Wolves 0 Arsenal 3

April 12, 2012 By

Credit to the 10 that remained on the pitch last night.

I thought they acquitted themselves admirably given the wholly unpleasant scenario they were faced with.

By the end I would argue 3-0 actually flattered Arsenal, given the overall balance of play and the chances we carved out with a man less.

Game over

Sure, the Gunners put their foot on the brake after bagging a quickfire second, but Wolves at least made a semi-competitive game of it, which deserves some level of recognition.

Kevin Doyle, controversially recalled to the starting eleven, thrived in the familiarity of the lone-striker role. He was also desperately unlucky not to score, denied only by a superb Wojciech Szczesny save, tipping his looping header just past the post.

Kightly and Jarvis offered able support down the flanks and their energy levels were also crucial in keeping the score down to a respectable level at the other end.

Karl Henry never tossed in the towel either and vigorously protected the back four as Arsenal constantly probed to pick a way through.

Above each of these players though, I have to single out Ronald Zubar. I thought the mercurial Frenchman was fantastic.

Watching him defend so resolutely and still have the energy to gallop forward and ask questions of the Arsenal defence was something special I thought.

If we can maintain the Zubar/Kightly partnership next season, I think that’s one area of the team we don’t have to worry about.

But what of the early penalty incident that effectively ended the contest before it even started?

Having seen it back a few times now, I find it difficult to lambaste the referee too much. However much he tried not to, Bassong does stumble into the back of Walcott and if he gives the penalty, I don’t think the man in black has a choice about sending the defender off.

Many will no doubt disagree.

Why both van Persie and Walcott took it upon themselves to taunt the crowd after plundering their early goals is anyone’s guess. Completely unnecessary given the situation.

For Walcott to then applaud all four sides of the ground when he was substituted, as if to say ‘I’m the bigger man’ is nothing short of ridiculous. He went down in my estimation.

Of course, none of this really matters though. We were down before kick-off and we would still have been down at full-time, whatever the outcome.

But a modicum of comfort can at least be taken from some long overdue pride in the shirt.

At this stage of such a terrible season, what else is there?

Wolves Vs Arsenal Preview

April 10, 2012 By

I must admit, I’d love to beat Arsenal.

It has nothing to do with Premier League survival. Regardless of tomorrow’s result, we will be playing Championship football next season.

However, the Gunners are the only big-name side we haven’t managed to overcome in our 3-year stint in the top tier, so before we slip away it would be nice to complete the set.

All hands on deck at the Emirates

Manchester’s Utd and City, Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool have all tasted defeat at the hands of the old gold, but Arsene Wenger’s side have continued to dominate.

They’ve won 4 of the 5 meetings and we had to cling on for dear life at the Emirates back in December to avoid a clean sweep.

Current form suggests they’ll make it 5 wins from 6 without breaking sweat, but their 7 defeats on the road offers a small glimmer of hope.

The big problem is that Wolves just can’t turn in a complete 90-minute performance. The second the opposition start turning the screw, we wilt and die.

You would think that Arsenal are tailor-made for exploiting each of our many frailties, given their passing ability and pace in wide areas. It could be a long old night.

The Team

If TC wants to avoid a cricket score in this one, I’d be sacrificing a forward and plugging the holes in midfield. This would be my team:

Hennessey, Zubar, Stearman, Bassong, Ward, Henry, Davis, Milijas, Kightly, Edwards, Fletcher

I’ve been saying for weeks Nenad should get a start and I still believe we’d see an improvement with his inclusion, especially if he’s got Henry and Davis putting in the leg work defensively.

Just sit in, make it difficult and use the wingers as the outlet ball. That must be the plan. Anything else is suicidal in my eyes.

The one grain of positivity in recent weeks has been Jarvis and Kightly working in tandem. The latter in particular has stepped up his game and looked a real player. It will be difficult to match those levels against Arsenal but a good test all the same.

Prediction League

21 people predicted defeat against Stoke but only Super Kev Doyle said 2-1. Well done to him for taking the maximum 3 points on offer. Everyone else takes a single.

Has to be an Arsenal win doesn’t it?

