There’s an elephant in the room.
The violence that marred our first win at the Hawthorns since 1996 was as disgraceful as it was so depressingly predictable.
Seriously, what is wrong with some people?
Modern-day hooliganism might be far removed from the dark days of the 1970s, but the ugly scenes emanating from the Birmingham Road end proved it hasn’t been entirely consigned to the past.
Even with Tommy Doyle having to duck the bottles at the other end, it was still startling to see the players go off and talk of abandonment.
Nobody wants complete sanitisation of the sport – I enjoy bantering with opposition fans as much as anyone – but groups of sniffed up buffoons being allowed to act as they please on the terraces shouldn’t be allowed to ruin it for everyone else.
Despite all that unpleasantness, it’s bloody great to end our Hawthorns hoodoo.
We were miles off our best today, and credit should go to Carlos Corberan for his game plan. We were fortunate that Albion’s perilous financial position means they can’t afford a centre-forward of the ilk of an Odemwingie, Phillips, or Taylor. We’d have certainly been punished by a more formidable side.
Credit to the lads for getting the job done. In the end, it was our two star attackers who won the fixture with moments of individual quality.
I thought Cunha was particularly excellent in the second-half.
A tie against an in-form Brighton isn’t exactly the sweetest of rewards, but our formidable home form gives us cause for optimism.
Not convincing by any means they got down our flanks way to easy but it was always going to be a ground out result
We got fined for calling Chelsea rent boys it will be interesting to see what happens about the continuous bottle throwing
I can now relax in smug mode
I am raising a glass even as I type this… Oops! nearly spilt it!
A win at Albion is certainly worth celebrating. The trouble at the Albion end certainly isn’t.
Unfortunately, football fans are defined by their lowest common denominator. And that is, and nearly always has been for the past 50 years or so, particularly low.
Pubs being open at 5.30 in the morning doesn’t help.
\While sniffing powder doesn’t help.
And the lack of brain cells is a hindrance too.
I don’t think I’d have fancied being there this afternoon.
Still, bring on Brighton. We’ve matched them away, let’s beat them at home.
Or even ‘WHITE’ sniffing powder.
I knew I should have left the glass raising until after the typing.
It actually worked fine the first time!
What Thomas said regarding the hooligan element. Whichever team they purport to support, a custodial sentence should be their minimum punishment. Watching players having to retrieve their kids from the stand is just not acceptable.
In truth we didn’t really have to break sweat. As the team with it all to prove they came at us like a kid whose sweets had been nicked.
The fact that we played the game at our pace and not theirs was a testament to our superiority.
Brighton will be a much tougher challenge.
I’m just sorry we’re not able to give George and his Maidstone heroes their big day out.
Sorry Ben, not Thomas!
A very solid and disciplined away performance. Credit to O’Neil and his group for doing what it took, and no more, to beat the inferior opposition. The longer the season goes on the more I’m convinced that O’Neil can really do something special for Wolves; if not this season then next. If we can get something out of United and then Chelsea, I reckon we can look at aiming for 7th in the league and a decent run in the Cup too. At the moment Wolves are still flying somewhat under the radar. Formerly predicted to be relegation candidates Wolves could surprise quite a few more yet. Happy days.
I thought we were always in cruise control . A few scemichres across the box.if anything it was Sandwell Town losing it. Maybe a VAR would had their bloke sent off elbow across the face. I love the way the boys came together. We always knew our quality would shine through . What a great day. Shutting those sparrers up. Stick the 5-1 down your throats.Shoe is on the other foot now.
This evening I have two strongly conflicting emotions.
Firstly anger and shame that a few thugs purporting to be our supporters can react to bring the club into disrepute. Football is supposed to be the “beautiful game” to be enjoyed by all. There can be no place for barbaric behavior such as was seen today irrespective of circumstances or provocation.
It is to be hoped that those responsible will be identified and punished to the maximum allowance of the law, following which they are subject to a life long ban from Molineux.
But secondly, massive pride in the achievement of our team. We may not have been at our best today, but we were always too strong for the opposition, playing with enormous self-belief.
