How fitting then that a month on it was the very same player building bridges.

At 1-1 and with Wolves lacking any sort of impetus, a quick shimmy, a burst of acceleration and a pinpoint cutback from the former skipper opened the gates for a much needed and long overdue victory.

Henry to the fore

It was just reward for a typically committed performance and a stark reminder that the so-called crab can offer more in forward motion than he lets on.

Jamie O’Hara is of course a player we know has the ability to do damage and it was great to see him make it 3 goals in 4 games with the well taken opener.

His eye for goal is all the more important in a 451 and nobody can argue he’s a vastly more effective player further up the pitch.

Guedioura by contrast was embarrassingly ineffective and it was no real surprise to see him hauled off at the interval.

Sadly we saw all the Algerian’s worst qualities in this 45 minute cameo as he frequently surrendered possession and watched as the game passed him by.

Don’t expect to see his name in the starting eleven anytime soon.

Dave Edwards however will almost certainly remain in the team as long as he can remain fit.

Whether it’s out wide or in the middle, you always get a 7/10 from this guy and on days like today when he gets the goal his positive runs forward deserve, its impossible to quibble over his inclusion.

Ward is another steady eddy these days. He was given the runaround by Victor Moses at times but did well to limit the influence of such a dangerous opponent.

And whatever struggles he suffered defensively he more than made up for with his coolly converted third goal, finishing a move he himself started with a neat back heel to Jarvis.

I wasn’t as impressed with Richard Stearman. Sure, he’s tough in the tackle and strong in the air, but his lack of mobility worries me.

When suitable options are once again available, I’d use them and leave Stearman to battle for a place in the centre of defence where he truly belongs.

Speaking of which, Johnson and Berra both turned in more assured performances as the game went on.

We had to endure the same painful vulnerabilities in the first half as we saw against QPR, Newcastle and Swansea, only surviving thanks to the profligacy of Hugo Rodellega.

But like the rest of the team, the central defensive duo stepped up in the second half and were far more commanding.

Berra nearly scored too, only to see Al Habsi spectacularly turn away his towering header. Will he ever register in a competitive game for Wolves?

The wait goes on.

Nice to see Wayne Hennessey turn in a composed performance too. He was desperately unlucky to see his fine penalty save bounce out so kindly for Watson to poke in the rebound.

Wolves themselves probably should have had a penalty in the first half, but Stephen Hunt opted to stay on his feet after rounding the Wigan keeper.

With no obvious advantage, why was the spot kick not given? Only when refs started giving those will players stop throwing themselves to the ground when they don’t have to.

Despite his clumsy challenge on Boyce for Wigan’s penalty, I thought Hunt had a decent game.

That said, without Jarvis in the team we do look very one-paced and were significantly more threatening when he was introduced. If it’s a choice between the two in the next match I know where my vote would be going.

Doyle too will have a scrap for the shirt if we continue to play 451 when Fletch is fully fit but he did his chances no harm at all today.

I thought he was excellent and it was just a shame he didn’t really get the chances his all-round play deserved.

We now head into a two weak break, sitting pretty in 13th, one place above our nearest and dearest.

After 6 weeks of bickering, that’s a pretty good position to be in.

I think we can all agree on that.

Wigan are rock bottom and heading for Molineux on a run of 7 consecutive Premier League defeats.

Wigan are hoping for a third consecutive Molineux win

Of course Wolves themselves have lost 6 out of the last 7 and it took a semi-miraculous fightback to gain that single point against Swansea.

Hardly clash of the titans is it?

Still, it’s a massive game that neither team can afford to lose.

Indeed the Latics would be cut adrift at the bottom with an 8th straight defeat, whereas Wolves could conceivably replace Wigan at the foot of the table should yet another home match end in grave disappointment.

Naturally, their away form is appalling having lost 4 of their 5 matches (the other result being a nil nil at Swansea) and scoring just a solitary goal against 9 conceded.

But if they are to win on their travels, they’ll fancy their chances of doing it on a ground where they’ve won on their last two visits.

The Team

With Fletch ruled out, I can only see us going 451. Will there be any changes to the team that lost at Man City though? I reckon there might be one, with Jarvis coming in for Hunt, which would mean an XI of:

Hennessey, Stearman, Berra, Johnson, Ward, Henry, Guedioura, O'Hara, Edwards, Jarvis, Doyle

I’d be happy enough with that team selection.

