When Karl Henry was jeered off against Newcastle at the start of October, a gaping chasm between fans and manager began to form.
How fitting then that a month on it was the very same player building bridges.
At 1-1 and with Wolves lacking any sort of impetus, a quick shimmy, a burst of acceleration and a pinpoint cutback from the former skipper opened the gates for a much needed and long overdue victory.
It was just reward for a typically committed performance and a stark reminder that the so-called crab can offer more in forward motion than he lets on.
Jamie O’Hara is of course a player we know has the ability to do damage and it was great to see him make it 3 goals in 4 games with the well taken opener.
His eye for goal is all the more important in a 451 and nobody can argue he’s a vastly more effective player further up the pitch.
Guedioura by contrast was embarrassingly ineffective and it was no real surprise to see him hauled off at the interval.
Sadly we saw all the Algerian’s worst qualities in this 45 minute cameo as he frequently surrendered possession and watched as the game passed him by.
Don’t expect to see his name in the starting eleven anytime soon.
Dave Edwards however will almost certainly remain in the team as long as he can remain fit.
Whether it’s out wide or in the middle, you always get a 7/10 from this guy and on days like today when he gets the goal his positive runs forward deserve, its impossible to quibble over his inclusion.
Ward is another steady eddy these days. He was given the runaround by Victor Moses at times but did well to limit the influence of such a dangerous opponent.
And whatever struggles he suffered defensively he more than made up for with his coolly converted third goal, finishing a move he himself started with a neat back heel to Jarvis.
I wasn’t as impressed with Richard Stearman. Sure, he’s tough in the tackle and strong in the air, but his lack of mobility worries me.
When suitable options are once again available, I’d use them and leave Stearman to battle for a place in the centre of defence where he truly belongs.
Speaking of which, Johnson and Berra both turned in more assured performances as the game went on.
We had to endure the same painful vulnerabilities in the first half as we saw against QPR, Newcastle and Swansea, only surviving thanks to the profligacy of Hugo Rodellega.
But like the rest of the team, the central defensive duo stepped up in the second half and were far more commanding.
Berra nearly scored too, only to see Al Habsi spectacularly turn away his towering header. Will he ever register in a competitive game for Wolves?
The wait goes on.
Nice to see Wayne Hennessey turn in a composed performance too. He was desperately unlucky to see his fine penalty save bounce out so kindly for Watson to poke in the rebound.
Wolves themselves probably should have had a penalty in the first half, but Stephen Hunt opted to stay on his feet after rounding the Wigan keeper.
With no obvious advantage, why was the spot kick not given? Only when refs started giving those will players stop throwing themselves to the ground when they don’t have to.
Despite his clumsy challenge on Boyce for Wigan’s penalty, I thought Hunt had a decent game.
That said, without Jarvis in the team we do look very one-paced and were significantly more threatening when he was introduced. If it’s a choice between the two in the next match I know where my vote would be going.
Doyle too will have a scrap for the shirt if we continue to play 451 when Fletch is fully fit but he did his chances no harm at all today.
I thought he was excellent and it was just a shame he didn’t really get the chances his all-round play deserved.
We now head into a two weak break, sitting pretty in 13th, one place above our nearest and dearest.
After 6 weeks of bickering, that’s a pretty good position to be in.
I think we can all agree on that.
Whew. Much needed victory to say the least. Little to no pressure now at Goodison Park, wouldn’t be surprised to snag a point from that one.
Do we go back to 4-4-2 since Fletcher will presumably be fully fit in two weeks time?
I thought we scored 3 😉
I think thats a fair assessment Thomas, Though I would have added that Milijas didn’t add much when he came off the bench.
It could have been an entirely different result if Rodellga had his shooting boots on. However, we were probaly due a bit of luck after the last few weeks.
Once again we get a performance together just in time for the international break!
Still 13th isn’t bad for this stage of the season.
It would have also been different if the ref had done his job properly & awarded us a penalty after 5 mins & possibly reduced them to 10 men.
Also, congrats to the team for continually hitting the target, 14 times from 15 attempts, is a great improvement.
We were a bit nervy at times especially first half, but did very well to overcome those nerves & settle the fans down, in the end we should won by more.
Let’s concentrate on the positives.
Work will be much better place today!!!!
Well done Wolves
Also first game in while that Ward looked shaky at the back. But just as Clive was shapeniing his tongue he steps up with a cool finish at the other end to seal the win!
Did Clive write this? Hence Ward’s goal being omitted from the record book?!
Ha, fixed the title now smart arses.
Thomas, nice summary and I agree with many of the points made.
In particular I’d like to comment further as follows:
– We look a better side in a 4-5-1; the perennial Doyle or Fletcher debate begins again – Fletcher for me, although I agree that Doyler did a great job today, we need Fletcher’s heading (did you know only Demba Ba has more headed Premier League goals in 2011) and eye for goal.
– That said, Mick still doesn’t have clear view of his starting midfield in this formation; I have a strong opinion that Guedi can neither play in central midfield or on the wing at this level – he is fast becoming a bit part player who is, at best a poor replacement for O’Hara at the front of the 5 man midfield. I expect Edwards to start in the middle against Everton.
