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

Against the title challengers, surely there are very few expectations? But we managed to turn Molineux into a fortress, gaining nine points from the four home games. Away from home, it was as to be expected, failing to score in three of matches. However, any team averaging over a point against these teams will be happy.

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

Conversely, our home record against the teams just below was abysmal. Each of these home games were live on Sky, but whereas the two Saturday lunchtime games against Merseyside teams were disappointing, the emotional match against Tottenham was the best 90 minutes I saw all season. The concession of three goals in each home match is a worry. The four points gained away from home is a good return, with Liverpool being the highest ranked team we won away points against.

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

Those teams in the mid-table were our biggest friends in terms of winning points, seeing our highest point/game ratio. Our home form was particularly good, losing only two of the seven matches, while Sunderland, West Brom and Stoke were all dispatched. Away from home, wins at Aston Villa and Sunderland were vital towards the end of the season, but these were offset by poor performances and results at Newcastle, Stoke and Bolton.

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

Rather like last season, this is the main area for concern. In our ten matches against the teams around us, we mustered eight points, with just one coming away from home. Perhaps most worrying is the nature of defeats at Blackburn, Wigan and West Ham; each of them was a deserved defeat that could have cost us. This is definitely an area to be improved on next season; we can't be being beaten two and three-nil by the teams at the bottom of the league. Our home form was slightly better, but again, defeats to Wigan and Blackburn should be cast as disappointments, while only Blackpool was beaten comfortably.

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.

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.


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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

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.

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Wolves unstuck by Toffees

Today, Everton ran out comfortable winners at Molineux, thanks to goals from Jermaine Beckford, Phil Neville and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov.

- First of all, let's say it. Everton are a very good team who has underperformed this season. While they are stricken with injuries, David Moyes has somehow managed to claw his way up the league, and the form table gives a terrific indication of the way they're playing at the moment. This was always one of the tougher games of the run in, and should we go down, it certainly won't be down to this loss.

- The lineup surprised me, who'd have thought Guedioura was going to start? I assumed he'd play to try and shut Leighton Baines down, easily Everton's best attacking player and arguably the best left back in the Premier League this season. Guedioura did a reasonable job as Baines wasn't as involved as he has been in recent weeks. The problem here is that Everton's strength going forward on the left is also a massive weakness, conceding a disproportionate number of goals down this flank and we had no-one to turn Baines and really look to attack him.

- Saying that, it's dangerous to focus on just one opposing player, and I tweeted before the match that Leon Osman had been looking good in recent weeks (@toomb86 seeing as you asked. Thanks) and he played well, setting up the first goal and generally looking to link their attack and midfield.

- Talking of the first goal, it was very poorly defended. Firstly George Elokobi let Osman run past him, and then neither Richard Stearman nor Christophe Berra successfully picked up Jermaine Beckford who gave them the lead. Generally, Berra and Stearman have played well together, but maybe it's time to bring Jody Craddock back into the team. Our back-5 has relatively little Premier League experience, and Craddock's nous will only improve the defence.

- Saying that, I couldn't really decide what the problem was defensively. Initially, I thought we were defending too deep. There was a massive gap between the midfield and defence that was most noticeable when Osman and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov drifted into it to good effect. On the other hand, given the ease at which Magaye Gueye and Beckford were able to beat the offside trap, maybe we were defending with too high a line.

- Halftime saw a change; Michael Kightly on for his first Molineux appearance in 16 months was replaced by Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Interestingly, Kightly initially played in behind Fletcher with Guedioura keeping his position wide right before they switched. Does this mean that the return of Kightly has pushed Adam Hammill down the pecking order? Hammill has shone in flashes, but for me drifts in and out of matches too much. Given the role Kightly played when he came on, could we see a genuine 4-2-3-1 formation in two weeks, with Hammill, Kightly and Matt Jarvis all playing in behind Steven Fletcher?

- Or, could we go for something completely different? We finished the game without a recognised striker on the pitch. I've long wanted to see a team try this, former Brazil manager Carlos Alberto Parreira has claimed that this is the future, while AS Roma played a version of it with Francesco Totti as the focal point.

- Whatever we do upfront, it’s clear how much we are missing Kevin Doyle. When news came through of the returns of Kightly, Michael Mancienne and Guedioura, my instant reaction was that I’d swap all of them for a fit Doyle. While Ebanks-Blake and Fletcher have their own strengths, even when played together they don’t offer the same things that Doyle does. Those of you who read these regularly know how deep my love for ‘Doyler’ goes, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s far and away our most important player.

- How many people would have been happy with three draws from the matches at Aston Villa, Newcastle United and today? We've taken three points from those games, but have finished with a goal difference of -5. Given how close it is at the bottom of the league, how important could that be?

- Yes, today was a poor performance, but I'm not sure it warranted the booing at either halftime or the final whistle. The players didn't play well, but I don't think there was a particular lack of effort. They want to be playing Premier League football next season just as much as we want to be watching it. Now is not the time to be getting on the players' backs, now is the time to support them and provide a united front in the game against Fulham in two weeks.

- Did today's game remind you of any other match? 12:45 kick off; live on Sky, at home to a team from Liverpool? It was always going to finish 3-0, with Bilyaletdinov's goal a worthy contender to the wonder strike from Raul Meireles.

- Talking of which, how many times are we going to see Wolves conceding goal of the month contenders? Bilyaletdinov's today will surely be included, following goals from Meireles, David Varney and Jermain Defoe's double for Tottenham earlier in the season.

- I wasn't sat in my normal South Bank seat today as my Everton supporting parents came along to see the match, so I was forced to sit down. Was today's result a cunning plan by Jez Moxey? I don't think there was anyone standing in the Jack Harris in the last half hour.

- If there was a positive today, it was the play of Guedioura and Kightly. Both are returning from lengthy injury layoffs, and it was brilliant to see them both wearing the Old Gold shirts again. Both will surely be a boost to our relegation fight, and it certainly gives Mick McCarthy options.