Hunty didn’t have a particularly good game at the Etihad last weekend, despite his coolly taken penalty and in a game we need to win I think the pace of Jarvis would be useful.

Prediction League

Suffice to say, most people picked up at least a point last weekend following the defeat against Money City.

29 correctly predicted doom and of those 6 got the 3-1 scoreline too.

Well done to Morph, Super Kev Doyle, Yoda, Rob in Dubai, Chad and Sheffield Wolf – you all get a whopping 3 points.

It’s a classic heart versus head decision this weekend.

Heart says Wolves win and better times around the corner. Head says draw because neither side can contemplate losing.

I’ll go with the former.

3-1 to us.

If you’re going to Molineux on Sunday have a great time and get behind the lads.

Up The Wolves.

Out of all the teams in this season’s Premier League I know little, if anything, about the Latics, which is a bit worrying when so much is riding on Sunday’s game.

So in an attempt to lift our spirits and inject some much needed positivity around the place, I have done some extensive scouting on their team.

Wigan at home has been a real banana skin

And in a buoyant message of cheer for us all I can exclusively reveal that:

We will win on Sunday!!

They will play one up front and whoever that one is, he will struggle to score goals according to their handful of fans.

They will clog the midfield with last Saturday’s man-of-the-match David Jones still figuring, and still turning like a pint of Cravendale.

Meanwhile their defence features the only Premier League centre half (Caldwell) to boast the remarkable footballing award that fellow pros still look at with mingled awe and consternation…The ‘I’m slower than Berra accolade.’

In addition, two of their outstanding players who masterminded their 2-1 win over us last season won’t be playing this time – Cleverley and N’Zogbia.

To further back up my positive prediction, the following points system can now be unveiled to remove any lingering doubt – even from the most miserable of cynics.

Wolves

Hennessey (out of 10) 8

Having craftily decided to get rid of his two clangers for the season in a game we were never going to win anyway, the UK’s hottest young prospect can focus on what he’s best at…Being the best keeper outside the top 4 *

*As confirmed by Mick this week.

Stearman 7

Don’t let your hearts rule your heads. True, your heart is lodged in your mouth when he has time to think about things, but your head remembers those first three games of the season, which we all know are the most important of the season.

Johnson 7

Well, we all wanted him in the summer and we got him. I know he’s been a bit statuesque of late, but we’re not wrong are we? For that alone he’s worth a seven. He’s such a good talker before games that come Friday evening, he’ll be on an eight, rising to a nine come the city final edition on Saturday night.

Berra 7

...but in a good way

Deceptively slow, which is an advantage in itself. No striker believes they can win a 30 – 70 or 40 – 60 ball against them even if they can, so they don’t ever bother. And because he still hasn’t scored in 150 odd games, he’s vital on Sunday due to the Law of Sod.

Ward 8

Player of the season so far. Plus, what other player in the history of the Premier League has ever played left back and striker in the space of two weeks?

Guedioura 7

Yes, he might lose the ball more than Tiger Woods on a lads night out in Carnoustie, but he set-up a goal at the Etihad. Not many other midfielders will boast that this season, so he gets an immediate seven.

Henry 7

Any player who can break into the provisional England squad is worth a seven. Just look at Jay Bothroyd, who Neil Warnock swears by.

O’Hara 7

Any player who can boast a girlfriend like Danielle Lloyd is also worth a seven. Look at Teddy Sheringham, Jermaine Defoe and…

…Marcus Bent. I think he is getting back to something like now and predict he’s about to make a big impact.

Hunt 7

100 per cent penalty record after his Man City success was added to his beauty against Doncaster in the FA Cup last season. That’s worth a Len Goodman alone.

Doyle 7

Yes he hasn’t looked the same as last season but think of this: Two goals this season, which is only one less than Anelka and Torres put together, who cost £65 million combined. So he’s worth £21.6m by my maths.

Jarvis 7

It’s not that his delivery is bad, but more the fact it is unpredictable. If he doesn’t know where he is putting it, the defender won’t have a clue. Plus, he is an England international which immediately earns at least seven.

