It’s tough listening to the Wolves when you can’t get to the game, but with Big Ron a co-commentator on Radio WM, the pain was at least numbed during our 2-1 defeat at times.
An earlier Big Ron-ism suggested that Wolves manager Mick Miller would have been happy with the way things went in the first half.
The problem was, it was no laughing matter for any Wolves fan today, let alone Mick Miller or even Mick McCarthy as we lost our first game of the season.
Both halves followed the same pattern according to the former Villa boss.
Fulham exerted themselves for the opening exchanges of each half with lots of ‘little lollipops’ to the ‘front and back sticks,’ while we managed to stay in a game which could have gone under.
With 20 minutes left when Ron added: “They must go for it now as they have nothing to lose but the match.”
We lost the match.
It sounded like we were as committed as ever and left every ounce of energy and every drop of sweat on the Craven Cottage pitch. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and we lost by a cruel deflection.
A bigger worry may soon begin to develop through the unenviable reputation that we seem to be gaining.
Six more bookings, a red card, and a home crowd squarking, pissing and moaning more than Phil Mitchell without his crack pipe.
An injury too, to Bobby Zamora, which will doubtless result in the burning of a Karl Henry effigy by a Florida pastor, despite our man-of-the-match being utterly blameless for it.
My speakers were bleeding with the incessant drone from those posh little Londoners, who hardly have a reputation for being intimidating.
“Disgrace to the Premier League,” they yelled.
It was so noisy that commentator Mark Regan threatened: “If that bloke to the right of me keeps on like this, I’m going to rip his jaw off.”
Big Ron replied: “That’s me Mark!”
Jelle Van Damme gave us an early lead against the Cottagers and it sounded like we weathered any storm that blew our way after that.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the second half when Dembele toe poked an equaliser after a ‘bread and butter cross wasn’t dealt with.’
After that, the cards kept coming as regularly as the Big Ron-isms and we lost a game that Ron fancied us to go on and win with 10 minutes left.
It was Berra who committed the all important foul, which resulted in the winning goal, when our wall capitulated and Dembele deflecfted the winner.
Mick Miller won’t be happy when he sees that again.
Mick McCarthy will be positively apoplectic.
I am gutted. Not just cos my girlfriend’s dad’s a fulham fan, and not just cos I have to stay at his house next weekend (although that is obviously featuring pretty heavily in my thoughts) but more the rubbish we’ll have to read all week about our ‘dirty’ style, and definitely because it sounds like our wall made like a****n at chelski and invited the ball into the net, parting like the red sea in the presence of moses, and even offering a helpful deflection in the process. I really thought we would win this one.
Where did fletch play when he came on for jvd
Fletcher on the left of midfield when he came on at half time for jvd apparently, which was soon a 5 man midfield when Doyle went off for Jones. Then at the end (before their winner) he went up top on his own when guedioura came on for sylvan. I think! Don’t quote me on this. Just gutted, but kind of felt it was coming.
i really thought we would get something today, but i suppose the writing was on the wall as we hadn’t lost yet and they hadn’t won. almost as certain as when pompey came to molineux last year!
have read mccarthy’s comments and he says we’re gona change tack, play spurs off the park and win 3-0, so it’s not all doom and gloom!
Fletcher came on up top with SEB at the start of the second half and Doyle got dropped into right midfield. Not really sure why Mick did this to be honest cus we just didn’t look the same team 2nd half without Doyle up top. Things just didn’t stick without him there. Yes he can do a job in wide right cus we know how good he is but you don’t move your best forward into midfield. The right change for me if he wanted to stick with a 4-4-2 was not to bring on Fletcher.
And then when Mick wanted to change it to five in midfield, which i think was the right call cus we were losing the battle in there, it should have been SEB who went off and Doyle to play as the lone striker. Really think those changes yeaterday made a difference on us getting something out of the game
Reputation so well earned your own fans fear the backlash. Nuff said.
