Roberto Martinez is given permission to speak to Liverpool and is one of several candidates shortlisted to succeed Kenny Dalglish.
stewartg83
May 182012
May 182012
May 182012
For Liverpool supporters the last seven days have been a
rather like that of rollercoaster because of the difference in performances
that we have witnessed. Last Tuesday we
caught up with our postponed fixtures and faced Fulham at Anfield and because
of what had happened on previous Saturday, everyone thought that the result was
going to be a foregone conclusion.
That result of course was the 4-0 routing by Everton and
with it having left the Fulham team demoralised, nobody believed that they
would leave Anfield with a result. They
did of course, because the football Liverpool served up on the Tuesday evening
was nothing less than shameful.
There was no cohesion in the way the players were going
about their job. Nobody seemed to know
who was playing where so consequently massive mistakes were made and Fulham
quickly took the lead with an own goal by Martin Skrtel. Now Martin as we know has been pivotal part
of the Liverpool squad this season and if it had not been for his and Daniel
Agger’s heroics for most of the season, the goal tally from the opposition
teams could have been a lot higher than it was.
Liverpool of course never recovered from this and having
witnessed ninety minutes of rubbish, Liverpool supporters were leaving Anfield
early. This of course is not normal
where Liverpool supporters are concerned but I guess there comes a time when,
you have to register your disgust in the only way that you know how. Those that stayed booed the team of the
pitch.
A lot of people said that it was just another of those
games, but when you look back at the season we have seen plenty of those and
quite frankly the effort put in by the team has simply not been good enough.
Last Saturday of course was the day that every Liverpool
supporter had looked forward too for several weeks. It was FA Cup Final day and as always appears
to happen; several obstacles had been put in the way to ensure that it was
going to be a challenge to get there and back to Merseyside. But where Liverpudlians are concerned, where
there is a will, there is a way and make it they did. In fact when you saw the shots of the stadium
you knew that there were certainly more there than the 25,000 tickets that had
been allocated to Liverpool Football club.
Everyone of course felt that the team would redeem
themselves during this game but within minutes of the start, it became clear
that yet again the players did not know in what position they were supposed to
be playing or indeed who they were marking because what we had to sit and
witness for the first hour was yet again another horror story.
Since Saturday a lot of people have laid the blame fairly
and squarely on young Jay Spearing because he made a mistake, a mistake that
was probably down to nerves more than anything else, for the simply reason as
we witnessed throughout the afternoon, Wembley can do that to even the most
seasoned of footballers
Chelsea of course capitalized on it and were 1-0 up within a
couple of minutes and set the tempo for next hour. Now you would have thought, this would have
shaken Liverpool up, but it did not and the inevitable second goal arrived thus
signalling to Liverpool that Chelsea were no longer the Chelsea that they beat
several times earlier in the season
Now I have no idea about what went on in the dressing room
at half time, but again it became clear during the first fifteen minutes of the
second half that they had not listened.
Then Kenny did, what perhaps he should have done when he wrote his team
down.
He brought Andy Carroll into the fray and although I can
only guess about what has happened since the dire performance on Tuesday, but
what we saw in front of us for the final 30 minutes of the game was a
revelation. Here we had a player, who
seemed to do no right, but his passing and his movement was superb and he was
reading the game properly.
So much so that he scored and brought Liverpool back into
the game. Chelsea of course were tiring by that time, but suddenly it seemed as
though they could not fathom out how to break down the newly resurgent
Liverpool team. A Liverpool team that
worked hard enough to ensure that in the final couple of minutes Andy had a
goal disallowed. Now that goal of course
would have taken the Final into extra time, but it was deemed to have not
crossed the line and whether it did or not will remain one of life’s
mysteries. It also ensured that Chelsea
were the 2012 FA Cup Winners.
But as I have said above Revenge in many forms can be
extremely sweet and it certainly was.
Liverpool was due to play Chelsea at Anfield on the
Tuesday. This was of course their last
game in front of their home crowd and to be honest it was one that they had to
win to ensure that their final position in the Premiership was a lot more
respectable than it could have been.
