If our back-to-back pre-Christmas home games were indeed supposed to be an indicator of what the second half of the season has in store, then this match certainly falls under the category of ‘must-win’.
Losing to Stoke, particularly having lead, was a difficult pill to swallow, but should Wolves not register the three points in this one it will mean they’ve failed to overcome any of the three promoted teams at Molineux.
Now that’s galling.
Norwich represent an altogether different challenge to Stoke.
They won’t be as tight at the back, but equally they aren’t afraid to get it down and pass, which means the battle could be won and lost in midfield.
Nenad Milijas was superb for an hour on Saturday (in my opinion at least), but as his influence waned, so did the performance of the team.
For some reason we stopped looking for the simple passes and started surrendering possession cheaply, which ultimately played into Stoke’s hands.
The Team
We know that Edwards and O’Hara remain sidelined, so the question is will Mick shuffle the pack with the limited options he has available?
I would strongly consider dropping Doyle and playing an extra midfielder, but I don’t think he’ll do that. I reckon we’ll see the same eleven from Saturday:
Even if we stick with 442, I think it would be worth giving SEB a run-out to see if he can get a couple of goals. I’m one of Doyle’s biggest fans but I think it would do him good to be taken out for a game or two.
Hammill and Guedioura would be the only other two players really knocking on the door for a start, but neither did much in their cameos on Saturday to enhance their chances.
Prediction League
Not many went for a Stoke win at the weekend, with only 7 people correctly guessing the outcome.
Ventura Highway was the only 1 of those 7 to get the 2-1 scoreline. Well done to him for getting the maximum 3 points. Everyone else takes a single point.
We need the win tomorrow and I think we’ll get it.
I’m expecting a fairly open game with both teams getting chances and scoring goals.
Lets go for a bold 3-2 to Wolves.
If you’re at Molineux tomorrow night, have a great time and get right behind the lads.
Up The Wolves.
I’ve got a theory here… the QPR game was 0-3 and the Swansea game was 2-2… so that’s basically +2-(-1) so this game will be 4-1 Wolves!
Just a theory! 🙂
Wolves 3-1. Fletcher x2 and Jarvis.
I agree that we will play the same team as against Stoke, which could go either way. We could either really press them back, and they crack, or they will out pass us in midfield and Milijas will disappear.
I’ll go for 2-2, leaving Mick in a spot of bother.
Also, saw this on a forum which I thought people might like to see.
‘I may as well put this here rather than start a new thread. I was chatting to an old work mate of mine and one of the perks of his current job is that he gets to attend some of the LMA events. He was at one a few days ago and was talking to somebody in their press team. He was telling me how McCarthy is one of the most popular people with other managers, Ancelotti in particular. When Ancelotti was being given some award by the LMA, he specifically requested that it was McCarthy who presented it to him. Apparentley, Ancelotti is due up to Wolverhampton at some point in the next few weeks for a training session.
I can only assume what i was told was true as the chap who told me i know to be a genuine person who had nothing to gain by making it up.’
In all likeliness not true but how cool would that be. It doesn’t surprise me that mick is a popular figure amongst other managers though (cue, ‘because everyone wins against us’ joke ha,ha,ha).
Well, of course Mick is a popular figure – he is a joke and everyone loves the free points that they can get against us!
(just thought I’d get in there before Clive does – though I daresay he has a speech stored in the FOMM archive somewhere! :P)
Mick is always very kind about the opposition before we play them, concentrating more it seems on how good they are than working out ways to beat them. Do you reckon he thinks that if he’s nice about them, they’ll take it easy on poor little Wolves?
Perhaps he’s just being polite…other managers are the same with Mick! Do you really think he spends training sessions telling the team just how awesome the other team are?