Whereas Albion have the ‘pretty football’ reputation. But it’s got you nowhere in 8 years
And where exactly are you? You survived one season. One minute Mad Mick is an idiot and needs to go and now he is a hero – I still think he is an idiot but he is at tghe best club for his talents.
go and play with a yo yo
Oh so confident after one year of survival – you are suddenly taking like you have been in the Premier for years. Pretentious my friend. Dont have to eat your words please.
time will tell, but i get the feeling we’ll send you down at mol and vindicate my point. this is our second season in the prem, a feat you achieved once (in how many attempts?) with an improbable and last ditch scramble to safety, unlike ours last year which we comfortably achieved with time to spare, and will do so again. boing off to your own blog tesco
Welcome! Whereabouts in Canada are you? Houston Clive and Big Mark are over there right now. I’m sure they’d love to meet up with you!
Calgary – if they are big bad Wolfie fans I had better meet them in a public place!
Canada!!! I love icehockey duuuuuuuuude!!! Now puck off.
Ouch – you are so brutal ! Now my feelings are hurt. Maybe you dont like the truth
Haven’t you got an albion blog you can go and bore people on? As no one on here is going to give a sh*t about what you think.
I hope we kick you off the park and send you down in May.
You actually may well kick us off the park – thats what you seem to be all about now.
Yes that right, you’ve got it, it’s what we are all about (after two games this season).
Get to the Molineux much do you? Watch all of our games on the internet maybe? (Is that because you are already sick of seeing the Albion get tonked?)
No, didn’t think so – so therefore your opinion is worth didly squat!
Blah Blah Blah – hope you enjoy your trip to Barnsley next season!
Bloody hell, we’re gonna have an Albion fan at the top of the comments table at this rate!
You’ll be playing Blackpool four times over the next two seasons that’s for sure.
If you love the Albion so much how come you moved to Canada? That’s some commute you have to your games – oh sorry my mistake you’re just some gobsh*te arm chair supporter.
I will be in Canada tomorrow, watch out.
How does it feel to be the last of a dying breed?
This time I will spell out my usual sign off, as all shit fans are dumb.
Fuck Off West Brom.
Why dont you please stay in Houston and keep that kind of vile attitude and gutter behaviour out of our beautiful country and completely out of our beautiful game. You sicken me and I am sure you sicken all quality Wolves fans.
Silly little man.
Yes, I agree, you are sick.
Now go and play with your action man dolls and get your albion filled nappy changed.
You want a piss taking war??
Ask Thomas, you’re gonna mess with the wrong one here, my little tesco friend.
FOWB
What a pathetic silly little man you are. Go take your beerf belly and your shaved head and crawl back into your hole.
Checking the score via phone while at work was horrible, hated it, especially when the BBC website said 1-1 at 5 o’clock!!. I can’t defend Henry until i’ve seen it. Stan Collymore said he should’ve been banned for 8 games, yet that’s Stan Collymore
lHe’s an arse, he always says stuff to be controversial when it makes him just sound like an idiot. Annoys me especially because he’s not exactly a saint himself.
I don’t like Stan.
Can’t wait for the roasting we get on MOTD tonight.
motd were actually very fair to us i thought. we won many admirers last year for our resolute defending, and perhaps the football people at motd don’t want to create a witch hunt for mick. unlike whichever tool wrote ‘somehow escaped punishment’ about henry’s fair challenge on zamora.
i hadn’t realised that fulham should have gone down to 10 men in the first half, pantsil’s foul was clearly the last man, and why he stayed on i have no idea. if he’d gone off we could have passed it round some more, drawn a few challenges and sung some somgs about dirty cockneys always cheating! as it is i won’t wear any criticism of our performance as they should undoubtedly have gone down to 10 men, so all fulham complaints are moot.
The commentator on the TV said it was a good clean tackle.
Danny Murphy told Mick it was a good tackle. Another MOM for Henry!
Fulham fan in peace. Look, I had no preconceived ideas about your team, and thought you looked really good in the fixture last season. But sh1t, today was a disgrace. You don’t need to play like that.
You’re entitled to your opinion, but I’d be interested to know what specifically led you to that opinion.
The tackle on Zamora. Nothing wrong with that. No arguments.
Berra’s sending off. No arguments from us. Two deliberate body-checks, rightly punished with two bookings.