All in all a great performance and excellent result that eases pressure and builds confidence. I can see us getting a result at Goodison…
Agree with this.
Midfield looks confused. Funny that Edwards was playing deeper than O’Hara after Mick’s comments on both players being suited to the other’s roles a few weeks ago.
Even more odd that Milijas was asked to play off the striker (rather than switching with Edwards) when he came on too. The player himself has said this isn’t his position.
I’m sure we’ll stick with 4-5-1 for the two away games coming up now but the five definitely needs some tinkering. The notion that Jarvis isn’t the best left-winger at the club, for example, is just bizarre.
Suspect all this means we’ll be the only team in the world that can’t fit its best player (Fletcher) into the team!
Aside from all that – great win!
Adam
Do you not think Jarvis has been simply awful this season & was taken out of the side for both his & the teams benefit??
The steptoes were actually allowing him the space to have the ball & to run into & he did absolutely nothing with, I think this bit of a break will have done him no harm at all, as long as he starts playing like we all know he can.
I thought he did well when he came on yesterday, but would stick with Hunt against Everton & use Jarvis from the bench again.
He’s not had a good season but he’s still one of our best players. Hopefully two week break will do him good because it’s crazy to play a 4-5-1 in which your two wingers can’t beat a man to save their life.
Could we not play Doyle as an attacking midfielder in the 5 and Fletcher up front as lone striker? I think Doyle’s distribution is strong, so why couldn’t he hold up play just outside the area and knock balls on for Fletch or back to onrushing midfielders?
So a 5 of: O’Hara – Henry – Doyle – Edwards – Jarvis
I’d be more tempted to play him on the right-wing. Can’t believe we went with Fletcher wide and Doyle up front at times last year – Fletcher needs to be in the box as he scores goals. Doyle does his best work running the channels anyway so could surely do it from wide. Would give Hennessey a target out wide and I also like the idea of Doyle being marked by the left-back when Jarvis puts crosses to the back post too.
It must truly suck to be a Wigan fan right now…
But still – at last! At long last! About time Wolves won a game – let’s just hope we never fall into a slump like that again!
It must suck to be a Wigan fan all the time. Shit ground, shit fans, shit team, never won fuck all…
Lol
Quality, but true
Good assessment Thomas, think Berra deserves a mention, he covered for Johnson and Stearman, on several occasions. Henry played well too, but I am not convinced by O’Hara. However, watching the match on TV, in the first half, I thought we were dreadful. There seemed to be absolutely no game plan. Milijas had 7 minutes so not time to do much. We were better second half, more organised and although I agree with the positives, am unconvinced performances such as these, will see us climb the table.
My mindless idiot t-shirt didn’t arrive in time.
I’ll be sure to have it ready for the Sunderland game 😉
O’Hara was good;
Henry was excellent;
Stearman was superb;
But Christophe was Berra.
I’ll get me coat right now.
Not a vintage display by any stretch of the imagination, but quite frankly my dear I don’t give a damn.
Henry was superb today, there was a crucial tackle when Wigan were breaking, the burst into the box for the crucial second, and a lovely raking pass out to the left in the build up to the third.
O Hara has the knack of timing his runs into the box and getting a goal. With him pushed up in a 5 man midfield I think we arguably carry more goal threat than in a 442. I’d definitely rather see Ned in the team for his passing, shooting a set pieces (although his short corner at the end was pony) than the unreliable Guedi. The algerian’s game was summed up rather well when he won possession on our left flank, and then passed it straight to the next Wigan player he saw. He does make things happen, but not always the things you want to happen…
Stears was hot and cold, best moment of the match was a little dinked ball over the top that didn’t cone off, followed by a 60 yard dash to make an excellent tackle and regain possession.
A final word on Hunt’s penalties. Poor decision making both times could have cost us dearly. Pains me to say it, but I’d rather see a Wolves player dive and earn a pen (especially if he’s actually been fouled) than an honest hard worker get up and try to make something happen. In reality though, it’s the ref’s responsibility to notice these things. The diving thing can be a 2 edged sword though. Luis Suarez had a great chance to score the winner for Liverpool yesterday in the dying moments of the game, but chose instead to fall over and call for a pen. Hunt would have scored…
Not to put a downer on things but it was the same old story first half, the only difference being that Rodellga missed the usual two glaring chances kindly offered. However, perhaps we were due some luck. I understood dropping Jarvis last week, but at home I think you need him from the start. Changed the game for us second half. Were we any more compact 451? I’m not so sure. O’Hara is our only constant goal threat and one thing’s for sure, I want to see Fletcher’s name on the teamsheet at Goodison whatever the formation. Overall, better and we got the result which was all that mattered. Onwards and upwards.
Forgive my iggorants, but I thought we could not sign any players until january?
How come I missed us signing Stephen Messi?
What has happened to him?
And how come no one told Henry we had switched ends at half time?