Depressing to say that, as I’m pretty sure I’ve never actually seen us ever beat them in my lifetime. Can anyone remember a win in the last 27 years against the Gunners?

Anyway, I’ll go for a 4-0 defeat.

If you’re at Molineux, raise the roof as you did against Bolton. I thought the support in that game was fantastic.

Up The Wolves.

Stoke City 2 Wolves 1 – Would an Ole appointment heal the hurt?

April 9, 2012 By

Well, at least I shared something in common with Steve Morgan on Saturday evening.

Like our owner, I was nowhere near the Britannia Stadium, having taken a few days holiday in sunny Barmouth.

With no internet connection, phone signal, or any means of communication, I had to do what our Steve and Jez Moxey have made an art form in the last 12 months…Presume.

Up highest again

In much the same way Steve and Jez presumed that Norwich and Swansea would be cannon fodder this season, I presumed that Stoke would batter us aerially and score at least one goal from a set piece.

Only difference being that my idle assumption was 100 per cent correct, while the men who are charged with knowing a bit about the game were not. Again.

I managed to get a faint signal to talkSPORT to listen to snippets of the second half, where Stan Collymore and Sam Matterface were virtually lost for words when looking at our hapless ‘manager’ and his subs when chasing the game.

Even Collymore, hardly a paragon of tactical lucidity, was imploring Connor change the system while the game was poised at 1-1, advocating the introduction of Milijas for a striker.

The Novice had other ideas though, waiting for the inevitable first and the 85th minute second before bringing on Doyle, who, like every other substitute, couldn’t be bothered to warm up.

I presume that Collymore was right and was fully justified in berating our bench for not taking our grim predicament seriously. I presume Steve Morgan wasn’t listening.

Would an appointment like this heal the hurt?

From here, where do we go? The wind might be blowing here in Dyffryn as I type from an internet café, but the gale force gust needed to rip through our comedy club would not appear to be forecasted any time soon.

I berate myself for predicting it ever would, when Jez and Steve’s definition of a root and branch reform is a tracksuited ‘decisive step’ waving a half price Burrda shirt above his head in a February press conference.

No turkeys will be voting for Christmas any time soon around Molineux, but the small crumb of Paxo packaged comfort might just arrive in the form of a new manager of reputable substance.

Irrespective of the bent, disingenuous regime he would have to work in, he would at least restore a modicum of hope as we prepare for the electric life of Npower League.

Apparently Morgan wants a more ‘malleable’ manager to mould, who will surely be labelled young and hungry by Jez.

We pray that moulding the useless lump of play-doh in our dugout right now is way too tedious, even for those two.

So would the one single appointment of an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rewrite the endless list of wrongs that Steve Morgan and Jez Moxey are responsible for?

I presume they presume you’ll all be answering ‘yes.’

*Sorry for not updating the blog sooner – I am still here in Barmouth and Thomas is on a stag do. In the Norfolk Broads!

Stoke City Vs Wolves Preview

April 5, 2012 By

Looking at the fixtures for March at the end of February, I concluded Wolves needed a minimum 5 points to have a realistic chance of survival.

At the start of April we have the same number of points we had at the start of March.

Woodgate should have seen red at Molineux

Surely now even the most chirpy, upbeat, downright belligerently optimistic supporter wouldn’t dare to suggest we can still do it?

Having managed just 5 wins all season, we’d probably need to match that from the remaining 7 games and even that might not be enough.

Don’t forget we also have to play Arsenal and Man City as well visiting Swansea and, this Easter weekend, Stoke.

This wouldn’t be the Great Escape, it would be the Greatest Escape.

Personally, I’ve realigned my aspirations as we await mathematical confirmation. All I want is 7 gutsy performances and a few decent results to at least end the season with some pride intact.

However bad we are, these players are capable of better than what we’re currently being served up.

The Britannia isn’t an ideal place to start of course. Stoke have won more games at home (6) than we’ve won in total and every point is very much a prisoner in Staffordshire.

The Team

Personally, I’d be reverting to 4-5-1. We were just too open again through the middle in that crazy 15 minute period against Bolton. I know it’s hindsight, but after we went a goal up, I was disappointed TC didn’t act sooner bringing on Henry. We needed that extra protection.

