If you can make nine changes to your starting eleven and still run out convincing winners, there are definite reasons to be cheerful.
Only Carl Ikeme and David Davis remained from Saturday’s snore-draw against Derby, with Ståle’s new boys taking center stage.
And come full time, this was very much Solbakken’s Wolves.
Sigurdarson and Nouble up front, Sako and Peszko on the wings, Doumbia in the middle, Margreitter at the back.
Times are a changing and if the second half is anything to go by, probably for the best.
Passing to feet, moving the opposition around quickly, opening up spaces. Much like the Barnsley game, plenty of encouraging signs.
Bakary Sako’s venomous drive was the icing on the cake and dare I say it, the sort of no-nonsense goal Matt Jarvis just wasn’t capable of scoring. Ball into feet, shift, bang. Welcome to Wolves.
Razak Boukari was also impressive, offering pace, trickery and a definite eye for a pass as demonstrated with an inch-perfect through ball for David Davis.
Will both of those players start on Sunday? I’d like to think so.
It’s harder to judge Georg Margreitter, as he wasn’t asked many questions, but I suppose the fact he came through the game unnoticed suggests he coped comfortably. Sterner tests await and it will be intriguing to see if Solbakken throws him straight in against Cardiff.
The two forwards also stood out. Nouble in particular deserved his goal and showed not only great physical strength, but also composure with the ball at his feet.
In an opening 45 where we struggled to string together more than two passes before hoofing long, both he and Sigurdarson showed great appetite.
Scrappy would be a kind adjective to use in describing that first half, accentuated by the two goals we bundled over the line.
Northampton’s equaliser was familiar territory. A cross not cut out down the left and a forward finding too much space in the middle to plant a header in the corner.
Like Saturday, we seemed to be lacking any sort of creativity through the middle, so I’d like think we’ll see at least one new signing before the day is out to rectify this problem.
But credit to Wolves, after the break when the game did open up, they really put their foot on the pedal, with the only disappointing aspect being that it took until stoppage time to sew the game up.
The young players like Forde and Davis, who was much improved from Saturday, also seemed to grow into the game and help control the play. That was a pleasant bonus.
As for our aspirations of progressing further in the competition, Chelsea away wasn’t the ideal draw, but it’s a plum tie all the same and a great test.
And who knows, we might even be on TV again?
Spot on report Thomas. Just seen the goals on Sky this morning, and has Big George been taking lessons from Ward in standing too far off his winger.
Integrating so many new players is never easy, but in the later stages of the game, we saw flashes of pace and movement, with passing to feet, which augurs well when these signings settle in. Great draw in the next round as no-one will expect us to get anything there. Best of all I actually predicted the correct score, I must go get some lottery tickets for tonight.
Sako’s goal…goddamn I’m still salivating over that one!
What a fantastic second half that was – really gives me confidence after the Derby game! Doumbia. Bakari, Sake, even Peszko despite his short appearance, as well as Siggy… Stale has brought in some real gems it seems! 🙂
Thanks Thomas. 90% agree with your comments but I thought Davis was poor overall. Yes a few flashes of skill but I thought his first touch was very poor and he bottled it with the the goal at his mercy.
Otherwise thought it was a great performance from Nouble and was v impressed by all of the new signings. Hope to see them start on Sunday. Reasons to be cheerful!
The biggest difference between the halfs were our central midfield. The first half we kicked of with two defensive midfielders, a hopeless pairing. Davis wasn’t quite himself and delivered some hopeless passes cross the pitch which were snapped up by the northenders. Eggert was almost invisible
The 3 newcomers:
Margreitter didn’t make any big mistakes that I saw, and looks like a classy central defender which can distribute the ball. Batth lost the fight in which they scored on.
We sold Jarvis for 10.75 and bought two wingers for 3 mill, both close to or better than Jarvis in technical skills. And now we have 3 classy wingers in Boukari, Pezsko and Sako. I would use Sako in a position were he could use his dreadful shot. Boukari delivered the shot which we scored our first goal on, and he also delivered an excellent high trough ball. It’s gonna be interesting to see how our first team lineup is in mars. Sigurdarson shows glimps of his potential with some excellent passes and technical brilliance. He will thrive on playing with these kind of players. Nouble was very impressing also.
Corrections:
– Wolves bought two wingers for 6 mill…
– Boukari delivered the cross which we scored our first goals on ….
Good morning Thomas.
As always, a quickly filed and accurate report on the game (don’t ever go for a job on The Mail). I only saw the goals but find myself getting strangely excited (don’t ask) by what could happen if SS actually turns Wolves into a team that plays FOOTball.
