Reality is a question of perspective.
Four points from two, above Southampton and Everton and our European adventure to resume in Turkey on Thursday.
A first win of the season this might have been, but things aren’t so bad, are they?
It wasn’t necessarily a performance to salivate over, but as an idiosyncratic old manager used to say, we wipe our gobs and move on to the next one.
It’s easy to forget we’ve only lost two all season. And maybe, this will be the season where we accrue points from those sides in the bottom half, rather than ones in the top six? If the wins are amassed through other algorithms, then that’s fine with me.
This scalp owed itself to discipline without the ball as much as any finesse on it, with Doherty and Boly’s return to Molineux assuming particular significance. It was the former who stroked home to break the deadlock and cap a fine, flowing move which we just couldn’t replicate thereafter.
Neto, making his league debut, looked full of promise and Adama was typically menacing, this time further upfield with Raul leading the line.
Saiss was preferred to Bennett and over on the left, Jonny put in his most accomplished performance of the season, in typical unassuming air. The clean sheet bonus was just rewards for a job well done.
Might the naysayers still point to a 39% possession stat, two shots on target and a 2-5 corner count against a Watford side so brittle?
The side we love to hate were a pale imitation of the one that cantered to a 2-0 win of their own last season and looked ripe for the picking if we could only impose some quality.
It certainly wasn’t the prettiest, but I don’t imagine that Nuno will care.
Reality says we’re 13th.
In the first half I thought Boly, looked very uncomfortable on the right but certainly grew into his new position after the break.
It was great to see Doherty back to somewhere near his marauding best and Moutinho, apart from one misplaced pass looked, as usual, like a Rolls Royce in midfield.
Neto and Traore showed a deal of promise on either wing and it was good to see Conor back and refreshed after his one game rest.
Jonny was busy and effective, and perhaps deserved a goal near the end. A bootlace away from connecting at the far post.
But my MOM vote goes to Romain Saiss. I was very worried when his name appeared on the team sheet, but he proved me wrong. One mistimed tackle apart, he was coolness personified in defence.
The Molineux support was brilliant and I loved the taunting by the South Bank of Watford in general and Foster in particular.
Foster Foster what’s the score, Foster what’s the score?
6-0 on your big day out, 6-0 on your big day out!
Priceless!
Three of the most satisfying and most important points we will win this season!
What’s the word on Dangerous Dave???
Marvellous result and a performance which built on the first half at Palace .
Really pleased to see Neto makes his mark in a PL game and Traore again a huge weapon .Even Man City will Be concerned about him next week .Let us hope we can get some kind of result in Turkey .If we do our season is really up and running .
Nice summation mate. Reality is a question of perspective but perspective can be changed by reality.
In winning this game those four draws look more useful than they once did, as is reflected in our elevated position in the table.
I keep banging on about it but the margins in this league are paper thin. Watford could have equalised after half time and had they done so we could be talking about being bottom with a trip to The Etihad to come. No doubt in that reality, perspectives would have been rather different.
As it is, we can enjoy our free hit and try to stir up some trouble.
I don’t know what mystery procedure Matt Doherty underwent in the international break but it’s done the trick. I thought he was back to his best against Palace and he won us this game with a goal and assist.
The balance of Doherty and Traore down the right is interesting, as Doc has none of the natural gifts Adama possesses but makes up for it with guile and intelligence. The former must be the most destructive player in the Premier League in all but his positional awareness and decision-making capabilities. I wouldn’t like to be playing left-back against that combination and the many ways they can get in behind with or without the ball. I hope it develops.
I’m no fan of Saiss this season, but can’t fault him yesterday. He got through a good amount of work and was physically dominant in most instances.
I can see why Nuno likes Neto. Despite some youthful missteps he looked after the ball well in the first half and combined well with Jonny – not just for the opening goal, but throughout. If we view him as a straight-up replacement for Helder Costa, it seems like there will be more end product to his game.
All of the above said, I still feel the team is infinitely stronger with Jota in it and seeing Neves playing a bit-part doesn’t sit right, but perhaps both of those guys will benefit from a game or two on the sidelines.