Hennessey, Zubar, Johnson, Bassong, Ward, Henry, Milijas, Edwards, Jarvis, Kightly, Fletcher

It’s a no-brainer to put Henry back in if he’s proved his fitness. I’ve opted for Milijas and Edwards alongside him but I wouldn’t object to seeing Davis slot in there to have two holding players.

Considering Jarvis tends to struggle at the Britannia with Wilkinson nobbling him at every opportunity, we’re going to need something big from Kightly to get a result.

It was really pleasing to see Kites step it up again last weekend and score a wonderful goal. As my dad correctly observed, ‘that’s the reason we go to football matches’.

Prediction League

It’s all very much still to play for as we close in on the end of another Prediction League season.

12 people correctly stated we’d lose against Bolton but none of them said 3-2, so all take a single point.

I’ll go for a draw Saturday.

2-2.

But to get that we’ll need to show far greater resilience over 90 minutes than we’ve managed the last month or so.

We crumbled in the reverse fixture earlier in the season having dominated the first half. Yes, we were unlucky as Stoke definitely should have been down to 10-men after Woodgate’s second lunge on Jarvis, but we just didn’t get going in the second 45. It was embarrassing.

If you’re at the Britannia on Saturday, have a great time and get behind the lads.

Up The Wolves.

Wolves 2 Bolton 3

April 2, 2012 By

Well, at least Jez Moxey and Terry Connor still had time for a couple of April Fools jokes, even if most Wolves fans were too detached to listen.

Molineux’s very own fat lady was singing before our historic home defeat to Bolton, drowning out muffled talkSPORT studio sniggers to pronounce Wolves as the best placed Premier League team to avoid relegation, before again telling listeners that Terry Connor is not a novice.

After the ‘best man for the job’ presided over our latest meek surrender to complete the longest stretch of home defeats in our 135 year history, Connor was then snatching the gospel according to Jez Moxey out of the snake oil salesman’s hands to trot out a similarly insulting quote for more of the morbidly curious to wet themselves over.

“People can say what they want to say about us being relegated now but there are still 21 points to play for and I am not giving up hope on anything until such time as it might be impossible for us to stay up,” said the experienced old head.

One crumb of comfort: Kites back on top form

Our record breaking 3-2 reversal to Bolton was painful enough for those with any ounce of hope left in their souls.

The real hurt now begins as we suffer a tortuous week of tasteless, insulting platitudes about how we must all stick together and work for one another. And how the fans must start getting behind the team like never before – or face a ‘newsflash’ worse than death.

Not that Roger Johnson and Wayne Hennessey were showing much unity deep into the first half, in a handbag stumbling embarrassment that threatened to undo our good work to that point.

Who was to blame was neither here nor there. The biggest worry was a blatant lack of respect for a club captain who, frankly, deserves little anyway, and a public unravelling of the one quality that had underpinned Mick McCarthy’s tenure.

Like a patient in brief remission, Wolves were unexpectedly upbeat and full of vigour in the first half – aside from the playground squabble – which should have seen us at least two goals to the good.

Man-of-the-match Kightly whipped in a beauty of a cross for Fletcher to hit the bar with on the stroke of half time, while Bogdan saved brilliantly from Fletcher and a near certain goal was cleared off the line.

But just as hope began to spring up like the daffodils around the ring road, along came Mark Davies to chop them all down.

It was Roger Johnson who did the chopping in actual fact, diving in recklessly on Davies, who then dived like Tom Daly off the 10 metre board.

And in the face of clear adversity, Wolves surrendered in the meek, feeble manner that we’ve all become accustomed to.

The tide had turned and our first half positivity was washed away, as seen when Johnson again went to ground in the box, only this time to a 37 year-old bloke who couldn’t turn a duvet cover.

Javis’ late effort threatened to offer hope, but like those crass April Fools soundbites from our leaders, we knew not to take it seriously.

* Thomas: Anyone interested in a framed Wolves shirt from the second-leg play-off defeat against Norwich back in 2002, signed by Dave Jones and Sir Jack Hayward, check out this listing on ebay. Daniel, the guy selling the shirt, sent me a nice email asking for insights about it, so I’m helping him with a bit of promotion.

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