TOTAL: 79

Wigan

Al Habsi 4

He gets four because that’s the number of people across the UK to have him in their Fantasy Football teams (Including Thomas, judging by the table). Also the number of clean sheets he has kept in two years.

Alcaraz 4

So poor that noboby on Wikipedia knows how many games he ever played for his first professional club, how many goals or what they were even called. So for that Mr Alcaraz, you get a 4.

Caldwell 3

The only Scottish defender that makes Berra look jet heeled. Caldwell gets a three to represent the number of gears he has in the locker. And of those three, he is exclusively stuck in third with the rev counter ripping up through his chest.

Benchmark

Crusat 6

He is Spanish and because of this fact I can only judge him on previous Spaniards I have seen at Molineux, namely Fernando Gomez and Jesus Sanjuan. He gets a six though, as he has loads of pace and I do like pace.

Watson 4

No player to have played for the Albion is allowed more than a four, unless their name is Steve Bull, Robbie Dennison or Andy Thompson (pen). I’m sure he snubbed us once as well. Or was that the other ugly ginger haired one?

Moses 6

Has lost a lot of weight since appearing in Big Brother a few years back and looks all the better for it. I am not going to put the jinx on this player as I rate him highly. He’s also got pace to burn along with Crusat, so I am getting slightly concerned now.

Boyce 5

Boycey used to play for Luton and really shouldn’t be playing in the Premier League. Why? Because he was born in Aylesbury and plays for Barbados.

Jones 5

Based on the fact he is one of our rejects, he can’t possibly get higher than a five. If he could, we’d still have him. And anyway, our players will know him better than he knows himself so there’s no way we’ll give him a second on the ball on his left foot. Clipboard has all this written down so fear not.

Rodallega 6

Only averages a goal every four games, so he’s no better than Doyle. Forget the fact he is yet to score this season. Roger Johnson has just revealed that he’s up for the game on Sunday.

Diame 6

He reckons Real Madrid and Barcelona were interested once upon a time. And to think Stuart Baggs got fired on The Apprentice for lying on his CV. I’m all for bigging up a player, but this smacks of scare-mongering. For that he gets six, as I am a bit scared.

Figueroa 5

True, he has scored long range belters worthy of goal of the season awards, but Hennessey never gets beaten by long range does he? Therefore, his threat is immediately negated. Plus, he will never have seen a player like Stephen Hunt anywhere in Honduras before. I hope not for Hunty’s skin complexion.

TOTAL: 54

So there you have it folks. We are 25 points better than them already. This will be reflected in the Premier League table come May, don’t worry. With all this in mind, we can’t possibly fail to win on Sunday!

A topsy-turvy, bonkers Premier League season that threatened to go right to the wire has done precisely that. Well, at one end of the table at least.

And with the permutations seemingly infinite, here’s my take on each side’s survival prospects.

Wigan

Roberto Martinez’s team will kick-off Sunday at the bottom of the pile, but arguably have one of the more favourable fixtures away at Stoke.

A draw could feasibly keep them up should Blackpool and Birmingham both lose, which isn’t unlikely, so they’ll fancy their chances.

My gut instinct tells me they’ll get a result and survive by the skin of their teeth.

Blackpool

No team has characterised this whacky season more so than Ian Holloway’s Blackpool and they’ll be the side that the overwhelming majority of neutrals are rooting for.

Despite a massive victory over Bolton, they remain south of the dotted line with Wigan breathing down their necks. Surely they can’t win at Old Trafford? Only Albion have come away with anything other than a defeat and even a weakened Man Utd side should be too much for the Seasiders.

I think a draw might be enough to keep them up, but I suspect they won’t get it.

Birmingham

Out of nowhere, Birmingham are suddenly knee-deep in the brown stuff. Losing at home to Fulham was disastrous, particularly with all four of the other sides picking up points.

They now find themselves needing a huge result at White Hart Lane or a huge favour from both Stoke and Man Utd.

I believe they’ll lose against Spurs, which means they’ll be relying heavily on others.

Blackburn

Blackburn start the day in the strongest position after picking up valuable draws against West Ham and, most recently, Man Utd. Every point is precious and those two results were huge for Steve Kean’s side.

