One team, full of pre-meditated antagonism, stretching the laws of decency to breaking point, while the other turned the other cheek.
One perplexed managed looked on passively, while his counterpart’s hate-ridden face frantically chewed gum to quell the bile inside.
The shellsuited personification that is Tony Pulis hurled more expletives at the fourth official as bottles of water on the turf.
He swore black was white, instructed every one of his gargantuan team to do likewise and verbally abused the fourth official more times than a Burslem wife beater on Stella.
Kind of makes a mockery of that spineless FA campaign don’t you think, when Stoke’s pre-planned hostility is fawned over by a gutless referee, who spat at our attempts at respect as if we were the criminals.
Let’s get one thing straight first off…
…Stoke City are infinitely better than us and boast the calibre of player that Mick McCarthy could barely recognise, let alone play.
But when a referee decides to widen the chasm in class by cheating, then football immediately stops being a game that I can ever associate with.
Anthony Taylor was the faceless friend of the school ground bully, lapping up every insult and profanity that Stoke City threw his way.
He cheated by not sending off Jonathan Woodgate for hacking down Jarvis a second time in the process of conceding a penalty (second bookable offence).
He then failed to spot a clear tackle by Roger Johnson on Jon Walters, deciding to reward fair play with a free kick to Stoke, from which they levelled.
Predictably, Stoke go on to win due to their superior ability at retaining possession and Tony Pulis can congratulate the men he had spent the last 90 minutes chastising.
That’s Premier League football folks.
This whole sub plot is inextricable to the game itself, so to quote Big Ron on a famous Monday Night Football interview: ‘If the boys play badly I’ll whip ’em, but I ain’t whipping them for that.’
In short, we were great for 30 minutes and were by far the better team, going 1-0 up from the spot as Jarvis revelled in the absence of Andy Wilkinson.
While the referee clearly influenced the game by not sending off Woodgate, a secondary turning point was when Stephen Hunt ignored Steven Fletcher with the goal gaping before half time.
Whatever Mick said to his men at the break clearly didn’t work, as Stoke forced their way back into the game through the referee’s second clear moment of ineptitude.
But for all our gripes at the injustice of it all, we never made Sorensen save a single shot in the second half, looking completely dumbfounded at how to stem the red and white tide.
Stephen Ward, for all his vast improvement, was caught out for a second successive Saturday and with the ball firmly in our court to attack, we did nothing.
The threat of Jarvis was nullified when Pennant and Shotton doubled up on him, yet our secondary threat in Adam Hammill was once again ignored as we laboured to the final whistle.
Eleven defeats in 14 – featuring two feeble victories – tells us all we need to know about our side.
With peanuts to play with in January to strengthen it, maybe Mick would be better served calling up his good mate Pulis for a chat.
Knowing how to ‘win friends and influence people’ might earn us more points come May 13 than £4.5 million quid ever could.
Harsh….but true
If anything we needed more direct players for the second half, for all doyle and hunt’s hard work, Jarvis showed us throughout the game that using a mixture of pace and taking on his man we looked dangerous
Yet again Hammill was overlooked, cannot help but ask why? He offers a MASSIVE attacking threat to us, he can and will take on his man before putting a cross in.
There was one cross from Hunt, which went across the goal and was caught by the keeper, yet it could have easily have been a goal had Doyle made more of an effort to get to it.
We have seen that by giving players a rest they come back better than ever, perhaps it is time for doyle to have a rest so that others can get a chance and that he could also gain some much needed energy.
Final word is that Milijas was excellent against stoke, ran all over the place and sprayed passes across the pitch, would like to see him rewarded for his fine game with a start against Norwich.
And it was only last week that Pullis was going on about how ‘Stoke dont moan’!!! One of the most miserable days in this most miserable of seasons.
I agree Ben the ref was useless but you can’t blame the ref for us not getting any shots on target in the second half.
Why was Jarvo put onto the right when he was playing great on the left.
Why cant Hammil get a start, I’ll tell you why, because MM can’t recognize a good player for toffee.