Watford were good in possession but dodgy in both boxes, which will be their undoing if they don’t find solutions. I think the likes of Deeney, Gray and Hughes give them the required potency in the final third so the sooner they get those players back in the team the sooner I suspect they’ll start amassing points.
They, like us, are nowhere near the level they were in that cup semi-final and in a competition of such fine margins, any dip in form can have a catastrophic impact on results and perspectives.
We are only 4 points from 4th spot so things are not that bad! I cannot believe that I forgot to predict this week and also when I had a 2-0 to submit. I am appealing to the Thomas moderator VAR for my 3 points!!!!!!!
When making my prediction I forecast Welbeck to provide a threat. Wrong! Boly had him in his pocket nearly the entire game and when Welbeck switched to the right Saiss took charge.
Indeed the entire defence looked balanced and generally well able to cope. Deulofeu made no impression nor Pereyra, who made little progress.
In midfield Moutinho pulled the strings and his determined tackle on the much bigger Capoue sparked the players and crowd when there was a danger of the game drifting.
Neto impressed particularly for his double part in the build -up to the first goal. Doherty, perhaps more confident with Boly watching his back looked back to his best. He and Traore combined well.
If any of you believe Wolves played well forget it. As is so often the case, MOTD were able to once again on hand to point out Wolves won because yet again the opposition were so poor. Thanks Gary and your mates for helping.
Great sigh of relief all around Molineux that we’ve got that 1st win & avoided bottom slot.
Good defensively, looks like that could well be Nuno’s solution for the foreseeable. I’m a bit gutted about the seeming fall of Neves. It looks that for the moment he’ll be on the sidelines. He’s got the explosive shooting & passing that wins games. But yesterday it was good seeing the back line doing what Neves dropped back to do. To me , him dropping deep served no purpose & ultimately that’s why he’s out of the team.
Hope we can shake up Man City & stay in Europa contention. But the confidence boost of a win means we’ve got something to build on. Well chuffed.
I am sorry to say this but in my view Neves is overated.He is slow and his passing has been nowhere the level he managed in the championship .Yes he can occasionally produce a worldy but only rarely .Moutinho even at 33 is far superior which is why he is the man Nuno chooses .
Yes but he started as a World Beater! It’s his pace I think that’s letting him down, he gets caught in possession & his whole game seems 50% of what it was.
It’s the loss to us I bemoan. A top class midfielder. I do hope he can come back & adjust his game someway to star once more. Moutinho’s the business. A complete player.
I agree. The decline in form and influence of Nevez is very sad. This season he has been but a shadow of the player who has so dominated games in the past. Those long penetrative passes which at a stroke rendered opposing defenses useless, have simply disappeared. He seems to have lost confidence in his own undoubted ability. On present form,Nuno has little option but to leave him on the bench.
It seems to me that the fundamental problem has been that Nevez persistently plays too deep. Defensively he is not particularly good, so is wasted back there. Only when played further upfield is he really able to come into his own and influence games. Apart form his attacking prowess, his ability to press and recover balls in the middle of the park is exceptional, and is massively important for the team. He sets the example and others respond.
Yes we won relatively comfortably yesterday. But we did not play with the fluency and potency of old. Given our very small squad, my take is that this will not return until the old Neves turns up. Hopefully, this period out of the side is part of Nuno`s plan to rejuvenate him, and to re-establish his proper role in the side.
It was a good result and relieves some of the pressure my only concern is where is the midfield when we attack. Look at other teams on the attack theres 3-4-or 5 in the 18 yard box with wolves its one or none and chances go begging they need to get more players forward.
Good point that Dek, Thommo
on Comms often referred to the lack of Wolves players bombing on into the box.
Donck did that brilliantly last season, and that’s why he was in the side. Barely done that at all this term. Don’t see what he offers if he isn’t making those late runs into the area.
Just watching PL years 2018/19 on sky. After 14 games we had 16 points, so if we take 9 points or more from next 7 games we are tracking as good as last season despite Europe exertions. Keep the faith everyone and trust Nuno and trust the team.
