What have a group of FA endorsed Premier League referees and Mick McCarthy got in common?
They both make unfathomable decisions that no hard suffering Wolves fan can do a single thing about.
For the sake of sycophantic, fawning Football Association apologists on here, I’ll keep any observations of the latest conman in black down to one word, for fear of being called a cretin once more and ‘killing this blog.’
Cheat.
And being as Mick McCarthy has come out and condoned Philip Walton’s decision to allow England’s Frank Lampard to stay on the pitch to score the winner, it serves more purpose to look at our manager’s second brainwave in three days instead.
When the margin between relegation or survival is as narrow as 180 solitary seconds, McCarthy should now be explaining how he has wasted 90 minutes over the course of two games by playing the wrong players in the wrong team.
Not that he will, just like the FA will never explain the most abhorrent decision in recent history by refusing to rescind Milijas’ red card at the Emirates.
Nope, all us Wolves fans can do is wrestle with a turnstile, climb up 72 steps and stand aghast upon arrival at the SportingBet plasma screen, as its scrolling team announcement bar reveals – in tortuous Teleprinter speed – that Forde has come into midfield while Jarvis and Fletcher are rested.
This, on the back of playing Ward in midfield at the Reebok in an opening 45 minute selection that only Mick McCarthy would ever have conjured.
Anyone would think that we have got a mega important FA Cup game coming up on Saturday that really requires the services of our one and only goal threat and the only bloke with any pace.
So what happens next, once all the jaws around me had been picked up off the floor? The aghast fans are proved right and Mick McCarthy wrong as he hauls off Forde at half time in a game that was way too much for him.
The positives in this game was Johnson and Berra’s ever strengthening partnership at the back, with Henry in front of them looking the best player in a Wolves shirt, if not the entire pitch (Ramires aside?)
The formation also gave us a better chance to actually compete and nearly bring home a point, not that most Wolves fans haven’t said this was the way forward for months. Frimpong could be a very handy addition alongside Henry in a formation certainly more suited to our vastly improved centre halves.
Hammill looked eager to please, but judging by McCarthy’s reaction to his frequent surrendering of possession, we’ll probably not see him start for another two months anyway, such is the yardstick that is used on certain players.
Thereby lies the one huge negative…
…Our inability to keep the ball and our complete disregard of possession.
As soon as we levelled in the most unlikely of circumstances (having not looked like scoring all second half) the time had never been more pressing to keep the football and see out the game, if not press for a winner like Fulham did against Arsenal.
Whether our faultless work ethic resulted in some weary minds can not be verified for certain, but it was Hammill who stupidly gave the ball away to Chelsea on the halfway line, before the Londoners cut us apart down the right where Cole squared for Lampard to score. This, after John Terry appeared to clatter the woefully off-form Doyle moments before, from behind.
Mick was said to be more livid with the subsequent defending than he was the referee’s decision to allow Lampard to stay on the field.
So what have Wolves fans got to be livid about then Mick, if we shouldn’t blame the ref and can do nothing about you selecting a centre back at right back while our 2008/09 player of the year right back came on in centre midfield?
It was the same Richard Stearman who presented Chelsea with the ball under no pressure or danger, seconds before they scored the opener, for what it’s worth.
This game was a true day in the life of a Wolves fan.
View yet another violation of equality with an air of numb withdrawal, read another Mick McCarthy teamsheet with a spirtless shrug of the shoulders, and shuffle off home to summon up one breath of hope that even the most peverted referee can’t wrestle from us.
…A cheer for a Blackburn, Bolton or Wigan defeat.
“Thereby lies the one huge negative…
…Our inability to keep the ball and our complete disregard of possession.”
Not sure about our disregard for possession.. we are in the top half for passes completed and possession.
On resting Fletcher and Jarvis, I can see why he did it. Fletcher picked up a knock, and we know that he does get injured quite a bit. I would have kept Jarvis in, Forde wasn’t as composed on the ball as he was against Arsenal.
Our first action in any game is to boot the ball to the opposition. I’d say you can’t have less regard for possession than doing that.
That pisses me off too, I thought we had cut that out.
Ha, the good old Wolves ‘attack.’ Give possession away. We must be the only team that does this week in week out.
Louie, McCarthy could pick a team of one legged warriors and you’d still see the positives. If or when we get relegated wghat will be your positive spin be then? Do you have a man crush on mad mick?
Is it not allowed for me to have my own opinion?
Jed, all you ever do is throw insults around or make petty jibes, how about writing something insightful for once in you life?
Insults and jibes? – tell me where Louie, I have not insulted you and it’s not a petty jibe. I am as consistent with my belief that McCarthy needs to go as you are with your positivity. I don’t understand how you can be positive about 4 wins in 20 games.
Oh and here’s something insightful for you – we are going down under McCarthy.
Do I have a man crush on McCarthy. Am I bonkers. You even once told me to learn to stand up and pee before I post on here.
And yet you are allowed to do that, whereas I have had posts deleted for a lot less…
And we won’t go down, we’ve made a good signing in Frimpong and have been linked again with Maynard. Our team is taking decent shape and we will be okay. How’s that for positivity.
They are hardly insults Louie, or maybe I’m just used to worse insults, of which you have handed out a few yourself.
I hope you are right with your belief – for me I would like a season that didn’t require a division of fans, where we could all relax, where the team would pick itself based on quality, where the manager didn’t keep picking woefully out of form players, where the manager would recognise a problem (ie left back) and fix it, where the manager would play midfielders in midfield etc. Not too much to ask is it?
