Here’s a question:
If Stoke are considered direct and Swansea a pacey attacking side, how do you define Wolves?
Hmm…it’s a difficult one.
In actual fact, Mick McCarthy’s side are whatever they choose to be on any given matchday.
This season alone we’ve seen sumptuous passing against Fulham, hopeless long-balls against QPR and a mixture of everything against Newcastle.
So it’s safe to say that unlike most other sides in the Premier League, Wolves approach is unclear.
But is this lack of identity a problem?
Not always, but often yes.
If you look at nearly every successful team, they adopt a clear style of play and even though they might refine this to suit the opposition, they seldom stray from their primary approach.
And there’s a reason this formula works so well.
Players know their position, understand their role within a team and with all the cogs turning in unison, things tend to operate efficiently.
This also breads consistency, something Wolves have striven for in their three Premier League seasons but always struggled to find.
However, if you look at the times we have managed a decent run of form, it’s coincided with a clear approach.
Towards the end of the first season back in the top flight, we shut-up shop, packed the midfield and ground out the results needed. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective.
What this defensive strategy also did was squeeze the maximum out of the playing squad Mick had at his disposal.
By contrast, the start to this season’s campaign has been frustrating.
The two wins against Blackburn and particularly Fulham suggested we’d see a bolder Wolves side this season, looking to move teams around by passing the ball.
Even in the games that followed against Villa and Spurs, we seemed to maintain this approach.
It was only against QPR, when Mick was forced into a change due to Steven Fletcher’s injury, that things began to unravel.
Instead of slipping in an extra midfielder to maintain the passing style, we moved Wardy up front and employed a long-ball strategy. This failed miserably.
After dabbling with 451 at Anfield, we reverted to the same successful side that began the season against Newcastle.
Annoyingly though, the tactics were clearly different. Instead of the pass-and-move football we’d seen the very same side deliver against Fulham and Spurs, it was back to long-balls from deep.
Why?
I’m comfortable with Wolves being a long-ball side, but only if this approach is successful and with the players we have, I don’t think it can be.
After all, we don’t have a Kenywe Jones or an Andy Carroll to do the damage.
Clearly, Doyle and Fletcher both play better with the ball at their feet, so we need to deliver it to them on the deck.
In fact, when you look at all of our effective players, they’re at their best when we get the ball down and play.
So it’s about time we started doing that again.
And the Hawthorns is as good a place as any to find an identity.
Agreed. But I just read this on E&S site:
“The Wolves boss is well aware the natives are restless and eager for changes to stop the rot.” All good so far…
“But McCarthy won’t be swayed by the masses and instead believes loyalty to those who got Wolves off to a flying start is the key to turning things around”
Shocked? I think not.
Think about it this way though – the last time we made significant changes to the Wolves team was against QPR and we all know how that turned out! Still, I wonder whether Milijas will get a chance in this game… probably not
Very true, but theres only so many times you can put out the same team, lose, and then try again the following week. At some point Milijas has to start and I hope for his and all of our sakes that he’s up for it.
I’m really feeling positive about this weekend, I hope i’m not setting myself up for another major disapointment.
Wolves can’t all of a sudden be a useless side i saw the newcastle game and due to bad officiating we were robbed of 3 points….Baggies game will be different and form goes out the window….could go either way….?
Robbed of 1 point, definitely, but that penalty may not have gone in and it would have been a completely different game had it been awarded – it could well have been that we scored that penalty but lost 4-1…
I guess….the 1st half performance was pants…..we just don’t come out the blocks quick enough……can’t afford to be 2-0 down at the Hawthorns although it sounds like Odemwingie is injured…..shame lol ;-P
Good comments, Thomas ( even though you won’t send me the scarf) but isn’t it all a case of stating the bleedin’ obvious?
If we numpties can see the problems and the fixes, why the hell can’t the manager?
Answer, yes he can, but “bollocks to the fans, the unused players and the club, I am stubborness personified, and we’ll do it my way, and damn the results!!”
His blind loyalty will get us relegated.
You don’t see Ferguson keeping faith with those who underperform, do you?
Whatever the result from the crem on Sunday, there must be a massive outpouring of dissent with the management, all of it, at the Swansea game.
