There are notable similarities between Cardiff and Wolves with both sides heading into Sunday’s game looking for a much needed boost.
Before we even kicked off our disappointing contest with Derby, the Bluebirds (or whatever they call themselves these days) had already gone down 4-2 at Bristol City.
As a result they, like Wolves, have 4 points thus far after a last minute win over Huddersfield on opening day followed by a goalless draw at Brighton.
Malkie Mackay, much like Ståle Solbakken, has been given funds to reshape his squad over the summer with the likes of Bellamy, Helguson, Mutch and most recently winger Craig Noone arriving in Wales.
As I write this, it’s also widely expected that forward and one-time Wolves target Nicky Maynard will join ahead of the transfer deadline. He’d be a useful addition at this level.
Wolves
Of course Cardiff aren’t the only team who can add to their squad before this game kicks off and I’m hoping Wolves will bring another central midfielder into the fold.
With Jamie O’Hara still a few months away and Karl Henry struggling, we’re down to bare bones. Personally, I’m not keen on either Davies or Jonnson filling the void for an extended run of games. Certainly not based on what I’ve seen thus far. Glenn Whelan from Stoke would be a shrewd acquisition.
With the players we do have, this would be my preferred eleven:
At least one of the new wide men need to start this game and I’d personally opt to throw them both in. Why not?
Either way, it’s a luxury to have three natural wide players to choose from with Peszko also in the mix.
Both Nouble and Sigurdarson pushed themselves into contention with solid midweek displays, but I’d persevere with Ebanks-Blake and Doyle for the moment. But again, it’s nice to have different types of forwards to choose from.
At the back, it’s perhaps a little harsh to drop Berra after a decent performance against Derby, but Solbakken has surely brought Margreitter here to play. And with Christophe having slapped in a transfer request, how much loyalty do we owe him?
Opposition view
Couldn’t find a blogger to contribute on such short notice, so here’s a few snippets from the Cardiff forums:
So some exciting new signings to raise the gloom of the stuffing served out by the Wurzels. But now with so many new midfielders, who does Malky possibly pick? Finally new signing from South Korea, Kim Bo is set to make his debut. However, apart from Whittingham (who will be certainly picked unless injury) Mackay has a strong selection of talent to pick from. However with Turners availability unsure, could we be weak at the back once more?
Unless there is a significant change in the way we play it’s going to be tough against Wolves. Will a 4-5-1 formation give us the goals?
Predictions
Only 7 people correctly predicted a draw against Derby. 4 of those said 1-1 though so they double up to 2 points.
Well done to Greg, Clemens, andrewwfc and Amberwolf for taking the maximum.
I think this will be an incredibly stern test, particularly for a Wolves team very much in transition.
Still, with the confidence of last night’s second half seeping through my veins, I’ll go for a respectable score draw.
2-2.
Up The Wolves.
Would have predicted a hopeful draw following the Derby game last time but since I’m still sort of pumped about the last game… 2-1 win! It won’t be easy because Cardiff is a strong side but especially with the new signings I do believe it can be done!
Most of the team rested, coming off a nice cup win (but oooh, Chelsea away on the horizon!) – momentum seems to be Wolves way. That should be enough to get us a win away from home. It won’t be pretty.
1-0 Wolves
Same team for me except right hand side of Peszko and Stearman. A tough away game, but no Bellamy for Cardiff already gives us a better chance!
I’m torn this week but I think I will stay confident and plump for Wolves 1-0 Cardiff!
This a toughie, could go either way. In a strange way and dont yell at me I do see this as one of those early season pivotal games for both teams needing to make a statement.
2-1 to us
Was’nt sure about your team Thomas but the more i thought about it you might be right.
Not sure about zubes but who ealse is there. Is Foley match fit in contention in fact is he still with us. My heads spinning. Dont be surprised if he shakes up the strikers but I think these will get 45 mins to see if they can click.
Surely Zubes translating skills are vital at the moment !?
Not really. All bar Doumbia speak English. So Sako and Boukari can do the translator bits. And don’t forget Moyokolo ! He’s still with us.
I didn’t know that.
Good, cos I thought Stearman and Peszko were a good right side pairing…..
That’s why Wardinho is so crap!!!!
No one has ever bothered to translate instructions to him into bogfairyish!!!
1-1 draw. This team still needs to get settled and its tough to see a win here until that happens.
Hoping I’m wrong in predicting Cardiff 2 Wolves 1.
Very, very pleased to hear Bellamy is out.
A 2-0 victory for Wolves
I really believe we’ll get Whelan on the hook, because Stoke are working on several buys. Charlie Adam is confirmed and they’re working with the N’Zonzi deal.