They also owed it to Kenny and the supporters because of the dreadful
could not give a damn attitude that most of them held all season.
Chelsea I suspect felt that they could walk all over
Liverpool once again and with the Champions League Final eleven days away,
Roberto Di Matteo chose what a lot of people would call his reserve side. This included Fernando Torres who as we know
left Anfield last January for reasons that are still not clear to this day.
Liverpool also fielded a different line-up with both Stevie
G and Enrique missing due to tightness after the cup final. It was a line-up that included Jonjo Shelvey
and Maxi Rodriquex as well as Andy Carroll and everyone wondered if they would
continue where they left off last Saturday.
They did of course and what we saw in front of us was
fantastic to watch. Every one of the
players was determined to make a point.
The passing and the speed of the ball was fantastic and the element of
surprise that ran through the Chelsea team led to the first goal of the
game. There appeared to be some
confusion in the goalmouth and with Luis Suarez beside him, Essen scored an own
goal.
Anfield suddenly become alive on the pitch and in the
stands. The Kop led the singing with
renditions of Kenny and Suarez’s name. Also included were some nasty remarks
aimed at Torres but I guess that people had to vent their anger at some point.
The best of course was yet to come and with Chelsea being
run ragged by Luis Suarez and the newly confident Andy Carroll, what we saw in
front of us, was for all intents and purposes amazing.
We also saw goals from Daniel Agger and Jordan Henderson who
had picked up a wonderful ball from Maxi which found the back of the net, plus
of course the obligatory missed penalty kick from Stuart Downing.
This was the Liverpool that we should have been watching all
season and I sincerely hope that come August, it will be the Liverpool that we
see once again.
Chelsea I guess must have been relieved when half time
arrived, because there was no getting away from it, they were awful and as much
as I hate to say it, it was wonderful to see.
Roberto Di Matteo did make any changes until a quarter of
the way into the second half and it was only then that Chelsea seemed to show
any effort. Liverpool had slowed down at
this particular point and it led to the inevitable goal. With only a two cushion, Liverpool of course
needed to wake up quickly and recover their authority over the game.
The game was not over though and it did not take long for
Liverpool to put another ball in the back of the net. This time it was the turn of Jonjo who picked
sent one of his trademark shots towards the goal. This time, it found the back of the net and I
guess will go into its rightful place in the clubs history.
The match was drawing to a close when Kenny decided to make
a couple substitutions. He took off Maxi
and Stuart Downing and replaced them with young Raheem Stirling and Dirk
Kuyt. Now Dirk did what he always does
and began to weave in and out of the players but young Raheem on another day
could have found a place in Liverpool’s history books. He picked up a ball and ran towards the goal
only to see his shot go over the post. A
shot, which perhaps on another day would have found the back of the net.
Liverpool of course kept going and when referee Kevin Friend
blew the final whistle it not only marked the end of a fantastic game but possibly
the end of Maxi and Dirk’s Anfield Careers.
A quick look around the football news sites today and one story leaps out to suggest that it’s a very quiet day on the Spurs news front. Alessandro Del Piero is being linked with a move to the Premier League, most notably to Tottenham, Arsenal and QPR. The veteran Italian forward is out of contract [...]
England boss Roy Hodgson has admitted that Scott Parker could still miss Euro 2012. The Tottenham midfielder missed the final games of the season with an Achilles tendon injury. It is hoped that an injection will fix the problem, if not the worrying news for us Spurs fans is that an operation would rule out [...]
Wolves and Everton played out a 0-0 draw in real end of season style to bring an end to Premier League football at Molineux for a minimum of 15 months. I can’t recall Wolves having a shot on target and although Everton had a couple of goals disallowed it was not a game in which either team deserved any glory. Wolves were without Foley and Jarvis through injury so Connor was forced to make a couple of changes with Zubar and Hunt recalled;
Hennessey
Zubar, Stearman, Zubar, Ward
Kightly, Henry, Edwards, Hunt
Doyle, Fletcher
It was the first League game that Jarvis had missed all season spoiling his 100% record, leaving Stephen Ward as the only ever present.
