Last night, Wolves defeated Walsall 3-2, with goals from Leigh Griffiths, Michael Kightly and Christophe Berra.
- This time last season, I was not looking forward to the start of the season. I pretty much had football burn out following the festival of football, the World Cup. Yesterday though, I was looking forward to it. I enjoyed the tournaments through the summer; the Gold Cup, Copa America, Under-21s and Under 17s. Hell, I even found myself watching the Women’s' World Cup. But none of these matches had any emotional pull. I was watching the sake of watching, but I didn't feel like I belonged. Today was different. Proper football is back.
- This won't surprise anyone, but the first touch of a ball I saw from George Elokobi in the 2011/12 season went straight out of play. However, watching his game closely later on, I realised that the biggest fault Karl Henry has is his reluctance to take the ball from his defenders. I lost count of the amount of times he gave the ball to a defender and then TURNED HIS BACK ON THE BALL. (It should be noted that at no point was I ever actually counting the amount of times this happened.) Compare Henry's off the ball movement with that of Nenad Milijaš and you'll see a world of difference.
- Talking of the difference between Milijaš and Henry, it was nice to see a change in our corner routine when Michael Kightly pinged the ball out to Henry on the edge of the area for a volleyed attempt at goal. It wasn't the best of efforts, it sort of skewed off his foot and would probably have gone 10 yards wide had a defender not intercepted it, but the attempt was there.
- Ah, Michael Kightly. It's good to see him back in a Wolves shirt, getting a pre-season under his belt. He looked fit in his body, but I'm not sure about in his head. He had his defender on toast if he wanted, but seemed hesitant to properly let loose. Hopefully this will come as he learns to trust his body more, and I can't wait to see him flying down that wing again.
- A number of changes came at halftime, with arguably the strongest team playing latterly. The Irish contingent was introduced, including Andy Keogh. Annoyingly, I had just told my friend about his lack of aerial prowess, when he won his first header, a decent flick on down the line. I spent a while wiping the egg from my face.
- I'm sure it's a relief to for Christophe Berra to finally get on the score sheet. Maybe it was embarrassment that fellow Scot Leigh Griffiths had managed it in the first half. Berra has always threatened to score, without ever actually managing it. Maybe a strange and troubling new haircut is key to his new found goal scoring ability.
- Is it worth noting that the majority of Roger Johnson's minutes in a Wolves shirt have been alongside Berra? That would give us a right/left combination at the back, although I'm never sure of how useful this is; most of the best partnerships I can think of in recent years have been two right-footed players, although this could be due to a lack of left-footed centre-backs, and a predilection to shove them to leftback.
- While we're on the subject of the defence, Danny Batth did ok in the first half. He looks a big lad but may need another season of regular first team football at a lower level before he's Premier League ready. However, he was more impressive than his partner, Jody Craddock. Craddock is a long way from his best, which in my opinion was the 2004/05 season, and I argued that he should not have been awarded a new contract.
- I always had a feeling Craddock was in the team due to his experience and ability to organise the defence, although I'm not 100% sure of his ability to do that; he's never struck me as the loudest of players. One player who is though, is Roger Johnson. He wasn't tested a huge amount defensively, but his leadership qualities were apparent, constantly in charge of the defensive line. I'm sure there wasn't a Wolves fan in the world who didn't have their heart in their mouth when he picked up a knock late on, but like the proper man that he is, he picked himself up and got on with it.
- Interestingly, we were given the joy of viewing five different wingers today; Kightly and Stephen Hunt in the second half, Matt Jarvis and Stephen Ward in the second, and latterly Adam Hammill. Of those, Jarvis looked a cut above the rest, although Hammill was lively. He definitely needs to work hard on his decision making though, at one point he dillied and dallied before shooting straight at a defender's legs with Kevin Doyle in a good position.
- Finally we come to the strikers. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake looked a little chunky, although that could be the tight fit of the shirts. Griffiths looked lively and tenacious; I could well see why he has been compared to Paul Dichov. In the second half, Doyle and Keogh were introduced, and the gulf in class between them was never more apparent. Both may be blond Irish strikers, but one is the future of Wolves, while the other is very much the past.
- Overall, the result matters not a jot. It was a decent workout for the team, although I would have liked to have seen something other than 4-4-2. At times, especially in the first half the midfield struggled to get to grip with the tempo of the match, and left the forwards isolated. It improved slightly in the second half, but I would like to see a little more innovation here, especially finding a role for Milijaš to sit deep and dictate the tempo of the match in the way he did at times last season.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Stat Man - A Look Back At 2010/11 Results
Now that the dust has settled on last season’s results, it’s time to take a look at the results we managed. 40 points were reached with a game to spare, but where exactly did those points come from?