Well tough, this is the Premier League. We may not have the greatest manager, or squad, but we are in our third successive Premier League season and I just want a 4th, I don’t care if we finish 17th, just as long as we stay up. There comes a point where we need to push on but it’s going to take time and I don’t mind as taking the long route.
I don’t remember myself randomly throwing insults or having a go at someone, especially without putting something in reply to the blog or what someone has said.
I don’t mind taking the long route either, I just don’t want to be a perennial struggler hoping that another team gets beaten on the last day so we can survive.
My opinion is that the stats suggest that McCarthy hasn’t got what it takes to get this team to the next level, and from what i have seen (which is every single game since we got promoted) he hasn’t got what it takes to get us to the next level. We can’t rest on our laurels, we need to push on. McCarthy is a great PR man but he is tactically naive at this level – just look at some of his team selections this season alone – truly baffling.
Our leading scorer was on the bench today – don’t give the bull about him having a knock because if he is fit to be on the bench he is fit to start. Why was Forde playing instead of Jarvis? Doesn’t make any sense to me at all.
Bolton and Wigan are very capable of moving up the table, and if they do we are truly fooked!
http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/clubs/managers/profile.career.html/mick-mccarthy
119 premiership games played – 19 wins
says it all
Yes, it says he needs to go.
In a team where we don’t score many goals and Fletcher is the source of most of them, not to play him is criminal. Even if he had a knock, if he was fit enough to be on the bench then he was fit enough to start and have a half.
What annoyed me most is that two of our best chances came from headers off set pieces. If only we had someone who could head the ball..
Hate to make these comments sections personal, but it says quite alot about you actually Jed.
According to the link, Mick has accumulated 69 Premiership points as Wolves manager. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t we get 78 in our first two seasons since getting promoted?
When you gleefully and unquestionably use misinformation to discredit the maager of the club you ‘support’, don’t you ever stop and think: what’s the point?
i dont need to discredit the manager, he does a good enough job of that himself.
funny how all you’ve all conveniently ignored what Louie said about us being in the top half for pass completion and possession. Just doesn’t fit with the perceived wisdom, i guess, whether it’s true or not
Possession statistics mean nothing, what counts is shots on or off target. Possession stats don’t state where the possession is – whats the point of having 55% possession in a game if 90% of that possession is in a non threatening position, like in our own half? Point in fact is Karl Henry – always has great possession / passing stats, but what does he do with it? I’d prefer 25% possession, but win the game 2-0 than 70% possession and lose – wouldn’t you Josh / Louie?
“Well tough, this is the Premier League. We may not have the greatest manager, or squad, but we are in our third successive Premier League season and I just want a 4th, I don’t care if we finish 17th, just as long as we stay up.”
Unfortunately, it seems Morgan and Moxey share this sentiment. They have the power to axe McCarthy and yet they persist with the clueless fool. It horrifies me to think he’ll most likely keep his job even if we go down.
Don’t worry Louie, you can’t keep fighting the good fight, and we don’t need others to share positive views. Yes it’s annoying, this is the second time I have ventured to this blog, and the last time Ben had wrote a ‘anti’ Wolves type post, made to draw the mass’ into the debate.
Just think yourself lucky that you do not have to suffer negative feelings like this towards individuals and club. Yes we would like our players to be better, and im sure everyone would have a different opinion to who should be playing right back, but just carry on putting opinions out there without spite or insult and its all good.
Its very strange how many ‘fans’ know the day to day running of the club, the effects the players are feeling after matches and before the following matches. Also, where has this cobblers of ‘if there fit enough for the bench there fit enough to start’? No, if Fletcher is injured, fatigued, ‘flogged to death’ or at 70%, bring him on with 70mins to go, when we are in the game(we perform in the second half) and let him have a go at their tiring players. Same goes for Jarvis.
I thought the team wasn’t too far wrong. Fletcher and Jarvis would obviously have played if totally fit. I think playing Jarvis for the 2nd half made sense because he needs to be right at it otherwise he’s a liability.
However selecting the kid Forde was a strange one. We have the club’s 4th most expensive signing sitting on the bench and fucking about in goal at HT. Don’t get me wrong I think Hunt’s shit, but surely we had other options than playing Forde today, including playing a £3.5mil player? Edwards wide right and play Guediora in a free role?
Ridiculous team selection, terrible referee – feels like deja vu…………..
This team is screaming for a manager who knows what he is doing. McCarty’s team selections and tactics are baffling and costing us points.
Oh and Ward was bloody awful but i doubt a new LB is likely in this window
FOMM
Not the worst performance but still very worried. With 10 points from the last 17 games how could you not be? We’re just lucky there are some equally poor sides out there because we actually have fewer points than we did after 20 games last season – and we were rock bottom then.
Yes, you’re right, other teams have also been bad.
But compared to the start of the season where there was a bit of a gap between us, now you can see that we’re down to 2 points between us and the relegation zone. So if one of those teams wins and we lose then we’ll be in it, and I’m afraid that WILL happen based on current form.
Get this fucking manager out. Total wanker. This club will never get anywhere near even Swansea and Norwich with this prick in charge.
Not exactly subtle Bazza but that just about sums up the reality of the situation.