Berra headed wide from a good position when he went forward for a corner and then Pienaar shot wide for Everton after being let in by Stearman. That was about it for goalmouth action in the first half. Early in the second Fletcher headed the ball across goal and Stearman got on the end of it only to provide a clearance rather than a shot. Berra left the field injured to be replaced by Elokobi returning from his loan at Forest. Interesting that he was chosen to come on ahead of Roger Johnson who was the subject of lots of sarcastic abuse from the Wolves fans during the game.
Wolves produced a good move ending in Henry setting up Kightly whose shot was no better than all the others from the Wolves players on the day. But Everton looked the more likely scorers and Jelavic brought a save out of De Vries, then Fellaini shot wide and when sub Straqualarsi got the ball in the net the offside flag ruled it out probably incorrectly as it was not the scorer who was offside.
So Connor has still not won a match after 12 attempts and I still check if it’s April Fools Day when I read articles suggesting he might be manager next season. At least the draw meant Wolves did not equal the Premier League record for successive home defeats and it did mean Wolves kept a clean sheet at Molineux for the first time since August.
But this was a game to forget at the end of a season that many will also want to forget. Come August lets hope we have a new manager, a refreshed squad and we see some goals and entertainment, and bounce back to the top flight to stay.
Wolves play their last home game of 2011/12 on Sunday against Everton at 14:00 and it will be the last Premier League game at Molineux for a minimum of 15 months. It’s a game where Wolves have nothing more to lose and nothing to gain other than putting an end to one of the worst run of results in their history. It will be a sad day in many ways as it puts at least a temporary stop to the hope that Wolves were on the way to re-establsihing themselves as a top flight team after a long 30 years in the wilderness. But for most Wolves fans it will be a relief to see an end to a season that went pear shaped after one month and became a catastrophe since McCarthy was shown the door in February.
The longest winless run in Wolves history was in the 1984/85 season when they were relegated from the old Division 2. In that season they went 19 games without a win between December and April and managed to end the run in their penultimate game of the season and their last home game of that season by beating Huddersfield at Molineux. The current winless run stretches to 12 games including the final game of the McCarthy reign. In fact Wolves have only won one game, away at QPR, in their last 24 games in all competitions. So will they again relieve a little of the gloom by winning the penultimate game of the season and the last home game? You would have to say the probability is no.
Everton are playing as well as any team in the country on current form. Liverpool and Arsenal are the only teams to have beaten them since the middle of January and having been a solid Premier League team for many years under manager David Moyes they have now found a striker in Nikica Jelavic that has turned them into a team that scores goals too and they recently scored 4 in three successive league games including away at Old Trafford. Jelavic has scored 8 in 8 starts for the Toffees and he was voted Premier League player of the month for April as the blues of merseyside climbed to 7th in the table.
Wolves have a couple of injury problems going into the game with Jarvis and Foley both doubtful. But Bassong is fit and Stephen Hunt is expected to start after having a season ruined by injury problems. And it would be a good end to the season if the game is as entertaining as last week’s game at Swansea and it is likely that Connor will look for his first win as a manager by sticking with the attacking 4-4-2 formation to try to provide an uplifting end to a poor season. I can envisage a starting line up of;
De Vries
Stearman, Bassong, Berra, Ward
Kightly, Henry, Edwards, Hunt
Doyle, Fletcher
So hopefully a decent game to end the season and then after a trip to Wigan next week we will move on to the serious business of finding a new manager and building for a return to the top flight. And in August even if not this week we will look to see Wolves win a game before they get too close to that record run in 84/85. Right now its quite hard to remember what its like to see Wolves win.