Title Challengers
| Team | Home Result | Away Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Man Utd | 2-1 | 0-2 | 9 pts 1.125 pts/game |
| Chelsea | 1-0 | 0-2 | |
| Man City | 2-1 | 3-4 | |
| Arsenal | 0-2 | 0-2 | |
| Ave Result | 1-1 | 1-3 | |
| Total | 9 pts | 0 pts | |
| Average | 2.25 pts/game | 0 pts/game |
Pushing For Europe
| Team | Home Result | Away Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tottenham | 3-3 | 1-3 | 5 pts 0.83 pts/game |
| Liverpool | 0-3 | 1-0 | |
| Everton | 0-3 | 1-1 | |
| Ave Result | 1-3 | 1-1 | |
| Total | 1 pts | 4 pts | |
| Average | 0.33 pts/game | 1.33 pts/game |
Mid-Table Mediocrity
| Team | Home Result | Away Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulham | 1-1 | 1-2 | 18 pts 1.29 pts/game |
| Aston Villa | 1-2 | 1-0 | |
| Sunderland | 3-2 | 3-1 | |
| WBA | 3-1 | 1-1 | |
| Newcastle | 1-1 | 1-4 | |
| Stoke City | 2-1 | 0-3 | |
| Bolton | 2-3 | 0-1 | |
| Ave Result | 1-1 | 1-3 | |
| Total | 11 pts | 7 pts | |
| Average | 1.57 pts/game | 1 pt/game |
Relegation Dog Fight
| Team | Home Result | Away Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn | 2-3 | 0-3 | 8 pts 0.8 pts/game |
| Wigan | 1-2 | 0-2 | |
| Birmingham | 1-0 | 1-1 | |
| Blackpool | 4-0 | 1-2 | |
| West Ham | 1-1 | 0-2 | |
| Ave Result | 2-1 | 0-2 | |
| Total | 7 pts | 1 pt | |
| Average | 1.4 pts/game | 0.2 pts/game |
It is clear that our away form was very poor, winning just 12 away points all season. This, coupled with our unique inability to beat the teams around us made survival a lot tougher than it should have been. We needed elements of luck to beat Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City at home, something that we cannot rely on next season. Maybe we sucker punched them, but the chances of us doing that again are low.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tripping the Light Fantastic
If I was to ask which British team have had the greatest impact on the formative years of European competition, who would you say? Hibernian, the first British team to play in a continental tournament? Tottenham, the first British winners of a European trophy? Perhaps Celtic, who’s Lisbon Lions of ’67 defeated Helenio Herrera’s Internazionale?
All of those clubs have strong claims, but just how much impact did they have on the tournament itself? To find the answer we need to travel back to the 1953/54 season in the English Division One, for it was in 1953 that Wolverhampton Wanderers first installed floodlights at Molineux.
A seemingly innocuous move, it could be argued that those very lights set in motion a chain of events that would eventually lead to Real Madrid being crowned FIFA’s Club of the Century and George Best becoming one of the greatest of all time.
Wolves were crowned English Division One Champions for the first time in their history in 1954, arch-rivals West Bromwich Albion being beaten into second place. A team including the likes of Dennis Wilshaw, Bert Williams, Ron Flowers, Johnny Hancocks and England captain Billy Wright were very much the best team in the country.
However, this was the pre-European Cup era and so Wolves had to find other ways to test themselves against Europe’s elite. Thanks to the newly installed floodlights, midweek games were now an option, and so a series of ‘floodlit friendlies’ were set up against Moscow Dynamo, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Honvéd.
Following a 3-1 victory over a South African XI in September 1953 to celebrate the new floodlights, Racing Club de Avellaneda, Argentinian champions in three of the previous five seasons were beaten 3-1, Maccabi Tel Aviv being summarily dispatched 10-0. Wolves followed this up with a 4-0 defeat of reigning Soviet champions Spartak Moscow.
These games were among the first to be shown live on the BBC and helped captivate a new generation of football fans including a young George Best watching in Northern Ireland:
“Mr Harrison only had a small black and white set and TV crews then probably only used one camera, as opposed to the hundred or so they have today. But when Wolves played sides like Moscow Spartak and Moscow Dynamo, it was as though they were playing against aliens. As far as we were concerned, the Russians were bogeymen, they could have come from another planet. And yet here they were playing against Wolves on television.”
Then, on a cold and wet day in December 1954 came the visit of Hungarian side Honvéd, a team which included five of the Hungarian team to have humiliated England 6-3 at Wembley and 7-1 in Budapest, the Mighty Magyars.
One of these was a certain Ferenc Puskás, one of the greatest players ever to pull on a pair of football boots. Wolves captain Billy Wright had also captained England on those fateful nights, and this was certainly seen by the English media as a chance for English football to prove (however tenuously) that it was still the world’s global power.
This was a special match – Wolves wore satin shirts to show up in the floodlights and, in front of an attendance of 54,998, Honvéd quickly raced into a two goal lead; Kocsis and Machos with the goals as the Hungarians dominated the early stages.
Wolves fought to get back into it but couldn’t get near the great Hungarians, surely the Barcelona of their day. 2-0 down and outplayed at halftime, Wolves manager Stan Cullis needed a moment of inspiration and ordered his players to play long balls behind the Honvéd fullbacks.
With torrential rain having fallen in the days leading up to the game, and Cullis having the pitch watered pre kick-off, it wasn’t long before the conditions started to deteriorate. A controversial early second half penalty saw Johnny Hancocks halve the deficit, and it was game on.
With Honvéd’s passing game not doing them any favours in the mud, Wolves started to dominate. After Hancocks had hit the bar Wolves finally got their deserved equaliser; Ray Swinborne heading home a Dennis Wilshaw cross in the 76th minute. At this stage there was only going to be one winner, and minutes later Swinborne provided the winning goal to rapturous applause.