A brilliant sweep into the box for the second goal. Can’t have known which way he was playing!!!
I will start picking on all our players if they put in improved performances like Berra did.
However, the result glosses over the facts that but for piss poor finishing by Rodellega, we would have been buried.
Yes, we are grateful for the points and the league position, but still it was a hearts in the mouth game.
Having said that, their keeper was brilliant today, another time dare I say we might have got 6 or 7.
On a really positive note we got a few monkeys off our backs; always losing at home to Wigan, scoring first for once, and not letting the opposition’s poor run end at our expense.
We can relax for 2 weeks and bask in our lofty position, but how long before the nerves start jangling again?
Still positive the manager has got to go, one summer doesnt get swallowed and all that.
FOMM
Great article.
My only other comment is i think we can play 4 4 2 with Doyle and Fletcher, but 4 5 1 with other striking options.
Great to get the win, well done all round, however Wigan looked a very poor side indeed. The Everton game will be a realistic test. a point here will do.
Great WIn.
Only problem is our strikers are not scoring goals.
The 4 5 1 when Doyle playing is really 4 6 0 unless Fletcher is playing then it is 4, 5, 1
To add to the Doyle Fletcher debate, Fletcher averages a goal every 1.83 games where Doyle is 1 every 5. Not good enough for a Stiker. Although he has 3 assists.
Stats would say he is playing like an attacking midfielder, who spends too much time cutting in crosses to the box.
12 Goals in 11 games. 2 from defenders, 5 from midflield and 5 from strikers.
Fletcher 3 in 483 minutes or 5.5 games which is 1 goal every 1.8 games
Doyle 2 in 990 minutes or 11 games, which 1 goal evey 5.5 games. (Same as O’Hara 2 goals 2 assists & Volks got 1 assis in 62 minutes)
We cannot rely too heavily on mid fielders and defenders scoring our goals.
Every team needs one or 2 strikers. We need Goals to WIN.
Interested in your thoughts.
John
Not scoring goals? But we scored 3! 😛
I know where you’re coming from though – I wouldn’t call Doyle a crap striker but I prefer Fletcher to him…
The Doyle debate is interesting.
He is one of our biggest creative outlets (especially at the moment with Jarvis and Hunt not really being on form). He terrified the Wigan defence everytime he made a run with the ball and harrried them mercilessly off it.
But his constant runs to the wing and deep often leaves us short when it comes to the cross into the box. He wont get the goals but he does create them and his constant harrying slows down opposition counter attacks. Also hes getting back to the form he showed last season where he wins every ball forward and does a decent job of holding up for support.
I think in 451 you have to go for Doyle and bank on the likes of O’hara, Jarvis, Hunt and Edwards to thrive on his creativity. Fletcher just doesn’t do the same job.
However, the interesting thing is I think for the first time in 3 years we have a forward pair in Fletch and Doyle which make 442 viable in fact given the chance they would thrive on it with Fletch profiting off Doyle’s work rate. Unfortunately, we don’t have the depth of quality in midfield or defence to be able to play that way. Our lack of pace in the centre of defence leaves us vulnerable when we don’t pack the midfield to prevent the ball through (and sometimes even when we do) and our midfielders and defence are still to sloppy on the ball (notably apart from Henry recently) to keep possession consistently. Also the lack of form of our wide men (lack of confidence to take players on and poor ball in) means that we constantly fail to create chances. 451 is the way to go and for me that means Fletch is benched to be an impact substitute.
I think MM thinks like u do!
You make Jarvis sound like he played better than Messi.
Was I watching the same game?
The positive was the three points.
As a supporter one grasps at glimpses of cohesion, but the play from both sides, was fundamentally atrocious.
Wardinho’s back heel
O Hara’s goal
Stearman’s tackle
Henry passing forward even.
However, it does not gloss over the many ‘cracks’ in the ‘structure’ of how we play.
4-4-2 or 4-5-1 score goals and don’t let any in, it’s simple.
Not convinced the nail biting is over by a long chalk!
Agree with Clive the manager needs to go, whoever comes in will improve the team, even Darren Ferguson.
I remain firmly on the fence with regard to the manager, I’m not convinced that we will necessarily get anyone better in (I know Moxey far to well for that) but neither am I convinced that MM can take us to the next level (dull mediocrity in the premiership). But I do think in general its not in the best interests of any football club to sack the manager between the transfer windows. Better to do it in June or December to give the new manager chance to improve the squad with players of his choosing.
As for Doyle he played well against Wigan and Citeh give him some credit as he is by far our most effective outlet ball at the moment.
Yes the cracks are patently obvious, but after the run of results we’ve had a win any win will do. Wins breed confidence and confidence brings performances look at Newcastle’s run of results for a blatant example of that. I firmly believe we are better than the way we have been playing in recent games and we showed that in flashes against Wigan and Citeh and even in the final fifteen against Swansea.
Hopefully, the win against Wigan will be the confidence boost the players needed and they can take points out of the next few games and leave us wondering what all the fuss was about by Christmas. But yeah the realist in me says were probably due another tight season, though hopefully not as tight as last year.
