This weekend’s match against Blackpool is a must win. Plain and simple.
After the disappointment of last Sunday’s late collapse at the Hawthorns, Wolves desperately need the points. And with the three sides sitting directly above us facing difficult fixtures, escape from the drop zone is entirely plausible, but only with victory.
Ian Holloway’s team have struggled of late and were sliding ominously towards the bottom themselves until a fantastic home win over Spurs on Tuesday. That will no doubt have lifted their spirits and filled them with confidence ahead of this fixture against statistically the worst side in the league.
Unfortunately for the Seasiders, they’ll have to make do without their captain this weekend, as Charlie Adam starts a two match suspension. That’s a bonus for Wolves because he’s unquestionably been a star performer in a fantastic season for his unfancied side.
Worryingly, Blackpool’s away form is impressive. They’ve already wracked up 5 wins and 2 draws, plundering 20 goals in the process (that’s double what Wolves have managed). Sure, they’ve also lost 7 matches too, but their ‘have a go’ attitude has unsettled opposition all season. Credit to them for that.
I suppose the quandary for Mick McCarthy is whether or not to bring in a second striker and revert to a more attacking 442 formation. I suspect he won’t, with the logic that if he can keep things tight and stop Blackpool pouring forward, Wolves can create enough chances to score against the second worst defence in the league. Therefore, I think we’ll see the same eleven as last weekend:
Hennessy
Zubar
Stearman
Berra
Elokobi
Foley
Henry
Milijas
O’Hara
Jarvis
Doyle
It’s difficult to know what the right answer is tactically against a side like Blackpool. Do you play them at their own game and attack? Or is that playing into their hands? Do you try to keep things ship-shape defensively and pick them off? Or is that paying them too much respect?
Either way, it will be interesting to see what Mick does.
I would probably start 451 too, but bring Hammill in for Foley and really push the two wingers forward, so it becomes more of a 433. That way, you’re having more of a go but not leaving yourself too open.
Prediction League
Well done to Bagsy for being the only person to pick up the maximum by predicting 1-1 at the Hawthorns. 7 others went for the draw but none got the score.
I’ll back Wolves this weekend I think.
We’re long overdue a decent win and when I say a ‘decent win’, I mean a game where we’re not clinging on by our finger nails in the 94th minute.
We’re strong at home (albeit not against the sides around us) and with Charlie Adam being out, I think we’ll do it.
3-1 Wolves.
If you’re going, get behind the lads. I think it’s a sell out at Molineux on Saturday, so it should be a great atmosphere.
Up The Wolves.
* Just a quick mention for my friend’s excellent online gift shop that’s selling Mothers Day gifts, so make sure you’re ready for April 3rd!
Wolves to win 2-1 and the journey continues! Can’t see us scoring 3 mate to be fair. Unless Rob Edwards comes back in for them!
I am still desperate to know how this fans’ parliament went!
Hi Ben.
May do a blog about the Fans Parliament but I can’t remember which parts Jez Moxey said could be repeated/minuted and which I will get whacked in my sleep for mentioning.
The answer to your question about Stoke was interesting – Moxey argued that the price had not “gone up from Doncaster” but had in fact “gone down from a normal Premiership game”… which may amuse you!
He did admit that they got the pricing for that game wrong but made two points:
(1) Because revenue for those games is split with the away team, they have to get permission to reduce prices. Felt they had pushed it down as far as they could and, in hindsight, given low attendance, Stoke were probably annoyed we didnt just charge full price as we’d have still probably got 10k diehards and made more money.
(2) The decision on price had to be made before the result of Stoke/Cardiff replay. Feeling was Cardiff were favourites to go through at home and that this would have been an intriguing tie for fans with ex-manager, ex-players, Bellamy and a rivalry with them etc. Hence prices going up from Doncaster.
Hope this is of some use.
Cheers mate. I thought as much. So it’s all Stoke’s fault! Classic!
Basically, he is saying we all would have lapped up £25 for a Championship fixture, when his sales reps were on the phone to me justifying the fee by saying Stoke were ‘Premiership opposition?’ Weird!
I’d have thought he’d have wanted to get the ground full to a) make more money and b) give us a better chance of winning?
Seems that penny pinching comes first, then football second, and junior / toddlers and a generation of new fans a dim and distant 3rd.
(Probably the same order for our January transfer ambitions too come to think of it.)
Thanks for that though mate, good of you to feed back.
I can’t see us scoring three or keeping a clean sheet, so I’ll be bold and predict a 2-1 win as well. I’m keeping the faith!
Wolves 3 Blackpool 2 [O’Hara, Ebanks-Blake (2)]
Wolves 2:0 Blackpool
They’d better bloody win as its my first live game in four months (after the birth of my son!) – cant wait!
Wolves boosted by £9.1m Premier League profit last season eh?
Two things to say…
1, Decent left back £4m
2, Decent centre half £5m
No wonder Moxey looks so happy in the photo – I wonder what bonus he will be getting?