I saw Cardiff’s first game of the season and they lacked creativity in their central midfield and Bellamy is not playing for Cardiff. They are a very physical team playing very direct football.
i also think it will be tough 2-1 wolves.if i can throw a spanner in the works stale has bought some good players . but no full backs why who after watching the last 3 games god we are crying out for a left back also a right back come on stale full backs urgent.worried supporter
Largly agree with the above – full backs please !!! However , Sunday will be very tough , two indifferent starts for two teams in transition . I’m going with Stale , as he’s already proving to be very shrewd with his new additions . Survive the first half assault from Cardiff , then I think we’ll get at least a point out of the game .
Wolves again to ‘win’ the second half . Cardiff 1 Wolves 3
[ getting the hang of that scoreline ! ]
2-1 Wolves. Sako to bag another screamer 🙂
Don’t share your enthusiasm for Glenn Whelan – a journeyman’s journeyman if ever there was one. But cheered by the quality of the three French signings and the Austrian Margreitter.
Not sure I would call Whelan a journeyman. Making 92 appearances in the Premier League the last three seasons on a team that had more success than Wolves, plus a regular starter on his national team, sounds like a solid Championship player signing to me.
Well, it hasn’t been difficult to be more successful than Wolves recently…
and Keith Andrews and Steven Ward are also regular starters for Ireland. You may be right – Championship may be his level – but I don’t see him adding any qualities the squad doesn’t already have.
3-1 Wolves – positive thinking!
Pleased with the new guys last night, a good second half.
Like your team again. I think Bjorn and Frank will be knocking on the door for a start up front soon.
I’m going for Cardiff 1 Wolves 2
UTW
I didn’t see as many positives in the Northampton game as others seem to have seen, unfortunately.
Cardiff 3 Wolves 1
Would like to think we ‘ve shaken off terrible game against derby,so hoping for a win of any sort even though it will be tough,
Liked what i saw in the second half last night at northampton some nice inter play with the new guys,sako and tongo look a good prospect,think we should buy tongo because i think some premiership clubs will be looking on with envy at his silky style of play so sign him up NOW.UTW.
I think a win is needed to keep promotion hopes on the boil & the fan’s enthusiasm & belief. I do not think we can play a two man midfield with Henry out & need to play Davis with Doumbia & Edwards. SEB to be sub for me, Doyle always the better choice when playing three in midfield, don’t think that Peszko or Berra deserve dropping so would leave out Bukari & Margreitter. Davis not good enough at the moment but if we don’t get Whelan he is the only choice, shows how weak the squad is in some areas.
I’m going for a 3-2 to wolves…. Unless that is, some buxom big breasted wolf fox walks behind the goal just as SEB goes to shoot and puts him right off. Happens to me all the time. I’m saying boukari is gonna have a massive contribution to this three points too.
I can’t see us scoring more than one (and given our reliance on these new wide men to make something happen I’m not even convinced we’ll score that many) and I can’t see us keeping a clean sheet. Ipso facto: 1-1
Think we’ll give the redbirds a good game, and with the unpredictability of the new guys we should have enough to turn Cardiff over.
4-1 Wolves
Didn’t see the game last night but it sounds like we deserved the result, think this will be a tough game, I would take a point now because I don’t think Cardiff will drop many at home…I will go 2-2….oh, and just watching this Chelsea v Athletico game…Chelsea getting spanked, maybe we should make a move for this Falcao bloke in time for the cup game against them…talented fella, not only has he got 6 goals in 2 games but his song Amadeus in the 80’s was quite catchy too!!
We can’t keep a clean sheet. 1-1.
Forgot to mention,could do with a big quick striker,don’t think our striker’s are up for it the
fight me thinks.
Sako and Nouble up front would upset any defence.
sako yes ,nouble no.dosen’t hold much for me,sorry.
Totally agree. Nouble reminds me of a cross between Marlon Harewood and Carl Cort.
Siggy ought to do well in time – he ain’t big but he’s fast!
No idea at all really. Which Wolves side will turn up? The barnstorming Barnsley beaters, or the desperate against Derby dullards?
Wild and woolly guess: Cardiff 2-0 Wolves.
Tough one Sunday . 2-1 wolves . Would like to see sako playing in the hole , behind one of the strikers in the future sometime .
Lets not get too carried away by the Northampton result..
Yes it was a good second half.
But last year we got a better result in the same fixture and played them off the park with a players and a manager now gone…
Cardiff will be a harder nut to crack.
I think the best we can hope for is a draw. 2-2
Wolves 3-0 Cardiff
Thomas I am going to use amberw01f now rather than AmberWolf, can you add my points to the new account, not that I have many, but the 1-1 for Derby can only help.
Right back to the matter at hand, I am going to be optimistic tonight, I think we will slowly see the players knit together to form a solid cohesive unit, and we will only get better. After a win in the cup, and the manager slowly brining the new players into the mix with the better reminants of McCarthy’s team I can see us sneeking a hard fought victory. Cant see our first clean sheet yet so it will have to be a nail biter with us managing to hang on to the end this time.