The rest, in my opinion, were niggly tackles, all of which were fouls but none of which warranted cards.
It’s nothing but a witch-hunt at the moment, based on the biased coverage the media picked up on following a cherry-picked selection of tackles on Saint Joey Barton. FYI, Newcastle gave as good as they got and more.
As a consequence, I don’t blame opposition fans for going into matches with this pre-conceived idea of us.
It’ll pass though.
no, nothing to do with the Henry tackle. Just the persistent niggles, blocks off the ball, everything really. Most of them weren’t even called as fouls. Seriously, nothing to do with the media, we were shocked by what we saw. If your entire gameplan can be summed up as ‘persistent fouling’ then something’s not right.
To be fair Rich the two worst tackles in the whole game yesterday came by your team after you went 2-1 up. Both were malicious and fully intended. I can’t remeber who it was that made them but both were done to stop us breaking and getting anywhere near your goal. Not one of the ‘fouls’ you talk about were on the same level as yours. There is a difference in a player commiting a foul when trying to win a ball, which i thought all of ours were, and the two challenges your players put in. That isn’t being a dirty team in my books!!
Interesting that Chris. seems that its fair game to deliberately try and injure players yet its utterly preposterous and downright outrageous to commit ‘persistent niggles’. I reiterate…your own manager had no issue with ‘our persistent’ niggles so I suggest you either a) watch the game again or b) come to realise that football is, and should always be competive. Attitudes like yours embody what is wrong with our once great game..you know, the ones that lament a few muck and nettles on a pitch (whoops, nasty yukky persistent niggles) and fawn over some overpriced premadonas like steve marlot. Don’t worry though, west brom will be at the cottage soon so you can soon flop your penis out and eulogise over a nice game of tippy tappy football. Jesus Christ!
How odd that you’re not mentioning pantsil’s (what used to be known as) professional foul on Doyle….
Too true… should have been a straight red… but..normal London bias
I really hoped we are not going to be “Stoked” this season and given the badboy tag. With hindsight, I laughed at the Henry/Barton thing last week but I hope it doesn’t bite us in th arse.
Mick seems convinced that its going to follow us around and the weak refs can make an easy decision based on the media reputation that could snowball. The disciplinary figures don’t read great again and the broken leg will be thrown in for good measure, clean tackle or not.
Lets hope we can get a few games where the result is in our favour, cards are kept in the refs pocket and we can move on from the ever growing “tag”. I hope MOTD is not too harsh in us tonight which is probable.
On the result…. Can’t grumble really, just a shame it was the late goal.
Some select scores from the Kowloon jury:
Van Damme 8: well, well, well. Maybe we have a golden lemon – and I may have to eat crow. He won everything in the air, and gave Pantsil a torrid time. The goal was just icing on the cake. Our best player in a good first half. Must have been injured to go off?!
Doyle 7: excellent 1st half, brilliant set-up for the goal; quiet in the second half though.
Henry 6: Another good solid performance and, yes, the tackle was clean.
Everyone else was a 5 or less for me. We went to sleep in the 2nd half, and overall we just aren’t creating very much.
And, yes, there are too many yellow cards.
We are not getting this reputation for no reason. I think we need to have alook at ourselves. The Fulham fan above is obviously genuine and shocked by yesterday. Just think what is going to happen when those namby pamby Arsenal players start falling over at the merest hint at a “fair” challenge
On the game itself, how many more times to we have to be told that midfield is poor and left back is a constant problem. We have forwards who have forgotten how to score and spent millions on averageness ( is that a word?)
It’s going to be along season..but we knew that
To be fair, Daz, we weren’t as ‘hard’ as we looked in the Newcastle game, and a couple of our yellows were for dissent. In fact, after the broken foot incident (which was unfortunate and not a foul), I sensed that we stopped going in as hard after that.
Jarvis was unlucky: his yellow followed a dive by the Fulham player (although Jarvis himself then also fell over with a hint of theatre, which made things look worse perhaps).
Berra, though, was cynical. He looked totally flat-footed, and both of his yellows were for badly and blatantly deliberately obstructing a Fulham player who had (all too easily) gone past him. Myoukoulo can hardly get fit fast enough, IMO.