I have to eat humble pie with regard to Neto !! I have long questioned just why he was brought in, and Cav and Helder allowed to go, but based on his performance yesterday the wisdom of bringing him to the Mol can readily be seen.
Neto is very self confident, has an abundance of pace, considerable ball skills, and a great work ethic. Yes, he is raw, and makes some errors — but at 19 years old this is surely to be expected. We need to be patient, but based on what we saw against Watford, it seems likely that with Nuno`s guidance Neto could well become a potent force relatively quickly
Neto looked great but we have to be patient with him because he may blow hot and cold for a while because of his age. I screamed at the television when Raul tried to put it in with his right foot at the far left of the goal. Even the commentator said he didn’t know why he didn’t use his left foot.
Maybe Nuno is starting to realize that, at least offensively, you can’t force everyone to play in a cookie cutter way. Some players have special talents and you have to be flexible and change your shape and style to accommodate them. Last year it involved switching to the two striker shape that he had used previously at Valencia to move Diogo more toward the centre of the pitch. This year, it is going back to a front three to accommodate Adama. I wonder if he will change anything to accommodate Patrick?
Anyway, 3 points.
I think we will have a good game at City. We seem to play them closely in the last 2 seasons.
As I missed the first 35 mins of the game (thanks Hesgoal!!), I can only comment to the part of the game that I saw. I was quite worried, even though we were one up, as Watford, bottom of the league and supposedly crappiest team in the EPL looked at times like Barcelona. They controlled the midfield and most of that time our players sat deep. I felt we only took proper hold of the game when they gifted us with our second goal. The confidence seemed to return and the team lifted from that moment. Whilst they are three great points for us, let us remember that the rest of the season the teams we are playing will be much better. I worry that it wasn’t us being that good, but them being that bad which got us through. The good news I feel is Neto has been fully blooded and Saiss might get back into the good books again after a good performance.
Reading the above again, it sounds gloomy, but I know how I was feeling with what I was seeing until that second goal. And gloomy was the word. God, I wish I I can feel more positive about the team. Maybe reading this blog might help.
Compare the number of points we managed against the bottom side last year (Huddersfield – 0) to this year (Watford – 3).
Perhaps we will get more points from the lower teams this year?
It’s obvious to anyone with half an eye that we’re not pulling up trees yet but there are some signs of improvement. A good show on Thursday is required before meeting one of the two teams in this league I genuinely fear. I’d almost be tempted to play the stronger team on Thursday because a trouncing against Citeh could affect the confidence of our strongest side.
I can hear the howls of Surrender Monkey but sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war.
My troubled breast was calmed somewhat strangely yesterday, with the exclusion of Bennett and the inclusion of Saiss into the left side. I normally prefer Bennett to Saiss any day of the week, but the lad proved me wrong and Lowves right. Lowves is always screaming in my ear, “Saiss is a one footed player and that foot was his left, well he played on the left yesterday and was comfortable. He grew and grew as the game went on and even the guy next to me in the NB who is one of the Saiss haters was lauding praise on him. So well done again Nuno.
Once again as at Palace Nuno mixed things up, this threw Palace a wobbly and certainly caught Watford off guard. By the time they composed themselves, we had slotted two goals in and started to change players to mix it up even more.
The more I see of Neto, the more I love the kid, imagine Jota and Neto feeding Raul or Cutrone.
On a separate issue, why does VAR not pick up a glaring hand ballin e NB penalty area for bottom half of the table teams?
(Just saying)
🙁 Rage…
Re: hand ball. Rules are different for defending players VS offensive players.
If it wasn’t intentional, it is OK for a defender to have a ball bounce off his arm or hand but that is not the case for an offensive player where it is strictly forbidden.
Although, what about that penalty against us a few games ago when the ball bounced off the back of Boly’s head on to his arm or some similar incident? The use of VAR has been inconsistent!
As stated many times on here before, usually by me, a goal is a goal is a goal.
Luck, my arse.
We should have been out of sight before that “lucky” second goal, so where was luck when we really needed it?
Nowhere to be seen, and it was a bloody good cross by Traore to force the error.
And I’m sorry, Thomas, but as per your last paragraph about Watford’s woes, who gives a shit?