If we lose both of the next 2 games, which I obviously hope we don’t, then Morgan will be derelict in his duty as owner if he doesn’t fire McIdiot immediately, and will be tarred with the same incompetence brush.
FOM,M&M
Good blog mate. I think Mick’s always had a clear identity when looking at his managerial stints at other clubs.
They have always been 4-4-2, often featuring narrow midfield and always two defensive central midfielders.
When winning the title with Sunderland, his midfield was something like:
Liam Lawrence, Dean Whitehead, Jeff Whitley or Carl Robinson and Sean Thornton.
Two holding, defensive midfielders were always key (so my Sunderland mate used to tell me)
So when he took over at Wolves, he used to love Olofinjana and Henry together as they fitted his mould. In some ways, that midfield duo was our most effective under Mick, (David Jones and Henry aside)
In Ireland’s finest hour he had Roy Keane and Matt Holland.
In the World Cup Mark Kinsella or Carsley with Holland.
Didn’t he play Duff up front with Robbie and go:
McAteer, Holland, Kinsella, Kilbane?
He even bought in Quashie to play next to Henry, dropping Jones!
Only problem is, most teams play 4-5-1 these days, pioneered by that Chelsea team of Mourinho’s.
So the game has moved on a bit, and Mick admits he doesn’t like doing it.
When he has (away at WHU) we played the most progressive football I have seen under him.
With all this in mind we look confused and you’re right Thomas, Mick can’t boast that strong identity that every other team of his has had.
**Also remember his strikers at past clubs. Kevin Kyle, Niall Quinn, even Brian Deane!!**
Mick seems torn between the roots that got him the success he has and a need to evolve.
Agree about two holding midfielders. Mick definitely prefers the all-action type that put themselves around, which is presumably why Milijas is treated like a leper despite the fact he’s the best passer we’ve had at the club in decades.
It just baffles me the fact that he appreciates a direct game yet spent the best part of £14 million on two footballing center-forwards. Why didn’t he go out and get a Crouch, Kenywe Jones or Carew?
The more I think about it, we should be playing 451, with Fletch and Doyle slogging it out for the lone striker spot.
We play our best football in this shape and it also gives us the cover Mick likes in front of the back four.
It also provides the likes of Guedioura, Milijas and Hammill with the opportunity they so richly deserve.
Agree. Or persist with Halford and Maierhofer when he bought them both, for the clear, unadulterated vision of banging in long balls from all angles, all game.
It never materialised, partly because they were both dog shit, but partly because I think he felt obliged not to!
Big Chris was hailed as being the one player we have missed for Mick’s reign when we bought him, due to Keogh and SEB’s lack of presence beforehand.
Now I know that was Coca Cola fare, but it at least represented an identity.
Stoke unashamedly play that way, while I have always seen what WBA have been trying to do, much as it pains me to say it.
Blues too, under McCleish, was a simple 4-5-1, keep it tighter than a duck’s arse…And they finished 9th didn’t they?
But when the bought in Hleb, Zigic and Bentley – so called flair players – they surely lost that identity and suffered accordingly?
I’m interested to know how you know the tightness of a duck’s arse Ben. You can see i’ve given up trying to work out what the fuck McCarthy’s trying to do!
His Daddy told him!!!
Mick played 3-5-2 for his first 2 years or so for Ireland.
It’s how he turned Cunnningham and Staunton into centre halfs.
Agree, we don’t really have a style. What we did have (and have shown again in glimpses 2nd halves Liverpool and Toon) was an attitude. The old ‘every point is prisoner’ doctrine served us well, and we employed it to phenomenal effect in matches such as coming back from behind to end Man U’s unbeaten run.
Unfortunately, in recent weeks, this attitude has been non existent until the half time rollocking for having given away 2 sloppy goals. we need to start like we mean it at the h*******s, and give no quarter, else we’ll have our arses handed to us at the most humiliating venue possible.
but yes, many’s the time over the last few years I’ve bemoaned our long ball tactics. I’ve had the point made to me that we then tend to pen opponents in their own half, as Doyle and Fletch can make it stick up there and our whole team pushes up to support. I think it also means the opposition are bunched up behind the ball, making it harder for our attackers to break them down, and would love to see us hit balls over the top and into space for the likes of Jarvis and Hammil to run on to, or some neat sharp passing to draw defenders out of position and exploit the space created, and so start to look like a modern top flight outfit rather than a hangover from 1988 albeit with longer shorts and fewer moustaches.
