Archives for January 2011

‘We’ve scored 10 goals in three games, we have beaten Liverpool at Anfield already,’ screamed the PA announcer before kick off.

‘We can do it again today, and take a giant leap up the Premier League,’ he yelled.

At 12.44pm, we were everywhere and nowhere baby, so where were the team?

Nowhere. In a performance to rival our hapless Boxing Day no show against Wigan, the lads were at it again, producing a first half performance that Jamie Redknapp described as the worst we will play for a year.

Ball puts a shift into the net

Thirty eight minutes before a solitary shot at goal and a complete inability to string more than two passes together as we lumped ball after ball after ball in the general direction of Doyle and Fletcher.

In some ways, this was worse than Wigan because we didn’t have the ‘early goal ruined our plans’ excuse that was pedalled so idly in the aftermath.

This time, there was no plan.

Liverpool, with their extra man in midfield, cut through the rusty Henry and anonymous Milijas like a hot knife through butter.

And when the two midfield men are having a tough time, our 4-4-2 formation looks as ugly as the Molineux pitch itself.

Speaking of which, how can our state-of-the-art, £1 million surface have ever fallen into such a shocking state of disrepair?

A horse of the year show would struggle to do such damage, never mind a glut of fixtures and reserve games week after week, which the turf hasn’t been subjected to this season.

If Adam Hammill felt intimidated before he stepped onto the ‘grass’, then God knows how he felt when he realised he had to run with the ball at his feet through the terrain for 17 minutes.

Not that this is an excuse for what happened today. Liverpool put paid to the myth that they are a two man team, full of useless, foreign failures.

In Meireles they have a real class act, whose bald pate was head and shoulders above any other player on the ‘pitch’, while Dalglish has added organisation to their previously failing back line, replacing flakiness with feistiness throughout the rest of his team.

And we all know about Torres.

Couple this with a listless home performance and there was only ever going to be one result.

How can Milijas, who ran the Anfield midfield so majestically only weeks ago, look so anonymous? Even Sammy Lee – who covered 24 miles of technical area according to Pro-Zone – looked more proactive.

How can a team, who could all claim to be man-of-the-match contenders at Anfield, look so utterly lost this time around?

Zubar trod water, (or was it the quick sand pitch?) Berra looked ponderous, while Stearman did at least battle on gamely, annoying Torres frequently and catching the eye occasionally, if not the odd divot and ballboy.

Collectively, the back four were inexplicably incoherent, summed up by Zubar’s daydreaming for the first.

Stephen Hunt started the game feverishly, but ended it lost like the rest of his team.

Then there was Jarvis, who played as badly as most can remember, in another showing that defies explanation.

Forget the ‘harsh scoreline’ nonsense. 3-0 was more than fair considering all of Liverpool’s misses in the first half, featuring fine Hennessey saves off Torres and Maxi, not to mention Meireles’s rasper that grazed a post. In reply, we had a Fletcher half chance easily saved.

Liverpool started the second half as they played the first and scored a belter through Meireles. Anyone who dubs his 30 yard strike as ‘unlucky’ is frankly delusional, considering the same player had a one-on-one saved by Wayne within minutes of his wondergoal. Was that unlucky too?

Yes, we created numerous crossing opportunities as the second half progressed, but none in the vicinity of our strikers, whose happy knack of being in the wrong place at the wrong time is starting to grate.

And if we are to keep peppering the box in the games to come, then surely we need a big man who can head a ball with meaning towards the target?

A couple of shots on target in 90 minutes tell their own story.

Adam Hammill at least offered one glimpse of promise on an otherwise unfathomable afternoon.

Of whom, Mick said in ominous belligerence: “He’s going to be a good player for us and will fit in because he’ll work hard and is prepared to put a shift in.”

Our 14^th and heaviest home defeat of the season suggests we might need a bit more than hard work Mick, however much we love the lads for it.

After last Saturday’s spirited defeat at Man City and the convincing midweek triumph over Doncaster, Wolves entertain Liverpool in tomorrow’s early kick-off.

With 8 defeats from their 11 away games to date and only one win, it’s easy to see why Kenny and co find themselves down in 13th place. They’ve picked up more points at home than Arsenal, but their wretched away form continues to derail any possible progress.

Wolves are looking to complete a famous double

Pundits accused Roy Hodgson of employing negative tactics, which is hard to dispute given that they’ve only mustered 8 goals on their travels. So it will be interesting to see whether Dalglish attempts a more adventurous gameplan tomorrow.

They’ll still be without Steven Gerrard, following his sending off at Old Trafford a few weeks back, which is unquestionably a boost for Wolves. He might not have been firing on all cylinders prior to his suspension but we know he’s capable of brilliance.

For Wolves, I expect to see a couple of changes to the side that lost out at Man City, with Karl Henry restored to the midfield and Steven Mouyokolo coming into the back four. That would mean a lineup of:

Hennessy

Mouyokolo
Berra
Stearman
Zubar

Jarvis
Henry
Milijas
Hunt

Fletcher
Doyle

If that does turn out to be the starting eleven, I’d pretty much agree with the selection. I think we’ve got to go 4-4-2 and have a go against a struggling Liverpool defence, but by bringing Karl Henry in to anchor the midfield and picking four proper defenders, we should add some steel.

The subs bench should also be a lot stronger than it’s been in recent weeks, with new signing Adam Hammill likely to be named in the squad. He’ll be hoping to get one over on the club that launched his career.

Prediction League

Congratulations to Stourbridge Wolf for usurping me at the top of the Prediction League table. Although the point he scored for predicting defeat Man City was only enough to draw him level, he takes the lead courtesy of ‘S’ coming before ‘T’.

Unsurprisingly, nobody went for 4-3 to City, but many did forecast the correct outcome along with Stourbridge. So take a bow Kowloon Wolf, Jed, Exeter Wolf, Clive from Houston, Philly Pete, AikiWolves, Dazza in Brisbane, Martin, These are the days and last but by no means least, kwolf.

This weekend, I’m plumping for a draw.

Our home form has been good in general this season and I’m expecting us to give them a thorough examination defensively. However, we still have a propensity for conceding slightly soft goals, which I think will give them a chance.

1-1.

If you’re going to Molineux tomorrow (I hear it’s a sell-out), have a great time and get right behind the lads.

Up The Wolves!