It would not surprise me…
I tell you what doesn’t appear to be happening during those training sessions (unfortunately), there doesn’t appear to be any work on getting the players defending well as a unit. There doesn’t appear to be any work on gaining any understanding between the midfield and forwards, when was the last time we slid a ball through from midfield (not the wings) to a forward and went on to score a goal? I guess we only attempt this way through our oppositions once or twice a game. Makes the attacks we do make so much more predictable! Anyone remember the last time we had a midfielder that was willing (allowed) to break from midfield get past the attackers and have a go, to be fair unless they are willing to do it with the ball, it’ll be a fruitless exercise because nobody else will pick their run out. Something else that doesn’t seem to happen much as far as I can see, allowing our talented youngsters a chance to get out there and show what they can do when the higher paid, more experienced players are either injured or out of form. Why can’t we give players the chance to prove themselves in this situation rather than playing other experienced players out of position???? Tell you what I would love to get behind Mick and shout down anyone who has an opinion that appears to be at odds with improving the morale of the team. Yet, when we continually follow the same oh so familiar and so unsuccessful formula there comes a time when, you’ve got to start to think someone else might be able to take the good work that Mick has put in a step or two further because progression under Mick seems to have stalled?????
2-2 No chance of a clean sheet, but we should score.
Hammil needs to start, Hunt maybe playing just behind Fletch, giving Doyle some much needed rest. Cant see much improvement in our season until the muppet is sacked.
OK,Thomas you got the 2 right but i can’t figure where we get 3 from have you been drinking
again i can smell whiskymac.
I would love us to win but unless we start to play for 90 minutes we won’t, their defence are
not as robust as stokes so we must start with Hammel and jarvis to get the crosses in for fletch and Doyle,and the rest as they where, with hunt on the bench.If we lose this one he’s
got to go even though its near the festive time of the year and be done with it because i don’t
know where the next points are coming from i really can’t.even if we win sack him..
I predict an open game, hopefully we’ll come out the blocks like we did on Saturday and get a head start. 2-0 to Wolves
2-1 Wolves, if we end up losing this one, I promise to start predicting that we will lose in the future.
I can’t believe Stoke got the ref on their side again on Saturday after receiving as many lucky escapes (thanks to the ref) against Spurs. You would have to go back a long way to find a time when we had so many dubious, key decisions going our way (who’d have thought that refs would dislike us even more than Stoke!!!)
I reckon it’ll be a Pilkington screamer for them, a scrappy bundled in effort by Berra and a Milijas freekick for us.
Like others on here, I hope that Doyle is rested but I don’t hold out too much hope. I think Seb would do well given a start, lets face it he may not work as hard as Doyle but he’s got to be more likely to grab a goal at the moment.
My heart wants us to win, coz we are Wolves.
My head thinks we’ll lose, coz we are Wolves.
Perfect result would be a Wolves win, and a management sacking.
Unfortunately, we are not in a perfect world, Christmas isn’t until Sunday, so we’ll probably lose, and of course, Ward’s dad will keep his job.
Wolves 0 Norwich 2
FOMM
Clive – I disagree, the clock is ticking for MM. Defeat tomorrow, then at Arsenal and Bolton should be enough.
Question is who do we bring in?
defeat tomorrow, then at Arsenal then at, then at… Good Heavens man… how long do you wanna give him…
…The clod should have been sent packing at the end of last season, after that abortion of a Blackburn game… If he cant get them MOTIVATED, AT HOME for a RELEGATION GAME then what can he get them motivated for??
Who do we bring in ? I dont care, Hughes, Coyle, Coco The Clown (oh wait, we already have him) We need new impetus, new ideas (or some ideas)
Noticed how the local rag called for Keanes sacking at the weekend… a club is very closely linked to its local paper… the E&S hasnt even been allowed to attend the fans parliament …
Time for a change.
I think it will be an open game with plenty of goals, hopefully we will score the majority of them. I’m with you for this one Thomas. Wolves 3-2 Norwich.
Simply must win. 3-1 Wolves, Fletch hat-trick!
Sorry iPad theme doesn’t appear to be working properly.
In case you couldn’t tell, my prediction is 3-1 Wolves, with Fletch bagging a hat-trick.
1-1 – which doesn’t really help us, given Blackburn and/or Bolton have to get points too.
Difficult to predict for me only seen Norwich on highlights – gut feeling is MM has stuck too long with formulas that dont quite work and tomorrow could be the beginning of the end.
As the transfer window opens for the usual merry go round of frantic sky sports mania…how about a cheeky bid for Whittingham from Cardiff,good passer,creative,the provibal “good left peg”,O’nhua is a another good shout…..Adelene hasn’t impressed in the last few games I’ve seen..(thanks god for myp2p)..Ned fades and loses possession far to cheaply…mind you that is a trait we need to lose…..I still think we will stay up but it’s going to be a long exhausting season……….now where’s my Port ?…..Out of Darkness Cometh Light…….