Cardiff 1 – 2 Wolves.
Cardiff have some injury problems, Bellamy being the biggest. I think we have some real attacking strength now. If we can adjust to losing Henry, i think we can win. So let’s say 1-2 to Wolves.
0-0
An entertaining game but no one wi find the net. I hope I’m wrong!! UTW
0-0
An entertaining match but I can’t see any goals being scored. I hope I’m wrong and we take the three points! UTW!
One of the impressions I’ve received of Ståle’s style is flexibility.
The players he has brought in, like Sako and Boukhari, are more than just wingers.
One of them should move into midfield before Edwards plays and then Pesko can start on the wing.
Personally I think the less we use the MM players the better.
Certainly Sigurdason or Nouble before SEB.
I thought Baath and Magreitter were a good central pairing.
I’m going for 0 -3 to us.
Agree with you about midfield but would pick johnson ahead of batth. Great news that you rate batth. Good for the future. That would mean four new signings in a completely new midfield. I would love to see this happen.
Played well against 2 poor sided in barnsley and northampton. Not so well against decent sides, leeds and derby. Cardiff are a decent side, esp at home. Still a lot of work for stale to do, with a lot of new players and new system. Cardiff win 2-1
Cardiff 1-2 Wolves looks like we’ve got some power in the midfield at last, we’ve got players who can score we’re passing the ball forwards more often and the defence are starting to look a little better. Positive signs and I think that this squad could do some very good things this year, still quite a way to go though and if we do win this it’ll be a battle.
Not that inspiring against Barnsley or Northampton, but nice to see a few new faces Sako certainly looks like he has something though someone should tell him don’t shoot from that far out ( maybe others will take note). I’m happy Batth played at last I think he deserves a chance in the league. Last week I went for a win My head said we would’nt win two in a row but blind faith beat me, So my head says a draw 2-2
ANY NEW STRIKER SIGNING’S YET.ANYBODY
A drunkenly optimistic 3-0 the lads.
COME ON ME BABBIES!!!
Transfer window closed..#
Fair play West ham, QPR, showing CEO’s throughtout the land how things should be done in the premier league…
“statements of intent”
I’m worried we will be opened up too easy without Henry, but I’m excited to see more of the new boys. Personally I’d go with Nouble and Blakey upfront.
Going with a hopeful Cardiff 1 Wolves 2.
I get the feeling we now have some real(for want of a better word) mavericks in this side and are in for a roller-coaster ride.It’s going to be a very interesting season-hang on to your hats ! I’m going for a win,2-0 to us.
2-1 win to Wolves. Why not?
I hope we get a bit of luck. Im going for wolves 3 cardiff 1. Utw.
2-0 Cardiff I’m afraid.
1-2 Cardiff
Still gelling and I think it’ll still be a month or so til we hit our stride.
Still praying for that elusive clean sheet – but don’t think it will happen yet.
Cardiff 1 – Wolves 1
Let’s go for a double…
1-1
Betre å vite visst enn berre å gjette
Wolves 2 Cardiff 1
So, that’s the squad then – good luck to the new guys, from what I’m reading there’s a lot to be optimistic about.
Cardiff away has never been easy, for me this is one of these Championship games with both teams giving their all. Hope to catch a stream for the first half on the net before I’m off to attending this fierce punk/hardcore gig later in the eve.
1-1 (Doyle)
Everyone needs to read this link about steve the red mirgan. This is where our transfer fees and money is going. Explains a lot.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2196476/Redrow-founder-Steve-Morgan-aims-baby-back.html
What a load of rubbish. You can’t just move money between companies like confetti.
Thats a little bit naive. This totally explains why morgan is reluctant to have any debt with regards wolves, as when the banks are looking to lend money, they will assess his total risks. His true love is redrow, not wolves. He is using wolves as a cash cow. When the banks looked at the wolves accounts, what do you think they saw. A financially struggling company or a financially healthy one, despite being relegated. This would give the bank more confidence is lending him more money to finance the redrow buyout. Therefore very little money on transfers, wages etc. Money for building compton houses, new stands and restaurants. By spending money on these items rather than players it strengthens his position with the banks. This explains everything behind the thinking at wolves boardroom level and why moxey has been able to keep his job.
No you cant, but it ain’t that difficult to do it perfectly legally. There are a number of ways.
On the other hand I actually see this as a potentiol positive for us. It will give him more control of Redrows profits and what he does with them. Like it or not anyhting that gives our owner more money and control of it, can not be bad for us. he got to make it to spend it.
Unlike others I have never beleived he bought us (inheritied more like), just to help support his business ventures. If he did it was one hell of a risk.
I also think that the Compton Development is a win win for everyone, which is the way best deals are put together.
I am not saying for one minute that Morgan is going to take huge financial risks for Wolves or damage his other business ventures for us. He aint and nor should he. But I do believe he is committed to success and building it the right way. Which means he should fire Moxey immediately, but he will get there eventually.