It may have been a famous Wolves victory, but its significance was overplayed in the English press the following day. ‘Hail Wolves, Champions of the World’ ran the Daily Mail headline. This did not go unnoticed in France. Gabriel Hanot, editor of L’Équipe and a long-time campaigner for an organised European competition responded:
“Before we declare that Wolverhampton Wanderers are invincible, let them go to Moscow and Budapest. And there are other internationally renowned clubs: A.C. Milan and Real Madrid to name but two. A club world championship, or at least a European one — larger, more meaningful and more prestigious than the Mitropa Cup and more original than a competition for national teams — should be launched.”
Despite FIFA’s initial hesitance, Hanot was not to be denied, proposing for L’Équipe to organise the tournament if FIFA did not organise it. In March the following year, the newly formed UEFA were given control of the ‘European Champions Clubs Cup’ using the rules proposed by L’Équipe.
The first match took place later that year, Partizan Belgrade holding Sporting Lisbon to a 3-3 draw with Real Madrid going on to defeat Stade de Reims in the final to become the first European Champions, a title they would hold for five years, the start of the Real Madrid legend.
The FA were mistrusting of this new competition and refused Chelsea entry, leaving Scottish side Hibernian (who had previously finished fourth in the Scottish League) to become Britain’s first ever representatives in Europe. The following year though, Manchester United’s Busby Babes entered, losing in the semi-finals to Real Madrid as a long history of British success in the competition began.
It would take Wolves until 1958 to first taste competitive European football, losing 4-3 on aggregate to German Champions Schalke 04. However, in October 1957 Wolves again faced one of the leading lights of Europe in a midweek floodlight friendly; European Champions Real Madrid visiting the Football League Champions elect.
Madrid, featuring a line-up including such greats as Alfredo Di Stefano, Raymond Kopa and Jose Santamaria were firm favourites to beat a Wolves side missing the inspirational Billy Wright and duly took an early lead through Ramon Marsal. Wolves equalised just before halftime through Jimmy Murray who then secured a second half lead.
Madrid pushed hard for an equaliser, eventually getting it with Marsal grabbing his second, but it was Wolves who were victorious when Dennis Wilshaw scored a late winner. This match inspired Wolves to win their second Division One title, and repeated the success the following season.
Unfortunately, European glory would always elude Wolves whose came closest to a continental title in their 1973 UEFA Cup Final defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. What cannot be denied, however, is the impact that Wolves, and the Daily Mail, had on European club football.
Although there had been plenty of unofficial tournaments over the past 50 years, it was the defeat of Honvéd and the subsequent reaction and persistence of Gabriel Hanot that sparked UEFA in to life and has led to so many of those great European nights that we’ve enjoyed over the years.
This is originally featured on the excellent The Equaliser
My Favourite XI: Championship/Football Manager
For me, Football Manager, and its Championship Manager predecessor is not a game, it’s more of a way of life. Wolves are always an interesting team on it, full of good players yet underperform when managed by the computer. Here is a rundown of my all-time Wolves CM/FM XI. I’ve gone for my favoured formation on CM, 4-3-1-2. Note, all players are players who started with the club, not signings I’ve made:
GK Matt Murray; FM2006
Goalkeepers have always been a little poor for Wolves, and it says a lot that the best of the lot was never a regular for my Wolves team, having to sit on the bench behind the Uruguyan Hector Carini. However, eventually he became England’s first choice, and never failed me when called upon. Sadly, towards the end of his career he decided that the grass was greener elsewhere, and departed in search of first-team football.
DR Serge Romano; CM96/97
A player signed in the summer of 1996, who went on to play a massive five games in real life (two starts). On CM96/97, Wolves were well blessed with rightbacks, and Romano had to fight off a young Jamie Smith for his starting spot, experience winning through. However, age eventually told, and he lost his place to a young whippersnapper by the name of Cafu, who went on to lead the Premier League goalscoring charts from rightback. For a couple of seasons, Romano was dependency personified before the years took their toll.
DC Dean Richards; CM98/99
It was writing my tribute to Deano that inspired me think about my greatest CM/FM team. Richards was a rock for Wolves, specialising in the centre of a back-3. However, he was more than capable of playing in a back-4. The only problem with him was his contract expired at the end of the season, and if you did not manage to get it renewed, Europe’s big boys all came sniffing around. Aged 24, he had ten years at the top level left him, and always went on to win numerous England caps.
DC Joleon Lescott; CM00/01
The only question about Jo was whether to include the CM00/01 version or the FM2006 one. Both were excellent, capable to making the step up to a higher level. I plumped the former version due to his age, just 19 meaning he had a number of years left in front of him. I pretty much signed him for whoever I was managing, and he never once let me down.
DL Lee Naylor; CM98/99
Just as the last six years have been characterised by a lack of a left back, so has Wolves’ CM/FM history. Lee Naylor, a Wolves supporter made over 300 Wolves appearances in real life, and stood out as a young 18 year old on CM98/99. Equally happy at fullback, or being played further forward as a wingback, he was never a player to go on to great things, but was a steady player who was capable of scoring goals.
CM Paul Cook; CM93/94
I was just 10 years old when I last played this version, so my memories are a little hazy, but I clearly remember Paul Cook’s gorgeous left peg. The short of player who would dominate games, I remember him getting numerous Man of the Match awards, who would also chip in with goals.
CM Fernando Gomez; CM98/99
Another player who many fans will have forgotten ever played for Wolves (20 starts + 2 sub appearances), but on CM98/99 he was a wonderful midfielder, guaranteed to get 20+ assists a season with 5 or 6 goals. Aged 33 when he arrived, longevity wasn’t on his side and as such his physical stats declined rapidly, but who needed pace when you had his vision. One of the best passers in the history of Wolves CM/FM history, I couldn’t see him and Cook ever giving the ball away.
