Wolves comfortably overcame Bohemian 3-0 in their opening pre-season friendly. I wasn’t there so I can’t really do a report, but there were one or two talking points to come out of the game, which are certainly worth discussing.

First off, the team selection.

Van Damme was given his debut in the back four alongside the first choice trio of Zubar, Craddock and Berra and by all accounts had a good game. I’m going to guess he wasn’t given a particularly thorough examination in his first outing but still nice to hear he came through impressively.

It was a shame to hear Ronald Zubar suffered an ankle injury, so fingers crossed that’s not serious. He was superb in the second half of last season and even with Kevin Foley to come in as a replacement, I’d still consider him a serious loss should he be out of action for a lengthy period of time. Interestingly though, it was Stearman who came on to replace Zubar, so perhaps that’s his best route back towards a first team recall.

Henry, Jones and Jarvis all went about their business in midfield, but intriguingly Mick went with three strikers from the start, selecting Doyle, Keogh and Fletcher. Whether one of those players dropped into the right side of midfield I’m not sure but it certainly shows that Keogh is still very much a part of the manager’s plans. He’s been impressive in training according to Mick, so his inclusion is no-doubt reward for his endeavours.

It was great to see Fletcher get on the score sheet with a fierce strike to make it 2-0, adding to Craddock’s trademark header from a corner. Hopefully our joint-record signing can bag a few more and hit the ground running at the start of the season, something SEB and Doyle never really managed last time out.

Mujangi Bia came off the bench and added the third goal in style, linking up with SEB and finishing confidently to wrap up the victory. Wouldn’t it be a bonus if the winger could get his act together and prove himself to the Molineux faithful? I think very little is expected from him so perhaps that could count in his favour, with less pressure on his shoulders to perform.

In his post-match interview, Mick was pleased with what he’d seen, particularly from his two new signings. However, he was quick to remind everyone that van Damme had a job on his hands to cement the left back position, with Ward back and ‘chomping at the bit’ to play, as well as big George also lurking in the background.

So all in all, plenty to discuss. What do we all think?

Just found the highlights from YouTube. Enjoy.

A lush new pitch, a heart full of optimism and a good old waft of Deep Heat can mean only one thing.

 It’s pre-season time again! The players might hate it, but I positively love it, and can’t wait to get through the turnstiles again to see our beloved team once more.

 It’s time to skip along to the ground, sniff that pure, unfiltered Wolverhampton air and breath a big sigh of relief that those mundane Saturday afternoons are over.

We could finish 12^th.’ ‘Better still, we could break into the top 10.’ ‘Sod it, we could make the Champions League!’ Anything is possible in my mind as my perennial sense of optimism goes haywire. Realism can bugger off for now.

And isn’t it great to cast a beady eye around the place to see if anything has changed since we’ve been away? It always takes me a good 10 minutes to acclimatize again before I can even think about a Balti pie.

Like the sight and stature of the new signings, the shade of the new kit from afar, a new advertisement hoarding or two, and the size of George Elokobi.

In the time since we beat Sunderland, I’ve made a few improvements to the house, hung up a pair of quite glorious hanging baskets in the garden, nurtured a fuchsia plant through a near death experience with my wife and become a member of the Matalan club. (They even sent me a birthday card the other day!)

I’d have swapped the lot for a glimpse of Doyle’s tinted barnet, or Matty Jarvis’ strapped ankles.

Quite frankly, this time of the year is more exciting than any other, and I bloody can’t wait to see the lads again. It feels like an eternity since Guedioura bagged the winner back in May doesn’t it?

And as exhilarating as this time might be, it is vitally important too, and will surely play a huge part in shaping our season – and our expectations.

Just look at the evidence. In 2003 after winning the play-offs we got spanked by Morecambe 6-1 just weeks before our Premier League bow. We also lost 2-1 at Yeovil shortly after, and were revoltingly underprepared for our shot at the big time. Didn’t Blackburn tonk us 5-1 on the opening day, followed by a Charlton Athletic masterclass at Molineux?

By contrast in 2008, we had a wonderful pre-season campaign (Wrexham away aside), culminating in a 4-2 drubbing of Blackburn in our final curtain call at home. Kightly and Jarvis flying and a sense that we couldn’t be more prepared for the big kick-off. We duly went about 8 games without losing, including a seven match winning streak which ultimately ensured our promotion.

And last season, when we went down to Port Vale, Bristol City, MK Dons and Real Valladolid, you sensed that we were badly undercooked once more. One win in the first five games tells its own story.

Forget all the well worn platitudes about ‘getting a run-out’ and ‘games under the belt.’ Winning is all that matters from now on, and nobody knows this more than Big Mick.

He hates losing tiddlywinks and pool apparently, so if we are losing against another four teams before Stoke City next month, then I reckon we’re all in for it!

As some of you will know, I was less than impressed (to say the least) with the new Burrda shirt that Wolves will be sporting for the 2010/11 season.