I predict relegation, I dont just blame MM, I blame all three of them.
PATHETIC
MM
It’s pathetic what’s going on at Wolves at the moment,
Peanuts to play with? Npt sure why you think that, unless you believe the rubbish the express and star spout.
Pretty much agree with everything else you say though mate. We were pretty good in the first half, and I can’t see beyond anything but weakness from the ref to not send off Woodgate.
But we were weak too, we allowed them back into the game too easily. We seemed to panic and drop deeper, and Milijas went missing, leaving a great big gap in the middle.
Mick was slow to react, we need to either get an extra man in the middle or push them back but we just continued to let them play.
Norwich is huge, anything less than a win and I will seriously worry for Mick’s job, he needs to sort it out urgently.
Sorry Guys but we blew it big style.
Yes the ref was crap, but sometimes you win and sometimes you lose with these refs.
Too Late to get rid of MM now.. If he was gonna go it should have been 4 games ago, so a new manager could have a good look at what he had before the window.
Now is too late because no manager worth his salt is going to want it, and its too close to the window. So we have to make do with McCarthy now till the end of the season.
We can only hope we scrape enough points to get us through and 3 teams remain worst than us.
If we stay up it will be hailed as a great achievement and he will keep his job and we go through it all again next year… He has to do the decent thing and walk away for the good of the club at the end of the season.
It’s sad to say, but I think you’re right, Nige – the gaffer will indeed be hailed a hero if we somehow manage to stay up. We will then have to hear him wax lyrical about a squad that’s clearly inadequate for this level and suffer more silly ‘we could finish 10th’ forecasts after bringing in just one new player. I can’t wait.
Mick being slow to react…probably his greatest weakness as a manager?
You seem convinced the Express & Star are completely wrong or lying about Mick’s January transfer ‘warchest’, Louie. Any insider knowledge that we should know about?
The ref may have had a shocker, but our team and manager just aren’t good enough for the Premier League. Unfortunately, Morgan and Moxey seem happy for the side to struggle while the likes of Albion, Norwich, QPR and Swansea overtake us. By that, I mean they all play decent, probing football where they create chances and cause problems for opposing defences. Bar the odd spell, we offer very little going forward and we’re completely incapable of keeping clean sheets.
In three seasons of top flight football, we haven’t progressed, which is the biggest frustration for most fans. I don’t expect us to be sitting comfortably in mid-table (a potentially realistic target, according to Mick), but I do expect to see some development on the field. At this rate, we’ll have one of the nicest grounds in the Championship next season.
It’s the same express and star that think we tried to get Lassana Diarra, who has started 9/10 games for Madrid this season (against Barca last week), on a trial, the same express and star who were convinced for Roger Johnson to sign we had to sell Berra, the same express and star who think we ask if we should sign BOTH Coquelin and Frimpong on loan when it’s a PL rule that you can only have one from a club, the same express and star who contradict themselves in every article they right.
We’ve always had money available, if Mick thinks we should be someone for X amount of money Morgan will back him! January is just hard to buy in, prices are stupidly high for average footballers.
Yep, the E&S does seemingly get things wrong when it comes to Wolves. My biggest gripe is when Tim Nash writes glowing reports about a team that is completely out of its depth in the Premier League. A case in point was the Man City match – according to Tim, our performance was good enough to beat most other teams in the division. I’ve never read such nonsense.
Anyway, Mick has spent a considerable amount on transfers since getting us promoted. But I disagree that we’ve “always had money available”. The reason we’ve struggled to bring in decent players is because Morgan refuses to increase the wage bill. Instead, he’d rather spunk money on a new stand that will no doubt look mightily impressive in the Championship next season.
so we all agree that the express and star are crap? 😉
I think we are gradually increasing our wage bill, we sign three players and I reckon Johnson and O’Hara, are now our highest earners. i have no problem with morgan whatsoever, he’s always supplied the money when needed and as we try to progress will make more available.
The Express and Star are even reporting that a plastic bottle of water was thrown from the South Bank when it was clearly a bottle of Carling! Can’t even get that right.