A draw will almost certainly get the job done against Wolves, because only wins for Wigan, Blackpool and Birmingham would see them relegated in that scenario, which is highly unlikely.

They’ve shown some great resolve in recent weeks and I think they’ll get the point they need at Molineux.

Wolves

Buried and seemingly gone for good less than a fortnight ago, back-to-back wins have put Wolves in a strong position. We could only dream about having 40 points on the board prior to kick-off against West Brom but that’s exactly what Mick and the boys have achieved.

The only disappointment of course, is that despite our epic comeback the old gold are far from safe.

We might have done enough already but a big performance in front of our home crowd will get us over the line without the need for help from elsewhere.

Sadly, I fear we’re in for a long anxious afternoon because I don’t think we’ll beat Blackburn. I think it’ll end in a draw, which means our attentions will turn to White Hart Lane, the Britannia Stadium and Old Trafford.

Ultimately though, I think a draw will be enough for us. I would even go as far as to say we could lose and as long as it’s by no more than one goal, we’ll retain our Premier League status.

Final standings

I did the BBC Premier League Predictor and entered the following scores:

Man Utd 3 Blackpool 1
Stoke 1 Wigan 1
Tottenham 3 Birmingham 1
Wolves 2 Blackburn 2

If those predictions came to fruition, it would mean the final table looked like this:

So Blackpool and Birmingham are my two from five.

Who are yours?

Unfortunately, ‘embarrassing’ quite aptly sums it all, which is concerning and disappointing – it’s rare to leave a Wolves game feeling betrayed by the endeavours of our team.

Bar a glimmer of light from a fit again Jarvis, when eventually called upon, and SEB’s efforts to galvanise the men tasked to supply him, most other performances from the home team sent the Christmas spirit plummeting to Bah Humbug by 20 minutes.

Mick made these lot look sane

Lining up as we did for Birmingham, we’d not got started before Wigan got their first on ten minutes, a well finished twisting effort from Rodallega inside the 6 yard box after we failed to deal with a corner.

Slick passing from the Columbian on 20 then saw our pedestrian defence sliced open after Stearman was guilty of being lured in to a challenge, leaving a gap for the spritely Cleverley to take advantage of and finish well through Hennessey’s legs.

Both goals were well taken in fairness and Wigan defended resolutely when we finally started to pepper their area with more searching crosses. In Ben Watson, they had a niggling player who broke down play throughout, keeping our playmaker Milijas from being effective, as the Serbian’s radar went astray until Jarvis’ arrival and offered him an outlet.

Wolves had to endure being booed off at half-time before the winger appeared later in the second though, and he tormented the Wigan defence from both right and left flanks.

But we were guilty of being second to the ball all over the pitch, misplacing simple passes, and being pulled out of position. Across the back four in particular, there looked a frailty; a lack unity in the middle, and nervousness from both fullbacks when under any sort of pressure.

Fletcher, on with twenty to go, prodded home with five minutes left to make for a tasty finale, but the bluntness of our resolve at that point would have made it a travesty for Wigan if we had scored.

Perhaps the stinging cold has exacerbated this negative view of the game. Or that losing on Boxing Day always feels like Father Christmas has failed you. But there were at least five bewildering instances that led to me using the word ‘embarassing’ at the start;

1) The downright lack of impetus given the significance of the result on the league table from the very first minute

2) The rather pathetic sight of Stephen Ward despondently trudging back to left back, after record signing Stephen Fletcher comes on to replace George Elokobi. It just looks weird.

3) Said signing declining to rise for an unchallenged header in the opposition area, opting instead to wait for the ball to bounce and then attempt an overhear kick that goes wide, by a number of yards. Cue SEB kicking the post in frustration

4) After our equaliser, and attempting to get forward in the final throes of the game to rescue a point, Ronald Zubar managing to slice the ball from one side of the pitch in his own third perpendicularly to the other – a knock that rather summed up a clumsy game for the Frenchman

5) The Molineux faithful being outsung by fourteen Wigan fans wearing banana outfits (in fairness, we’d not a lot to shout about)

Perhaps there were stonewall penalties to take issue with, and perhaps the injury table is still too busy for us to complain too much; but for me, this performance saw us look like we deserve to be in the position we’re in.

Roll on the return of Karl Henry and Jody Craddock. Didn’t think we’d be needing to say that this season.