The lowest point of following a football team to me is when they arrive at the point late in the season with nothing to play for. In the 2011/12 season it was what we were hoping would be the case as the target for the season was to achieve the highly honourable position of mid table obscurity by now. Sadly its the worst possible scenario as relegation has been confirmed and its all about playing out the season and finding the bouncebackability over the summer. But credit to Terry Connor and his team that they have produced a few worthy performances in recent weeks that have raised the spirits a little for the rebuilding ahead.
Connor sent out a positive team for the trip to Wales that I guess should have been an indication of the type of game that panned out;
De Vries
Foley, Stearman, Berra, ward
Kightly, Hnery, Edwards, Jarvis
Doyle, Fletcher
It was a positive team that looked more likely to score goals than keep them out but to their credit Wolves were untroubled by Swansea for the first 20 seconds. Then Sinclair got in a cross from the left and Orlandi headed in his first goal for 2 years. And Dorus De Vries returning for the first time to the ground where he had made a good reputation in british football was picking the ball out of the net again 4 minutes later as Wolves defence parted in characteristic fashion for Joe Allen to run through on goal and his shot deflected off Stearman into the net. It was looking then like a long afternoon for Wolves as Swansea got theiir passing game together and completely out played Wolves for the best part of half an hour and Wolves could easily have conceded more than three in this period of the game, with the third coming when Orlandi crossed and Dyer, probably the smallest player on the field, scored with a far post header.
A remarkable few minutes than came around the half hour mark. Swansea were finding things far too easy and their lack of discipline saw them leave Fletcher unmarked and he found the net with a header from a Doyle cross. Any optimism Wolves found from that was quickly undone as Graham was allowed to turn and shoot in the Wolves area to make it 4-1, but then Wolves were back immediately with a second as Jarvis turned the ball in with Doyle again providing the assist. And then the game changed completely with Wolves in the ascendency and it always looked on the cards that they would find a way back into the game.
Sigardsson, one of the signings of the season in the Premier League, nearly scored twice in a minute early in the second half when he first hit the post then brought a good save out of De Vries. But that was a brief dent in Wolves superiority as they went on to dominate the 2nd half. The impressive Kightly split the home defence with a pass to Edwards who scored the Wolves third, and then amazingly Wolves were level when Edwards freed Fletcher on the left and his low cross was turned in by Jarvis. And it was Wolves who came closest to winning the game late on when Kightly shot over from a good position.
De Vries – had no chance with the Swansea goals and made a couple of good saves
Foley – not his best game early on as Swansea tore the defence apart
Stearman – been a regular under Connor but not really enhanced his reputation
Berra – not regularly featured for Connor but looks the steadiest of Wolves centre backs
Ward – all at sea early on before having a decent second half
Henry – Wolves were outnumbered in midfield and Swansea were passing the ball around him first half
Edwards – did as much as anyone to bring Wolves back into the game with good running and link up play
Kightly – his injuries look well behind him now as he re-emerges as a key player and I made him Wolves best player on the day
Jarvis – scored two more goals and was a threat for the final hour
Doyle – looked livelier in the last couple of games and set up two goals
Fletcher – took his goal well and a goal threat for the last hour
So some pride restored in an entertaining game and perhaps a lesson learned too late by Wolves. Most of their best players at this level are attackers and too often in away games at this level they have tried unsuccessfully to patch up a poor defensive record rather then take teams on with an attacking approach. An enjoyable game to watch and yet we are still left with the prospect of going into the summer without a win in over a third of a season. The last two games see two of the best two teams in the league on current form in opposition as Everton come to Molineux next Sunday and then the trip to Wigan the following Sunday. Be good if those last two games are as entertaining as this one, but a summer holiday and a new man in charge are what most Wolves fans are focusing on now.
May 072012
We know that Wolves will be playing Championship football next season but it will be some time before we can get a real feel for whether this is a one year set back from the club re-establishing itself as a Premier League club, or whether it will be just as difficult to get out of the second tier as it was last time around.