I seem to remember a raw 19 year old Portuguese forward joining Manure some years ago, and “experts” were saying similar things to those posted above about Neto.
It hasn’t turned out too bad for Ronaldo, has it, and who’s to say Neto cannot emulate him?
Give the lad a chance. Everyone has been harping on about Gibbs White’s future potential, and in my opinion he hasn’t kicked on as expected, so let’s give Neto the same encouragement.
We deserved to win by a canter yesterday. Lovely to see Flappin’ Foster at his best, or worse, depending on your point of view!
City looked vulnerable at times yesterday against a toothless Everton, so we have a good chance of a positive result next weekend.
Thanksgiving and Christmas will come early for us on Thursday when we stuff the Turkeys, and the Fosun roller coaster ride continues!
Only sour spot of the day was seeing the shit rise to the top of the muck heap known as the second division, but it won’t last.
FOwb
Got to give the MOM yesterday his due. It was Doherty who provided the cross for the OG. He played superb all through, strong in defence & getting better going forward. Very important player for us.
No sorry.
It was Traore.
He grew a beard, dyed his hair and learned to speak Irish in a few nano seconds!
My mistake, but I think Traore had problee his best game for us.
Highlight for me was Netto what a debut really exiting prospect, disappointing there player’s handball in the North Bank end went unnoticed by the officials and VAR but brilliant win for the boys.
It wasn’t unnoticed Dorset. They just decided not to give it and, on balance, I think that they were right as the defender had no time to get his hand out of the way. We’d have been in uproar if a penalty had been given against us for that. It hit his hand yes but that doesn’t necessarily make it a penalty.
Point taken mate.
I commented the other day about how Doc’s understanding with Helder Costa had proved so fruitful and we need him to develop the same with the human missile that is Adama Traore. Well, they’re not exactly reading each others minds just yet, but there were definite signs of a growing understanding as they tormented Watford down the right yesterday. With Jonny excelling down the left and the emerging Pedro Neto an absolute pest to the harassed defenders, our front line looked full of pace and trickery. Our defence was solid throughout and Big Willy looked more comfortable than his previous outing on the right hand side. Patricio too more than earned his corn with a couple of excellent stops, especially the terrific double save in the second half.
All in all, a very satisfying result, made even more so by the identity of the opposition. How they have crumbled since THAT day at Wembley. Oh, how I love to see it. 🙂
So, overall, a result that has transformed the league table and how we fans will view the early part of the new season. A most important victory.
Great win. I think Raul needs a rest he looked tied a bit agitated at times when the ball was going sideways in the second half when it needed to be dinked over the top for him to match his run.
I think Catrone needs a good run out. He would benefit from starting in Turkey.
Gibbs- White has lots of potential but he gets pushed off the ball to offten.
IMO he would benefit from a loan move to the Championship to toughen him up were he can get regular games because he is not really able to make a real contribution with 20 minutes here and there, just my opinion folks .. !
I think next week at Citeh we should clone a couple of adama traores and play 3 of them up front. As much as Citeh are fabulous going forward they can’t defend. My plan is the usual defensive rigidity with a spring out via Adama. As long as he keeps his eccentric moments to a minimum he will worry them. As for yesterday I agree with other bloggers Saiss was MOM for me. There were also some glimpses of the Wolves we love and we had lots of chances early and after goal two. Excellent taunting of Foster but I thought he took it well. Banter ay it. Three great points. Lots of other results went for us and in the top 13. Perhaps the early season God’s are perhaps giving us a smile or two now and a bit of luck is coming our way. We may well need a bit next week at Citeh but we are a bit of a bogey side for them. It may be in the back of their minds!
Just seen one of the relegation places filled. Newcastle united. They were absolutely awful at Leicester. The other two. Norwich and Brighton.
Everyone has their man of the match and I wouldn’t disagree with any of them, Coady, Saisse, Traore ,Neto, Doherty, Moutino all had a great game and I love them all but for me the one who stood out was little Jonny. He was amazing, he worked like a trojan all through the game and was unlucky not to score… a 9 out of 10 from me.
