The poet William Blake once mused, “The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.”
Only those of a cold blooded nature wouldn’t rethink their opinion of a Wolves team that continue to provide a timely and refreshing splash of hope.
Gone finally is the pong of stagnation, washed away by goals, points and belief of better things to come.
Stephen Hunt remains the tonic, drowning opposition with waves of nuisance value. His measured finish yesterday a reminder of his ability to float into clever positions.
But if Hunt has built the well, others have come to drink.
Kevin Doyle transformed back to his very best. Neat control, clever touches and reliable ball carrying.
Ebanks-Blake just as good, showing the sort of form we can barely remember from 2008. If our 15-goal top scorer is indeed out for the season, he’ll be sorely missed.
David Davis enjoyed his finest performance to date. Great to see a midfielder getting forward and doing damage. If there’s more of that in his locker, it changes my perception of the player he can become.
Big credit must go to Dean Saunders.
He’s moved the pieces around and seems to have discovered a formula.
You might call it luck, but would anyone have guessed that removing our best player would provide the catalyst? Yet here we are. Where once there was only Sako, now there is a team. A cohesive unit working as one.
Deano must take the plaudits for bringing young Jack Robinson and Matt Doherty into the side. Neither are world beaters – Robinson’s handball and blind backpass yesterday are proof positive of this – but it’s great to see full-backs that tackle. We needed that bite in wide positions.
Of course Blues nearly pulled the plug on our progress with an unlikely late comeback. Wolves faded and retreated as the game went on, perhaps giving credence to the theory that their extra days rest gave them an advantage?
Some will see it differently, but I think the officials also gave them a leg-up.
Jack Butland should have seen red for chopping Kevin Doyle and if Jamie O’Hara was naive in raising an arm for their first penalty, the linesman was equally thick for not recognising a dive. Say what you want about contact, but their player threw himself to the turf because the ball was going out of play. Nobody will convince me otherwise.
But to dwell on such decisions with a first league victory at St. Andrew’s for over a decade in the bag would be foolish.
Our turn has been a long time coming, so while the taps running we should savour every drop.
We’ve all got the thirst.
April fools? Clearly not!
Another great 3 points that we sorely needed. Onwards and upwards please lads! I shall continue my non-participance in the prediction league as it seems to be bringing us some luck.
Hunty has just been a complete breath of fresh air. Great to see him get on the score sheet.
Shame about EBanks him Doyle and Siggi were forming a good partnership if you know what I mean so I hope Saunders sticks with Siggi and Doyle and push O’Hara up just behind them or even Cassidy if he can be found. EBanks broken leg just about sums up our luck this season as well as poor form we have had a fair, no more back luck than most. But I’m not going to dwell on it I might of done 3, 4 weeks ago but we have had everything thrown at us this season and we are still in there fighting so onwards and upwards positive thing and a few more performances like the last 3 and I can enjoy my holiday and wear my Wolves shirt on the beach with added contentment and pride. P.s I thought Robinson was shocking gave penalty away and diving in on tackles gave to many free kicks away shades of Stearman how he got 7 in the local rag I’ll never know.
That should read ” positive thinking “
Robinson played well except for the last 20 minutes, when he appeared absolutely exhausted.
Difficult to make a judgement, but overall he has vastly improved our left side.
Get In there who would of thought that our best player getting injured who would be a blessing in disguise.
Goals! Victories! Moving up the table! Excitement! Stephen Hunt! putting in a shift, game after game! Other players actually in form! SEB scoring like he’s paid to do it! That feeling of hanging on for the final whistle! Feeling feelings other than numbness!!
Erm, I’m a bit disoriented. I need to sit down.
Great stuff Thomas!
I think the Poet William Blake also wrote, in a letter to John Keats I think it was:-
“Come on my lovely Old Gold Babbies, shove it up the Blues.
And all you doubters give DeÃ¥no a hug and Hunty a medal for making you eat your words!”.
Still a long way to go but isn’t it great to have a performance that showed fight, character and not a little skill. I keep looking at that final – could be deciding – game against Brighton and thinking “I wonder if Mrs DOOGooder fancies a Springtime trip to the seaside?”
I wrote that.
DOOGooder I’d like to say it nice to see but that photo I’m sure does not do you any favours our female bloggers will be blogging off ( have we got any female bloggers out there ? )
And Robins isn’t much better
what about Putney and Clive!!!!????
DOOGooder your scaring me man !
Does Putney Wolf remove hazardous substances ?
Love the building a well bit !! Trouble is I’m getting a fondness for drinking too much from it myself !!
Top report once again ….crikey , I’m falling in love with footie once more .