The long ball game can work a treat.
You only have to look at the success we enjoyed going direct at home against Albion last season. That was a Ward and Fletcher front two of course.
The problem is, it doesn’t suit the Doyle/Fletch combination. They don’t work off each other anywhere near as well.
Like you say, we need to employ a more ‘modern’ approach and that to me involves building from the back and finding passes to feet, as we were treated to in the Fulham match.
If we are to play a passing game, which I beleive we should, then we need to have players on the pitch who can do this pass after pass and are quick with the ball so they don’t get caught in possession. The issue is we don’t really have natural passers and many are slow at getting the ball away so get caught. This is not helped by Hennessy who has pretty poor distribution but who is otherwise excellent.
Having Foley out doesn’t help as he does have a natural ability on the ground but the two real issues we face are a lumberingly slow Henry who keeps getting caught and a scatter gun passer in O’Hara who simply can’t place a pass at the moment.
So here we are a commited but challenged side and this has to come back at MM for choosing the chasing and crossing player over the more composed passing player. However this all looks too easy and seemingly the lacks the required commitment (in other words “work rate”) for MM who wants our players to run themselves ragged like Hunt and Kightly who remind one of angry little terriers. Some times this can actually work and unsettle a team but it can’t be the basis of a season long strategy well not if we want to stay up!!
Come on we really are better than this and it should start on Saturday with Milijas on for O’Hara and Hammil/Guedi on for Hunt. Henry will obviously start and with Hammill and Milijas playing that may not be too massive an issue as he can play the defensive holding role.
But please please God don’t let the Baggies give us a lesson in football and show us up on MoD as that may well be the final straw!
Sadly, if you ask a lot of supporters of other teams they’ll tell you what the Wolves style is. Physical, or just plain dirty. That’s a shame as well, as a handful of other fans I’ve spoken to admit we do play good football now and again. It just shows that mud sticks though, and Karl Henry’s games against Newcastle and Wigan last season seem to have tarnished the whole side.
Yes, we do have a mixture of styles. The decision to play any particular one seems to be decided before kick off.
The ‘pass & move’ style (much preferred) relies on two things to be successful: 1. a central midfield that can thread passes through to forward players, without slowing the tempo 2. a defence that can keep possession whan playing the ball forwards.
To achieve this, we need better quality players at full back, centre half and centre midfield. This means a change of three or four of the current starters.
Maybe Zubar will improve RB. I would have liked to see David Davis alongside O’Hara (thought he could keep the ball and play a good pass , very impressed pre-season, why loan him out instead of trying him out?). We still need the left back and second centre half we were looking for in the Summer!
The players to make way would be Henry (not a pass & move player), Stearman & Berra (lightweight at this level) and Stephen Ward (a good footballer, but gets found out against the better sides and also those with quick wingers, e.g: Swansea, Norwich& QPR (!!!).
I would say ‘Championship cloggers’ defines us well right now unfortunately
massively disagree.
Its quite clear we (try to) play a high tempo pressing game, looking to win the ball high up the pitch, playing direct with our possession looking to work the channels and then get numbers in the box for the high cross.
MM has always missed the pacey target man to help win us more first ball. I think we failed against QPR in particular not because we played long ball (and didn’t win a single header!), but because they were able to mop up the second ball each time due to central midfield being too deep to put pressure on them. Against 451, you cant pressure as intensely as their centre halves can always be the opt out ball, then if you try to put exert pressure you are exposed thru the middle. It can look headless chicken – we were chasing it too much that day and that’s the problem with this tactic.
On our day, we’re actually a very good passing side, Henry, O’Hara and Hunt, who have all come in for stick, can be the best. But i think it’s common knowledge that our best passer in Milijas is stuck on the bench. Unfortunately or not, depending on your view, i think he’ll stay there. Complaining about being left out to the press, however politely it was put, won’t help him. We need to get the ball down and pass it as Doyle’s one of the best with the ball at his feet, andalso get it wide (to Hammill please). When the ball is in the air it needs to be from crosses, to Fletch’s head.
Anyone go to Matt Murray’s testimonial yesterday? Heard it was a fitting tribute featuring goals from Akinbiyi and Sturridge. Ah, the memories..