I was thinking something similar. The contradiction is that everyone can see in empirical fact what a Premier League slot means to the club, yet nothing was done in January when a defender was a must. A small outlay for a slice of those huge profits surely would have made sense? Or at the very least instil a bit of ‘umph’ into the club in January. It all felt so laid back didn’t it?
What is it now – 3 clean sheets? People can lambast luck all they want, but that stat is damning.
I can hear Alan Hansen’s not-so-dulcet tones ringing in my ears right now…”If you keep a clean sheet, you’ve always got a chance.”
But despite all this, I’m still staying positive. We can do it!!
Especially when Blues can find the cash to buy Curtis Davies and West Ham to get Wayne Bridge on loan as just two examples.
Adams is suspended on Saturday so three points against Blackpool should be that little bit easier!
Trying to keep the faith, but fear we are doomed this season.
We have only scored 3 in a Prem game twice this season, Sunderland at home and we won, and City away when we lost.
How’s that for a statistic???
Who cares about statistics anyroad?
They are all forms of spin, and we get enough of that from our wonderful manager and his greaseballness moxey. (lower case used on a porpoise)
If McDoofus doesn’t put out an attacking team, we will lose, coz that’s what we do.
We cannot defend a one goal lead, and we have trouble scoring, so if they go in front, we won’t catch up.
Maybe earlier in the season, when we were not as bad, but not now, when it seems that everyone has lost the will to look for goal.
Confidence seems to have vanished into the stratosphere, and we are relegated men walking.
Having said that, things could be worse, we could be shit supporters, who haven’t the brain cells to realize what they are missing.
Always a lighter at the end of the funnel!!
Out of Darkness and all that……………
FOMM
Everyone seems fairly confident we’ll beat Blackpool, which surprises me considering our pathetic record in ‘must-win’ games. It pains me to say it but I expect a draw or Blackpool to go home with all three points.
McCarthy out!
4 wins in 6 at home. Put your money on another fantastic Wolves win at fortress Molineux…
We’re going to lose 3-1 simples
I have faith that we can put a run together that may just see us stay up, has to start on Saturday though.
2-0 to Wolves
Hello, the font’s changed at the header of the home page – very ‘Space 1999’ if you ask me. And the “WB” logo has been dispensed with (about bloody time too). Should ‘Wolves’ in ‘About the wolves’ be capitalised? Or is this about wild creatures of the forest? Am I in the right blog?!
Ahem. Sorry. The preddo …
Wolves 0-1 Blackpool.
Last minute goal.
Unhappy campers.
Mick says afterwards that we played really well and there’s no need to panic.
Nice spot Kowloon. I’ve capitalised the W.
Just been playing around with a few things.
To be honest I’m planning a complete redevelopment of the site, but it’s dependent on whether or not we retain our status as an unofficial blog of a Premier League side.
If we go down, I’m afraid the redevelopment will have to be put on hold and Ben might have to be sold to balance the books.
Haha! Nice one!
And – correct me if I’m wrong – we seem to have gone a bit more ‘old gold’ as opposed to ‘orange’ in this blog incarnation (wish I could say the same about the Burrda kit!)
Anyway, well done: it’s all improvement to my eyes.
Never mind being sold, I was hoping to renegotiate my contract!! A second bag of scratchings can’t be too much to ask for?!
I’m sure I saw Dazza from Brisbane in Asda last week as well, so I’m getting a bit twitchy.
Give me a bell if you get chance mate, i’ve left a missed call on ur mobile!!!
New picture to be used? Need to be in the “relegation strip!” ha,ha,ha!
Yep, Wolves 0-1 Blackpool. After WW dominating for 93 minutes, Bpool steal a winner in the 94th. Bloody typical!
The light at the end of the tunnel is a freight train.
I’ll stop being so negative soon, well that’s what my analyst tells me anyway!
Wasn`t the away game at Blackpool a must win one too!!. Another played well but couldn`t score until the last minute load of bollucks.
Wolves need points – they have to win this game, so I`m going for a 3-1 win. I also see lots of problems for our defence with their two small strikers very pacey and mobile. I`m hoping we can hang on and MM gets his tactics right for the whole game for a change.
Its no wonder we are financially stable, its down really to the deal Sir Jack did with Morgan and his £30m. Even Moxey could`t cock up with that sort of money in the kitty.
I am a Blackpool supporter who has chosen to put in his six’penneth on this forum, prior to Saturday’s match. Victory will go to the team who best handle the pressure. Wolves’ players are under immense pressure in this game.Their Manager has told everyone that this is a must win game. If anything, that cranks it up even further. Blackpool play without fear. They attack everyone everywhere. Don’t expect Pool to “keep it tight”. They will go full throttle, and they usually score a couple of goals on their travels. Wolves might score three; Pool certainly leave enough room to most teams they play for that, but the difference is that Pool WILL score two (or three). THAT puts pressure on a team that are a tad goal shy, and not THAT much better than Pool at the back. The Spurs win on Tuesday has lifted a ton weight from Pool’s shoulders. Anything could happen ! Pool don’t do 0-0’s. Expect a shoot-out.
