Wolves 3 Spurs 3

March 6, 2011 By

I think they call this type of game ‘a great one for the neutrals’.

And although I thoroughly enjoyed this action packed, topsy-turvy, end-to-end Super Sunday, I am in no way a neutral.

Remember me?

So predictably, I’m somewhat peeved that Alan Hutton wasn’t sent off for deliberately hauling down Nenad Milijas just prior to half time. And I’m incensed that the same player got away with an obvious handball in the second half that should have resulted in a second penalty. And I’m furious that Richard Stearman’s goal was chalked off despite the fact that he appeared to head the ball over the line without making contact with the goalkeeper.

Just as well then that Steven Fletcher rescued a much-deserved point, to avoid what would have been the biggest injustice of the afternoon – Wolves finishing with nothing.

Still, that scenario seemed the most likely heading into the last ten minutes with Spurs 3-2 to the good and looking a decent bet to kill the game off on the break.

Roman Pavlyuchenko had put them in control, thundering home a superb effort from the edge of the box after Wolves twice gifted Tottenham possession minutes into the second half.

That was after an exhilarating first 45 that saw both sides squander the lead to see momentum swing agonisingly back and forth throughout.

First, Kevin Doyle nodded in the opener, connecting with a pinpoint cross from Nenad Milijas to put Wolves ahead. It was the least we deserved for a sustained spell of pressure.

Jermain Defoe then turned the game on it’s head with two strikes right out of the top drawer. They were his first goals in the Premiership this season, a statistic I had to double check to believe it was true. Still, with Wolves defenders backing off, he was twice given an open invitation to pick his spot and did so in style.

But then the flash point. Milijas ghosts in to get on the end of a wayward cross. Alan Hutton wrestles him to the ground. Penalty. Milijas was 8 yards out and in the middle of goal. Surely that constitutes a clear goalscoring opportunity? Surely it’s a red card? Yellow says the ref. What?!

Ridiculous.

It’s either not a foul and not a penalty or a foul, a penalty and a red card. There is no other logical decision.

Thankfully Kevin Doyle converted the spot-kick to draw us level, ensuring that justice was at least partially served.

But with 11-man Spurs regaining the lead immediately after the interval, you couldn’t help but feel we’d been on the receiving end of some untimely bad luck.

That feeling continued as Wolves went searching for the equaliser. First, Nenad Milijas saw his long range effort tipped onto the post by Gomes. The same player then blasted over after getting on the end of an inviting cross into the box.

Then Sylvain Ebanks-Blake, on for the ineffectual Stephen Ward, skewed miserably over from an excellent cutback from Jarvis. Not our day you sensed.

At the other end, Defoe was denied his hat-trick by the post and the imperious Gareth Bale shot wide after slaloming into a wonderful position to kill the game off.

Something had to give and fortunately for Wolves, that something was a looping last minute header from Steven Fletcher to drag the home side level.

Spoils shared.

A fair result.

Overall, I thought Wolves were excellent. Jarvis, Henry and Elokobi really stood out for me, but the likes of Milijas, Doyle and Hammill also contributed significantly.

The mind boggles at why Mick persists in using Ward to fill each and every gap in the side. I actually felt sorry for the bloke today, as he looked lost at sea in a position that quite obviously he had no clue about.

Thankfully, when the cavalry arrived in the form of Fletcher and SEB, we had the necessary firepower to turn the screw on a shaky Spurs rearguard. Perhaps one of those players should have started?

But on a day when many questions remain unanswered, it’s probably best to walk away happy that Wolves were able to extend their unbeaten run to 3 games.

It’s all still to play for.

Plenty for the neutrals to savour. Plenty for the rest of us to suffer.

Wolves Vs Spurs Preview

March 3, 2011 By

Wolves head into Sunday’s televised clash with Spurs looking for their 8th home win of the season.

And having already seen off Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd at Molineux, as well as routing Blackpool last weekend, confidence should be high against a Tottenham side with a hit and miss record on their travels.

Stearman's late gaffe made it 3-1 at WHL

With 6 wins, 3 draws and 5 defeats away from White Hart Lane, Harry Redknapp will know his side need to show greater consistency if they’re to challenge for a top four place and defeat against a side languishing in the bottom three would have to be seen as a major setback.

But with the distraction of a Champions League tie against AC Milan to contend with in midweek, perhaps this is a decent time to play the North Londoners. I wonder if Harry might even contemplate resting one or two of their brighter stars?

For Wolves, one player who will definitely be rested is Jamie O’Hara whose ineligible against his parent club. That’s a blow given impressive recent performances, but should see Nenad Milijas restored to the starting eleven. Not a bad replacement in my opinion.