Totally racked off with this season from hell but only marginally more peed off with the never ending catalogue of contemptable refs than I am with Mick.
Compare and contrast recent events at Sunderland! So O’Neil ‘couldnt cut it without splashing the cash’ eh? They get dodgy decisions too yet, even a diabloical point saving penalty to Everton, sees them with three wins from five with the same squad Bruce left behind.
And for those in denial that the pace and passing games of Swansea and Norwich is no more effective than our ‘give it to Henners and hoof it ball’ – well, they’re both three points further ahead of us after their respective away games than they were at 3pm.
Sorry but with current tactics and selections, fourth bottom is the best we can hope for. Who’d like a bet that that will be some distance behind a rejuvinated Sunderland who were below us in the league until their board showed some bollocks and did something about it!
Couldn’t agree more Scooped – bravo!
Absolutely. It’s time to go McCarthy.
My one word for the ref would be even more succinct than Ben’s.
It was a slightly weird team selection. We looked like a team of strangers for the first quarter of the match, and then that Lampard tackle (assault) galvanised us. Frimpong was very good, I thought. Ward had a nightmare though, even taking his goal into account. Doyle looked lively but (as usual) did not carry any threat. Hammill is hot one minute, then cold the next. Henry almost pulled off the best pass of his career with his delivery onto Edwards’ head in the second half.
The game was open and (apart from the ref and his decisions) largely enjoyable until the final twist when Lampard scored with the same studs which had scored Hammill’s calf. But I am so used to these sorts of disappointments now that I am almost numb to it.
Totally agree with your blog Ben. Chelsea were rubbish today, and still beat us.
Norwich, Swansea, The S**T down the road are all making us look stupid, we have a manager who is utterly clueless at this Level. For those idiots who think just a change of manager cant do any good, look at look at Sunderland.. A manager can make a lot of differance even with the same players.
Can anyone please tell me where our next 3 points are coming from..
And as for captain fantasic Johnson ? he says Wolves need 8 more wins??? What planet is that guy on. we’ll be lucky if we get one.
Ha ha, 8 more wins…piece of cake Roger.
While I didn’t expect us to beat Chelsea, it IS a disappointing result as this was in fact a match where we could have ground out a draw. Chelsea don’t look to me the team they once were.
Wolves on the other hand look exactly the team they’ve been this season – pretty poor (barring the first 2 games).
Mick’s selection WAS bad, no way should the best players be dropped, especially for our home games which one would assume we have a higher chance of getting results in.
Nige says where’s the next win coming from? He’s got a point. Look at the fixtures. In the next 2 months for me we’re only entitled to even consider that we COULD perhaps pick up points against Villa, QPR and Albion…but if you asked me now if I thought that was possible I’d say no I’m afraid.
I could be eternally optimistic and that is nice, loyal and shows pride in the club. But it’s clear that Mick…Is…Taking…Us…Down. I love Wolves and my support won’t change even in the Championship, but we are just letting it slip away.
What did he rest Fletcher for? The next really ‘winnable’ game against Spurs? Sod that, play him against a poor Chelsea team (by their standards). I know he had a knock, but as I mentioned before, if he’s fit enough for the bench then he’s fit enough for a start.
Look at the effect on Sunderland that a new manager has made. They still aren’t great, but they have pulled away to safety now. Swansea and Norwich are streets ahead of us.
QPR have tailed off, but they will probably spend and bring in quality which could/should help them.
Sad to say, but the Albion look a different class to us. Shameful.
Blackburn, as I predicted, seem to start to be improving and turning the corner somewhat. Although they may be hamstrung by their management as well.
Thank goodness for Wigan and Bolton’s poor performances as they’re the only thing keeping us out of the relegation zone right now. But the gap is closing…
Ade, I coundn’t agree more.
At least in the Championship, we get to go and see more games, and can have a much higher percentage of wins home and away.
Problem is weather we go down or not, I fear Mick will still be our manager. So if he wins promotion again, we will keep him again, and if by some luck he keeps us up again this year, the board will see it as a great success and we get more of the same drivel next year.
Look at 2 Examples..
Wigan, Since getting into the Pl, Always Struggling, got a good manager but the club wont spend big and pay higher wages so Dave Whealan is happy with his lot.
Stoke city, Since getting into the PL have grown each year, signed better players and paid them decent wages without a cap, and are now a side you cannot see getting relegated. Pulis doesnt employ the best tactics either but they are gonna be safe..
Does Morgan really want to compete at this level, if so greater investment is needed in paying wages that will bring established Premier league players to the club and a manager who is aware of how to play in this league.
Some of our players would probably prosper under another manager, but not all.
Over to you Mr Morgan..
I to agree Ben,its what i’ve been saying for a long long while this McIdiot is totally f..ked in the
head .should always play his best side always,whats he do left two of our best players on the bench i think he gave up before the kick off thinking we’er gonna lose anyway so i’ll try couple changes to see how it goes what bollocks that was.with fletch and jarvo we could have got something i think,we have’nt got a game for two weeks so why did’nt he play them.
TOTALLY INEPT.FOMM.
How did Frank Lampard stay on the pitch.
I feel angry – double standards.
After 20 minutes where Frimpong only passed to the opposition he improved immensely.
We played well after the first 20 minutes in cloud mick mick land.
Fletcher was injured, i repect Mick not playing him.
Jarvis should have played but Mick did remedy the situation at half time.
We could have got a result with this game if the referee had grown a pair of balls.