Berra has consistently done a lot of this type of fouling to make up for his shortcomings and often got away with it too. What was maddening yesterday was both times he got booked the fouls were needless, there were other wolves players covering behind. He’s got to sort it out because it cost us a point and ended a good run.
Who cares – last season we used 4-5-1, so this year lets kick our way to survival! ha,ha,ha!
Karl Henry is being made out to be some kind of football thug – which is absolute b*llocks. Truth is most of these pundits would prefer if we rolled over and had our belly tickled by these ‘established clubs’.
Im sorry for Zamora – sorry it wasn’t Joey Barton the week before as he truely is a nasty little b@stard.
I do daz. We’ve only played 4 bloody games and not pulis, moyes, hughton or Hughes have once uttered a single word about us being dirty. It’s a pathetic attempt by the national media to attach a stigma to the one premier league club that hasn’t had one. If only the morbidly obese, co-ordinationally retarded morons who write this stuff had kicked a ball once in their inadequate lives they’d know this. The BBC said Henry ‘somehow escaped punishment’ for the tackle but added that mark Hughes said it was fair! No wonder fergie still ignores them. Our big problem is what Martin alludes to…we keep giving the ball away. We handed the initiative to Newcastle doing this and also stoke in the second half.
Forwards who’ve forgotten how to score? SEB has 2, Fletch has 1 and he’s barely played, Doyle is a constant threat.
Bully was a constant threat, he scored 306 times
Not in the Premier League he didn’t
Did for England and would have done in the PL if given chance. However, as he was never given the chance by prior poor management we’ll never know.To dismiss him as you have is extremely dismissive and you must have a very short memory.
Doyle I agree is a constant threat..however divide his cost by goals scored and divide Bully’s cost by 306 and see what you get, same goes for Ebanks Blake
Doyle was bought to score goals, and, on that criteria, he falls short
If Bull was on the market now, he would command a higher fee than Doyle. But, that said Doyle is one of the best players I have seen at the Mol in years, he just doesn’t score enough goals !!
Bully’s obviously a legend Dazza and i’d never have a dig at him, i just felt your criticism of the current crop was a bit harsh
Point taken Rich. No worries matey
When I played high school soccer (football) in Canada in the 1970s, I made a tackle from behind. The referee warned me. I told him I got the ball and he said that 90% of the time I will be called for tackling from behind, even if I get the ball.
If we are gonna get a reputation, then let’s use it.
Bust a few legs, scare the shit out of a lot of teams, and our guys who get sent off will have served their time when the reverse fixture comes around, so we can scare the shit out of them all over again!!!!
Fuck ’em all, if we wore red or blue shirts the media would be telling us how competitve we are, robust and standing up to the pressure and all that bollocks.
As we all know, the ref’s decision is final, and if he don’t blow up for a foul then it aint one, so all these other prawn cocktail supporters can stop their whining, get back in their McMansions and shut the fuck up.
I remember when Southampton used to come to the Mol, with Hughie Fisher and Mick McGrath, and we used to call them a bunch of dirty bastards… in the warm up!!
They were mena and dirty, but we used to play them at their own game and usually beat them.
So, bollocks to anyone reading this site not of Old Gold and Black persuasion, you’ve got no business being on here in the first place, among the intelligencia.
FOWB
OOPs, spelling……………makes me look like a shit fan!!!
FOWB
Just wait until we play the likes of Arsenal with all their diving and theatrics…let alone paper thin Drogba … we’ll end up with 6 on the pitch… and Ward will still be one of them 🙂
Don’t think we will see much more of Berra this year then…
I hope not to be honest Louie, he looks out of touch. Those fouls were blatant and stupid, he was hardly last man was he? I think we should stick Zubar in there or Mouyokolo. He looks a liabilty to me
I agree – dont think Craddock and Berra together has enough pace.
I see Berra more as a replacement for Craddock.
Not sure on Zubar in the centre – but I am probably forming this view on a couple of mistakes so I guess he should be given a chance. I like to see him on the right – as he’s much stronger than Foley (and pops up with the odd goal too!).