Great reading, and I agree with the changing Manager if it happens, Sheffieldwolf.
If it is not done in December/January window, we could fall if he does.
The key point I was trying to make was Doyle plays like an attacking midfielder. So we are really playing 4, 6 ,0.
The stats prove it. He also missed 1 penalty so he 50% i think on them with only 2 goals all up.
We need a striker or 2 on the pitch all the time.
John.
Spot on assessment Thomas, in particular I agree with your thoughts on Guedioura, he drifts out of the game when placed in central midfield and rarely even gets into the game when starting wide. Natural width was needed yesterday and when Jarvo provided that we looked a much better proposition. But the one thing (Jarvo aside) that is still missing from our team is pace and even a very wasteful Wigan side had that in abundance. This issue must be addressed in January to add another dimension to our game, but all in all 13th will do for now.
Good summary Thomas, agreed with most of that.
Vital 3 points which, coupled with the 7 from 3 games at the start, leaves us in a reasonably decent position. The whole result though probably turned on Rodellega’s miss. One nil down and the natives growing restless, well it could have been a very different story.Few teams will miss the chances Wigan did.
We look a much better team with 5 in midfield and i just hope he sticks with that now. I’d like to see him try Doyle in midfield with Fletcher the lone striker. Often, when we’re going for broke with an extra forward towards the end of games, Doyle does a lot of good work out wide. We need to get our best players on the park somehow.
As for dear old Adlene, what’s happened to him? He can’t make one sensible decision. It’s strange when you think back to some of his early games, the win over Tottenham for example.
What we need now is a reasonable to Christmas and a bit of activity in January.
I am big enough to admit when I am wrong…
…Guedioura really, really struggled yesterday. So to El Plim, Louie (and The Wanderer I think!), I hold my hands up!
Henry my man of the match yesterday.
Doyle much more like his old self and O’Hara clearly more comfortable in a 4-5-1 formation.
Edwards also looks to be getting his phenomenal energy levels back, which are probably the most underrated asset in our entire squad. lets hope he can stay fit now.
Nice to see Johnson with the bit between his teeth as well, even if we do still look susceptible to the ball over the top.
Football is a funny old game though isn’t it? Remember that 30 yard screamer Rodellega scored at the Holte End last season? Yet he misses the target from all of 8 yards on Sunday, thankfully.
What with Mick’s loyalty to players, I wonder if he’d take a punt on Hugo in the January window?!!!!!
I think Guedierra and to a certain extent Milijas benefit from being out of the starting eleven. Its easy to say that they are better than what we’ve got on the pitch when they’re not playing.
In my opinion both are good impact players but neither are consistent enough or in Milijas case fit enough to merit a regular starting birth.
Its a real pity in Milijas’s case that he looks knackered after 20 minutes as he does look to offer a quality of pass and creativity which we often lack in the centre of the park. That said though he was poor when he came on on sunday. I believe he was sent on to be a calming influence to hold possession and take the pressure of the defence but instead gave the ball away cheaply. I’ll be sorry to see him go if he leaves in January but if the money we receive goes towards a pacier centre half or a fitter ball making centre midfielder I think we will be better off.
Guedierra is more direct than some of our midfielders and his drives forward can create chances. But he has always been terrible in possesion of the ball his passing is terribly wayward and often puts us under more pressure. If he can work on his passing and decision making he could provide decent competition for Henry. But if Henry continues with his recent rasping shots and strafing runs into the box, we won’t need him!
As for Hugo Rodellega, form is temporary class is permanent I certainly wouldn’t mind a punt on him in January! He will score a goal at some point and then he will come good. Mind you I said that about Torres. Actually there’s a point what about a cheeky bid for Torres while were on!!
That should have said ball carrying or play making midfielder. Though the idea of a centre midfielder sitting down to a sewing machine to create half time multi-ball does have a certain merit!
Fair play ben, you are still probably right too, he can only develop his game if he gets the pitch time! But we just dont have that luxury now were out the league cup and the leagues so tight. I agree sheffieldwolf that fans will always look at the players on the bench, you cant do anything wrong off the oitch can you! He looks like he just needs to calm down a bit, I remember thinking that about Edwards whose passing when he joined the club was terrible. One of Micks stronger traits is that he does give players the time to make the improvements if they show a willing attitude. He just seems to expect it on the training ground not the pitch. I wonder whether this is why we havnt seen any academy players in the league games. This will be a contradiction to what i think re Guedioura, but I think you learn more playing in a game sometimes than 100 hrs on the training pitch.
Nope, fair play to you mate. I was on my soap box and using a Guedioura shaped stick to beat MM with. You saw it coming!
He just looked like a yard off it to me. Maybe when he is coming on, he is equally elaborate, but the opposing players are tiring a bit, so my eyes light up!
Would still like to see him have another game or two under his belt as my eyes weren’t deceiving me in those games I mentioned in that blog of mine. But with Jarvis looking something like his old self, it is nice to think we have other options.