Enjoyed the game and i am optomistic we have enough about us to stay up.
The fixture list is a bit worrying, but its over the season that counts.
I feel we will get the odd shock result, especially when we have an impartial referee.
UTW.
How did Frank Lampard stay on the pitch.
I feel angry – double standards.
After 20 minutes where Frimpong only passed to the opposition he improved immensely.
We played well after the first 20 minutes in cloud mick mick land.
Fletcher was injured, i repect Mick not playing him.
Jarvis should have played but Mick did remedy the situation at half time.
We could have got a result with this game if the referee had grown a pair of balls.
Enjoyed the game and i am optomistic we have enough about us to stay up.
The fixture list is a bit worrying, but its over the season that counts.
I think we will get the odd shock result, especially when we have an impartial referee.
UTW.
6 points from the last possible 27.
Of those 21 which disappeared down the plughole, how many were DIRECTLY attributable to golden boy Ward?
Seems to me the more bollocks he drops on the pitch, the more he is assured of playing the next game, wherever McDickhead’s fancy takes him.
At fault yet again today, for the first goal, misses a sitter, then has an anonymous game until he scores, and then helps the defence squander a point.
Brilliant, just fuckin’ brilliant.
And that turnip of a manager defies all possible belief, and how the other Prem Managers must have a fuckin’ big red circle around their upcoming Wolves fixtures, with banker 3 points in capitals.
What a glorious cup run we can look forward to, though, the big bad Birmingham away!!
We will probably play our “strongest” team, whatever the fuck that is, and get stuffed out of sight….again.
Fuck this, I’m off to the bar.
A very big FOMM and FOSW to ya’ll…………………oh, and Happy New Year as well!!!!
OK, I’ll bite.
Q. How many of the 21 lost points were DIRECTLY attributable to Ward?
A. Not many.
You want precision? Ok – Nil.
Ward has had two real stinkers this season (when he’s played at left back). Old Trafford and yesterday.
Against Manure, even though he was arguably at fault to a degree in all their goals we’d surely have lost at Old Trafford even if Paolo Maldini in his pomp had been playing left back for us.
Yesterday, yes, Ward got into a very bad tangle for their first. And he also made some other unpunished howlers (although they were redeemed by his goal). But he had nowt to do with Chelsea’s winner, which was worked down the opposite flank.
You could point to some isolated incidents. Crouch beat him to a header by crouching, for example; but the game was up against Stoke anyway. We were crap all over the park that day.
Otherwise he’s been vastly improved. Certainly, along with Fletcher, Hennessey and (for the last 4 games) Jarvis, he’s been one of only four (count ’em) this season who looks like he might possibly deserve to be playing in the Premier League.
Addendum: I’ll add the also vastly-improved part-time wrestler Christophe Berra to my last paragraph. That makes five then …
Maybe he could enter the Greco-Roman wrestling in this summer’s olympics? I’ve checked the schedule and the final is on August the 7th, so even if they don’t push back the start of the Prem which seems likely, he should be able to compete (that’s assuming we aren’t relegated, which is a BIG assumption).
Christophe for gold!
Somebody made, i thought, a very perceptive observation after the Arsenal game.That we played like a lower division side earning a replay in the cup. Totally outclassed and outplayed but through sheer effort, team spirit and a little luck we achieved a well earned draw.
That pretty much sums up every game in this league. Virtually every team plays better technical football but sometimes we pick up points like we did at Arsenal. It usually also requires the opposition forwards to have a very bad day.Oh and our only real goal threat to get a game.
Last night was another example. Passing the ball back to Hennessy so that he can hoof the ball upfield to immediately give possession back to the opposition is lower division football. And seriously low level at that.
That sort of football went out with the Ark, probably around the time Mick stopped playing.6 points from the last 27 and 19 wins in 119 premiership games and he’s still being paid to do it. How much longer do we have to suffer this dross?
This is an unfair and negative article. It must be miserable indeed being inside your head, Ben!!
I imagine that Mick wanted to give some of his players a rest after a hard game at Bolton 2 days prior to this one. Also, we have a fairly depleted midfield at the moment, with O’Hara and Milijas out. Perhaps this might go part of the way to explaining his team selection? Despite this, we were perhaps unlucky to come away without a point against one of the big 4 clubs.
I get tired of reading such depressing over-the-top stuff – cheer up for God’s sake! I would not swap out situation for that of either Swansea or Norwich. I suspect that we’ll stay up this year – probably in 16th or thereabouts. But I do think that by next autumn, if there’s no improvement, Mick could be on his bike.
Happy 2012 to all!
Interesting that you suspect we’ll stay up this year, but what are you basing that on – our exceptional style of play, fantastic points haul and brilliant leadership? 16th sounds a little optimistic given our form this season.
Swansea passed Villa off the park yesterday. In contrast, we lumped the ball around and squandered possession far too easily as we have done all season. I suspect Swansea fans enjoy watching their team far more than we do ours.
Exceptional play, a fantastic points haul and brilliant leadership aren’t prerequisites for survival. There are plenty of other mediocre teams in the league this season – Wigan, Bolton and Blackburn look worse than us, thankfully. I’d also put QPR and the sh1t in that category. I think we’ve got a fair amount of strength in depth compared to some of the newbies, like the Swans and Norwich where a couple of injuries/suspensions could really derail them, or where a long season may take its toll late on.