Here’s the eleven I reckon we’ll see:

Hennessy

Zubar
Berra
Stearman
Elokobi

Foley
Henry
Milijas
Edwards
Jarvis

Doyle

I suspect Kevin Foley will keep Hammill out of the side, with Mick preferring extra defensive cover against a strong Spurs attack, but I’ll be pleasantly surprised if the tricky winger returns after injury.

I would also persevere with the 4-5-1, but bring Adam Hammill back into the side. I think we need to come out of the blocks quickly again and get at Spurs. They’re a great side coming forward but they’re suspect at the back, particularly with the injuries they have. To sit back and let them play would be a mistake so I hope we’re able to start on the front foot.

Prediction League

A whopping 15 people correctly predicted we’d beat Blackpool last weekend, but alas, nobody said 4-0, so everyone gets a point and nobody takes the glory.

I like to give a few individuals a mention every week though, so this time I’ll do something different and name those who didn’t predict the correct outcome. Unlucky Kowloon Wolf, Jed, Rob in Dubai, johnok, Rob and Putney Wolf, although I’m sure you were more than happy to receive nil-pwa and see Wolves pick up 3.

This weekend, I think I’ll go for a draw.

Spurs will have one eye on their Champions League tie, but even so, have good strength in depth and will no doubt cause us problems going forward. Wolves should push them hard though and I can us scoring a couple too.

2-2.

If you’re going to Molineux on Sunday, have a great time. It should be a pleasant occasion as both teams pay their respects to the late Dean Richards. Here’s to a good game, hopefully capped with another 3 points for the boys in old gold.

Up The Wolves!

Spurs 3 Wolves 1

September 18, 2010 By

So it’s one win from five, another late capitulation and yet more profligacy in possession that the footballing gods couldn’t ignore.

Never mind the shrill of yet more Cockneys in my radio speakers for the second successive Saturday, it was the dulcet tones of Robbie Dennison that was far more worrying.

“We have to keep possession better,” Robbie whispered to Bill Hatton.

Either my breath stinks, or I'm a hopeless trainer...

If he said it once he said it 40 times in the second half alone, so while the manner of defeat might seem cruel to many, it just felt utterly predictable to me.

Forty five minutes at home to Stoke aside, we’ve had the infuriating knack of giving the ball away with glaring frequency and with five minutes to go at White Hart Lane we were at our prolific worst.

Many can lament referee Mike Jones for getting in the way of David Jones in the build-up to Spurs’ second.

I don’t. I see it as karma for a second half of listening to an Ulsterman politely suggesting that we might want to start keeping the ball better.

Or a bit of rough justice for leaving the one player on the bench (yet again) in Guedioura, who actually can pick out a teammate at will. How bad must he be in training?

And then there is our ‘left back’ Ward who needlessly gave Spurs a way back into the game when stupidly hacking down Alan Hutton, allowing Van der Vaart the chance to equalise from the spot.

It can’t be a coincidence that every team continues to attack our left hand side against a failed £100,000 Eircom striker who simply can’t defend.

In spite of this latest disappointment, the feeling is that we do have a team in that 25-man squad that will do well for us well in many games to come.

But in a worrying repeat of last season’s early fixtures, Mick seems incapable of picking it, a point encapsulated when Ebanks Blake was ignored for Marcus Bent.

So it’s the same number of wins from the same number of games last season (I think), the same problem at left back that just won’t be addressed, and the same habit of giving the bloody ball away.

At least the utterly spurious ‘dirty Wolves’ stigma will be cast aside for a weekend and some meaningful analysis might actually begin.

Being labelled dirty is one thing. Being ridiculously careless in possession is another.

Tottenham Vs Wolves Preview

September 16, 2010 By

Last season’s sensational double over Spurs was perhaps Wolves’ greatest achievement of the campaign, not least because both of those crucial wins came at times when we desperately needed them.

Having triumphed the previous week against Bolton, victory at White Hart Lane gave the club their first ever back-to-back wins in the Premier League and the perfect springboard to push themselves away from the relegation zone heading into the new year.

Kevin Doyle scored the winner in last season's game

When the return fixture rolled around in February, Wolves were very much back in the brown stuff, following a run of poor results capped by a demoralising last gasp defeat to Blues. But the team really dug-in, scored a quite-brilliant goal and shut up shop to grab another priceless three points.

Happy days.

Thankfully, things aren’t quite so precarious for Wolves right now. A five-point return represents a solid enough start to the season and had it not been for a few moments of madness in the dying seconds of last weekend’s game, things would have been even rosier.

But this is unquestionably our toughest match so far, on paper at least. Tottenham have great quality throughout their squad and boast a formidable home-record, despite that shock defeat to Wigan. They’ll be keen to rectify that with a handsome win on Saturday.