GON, despite the absence of any financial support, has somehow managed to transform us. We are now a real team. For the first time since the Nuno era we have again become the PACK. A side to be feared by all.
Who of us at the commencement of this season could possibly have dreamed this dreamed this dream ?
Why are you blaming our fans?
Totally agree, nobody has said what caused the violence.
If it was a few Wolves supporters in the HOME part of the ground then WHO sold them the tickets?
Don’t they have to have supporter numbers like at Wolves?
The Sandwell town ‘fans’ threw water bottles at Doyle and close ups showed them hiding their faces.
A full video analysis is required.
Because, for whatever reason, some of them were involved.
Our fans may not hav ebbn the instigators, but retaliation is still inexcusable. To gloss over this and to try to make is one sided, is just pain wrong.
totally agree albion fans are no angels it takes two willing partisipants ( or more) to have a punch up
I don’t think those smoke bombs had blue and white stripes.
That might have been a story if it hadn’t kicked off.
Truth is the majority of both sets of fans behaved pretty well. There’s just this tiny minority from both sets of supporters who have such sad little lives that they think spitting and pushing makes them warriors
Shame we can’t send them into a proper battle and watch them poo their pants.
I was there. It was Albion fans who disgraced themselves. If there were a few Wolves fans in the home end winding people up, fine, they shouldn’t do it but I didn’t see any Wolves fans in the away end do anything beyond what is expected and comes with derby day. 28 years we hadn’t won at their place and the day we do they start a riot. It was a frankly pathetic breakdown of social order and perhaps speaks more widely of Britain in 2024.
As for the game I thought we were mostly comfortable if not spectacular. There were a few hairy moments we had to survive but that’s to be expected. They didn’t really lay a glove on us in truth and the quality showed in our two goals.
Credit to the boys for seeing the game out in what must have been surreal circumstances. We must also credit the officials for now allowing moronic behaviour from home fans to call the game off and deny us that sweet victory. I imagine the last thing the police wanted was for the game to be replayed!
Wolves didn’t dominate but the took their chances and, in the end, were able to cruise to a convincing finish.
Cunha said the crowd violence wasn’t a big deal to him because he is from South America. A Chilean friend of mine agreed with that sentiment.
Wolves didn’t need to get out of second gear to beat them.
The least said about the morons in the crowd, whichever side they were on, the better.
I hope they get their just desserts.
It wasn’t one of our finest performances, but we did enough to get the job done and wipe the slate clean of our hoodoo at the Hawthorns.
I feel we can beat our bogey team in the next round, especially with the home crowd firmly behind our boys.
COYW
Ding dong the witch is dead.
Not a stellar performance, but who cares?
Pedro did exactly what I hoped Pedro would do with the only real opportunity he was afforded to get at them. Such a smart finish reversing it back across the keeper like that. I don’t think he’s operating at full speed yet but the quality is undeniable.
Cunha took his goal nicely too and was unlucky not to add a third late on with another fierce drive that the keeper finger tipped past the post.
It was a good job we were efficient because Corberan had them set perfectly and they nullified our attacking threat for the most part while working some excellent positions for themselves. As you say Ben, if they had a decent striker we might have been in a spot of bother. We can reflect on a controlled performance given the scoreline but I don’t think some of those clear sighters they squandered were part of the plan.
It was a shame Sarabia missed out because that type of game would have suited him with time to get his head up and find a pass. Bellegarde doesn’t look natural playing across that front three. His best performance was his debut against Liverpool where he operated deeper and more centrally ahead of the midfield two. He definitely needs to be facing the play to get involved. When he can get a foot on the ball he’s dangerous, as we saw from the shot that whistled just wide in the second half.
With Ait-Nouri, Hwang and Gomes all capable of potentially improving that starting XI, we look well set. Getting a striker in before the window closes would be the icing on the cake to a wonderful January.
…. lifetime bans for all involved with the other stuff.
Good day to be Wolves fan , let’s not gloat… stay quiet and humble . The gulf was obvious and to be fair Wolves were quite poor considering recent standards
I thought Wolves fans were excellent but I feel sorry for any good Albion suppoerters because they have embarrassed themselves in front of the entire country .
