.

Things are bad, that’s for sure and I’ve been carping on as much as anyone after the last two depressing outings, but it’s time to dust ourselves down and go again.

Another one Sunday will do nicely Jamie

The season isn’t over. Far from it in fact.

Whatever your thoughts are on the campaign to date, there can still be a satisfactory ending and if we’re occupying 17th place or higher at 6pm on the 22nd of May, I know I’ll be wearing a broad grin.

We’re a single point from safety and there are three winnable games left to play, starting with a Molineux dust-up against our bitterest rivals.

Sure, I admit this fixture isn’t particularly enticing if you’re wearing old gold. After all, Albion have nothing to lose and we’ve pretty much arrived at the door of the last chance saloon.

But what better way to drag us all out of this wretched lull than with an emphatic win over Sandwell’s finest?

Surrender is not an option in this one, the players know that, and whatever eleven Mick puts out, I’m fully expecting them to explode out of the blocks like a pack of ravenous animals.

This is the team that I would send into battle:

Hennessy

Foley
Stearman
Craddock
Elokobi

Hammill
Henry
Milijas
O’Hara
Jarvis

Fletcher

Sadly, I’m fairly certain this will not be the eleven that kick-off. I reckon we’ll probably see the same side that started against Blues, which means 442 with Ward alongside Fletch up front.

If that prediction proves accurate, I’ll be gutted to see the likes of Milijas and Hammill watching on from the side, as I truly believe they have the ability to save our season in a heartbeat.

You might have observed that I’ve said nothing of the opposition in this preview. The reason is simple, I just don’t care.

I don’t care that they’re already safe, or that their away form is respectable or that they’re missing a few players for this one.

The fact of the matter is, it’s up to Wolves to go out there and win this match. They owe it to the fans for the garbage we’ve had to muster of late.

Prediction League

Myself, along with Mark Davies, Bazza and Philly Pete all got 3 points last time out for correctly predicting a one all draw at Blues. Dobson12 and Martin also get a point for guessing the right outcome but not the score.

This week, I’m backing the lads to get the result.

We won’t be mathematically relegated if we lose, but it’s a kick in the man area we’d do well to recover from.

I think everyone, including Mick and the players know that. We’re overdue some joy against these clowns and I reckon we might finally get some this Sunday.

3-1 Wolves.

If you’re at Molineux for this one, lets make the place the bounce. The s*** are coming down for a party, so let’s give them a rude awakening.

Up The Wolves.

Birmingham City 1 Wolves 1

May 2, 2011 By

Two dropped or one gained?

Opinion is divided it seems.

Mick McCarthy, whilst conceding it was a missed opportunity, suggested in his post match analysis that this could well be the point that keeps us in the Premier League.

Sadly though, I’m inclined to disagree.

If we do, somehow, survive by a single point it doesn’t alter the fact that this should have been a victory.

Off you go son

We were gifted the opening goal by two sloppy misjudgements from Ben Foster and without doubt, benefitted from the rub of the green when it came to the big decisions from the man in black.

Yet somehow, despite being given a one goal headstart and playing for an hour against ten men, we couldn’t get the job done.

That’s a worrying sign.

Sloppy errors, such as Mancienne’s clownish back header are the unmistakable signature of a team plummeting irreversibly towards disaster.

The same can be said of our clumsy second half tactics as we sluggishly attempted to regain the lead.

McCarthy openly admitted we didn’t have anyone capable of cracking the safe with a ‘moment of magic’.

He’s right about that.

But then again, he had Milijas picking splinters out of his backside for the whole 90 minutes.

Forgive me if I’m wrong, but if you’re trying to breakthrough against a team camped out inside their penalty area, isn’t it a good idea to have your best passer on the pitch? Someone with that bit of craft and vision, who has also proved himself capable of shooting accurately from distance?

I would go as far as to say Milijas was the ideal player to turn this game in our favour. A similar statement could also be made about Guedioura, another unused sub.

Yet there they sat, watching on as Sam Vokes, a player whose hardly kicked a ball all season, was sent on to stand alongside Roger Johnson as he effortlessly gobbled up every aimless ball into the box.

A lot of fans seem to be accusing our manager of not signing any decent players. I disagree, I think he’s signed many excellent ones. The problem is, he chooses not to play them.

A midfield trio of O’Hara, Guedioura and Milijas would have won us that game yesterday. If that means taking off the skipper, so be it.

If you’re chasing a game or going in search of a goal, Henry becomes completely redundant. At half time, those two players should have been on in place of Henry and Ward.

Bringing Hammill on at least showed some intent on our manager’s part, but I just feel we didn’t do everything we possibly could to turn the tide in our favour. That’s disappointing and frustrating in equal measures.

We might still only be a single point from safety, but this Black Country stalemate was yet another damning sign that the trapdoor is slowly creaking open.

It seems like a matter of time before we drop through it.

We just can’t afford missed opportunities.

Birmingham City Vs Wolves Preview

April 28, 2011 By

I’m still having flashbacks to the atrocities of Tuesday night, which I had the misfortune of witnessing first hand, so you’ll forgive me if I sound slightly more downtrodden than usual.

Wolves are aiming for a league double over Blues

It’s sad to contemplate but despite there being four games to go and all very much still to play for mathematically, the meek surrender under the Britannia floodlights just felt like the end of the road for Wolves in the Premier League.

As horrific as the negative team selection and lack of tactics were, the most disappointing aspect of the performance, for me at least, was the absence of any fight or pride in the shirt. Stoke wanted it from the get-go, Wolves didn’t and given our plight, that’s entirely unacceptable.

So we now kick-off back-to-back derbies on the verge of total collapse, with both Blues and Albion licking their lips at the prospect of administering the knockout blow. It’s the stuff nightmares are made of.

To talk about form, statistics and tactical insights seems trivial. I have little to no idea what side Mick McCarthy will field at St. Andrew’s, but whoever starts, we need to find a massive performance from somewhere.

Here is the team I would pick.

Hennessy

Foley
Stearman
Craddock
Mancienne

Hammill
Henry
O’Hara
Milijas
Jarvis

Fletcher

If Fletch isn’t fit enough to start, hopefully SEB will return, as I’m not overly enamoured by the thought of Ward or Vokes leading the line.

Hunt and Guedioura might also come into the reckoning as they at least showed some pluck in their short cameos at Stoke.

Prediction League

Myself, Jed, Bagsy, Rob in Dubai and Stourbridge Wolf all correctly predicted defeat at Stoke but only Bazza got the correct score too. We all pick up a single point and he collects the full three. Well done Bazza.

I’m saying a draw for this one. Tuesday was so bad that I’ve got to believe we’ll see an improvement.

Blues home form is respectable and they’ll be tough to breakdown but I think we’re due some luck on their ground.

1-1.

If you’re making the short trip down the M6 on Sunday have a great time and get behind the lads. The support at Stoke, despite the catastrophe on the pitch, was exceptional.

Up The Wolves.

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