I remember people moaning about Wolves last season when Blackpool were playing stylish free-flowing football, but look where they ended up. Besides, I think we’ve played entertaining football this season, perhaps a bit too hair-raising. I wouldn’t put Swansea or Norwich in the same bracket as blackpool necessarily, but I don’t think many people would be surprised to see one of them down there battling it out come April.
Yes our Manager is far and away our worst player.
It is absurd to keep him.
The team plays like it has been told it is not as good as the opposition.
Pathetic.
Get rid of him.
Mick’s questionable resting of players aside, it does not change the fact that in the last week or so we have been on the end of some frankly awful refereeing and FA decisions. Sod the result if it bloody happens again I’d be fairly happy if Mick just took the lads off the pitch and refused to play until we got a decent bloody championship ref in charge.
Lampard should have walked, Cole could have walked for two bookings. Instead of being 0-0 against 9 men, we played against 12. I for one am sick of it.
No flair-Terry strolled through the game, under no pressure. Wheres the sense in playing Forde
against Arsenal and Chelsea-surely blooding him against lesser opposition would be sensible.
Chelsea bullied us out of the game-and we allowed it. MM clueless-defending abjectly woeful-lets tackle our own players. Only bright spots-Doyle-who looked up for it-Jarvis and Fletcher when they emerged. HENRY d best game for a while.Fletch is different class-maybe Pullis recognises this-swap for Kenwyne Jones-hope not.
FROMM
http://www.wolves.co.uk/page/News/0,,10307~2564145,00.html
Mick’s view on why he made the changes…
Best quote of all: “If you keep whipping the same horse he will end up being flogged to death.”
Hasn’t he done this to Doyle for the past two seasons?!
And Doyle has been out of form as of late…
Apparently Mick’s looking to bring in Nicky Maynard, a highly-rated striker from Bristol City, so it’ll be interesting to see what will happen with Doyle and SEB if we manage to get him…
That picture identity thing has really worked, by the way – helps distinguish between the two Bens on here! 🙂
Thats bollocks and you know it is,we a’nt got a prem game until the 14th.enough time to get
a rest .FOMM.SOONER THE BETTER.
I think the team selection is fair enough. The last thing we want is for Fletch or Jarvis to be out for a few weeks. In the end the loss was down to poor defending, we must have had 5 or 6 defenders in the box and none of the stopped the cross or picked out Lamps. Yes he should have been sent of, but he wasn’t and we need to get on with the game.
We’ve had a few dodgy decisions go against us but we have to deal with them and not feel sorry for ourselves. The players are the only people who can win, lose or drawer the game, no matter how hard the ref tries. We just needed to concentrate for the last few minutes.
Overall though I think the team is looking much better over the last 4/5 games than previous. Hopefully a win will come soon and 2012 will be full of happy clappers!
Agree with you Ben, though I was told either we had two games in three days or we can’t go all out attack against Chelsea to which I would say a, in that case why go full strength at Arsenal when you’re more likely to get points on home turf and b, they’ve also had as many games in as many days. Personally, having just lost at home to Villa, I thought Chelsea were there for the taking.
All this being said, most of the lads who were out there did a solid enough job. I was just baffled by some selections.
Thats always been the problem Rich.team selection.He still dos’nt know his best side does he.
Calling the referee a cheat is going way too far
No it isnt. What is just as obnoxious as cheating refs however is your insistance on denying and decrying every single issue raised on this blog.
Your posts are tedious in their predictability. I’m surprised you continue to bother following this blog when you so consistantly refute every single issue raised on it.
Carping, negative and destructive comments are your forte. Its just a pity you have to express them here.
Hi Scooped – I regularly agree with the guys on this blog, indeed my last post began with “Can I start by saying what a massive fan of Wolves Blog I am, it’s great to have a site that comments independently on the club”.
Response?
You conveniently forget the ‘but’ and the diatribe that followed.
My point is that if I insist on “denying and decrying every single issue raised on this blog” and am always making “Carping, negative and destructive comments” – why would I begin a comment on such a positive note ? In fact, I think I can say that the only time I’ve disgareed with a Wolves Blog article has been over these refeering issues. I’m utterly perplexed as to why you take such a offence at me having a different point of view to yourself and Ben on the matter and discussing it in an open forum. If I had labelled someone as “obnoxious” and then been proven to have got it horribly wrong I’d apologise.
I won’t be holding my breath
Hi Taftag. No, fair’s fair! It was very good of you to state your love of this site, if not my blogging! We do disagree entirely on the reffing matter, and the last thing we want on here is a ‘consensual conceptuality’ (get me quoting my wally-polly philosophy module!)
You may say it is going way too far to call the referee a cheat, but in the absence of a rational explanation offered by anyone as a way of defence, cheating is the only reason that can possibly offer.
Had the FA have rescinded Milijas’ red – after watching clear video footage – then I wouldn’t have this clear belief.
Nobody ( including Shearer, Lineker, Mark Bright, Motty, David Pleat, Matt le Tissier, Alan Hansen, Charlie Nicholas, Paul Merson) have been able to offer an explanation, so I’m afraid they can only be branded cheats.
Give me a reason why this isn’t the case (presuming you saw yesterday’s travesty) and I’ll doff my cap to you sir!