CM Colin Cameron; CM01/02
This is probably a personal choice, as Cameron is one of my all-time favourite Wolves players, but he was excellent on CM01/02. Play him as a central midfielder with license to get forward, he would run all day and grab his fair share of goals. If you desired, it was generally possible to get £7-8 million at the end of the season, but why would you want to do that?
AMC Robbie Keane; CM98/99
I would put him forward as the greatest Wolves player ever on CM/FM, Aged just 18, he was a magician when played behind a front-two. A picture can tell a thousand words, this screenshot describes everything I want to say about him. Legend
SC Steven Fletcher; FM2011
The most recent player in the team, in his one and only season so far for Wolves. Links up beautifully with Kevin Doyle (how I wish this was real life), when played as a deep lying forward, he would drop in behind the lines and cause defenders and midfielders untold problems. Never a player to moan when not starting, his work ethic and effort (basically, he would put in a shift) were vital to a team with few stars.
SC Dean Sturridge; CM03/04
I didn’t play this version for long as I only got a computer that it would work on a month or so before Football Manager 2005 came out (I was still playing CM00/01 and 01/02 until then), but in the one season I remember, Sturridge got 27 Premier League goals. Given a free-role, he would play off the likes of Steffen Iversen and score goals. His all-round play wasn’t the best, but he was a goalscorer, and a godsend to a team with precious little in the rest of the team.
Follow me on Twitter: @toomb86
Follow me on Twitter: @toomb86
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wolves End of Season Awards
It’s that time of the season, my personal awards:
Match of the Season
Wolves 3-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Despite a number of historic victories against the elite of the Premier League, it is an exciting draw that will live long in the memory of everyone who attended it. Six goals, a should-have-been-red card, a penalty, two Jermain Defoe wonder goals and a late equaliser from a born again Steven Fletcher. And all of this followed an emotive tribute to Dean Richards who served both clubs with such distinction.
Biggest Disappointment
Following the troubles of Stephen Ward and George Elokobi in 2009/10, it was clear to all that a new left back was a priority. Step forward a giant Belgian international with an exciting name, who even scored in his third match. However, he never actually played at left back and only lasted beyond 45 minutes twice. Six appearances and one goal later and Jelle Van Damme was back in Belgium.
The Iwan Roberts Scoring Against The Baggies Award
It does not get much better than scoring your first goal for a new club away at their fiercest rivals. Unless that goal is a left-footed strike into the top corner from outside the area. It took Jamie O’Hara just 123 minutes of his Wolves career to become a hero with the fans, with no fewer than three different chants doing the rounds. O’Hara wasn’t the only one to make a difference against Albion, although it took Steven Fletcher slightly longer to make his mark. After a slow start to his Wolves career, injuries to Kevin Doyle and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake thrust Fletcher into the spotlight. Five goals in his last six games, including a Baggies Brace saw Fletcher become the club’s leading scorer in his debut season.
False Dawn of the Season
After fighting his way past Nenad Milijaš to become an integral part of team last season, David Jones started the season in fine fashion, with a clever free kick, reminiscent of Ernie Hunt against Everton in 1970. However, he would go onto start just another ten league games, and with his contract expiring this summer, he appears to have played his last game for the club.
Knee Surgeon of the Season
Dr Richard Stearman
Miss of the Season
Only one choice here; Miss Danielle Lloyd
The ‘I Wish I Hadn’t Bothered’ Award
Given our away record, the vast majority of games. But, given the distance and the pathetic first half performance it has to the trip to Newcastle. It took the players 50 minutes to realise they were in a match, but by that stage we were 3-0 down and being humiliated. Jonas Gutierrez’s late goal topped off a woeful day, with the prospect of a 238 mile trip home. What a perfect way to spend a beautifully sunny Saturday
Follow me on Twitter: @toomb86
Match of the Season
Wolves 3-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Despite a number of historic victories against the elite of the Premier League, it is an exciting draw that will live long in the memory of everyone who attended it. Six goals, a should-have-been-red card, a penalty, two Jermain Defoe wonder goals and a late equaliser from a born again Steven Fletcher. And all of this followed an emotive tribute to Dean Richards who served both clubs with such distinction.
Biggest Disappointment
Following the troubles of Stephen Ward and George Elokobi in 2009/10, it was clear to all that a new left back was a priority. Step forward a giant Belgian international with an exciting name, who even scored in his third match. However, he never actually played at left back and only lasted beyond 45 minutes twice. Six appearances and one goal later and Jelle Van Damme was back in Belgium.
The Iwan Roberts Scoring Against The Baggies Award
It does not get much better than scoring your first goal for a new club away at their fiercest rivals. Unless that goal is a left-footed strike into the top corner from outside the area. It took Jamie O’Hara just 123 minutes of his Wolves career to become a hero with the fans, with no fewer than three different chants doing the rounds. O’Hara wasn’t the only one to make a difference against Albion, although it took Steven Fletcher slightly longer to make his mark. After a slow start to his Wolves career, injuries to Kevin Doyle and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake thrust Fletcher into the spotlight. Five goals in his last six games, including a Baggies Brace saw Fletcher become the club’s leading scorer in his debut season.