Incidentally, I remember Hibbitt having Jarvo in his back pocket last season at Molineux, so that is something for Matty to work out if he plays.
I think the key for a traditional winger like Jarvis is to have the ability to go either way. He has a useful ‘chip’ from his left peg and he showed lots of composure for his cut back leading to Wardinho’s goal. Maybe Hibbit has the experience just to show him one way, a bit of hard work by the covering midfielder and thats Jarvis in their pocket. You see it with lennons goal against Fulham, he has the defender squared up, and I think Jarvis plays best when he does the same. Guedioura is an impact player and might be useful for the next two games coming on.
Jarvo destroyed Hibbert away at Everton though, he had clearly learned from last time when he came to Molineux. Would be an interesting battle, Jarvo looked much more confident on sunday which is a HUGE bonus to us.
I watched the game in a pub down in Horsham, West Sussex, where I was clearly the only person even vaguely interested. So much so, they turned the sound off at half-time, and turned the jukebox on.
It was however pretty epic to see Stephen Ward’s ‘spectacular’ backheel and then his goal, soundtracked by History by The Verve booming out of the pub’s speakers.
Home games before xmas:
Sunderland, Stoke, Norwich
Away games before xmas:
Everton, Chelsea, Man Utd
Looks like yesterday isn’t going to be the only pressure home game!
Just one point out of the three away games would be good – that’s saying something, isn’t it?
Hamsterlet,
With Stephen Messi, we can win all 6!!!
You think we can win all 6?
…You feeling okay, Clive? 😛
I’ve decided it’s too difficult to assess most of the wolves players. Most of them seem to have the potential to be premier league players but are so inconsistent! Take Gued for a prime example, before he started in the last two games he looked different class, now he looks shite. Henry was booed by fans for poor form early season, he was superb yesterday. O’Hara and Doyle have found form again.
I’m starting to think Mick does know what he’s doing…. I can see why he played Edwards as soon as he got back from injury. I can see why he’s stuck with Ward. I can see why he dropped Jarvis. I can see why he’s keeping Johnson and Berra together. I just hope he can see that 4-5-1 is our best formation.
We’ve got at least 3 winnable games in the next 6, I’d take 9/18 points all day!
Think i’d agree with all of this. Too often we try and play football manager. We don’t know what goes on at the training ground.
Bringing Guediora off at half time re-affirmed my faith yesterday. He was awful in the first half.
We always seem to play better 4-5-1. O’Hara as a CAM seems to be lethal.
I think a lot of the players were nervous yesterday and it showed. The confidence to try things came with the goals as demonstrated by Wardiniho’s back heel and Henry’s driving runs. I think that’s been the main difference between our performance recently and those in the first three games. It’s also why I maintain that the fans demonstrating their frustration the last few weeks has been counter productive.
Although, confidence won’t cut out some of the silly errors that the players make or the flaws that they have, it will allow them to pick themselves up again afterwards, hopefully in the same way that they did yesterday after Wigan equalised.
The majority of the players we have are a lot better than they have been playing recently and hopefully that will start showing after the international break. A win at Everton is do able, after all they are in the same trouble we are
Then again, if I take the stance of Mick knows best I’ll have nothing to write and complain about… making me redundant to this blog… Why did he start Gued? He hasn’t got a clue!!
I`m fortunate to have seen all three victories this season, and the drive home to Nottingham was much more enjoyable than of late.
Highlights though the need for more pace in our side, in fact Jarvis made a big difference in the second half, and the packed midfield allowed Henry to be much more direct.
Their best player Moses to no great surprise played on our pedestrain left back, whose lack of any pace was all too frequently exposed but with this time no calamtous effect.
Now Thomas you say Stearman lacks mobility, he may not be perfect but he is after jarvis our quickest player, if you worry about his mobility, you must have nightmares about the other members of our back four. At least Staers ran 50 yards to catch up with one attacker and put in a great tackle, no other defender of ours could have done that I feel.
I agree I think Stearman should be in the back four but I don’t think he is best used as full back. I think his pace would better used at centre half instead of Berra once Zubar or Foley is fit enough to take the right back slot. He showed at times he lacks the positional awareness and comfort with the ball that a full back needs these days. They effectively have to be secondary wingers.
As for Ward yes he was shown up for pace by Moses at times ,but I felt he was left exposed by Hunt in the first half. When Jarvis came on on the left in the second half the two doubled up well and kept Moses fairly quiet.
I`m with you on that and agree Stearman with his pace would be a better bet at centre half, however can`t see MM dropping Berra or his new captain.
If we had a decent left back with pace fit for purpose in the premier league then neither Hunt or Jarvis would have to expend so much energy protecting MM `s love child. One of the goals on Sundays MOD was the Newcastle left back skinning our entire defence with his exceptional pace.
If Ward gets done by the bottom club`s right winger, then expect even more of it, need I say again. Not just the pace problem, he backs of so far its so easy for the winger to get a cross in. Same problem in the championship some seasons ago.