PS, You never did get back to me on my offer of a beer and a random game to look objectively at a refs’ performance. Shame, as I only offer to get them in once 😉
Hi Ben – I’m not defending either the Miljias decision not being rescinded or the fact Lampard wasn’t set off, the combined incidents show the massive inconsistency that drives managers and fans insane. But what we should all appreciate is that the referee had a split second to view the Lampard incident, weight it up in his mind and then react. He had to do all of this with players, managers and the crowd baying for blood and try to consciously put that out of his mind. That’s a pretty tough ask for anyone, but it’s what he’s paid for and he should’ve sent Lampard off. I don’t think he intentionally kept Lampard on the pitch because he wanted Chelsea to win or for any other reason, he just made a bad choice.
My issue is that the majority of the guys are trying their to do a ridiculously tough job, that is compounded by players diving, feigning injury (Not in Hammils case, but it’s prevalent in the Premier League now) and generally cheating. As such I think you have to be very careful about questioning officials’ integrity as that’s a whole different ball game to questioning their ability (which I would agree with you on)
To summarise, the standard of refereeing is poor, but it’s not helped by players constantly trying to con officials. The officials themselves should be able to have video technology, as the game is faster now that it has ever been. Finally, the officials need to be more accountable and we need to create a culture where their decisions can be overturned by panels (re Miljias) without undermining them. And they can admit errors after the games in the press without fear of the likes of Neil Warnock spewing bile at them. Because I for one would respect them more if they admitted mistakes and got decisions rescinded, than the current wall of silence that we face
All good stuff mate, and probably more articulate than many of my rants. I like the last point in particular. Refs in other sports are more accountable. For instance, you can actually hear a rugby official explaining his decisions as he is miked up.
Imagine Phil Walton with a mic yesterday? ‘Foul to Wolves, booking for Lampard for over the top challenge. No red car because…err….err…Ummm… it is early in the game and he said sorry.’
More accountability on the pitch like this would never happen as refs’ would confirm their own incompetence.
I still think that an element of your argument lends itself to mine though.
A cheat, by definition, is someone ‘who misleads, to fool.’
There can be no doubt that Walton misled 27,000 fans by deeming Hammill’s non-contact tackle on Cole as serious as Frank Lampard’s leg breaker, or Cole’s double midemeanour for that matter.
There can also be no doubt that the top teams get all the decisions and teams like us get none.
You call it (very articularly) as inconsistency.
Due to the sheer frequency of these decisions, it ceases to be as explainable as that IMO, particularly when a panel won’t rescind something that NO other person in football believed was a red after the benefit of video (No split decision for those guys on the panel!). Justice then move into a darker, murkier place that I really do resent.
And as for players conning the refs (con means cheat in my thesaurus BTW) by being in their faces etc, it works! Shawcross and Terry are two examples in the last 2 weeks and they get the refs’ sympathy, whereas our self effacing passiveness gets us…nowt!
Strangely I agree with both you and TafKag. I don’t think there is some giant conspiracy between the big clubs and referee’s.
I do think that the referee’s have the the hardest job on the park and who can blame them if they’re unconsiously influenced by 70,000 home fans screaming that it was a penalty or by 6 six foot blokes shouting in their faces. Lampard not being sent off could be seen as an honest mistake in the same way that Milijas walking was.
However, the Milijas debacle shines light on the real decay in the sport the FA and premier league. If they were serious about sorting this issues they would only have to put into place a few things:
1. Bans for players intimidating referee’s and assistants, only captains and involved parties should be allowed to approach the referee to question a decision. Ban all those United and Arsenal huddles every time a decision is to be made. Secondly if the referees instructs the players to leave him whilst he consults his assistant and players continue to remonstrate it should be an automatic booking Rio Ferdinand and John Terry would be sent off every game!
2. Retrospective bans for blatant acts of cheating (diving, fouls like Lampards, feigning injury, etc) even if it has not affected the outcome of a game.
3. Referee’s to be mic’ed up and their conversations with the players broadcast live. To cut out favouritism to certain players and any confusion over decisions.
4. Video assistance using fourth official during game. Managers to have 1 review on a stop play decision each. If ref found to be wrong review is replenished. A system to be installed where the number of correct reviews against the referee will result in their demotion.
However, these have as much chance of being put into place as the current respect the ref campaign has of working. The FA and premier league are so in thrall of the money that they have forgotten what is important is that the competition remains fair.
Very good Sheffield, agree with that.
Also, one more you have missed:
Ban any manager from the touchline for three games if they utter one single profanity at the fourth official. Strict liability rule.
Pulis and Warnock would be toast for starters.
It just sets a bitter precedent the way things are at the minute. Deep down, I love MM for his stance on it all, so for me to say he should ‘grow a pair of bollocks’ over it all makes me feel like a shit myself. I say it because there is no other option out there available to us, it seems.
Totally agree with you! If there were immediate and harsh consequences for trying to influence the ref in any way then it would stop immediately.
If it can work for Rugby then why not Football? I think that there is this perceived notion that football is ‘lower class and played by lower classes’ and therefore players aren’t as intelligent and will behave worse than Rugby players.
But that’s balls, football players COULD stand off from the ref and let him get on with it, but they don’t because they know that they can con him sometimes.
If you knew that by getting in the ref’s face you could perhaps turn 2 out of 10 decisions in your favour you’d do it too as a player paid to win. So if the FA makkes it impossible to even try without being punished then this would stop (kind of like taking shirts off during goal celebrations).
You’ve proven nothing!