By the way, I’ve signed up to twitter if any of you are fellow tweeters. Good to have another format to bemoan our team. I’m on Rich_181.
Did you just write that Karl Henry is a good passer of the ball?
The problem is I cannot but help that our players, all of them, even Ward as he is now, would improve 10% minimum under a different manager.
Our identity is the one MM makes.
He underuses skilful players and his system is not flexible as a result we are predictable and also prone to enough mistakes for most teams to get a couple of goals.
Might Wigan buy Milijas? – Could be a shrewd move in January for them.
Morgan’s statement about wage caps implies our wage structure to be the least flexible in the Premiership. This coupled with McFadden’s obvious rejection of our offer makes January improvement slight, under the present regime……
El Plim, we don’t have the overall ability, therefore confidence, to keep the ball. This means we are chasing the ball for much of the game, which is why we are often knackered last 20 minutes.
A bit more quality and we really could put effective pressure on opponents.
I remember coaching a team where the oppo coach was telling his players to give the ball away! He had drilled them so hard to work without the ball, he felt they were more dangerous trying to win the ball off our backs than trying to beat them with skill. I often get this feeling with McCarthy.
I like McCarthy’s high press territory game, but to be progressive i would also like to think you have to be able to play the possession game as well. You can see he tries (Foley in CM, persistence with Stearman, Jarvis not always going past), but its often sideways or amongst the defence, which probably skews the passing stats (If you want to see this to the extreme watch Swansea!). The irony is, the players lack confidence, and its the pressure from the oppo (and us fans!) that means the defence are hoofing it down the pitch, O’Hara tries a hollywood ball, or Henry goes backwards. A good team passes well despite the pressure. I am a qualified coach and you constantly hear at workshops T-game vs P-game (territory vs possession), I remember hearing one person saying the P should stand for pressure – you have to apply it WITH the ball, not without it. That man’s name was a Mr Jose Mourinho. At the time I hadn’t a clue who the smarmy little shit was (Anecdote trademarked and licensed to El Plim).
I also notice Johnson reverts back to front quickest. Our game wont be resolved quickly, and i’ll be surprised if we don’t need some luck by giving the ball away a lot to win!!
Very interesting comment you make.
Mourinho is a sort of Salvador Dali of football!
Good comments Thomas,You can look at it any way you want,but the only
way we’er gonna get our selves out of this hole is to F..k him off mm & the
rest of the so called coaching staff.You can play any formation you like with any player you like but it still remains the same we will always struggle in the bottom of this division as long we have this disfunctional MM at the helm i’m afraid.
Good blog Thomas.
I’d say Wolves currently have two different styles that they bring out (most of the time).
The first one is a more direct, pressing game that has been effective against Liverpool, Birmingham, Albion and some more. Get it forward as quickly as possible to the wingers and put plenty of bodies in the area. When it works its quite exciting to watch but when it doesn’t and we lump it without direction, it brings out the very worst in us. Especially when we had someone like Vokes/ Iwelumo/ Hof up front.
The second is much more pleasing on the eye. More used in a 451, but this season in the first two games with 442. Try and roll the ball out to the full backs, let O’Hara/Milias type players run the game. Personally, I felt this was the most successful of the two, and has seen us in some great games. Chelsea away, Man City home and away, Blackpool, and Spurs at home.
Not having a particular identity has it’s plus points but I certainly agree on the downsides. It’s a huge reason why we lack consistency and why sometimes are players like lost/confused.
Al lot of what you said Louie makes sense,the first two games were a breath
of fresh air to the footy we played last season,But since the Fulham game its
gone down the pan,I know we had a injury to fletch but that should’nt of made that much of a difference to how we play.is it the players or manager who can’t hack it.
It seems that Johnson in particular (for me, at least) has lost his form some – he was much better at the start of the season than he was against Newcastle!
Still, perhaps this being a derby game and the international break might bring a return to the kind of form we started out the season with – though I’ll admit being extremely nervous about the Albion game…
The sooner MM is fucked off the better, I hate the prick, ever since he changed 10 outfield players against Man Utd a few seasons ago when we had won 2 games on the trot, i couldn’t believe what he did that night, I spent £120 all in with tickets, fuel, and food.