Sort it out thats what we’er saying ALL season, i fear its a bit to late for that.
It was a game I felt that we could have won – had we played well for 90 minutes instead of 30 minutes! Yes, the referee decisions sucked and we would probably have won if he had got them right, but if we’d played the second half like we did the first half hour… We aren’t blameless for the loss!
I hate these ‘losses from wins’ – second only to games like Wolves vs QPR.
Beat Norwich, Wolves. You have to.
Sad to say, but I’m worried about us going into the Norwich game.
They’ll be licking their lips in anticipation of this one…
We all are… :/
That is, worried about the game rather than the licking the lips part! 😛
We need some fresh blood we have to many players who come in play well for 30 minutes then go missing or get injured -also need more pace most teams have the ability to score against the run of play we have to be worth two goals to get one.
Exactly – MM needs to realise this as well, because it’s the only way that he’ll be able to keep his job!
He does’nt deserve to keep his job,if he’d been saked a couple of months ago we would’nt
be in this mire. The book stops with him.
Spot on about the ref, bullying the ref, and sadly our inabilty to conjour up any meaningful efforts on goal. Can we get the players we need in january the answer is no we can’t afford them so the only way we stay up grafting and hope there turns out to be 3 teams worse than us.
when we arrived in this league my young nephew asked what was the difference I told him apart from the obvious quality it’s a higher lavel of cheating. It seems you have to harrass refs fall down at the mearest touch cry to the ref at every tackle you lose. We don’t do this and even though it costs us I am glad. The day we turn to it we will probably do better but I think i’d rather go fishing
We were not good enough; that’s pretty much all. We flattered to deceive even in the first 35 minutes when Stoke failed to turn up, with no end product to speak of (can anyone remember Sorensen having to do anything during our dominance, apart from dive at Hunt’s penalty?) And in the second half, Milijas (who had looked very good in the first period) went AWOL and we basically got out-passed, by-passed and outplayed.
Solid mid-table side beats struggler. There’s your news.
Have to agree when we are on top its often the sort of pressure premier league teams can absorb and even use as a platform for counter attack ( classic example when we ‘battered'(MM) Everton last season 0-3 ).
“Whatever Mick said to his men at the break clearly didn’t work”
…unsurprising.
I think that we were hard done by in some ways by the ref, but the team just weren’t up to it at the end of the day.
We’re only out of the relegation zone due to other results ‘going our way,’ but teams like Wigan are within a draw of overtaking us now.
Something’s got to give in January. Kean has gone. Who’s next?
Has he? I haven’t seen any news reports on that…
Mind you, it’s only a matter of time!
I’m sure last night it said on the mail’s page, but I don’t know if they’ve done a U-turn on it or I was just seeing things! But he will surely go anyway, better for us if he doesn’t to be fair.
I think it said that Kean had two games to save his job…
This made me laugh.
“We spent a lot money in the summer and a lot of money the previous season. People keep saying we only signed one player (Roger Johnson) but we invested multi-million pounds in Jamie O’Hara. We also brought Dorus De Vries in.”- Jez Moxey, November 18
“We only signed one player in reality in the summer in Roger Johnson because Jamie O’Hara was already here.” – Mick McCarthy, December 16
I don’t know if anyone feels the same, but i’m hating this Premiership experience under McCarthy. There’s no enjoyment in it for me.Only very occasional highs and oh so many lows. I’ve wanted him gone for a long time and it’s interesting that even some of his staunchest supporters are now daring to mention the possibility.
Yes, agree. It’s generally depressing.
Of course, I’d rather be in the Prem than not, but I seldom get enjoyment out of watching them. The first 2 games of this season was the first time for a long time…and how long ago that was.
We have sunk to new depths as far as I am concerned.
The manager does not have the confidence of the players.
His tactics are bereft, outmoded and outdated.
Other than blind optimism, I cannot see where we will get points.
Norwich play with passion and belief, probably instilled by their manager.