Turning to more immediate things am I alone in being underwhelmed by this Transfer window? Yeh yeh I know we are all excited by the new players etc etc so dont all yell at me.
I have not done thetrading math yet but it would seem we have come out very comfortably ahead, with more money squirreled away, in the hope we forget.
We have not addressed the biggest long term problems in our defence.
Despite first impressions which are always promising by how much have we really improved the team?
Moxey will point to the signing of 7/8 new players de dah de dah.
And today I read about SS preaching the sensible mantra again.
Nice job Jez, once again you hope you can point to all the signings, to prove how committed you are, while stashing the cash. Nothing wrong with this except that we are always going to be working with lowest common denominator. I fear all you have done is given us a team just good enough for the Champ. I hope to Christ i am wrong but……. why oh why didnt we strengthen the defence. On this basis if we do have a serious run of bad luck/injuries/form and did go down one year, all I see you doing is making us comfortable in that division. This can only take us inevitably in one direction.
I hope that I am totally wrong and quite expect to be yelled at but just watch the heavy heart bull crap again.
Please Steve lets tear up jezs contract before it really is too late.
I feel a bit the same way. While I think we’ve bought some good players in we’ve sold our best ones. I also think we could have done with at least a couple more being brought in. Defense still looks decidedly dodgy. The money must be there. We have brought in around £27M from sales, there are parachute payments, the “treasure chest”, that was promised to the new manager back in the spring and wages have been halved. Out of that we’ve spent around £8 – 10M. Maybe the guys SS wanted were not available.
One other point. I think we have Doumbia on a years loan with an option to buy. I’m not certain how binding this is but given the impact he has made already and the funds we have in the bank, perhaps we need to think about making the deal permanent now.
Personally I think Morgan’s been more than generous when it comes to buying players. He may see our club as a business in the sense that he won’t throw money at it unless he can see potential gains, either in a stronger team, higher league position more money from the league etc. or a big sell on price. But I can honestly say I’ve never felt held back by him not giving enough money to the manager. We’re obviously never going to spend like Man City but I think, considering the relatively small size of our club, we do spend a lot on players.
When we first went up to the premiership, with Hayward at the helm, I felt he wasn’t prepared to spend big and was looking to recover some of the money he’d thrown at the club over the years to get us there. We never had a chance that year because there was no money to spend. When we got relegated last year the money was there but spent on players who turned out to be unfit for the job (the players fault, not mick’s, moxey’s or morgan’s). Stale has obviously got full backing from Morgan and he’s been able to go out and buy the players he wants because of Morgan stumping up the cash.
Morgan may make a few quid out of our club but I really don’t believe that’s his only objective. When you see footage of him watching a game he looks as nervous and passionate as the die hards in the south bank. Now Moxey. that’s a different story.
Owners of football clubs mostly seem bit of a shady lot.Until the revolution might be another case of careful what you wish for.
my old man reckons morgan to be a bad apple and thats from a baggie…i really cant make my mind up yet. if everything is rosy on the pitch and we are playing well all will be forgotten . all i know is pushing corporate seating and advertising millionaire properties in the programme will wind an awful lot of us working classes up..yes were not in debt but that is thanks ONLY to sir jack!
Still no clean sheet.
Cardiff 1-3 Wolves
I am worried that nothing has been done to fix our main problem which is the defence. Margreitter looks to be average at best.
Offensively we look better so at least there is a Galacticos feel about the team: rubbish defensively but potent going forward. I expect to see more 5-4s than 1-0s.
Cardiff away is difficult and with the injuries in the middle of the park, I think we will lose this one.
Cardiff 3 Wolves 2
In regard to the transfer window there will surely be plenty of ‘loans’ available.
As for to the defence I think we must give Ståle time.
To me Margreitter was excellent.
He was composed and intelligent in his distribution and got the job done.
Baath and him are similar in age and potentially are an excellent central defence.
We also have Mouloyoko coming back and Johnson.
We must see how we do with what we have and be optimistic……
I hear ya Robin, lets hope we have a few tricks up our sleeve with some good loans, I have faith in SS dont know much about Mouloyoko, heard he was good at Hull but never seemed to fir for MM.
Saw a rumour Frimpong is nealry fit (seems soon to me) and another loan with us is on the cards hope so.
Am hopeful too that Frimpong might come back on loan!
did he really watch the last seasons dvd…me thinks not
Cardiff 2 Wolves 3
2-0 Cardiff win…
Can I have two goes?
I think SS should be adventurous.
If we start with the team which finished against Northampton, I predict a win 2-1.
If we start with Doyle and EB, it will be a draw 1-1.
If I can’t have two goes I’ll stick with 2-1 because I am in my Saturday, slightly hung over but optimistic, mood.
If Bellamy plays we have a problem with his pace, if not – no reason we can`t sneak a 2-1 win,
Bellamy’s def out i think.