And if you believe in the idea of a ‘six-pointer’ this is definitely one of those. Victory would see Wolves leapfrog their opponents and possibly escape the relegation zone. By contrast, defeat would be a huge blow and potentially see us slip to the foot of the table.

Hopefully this match will be remember for the football

But let’s be positive. Our home form has been pretty good this season, with four wins already in the bag. And when you consider Wolves only managed five in the whole of the last campaign, Molineux is definitely a more formidable place to visit these days.

Wigan have just one away win to their name so far, but that was a morale-boosting 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane, showing they have what it takes to pull off a big result on their travels.

In N’Zogbia and Rodallega, they’ve got two very capable matchwinners in their ranks and keeping those players quiet will be key for Wolves. N’Zogbia killed us at Molineux last season and we can’t afford to stand off him in the manner we did in that game. Fingers crossed we’ve learned our lesson.

According to Mick, David Jones, Christophe Berra and Matt Jarvis are all back in contention. Craddock, Mouyokolo, Henry, Mancienne and Doyle are longer term absentees, with none expected back in training until at least January.

It’s difficult to predict the team, but my guess is:

Hennessy

Zubar
Berra
Stearman
Elokobi

Hunt
Edwards
Foley
Milijas
Ward

SEB

So, the same eleven that saw off Blues a few weeks back, which would mean Jones and Jarvis sitting on the bench. It’s impossible to second-guess Mick though and it wouldn’t surprise me if he threw both of those players back in. Fletcher will also be waiting in the wings for an opportunity.

Prediction League

With the Albion game being called off, there was no Prediction League action last week. Those cheeky enough to suggest a pools coupon result is enough to claim points should hang their heads in shame.

Just to be clear, all predictions from the West Brom preview are void and we’ll do another preview when the rearranged game comes along.

This weekend, I’m going for a Wolves win. I think if we can replicate the work rate and endeavour that went into the win against Birmingham, we should have enough to come out on top.

Both defences are dodgy and both sides have players capable of finding the net, so I’ll go for a 3-1 Wolves win.

If you’re going to Molineux on Boxing Day, have a great time and get behind the lads.

Up The Wolves.

And of course…

Merry Christmas to one and all!

I think we can all be in agreement that it was a horrid, mistimed challenge that was rightly punished with a red card. In my opinion, he had the time to pull his leg away but instead went straight through Gomez and at that speed it’s fortunate the midfielder wasn’t seriously injured.

Henry - a terrible tackle

If you read the blog regularly,  you’ll know I’ve been Henry’s biggest supporter throughout this ridiculous media-circus.

In my opinion he was criticised unfairly by Fulham supporters and if he did bully Joey Barton, he certainly got as much as he gave. But this is a totally different kettle of fish I’m afraid and he just has to do much, much better.

Our normally reliable captain let himself down and more importantly, he let Wolves down. Nobody can defend that tackle.

He’ll serve his three match ban and then hopefully, we can all move on. In some ways it might actually be a blessing for Wolves that Henry’s taken out of the firing line for a few games, as he’s certainly made himself a marked man with officials.

And regardless of whether or not you agree or disagree with Mick’s tactics, that early sending off shaped the pattern of the game and was unquestionably the decisive factor. Wigan like to get it down and pass and with a man advantage they had all the time in the world to stroke the ball around under very little pressure.

Still, when the goal eventually came, I can’t help but feel we were a little hard done by. N’Zogbia was barely touched on the edge of the box, yet down he went and the ref duly obliged. From there, it was a cracking strike from Gomez and I don’t blame Hahnemann at all for getting beaten. It was after all, right in the top corner.

The second was a weak one to giveaway and certainly Berra will be disappointed not to have dealt with it better. It was a sad way to finish the match for the Scot who I thought had a solid enough game in the back four. Craddock, Mancienne, Foley and Doyle also performed admirably in what ultimately proved a lost cause.

But with Henry now suspended, Guedioura crocked and a run of horrendous fixtures looming on the horizon, the time has now come for Mick to make changes and put more faith in the multimillion pounds-worth of talent he’s got picking splinters out of their backsides.