We play as if we are beaten before we have started and if we are 1-0 at half time, like against Stoke, don’t worry, our manager will convince his players to blow it in the last 45 minutes.
Amazing that our chairman makes no comment, just lets the club sink as he builds a new stadium.
Perhaps, next year in the championship, McCarthy might play Hamill, unless he goes to Norwich or Wigan.
Surman seems to play well for Brendan Rodgers.
Got to agree with most of this but doesn’t Surman play for Paul Lambert?
Fair article Ben, I reckon. You don’t really get anything for sticking to the rules and the spirit of the game. But this is why McCarthy has such support from the neutral man in the street – he’s an honourable chap. I’d prefer a McCarthy to a McGhee any day.
We’ll limp to 16th or 17th again this season, Mick’s not going anywhere. We’ve got enough quality in our squad to do better than the likes of 4 or 5 teams down there with us – the quality is particularly poor this season (and Norwich and Swansea will be right down there come April), lots of supporters are suffering just like us each week. I suspect that a repeat at the start of next season will be the end of Mick though, and I, as a happy clapper, probably wouldn’t argue.
Come on me babbies! We’ll do Norwich 2-1 in a classic molineux evening nailbiter!
Have just read that Collins is back at Stoke and is likely to sign for Wolves. McCormack is a shoe in as Keogh will go the other way-Is this ambition I don’t think so. Can someone please tell Mick we are in the Premier League and not the Championship. I am not going to the Norwich match-this club is fast becoming a disgrace-we need some urgent action. Yes man McCarthy accepts what he is given and gets dross-we can’t understand it.
If you value Collins and McC at £2m-then you’ve got supposedly £2.5 left-Doyle will go or maybe Fletcher-then theres Hennessey-watch those gates tumble.
Norwich will teach Wolves a footballing lesson-not been so down about my club since Cullis was sacked. FROMM
Dont think Collins has even got a squad place at Stoke then again he is only 31 and one of Micks old flames.
Was having breakfast in Morrisons on Sunday and from the Sunday Mirror i quote
“….in midfield where Wolves struggled to get a grip after Hunt`s penalty. Defenders get the blame for keeping so few clean sheets, but often its because they`ve been under too much pressure when players further up the firel can`t keep the ball”
That says it all for me, Whelan ran the midfield because Stoke had three in there against our two, MM`s dinasuar tactics. We are `nt good enough to play 442 or 424 with our wide men too far forward and easily isolated. There`s no point in buying yet another centre half, that won`t solve the problem when we don`t play with a holding midfielder and two others in midfield.
When the wheels fall off during a game we have no leaders on the pitch, MM`s autocrtaic management style wo`nt allow for any strong characters. Very disappointed, and for MM its just not happening – again.
Wrong, Stoke played 2 centre midfielders, where you watching? Stoke have always played 442, and done it because they have an extremely strong back four. It was more like them playing 2 against 1, as Henry was all on his own with Milijas anonymous.
I agree that we really aren’t good enough to play 442, we should play a 451/433 which would also give us a more attacking edge as well as secure at the back. It’s my biggest gripe with Mick, we don’t play to our strengths anywhere near enough.
The thing is Louie, they are far, far more fluid so they did have the extra man at times (I think!). Walters often dropped into the middle and got his sizeable frame behind the ball when they didn’t have it, so it was never exclusively 4-4-2 from what I could see.
That is what I liked about us 1st half. Fletcher was coming deep to get it and we also didn’t look like a 4-4-2 exclusively.
But second half, this stopped and Fletcher and Doyle just looked cut adrift up front. You’re right, Miliajas then went AWOL and we were stuffed.
I don’t know if we watch a different game to Mick at times, but the outcome was painfully inevitable as soon as they equalised, but nothing happened.
Why not take off Doyle for Guedioura and stuff it up. He did this against Swansea when he got roundly lambasted and it worked a treat.
Mick just stood passively, with hands in pockets.
Pulis, much as a loathe him, covered more yards from his technical area than Milijas did on the pitch!
Sorry, he didn’t sub Doyle v Swansea, but my point was he tightened up the midfield by bringing on Milijas and Gued!