The table is now one of the weirdest l can remember. ..you’ll need to stick a pin in it to find the three going down
UTW
I think the best thing about the last few results are we’ve won with decisions going against us or mistakes being made. As Tom says, definitely a red card for Buckland, he flew into the tackle with his feet off the floor and O’Hara must have awful breathe for the guy to dive like that. Then there was Middlesborough’s goal and that own goal, but we’ve kept fighting and not let our heads drop and held on for precious points. Bring on Bolton!
Hunt is an intelligent footballer.
He has not the skill or flair of Sako but he is like a mosquito, you swat ’em off, but they come back niggling you.
Above all his contribution to the confidence of the others is invaluable.
I slagged him off after his return and he has made me eat my words.
SEB has also made me eat my words and I shall never refer to him as E-Blanks again.
Robinson and Doherty have finally given us two full backs and Davis was immense yesterday.
Saunders seems to have adjusted the players to the championship mode and well done to him for bringing back the enthusiasm for players and fans.
Great result, still fragile at back…worried lack of support from the fat man will be exposed as injuries stack up ….keep going oh and sack the fat man for a brighter future
well written tommy baby! just goes to show how fragile footballers are these days..no other explanation as to why we slipped so far down.was all down to confidence in the end.makes you wonder if the club needs to employ a phsyciatrist to help them in future…..what a fantastic result and what a complete turn around..fantastic. there will be a few teams panicking above us watching the bottom teams picking up bucket loads of points… W.T.I.D. !
Loved it Thomas,
Completely agree to your views and although I don’t want to highlight it as we played very well, the ref was terrible. Again.
I managed to sneak a cheeky seat in the Directors box yesterday which was nice. I even passed Jez Moxey on the way out and tapped him on his tummy and said “easy isn’t it Jez…?”. He puffed out his sizable cheeks.
What will be interesting is that I’m going to a sportsman dinner on 25th April where Dean Saunders is the speaker. I will definitely get a chance to pop a question in….we’re a sponsor.
What shall I ask….?
I really don’t know where to begin…
So far I’ve got a range from “How fat is Jez Moxey?” and “Roger Johnson. Friend or foe?”
Help needed please.
You were next to JM and you didn’t have your wooden stake handy?
Missed a chance there!
As far as questions to DeÃ¥n are concerned….
How about:-
What is the secret of motivating a team that looked like a plague of zombies until a couple of weeks ago. What are they on and can I have some?
What commitment have you from the terrible twins for funds for strengthening the team next season?
What commitment have you from the evil duo to keep players like Siggy and Sako (and EB if he keeps scoring) no matter what happens this season?
What will you do if there are no funds available?
Are you the New Messiah?
I listened to the first half live commentary and was in amazed at the half time scoreline. When have we last gone in 3 up at the break? I then had to leave the house for a commitment previously made before I realized we were playing Monday. Checked the final score on my phone and shocked to see they pulled 2 back, but still ecstatic with the result.
Glad in a way, I missed the nail biting finale.
Have seen the highlights since, and some good movement and well taken goals.
Also nice to climb a little, but the table is so close it is unbelievable.
We must keep the momentum going a while longer, perhaps until Brighton to be sure.
Hope SEB recovers quickly.
Onwards and upwards my friends.
How nice to read these blogs and smile at the end, Don’t think I’d realised how depressed we had all got.
I’ve said many times that I’m not sure how or why Saunders got the job but credit where it’s due in the face of many set backs he’s somehow given us a chance ( thats all it is at the moment) a month ago we where all but buried. And so much as been against him.
Not backed in the transfer window
little backing in the loan market
awful ref and linesman calls
Riddicule from the south bank
best player lost to injury
more injuries some self inflicted
players so battered they forgot how to win
more injuries
Even being so daft as to pick Steven Hunt
He may of aged 10 years but he’s made us smile for the first time in ages
Thank you Dean , now lets finnish the job
Another great post Thomas,poetry in motion in the first half,but the officials like you said were bound to give them something and they did on three occasions,one sending off,two peno’s(we always get shit refs)
The only down side to it all was the injury to SEB,how many more injuries do we have to endure,none i hope.
Six games to go three more wins i think will make us safe,but lets take one game at a time,Bolton up next anything there will be a bonus.UTW.
In New Orleans. Wolves have won two games since we started our tour of the South.
Missus said you should go on holiday more often!
UTW
stay where you are alf! you or/and your missus are obviously our lucky mascots….just a few more weeks ! we will know if you step northwards and we wont be happy..:( WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE 🙂
oldgoldy unfortunately due to lack of funds will be setting foot on England’s soil on Friday.