If you think we can beat Norwich…think again
Another awful defeat – blame the referee, blame injuries, blame the bounce of the ball – fact is we aren’t good enough.
Wolves 1-3 Norwich
Keep the same formation but drop Hunty and put Hammill on the right, Hunt just isn’t the right man to play on the right and I can’t stand it when he gets switched with Jarvo.
Wolves 0-1 Norwich, and I can hardly believe I just typed that.
Good news for tomorrow just sorted out large hip flask and a neglected half bottle of festive cointreau
3-2 to the Wolves!!!
Got to go with a five man midfield. Javis left Hammil right with fletch up front.
Rest Doyle, should have cashed in on him when we could, twice as many games as Fletcher and half as many goals. rest Hunt, got rested for a number of games last season and came back stronger. Its my Daughters birthday tomorrow and we at the game hoping for the perfect birthday/ xmas present .. 3 points..
Over to you Mick…
1 – 2 loss to Norwich.
Norwich are a form team right now, we are most certainly not.
I thought we’d be strong at home against other promoted teams…but remember QPR?
I’ll back Fletcher to score, but I’m afraid I can’t see us beating them and the ‘might’ of Grant Holt.
I think, as always, we can win. Norwich’s goals as I’ve seen them mainly come from random strikes inside the penalty area, though Holt’s one against Everton on saturday was pretty sweet. I think our defenders did great vs Stoke and pretty much the only real chances Stoke got was the free-kick that wasn’t and the goal that shouldn’t.
2-1 wolves.
3-1
Fletcher with a brace, Hunt with a penalty converted
2-0 Norwich. They will pass us off the park and out muscle us up front. Their manager will use tactics that work, something that muppet can only dream about.
McCarthy out is all i want from Santa!
We should sign Kris Boyd – he’s free and is the SPL’s record scorer.
And yet failed at Championship level – he’s awful.
He’s about our level and certainly within our price range.
Forest fans wouldn’t say he was a failure, 6 goals in 10.
Anyway, I was just messing around – I doubt we’ll even sign anyone as ‘good’ as him.
Thanks Jed,saves me writing it. Only difference i think they’ll get three. 1-3(Fletcher of course)
2-1 Wolves. Milijas and Fletcher.
Please.
Need to win, so probs won’t manage a shot on target. Holt is like bully, he’s gonna batter us.
0-2
Yeah, this ‘must win’ situation is probably a heavy burden for the lads, which is not a good thing at this time of the season.
Hope they’d battle bravely… 1-0 Fletcher (who else?).
Wolves 1:1 Norwich another dissappointing cold night at the molineux.
Maybe Doyle can score one at the right end tonight like he is paid to?
2-1 Wolves, getting up early tomorrow so bring Australia good news!!
COME ON ME BABBIES!!!
My crystal ball prediction….
We play completely differently.
We play with zeal, passion and confidence, like a team in their 3rd year in the premiership, against a newly promoted one.
The change comes about through a Milijas screamer of a shot from 25 yards into the roof of the net, 7th minute.
In the 34th minute, after total dominance a classic Fletcher nod in.
Second half we play the ball round like we are Barcelona.
A Jarvis cross, a nonchalant Dougan style bullet header from Fletcher, makes it 3-0 in the 57th minute.
A mazey 30 yard (forward) run by Henry, is finished by a spectacular Zubar bicycle kick goal, in the 83rd minute.
Wolves 4 – Norwich 0
You saw it here first!
3-0 Wolves. I wanted to leave it at that but my comment was too short! Doyle hat-trick!
2-2 (as Ive said already) We cant defend, but we can score.
Please, Please, Please let this be the Nuggets last game/.
I feel bad for saying this, but I don’t fancy us at all. 1-0 to Norwich. I hope I am mistaken.
3 – 1 to wolves, this is the game where Milijas long shot goes in a top corner, fletcher gets an easy header and hunt scores a penalty from jarvis going down in the box. Doyle scores another fantastic own goal.
Up the Wolves.
Wolves 3 – 2 Norwich. Im hoping that the injustice of the Stoke game has the lads fired up and looking to prove a point…and get three!