10-4 rubber duck .. we got ourselves a convoy ..
I was very impressed with the police escort of some 40 Wolves coaches wending their way through Willenhall and West Bromwich ring road to the Smethwick End.
Our raucous fans certainly made plenty of noise and eventually ‘sucked’ Cunha into the front rows where he duly honoured the famous badge following the 2nd
goal … .. and that’s when it got a bit out of hand …
I certainly wouldn’t point fingers at Wolves fans in the home end as we just don’t know the cause of the trouble .. certainly one guy led off around the perimeter could hardly stand up and there were also two WBA fans brazenly walking on the pitch towards the away end .. which imo showed a distinct absence of crowd security management.
We weren’t great by any standards but certainly had enough armoury to find two well taken goals ..
Let’s not overlook two dreadful fouls on Doyle and Cunha which deserved more robust punishment from the weak referee as things were getting out of hand on the pitch too…. and bottle throwing at Doyle didn’t seem to draw much attention either ..
A fair result in the end imo and I’m glad we got to see the game out following the crowd disturbances..
I love my club. Always have, always will.
My Dad was a WBA fan. He passed 18 months ago. He’d supported them for most of his life, a STH who went to most of their away games too.
In his later years I took him and my brother to Molineux every few weeks. He was always respectful of Wolves, even that fateful Sunday that saw us beaten 5-1 by the Baggies in MM’s last match in charge. That was a long awkward drive home.
Banter is great. Fierce rivalry is fine. Debate about the club’s history, future, performances, all of that is healthy.
What is totally unacceptable, no matter who you support, is the mindless violence that we saw spill over today.
The clubs have certain responsibilities for minimising the risk of trouble, including where fans are seated and security checks at the gates, not to mention the security presence at the game etc.
What they are not responsible for are the actions of a special few who either go to the game planning to cause trouble or jump on the bandwagon and get involved as they cannot control themselves.
Before pointing the finger at this club or that club, let’s hope that the perpetrators of the violence are identified and dealt with to the full extent of the law, and banned for life.
They give our club a bad name, football in general, and there is no place for them in society today.
It also overshadowed what should was a brilliant derby game and we should be celebrating a long awaited win, not talking about mindless violence.
Bring on Brighton. They won’t be happy to have drawn us at home.
UTW
Certainly, as others have said, we weren’t at our free flowing best, but we didn’t need to be. Games like this against relative minnows can be something of a banana skin but our obvious class shone through and we put them back in their little box to lick their wounds and dream of one day being close to our equal.
Fat chance.
Excellently taken goals from Pedro and Mateus meant my post match ale tasted even sweeter. Altogether a grand day. Bring on Brighton. A much sterner test.
The Yeti is alive and well and living at Sandwell.
I think he was out looking for the family brain cell.
Probably his last visit to a football stadium…. and the poor thorns.
Yep … watched him join forces with about 50 others to set about one single wolves fan who wasbon his own … clearly seen on tv strolling over and throwing the cheapest most cowardly punch I have ever witnessed…. Even a Yeti would be ashamed of it .
Sadly, the mindless violence is what people will remember from what is probably football’s most famous old derby. It’s a fixture right up there with the Old Firm in Glasgow, for better or for worse. The ruse of the 11.45am kickoff to stop pre-match drinking was blatantly circumvented by some local pubs opening at 5.30am. I don’t even know if this is legal but if not, the full force of the law must come down on the pub operators, as well as the fans involved. ‘Mindless idiots’ is what Mad Mick used to say. West Brom should be made to play behind closed doors if they ever entertain Wolves at the Hawthorns again. Did Wolves riot when beaten 1-5 and 2-3 at home by West Brom?
As I said before, it was fortunate that the match was able to re-start. Imagine if it had been abandoned and the FA were forced to make a decision. If they declared Wolves the winners, all hell would have broken out in Sandwell about a stolen 13 minutes. If they ordered a replay, that would have given fans everywhere licence to riot when their team was losing, to get a match abandoned and replayed. Well done to the authorities in re-starting the match.