Deffo Stourbridge, i like having Zubar down the right too, but i think it’s time we took Berra out. Maybe stick Mancienne in there?
Prefer Foley than Zubar on the right. Zubar and Mouyokolo could be a decent partnership but it’s not gonna happen right now.
I like Berra and think he has improved over the last year but those bookings were stupid and he’ll find it hard to get back in the team, expecially if we get something at WHL.
I agree bob. Mouyokolo in for berra, Zubar right back. Seems a shame that Zubar and adlene were stand out performers (bar Doyle) at the end of last season but not featuring now
Did anyone else notice just how bad we were as soon as Doyle was taken away up front? It demonstrated just how important he is to our team. I know SEB has two goals already this season, but IMO his overall play has not been great since the Stoke game.
As for the Zamora tackle – it was just one of those things. Henry won the ball fairly and big Bobby just planted his foot – the rest is history. However, if it had been Doyle or Jarvis I am sure we would all be slagging off the opposition player too though!
I never expected to get anything out of this one – however, having been one nil up a draw would have been nice. On a plus point the sending off will force MM to try something different in central defence – hope the new bloke from Hull is given a chance to impress (and that he has the pace we badly require!). Bring back Zubar to right back too!
I thought we lost a lot of bite when Van Damme went off. I have not read any reports, but I can only assume he picked up a knock because he was our best player in the first half.
Strange to say, but I also thought that the Zamora tackle affected us. Not that it was a foul (it wasn’t), but it had a kind of psychological effect: we just seemed to be a lot more ‘careful’ afterwards. The second half in particular we just really didn’t compete as much (despite the rash of yellow cards).
At least as an option away from home, I’d like to see us play the 4-5-1 which served us so well last year, with Doyle up top. Especially I’d like to see a 4-5-1 if we get the first goal like in this game (and I wouldn’t mind if MM made the substitution right after we got the goal). A 4-4-2 with Doyle, Fletch and SEB all on the park seems too much of a luxury – Chris P said it well in his comment above, IMO.
I’m with you on that one Kowloon Wolf – 4-5-1 away from home all season for me (except for the teams we need to beat Albion, Newcastle, Blackpool, Wigan etc).
We will never have a better chance to get a point at Spurs than this weekend as the have three or four key players out injured and an away game in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Like to have at least another 5 points on the board before we enter the month of doom that starts with Chelsea away!
Everyone is assuming that we will get nothing from the “month of death”… for goodness sake..they have 11 players the same as us.. they are all beatable, and, we will pick up some unexpected points from these games, just wait and see. The “big 4” get too much respect, get stuck in, work hard, close them down, frusrate them… and we will get something
Love the optimism – but lets be realistic!
How many points did we get against those teams last season home and away – I think you’ll find it was zero!
Two worst tackles of the game were Hangerland on Fletcher and Murphy’s lunge in the second half.
Henry’s tackle was fair and he was the first player to see Zamora was in trouble and got Foley to kick it out of play. Standing round of applause from the away fans as Zamora was taken off – both things not reported by the media
Berra was given the runaround all game by Dembele who looks quality.
Mick made mistakes with the subs except JVD who was injured. The Doyle substitution invited Fulham on to us and the wall from the free kick was a disgrace.
Overall deserved nothing from the game as Fulham were the better team especially when they stepped up the pace but galling to worse it in that way.
Question: Are we more of a disgrace to the Premier League than Newcastle’s clear bullying of the ref or Dempsey of Fulham hitting the ground at every possible opportunity?
Who made Fulham fans UN Envoys for Fairplay to the footballing world? Their chat is drving me insane.
Correct me if i´m wrong but didn´t the great Wolves side of the 50s have a reputation for being a bit dirty and underhand? Like the time they flooded the pitch before the Honved game?
I for one would love us to be a feared side. You can beat us but we´ll break your legs.
Like a mild version of Leeds, with a bit more football.
Eddie Clamp!! Now there was a man to put the fear of God into these current day nambies
All this and Hunt hasn’t even kicked a ball for use yet – he’d have given Zamora a knee in the head on the way down if he’d have been playing on Saturday!