False Dawn of the Season
After fighting his way past Nenad Milijaš to become an integral part of team last season, David Jones started the season in fine fashion, with a clever free kick, reminiscent of Ernie Hunt against Everton in 1970. However, he would go onto start just another ten league games, and with his contract expiring this summer, he appears to have played his last game for the club.
Knee Surgeon of the Season
Dr Richard Stearman
Miss of the Season
Only one choice here; Miss Danielle Lloyd
The ‘I Wish I Hadn’t Bothered’ Award
Given our away record, the vast majority of games. But, given the distance and the pathetic first half performance it has to the trip to Newcastle. It took the players 50 minutes to realise they were in a match, but by that stage we were 3-0 down and being humiliated. Jonas Gutierrez’s late goal topped off a woeful day, with the prospect of a 238 mile trip home. What a perfect way to spend a beautifully sunny Saturday
Follow me on Twitter: @toomb86
Sunday, May 22, 2011
A Gripping End to the Season - Wolves 2-3 Blackburn
Football, bloody hell. I'm not sure I can go through at again. In theory, I'm only 25 but I feel 65 today. My hands and legs are still shaking and my heart is beating nineteen to the dozen.
- I headed to Molineux dreading it. No-one in the press seemed to be considering us for relegation, while our odds of 8-1 seemed far too generous given our history of messing up against the teams around us. I thought we would get a draw, and was just praying that the other teams would not get the wins they needed.
- The team was exactly how I expected it to be, Matt Jarvis reinstated after his cameo at the Stadium of Light last week. Personally, I don't think Jarvis plays well in a 4-4-2 as it means he has to start slightly narrower and he doesn't have the security of the three man midfield behind him.
- No matter how euphoric the management and players feel now, it should not erase the memory of a first half performance that was arguably the most inept and pathetic of the season. Even the successive disintegrations against Newcastle United and Everton were better than this.
- The defence was very poor. Junior Hoilett and Martin Olsson gave Kevin Foley a tough time in the early stages before he started to get to grips with them. On the other side, George Elokobi looked the most secure; probably aided by the fact he was up against Brett Emerton whose primary strength is his size rather than pace.
- The central defenders allowed themselves to be battered by Jason Roberts and Hoilett, and neither played well. While it was Michael Mancienne who was withdrawn at halftime, it could easily have been Jody Craddock who now looks his years. While he adds a degree of calm and leadership to the defence, his creaking body isn't up to the pace of the Premier League. If we are still relying on him next season, I will be extremely worried.
- In the middle of the park, Blackburn's defensive pairing of Steven N'Zonzi and Jermaine Jones dominated Karl Henry and Jamie O'Hara. When we did manage to the get the ball, there was often too much distance between them and so the ball either headed backwards or high balls forward that was food and drink to Phil Jones and Christopher Samba.
- Each and every one of you will have had your own emotions this afternoon, so I'm not going to repeat them. All I will say is that I've never had a range of emotions like them - anticipation, anger, sadness, hope, despair and ultimately joy. Even when I've been waiting on exam results that could decide the path that my life will take in the future, I've felt nothing like I've felt today.
- I barely noticed the play on the pitch in the second half, other than the two well taken goals. O'Hara's was similar to his goal against Albion. Hunt's is a late contender for goal of the season, a swerving, dipping strike that gave Paul Robinson no chance.
- The second half was spent concentrating on the other games. As usual, reception for my phone was rubbish, so it was the old fashioned wireless for me. I ended up updating all the people around me, quashing the rumours that were flooding through the fans. Unless one fan was psychic and predicting goals 10 minutes before they went in, there was a massive amount of disinformation.
- The reaction of the crowd was excellent. From chants of 'United, United' following Manchester United's equaliser against Blackpool, to 'One Goal, We Only Need One Goal' when we realised we were going down on goal difference. I didn't really need the radio; you could almost work out what was going on just by looking at the faces of those around me.
- The atmosphere after the match was excellent. Blackburn's players were deservedly applauded back onto the pitch and joint chanting with their fans was like nothing I've ever seen before. I've particularly been a fan of Blackburn, especially during the Mark Hughes era, but I think that today brought both sets of fans together, united in relief at another Premier League season.
- Finally, a word on those around us. Before the match, if I had to pick a team I wanted to be facing next season, it was Wigan. I have a lot of time for Roberto Martinez, his teams always to try to play football, and to stay in the Premier League for 7 successive seasons is a remarkable achievement, especially if you think that the likes of Leighton Baines, Titus Bramble, Wilson Palacios, Antonio Valencia, Lee Cattermole, Emile Heskey, Jimmy Bullard and Pascal Chimbonda have all departed the club. I like Blackpool as a club, but Ian Holloway has annoyed me more and more over season, and his rant this week that the Premier League wants to see them relegated was laughable.
- Most of all, I'm pleased we've registered our place in the Premier League next season, but if ever Mick McCarthy needed a reminder that this team needs investment, today should have done the job.
Follow me on Twitter: @toomb86
- I headed to Molineux dreading it. No-one in the press seemed to be considering us for relegation, while our odds of 8-1 seemed far too generous given our history of messing up against the teams around us. I thought we would get a draw, and was just praying that the other teams would not get the wins they needed.
- The team was exactly how I expected it to be, Matt Jarvis reinstated after his cameo at the Stadium of Light last week. Personally, I don't think Jarvis plays well in a 4-4-2 as it means he has to start slightly narrower and he doesn't have the security of the three man midfield behind him.