After all the euphoria of promotion, the hope and expectation of at last a shot at the premiership, surviving by the skin of our teeth twice – now our team is like a drowning man treading water. The premiership gets more difficult and tougher each year, better teams with bright young managers get promoted, and I fear Norwich will out pass, run and muscle us tonight.
How can MM say we played well when we didn`t register a shot for their keeper to save on Saturday in the second half. Well its his players and/or tactics which are failing, so another massive disappointment and another 2-1 defeat i`m afraid. I just hope I`m wrong.
There was one from Hunt early on, but I know what you mean!
Wolves 2 – 1 Norwich.
Goals from Fletcher and Holt.
Another must win for us, and to be fair when we need a win, we normally get one. Norwich will play with freedom and confidence, while we will be anxious. I just pray they don’t get the first goal. 2-2
Haven’t travelled. Norwich will play us off the park. 0-2. Shambles. Mick blaming floodlights for being too bright. FOMM
Must admit, I just don’t feel any love for the club at the moment. As Nick Horny once said, supporting a club is like being in a bad marriage from which you can never divorce.
Win, lose, draw, it doesn’t matter really. Whatever the result, Mick McCarthy will still be manager, Steve Morgan and Jez Moxey will still be running the club and the squad will still be populated with completely inadequate players.
Supporters willing to stand in the cold and watch some of the most turgid, uninspiring football in the Premier League have my utmost respect and sympathy. I, on the other hand, have absolutely no desire to waste money on a club with a board and manager that regard the fans with utter contempt. If that makes me less of a fan, so be it.
Wolves 4 Norwich 0.
Will Andrew Surman start? He seemed to do well against QPR. Please don’t haunt us.
Wolves 1 – Norwich 0.
A clean sheet to boot.
You a prophet? 3 wise men MM&M!
As it’s my last day in the office until after Christmas I will be looking forward to a couple sherberts while watching the game. We’ll win, 3-1. Apparently we have a better points total than this time last year, hopefully Bolton and Blackburn will draw, Wigan will lose to Liverpool and we’ll be 4 points clear for Christmas!
Destroy Norwich City, we must. Win 2-1, will we. Yes, hmmm.
Thanks for the shout-out, Thomas – though I’ll trade in my 3 points in the prediction league for 3 points in the Premier League any day! Let’s hope for both this time: Wolves 2-1 Norwich
Wolves surrender to the footballing and passing skills of Norwich, dropping us into the relegation zone as we go down 0-2.
Lets hope the 3M’s learn the lesson and spend big to keep our premiership status on the January window.
MM out the sooner the better.
Can’t see us beating Norwich tonight, just ain’t got no faith in the players, the management and the other two who run the club.
Best thing that could come out of tonight? Moxey to have a “word” with Lambert and get him in.
FOMM
Kevin Doyle dropped – Santa’s arrived early in Wolverhampton!
Seems Santa kept going, without so much as glance down the chimneys of the Mol!!!
2-0 to us. God help us if we don’t win this one.
So there we are again.
Another must win, not won.
Another of the promoted teams we cannot beat.
And another of the promoted teams we give 2 goals to.
Brilliant.
At least we won’t lose on Saturday.
FOMM
you could say that….or you could say weren’t norwich brilliant for the first twenty minutes? and wasn’t it remarkable that a team who looked so utterly outclassed for that first twenty minutes battled their way back into the game and went on to play really well in the second half? or even you could say what a fantastic game of football, evidence yet again that the premier league is the best in the world. or you could say what an astonishing transformation has taken place with our left back, now looking every inch a premiership player. or you could just be a miserable old curmudgeon and say so there we are again. Another must win, not won etc.
BAH HUMBUG!!!
Or you could take off your McCarthy coloured spectacles, and see that super Ward was responsible for all four United goals, Stoke’s winner on Saturday, and is still as useless as ever as a full back, and also take a peek at the results table, and see that we gave two goals to each and every one of the three promoted teams, while playing them all at “Fortress Molineux”, could not beat any of them, and we are still mired in a relegation battle, exactly the same as we have been over the past 2 1/2 years.
Facts do not lie, unlike our management.
FOMM
or you could actually enjoy watching a really great match. or realise that everyone around you has stopped echoing the rubbish you spout about ward.