One thing that annoys me is people talking of a “free hit” when talking of the likes of Man City, in other words we are expected to lose. No way, respect yes , capitulation ? Stuff that, I’ll be travelling to the Etihad expecting a result,
Great attitude Lowves! Last season proved we can get a result against anyone on our day!
Onwards and Upwards!
Little Jonny and not big Willy?
Big Willy in Daily Mail team of the week.
Sorry Bardwolf missed Big Willy from my list, yes he could have been man of the match for a lot of people, and he has been mine on a number of occasions, he’s awesome, but my humble opinion is that Jonny deserved my vote as man of the match.
As I said everyone has their opinion on this and I wouldn’t argue with anyones.
Agree absolutely about Jonny, Lowves.One of his very best games in the famous Old Gold. And he’s had some good ones.
Well, what a welcome relief that result was. Never really felt comfortable until the end. Man. city will probably bring us back down to earth next week so enjoy it while we can. COYW.
A good first half for us. Second half Watford pinned us into our half and really put us under pressure. Think it was about 15 minutes into the second half before we managed to get into their half. Still we stood up to it and came away with the goods.
🙂
Well that’s us getting ready for the off, Besiktas bound on Wednesday Morning, ready to step into the Istanbul cauldron of hate and abuse from the “Turkish Ultra’s”, if they are as bad as the Torino fans, I’m really looking forwards to meeting some of their genuine friendly fans who only want pictures and to buy the shirt off your back.
(But, I very much doubt it will be like Turin, these are a different breed of fans all together). It’s not so much passion or loyal support, more hate and genuine dislike for anything other than their team, (a bit like Baggies fans to be fair)
Leaving behind the rain for you guys for a couple of days sunshine, shorts and hairy legs, but that’s just Jen de Wolf and Mrs Lowves.
Looking for a good 4-1 win to Wolves to propel us forwards to Sunday at the Etihad.
Not remotely funny Mr Alves, I use a blowlamp on my legs every morning, bloody cheek!
They are demonstrating against people like you, “stop burning the rainforest.”
Hi Stuwolf have a great trip. Visited a few years ago and loved it. Marvellous city with wonderful sites to visit and fascinating culture.
Besiktas played Fenerbache when we were there. Sixty years of following football and easily the most intimidating atmosphere I’ve ever experienced on the streets.
Enjoy the game get a result and have fun.
Thanks, Iv’e been to Turkey a few times, never for footy solooking forwad to it.
If we encounter a problem I’m sending in Jen de Wolf and Mrs Lowves, not even the Besiktas Ultras will tackle them.
Happy Birthday Peter Knowles
And a very Happy 100th Birthday tomorrow to our very own ……..
STUWOLF!!!!!
Make sure Jen oils the wheelchair, and you take a spare set of dentures on you travels to the Orient!
Have a great day, hope you didn’t book with Thomas Cook
Thank you Clive, and thanks for the card, our postman who is a WBA fan has refused to deliver our post. No sense of humour these shit fans. Xx
Happy Birthday Stu!
Have a thimply thpiffing day and I hope you are spoiled rotten.
(Some might say “No change there then”).
Love from Mark’n’Sue xxx
Thanks Mark.
Spoilt indeed 🙂
39% possession? At home? To Watford?
I’m beginning to think it’s going to be a scary season. Definitely much tighter at the bottom with a dozen teams (including us) being separated by only 10 points or so come next May.
7 Points? For now, I’m still confident we won’t be relegated but I doubt I’ll relax until we’ve reached 40.
I wish it were otherwise but I just don’t think we’ve recruited well enough to finish in the top half of the league this season.
Neto does look impressive but I think (especially in Cavaleiro) we’ve lost more than we’ve gained.
Possession percentage has little relevance, it depends on what you do with the ball not how long you have it. Possession statistics generally weren’t great last season either but we managed ok.
Take the lead.
Give them the ball
Hit them on the break
Possession is the most overrated stat going Barry
Even their coach said wolves wanted us to have the ball ?
We will finish well inside the top ten have no doubt.
Oh and we will beat citeh in their own back yard too
Utw
Possession the most over-rated stat?