Harry’s boys were of course in action in the Champions League on Tuesday, so it’s up to Mick and Co to make sure we capitalise on any potential hangover from their midweek exertions. They’ll also be without big names such as Defoe, Dawson and potentially Luka Modric. However, it’s worth noting that even with these players sidelined, the likes of Niko Kranjcar, Robbie Keane, William Gallas and Wilson Palacios could still only make the bench for their game against Werder Bremen, which demonstrates their strength in depth.

As for Wolves, Christophe Berra will sit this one out following his late sending-off at Fulham, with Richard Stearman favourite to deputise. Unless Mick decides to revert to a 4-5-1, I reckon that will be the only change from the side that started at Craven Cottage. So, that’s a team of:

Hahnemann

Foley
Craddock
Stearman
Ward

van Damme
Henry
Mancienne
Jarvis

Doyle
SEB

There are options available of course. Mancienne could slot in alongside Craddock at the back, with Jones returning to the midfield. Alternatively, one of the forwards could drop-out if we switch to the more defensive-minded 4-5-1 system. It’s a difficult one to call this week.

Prediction League

Three doom-merchants got the result spot on last weekend against Fulham, correctly forecasting a 2-1 defeat. So well done to Aikiwoves, BAZZA (Selly Oak) and Mark Lawrenson (yes, Lawro) for picking up the maximum 3 points on offer.

New kid on the blog still leads the overall table with 7 points.

Don’t forget, if you want to join in with the Prediction League, simply leave your prediction for each game in the comment section of the official preview (such as this one).

This the first weekend I’m going to predict defeat for Wolves. I fancy us to score but shifting our settled back-four around will leave us more vulnerable at the back. 3-1 to Spurs.

If you’re making the trip down to the capital, have a great time and roar the lads on. I hope lightning will strike twice for you.

Up The Wolves.

Double: Wolves 1 Spurs 0

February 11, 2010 By

Breathe it in boys.

Three points, fifteenth in the table and a league double over Spurs to boot. And perhaps best of all, we’ve got a lovely ten day holiday now to savor every moment.

Speaking of things to savor, what about that wonderful goal? I was stuck on the motorway last night so didn’t catch Match of the Day, but they surely must have been purring over that incisive passing move, capped brilliantly by Jonah’s precision finish.

David Jones steers home the only goal of the game

He had another impressive game and seems to thrive more than anyone operating in this five man midfield. With Mancienne dropped, Karl Henry too slotted back into a more familiar defensive role and was unsurprisingly much-improved as a consequence.

The third cog in the wheel wasn’t too shabby either. Take a bow Adlène Guedioura. An all action performance from a player that looks tailor-made for Premiership football. Big, strong, quick, good feet and as happy to try his luck from distance as he is to crunch into a tackle. That ‘come on then, let’s have some’ type of character is something Wolves have been lacking since Alex Rae departed, so I’m delighted with what looks like a very astute signing early doors.

With Wolves actually moving the ball forward from midfield for a change, it allowed Jarvis to get into positions where he could really do some damage, so it was little surprise he had one of his most effective games for a long time. Kaboul is certainly no mug, but our tricky winger managed to tie him knots a few times, firing in one low shot that Gomes did well to turn round the post and of course sending in the cross for Jones to open the scoring. More of the same please Matty.

There’s little point in even talking about Doyle. You know what you get from this guy in every single match and if there’s a forward that does a better job of occupying two center-halves, I’d like to see it. And is it just me or does he never miscontrol the football? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Wolves player with such a great touch. Has anyone?

Big credit also goes to our back four, all of whom had difficult opposition to contend with in a strong Spurs attack. Bentley gave Ward a torrid time in the early exchanges but fortunately never picked anyone out with his final ball. On the other flank, they offered even more threat, with Kranjcar coming inside and leaving space for Gareth Bale to bomb into. And bomb he did, passed Zubar and Foley all night, but again, his final ball was either poor or blocked out.

Craddock and Berra enjoyed one of their better games, staying tight on Defoe and ensuring he didn’t get a sniff all night. Gudjohnsen was largely ineffective, a few decent touches aside, but Crouch offered a more obvious threat when he entered the fray. The beanpole was always going to win a few flick-ons but Wolves did a great job of clearing out the second balls. And when the crosses were coming in deep towards the end, Hahnemann showed great strength to start plucking balls out of the sky.

Our keeper must also get a special mention for his first-half heroics to deny Kranjcar when clean through, following a devastating Spurs move. The American is fast achieving cult-hero status and that bald, experienced head is proving vital, particularly when we’re under the cosh.

Victory at White Hart Lane earlier in the season made supporters believe we had enough to stay in this division, but this second win over Spurs perhaps holds even greater significance, simply because of it’s timing. Hope was beginning to fade, not for the first time this season, but just when Wolves needed to produce, they came up with the goods.

And isn’t that just so typical of Mick McCarthy’s side?

The Highlights

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