I agree if we had a left back with pace our wingers wouldn’t have to work as hard but unless Evra or Cole are willing to take a paycut our wingers are going have to double up when were on the back foot. Very good left backs don’t come around that often and I think Wardy’s shown himself to be fairly good this season and has been priceless in some games. But he’s not good enough or quick enough to do it on his own. As for backing off he has improved and does get the foot in early now; he showed it in the second half. In the first half the threat of Moses’s pace combined with Hunt being slow to track back left him with little choice but to try and jockey him out wide. I think even though Jarvis has been pretty poor going forward this year (why won’t he skin the full back anymore!) and his delivery hasn’t been great, his defensive work down the left with Ward has been good and their combined overlapping runs show real promise.
As for the Newcastle goal I think the blame also has to lie at the feet of our midfield, in this case O’hara, who lost possession cheaply leaving everyone out of position. How many times have we seen that this season!
Finally, Victor Moses has already made a lot of other clubs defences look slow this season, just because he’s in a poor team doesn’t make him a poor player just look at Al Habsi. If Wigan do end up going down wouldn’t be suprised if a few top ten prem clubs end up looking at both of them in the summer.
As for MM being stubborn about Berra or Johnson, I’m hoping it isn’t favouritism and it is just there being no reliable alternative to Stearman at right back at the moment (Foley and Zubar injured, Docherty not ready) otherwise I won’t be happy.
Are you still going on about Ward Mark? It’s getting boring, even Clive and ben have seen the way for gods sake!
I thought our tenacity to get the ball in the net yesterday was great. Both of those goals were nearing on goalmouth scrambles but we were lucky to have people in the right places.
My dad and I had an argument with a guy in the pub about the Hunt penalty incident… I was furiously calling for the penalty and shouting at Hunt for getting back up off his knees to get the ball. I applaud his honesty but for christ sake, the goalie has clearly fouled you…. Stay on your knees and get the penalty. The guy behind me basically accused me of being a diving scum type. eh? WTF??!?!? There’s a massive difference between ‘not getting up from being fouled’ and ‘diving’. Seriously I nearly lumped the guy.
I was definitely nervous throughout the game, feeling what most in the crowd were feeling I suspect. Even at 3-1 with 80 mins on the clock, I knew that with the chances they were creating and our fragile defence, a goal at any minute would be a BIG problem. Relief is the word I think.
I agree with most here. The performance was far from satisfying. Jarvo made a big difference for us going forward. We had constant success down the left after half-time and I even noticed he tried to mix it up a bit and went over to the right. THis is where I think Doyle can make an impact, he’s not a quick winger no, but his work rate from out wide and ability to beat people physically is something I think we should try when Fletch comes back.
Jarvo left, Doyle right and Fletcher supported by o’Hara is the way I think we should go in a 4-5-1 against the Toffees.
I was disappointed by Guediora. He let me down, I must say I was a fan but I’m starting to see what others have been saying for a while. It goes to show that you can be blinkered but the blatantly obvious sometimes.
I can see why Edwards gets MM’s nod everytime he’s fit. What I like about him is that he gives a good attacking option and knows the right place to be. Defensively, his pro’s are clearly than he doesn’t stop chasing the ball. He might not be the best passer of the ball, or the best tackler but I love the way he pressures and he must be ‘fit as’ to chase the ball around like he does! Am I missing something with him? Does he do other stuff well or badly?
I could keep rambling on but I won’t. The defence is our achilles heel as usual. Berra had a good one though which is a change to say. and Wardy, well, this season he’s done himself no harm has he?
Away games up next — woah! I just hope we can up our games like last season against the big boys and make the Mol a fortress again where we can improve home form. Otherwise, we’re in for another tough 7 games.
UTW
Now here’s a Wolves connection y’all will be interested in………….or not!
The MLS playoff final in what passes for football, or “sahcah”, over here will be played on November 20th between….drum roll, please…….
Houston ( as in Clive from ) Dynamos and LA Galaxy with Posh’s husband and…our very own Robbie Keane!!!
He scored in their 3 -1 victory yesterday over someone or other, so…exciting stuff, eh??
Didn’t get me going much either, to be honest!!!
Still, nothing to bitch about at the moment so thought I would bring y’all that priceless bit of trivia.
FOMM
I would’ve liked to have seen him back at the Molineux rather than taking an early retirement in the States, but we probably couldn’t afford his wages and still pay Moxey’s Christmas bonus, so that idea’s a non-starter.
We’ve also got two better strikers
Disagree. I’m afraid overall I doubt Doyle or Fletcher will EVER have the record that Keane has got over his career.
He may play in a mickey mouse league now (but is still scoring at least), but until very recently he scored regularly in the Premiership and never played outside it except very early in his career and his brief time in Serie A.
Anyway, it’s a moot point ‘cos he didn’t come to us and will never come to us, but I know who I’d have in my 11 if I had to pick between him and our current strikers.
They may not ever have the same record, but they are better players right now.
His record in the Premier League was very poor in the last few years.
For fear of being ridiculed, a mate of mine won’t post the following supposition on the blog.
However, after a lifetime of being ridiculed, I don’t give a shit, so here goes, and many thanks to my anonymous mate, M..k D….s.