Henry was terrible. He made two tackles the whole game. His average is 1.1 a game I believe so this is good by Henry’s standards. He was to blame for the second goal with that terrible header. Never, ever good enough.
Been going on for nearly a year now when we play the extra striker we dont score any more goals but nearly always concede at least 2.
Thank you, USA T.V. programmers.
The match was not shown on any of my local channels, I have yet to see the goals, and an early Christmas present, the Norwich match is also not being shown.
The upshot of all this?
I am not quite as down in the dumps as you lot!!
All I have to go on for my comments are the blogs above, and newspaper reports.
Everyone, happy clappers included, is saying the same thing.
We are crap, the manager has to go.
I’ve been spouting the same treason for 2 years, haven’t I, since Fuckwad bottled it at Old Trafford.
Well, as a supporter for over 50 years, it really hurts me to say this, but I told you so.
Rudderless SS Wolverhampton Wanderers, captained it seems by Bhatti Morgan, has finally hit the iceberg, we are sinking, but no one will admit it, or will do anything to stop it.
We will have the most financially secure team in the championship…for one season…and then the third division, or whatever it’s called.
The heart and soul of our beloved club is being torn out, by the 3 M’s, who have nothing but their own self interests in mind, and raping the club and the supporters is the way forward for them.
You guys over there MUST protest tomorrow evening in the strongest possible terms, from the get go.
Cheer the lads on 100% ( except Ward) but give management the bollocking they richly deserve.
I despair for the rest of this season.
FOMMM
Spot on, I went to Old Trafford that night, I hate MM for making ten outfield changes when we had won two games on the bounce.
I’ll Always remember him for that, he should have been sacked then.
Well said as usual clive,Are they listening i don’t think so,as said we must protest,saying that
if we lose tomorrow the fans will be doing it i hope.i really do.FTAO
I’m a bit fed up with blaming the ref to be honest, we shouldn’t give the players the excuse. Should we need Stoke to be down to 10 men before we can beat them? How about a bit of blame for the players standing still as Stoke meandered through to score a second, and those same players who offered little or nothing in response for the 20 minutes remaining.
More bad news. O’Hara and Edwards ruled out for tomorrow, which means more of either Milijas or Guedioura. Oh joy.
What, Mick McCarthy’s staying on as Wolves manager even if we get relegated? Oh no…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2011/dec/19/kim-jong-il-mourned-pyongyang-video
Brilliant. Could you imagine similar scenes outside the Billy Wright when Mick gets sacked?
This season has reached the point of grim inevitability for me. I just don’t fancy us at all at the moment. I watched Final Score on Saturday, and it was with no surprise that I looked up to see Stoke had equalised and then gone one up against us. I can’t comment with anywhere near as much conviction as most, being exiled down south and so seeing very little or our boys apart from the odd televised game and MOTD, but I’m gripped by the fear again. If we don’t pick up any decent signings in January I really fear for us. We look so impotent from what I’ve seen, which isn’t great when you are shipping at least a couple of goals a game. It could be a long winter I fear.
Karl Henry: “For some reason we changed things slightly and he [Jarvis] wasn’t as effective on the right. But Matt Jarvis on the left at the moment is a tremendous player.”
Good to know some of the players are as baffled as I am.
It’s almost like Mick’s over thinking the winger issue. Just play our best 2, Hammill and Jarvis on the right and left respectively.
Save the rest of your cerebrum for the 101 actual issues with the side.
Whatever you do, forget about Hunt, apart from being good at penalties he’s absolutely dreadful. A slow and unskilful winger, what a combination!
I dont blame the ref for the game. Yes Woodgate should have been off but we did get a pen, that we scored. Johnson didn’t need to dive in that far up the field, he came through the back of the player so the ref has every right to give the free kick, regardless if Johnson got the ball or not – it was shit defending. Ward should have done better with the second goal too.
Blackburn vs Bolton tomorrow, we’ve got to get something out of Norwich otherwise it wont just be Wigan breathing down our necks!