I’m talking about the likes of Milijas, Mouyokolo, van Damme and if fit Zubar and Hunt. Jones and Ebanks-Blake must also be pushing for a return having featured prominently in our stronger performances thus far. That’s potentially seven players who could come in and make a serious impact.

Who should get the chop? Well, Edwards and Ward for a kick-off. For all their huff and puff, there’s a definite shortage of quality and if we have to sacrifice some of that effort to get the requisite amount of footballing-ability in the side, then so be it.

This is the Premier League after all.

There’s two weeks until the West Ham match and to call that game a must-win is an understatement of cataclysmic proportions.

Get it right Mick or things really are going to turn nasty.

With only six league games gone and so many points to play for, it simply can’t be measured as such.

Another win at the DW would be brilliant

But every so often, maybe three or four times a season, a fixture gathers so much momentum in the minds of us fans that it assumes the tag of ‘must win’ or at worst, ‘daren’t lose.’

Our game at Wigan feels like one of those occasions, where it will either end up being a cathartic experience for the good, or a miserable memory to shape a season.

There just seems to be a collective angst simmering beneath WV1 that could do with shifting before it turns to anger.

Some of the pressure goes with the territory of a poor run of form. It just feels that a larger part is the fact that this is one of those ‘must win games.’

Maybe it’s because some fans have played down our last three losses to a pair of Europa League sides and a Champions League outfit, that the expectation cranks up for this more ‘winnable’ one.

Add our 2009 victory at Wigan to the mix and the game assumes even more importance. A loss would be far more symbolic than the other ones put together.

Sprinkle in Albion’s fine run of form, starring players they bought in the summer and choose to play, and the recipe is potentially quite disastrous, should we lose.

Let’s hope not.

Whenever one of these games come up – where we worry beforehand that little bit more – Mick and his men deliver.

Just last season, we rose to the occasion in style at Upton Park, when defeat seemed unthinkable at the time, and the game assumed gargantuan proportions.

Our wins against Spurs were also massive in the context of our league position, not to mention horrid defeat to Blues so soon before.

Going back further, a few fixtures in the promotion winning season felt just like this one.

Most notably, the brilliant back to back wins at Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday when every ounce of my being dreaded the games after our sudden loss of form.

And who could forget Derby County away, when at 2-1 down, we could all be forgiven for a 2002 flashback.

For good measure, how about Leicester City at the Walkers Stadium? 1-0 down in a game we had to win to make the play-offs in 1997, against a side I’d never seen us beat in their home town ever.

Whenever a ‘must win’ arises (in our minds or otherwise), Mick finds the winning formula from somewhere, and makes you feel slightly dirty and unfaithful for every questioning him in the first place.

This is why I’m backing the boys to win on Saturday, by hook or by crook.

Prediction League

Thomas: Ben handled the preview as I’ve been away for a few days, so thought I’d tag the Prediction League update on the end.

Nobody correctly guessed a 2-1 to Villa last weekend, but Dazza in Brisbane, Ben, Yoda, Ezz and Hallam all correctly predicted we’d lose so well done to them for picking up a point each.

You’ll all be glad to know that I remain on top of the overall table.

As always, 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 weekend, I’m going for a 3-1 Wolves win. Call it blind faith if you will.

If you’re heading up to the DW, have a great time and roar the lads on.

Up The Wolves.

Was it BBC 5 Live’s assertion before the game that we have a total of £6 million to spend during the window?

James McCarthy opens the scoring for Wigan

Or maybe the fact that another referee gave us nothing, apart from a body check on David Jones during Wigan’s first goal?

And then there is the one about our once golden booted number 9, who is a poor shadow of Jackie Gallagher at present, let alone his once marauding self.

What about Richard Stearman continuing as right back, and Kevin Foley masquerading as a right midfielder, who surely wouldn’t have made Stearman’s petulant penalty error if he was in his proper position to begin with?

But above all this, I worry most about our keeper being man-of-the-match against a side we beat with such ease at the DW Stadium back in August.

I worry that in 4 months of football, one team has made tangible, visual progress since then, while the other looks more confused than at any other stage this season.

Whatever the short comings of referee Howard Webb, Wigan were too quick, too powerful and too good for us.

They were quick to win the physical battle, and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck accordingly.