The first two, possibly three games this season Johnson and O’Hara played well. Since then their performances have deteriorated, alarmingly so up until this past weekend. In fact several fellow bloggers have called for them to be dropped.
So, here is the supposition.
Do ya’ll think that our training methods, and a summer of pre season training, have brought down the quality of two good players to the level of the rest, i.e. McCarthy championship quality?
We know O’Hara played out of his skin after we signed him last year, and was a big help in keeping us up.
We know Johnson was a collosus for Birmingham last year, and even though they went down, he did pick up a bit of silverware.
So, do you fellow bloggers think that it is the training methods used that are the root cause of the performance drops, and if so, who is to blame?
I am not going to give my opinion, just throw this out to see if there is a strong reaction one way or another.
FOMM
This may surprise you Clive, but I don’t agree!
I’m not ridiculing because it is an interesting question, but I’ll put Johnson and O’hara’s recent performances up to bad form for this reason; why would it have taken half a season and three games for this training to knock down O’Hara’s ability and only three games for Johnson?
If you read my blog all the way, I said I am not giving my opinion, just asking a question.
Therefore, there is nothing to agree or disagree with, you Hamster!!!
You didn’t give an opinion but Mr M…k D…s had – I was disagreeing with him! 😉
on that note… I would love it if your friend’s name was Mick! 😛
Try Mark. Is your name Hamster , Hamlet or Hamsterlet? I’m getting very confused. And pray tell me young sir where you got the name in the first place.
It’s Hamlet – I have that name because I used to have a black cat called Hamlet – he got sick and died, unfortunately, but I loved that cat!
I’m Black Cat Hamlet in a few other places – one must wonder why I’m not a Sunderland fan! 😛
That’s really amazing Hamlet cos i used to have a dog i loved to bits called Spot. He ran onto a railway line and got squashed. I’ve been known as Splat ever since!
As for Hamsterlet, that’s Clive’s fault! lol
But much more apt, dontcha think??
No, don’t be ridiculous!
Maybe the training is something to do with it, but consider also the following …
O’Hara: we didn’t sign him last year, he was a loaner up until June. That’s why he was hungry and played out of his skin last season. Now he has signed, got himself a 5-yr deal, and (surprise surprise, Cilla) his work-rate has dropped a notch.
Johnson: IMO, it just looks to me like we might have overrated this guy. Maybe he only looked like he pulled out all the stops as a Blue-Nose because a certain Mr Dann was playing alongside him.
Whilst with the many my journey home was much less a burden. However to keep things in perspective-we beat Wigan. I am hoping that the players have gained much needed confidence from a win. True there was more effort-Jamie O’Hara comes to mind and I think there was a realisation that we needed to change things-MM bringing on Jarvis for a desperate G.
We will only see what real lasting improvements have been made in the game at Everton. I am keeping my powder dry until then. Squad is still woefully thin on quality-January will tell us more about 3 M’s intentions for this season and maybe next too.
Hi lads
Nothing to do with Wolves v Wigan but I’ve been asked to write a piece for the Football Memories site (in aid of Alzheimer’s disease) and want to write about the Wolves v Sheff Wed penalty shoot-out in the mid 90s.
I remember Chris Waddle having his every touch booed because of some criticism of Wolves in the press the day before. Problem is I can’t remember/find out what the hell it was he’d said???
Any help on this would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Adam
Ironic as it is, me not being able to remember is not some shit joke about Alzheimer’s by the way.
@ Mark G Davies
On Sundays MOTD there was a goal SCORED by a Wolves left back in open play.
Hmmmmm sort of blows your point out of the water doesn’t it???
FFS Ward has been our best player season to date by a mile, give credit where it’s due
And their goal was a direct result of our left back being out of position and off the pace, allowing the winger time and space to get in the box, only for our left winger to try and tackle him, resulting in the penalty.
Check the whole game, and you’ll see Ward is out of position and off the pace more times than not.
Yes he has improved, but be honest, he could’nt get any worse.
He is and always will be a second rate championship workhorse shift putter in at best….along with several other of McDickbrains love children.
Just because we beat Wigan does not make us a vastly improved team. Until management and the inherited dinosaur training staff are got rid of, we will get stuffed on a regular basis. Get used to it, things will not change if heads are stuck in the sand/turf/manager’s arsehole.
FOMM
PS, if Ward has been our best player, it doesn’t say much for the rest of the team, does it???
FOMM
I thought we’d got past your Ward hating Clive!
I’ll agree Wardy looked short of pace and was caught out of position in the first half but I see it slightly differently. Hunt provided little cover and let the Wigan left back run past him un-marked to much, leaving Ward two players to mark and crucially letting Moses have a half a yard on him all the time. The improvement at half time was due to Jarvis tracking back with Moses or the left back cutting out the space. As I’ve previously stated despite Jarvis failings going forward this season I think his defensive work with Ward down the left is much improved and is probably part of the reason for Wards improvement.