- No matter how euphoric the management and players feel now, it should not erase the memory of a first half performance that was arguably the most inept and pathetic of the season. Even the successive disintegrations against Newcastle United and Everton were better than this.
- The defence was very poor. Junior Hoilett and Martin Olsson gave Kevin Foley a tough time in the early stages before he started to get to grips with them. On the other side, George Elokobi looked the most secure; probably aided by the fact he was up against Brett Emerton whose primary strength is his size rather than pace.
- The central defenders allowed themselves to be battered by Jason Roberts and Hoilett, and neither played well. While it was Michael Mancienne who was withdrawn at halftime, it could easily have been Jody Craddock who now looks his years. While he adds a degree of calm and leadership to the defence, his creaking body isn't up to the pace of the Premier League. If we are still relying on him next season, I will be extremely worried.
- In the middle of the park, Blackburn's defensive pairing of Steven N'Zonzi and Jermaine Jones dominated Karl Henry and Jamie O'Hara. When we did manage to the get the ball, there was often too much distance between them and so the ball either headed backwards or high balls forward that was food and drink to Phil Jones and Christopher Samba.
- Each and every one of you will have had your own emotions this afternoon, so I'm not going to repeat them. All I will say is that I've never had a range of emotions like them - anticipation, anger, sadness, hope, despair and ultimately joy. Even when I've been waiting on exam results that could decide the path that my life will take in the future, I've felt nothing like I've felt today.
- I barely noticed the play on the pitch in the second half, other than the two well taken goals. O'Hara's was similar to his goal against Albion. Hunt's is a late contender for goal of the season, a swerving, dipping strike that gave Paul Robinson no chance.
- The second half was spent concentrating on the other games. As usual, reception for my phone was rubbish, so it was the old fashioned wireless for me. I ended up updating all the people around me, quashing the rumours that were flooding through the fans. Unless one fan was psychic and predicting goals 10 minutes before they went in, there was a massive amount of disinformation.
- The reaction of the crowd was excellent. From chants of 'United, United' following Manchester United's equaliser against Blackpool, to 'One Goal, We Only Need One Goal' when we realised we were going down on goal difference. I didn't really need the radio; you could almost work out what was going on just by looking at the faces of those around me.
- The atmosphere after the match was excellent. Blackburn's players were deservedly applauded back onto the pitch and joint chanting with their fans was like nothing I've ever seen before. I've particularly been a fan of Blackburn, especially during the Mark Hughes era, but I think that today brought both sets of fans together, united in relief at another Premier League season.
- Finally, a word on those around us. Before the match, if I had to pick a team I wanted to be facing next season, it was Wigan. I have a lot of time for Roberto Martinez, his teams always to try to play football, and to stay in the Premier League for 7 successive seasons is a remarkable achievement, especially if you think that the likes of Leighton Baines, Titus Bramble, Wilson Palacios, Antonio Valencia, Lee Cattermole, Emile Heskey, Jimmy Bullard and Pascal Chimbonda have all departed the club. I like Blackpool as a club, but Ian Holloway has annoyed me more and more over season, and his rant this week that the Premier League wants to see them relegated was laughable.
- Most of all, I'm pleased we've registered our place in the Premier League next season, but if ever Mick McCarthy needed a reminder that this team needs investment, today should have done the job.
Follow me on Twitter: @toomb86
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Wolves 3-1 West Brom
I'm sat on the train at Wolverhampton station, surrounded by Albion fans, trying to keep the big smile off my face. Wolves 3, Albion 1. Who would have thought it?
I'm going to start with a few comments on Steven Fletcher. Any of you who have read me on here before know of my deep and undying love for the Irish god that is Kevin Doyle. However, I may have another striker in my sights. Fletcher now has 7 goals in 12 starts. To put it another way, he is averaging a goal every 175 minutes. If you take the age old ratio of a goal every two games as being the target, he is starting to look every inch a £7 million striker.
He didn't stop running today. I thought that very few strikers worked as hard as Doyle, but Fletcher is not far off. In addition, despite being quite wiry, he wins his fair share of headers and has surely overtaken Sylvan Ebanks-Blake in the pecking order. His link up play is the best of any of our strikers, and he appears to be developing a partnership with fan's favourite Stephen Ward. The only complaint is the lack of an original song for him - may I suggest 'Fletcher's gonna getcha' for next week?
When two teams play 4-4-2, and are of similar ability, most often the team that wants it more will be victorious, and so it proved today. I don't think I can fault a single player today. Even Elokobi coped admirably against Somen Tchoi. I think at first he was taken aback to be facing a winger who is bigger than him, but with the help of Stephen Hunt ahead of him, he coped admirably.
And speaking of Hunt, was this his finest performance in a Wolves shirt? If Fletcher was man of the match, Hunt ran him close. When he played earlier in the season, he looked short of fitness and sharpness and many fans were worried he was a long way past his best. However, he made a positive impact last week, and grabbed his chance with both hands today. He loves a scrap, and I can definitely see him becoming a midfield snotter when his pace finally goes. That hasn't happened yet, he gave Gonzalo Jara a tough game and always looked to support the strikers.
While we’re talking about players called Stephen/Steven, a shout for Ward. By my reckoning, he’s now played at left back, left midfield, right midfield, center midfield and upfront this season. He can’t train for every single one of these positions, and that showed a little today; he had a tendency to run offside which has surely come about due to a lack of playing time upfront. Yet, he was excellent. He played well against Birmingham last week, but stepped up his performance this week. Had he kept his head towards the end, he surely would have scored one of the goals of the season.