This is the local club for me over the years, NO !! I don’t support them, but when you’re offered hospitality seats you don’t turn them down. One thing is for sure C will not lie down and play dead. They are a very difficult side to beat at home, their supporters are vocal with an intimidating edge and will give us a very noisy and hostile reception, which may surprise the players and our travelling barmy army. I will be pleased if we can come away with a draw 1-1. For some games a share of the spoils is a good result. This is one of those games.
The cobblers match gave the open minded supporters within our ranks a glimpse of the gathering momentum within the club since Ståle’s arrival. Some players are still coming up a bit short but there is much optimism for future development.
I welcome the introduction of exuberant players from other cultures who are bringing a breath of fresh air to a club which has become stagnant by simply trying to survive in the PL with limited tactics, players whose claim to fame is that “they put in a good shift ” but no style. You must remember the style and swagger shown by Wig** last season when they needed it, what a delight to watch they were. Yes we are a long way from PL acceptibility, but didn’t you get just a little bit excited with Sako’s peach of a goal ??
As ever UTW !!!!
Bloody good points Cwmbran.
I had totally forgotten the old bad blood between us and Cardiff, fer sure we are going to get the treatment. I am beginning to wonder about my 2-1 win prediction but am keeping the faith.
Could not agree more with your comments about style and swagger. Its the factor that makes the difference between good players and great players. Mick and i suspect TC totally coached it out. Its one of those things you either got or you dont got. You can coach it out but it nigh impossablel to coach in, you can only encourage. Perhaps I am forgetting some but Doooog had it to spare, Bully had in buckets, Waggy and Knowles were’nt short either.
Same in managers, to us old farts Cloughie (before he fell of his bike) and Shankly. Walking out of that tunnel with the swagger not even considering you could be beat, its a goal in the bank.
Same in other sports.
I hope SS encourages and TC does not get a say in the matter.
heres another oldie, went with my future father in law to see greaves play for spurs. as we walked out I asked him what he thought of greaves, mmm not much was the reply, was hardly in the game. “No” I politley replied “Mind you he did score 3 goals!”
Theres a bloke who never put a shift in his life, how i wish we had some one as lazy as him today.
I heartily agree with everything you’ve said.
The only thing that would have made it better was if I had written it!
One of my memories from way back was when we used to play the baggies. We all loved the Doog and hated Astle but they were both really carved from the same block. A large helping of arrogance, total self-belief, a lot more skill than they were given credit for and a great eye for the goal.
Those were the days.
Nurse, the screens!
While on the subject let us not forget the great George Best who never put a shift in!
I once met him at a party in the 1980’s and we were both a little the worse for wear.
I staggered over to him and slurred.
“How did you do it?”
He looked, witheringly, at me.
“*Dexys man!….Dexy’s,” he said with a leer and wandered off.
* Dexys = Dexedrines, a form of amphetamine, readily available in the late 60’s….
And a Manager in Busby who did not try to coach it out of him, actually didnt care what he did except for 90mins every match day
Players like that can make the whole team look better. Tescos were pretty crap then but I hate to say played way above their skill level especially in Cups bag then. A coulple of cocky bastards made all the difference.
Notice theirs are cocky bastards ours are true heros.
I hate to say this, actually the devil made me, but I used to rate Bomber Brown.
Dont worry about it Clive, I am ashamed that I went to their shitehole once when we were’nt playing them. Saw WBA play Villa, I have no idea how it happened. I musta beeen drinking and got on the wrong bus. Both were bottom of Div it was dire. Biggest excitement was villas dutch sounding guy Sleehenouk????? Broke something and played in a sling.
I completely agree with this. Shankley’s team was 1 nil up before kick off because the players were so confident and intimidating in the tunnel (according to my dad anyway). I play Gaelic football and the majority of my team is over 6 foot and look like they live in the gym (myself not included), normally when I shake hands with the guy I’m marking at the start of the game he’ll comment on how big our players are. That can only be a good thing, makes me feel confident and probably takes a bit of wind out of the opponents sails.
The players Stale has brought in all seem like big, strong, intimidating characters. I think we’re probably the hardest tean in the Championship. Obviously they need to be decent footballers too. Looking forward to seeing the latest influx as I’ve been impressed so far by all the new guys Stale has brought in.
Looking for a 3-1 Wolves win with hopefully a change up front.
Im feeling more positive after the league cup win, the second half display was brilliant. But I think this will be a game to early for us and we’ll sneak a draw if were lucky. 1-1
Lest we forget, McDickwadhead signed a bunch of players, and then never, or sparingly, used them! Did we not all rant and rave about this issue? Of course we did.
Now we have a new manager with a slew of new blood, giving them a chance.
Lets keep our counsel for later in the season and let this new merlin/messiah stir the pot and work his magic, and see what transpires.