I too would like a left back with pace to burn and a great tackle but there aren’t many of them about and generally you get a player with one or the other but not both (I.e: Clichy etc). At the moment I’m happy to have a player who appears to bleed old gold and black and is giving everything he’s got and doing a good job all things considered. I don’t think we can do much better with the funds we have available and our current status, however, if you can persuade Cole or Evra to rock up at the Molineux as a replacement I’m all for it!
Totally don’t understand your reasoning.
Ward is slow and crap, so wingers have to cover for him, to help him out, and this makes him look good???
Methinks you’ve been in the same red opticians shop as Looeee.
FOMM
No that’s not my point, Ward is the best left back we can afford at the moment. It’s a fact of life that unless you have world class full backs your wingers are going to have to track back and put in tackles and follow runners which Hunt failed to do in the first half against . Wolves have looked stronger down the left side this year because both Ward and Jarvis have improved defensively and both have got a lot better and covering each others runs. Wards positional awareness let him down for the last three seasons and he didn’t have the pace to catch up. This season he has improved on that and is a decent left back because of it. Don’t get me wrong United or City aren’t going to come knocking anytime soon but he’s been better than the left backs in the teams around us (Salgado anyone?).
I know in previous seasons he has got his place in the team due to injuries or favouritism. But the season he more than deserves to be on one of the first on the team sheet. His form and Hennessey’s have been two of the few highlights this season and have shown up some of our more established premiership “stars” like Johnson and O’hara.
Just this once give one of our lads the praise he deserves, he has worked hard, he has responded to the justified crticism and he has shown pride in the shirt which is more than can be said for some others. He deserves his place in the team at the moment.
For me the main on the pitch issue this season lies at the heart of the defence with our two lumbering collusus centre backs. Seriously, Berra and Johnson must be getting on for being the slowest centre half pairing we have had in a long while (slower than Craddock and Berra even). If these to can play there’s hope for me yet!
Like I said show some credit where it is due and the same goes for criticism.
Au contrair Grace
I was present at both games when Ward scored this season, against 2 teams currently in the bottom 3. For both goals Ward was static , stationary, goalhanging and didn`t have to move an inch as the ball came to him on both occasions. I wish he could do this every game.
The Newcastle left back used exceptional pace to run pas t several defenders some 40 yards or so and score, my point was about players needing pace, mobility and quick feet to be fit for purpose in the premiership. Whatever qualities Ward may have its none of those unfortunately.
And in both goals he had fantastic technique. The first one brilliantly volleyed into the bottom left, the second excellently teed up by himself.
He has been superb this season , when will you admit this??!! against Wigan he was quite poor in the first half but in the second he was fine.
Teed up, yes, a good player would have scored without needing to, and it took a huge deflection or it would not have gone in.
He has not been superb this season, he has improved from last year. That does NOT make him a superstar.
FOMM
Perhaps Sheffield’s and Louie’s standard of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable are different to yours and mine Clive.
Ward has improved but he is not superb by any manner of means.
I’m not convinced either, that players in January will want to come and play for MM.
For me, we won on Sunday because we made slightly less mistakes than Wigan.
However I may be wrong and Sheffield, Louie,Hamlet are correct, although I think they are seeing Wolves, through rose tinted glasses!
Entitled to an opinion like anyone in a true demo-crass-sea!
Hi Louie.
I`m happy to admit Ward scoring 2 goals in what 11 games or so is a revelation, and I do really wish he would do that every week.
The sad reality is that our team will be in another relegation scrap this year, even Mr Doyle said in the Sun on Saturday he was disappointed Wolves were in that position for the third season since he joined us.
We have beaten, as the table is right now, the two bottom sides, and another team one point below us, and sit two points out of the bottom three.
Words like superb this season don`t really balance against that or the seven defeats or so on the trot. It is a constant theme from many other contributors on this blog who repeat the point that our side lacks pace, and without it players are not fit for purpose. Its not Wards` fault as he doesn`t pick the side, but our pedestrain left back does not in my opinion, have the qualities necessary for the premiership.
Look around us in the table, good left backs are like rocking horse poo and I don’t think any of the teams around us or those likely to finish around us have anyone better (Salgado, Young etc). Like I said before I don’t think he’s world class or even top six class but I do think he deserves credit for improving no end this season. In my opinion he is the best we can afford at the moment. The players in his position that are available or likely to come to Wolves are no better and are less likely to bleed gold and black like he does (Wayne Bridge for example).
Seriously, there are bigger problems we need to solve before we pick on one of our form players, our astounding lack of pace at centre half, our lack of a ball playing creative midfielder and our lack of decent cover options at left back, defensive midfielder and striker.
Just give Wardy a break he deserves it this season for the work he’s put in. Yes, he’s going to make mistakes, yes he’s going to get caught out time to time, but no more than the rest of the team and he always puts in 110% and he’s now got some of the quality to go with it.
Besides who didn’t smile at his back heel lay off against Wigan or wasn’t off his seat when he almost did a Gazza against the a****n last year! And two goals in eleven isn’t bad for a left back in a team that can’t score for toffee!