I’ve been trying to explain why Man City and Liverpool are struggling. Now it’s clear, they just have the ball too much.
Thanks for the insight Marney.
I wonder how many ‘thumbs down’ this will get?
Possession IS over rated.
How many games last season were we out possessed, yet still won?
And I remember Henry the Crab, sideways all day long.
He would fit in with all the “possession at all costs but get nowhere” brigade.
Not too successful as I recall.
If you do something positive at the end of a spell of possession, such as get a corner, or heaven forbid, shoot and score, then great.
Otherwise all it does if give the opposition time to regroup and have a breather.
I would much rather have 25% possession and win than the other way round.
FOwb
“I would much rather have 25% possession and win than the other way round.”
For fucks sake, so would I!
However, after following Wolves for almost 60 years, I now want more than that.
I want Wolves to be on TV at least once a week (like Man Utd are now).
I want Wolves to be the first game on Match of the Day because WE are the best, not because we’re playing the best.
I want Clive’s 5-1 prediction to be a common occurrence, not once in a blue moon.
I want pundits to be shocked that Wolves aren’t stuffing Real Madrid 7-2 (not shocked that Tottenham were).
In short: I want Wolves to be recognised as the best team in the World by playing the most attractive football.
And that, my friends, comes with having the ball more than the opposition.
Of course, this isn’t new, or unique, to me. I know we all want the same.
I think, now that we have the financial backing, we can dream of more than scraping a win or being satisfied with the crumbs the opposition feed us.
P.S. The kids did well at Morecambe last night, scoring all 5 penalties in the shoot-out.
The future is bright, the future is Old Gold, I just hope I live long enough to see it :0)
They have the players for a possession based game is how I see it, we may get more possession based as we Aquire different players but it’s worth remembering that Leicester won the league with 30 odd percent possession playing to their strengths
Don’t worry about the thumbs down Barry , we all get them mate
Utw
All stats in isolation are useless; including possession.
It all depends what you do with the possession. BUT, the more you have the ball, the more opportunities there are to create. No team is going to score with zero possession.
“Take the lead. Give them the ball. Hit them on the break” ? Is that really a recipe for success? The result against Chelsea might suggest otherwise.
At home, “Fortress Molineux”, we should have the ball more than the opposition, dictating play, not waiting for the likes of Watford to find themselves dispossessed in the wrong part of the pitch.
So let’s get this right
You started your original comment with
39 percent possession, against Watford? At home?
Then opened your last comment with
All stats in isolation are useless, including possession!
Seems we are on the same page after all Barry.
I’m not nit picking mate but this team have only just over one season in the premier league, we had more possession in the championship of course but we are adjusting as we progress,
Liverpool haven’t always been this good, it has taken them years of transfer windows to build a team who are comfortable on the ball all over the pitch
Unfortunately all the money in the world can’t buy us a team overnight due to financial unfair play rules
We are in our fourth year of a ten year plan as I believe it so I’m more than happy with where we are atm
I do hope though that we both live long enough to enjoy the fruits of our labour ( and Fosun money)
Utw
Marney, I think we’re on a different page but we are in the same book :0)
Come on you Spurs!!!!!
Wolves are to receive 7000 tickets for the Caraboa cup game against Villa.
They are to occupy the whole of the North stand upper and lower tier, whilst Villa ST fans will have to relocate.
This explains the announcement yesterday, that all Villa STH’s are to get free admission for the game, they are running scared that Wolves with a sell out 7000 following will lift the team over the line.
Wolves management snapped up all 7000 tickets.
If you weren’t previously thinking of going to this game, I would book your ticket as they are released because this will be as good as Liverpool away in the cup and 9000 at MK Dons.
And we won’t have to endure the normal venom and bile spilled out of the North stand directed at the away section.
This will be like the South bank and North bank combined against the Holte end.
Happy days.
Get your drift, Stu but 12,500 (North and South banks) doesn’t quite go into 7,000
Pedanty,
Thilly me, it’s the thought that counts, not the maths.
🙂 🙂 🙂
I like the 4-3-3 that has Traore and Doherty on the pitch together. Neto and Traore injected a level of pace moving forward that I think opponents will struggle with.