Starting to wish I was a neutral now – if we hadn’t REALLY needed to win that game I’d have enjoyed the game!
Now that I’ve thought about it a bit more, actually… I DID enjoy the game – it was fast-paced and exciting! It just sucked that we weren’t able to win it!
Norwich first goal Offsiide !!!
Fletchers Goal Onside !!!
The standard of Premier league Refs is discraceful.
Fletcher’s goal was offside and we were lucky not to give away two pens. Time to start blaming refs and look closer to home.
Another no win 1 point out of 6 at home not good enough what ever you think of it.
we huffed and puffed but norwich passed the ball about better than we did and they deserved
the draw,mick said we should have won but i think they had just as many chances as we did
so the draw was a fair result i think,but we should be beating promoted sides at home.looking at the fixtures don’t know where the next win is coming from,so come january
i hope we have a new manager with some money to buy or loan some good up and coming premier players to get us out or the bottom 6.thats my wish for all of us at christmas.he’s done his best but it an’t good enough.
I was level with Fletch looked a goal to me – having said that its going to be a battle again to stay up anyway – when Mick says Grant Holt is his type of player says it all he likes an ordinary grafter.
You Must have been close to me then Colin, we were right in line with fletchers goal.
Def ONSIDE,
I not blaming refs, but that 2 in a row where we should have had more from the game on their decisons alone..
Replays had him a half step off, it was the right call. Heartbreaking as it was. Be interesting to see if Morrison is banned for his stomp on Johnson.
Remember the ref doesnt have the benefit of replays….
There is no way that could have been called in open play.
Benefit of the doubt should have been given in real time.
Unless these refs are super human… Maybe they are.
One question though ?
Why do our top players keep getting injured in training???
First Fletcher, now O’Hara..
1 point from 6 and yet again struggling against a newly promoted team. Not great is it?
It’s good that we came from behind twice and nice to see SEB play and score, but I’m sad that we have to be struggling to level at home.
To be fair I think we played a bit better in some ways, certainly offensively, but Thomas had already stated that he thought it’d be more open for us at the back and we’d have more chances.
Anyway, let’s continue to hope that other results go our way – namely Wigan, Sunderland and QPR continue to struggle.
In first half particularly Johnson got into the wrong place at the wrong time and didnt always have the strength or pace to recover – Berra has been given the chance to develop and improve and he looked strong and confident while young Stearman who eventually figured in some clean sheets last season has been sidelined – for the discerning copy cat Wolves fans who hate KH if we get relegated he will be one of the first players to get taken by a premier league club.If you want to watch a game where the ball goes straight from one end to the other i recommend tennis.
I saw the whole match.
We at least played with confidence.
I thought Milijas and Henry, along with Surman, were the best players on the pitch.
It was an exciting game and we gave it our all.
I’d prefer to see us try and lose than role over and die, like we usually do.
The only change I’d make to the team is to replace Hunt who, though he tries, gave the ball away far too easily.
Also, I’d play Milijas over O’Hara, Milijas is a far more intelligent player. Often it looks as if he’s made a bad pass but actually the pass is too clever for the receiver.
Certainly I was cheered by the performance .
We still have a chance of survival, despite MM.
gotta hand it to thick mccarthy, his persistent arrogance (rivalled only by his incompetence) has brought some of the faithful’s self esteem down to such a level that they’re looking for the positives in a last ditch equaliser at home against a promoted side who’ve spent a fraction on their squad… No win against Norwich, QPR or Swansea… now be honest, who of you, pro, or anti mick would have accepted that back in August? Eventually, when you’ve been down in the shit for so long ANYTHING looks like an improvement.
I agree, anyway you want to paint it results and performances, particularly against the promoted clubs, have been nowhere near good enough.
I think the stat that’s most telling from the 3 games against QPR, Swansea and Norwich is 7 goals conceded.
After 3 years in the top flight, we’re still too open through the center of midfield, so teams can easily get at our sluggish back four.
If we had either a powerful central midfielder or a defender with some pace and guile, we would probably have seen significant improvement.
Whoever is in charge in January, we must go after Onouha at Man City if it’s at all possible and get someone like Frimpong or Diame in on loan. Players who can get around the pitch and upset the opposition when they have the ball.
I’m not holding my breath though.
Entertaining game…but a bad result…