Never were the words “damned by faint praise” more damning than the plaudits to which you refer.
Even you cannot deny that (in the post in question) your use of the “but” word quickly followed by a nifty “… this is the worst article on here, ever” and concluding with a snide “you’re better than this” do nothing but cast stones at the writer of a well researched and passionate article.
And just who are you to sit in judgement anyway? “The Day Fairness Died” was not the worst article ever on WolvesBlog. That’s your opinion and not one I (or, I suspect, many others) agree with.
What surprises me is how aggrieved you are about any criticism aimed at your posts when you feel at perfect liberty to fire so many cheap shots yourself.
Deep breaths and a Happy New Year!
Oh, you don’t agree with me?? Cool – feel free to join in the well argued and constructive debate above then.
‘Your posts are tedious in their predictability. I’m surprised you continue to bother following this blog when you so consistantly refute every single issue raised on it.
Carping, negative and destructive comments are your forte. Its just a pity you have to express them here.’
hold on, is tafkag Clive?
Here’s some thought for food.
Last day of last season, we stayed up by the teeth of our skin because………………Birmingham could not defend a 1 – 1 scoreline at Tottenham. In the heart of their defense that day………….Roger Johnson.
We will more than likely be relying on the same person to defend us on the last day of this season.
Scary, huh?
Very strange comment, even for you Clive. I’m no Roger Johnson fan boy, far from it in fact. But, when Spurs scored the winner in that game Johnson was up front, precisely because 1-1 wasn’t good enough to keep them up after Hunts goal. If you are going to spout inflammatory drivel, at least be remotely accurate
I siad it was thought for food, I didn’t say it was accurate!
Come on, I’ll leave it for others to report fairly and accurately, while i just keep stirring the shit!!!
FOMM
So the team and tactics choesn by MM couldn`t beat the bottom of table side on Saturday, or an injury ravaged Chelsea team yesterday.
From the little I saw on MOD it was only the pace of Stearman that stopped early Chelsea goals, as they passed the ball through our centre halves.
Old issues remain not enough pace or quality, Ward misses a free header from 5 yards, and was to blame for the Bolton goal, and the first Chelsea goal with some awful defending. Must be discusssing a further contract extension this morning no doubt, if he is the bar by which MM rates players for premiership purpose, then we are doomed to relegation.
Another top blog Ben, can see your close to breaking point!
We’re going to struggle enough as is without the Ref and those corrupt B******s at the FA chipping in to add to our worries. It was another display of blatant favouritism by the officials towards the bigger club.
That aside, our defending was simply unacceptable once again. I am not Wards biggest fan or biggest critic and there is no doubt that he has improved as a player but he is and always will be a terrible defender. He is still allowing free passage from the half way line into our box to anyone who runs at him with the ball. He did it against Carr for Brum couple of years back allowing us to lose the game there and he’s still doing it now. He is not to blame for everything though, MM still plays him there instead of buying in a premiership quality LB, something we’ve needed desperately for years!!
I feel that we will survive (by the skin of our teeth) once again but more down to other teams than our own triumphs. I shall once again get my hopes up for the transfer window to see what gems MMM can conjure up for us!! I hear Eric Young is available on a free!!!
We need pace and quality and we need it now!!
Big E! Now we’re talking!
I reckon if Rodger pulled on the maroon headband, he’d see a significant upturn in performance levels.
Agree with all of that Bally! Ward should not be anywhere near a scapegoat this season, as he has improved immeasurably like you say.
However, it is patently unfair on the bloke to play him week in, week out, in a position he has never been professionally trained at any level, unlike pretty much every other left back in this league, if not the NPower one too.
Any manager worth his salt would have identified a left back problem, and corrected it within weeks or months of acknowledging it.
Signing Van Damme suggested he appreciated the importance of a new left back, but after becoming ‘homesick’ the need suddenly vanished and the problem keeps rearing its head.
How about a new left back to compete with Ward, to give him some genuine rivalry for the slot, while picking up a tip or two along the way.
Hell, they could even room together and become good mates.They could share the load and improve accordingly.
Not in Mick’s world. No way! It is Ward all the way or nothing, as anything else is deceit, even if it clearly isn’t! Just like Berbatov netting 5 in 2 games is not a slight on Hernandez or Rooney.
I like the blog and enjoy reading the main contributors analyses which manage to be both passionate and articulate. Many of the commentators puzzle me; they don’t like the manager or the players or the owner so what is there left to support? Some imaginary Wolves team , an historic Wolves team or perhaps when Wright Dougan or Bull had bad games they would have benefitted from being found synonymous with excrement by such passionate supporters?
I am concerned with our tactic of giving the ball to the opposition and hoping they tire themselves out by passing and moving. Frimpong was clearly confused by the strategy of not keeping the ball. Doyle looks jaded by continually being asked to play the role of pinball buffer. I don’t understand why Hammill hasn’t had more starts when he looked so lively in pre season games. But I’m a Wolves supporter and I will take the unalloyed joy I experienced between minutes 84 and 89 of the Chelsea game and keep coming back for more despite the ramblings of all you stinky silly pants and dozy dopeyheads.
I’m glad you asked the question Danny, what is there left to support if you don’t rate the manager or players or like the CEO ( i don’t think people dislike the owner, just want him to act more).
The supporters of the those above say those who slag them off should f***k off and support someoe else. I am now one of McCarthy’s and his team’s biggest critics but i have loved only one club all my not inconsiderable life. I could no more care about another club than fly.