In the past, Nuno has turned to Traore and Vinagre at the WBs to inject pace. But, they were weaker going back.
I know Neto won’t be a regular starter. But, I like the dynamic he (and Traore and Vinagre) bring when they need some pace
I used “pace” three times in that post. This is what happens when an American tries to sound british.
Speed is an acceptable alternative, Lou.
That’s what I would typically say. But, I’m dying to fit in
All you need to fit in is be a Wolves fan. It also helps to rather dislike those Tesco carrier bags from down the road, also known as Sandwell Town or WBA.
As long as you don’t call a drawn game a ‘tie’, you’ll be fine with most bloggers mate.
Landed in Istanbul, got to the hotel through the amazing traffic, absolute gridlocked city. Met the Wolves guys arriving at the hotel and navigated the thousands of folk in the streets at 10pm, this place makes central London look like a sleepy hamlet in Cornwall.
It’s now 4am our time and the disco’s are still thump, thump, thump outside in the narrow cobbled streets.
Not what I expected, instead a modern, vibrant colourful City with western culture running through it’s veins. No sign of the Eastern culture you get rammed down your throat in the UK, the young folk look like any other place in Europe with out the traditional dress.
It seems the folk that move out of their own Country to come and live in Britain, take with them the values and ideals that folk in Turkey have abandoned years ago. A bit like Villa fans really, still living in 1982.
Great place so far, but we do have a footy match tonight, so I expect it to get a tad lively later on. I’m probably wide of the mark with that one to.
Funny what you read in the papers, eh.
Enjoy Stuwolf. Istanbul is a cosmopolitan city with a thriving cafe culture and incredible history. Visit the spice market and Blue Mosque to get a feel for the more authentic and historical culture.
I stayed quite near Besiktas home ground and used to walk past it regularly. Beware of guys carrying shoe-shine kits that just “happen” to drop a brush as you pass each other. Instinct is to stop to help them and then you are at risk of whatever trick they are trying to pull. The other con was being a foreigner getting a cab – instead of getting in the first cab in line, we got shuffled to a cab that “was going to our area” – with a rigged meter that went at least 5x the proper speed / cost.
Amazing city, great food… but the regular attempts to rip us off definitely diminished our enjoyment.
Fascinating city with a meeting of cultures. Very very lively, great historic sites and sights. And of course the rip off merchants you find everywhere.
Thanks for the heads up Ash.
I worked in Sofia and Kiev over a 12 year period, I’m pretty ok with those tricks of dropping stuff, then them frisking you. I loved been frisked, I used to pick up everything, lol.
They tried to pull the taxi stunt at the airport with the bus service, some of the guys on the plane had booked taxi’s (£120 one way) my secretary (Jen de Wolf) got us the bus and Metro for the same journey for £2 each.
We can spend the difference on EFES their local beer.
That local beer is good stuff stu , also , if you’re a coffee man like me , you won’t be disappointed
Have a great night tonight
Utw
We’ve sampled the local tipple, not to shabby.
Bring it on, loads of nice fans up here buying tickets for tonight.
Come on me babbies…
Four scallies if ever there were…!!
Looks a bit on the dull side mate….
Give the boys a shout from Stafford….
Don’t ya just love a perfect away day in Europe
And hardly any possession
Utw
Boly Boly Boly
Here comes Willy Boly
Willy Boly Boly
Lay it on me!
I LOVE BOLY
Awesome result lads, absolutely awesome.
Turkish Delight brilliant win for the boys, safe trip home to those brilliant fans.
Boly: Wolves best buy ever?? Immense in defence, huge going forward. Love him, just love him.
Had to meet in Taksim Square to be escorted to the ground by the police, a ten minute journey that took over an hour and a half, with four searches at various points.
Police with tear gas, pistols, riot shields, armoured vehicles the works. I’m all for security but that was taking piss.
The match was very even until the last 15 mins when we stamped our european credentials on the game. I’ve recorded the game back home and look forward to watching it all again when we get home on Sat.
My ears are still ringing with the noise, and my throat is sore with all the singing and shouting, but hey- ho it was well worth it, yet another “I was there” moment