Wolves fell to the lowest ebb in their history when they were relegated to the then 4th division in 1986 but eventually climbed from there with successive promotions in 1988 and 1989 to take them to the 2nd tier of the football league. And there they stayed for 14 seasons before Dave Jones took them to the Premier League for one season, before another 5 years in the 2nd tier before McCarthys promotion. So it was one year out of 25 that were spent in the top level before the recent three years under McCarthy. So there won’t be many Wolves supporters taking it for granted that a quick return to the Premier League will be on the way.
The key to the quick return will be the appointment of a new manager. I dont believe there is any chance that Terry Connor will continue in the role. He has not managed any wins in ten games and any success he gets in the last three games will surely be too little too late to promote his chances. To replace him Wolves have two choices. To go for an experienced manager that will give them the best chance of an early return. Or to go with a younger manager that might not get them back as quickly but might take them back as a stronger outfit. The likes of Allardyce, Megson or Bruce would fit the first category. And names like Poyet, Clark, Powell and Freedman have been mentioned in the younger bracket. Curbishley who was linked previously might be someone that could both earn a fast return and develop the team, but he has been out of management for a while. And the lack of an external appointment in the spring can only really be justified if the door is opened to currently employed as well as unemployed managers in the summer.
If the option is to go for the experienced man, and Wolves do tend to go that way, and Moxey had said it wasn’t a job for a novice, then the danger is that a return to the top flight is achieved and then as under McCarthy they are not able to progress above a struggling Premier team. And that in itself would lead to the question – why move on from McCarthy? So I would like to see a younger manager that can grow with the club and modernise the approach in the way Rodgers and Lambert have done at Swansea and Norwich respectively. Poyet may well be the man most likely to fit the bill for that kind of manager.
My first choice would however be someone different to all of those. Roberto Martinez was the man that started Swansea off in the style of football that everyone has been impressed with, and has since managed to both keep Wigan in the top flight and continually get them to play bright attacking football. And that at a club with little to invest in new players and with little prospect of advancing above their current level at the bottom end of the Premier League. For that reason the Spaniard may well be tempted away from Wigan to a club with more long term potential.
The other big factor to affect Wolves short term future is how many players move away from the club in the summer. And the first priority in that respect is to bring in the new manager to make the decisions on who comes and goes rather than that being left to the likes of Connor and Moxey.
The injury picked up by Hennessey has probably saved one exit from the club. But there are plenty of other players likely to be attracting interest from other clubs. Jarvis and Fletcher are likely to be the most sought after players. Johnson’s poor season is likely to see him moved on and O’Hara’s experience of being hassled by supporters after one home game may well lead him to be looking elsewhere. Doyle, Berra and Hunt have not been getting games late in the season and might want a new start. And there are a number of players that have been out on loan that might be transferred including Guedioura, Elokobi, Hamill and Vokes. And players like Henry, Kightly and Ward might have their suitors.
So there could be a mass exodus, but Wolves, unlike many relegated clubs are in a good financial state and will not need to be raking in a fortune to cope with the reduced income that comes with the drop. So at the very least it looks possible that they will go into the Championship with a team as good, and probably better, than the one that won that league 3 years ago with ten points to spare for automatic promotion. And while a few departures are certain there may well be a few new faces coming along as well to help the cause. And David Davis may well be the first of a few players from the Academy to prove to be good enough to make the grade.
So there is some cause for optimism that the return to the Premier can be achieved quickly. And then the stadium project can be revived and the firm re-establishment as a Premier League team can still be a dream thats not too distant.
But stage one of the bounce back has to be a good managerial appointment. And if a good choice is installed within a month of the end of this season, then 2012/13 might not be all that bad a season after all. And at least we will see more wins, more Saturday games, more floodlit games, and more goals for the home team at Molineux. And May 2013 might even be a time for celebration.
Wolves bowed out of their three year stay in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon as they were expectedly beaten by title chasing Man City at Molineux. But to their credit they did not give City an easy ride and gave a performance that would probably have been good enough to retain their top flight status if they had been able to play to that standard all season.