Excellent second half . Lots of promising signs . I did think though that Davies looked off the pace , gave the ball away too often for me . I’m looking forward to see what side Stale puts out on Sunday , also ,for once , I’m happy for the break coming up .Hopefully those two weeks will allow everyone to get to know each other better .
UTW
Was watching the game in a pub in Madeira and they turned it over at half time so the scouse support could watch the Liverpool game. Bastards! But then the telly broke down which made my night. Shame though, sounds like i missed a really good second half.
Still doesn’t sound like there’s any move for a new LB so it looks like Ward carries on. Attacking wise it’s all very exciting but the defence is still a problem.
Stale team begining to take shape ,M&M need to back this guy as he will take us back to the premiership
Agree with most of your views, although Davis for me was terrible. Game was on tv over here in Oz and it was just a great feeling jumping like a mad man around the living room scaring the kids as the third goal flew in!!
They are used to me slumped in the sofa feeling and looking depressed.
I know we were playing Northampton but that was impressive.
In the second half the passing was superb.
The two centre backs were very good and how that Doumbia didn’t get picked up by a Premiership team is beyond me.
A new Viera.
All Ståle’s signings seemed a class above what MM left us.
it will take time till they ‘gel’ properly and we might be beaten by Cardiff, but I shall be surprised if by the end of the season, we are not there or thereabouts.
Bring on Chelsea!
Thanks Thomas, thanks guys for the great and objective comment.
All sounds positive, was a good opportunity for Stales signings to get match time together, good that he combined with some of the better youngsters, all made perfect sense to me, in the after glow of a good win. Love the comments about possesion and control. As the old Liverpool and Man U have always proved. If you can control the ball and do the right things the goals generally come. They can not score if they aint got the ball. Agree your comment re our old winger uuh whats is name? Jarvis, wasnt it? Great to watch but I always felt there was no end product too many times. I hope for him that improves but i think it will limit his England hopes.
Not to be negative but I really hope Stale has got a grip of his coaching staff and they do not stifle the new players. Its something i have noticed a lot previously and I have always suspected TC as the culprit. Cant be sure but its easier to coach creativity out than to coach it in.
A win is a win, different game against Cadiff but will also be a different team. Thinking further ahead we usually play Chelsea tough at the bridge, I think I would rather them there than at the Mol. I sense a major upset for them! Will be a great opportunity to get a measure of progress even if we go down.
Way to go me babbies.
Loving the “Way to go me babbies” NY Wolf; a great bit of US-Black Country fusion right there!! :o)
Didnt think about that, the yanks have absolutely no idea what i mean when it comes out. Its as foreign to them as Black Pudding, real Scratchins and Pork pies. Neighbours are mostly used to me going out back and yelling out the old soccer chants. bless em.
On a bit of a related matter, and I don’t know whether it’s being over here now, or previously living away from the Black Country for a while when I was in the UK, but I find this current “Wolves ay we” label / hashtag really grates.
I’m probably thinking too business-like, but I’m sure Wolves want to build a brand that appeals all over the world, esp. if they regain Premier League exposure. How on earth are they going to get across this “Wolves ay we” statement to our new contingent of French, Scandanvian, etc. players and followers? It’s bad enough translating plain English sometimes here in America, so I don’t even want to think about this Black Country translation!!
Bring back “WE ARE WOLVES” I say. Or am I being too much of a snob??
No I dont think so, and to be honest I really do think there are brand building opportunites. We should never lose our culteral roots, in fact we should play on them but the comunication side of it needs to be a little more international.
I had/have one of the old scarfs “With pride of the Black Country’ Thats prompted a few questions over here, but was all very positive.
I am always amazed not only at how many people over here are real fans, but how many know of us and could be converted.
I wore my Goodyear shirt like Bullys wearing above, to a local Rochester Rhinos not long ago and your all American boy stops me and is telling his girlfriend its a real Wolves shirt. He had spent 6 months in the Uk and remembered and took the good word back. Spoiled things a bit by then trying to remember our full name, got Wolverhampton right but then stumbled into Womblers and he wasnt taking the piss. Said he was going to buy a cple on line not sure he did but………………..
I think a few Boddingtons down the Richmond Arms will cure you.
Wasn’t really impressed with that other pub.
Give us a call, lets get together soon, and see if we can put new names to new faces.
I will say that the travelling fans last night were fantastic. I was impressed by the number of fellow wolves who travelled down the M1 to a rather shite ground, particularly on a pretty chilly night. Hats off to the poor shivering girl in a tiny little wolves shirt and no coat with her ample bosoms literally bursting to get out. Watching those bound past in the first half was pretty much as exciting as it got.