But I like to show my colours at home games, so I’ve been looking at alternative solutions, which lead to me ordering one of these retro tops (see picture left)  from online company Yelxo.

It cost £14.99 (plus £3 for shipping), which is obviously significantly less than the £40 I could have paid for the replica top, and for that they also print a number of your choice on the back (I chose 9, obviously). So not bad value really.

Of course the acid test would be whether the actual product would match expectations when it arrived in the post (FYI it takes them about a week to ten days to get the shirt out to you, as they’re made to order).

Well, mine arrived in the post this morning so I can now give an accurate review.

First off, the shirt fits me quite well. I’m what you’d probably refer to as ‘a lanky string of piss’ so it’s form fitting design is perfect for me. Obviously, for a man with a fuller figure this might not be quite so suitable.

The (old) Wolves logo and the number are printed onto the shirt and seem fairly rugged. Obviously a few machine washes will test their durability better, so I’ll be sure to update this review at a later point.

Unfortunately, there is one thing that badly lets this shirt down – the colour. Looking at the picture at the top of the page, the shirt seems gold (with perhaps a tinge of orange); much closer to what you’d call the club’s official colours. But the top I’m wearing right now is orange. There’s no other word to describe it. Think the current Holland national shirt at the World Cup and you’ll be much closer to the actual colour.

Here are some pictures:

So regrettably, it’s difficult for me to recommend this shirt based on it’s rather luminous tone. If the colour isn’t a problem for you, or you feel I’m exaggerating then it’s certainly a worthwhile investment as the overall quality of the product is actually quite good, particularly for the price.

Of course, you can buy the official retro shirt from the Wolves club shop for £25 (here’s the link: http://www.medocmall.co.uk/cgi-bin/live/ecommerce.pl?site=theclubshop_wolves&state=item&dept_id=20&sub_dept_id=70&product_id=GEN-60). Apparently that’s a new design (which I didn’t realise until after I ordered this one – doh!) so I’ll probably go and take a look at that one too for a more detailed comparison.

Wolves Blog Shop

Seeing as merchandise seems to have been an issue recently (for Ben and I at least) I thought I’d look into creating some Wolves Blog products, which you can now buy through our shop. Click here to take a look.

I’ve come up with a few designs (incorporating our new logo) just to get the ball rolling. But if you have any ideas for things you’d like to see, let me know and I’ll do my best to add them to the shop. It doesn’t take very long at all to turn design into reality.

Here’s a few pics of the ‘Thinkin’ of the things we used to do…’ Tshirt, the very first product added to the shop.

Click here to go to the product page for this shirt.

All feedback is good feedback, so I’m interested to know what you all think.

With Wolves having virtually completed their summer business it is perhaps a good time to look at the likely options Mick McCarthy could go with for the 2010/11 season. There are decisions to be made in terms of personnel, but also in terms of formation…

Until December 2009 I would wager that McCarthy would have happily described himself as ”a 4-4-2 man”. Although he had operated with a variety of systems in the past, particularly during his spell as Republic of Ireland boss, we here at Wolves had been treated to 4-4-2 week-in week-out through his first three and a half years in charge. As Mick said recently however:

“I used to feel having one set way of playing in your mind showed a real strength in people because I used to think that’s how I did it. But I’ve come through that. You can’t keep playing the same way if you keep losing — you have to be big enough to change it.”

The signing of Steven Fletcher for around £7m was heralded by many as a clear signal that McCarthy intends to revert to 4-4-2 now that the pressure of a relegation battle is not upon his team – at least until September anyway! The theory will go that the players have had a taste of Premiership football and are ready to kick-on with a more attacking formation. I think it is more likely, however, that we will see a hybrid formation from Wolves this season, somewhere between 4-4-2 and 4-5-1. It is a belief based on a series of factors:

1. McCarthy will be conscious of the increased impact Matt Jarvis had when allowed to play slightly higher up the field in the 4-5-1 (actually more of a slanted 4-4-2 as discussed previously). As can be seen by Mick’s regular touchline promptings he has often been wary of how vulnerable the team is down the left-flank in a traditional 4-4-2 when Jarvis is left stranded upfield after an attack.
2. Wolves now have several players on the right hand side of midfield who are happy to tuck in to form a more solid midfield 3 when needed. Kevin Foley and David Edwards operated there with some success before Adlene Guedioura was given a chance in the role, scoring the winner against Sunderland on the final day.
3. Steven Fletcher played much of the first part of the 2009/10 season on the right-wing for Burnley, part of a growing trend (Jarvis included) of ”inside-out wingers” – players operating on the opposite wing to their strongest foot. It was not a great personal success for the player with the Turf Moor faithful lamenting the fact that he was not given the opportunity to play through the middle. It did, however, coincide with some of Burnley’s better results and we know how fond McCarthy is of guys who put in a shift for the cause. Given that Mick has already spoken of Fletcher’s flexibility, I would suggest this is already in his thoughts.