However my trip could be extended. Please forward several thousands of pounds.
ive had a word with clives wife and she said you could have clives weekly boddingtons allowance..works out at just over 2000 quid..that enough? 🙂
Real positives here again I thought. That front four is really finding its zest and goalscoring ability, perish the thought. Funnily enough I had a dream a few days before the Boro game where I threatened dean saunders and begged him to play the Sig-Doyle-SEB-Hunt front four for the bank holiday fixtures…and didn’t it pay off!
One thing I will say is that I’m still for the riddance of Saunders whether we stay up. Its our veterans (Hunt, Doyle, SEB) that are dragging us out the relegation zone kicking and screaming, and Solbakken’s finds that have added the finishing touches (Sako, Siggy). One thing I’ll give DS credit for is being comfortable with playing Doherty and Robinson game in game out now. Still a bit faulty but offer a bit of zip going forward which Foley/Ward just wouldn’t. Doherty against Boro I thought was fantastic, so energetic, sprinting to take throws in which paid off, getting them in ahead of fullbacks etc. really impressed with him. I’m still for removal of Saunders, IF IF IF IF we can find a suitable replacement FIRST.
But Up the Wolves. Coming good just at the right time, fingers crossed. Still a way to go though!
I disagree that removing Sako has been a catalyst for start winning games again. The main problem has been Henry in the midfield. By removing his lack of creativity and pace, and poor influence as a captain, it has created space for orhers to achieve.
I would say Hunt has made the biggest impact and he would (almost certainly) not be playing were it not for the loss of Sako, hence the catalyst line.
But yes, taking Henry out has also been a factor. For all his shortcomings in possession he wasn’t even plugging that hole in front of the back four, rendering him pointless.
Additionally, replacing two full backs that refused to tackle with two that put themselves about has given us some snap.
Lets not forget Siggy either. Like Hunt, he only came into the side because Edwards collapsed. Saunders would likely have stuck with his Welsh comrade had he remained fit.
Luck and judgment working in beautiful unison.
If Cassidy now bangs in 10 goals with SEB out injured, we’ll know someone is smiling down on us! 🙂
Just like the recent England match, this was a classic game of 2 halves. The difference was that we took most of our chances while the blouse criminally wasted theirs. This is the kind of game we’d have lost 6/7 matches ago.
I’ve been a fan of DS since he took the reigns. His positivity during his barren opening spell doesn’t look so daft now. The margins between defeat and victory can be so slight, but we have at least been playing much better than under SS (not too hard…) and maybe even better than MM, well certainly towards the end of his tenure anyway.
I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re gonna get away with this season, re-build and have a real go next year. One of my best mates is a QPR fan, we’re going to the bookies tomorrow to see what odds on being top 2 in the league next season… gorra be worth a punt!
Best bit about beating the blouse, away, for the first time in a decade, taking a 3 goal lead by halftime, was that one of my old mates was celebrating his 30th birthday at St Andrews with his dad in the home end. Ha ha happy birthday mate!
UTW
Davis was involved in all 3 goals with the kind of passing Karl Henry can only dream of. Ward and Henry finally out of the side and Wolves are winning. Coincidence? I think not. Hats of to Kevin Doyle for proving there’s a striker in there after all. If we’d got the penalty for the foul on Hunt and they’d not been awarded two dubious penalties, we’d be contatulating ourselves on a convincing victory. If SEB is going to be missing, we can count outselves lucky we’ve got Siggy on form but who fills the right wing berth is now a crucial decision. I think Hammill deserves a start but suspect Dicko will get the nod. Either way, it has to be 4-4-2.
Henry is there cos he serves the club but football wise he is incapable of achieving. Sorry to say that. Regarding all our players they are fighting well and finally we are seeing the much results all season long we wanted. SEB is going to be missed a lot cos he was gettin in the form this season. were is zeli????????????????????? for more push in the front?????????//
I was sat in a pub watching the Soccer Saturday crew, albeit it on a Monday, and all I could hear was McInally howling about how Blues had missed another sitter, I so thought we were going to throw away a 3 goal lead, in my mind I was thinking what a kick in the teeth that would be and that would eventually be the final nail in the coffin…but…we held on, and moved 4-5 places up the league, then I realised just how much trouble the rest are in around us (imagine being a Blackburn fan right now)…now our lads are building confidence having been around this position for a while, the other teams are just feeling that sudden jolt of realism that they may actually go down….I didn’t want Saunders, I thought Doyle was past it, I didn’t think we would score 3 goals in a game again this season, let alone within 3 days!!…but we have, now lets hope we can keep it up and get another 9 points (hopefully that will be enough) so we can all have a nice summer before we push on next season!!
UTW
I’ve only just seen the highlights of the match and two things spring to mind.
One is that we have been on the wrong side of another awful penalty decision.
The other is that, as an ex keeper myself, it’s great to see that Doris knows exactly where her goalposts are – why try to save a shot when you know it’s going to hit the woodwork?