And for all the comments ( not all on this blog ) about the stuffy, scrappy goals at Northampton let me remind y’all of the old adage “There is no such thing as a bad goal ” If it is over the line, it counts. No marks for style, or perfection, or points for loss of balance, or anysuch bollocks. If its in, its in.
As my girlfriends used to say………………..infrequently, ( or not, ha) I might add!!!
And the usual FOWB to you all.
PS
Wolves to win at Cardiff, of course.
Cardiff win 2-1
This comment from Doyle on the sanitized site.
“I signed a contract here last year for four years and it would have been wrong of me to be looking around somewhere else.
“I committed to the club last year and they committed to me as well and I’m looking forward to this exciting challenge.
“It’s about me putting that out on the pitch as well, less talking more action, and hopefully we will have a successful season.”
Nice to read, especially seeing that fuckin’ traitor Fletcher scoring on his debut. bastard….and kightly and jarvis.
Hope their seasons are as mediocre as their loyalty.
Who the eff is this guy Fletcher????????
Treacherous Bastard springs to mind.
Yeah Clive , Doyle deserves to be commended. He has shown old school loyalty I think. He has had a dip in form , but was a talisman for us too before. In form he can be again. Plus I really enjoyed his celebration in front of fans after goal in derby match. It meant a lot to him you could see to be scoring for the faithful!
Yeah, good one Clive! If Doyle had been more useful than eunuch gibbon in the last 12 months, I’m sure we’d have been reading that exact statement and not: ‘Ive loved my time at Wolves but feel I need a new challenge, whilst wishing a great set of supporters and staff the very best.’ Not that I’m in the slightest bit cynical!
Wonder how Jarvis feels about not even making the bench!
I’m trying to stay mad at Fletch but respect the guy’s talent too much – would have loved him to have stayed.
Think this is another tough test for a fledgling Wolves side. It will be interesting to see how Solbaken sets his side out…and if he has learnt anything from his Leeds experience.
I see an entertaining fast battling performance get us a 1-1 draw
‘of’ Paisley even!!!! Doh!
Cardiff 3-1 Wolves
Notice Leeds and Derby knocking them in, maybe they are for real and our results not looking so bad.
Typical Wolfer always looking for the bright sside.
On the same subject I cant even reconcile seeing the shite 3rd in the table, hope thats an omen for them. We were top this time last year.
Don’t see us getting anything tomorrow I’m afraid.
Cardiff 2-0 Wolves
A win tomorrow will shoot us up the league,so be brave stale and play an attacking side,try and out score them,I’m going for a 3-4 to the wolves.
Disappointed with the last days tranfers still think we needed a big striker + defender.UTW.
Morgan’s a scally.
Sod it, I’m also going for a 4-3 win…for solidarity with my mate John and a bit of a laugh! Just think mate, we’ll have more points than Jess Ennis in the heptathlon when this bastard comes in
Thought the results went well for us today looks like it could be quite an open division with no one running away with it.Nice to see Bolton struggling.As long as we arent as flat as we were against Leeds and Derby i think we could win 3-1.
A tentative 2-1 to the wolves. A silly mistake for their goal but the new lads pulling it out for our two.
Also biggest win of the week… I’m top of the wolves blog premiership fantasy league table… bring it on boys!
Wolves to win 2-1 – new boys to shine, no Bellamy for them, so we’ll edge it.
Just back from the game – Chelsea Wolves under 21’s . Wanted to be the first to post a report but them buggers on the official site have beat me to it !! Since when have they been that quick? Dissapointing result , but as ever it doesn’t tell the whole story .
I,like many of us , have heard of many of our young players , but haven’t seen them play . So off to Stamford Bridge I went with a comely mix of London Wolves .
By far the better team in the first half we managed to still go in at half time 0-1 down . All the action at the other end as Wolves pressed , created numerous chances , but seemed to dither at the crucial moments . Chelsea scored on a breakaway ..great save by McCarey but the ball landing back to Piazon who thumped home .
As so often happens , the second half was mostly Chelsea pressure . So , most of the game was up the other end again …typical .
I really wanted to witness the sensation that seems to be this lad Ismail . Given our dominance in the first half up the other end it was hard to tell { lower shed end ] but , ten mins or so into the 2nd half , after some strong home pressure , a Wolves break ..flick on by Winnall , Zeli cuts inside -ala Kites -and bends a superb shot towards the far post…only to be denied by a great save . Within a minute it was 2-0 to Chelsea .
Heads dropped a bit .
I can’t say we wuz robbed . 5-0 says it all . however , some plusses . Doherty was excellent at rightback . Ebanks Landell was big and fairly solid . Ismail , McCarey , Ihiekwe , Winnall and McAlinden all look promising . Correct that , they all did !!