The most pleasing aspect of today’s game was the return of the fight. That has been the most important characteristic of the season so far, but it had been gone since the Newcastle match. Last night, I was genuinely unsure at to where our next win was going to come from. Not because of a lack of quality in the team, but due to the players not looking like they had the confidence to go on and win games. It’s amazing what going 3-0 up will do. Saying that, when Albion pulled the goal back, you could physically see their heads drop, and we were lucky to get away with only conceding one goal in that spell of pressure. With a bit of luck, the fact we did only concede one will get into the player’s minds.
We have two games left, one win will probably be enough, and four points will almost certainly be enough. Whatever your personal views on Mick McCarthy, or Jez Moxey, or individual players, now is the time to bite your lip and concentrate on getting behind the team. You could see how much this win meant to the players – they want to be playing in the Premier League next season just as much as we want to be watching it. We have put ourselves in a great position to stay up, now is the time for positivity.
For more views, follow me on Twitter: toomb86
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Birmingham 1-1 Wolves
Wolves today drew 1-1 with Birmingham City. Steven Fletcher gave Wolves the lead from the penalty spot following Ben Foster bringing down Steven Ward, before Seb Larsson equalized after a Michael Mancienne mistake. With Birmingham down to ten men following the sending off of Craig Gardner, Wolves pressed for the winner but to no avail.
- I got into St Andrews without knowing the lineups, and first saw them on Sky Sports News on a television inside the ground. Despite knowing who was playing, I had absolutely no idea where half of them would play. Stephen Ward could just have easily been playing left or centre midfield as the striker position he ended up playing. While this indicates the flexibility of the squad, it also suggests we have a number of players without a defined position. Can they train the skills needed for differing positions to the same extent as if they specialised?
- When the players lined up, and I realised we were going with a 4-4-2, I could not understand why we needed both Richard Stearman and Kevin Foley down the right hand side. Had Birmingham had a roving left back I could understand it, but they had Liam Ridgewell, effectively a central defender masquerading as a fullback. In front of him was Lee Bowyer. While he's an effective player, at no point was he going to go past Stearman through pace, so why the need to negate our attacking play by putting a fullback as a winger?
- Despite it being a gloriously sunny day, it was actually a little cold inside the ground in the shade, purely due to the swirling wind. I was initially worried about Wayne Hennessey dealing with crosses, but I should actually have been more concerned with Michael Mancienne. I think he was trying to duck out the way to allow the ball to bounce through the keeper, but the wind maybe just held the ball up a little more than he expected.
- While Mancienne was clearly at fault for the goal, I thought the way he bounced back belied a maturity beyond his years. Both Jody Craddock and George Elokobi instantly went to Mancienne following the mistake to ensure his confidence wasn't completely shot. To make a mistake that early when you're just feeling your way into the team would have eaten up some players, never mind that it was in a relegation battle and a local derby. Maybe it’s because Mancienne doesn't care as much as others - he'll most likely be back at Chelsea next season whatever, but he shook the mistake off and gave a generally gave a very accomplished performance for the remaining 63 minutes.
- Kevin who? Many of you who read this regularly know of my deep and undying love for Kevin Doyle, but Steven Fletcher has been excellent since coming into the starting lineup. While he may look a slightly flimsy player, he wins more than his fair share of headers, and is decent with his back towards to goal. I'm not sure whether Mick McCarthy was just reluctant to trust him, or whether Fletcher has just taken an awful long time to find his feet at Wolves, but it’s a pity he's only just starting to show what he can do.
- Has Mick been taking tips from his American namesake, Green Bay Packers' coach Mike McCarthy, an NFL coach? I lost count of the times that we obstructed Birmingham players with no attempt to go for the ball. I've got used to seeing Christophe Berra do it, but I always thought this was just his style of play. Seeing Matt Jarvis do it though makes me wonder whether it's being coached and the players are being encouraged to block opponents. Birmingham could easily have had a penalty on 34 minutes when Elokobi jumped into Roger Johnson with no consideration for where the ball was at all.
- So, 1-1, Birmingham down to ten men. Surely you'd have thought we'd have had the odd shot? Ben Foster made one save the entire match; a pea roller from Jamie O'Hara that I'm not even sure was on target. We had lots of territorial position, and admittedly Johnson and Martin Jiranek made a number of blocks, but to play for 60 minutes with the opposition one down and hit the target with just one shot is a damning statistic and may go partly to explaining the predicament we are currently in.
- Talking of shots, one player who isn't afraid to have a pop, Adlene Guedioura seemed prepped and ready to come on at one stage in the second half. I assumed it would be for Karl Henry; there was no real need for a defensive midfielder at that stage with both Barry Ferguson and Bowyer happy sitting deep in front of the defense. Instead, Sam Vokes came on for Ward. At this stage, I thought it might have been Elokobi who came off. Seb Larsson wasn't getting forward much down their right flank, and Ward is obviously a better player going forward than Elokobi. I also thought that Elokobi could have been withdrawn when Stephen Hunt was introduced, with Hunt playing at left back, a position he played semi-regularly at Reading when Bobby Convey was also fit.
- After the Tottenham Hotspur match, I wrote that there's not a lot of point the referee getting all the little decisions correct if they make poor calls for the big ones. Today it felt equally infuriating to see Kevin Friend get the big calls correct, but make baffling little ones. It cannot have been an easy game to referee; the first half especially was like a typical old fashioned local derby with neither team giving an inch, and plenty of whole hearted tackling.