With Stephen Hunt and Michael Kightly not expected to be fully-fit for the start of the season I would expect, assuming no other injuries, Wolves to line up something like this against Stoke on August 14th:

Steven Mouyokolo and Kevin Foley will be pushing hard for starts but, particularly against Stoke with their expected aerial bombardment, it would seem likely that Jody Craddock and Ronald Zubar will retain their places. Jelle Van Damme also happens to be remarkably strong in the air for a full-back and will surely come in at left-back. David Jones’ strong finish to the season puts him in the box seat ahead of Nenad Milijas in midfield, with the Serb offering an option from the bench alongside the likes of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

Whilst I would expect Michael Kightly to get his opportunities from the bench this coming season, the interesting shift in system may come when Stephen Hunt returns to full fitness around October time. Of course, as a left-footed winger, Hunt may be seen as a direct challenger to Jarvis. He is, however, also comfortable operating from the right-wing and it will be interesting to note whether he will be threatening Steven Fletcher’s place in the starting eleven or if he will be challenging for one of the midfield positions. If Wolves are playing away from home against a strong side, it would not be a shock to see Hunt and Jarvis playing wide in support of Doyle with a solid central midfield three. This is, after all, more of an attacking line-up than we saw for much of the second half of last season with Foley operating on the right-wing. Hunt’s return to fitness seems likely to coincide with a run of games from mid-October against Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal (the probable top four) so it would be understandable to see him come in for Fletcher at some point during this run of games.

The real intrigue of course, would be if McCarthy felt able to play Hunt and Jarvis in support of both Doyle and Fletcher in a clear 4-4-2. This is the sort of attacking line-up that many fans want to see. I suspect it would be something that could actually happen if and when Mick is feeling confident that his team is stronger than the opposition – at home to Bolton on November 13th or away to Blackpool on November 20th perhaps?

The 2010/11 season is a fascinating one for Wolves and it is difficult to overstate the importance to the club. Not only would relegation be a huge blow in itself and bring the usual problems of the team being broken up but it would also surely see the shelving of the club’s stadium expansion plans. As such there is more pressure than ever on Mick McCarthy to get his tactics spot on… expect the 4-4-2 / 4-5-1 debate to continue.

Adam Bate – Ghostgoal

Being a Wolves fan, working in Wolverhampton and boasting a framed picture of Chris Iwelumo on my desk has its benefits.

As a birthday present from my colleagues, I was greeted with the alluring sight of a big envelope on my desk, and a chunkier, secondary envelope alongside. It was a narrow, embossed, envelope that could contain only one thing. A Wolves club shop voucher!

So I read the obligatory ‘Happy Birthday you old git’ messages in the card – mostly penned by girls in the office who had no right to be born in 1989 – thanked them for their kind words and stuck the voucher in the back pocket.

‘This lunchtime I am going to spend, spend, spend!’

After a fleet footed trek past the Post Office masses, Goose in the City’s smoking garden (Lichfield Street pavement) and Queen Square  fountain, I arrived at the club shop, clutching my voucher like Willy Wonka’s golden ticket.

If it took me five minutes to get to Dudley Street, it must have taken me all of five seconds to realise that there was absolutely f**k all in the entire shop that warranted £20 spending on it.

The entire Burrda leisure wear selection is still being made in China apparently, leaving only 500 tog tracksuits or impenetrable waterproof jackets available to buy. Just what you want as a nation declares a hosepipe ban.

“We ‘corr believe it,” said the sales assistant. “We’ve bin’ waitin’ for some Tay-Shirts for weeks.”

I looked to the heavens for mercy, only to catch a glimpse of Nathan Blake.

Nathan Blake?! What’s he still doing here! I turned the other way in frustration and saw a commemorative framed photo of a Jay Bothroyd goal against the Albion. I know we hardly ever beat them but there’s no need to take the piss.

This lunchtime jolly was turning into a war of attrition. My mind was tormented between the prudent, purchasing ethics instilled by my parents, and a downright refusal to be beaten.

I cheekily asked if there was a chance of a discount off the panoramic Molineux pictures, bearing in mind that the ground will soon look unrecognisably different.

The confused shop assistant reached for the crime link walkie-talkie and warned the entire shopkeeping fraternity about a crazed con artist on the loose.

I retreated to the lower level of the store, only to trip on a heap of XXXXXS and XXXXXXXXXXXL Le Coq Sportif vests for a fiver. That and some god awful pink polo shirts. And a dartboard.

I glanced at the Wendy Wolf clock which told me it was time to get back to work. Run, Charlie, run like the wind!

But at that point, my gaze fixed upon a curious little creature at the top of the stairs. No, not the shop assistant this time, but a proud garden gnome in a Wolves strip, brazenly lying lengthways on the floor.

He wasn’t young and hungry judging by his belly and white beard, but he looked a picture, and I was having him for £15.

After handing over the voucher, the assistant reopened the dusty cardboard box, as if to confirm that I really am stupid, and repacked it all over again.

“Spending your voucher on a garden gnome for your nan eh? she said. ‘If she doesn’t like it, come on back and choose something else.”