Thanks for THAT.
Ah yes, the Media Myth that Blackpool are gung-ho, all out attacking side. If you saw the Spurs game on Tuesday you will have noticed they got hammered, as the same in so many games including the one with us which we had 25 attempts on target1
If we stick with the 4-5-1, get Milijas and O’Hara on the ball I tihkn we will win.
*not on target, just 25 attempts
It didn’t need the manager to tell us it’s a must win game. Look at the league table
1 nil Wolves.
I’m trying to think of another superstition to help me through these times.
My Wolves socks are simply not working.
Any suggestions/current superstitions are welsome.
Unclean underpants
I might try clean ones for a change. Well, 3 dayers.
I like to sacrafice a virgin before all home games.
Where are you gonna find one of them in ‘Hampton???
Why do we suddenly expect anything to change if McCarthy keeps picking the same under performers. Last season he changed things round and we started getting results. This season the same under performers play week in week out and for the whole week leading up to the game everyone posts “time to turn it round”, “time to kick start our season” – but unfortunately this is not an issue with form, it is an issue with the fact our weak links play week in week out.
Wolves to win, 3-2, O’Hara, Foley and Jarvis.
Nail biting finish but we’ll cling on….
Fantastic result £9.1m profit. Well done all at Wolves for continuing to provide a sound financial foundation for our club.
This is great news and will underpin our long term success in the Premier League.
Now bring on Blackpool. A Wolves win is a certainty – no way that I see a Blackpool side without Charlie Adam causing us any concerns.
O’Hara flying, Jarvis back to his best, the 4-4-2 that served us so well against Chelsea. Wolves 3-1 Blackpool. A great weekend ahead.
I hate to play the negative card,But i think it will be 2 2 another nail in
probvebial,Just can’t trust his team selections and tactics for us to get
win we drastically need. but i hope i’m wrong i really do.
He said today our season starts again this saturday i hope right.
A 3-2 defeat i’m afraid. Remember the last time everyone on here was predicting a win so unanimously???? Wigan. Nuff said!
It’s been a strange old season, and I think it will continue. Wolves 4-2 Blackpool.
Blackpool are bound to score, but they will hopefully leave some big gaps at the back for us to pounce upon. It’s about time we won with a bit of breathing space. The fact that Charlie Adam is missing is a big bonus and my prediction may well have been a draw if he was playing. Maybe it’s just my optimism taking over my head, as it usually does when I’m going to a game.
If we do lose, I believe that we are doomed and we’ll be relegated with a couple of games to spare. So no pressure at all then really!
O’Hara is looking the real deal and I think he’ll score again this weekend. The fact that he has hardly played and come in and performed so well is impressive. As mentioned before, he may look a little slow, but will surely speed up a little with more game time. I also hope that Hammill will play as this sort of opposition will suit his attacking play. Henry is due a performance. All this England talk is just ridiculous!
Hope we beat them, stay up and sign O’Hara in the summer. Great to see his Mrs at the match for the next 3-4 seasons (about time we had a proper WAG!)
Then Dave Jones can f*ck off to Bolton for nothing and we wont need him anyway – prepare to be underwhelmed trotters fans!
I’ll go 4-2 Wolves.
The umpteenth must win of the season, most of which we haven’t. But i fancy us tomorrow.
Wolves 2-0 Blackpool
I think we can get the win tomorrow, but Blackpool will always have a go. They will definitely test our back four.
Wolves 2 – Blackpool 1
A comfortable 2-0 win to Wolves. Then all to play for…
How brilliant of Moxey to come out and say the best players will be sold if we go down. What’s the point in shelling out for a new stadium and selling all the players?
Oh well, at least we’ll have a stadium fit for League 1
C’mon Rich, we’re not down yet.
I’ll be more sympathetic to the negative views if we don’t win tomorrow, but everything says we will beat Blackpool.
Everton, Blues & Villa all all within touching distance, any one of these could soon be in the mix.
On the contrary wanderer, it’s more the mixed messages from the board that baffle me. Why commit to the rebuild when there’s a chance we’ll go down, then sell all the players.
We will then be redeveloping the ground with a poor team playing in it, possibly going the way of Middlesbrough, Sheff Utd…
As for me, while i’m not totally convinced, i haven’t given up on our survival chances yet
Just read E&S, The grease ball spiv moxey said if we go down he’s selling
crown jewels..Whats that say to the fans,even he thinks we’re going down.
Got an idea why don’t he and his m8 mick f..k off now then we may stay
up and keep our best players and save a packet on the salaries they
have’nt earned.
As I haven’t predicted a single result correct yet, let alone the correct score, I’ll go for Wolves 1 Blackpool 2 and I hope I’m wrong again!
My prediction???
Wolves 4 Blackpool 0,
Jarvis, O Hara and a couple from Ebanks Blake!!!!!!!!!!