- Are these two points dropped or one gained? Yesterday’s results put pressure on today’s result, while the result at the Emirates (1-0 Arsenal as I write) is working in our favour. Birmingham is a difficult to beat at St Andrews and needed to avoid defeat to prevent being dragged back into the relegation battle. The two remaining home games and the trip to Sunderland whose players heads are already clearly on their holidays should be enough for us to get the necessary points for survival. Saying that, 60 minutes against ten men should be long enough to get a winning goal, and those extra two potential points could easily be the difference when it comes to judgment day.
- Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/toomb86
- I got into St Andrews without knowing the lineups, and first saw them on Sky Sports News on a television inside the ground. Despite knowing who was playing, I had absolutely no idea where half of them would play. Stephen Ward could just have easily been playing left or centre midfield as the striker position he ended up playing. While this indicates the flexibility of the squad, it also suggests we have a number of players without a defined position. Can they train the skills needed for differing positions to the same extent as if they specialised?
- When the players lined up, and I realised we were going with a 4-4-2, I could not understand why we needed both Richard Stearman and Kevin Foley down the right hand side. Had Birmingham had a roving left back I could understand it, but they had Liam Ridgewell, effectively a central defender masquerading as a fullback. In front of him was Lee Bowyer. While he's an effective player, at no point was he going to go past Stearman through pace, so why the need to negate our attacking play by putting a fullback as a winger?
- Despite it being a gloriously sunny day, it was actually a little cold inside the ground in the shade, purely due to the swirling wind. I was initially worried about Wayne Hennessey dealing with crosses, but I should actually have been more concerned with Michael Mancienne. I think he was trying to duck out the way to allow the ball to bounce through the keeper, but the wind maybe just held the ball up a little more than he expected.
- While Mancienne was clearly at fault for the goal, I thought the way he bounced back belied a maturity beyond his years. Both Jody Craddock and George Elokobi instantly went to Mancienne following the mistake to ensure his confidence wasn't completely shot. To make a mistake that early when you're just feeling your way into the team would have eaten up some players, never mind that it was in a relegation battle and a local derby. Maybe it’s because Mancienne doesn't care as much as others - he'll most likely be back at Chelsea next season whatever, but he shook the mistake off and gave a generally gave a very accomplished performance for the remaining 63 minutes.
- Kevin who? Many of you who read this regularly know of my deep and undying love for Kevin Doyle, but Steven Fletcher has been excellent since coming into the starting lineup. While he may look a slightly flimsy player, he wins more than his fair share of headers, and is decent with his back towards to goal. I'm not sure whether Mick McCarthy was just reluctant to trust him, or whether Fletcher has just taken an awful long time to find his feet at Wolves, but it’s a pity he's only just starting to show what he can do.
- Has Mick been taking tips from his American namesake, Green Bay Packers' coach Mike McCarthy, an NFL coach? I lost count of the times that we obstructed Birmingham players with no attempt to go for the ball. I've got used to seeing Christophe Berra do it, but I always thought this was just his style of play. Seeing Matt Jarvis do it though makes me wonder whether it's being coached and the players are being encouraged to block opponents. Birmingham could easily have had a penalty on 34 minutes when Elokobi jumped into Roger Johnson with no consideration for where the ball was at all.
- So, 1-1, Birmingham down to ten men. Surely you'd have thought we'd have had the odd shot? Ben Foster made one save the entire match; a pea roller from Jamie O'Hara that I'm not even sure was on target. We had lots of territorial position, and admittedly Johnson and Martin Jiranek made a number of blocks, but to play for 60 minutes with the opposition one down and hit the target with just one shot is a damning statistic and may go partly to explaining the predicament we are currently in.
- Talking of shots, one player who isn't afraid to have a pop, Adlene Guedioura seemed prepped and ready to come on at one stage in the second half. I assumed it would be for Karl Henry; there was no real need for a defensive midfielder at that stage with both Barry Ferguson and Bowyer happy sitting deep in front of the defense. Instead, Sam Vokes came on for Ward. At this stage, I thought it might have been Elokobi who came off. Seb Larsson wasn't getting forward much down their right flank, and Ward is obviously a better player going forward than Elokobi. I also thought that Elokobi could have been withdrawn when Stephen Hunt was introduced, with Hunt playing at left back, a position he played semi-regularly at Reading when Bobby Convey was also fit.
- After the Tottenham Hotspur match, I wrote that there's not a lot of point the referee getting all the little decisions correct if they make poor calls for the big ones. Today it felt equally infuriating to see Kevin Friend get the big calls correct, but make baffling little ones. It cannot have been an easy game to referee; the first half especially was like a typical old fashioned local derby with neither team giving an inch, and plenty of whole hearted tackling.
- Are these two points dropped or one gained? Yesterday’s results put pressure on today’s result, while the result at the Emirates (1-0 Arsenal as I write) is working in our favour. Birmingham is a difficult to beat at St Andrews and needed to avoid defeat to prevent being dragged back into the relegation battle. The two remaining home games and the trip to Sunderland whose players heads are already clearly on their holidays should be enough for us to get the necessary points for survival. Saying that, 60 minutes against ten men should be long enough to get a winning goal, and those extra two potential points could easily be the difference when it comes to judgment day.
- Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/toomb86
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)