Please forgive any grammer errors , I have a 5pound bottle of red wine by my side .It cost 5 pounds to get in , saw 5 goals ,away attendance [ not counting the younger academy players and family ] was 5 [ five ] . I was there !! How sad…The wife is less than impressed …
Symmetry….5 goals tomorrow anyone ??
UTW
Hi Robert. Great post mate, thanks for that. Yes, 5 for us tomorrow. Perfect symmetry…apart from tomorrow’s Blue team now being red!
If Chris Evans had kept his gob shut about Zeli, I wonder if we’d all be so intrigued by him? He sounds like an average reserve player to me, not that I’ve ever seen him (so should shut up!) Enjoy the vino – I’m on my 4th tin of Fosters…bit squiffy!
You’ll need to make that a 5th Fosters if this is going to work…
slurp…UTW
My mistake! Of course, I am on my fifth Fosters! 5 fingers round my shaft for a good tug if we win tomorrow, too! Oh no…I’ve crossed the bloody boundary
Well done Robert a noble report, hope you enjoyed the plonk.
A bit worried about 5 goals Sunday, cos I cant see us scoring more than 2.
Good to get a report on the youngster from an independent trustworthy source. Seems we wauz doing great till they got 5 lucky goals
Not saying they were lucky goals to them …just that our chances weren’t taken when we had them .
So hard to justify that I feel a little hard done by though .
As I said , 5-0 says it all .
Where’s that bottle ??
Robert, I do love that post more than any other. 5 likes by 7am for the immortal line: ‘our chances weren’t taken when we had them’ after getting smashed! Love it mate!
Reminds me of that immortal line from Big Ron Atkinson, when manager of Forest when they got stuffed 0 – 8 at home by Utd.
We had all the pressure, they got 8 lucky breakaway goals!!!
I’m on my 2nd Alaska Amber of the evening, and it’s only 6.17 in Houston, so I’ll easily get to 5 tonight….then I’ll start on the Boddingtons!!
You must have very thin, girly fingers if you can get five on, Ben, at least that’s what yer dad tells me!!!
FOWB
Fingers like Cumberland sausages (injected with beef) good man. I am out of sauce now, and it is 12.20am. I must depart and dream, the impossible dream, of a late David Edwards winner. Clive, can we come and live with you in Houston please? I fancy a change of scenery and hear the schools are great for Arthur. I can blog in your very neighborhood. Pay me £5k and I’m there
Love you too …I’m going to bed now…no , soon – more wine first –
Another thing , spoke to one of the youth coaches . The under 18s and under 19s both lost to Chelsea today . 2-1 5-1 .
Perhaps our academy has a ittle catching up to do .Mind , they do prise the countrys best away from home clubs …
PS , by coincidence , smashed is my default mode
Just beginning the beering myself here in ny. Long weekend over here ! I’m sure you’ll make the most of it in Houston Clive! Great country for bank holidays . Gotta give it to the yanks!
As long as they’re young and hungry they’ll be fine! Speaking of which, ive Got the munchies
Cupla those Cumberland sausages could be tasty:))
Would love 3 points tomorrow but I’ll be happy with a draw.
More than anything I want to see us keep a CLEAN SHEET. I can’t remember the last time we did, even against lower league opposition in the cup we’ve conceeded. Can’t be bothered to look it up but I’d be surprised if we have kept one in 2012 (not including friendlies). Off the top of my head I think QPR away last season was the last time? Going to look it up now and if I’m right I’ll be chuffed.
It’s a joke. When we go 1 nil up I always know we’ll need another one to win.
As a defensive minded player it annoys the shit out of me.
Damn, we’ve actually kept 3 clean sheets this year, last one being Everton at home on the 6th of May. Still not good enough though and my point still stands.
Interesting stat, we didn’t win any of the 3 games in which we kept a clean sheet. All 0-0 draws. And only 2 were in the league, 1 was against brum in the cup. I’m babbling, I know. Drink does that to me.
Optimism reigns supreme for me at the moment with the new signings, so i’m going for a 2-0 win for the boys.
Gonna be a tough test. 1-1 I’ll go with.
Cardiff 1 Wolves 2
Cant find any links to a stream for this one,
Anyone got any ideas before I resort to gold 990AM
Hopefully view here. Thanks to Jody Craddock’s tweet
http://www.wiziwig.tv/broadcast.php?matchid=169860&part=sports
im going for tight game but ultimately a loss due to our leaky defence 2-1 to cardiff
What a first half.. Boy are we in trouble..
Iv’e seen better teams down the park.
Solbakken needs to get this sorted quick. We are worst than last year.
Thanks for the link to that feed Nige. But the only good thing was that it kept cutting out. What a shambles. Ikeme and Sako are worth the shirt. The rest, not so much. Zubar? Absolute crap.
It’s as if SS’s team talk is “Go and play like you did under Mick.”
Hopefully the feed will continue to be intermittent in the 2nd half, because I don’t think I can watch this sh!t continuously.