I’ll never forgive him for that.
I hate his guts.
I think that was when I finally lost it with him as well.
We could have won up there, and what a boost that would have been, but no, he had us down for a defeat before the match kicked off. What sort of message does that send to the players….you are not good enough to win, I’ll bring in the stiffs, so I’ ll have some excuse.
The man is a wanker of the first degree, and needs to go.
FOMM
Yeh clive i went to that mis-match even with the stiffs as you call them. we gave them a game,but with a full first team out who knows.remember looking at
the team i thought he was joking the the smug bastard.he got himself out of
jail by winning the next game.but he lost a lot of respect and rightly so.
Well, the few of you left who still have some faith in our muppet manager, take a look at the propaganda site, and these two McIdiot comments in particular.
These are quoted verbatim.
” We’re getting punished, not through playing badly, but making mistakes”
and:
“I’ts down to opinions and thankfully for me, mine’s the one that counts”
Well excuse this numptie, but;
a) Isn’t making mistakes playing badly?
b) If that isn’t the most arrogant pigheaded comment from him ever then I’ll go to the foot of our stairs.
These comments just sum up the prick.
MOrgan, get him out, now!!!!
FOMM
“MOrgan, get him out, now!!!!”
I reckon you spelled that wrong Clive. It’s surely a capital M, with a small organ …
Yeah, it goes along with the bullshit “our players are now a season more improved than last year” … newsflash McNugget, SO IS EVERYONE ELSE’s SQUADS !!!
ARROGANT, INEPT, OVER-STAYED-WELCOME MUPPET OUT
Last season we were “the team that gave away a goal in the first few minutes of the match”. This season we’re “the team that doesn’t start playing until we’re 2-0 down”. It’s perverse that we have to give teams a start before we decide to join in, its just like playground football.
Zele Ismail lining up for The Reserves tonight…
I have been waiting a long time to hear that…
Its lonely on this site. Am i the only one who thinks Mick desrves credit for what he has achieved. If his head is going to roll, isnt the end of the season the best time, for obvious reasons. Every other call is off with his head tomorrow, a bit of rationality and common sense is required. The majority of the team is loyal to Mick. Comments of other managers getting more out of the team a quarter or half way through a season shall be met with the contempt they deserve.
Yes he does deserve credit, but his limitations are now exposed for all to see and exploit.
Better he is got rid of now, before the end of the season, when a relegated team will have much less attractioin to a prospective new manager.
He has had two plus seasons to improve his squad, his tactics and results.
He hasn’t progressed, so what is the club supposed to do?
Sit back and pray?
Praying is doing nothing and hoping for change…………..bit like Obama……………..sorry, had to sneak that one in, we might as well hope for a lottery win.
No, in McMuppets case, term limits should apply, he has passed his sell by date and should be fired forthwith, if not sooner.
FOMM
“Better he is got rid of now, before the end of the season, when a relegated team will have much less attractioin to a prospective new manager.”
Relegated? Like you said we would be last season and the season before that?
third time lucky!!!!!!
You’re not alone mate.
It’s just that the dissenters will always shout loudest, particularly when we’re in the midst of a run of four defeats.
Not many have the energy to argue.
My stance is that for all his shortcomings, I wouldn’t want to see Mick leave the job.
Even I’ve been around long enough to know that whoever is in charge will get things wrong and infuriate fans with tactics, team selections and comments.
If it’s not Mick, it will be someone else.
Yeah, like Peter Reid!
at least he comes with a good song…
Will somebody else hurry up and fuck him off,who ever somebody else Is.
I don’t see myself as a dissenter i don’t conform to a prick who’s so far up
his own arse that you can just about see his f..kin shoe laces..You talk about
tactics,he does’nt know the meaning of the word.can’t believe you want
him to stay,why.
Thomas, a rational voice in maelstrom of four defeats.
Lets just hope he doesnt screw up the team selection this sunday and have us joining clives crusade!
Won’t be so lonely once we start winning games again! 😛
Why is it when we play them it is at a really critical time for a win. Lets smash a few past em and shut them up for a while.
I think Fletcher does well with balls in the air too.
We have a certain ‘style’, related to shifts, heroic failure and being over-run in midfield.
Mick’s here to stay. End of.
The only thing that will change this is relegation.
Take your choice…