Against a resolute West Brom, Wolves were not on the best of form but quality and game plan showed. That interception from Doc to send Neto on the way was superb. Neto twisted and turned the defenders until he could get a shot in from his left foot. Cunha’s goal was simply sublime, and he nearly made it 0-3 in the dying minutes.
I know this was the FA Cup but I think Gary must be in the running for PL manager of the month for January. Any prospective centre forward target watching the match yesterday must have been impressed with our quality.
All correct Ben, people making light of it on social media doesent help. The late 60s and 70s were rife with these scenes, children and young adults should feel safe in football stadiums. Until the adults stop posting about how hilarious it all was what chance have we got.?…Good to win in Sandwell though, seems a long time since Robert’s and Bully left us delirious that sunny afternoon in 1996..onwards and upwards.
I read on a news website that Albion season ticket holders were able to buy two extra tickets for the match, which is probably why some Wolves fans ended up in the Albion end, either because Albion fans invited their Wolves mates to come and watch the game with them (e.g. in the family stand) or they wanted to make a quick buck by selling the tickets on the open market. It seems that the ticketing policy, therefore, is something that needs looking at.
I think I recall offering that there’s a half division between the two sides and on reading reports that counted on several fronts,,,so happy days and now …bring on another al***n.
Meantime I’m trying to explain to friends here who saw the horrible picture of the fan with bloodied head…..yep I have really bad memories of too many episodes back in the 70’s. I still have the piece of concrete that shattered the rear window of my Ford Cortina ( it was aimed at the the mounted cop in front of me).
just sent my son-in -law a link to Jasper Carrott’s recounting of his trip to Old Trafford as a Bluenose fan when his pal risked their lives by shouting “there’ no cowin’ Bovril!’.
I still have a slight sense of wonderment nowadays on the all-too-rare occasion when I am an AWAY supporter and DO NOT FEAR FOR MY LIFE,,,witness the happy times at the GTech and drinking with friendly Brentford fans in the pubs nearby. That’s how it should be…everywhere. Banter is perfectly fine, but violence…no way!! and cannot be tolerated, ever. A depressing reminder that vigilance, mass policing and deterrent punishment remain necessary.
Great comments Marin Wolf .. but I will add this ..
I saw not one ounce of trouble from the Wolves fans in the Smethwick end .. we were extremely well segregated.. and this made for an enjoyable lunchtime game .. no issues before or after ..
the main altercations came immediately after we’d scored the second goal ..
It could well be down to the Albion fans being resigned to a defeat .. let’s face it .. in the aftermath of the 2nd goal… they were fighting the police ..
I personally believe that the occasion was understaffed by stewards and police …. but that’s certainly not a criticism as I thought segregation and escorting of fans was first class ..
Btw .. thanks for your heroic efforts with Laura and Poppy.. much appreciated.. xx
Perhaps we should be thankful there was no VAR presence or the mayhem would have been even worse. Bartley’s booking would have been up-graded to a red for his assault on Cunha. (Rugby has now clamped down on this type of contact and he would have walked). Karma at least for Mateus as he left Bartley for dead for his goal.
Not a commanding performance from us, Albion exposed our flanks regularly but we got the job done. Finishing of the highest order and they couldn’t hit a barn door, thankfully.
Thanks LT
Nice to hear that your experience Sunday was that good.
So envious of all those away tix you get!
Lovely to meet your family here, if only too briefly.
See you in May
, hopefully at Bloggers’ gig
Most certainly Marin .. looking forward to it ..
Loved this.
Greetings,
A fairly safe defensive away performance, lit up by the Supers with 2 minutes of class. Job done.
Any unidentified Wolves fans in the Baggy area, were not the ones who lost their carrier bags when the second goal went in, I’ll wager.
As a result the whole of WBA should be deported to Rwanda, and never be allowed to play in Europe again. Not even a friendly against Walsall.
Hope to meet George Elokobi and the ‘Stones in the final, for now we are suffering a plague of Albions.
1 lv & COYW