Deflated.

That’s probably the best adjective to employ when describing the huddled masses of gold shirts pouring out of Molineux at 5.30pm yesterday.

Indeed, not even the glorious weather could mask the grave disappointment of Andy Johnson’s late equaliser that denied Wolves what would have been a vital, not to mention morale boosting, three points.

Yes!

As it is, we have to settle for one and in many respects, we were lucky to even get that.

After Johnson had rifled home with his first touch, there was only one team capable of winning the game and sadly, it wasn’t Wolves.

Gaël Kakuta came within a whisker of bagging victory for the visitors at the death, twisting our defence inside out before unleashing a fierce low drive that Wayne Hennessy did well to palm away from danger.

Had that gone in and we’d left with nothing, few could have had many complaints.

Wolves were desperately poor in the second half.

The players worked hard and grafted in an attempt to see out the game, but were far too often guilty of gifting the ball back to the opposition and inviting pressure.

I also believe we paid Fulham far too much respect tactically, with Mick McCarthy seemingly content to allow the opposition to camp out inside our half in the hope we could cling on or pick them off on the break.

This approach is understandable against the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal, etc, but I can’t help but feel we’d have been better served pushing forward against a side who sit just six points ahead of us in the Premier League table.

We saw in the first half what a short spell of pressure can achieve. Fulham had bossed possession for the opening 20 minutes or so, but the first time Wolves managed to get a foothold in the final third, we made a breakthrough.

It was a lovely goal too, with Adlene Guedioura skipping passed a challenge and cleverly slipping Karl Henry in to deliver an inch perfect cross for Steven Fletcher to nod home.

Our lone forward deserved that for what was probably his finest performance in a gold shirt. Fletch brought all his best attributes to the table in this one, showing excellent touch and an eye for goal as well as a real appetite to the lead the line and carry the fight to the opposition.

No!

He repeatedly won headers against the giant Hangeland, battled for possession and held the ball up expertly. The Scot nearly added to his tally further in the second half too, seeing a fine individual run and goalbound shot deflected into the arms of Schwarzer.

When he went off with a quarter of an hour to go, I felt we really lost the impetus and SEB struggled to make any kind of impact on the game. That left us hamstrung going forward so once Fulham got back on level terms, a point was realistically the best we could hope for.

Defensively, I felt Wolves were a mixed bag. Stearman, despite one slip in the second half, was quietly effective at right-back. I felt it was clever of Mick to shift him out there, as Fulham repeatedly looked to hit Clint Dempsey with long diagonal balls out wide. Foley would have struggled aerially against the big American.

In the center of defence, I thought Berra had a poor game. I’m probably one of his biggest fans, but he struggled in this one, too often giving away soft free-kicks and finding himself a yard off the pace.

Craddock was better and pretty much did what you’d expect from the veteran, kept things simple and competed for everything that came his way. I still feel we’re better served with him in the side for the remaining fixtures.

Ward had a lot to contend with down the left and struggled at times. Simon Davies is a clever player and asked a lot questions of our make-shift full-back, but didn’t cause any real damage. Late on, the dangerous Kakuta, on loan from Chelsea, pretty much ran riot and Ward was clueless as to how to nullify his threat.

One thing I would say in Ward’s defence, is that Matt Jarvis was often pushing inside or getting caught in advanced positions, leaving the left flank exposed. That certainly didn’t help. It should also be said that Ward was excellent going forward in the first half and he was involved in a lot of our best link-up play. Overall, I think our most criticised player can be reasonably satisfied with his efforts.

The midfield trio of Henry, Milijas and O’Hara all worked hard and got around the pitch, but failed to impose themselves against Fulham’s slick pass and move style, which often left them chasing shadows. Milijas in particular had a quiet game and it was no great surprise to see him replaced by Mancienne on the hour mark.

Down the wings, I thought Jarvis had a poor game. He’ll always be a threat with his pace and trickery, but by his lofty standards this wasn’t a particularly strong performance.

Guedioura blew hot and cold. One minute he’ll do something amazing i.e. his dribble and pass in the lead up to our goal or the thunderous 30 yard smash that Schwarzer did well to hold onto, and the next he’ll give away possession and land us in a spot of bother. But the fact he’s not afraid to show a bit of invention is admirable and he could yet win us a match with a moment of brilliance.

And perhaps that is precisely the positive we can cling onto. Despite recent poor form, we do have matchwinners within our squad. The likes of Guedioura, Fletcher, O’Hara and Jarvis are players that can make something happen, so if we can keep things tight at one end, it’s entirely plausible we can get the results we need.

A point from this match certainly wasn’t the result we all hoped for, but it’s far from a disaster. A point at Stoke on Tuesday would lift us out of the bottom three. A win would likely catapult us to 16th.

We don’t need a great escape. Just an escape.

Wolves sank to the bottom of the Premier League table without playing last weekend to cap a miserable month of demoralising blows.

Since the sweet taste of victory at Villa Park, we’ve been soundly outplayed and beaten twice, shipped seven goals, lost our most important player and watched on in agony as both Blues and Albion put clear daylight between themselves and the bottom three.

Talk about depressing.

It seems like out of nowhere, we’ve hit a low point.

Remember me? van Damme scored the opener at Fulham back in September

But as critical as we’ve all been of the manager, the tactics and the players in recent weeks, the one thing you can always guarantee from this Wolves side is a response and I fully expect another one this weekend against Fulham.

Mark Hughe’s side travel to Molineux looking for the result that would, in all likelihood, guarantee their Premiership status for another year. If that’s not incentive enough, they’ll probably also look back on the so-called ‘rough treatment’ Wolves dished out to them in the reverse fixture at Craven Cottage earlier in the season.

I felt we were harshly judged in that game. Yes, it was unfortunate to see Bobby Zamora sustain such a serious injury, but the tackle from Karl Henry was perfectly fair. Berra’s sending off was absolutely correct for two obvious body checks, but the furor stoked up in the aftermath of the game was absurd.

Still, the events of that feisty afternoon should add a little extra spice to this one and if that gets the home crowd going, it can only be to our advantage. Bring it on I say.

Fulham’s away record is nearly as bad as ours, which is to say horrendous. They’ve won just once on the road this season and although they do have 8 draws to their name, they’ve been beaten 7 times.

They’ve got some excellent players throughout the team though and it’s going to be a real scrap if Wolves are to take anything.

With George Elokobi out injured, we already know Stephen Ward is set to deputise and I suspect there will be one or two more changes this weekend. This is the team I believe Mick will pick:

Hennessy

Foley
Stearman
Berra
Ward

Hammill
Henry
Milijas
O’Hara
Jarvis

Fletcher

I know Mick has been quoted in the press lauding the 442, but I think he’ll do the right thing and revert to 451. We need that extra midfielder to make sure we’re not overrun in the middle of the park and that should see Nenad Milijas correctly recalled to the side and Adam Hammill also restored. The likes of SEB, Guedioura and Kightly can also offer good attacking options from the bench if needed.

The only change I would personally make to that starting eleven, is a return for Jody Craddock. I think we’d benefit from his experience at this time not to mention the threat he brings when we’re attacking from set pieces.

Prediction League

Not many people picked up points last time out against Everton. Many foresaw a vital win but as we know, that sadly didn’t transpire. Only myself, Stourbridge Wolf, Jed and Rob predicted defeat but nobody said 3-0, so it’s a point for each of us.

This weekend, I find myself torn. Heart says Wolves win, head says draw.

I’ll back the boys for a narrow win – 2-1.

If you’re at Molineux this weekend, have a great time and lets really get behind the lads.

Up The Wolves.