But out they came (Wolves, not the girls babylons unfortunately) in the second half and the new boys stole the show. Boukari looked excellent, some great wing play, trickery and speed, followed by great crosses and as Thomas states, that ball over the top to Davis was sublime. Shame Davis didn’t hit the ball first time rather than take a awkward touch into the keeper. I worried at first about Saki when he came on…. I just didn’t think he seemed to be getting hold of the ball. But then look what happened. And if he needed any positive statement that he’d come to the right place, our fans behind the goal gave him the biggest and most encouraging reception to that goal possible. Let’s face it, we’d all heard great reports about the guy and seen the YouTube clips (but as we know, youtube can make even maierhoffer look half decent) so we were all hoping, sensing and wishing he was as good as they say he is. That goal was the answer. The answer we all needed. The answer we celebrated within 12 minutes of his arrival. And the end of the game was brilliant for the new guys. Every one of them applauding the travelling fans and we all going mental about them being here with us – sensing that the Wolves revolution under Solbakken really had just begun.
So Northampton is not a great place to hang out, but last night for me, I could have been just about anywhere and I sensed from the few thousand around me, we were all in the same boat. Bognor, Bangor or Bermonsey – we didn’t give a flying fuck. We were at the beggining of a new. We are Wolves.
Loved that report vexrob, particularly the ample bosom reference at the start. No booby trap in the end for us then! When Soko hit that 3rd late in the game, it did feel that, in one glorious moment, that we had arrived in a new paradigm.
First half I was wondering if we could even tell we had a new manager with the hoofing and squandering of possession.
By the time the ball left Sako’s boot I’d forgotten all about Mick McCarthy! Hope this is the start of a new era to get genuinely excited about.
Oh, and now Charlie Adam appears to have signed for Stoke, wonder if we’ll be getting Glenn Whelan in? I’d be happy with that bit of business, personally.
Thought you’d like the bosom reference Ben!
By the way, what sort of midfielder is Whelan? Don’t know much about him.
Cheers Ben! Big up.
I don’t know too much about Whelan really. I really should do though by the sounds of it.
Would you rather him than Spearing? I’ve also seen the rumours on another Norwegian chap, Tomas Drage?
We’re expecting Henry to be back after the Cardiff game right? so no massive concerns if we don’t get another midfielder… but I’d like to see another one to complete the overhaul.
Ben, paradigm seems to be one of your favourite words. I’ll have to look it up in the dictionary and find out what it means !
Might be something to do with shift working. My company keeps talking about Paradigm Shifts but I dodnt think we got one yet?
I learnt it at the Dudley campus of wolvo uni! (didnt learn much else). A philosophical context, where newton’s theory of gravity was replaced by Einstein’s in a new paradigm…or something like that!
Now you are just showing off !
great commentary Vexrob, almost like being there. I can visualize the scenes and almost smell Northampton!!!!!!!!!!
Said before and will say again we have the best female supporters in the world, our colors were just made for a pretty face and a shapely figure. Sometimes last season it was all that kept me glued to the TV. I really miss those (sometimes tearful) pretty faces.
Keep it up gals. UTW
I can’t argue that NY Wolf. We should encourage more chitchat about girls on here – where relevant – because after all, for the most of us, all we really care about is sex and football, right?
I agree. Sex and football – as long as you do both wearing the Wolves strip!
Right on. Way back when, I dated a few gals who flat refused to come see the game.
Mind you it wasnt the best place for a gal back then. I recall persuading the gal I married to come on a date to the Mol the first time. She was not to sure but gave it a go. Was love at first sight she was a convert problem was she told her sister, who then tagged a long at my expense. Still there were worse things in life than getting two pretty gals typsy. But it did limit my behaviour and drinking a bit, also had to look out for trouble. Wife is still as enthusastic as I am still, sometimes more so. Also reads a game as well if not better than me. Absolutley going bonkers with the hoof it up field tactics.
OK, you weren’t too keen on her sister tagging along but running off to the US was a bit radical wasn’t it?
Didnt work though she still visits her big Sis over here with us every Summer.
Maybe my memory is playing tricks but I seem to remember spending bloody fortune buying “Schooners of Sherry” from that little black hole bar one Christmas. That dates me but its what gals drank back then.
Gives a whole new meaning to the expression ” Come On You Wolves”
I forgot to mention Siggy and Nouble look a very capable front pairing, Nouble particularly really impressed me with his skill, physicality and presence, making it very difficult for every defender to clear the ball without significant pressure. I am (suddenly) much more positive… just from that 45 minutes, call me fickle?
You’re fickle – join the club!