2nd half was no better than the first. Apart from picking the ball out of his net for Sako’s goal, the Cardiff keeper could have taken the day off. We created nothing and looked like creating nothing.
They played all the clever triangles and neat approach play. Whittingham and Noone looked class for them – the free-kick for the 3rd goal was a beauty. In contrast, we panicked like a lot of headless chickens, and it looked like we had no time on the ball compared to them.
Could be a long season.
This transition…when will it pull through again? Can’t wait for it to be over – poor performance today and it needs to be sorted out. I hope it gets sorted out sooner rather than later…
Shocking performance. I’m not sure SS knows what he is doing. Outside of Henry and Hennessey that’s pretty much Wolves starting XI this season and they’re simply unable to compete against a workmanlike Cardiff. Don’t need ten games of this to know our back four aren’t even Championship standard.
Agreed, I can not think of one positive.
This is not about the team settling or needing time. This is about basic coaching, gamecraft and execution.
I will give the guy time, but I will not excuse lack of a gameplan, and any sign of organisation in defence and tactics. Cardiff were a great example of Championship Football. They were organised held their shape and hustled. Our defence in the later stages was a shambles.
I can make excuses for some things but this performance to me was totally down to coaching and lack of game plan. We did not get any of the basics right.
I cannot believe Batth would be any worse than Berra. WTF is he still doing near the first team?
Zubar is crap. Did we really turn down money for him? How is he better than Doherty? Seriously, someone help me because he’s horrible.
Ward, caught out of position again and again today. To be fair he didn’t have much help from Sako or his midfielders constantly giving the ball away with ill-advised passes. Edwards is useless and Doumbia had an off-game.
Remain unconvinced by SEB and Doyle together upfront. Peszko is too light weight for the Championship.
D
When your substitutes are Stearman and Noble you know you are on the slide.
Sliding gates too. How many are going to put up with this especially after last season.
SS saw the videos. He knows what we know. Unfortunately Moxey and Morgan’s only
concern is pushing up the value of assets.
SS managing with one hand tied behind his back.
Healthy bank balance will not brig crowds in or push up the table.
We all know now what the agenda is.
Wholesale clear out didn’t happen we sold the wrong players.
I agree. Moxey has done just enough to placate the happy-clappers, but overall we’ve not done anything to address a pathetic defense (needed to clear-out all of them) and we’ve sold and then failed to replace the only person who could score 20 goals in this league (Fletcher). Sure we’ve brought in a couple of flare players, but they’ll easily go missing in games once the tackles really start flying.
Sorry Should have typed Nouble.
I’m lost for words on how bad that was.
Does anyone know Redknapps number ???
Reality bites. Get well soon Karl , foles.
Absolutely bang on mate, a real wake up call.
I will give SS room and time, but he can not sluff this one of. This shambles was a lot to do with tactics, game plan (lack of) and coaching. To me it had TC all over it. Not blaming him I think he has trusted people but he has to take some of the responsibilty for sending this lot out.
I do think we’re in for a mediocre season at best. Solbakken hasn’t solved the problems at the back. That’s where managers traditionally start; but, oh no, not him. Maybe he’ll be a Kevin Keegan type of character and get us so that we can score more than our opponents, however many they put in our net (no, it didn’t work for Keegan in his first stint at Newcastle, but it was an interesting approach). Still, this guy Solbakken must know what he’s doing as he was many times champion in Denmark; average weekly attendance 8,315 (2009-10 season).
We’ve torn down and rebuilt a whole end of the ground since we last kept a clean sheet. Maybe pointing out that we need some attention to the defensive capabilities of the team can be thought of as something more than the usual Wolverhampton whinging. You don’t need to be a football expert to do that, you just need a four year-old’s grasp of statistics. Unfortunately, Stale has shown no evidence of that at this time. Nobody wanted to buy any of our back four in the transfer window, so he didn’t feel the need to replace them. Maybe he should have wondered why they were so unpopular. It’s not the goalkeeping that’s been the problem, it’s what’s in front of him that’s the weak link. They weren’t good enough for PL, they’re probably not good enough for the Championship. They might be OK in Guatemala (not their top league) or Denmark.
It’s going to be a long season, and, I fear, disappointing, because strengthening in midfield has not addressed a deeper problem.
Sorry to whinge, Mike
Whinge away mate we can not keep sweeping it under the carpet. As long as we are such a shambles at the back it is impossible to assess mid field and forwards.
What a complete shambles after a great start,Zubar used to be a favourite of mine but now he’s a liability time to give someone else a go don’t ask me who but Zubar needs to get back to basic’s.
When we can’t wait for Henry to return, it worries me to think how far we have fallen.
I blame SM,JM for this when you sell your best player’s and not recognise what gone wrong for the past three years and especially after last season conceding over 80 goals that should tell you what is required,so when the window opens for loans, use it by getting as many defenders as you can at any price then we may well be ok.pissed off .