I have never been at a live match when i have done other than give 100% to everyone in a gold shirt and still do when i watch this current side. But that does not stop me from judging players and managers over the years.
We’ve had a couple of great managers in my time and more than a couple of great players who will always be God’s in my mind.Players who have stuck with the club long after they retire and are as much supporters as the rest of us.
The rest, the vast majority, of players and managers have just been employees, temporarily sporting the pold gold and black because they get paid big money to do so. I don’t give a toss about any of these except whether or not they produce the goods for my beloved club.
So this is what i support. The name of Wolverhampton Wanderers and the shirt. Many on this site seem to support Mick McCarhy and ‘his team’ at whatever cost.
I note Dave Vincent desperately clutching at straws questioned Swansea’s strength in depth for the second half of the season. They made seven changes from the side which drew with Spurs and still passed them off the park.
I wonder how many points we would have taken against Bolton and Chelsea had Milijas not been sent off?
I think it has cost us two or three points.
The answer is to do something similar to what they do in cricket –
Quick look at a replay as player rolls on the ground.
Or accept the fragility of referees.
Anyway our problem is not referees, fans or the players.
Our biggest problem is the manager.
Surely everyone can see the improvement in Sunderland and the verve and style of Norwich and Swansea? –
They have young, forward thinking Managers, not an “Eh by gum lad put in a shift.”
Thought Fletcher’s comment some days ago about the holiday schedule not being a problem for Wolves was interesting when he said “We prefer playing to training.” i.e. training is as hard as a game physically for them.
MM and Connor should go let some younger person take over-
Darren Ferguson I think.
They cannot do worse….
Danny boy,We are all wolves supporters.Everybody has a different stance and view so you can
write what you like so let others write what they want thats what this blog is all about not the
sanitized sites where everything is veted.i like yourself am a wolves supporter for 50 years, so
i have seen some good times and a lot of bad, but i like a lot supporters like to have my say
and as long as people don’t take offence thats why this blog is the very best there is anywhere.
Lets keep it that way, we can’t all be articulate so lets be a more diverse in our address.
That said the team could do better under NEW MANAGEMENT, I Think..IMO.
I don’t expect all Wolves fans to agree and it is not always easy to distinguish banter from abuse. It may well be time for Mick to be replaced and the days of one club players is unlikely to return but I am enjoying the current premiership adventure and like you am old enough to remember much grimmer times.
Haha. We’re all arguing, it shows how dreadful a scenario we’re in!
I only wish I could get as worked up as a lot of you guys are at the moment, as it is I’m generally apathetic.
FOMM.
See the above post, Kwolf… of course we argue, we have different opinions! The one thing we all have in common though is our love for this club – much as I would love Mick to be the one to help us survive another season, I can see why people want him sacked…
Ben I’m also struggling with your latest praise for Karl Henry. To me this is an even bigger conspiracy!! The laziest footballer I’ve ever seen despite the yards he supposedly covers. If I see another one of those hopefully depressingly pathetic chipped passes or a pass behind a player desperately wanting it played into his stride then I’ll chop my Jez card in half. How this guy is consistently in the team amazes me. FOMM and FOKH!!!!
OPEN LETTER TO MR.S. MORGAN, MR J. MOXEY, AND ALL HAPPY CLAPPERS EVERYWHERE.
Dear Sirs,
Would you be so kind as to look at the football results over the last few weeks, specifically at the results of Sunderland FC.
In case it has escaped your attention, let me inform you that this club was dropping rapidly towards the relegation zone of the Premier league, and the managing board of the club decided that the then manager Mr. S. Bruce, was not doing his job as described, and promptly sacked him.
They then appointed a new manager, who has, in the space of a few weeks, entirely transformed tnhe club, and has not changed the personel, merely improved what already existed.
May I, as a life long (over 50 years) supporter offer the humble suggestion that the same is done inside our beloved football club, in that the current manager, who is definitely not doing his job, be sacked, together with his equally inept training staff, and a new manager appointed, who can transform our current squad of players, in a similar fashion to that which Mr. O’Neil has done at the aforementioned Sunderland?
Is this asking too much?
If it can work for them why not us?
How much more of the mind baffling team selections, tactics and excuses are we supposed to take?
Do you want to see us playing in front of a half empty but very pretty stand, in the championship?
Please, get rid of this cancer in our club before it erodes everything we hold near and dear.
Sincerely,
One extremely pissed off fan.
you tell em Clive
Totally agree clive,But i’m affraid it goes on deaf hears and blind eyes head in the sand if you
know what i mean.i’ve been saying the same but all i get is shite from the happy-clapper’s.
But i’m teflon coated and don’t give a shite.i wanted Martin O’Neill here for a long long while
my next choice would be mark hughes.
Oh my days…..
Over the last few years Match Officials have always slightly favoured the Top Clubs, I guess the backlash would be greater from a mistake with a top team possibly affecting thier career?
Agian it’s apparrant some of the Wolves players are simply not good enough for the Premier League, applaud thier hard work but if we are to survive quality replacements are required NOW!
Mr Morgan, open the wallet and lets go for it, it will be worth it in the long run. If we are to settle for mid table championship, I for one will be getting out the golf clubs.
I’m pretty sure my last message reply has been deleted?
Can the Mod let me know why, or do you only accept views that agree with the bloggers??