Rodellega threatened with every touch, crashed a 20 yarder against the post, and caused Craddock and co far more headaches than they endured the first time the two teams met.

In truth, Wigan looked like a typical Mick McCarthy team, but with a bit more flair.

They hassled and harried us all over the pitch, and broke with more pace and vision than we were capable of.

But back to Sylvan. With all that said, the game was at 0-0 when he missed a chance that he would have buried last season, in keeping with his wretched run of form. A meek, miserable, apologetic toe poke wide which summed up his God awful 90 minutes.

Half time at 0-0 still wouldn’t have been disastrous, until Stearman had a brain wave and decided to pull back James McCarthy while the ball sailed out for a goal kick.

Even Hanemann’s heroics weren’t enough to turn the game, as Mick bizarrely took off our one outlet with pace in Jarvis at half time, and replaced him with Dave Jones.

Surely SEB for Jones would have been a more savvy option, as we battled away with 10 men?

So with Stephen Ward’s selfless cover act off the pitch, N’Zogbia ripped him to shreds at will, with every attack going down our left hand side. Again.

From one of these forays, James McCarthy stuck the boot into the club he once spurned, while Howard Webb stuck the shoulder into Jones’ face, thus stopping the only Wolves player who would have cleared the danger. Nice one slap head.

Another worry from this moment was Wigan having loads more time on the ball and loads more space with 10 men, as we failed to get into them in a game that we had to win.

So we lumped the ball to Iwelumo for the remainder of the game and looked more clueless than an Australian cricket umpire with a decision to make.

It came as no surprise when N’Zogbia, easily the best player on the pitch, did what no player in a gold shirt could physically manage – run a distance with the ball at feet, at pace, to score.

Another worry was the hapless, feeble defensive effort from Mancienne in the build-up, who looked as fragile and weak as ever.

And that was that.

To complete my state of bewilderment at full time, I contemplated the big impact Ronald Zubar was making in the team before Christmas.

I wondered why Mancienne was back at centre half when he’s not bloody strong enough.

I concluded that Stephen Ward was still our best left back, despite every team attacking the vast empty spaces he always creates.

And I considered what £6 million would really buy us, if we don’t stump up the cash to pay a bigger wage.

Anyone else worried?

Wigan though, are an unpredictable force, capable of pulling off some quite unbelievable results like their home triumph over Chelsea and that opening-day away win at Villa Park. But they find themselves below Wolves in the table on goal difference, thanks to some stuttering form of late and a handful of shattering defeats; most notably that 9-1 humbling they suffered at the hands of Spurs.

Wolves came out on top at the DW Stadium

Of course we too have tasted victory over the Latics this season, securing our first ever Premiership away win, thanks to that early Andy Keogh header at the DW Stadium. At the time, I think the victory came as a pleasant surprise to Wolves supporters with many (including myself) forecasting doom beforehand. But there will be none of that this weekend, with the overwhelming majority of those in old gold, expecting the home side to get the job done against Roberto Martinez’s team.

I think the general consensus about Wigan is that if you can get on top of them, they’re susceptible to collapsing like a house of cards, hence why their goal difference is even worse than ours at present. They’ve got some good players though and the likes of N’Zogbia (don’t call him Insomnia), Gomez and Rodallega are likely to ask big questions of us, if we give them time and space to operate. Rodallega in particular is one dangerous customer and without wanting to sound disrespectful to Wigan, seems destined for bigger things. He’s the obvious danger and the man to watch on Saturday, capable of changing a game with a moment of brilliance.

From a Wolves perspective, I’m hoping to see a good performance from what I believe is our strongest eleven at this moment in time, which is:

Hahnemann

Stearman
Berra
Craddock
Ward

Foley
Henry
Milijas
Jarvis

Doyle
SEB

That team should be good enough to push hard for a positive result, so I hope Mick doesn’t entertain the idea of making wholesale changes. I can’t really see why he would, but perhaps the likes of Zubar, Surman and Mancienne might come into his thinking.

I’m feeling pretty confident ahead of this match I must say, which is usually when disaster tends to strike. But with another solid display, I believe we’ll get the win in this one and hopefully score a couple of goals.

I’ll stick my neck out for a 3-1 home win.

If you’re going to the match, have a great time and roar the lads on to victory.

Up The Wolves.