Surprised, Doogooder, u didn’t see it all on the stream live.
What was obvious, throughout the game was Hunt’s infectious enthusiasm.
He niggled them, even if he didn’t get the ball he waylaid them and Ziggy followed suit.
We played to our capacity and you could see, especially with the full backs and Davis, that they were all in after 75 minutes – Knackered.
The performance and pride was as excellent as the result.
Also, De Vries, may not look as confident a keeper as Ikeme, but his control of the area and his distribution are far better.
englands englands number one!! (well maybe in a parralell universe where all the keepers think punching the tactics board will bring them much luck) up the wolves!
Have you noticed that there seems to be less posts when things are going well?
So disappointed that we’ll not see SEB again this season, I know he has rightly faced some criticism for his lethargic style this season but nothing lifts the Molineux more than when he starts scoring prolifically. Wanted to relive some of the highlights of his golden boot seasons but guess it’s not to be.
I had noticed that too.
And in particular the recent absence of a particular guy from Houston…..formerly Clive, now going by the name of Mr.Positive.
Come on Clive….Where are ya?
Lupus, That is the same on all forums and blogs. It’s when things are crap or go wrong or you just want to vent ya spleen. You turn to like minded people in this case life long WWFC fans, if your Mondeo had a problem you would be on the Ford Forum (I presume that there is one). In the case of car it’s a dead cert someone will know the answer, and here on our blog it’s a cert that some will agree and some will not. That’s what blogs and forums are for.
I’ll get me coat.
I got this iphone thingy, and they threw this app called icloud at me, so thats where I’ve been for the last 2 days, sitting on icloud 9, with its not silver but Old Gold lining, basking in the light that cometh out of The Mol recently!
Not even Mick Jagger can get me off here!!
I hate them bastids that say “I told you so” but I am now one of them, coz I told you so.
I’ve been preaching for two years to get rid of Henry, Berra, Edwards and Foley, and for at least 4 years to get rid of Ward.
Hey presto, none of the above in the team and we are on a four wins out of five mini streak.
Told you so!!!
I was also for getting rid of Fatty Blake, Doyle and Hunt, and if we stay up I still feel they are not wanted on our long term voyage, but praise when due, they have pulled up their socks and done what they are being paid to do.
For the moment I can walk round the house singing “Come On You Wolves” without laughter or looks of pity……………………….and those are just from the dogs.
With all the crap over the last 2 years, a few wins gets you walking on air.
Bolton have nothing to play for, so we should get at least a point up there.
Maybe, just maybe, Dead Team Walking will avoid that drop into the abyss.
And lest we forget our wonderful midland neighbours, hopefully we will be playing league matches against Villa as well as Birmingham next season, and the following season they will both be playing sandwell town, and we wont be playing any of them, having gone in an upwards direction!!!
FO..
Your tactical awareness has been a legend over the years.
The burning question now is, if they offered you the job, would you be prepared to up sticks and come back to save the Wolves?
You would have to renounce any Fascist tendencies that you might harbour (Paolo) and you would have to promise to give Wardy a long term contract and take on the Jez Monster as a pet and keep him in pies (and a cage).
What say you Mr Positive?
If you stump up the air fare, for me and “she who shall be obeyed”, as well as kennel costs for the dawgs, and a house sitter, then I’ll be there in a flash.
Fascism will not rear its ugly head, but racism might, as all useless Irish left back wannabees will be sent packing, never to darken the Molineux corridors again.
As for the slimy greasel, a public flogging will be held on Asda car park, admission 10p, and all proceeds to go towards the purchase of a new striker. With the number of greasel haters in the millions, we should be able to afford a new team!!
Porkie and chicken ‘n mushroom pies will of course be free for life for me, coz I miss them so much over here!!
Where’s the Notlob preview, Thomas??
Good win.
Enjoyed the first half. Felt we controlled it, played some decent football and too our chances well. Doyle looks a new player, Hunt can finally run again and David Davis is everything Karl Henry isn’t. Our first two goals came from Davis demanding the ball, and his shot and cross made the goals.
Second half we looked fucked when they pulled one back, but you can understand that. Thankfully we came up against what surely is the worst striker I’ve ever seen at Championship level in Wes Thomas. He was awful for Blackpool against us too.
With SEB injured I’d like to see us go 4-3-3 with Siggy and Hunt supporting Doyle, but if Cassidy is fit he will prbably get a chance. A shame Peszko isn’t in Saunders plans because he’s a good player. Still don’t understand that situtation completely.
At New Orleans waiting for Chicago flight to get connection back to UK.
First time for ages will be keenly awaiting a game.
3 points at Bolton is not impossible.
You should have come to Houston, I would have let you buy me a pint in The Richmond Arms!