Connor made three changes to the line up that earned a point at Sunderland last week with Bassong replacing Berra, and Edwards recalled at the expense of Ebanks Blake, while Dorus De Vries came in as keeper to replace the injured Wayne Hennessey;
Hennessey
Foley, Stearman, Bassong, Ward
Henry, Davies
Kightly, Edwards, Jarvis
Fletcher
City had their title hopes boosted by United only drawing 4-4 against Everton earlier and within seconds of the start of the game Carlos Tevez was firing a shot over the Wolves bar. But it was Wolves who then went on to dominate the game fot a period and a Bassong effort was deflected inches wide. Aguero then shot narrowly wide before David Davis fired in a shot from the edge of the box to bring a save out of Hart in the City goal. Wolves were having a lot of the game but City twice went close when Nasri and then Aguero shot narrowly wide. But City did find the breakthrough after 26 minutes when an excellent through ball from Clichy put Aguero through and he made no mistake.
Wolves heads did not go down and a Fletcher header brought an excellent save from Hart. And as the second half progressed City were not putting the game to bed as was expected and Mancini made a cautious change replacing Silva with De Jong. The decisive second goal came in the 71st minute when two pieces of misfortune construed against Wolves. Tevez had fallen over and appeared to be obstructing Davis from getting to the ball but the referee penalised Davis when he tried to get to the ball. Tevez got up quickly and played a quick free kick and Bassong pulled a hamstring as he went for the interception leaving Nasri with a clear chance that he was able to convert.
De Vries – made a good impression with some good punches clear, and quick off his line to cut out through balls
Foley – had his usual steady game
Stearman – almost gifted City a goal with a poor headed back pass but otherwise had a decent game
Bassong – did well against the talented City frontline
Ward – held his own on the left of the defence and got forward well in the second half
Henry – had an excellent game and my man of the match for Wolves
Davis – another promising showing from a good late season find
Kightly – always positive and had a good first half in particular
Edwards – some good runs off the ball before tiring late on
Jarvis – had a good game but found a tough opponent in the excellent Zabaleta
Fletcher – some good lay offs and came close with a header
Doyle did well when he replaced Edwards
And so Wolves stay in the Premier League is over after three years and they will now have three meaningless games to end off their disappointing season. We can now look back at how it all went wrong and look forward to how a quick return can be secured. But at ten to six on Sunday the heavens opened over Wolverhampton and we all got totally saturated walking away from Molineux – a somehow fitting end to the Premier years.
May 072012
Wolves are edging ever closer to having their relegation confirmed and it would be a major shock if they are not even closer to that position by the end of the weekend. The visit of Manchester City to Molineux on Sunday at 16:00 comes on the back of 9 games without a win under the management of Terry Connor, and with City refinding their very best form having scored 10 goals in their last two league games. And in fact if Wolves lose at the weekend and QPR win at home to Spurs then Wolves’ relegation will be made certain.
City had some costly slip ups during March that put them out of the UEFA Cup and with 2 draws and 2 defeats in the League they handed the title advantage to Man Utd. But they won 4-0 at home to Albion and 6-1 at Norwich in their last two games to show they are right back to their best, and the Argentinian strike pairing of Tevez and Aguero is looking pretty unstoppable. A win for United earlier on Sunday at home to Everton would put them 8 points clear of City, but that could be down to 2 points if City beat Wolves then win next week’s Manchester derby. A result for Everton at Old Trafford would open the door for City to make themselves favourites for the title and would likely make things even more difficult for Wolves.
City have won their last three matches against Wolves with a feast of goals in a total of 12 to City and 6 to Wolves. But Wolves have won 2 of the 3 Premier League clashes between the teams at Molineux to give a little encouragement.
As if things were not bad enough for Wolves they were met this week with the news that keeper Wayne Hennessey, who is favourite to win Player of the Season, is likely to be out of action for 9 months with cruciate ligament knee damage. Its a massive blow to the keeper who may well have been the subject of some significant transfer bids in the summer. The irony for Wolves fans is that the injury is likely to lead to him staying at the club for another season, and if promotion can be secured at the first attempt then he may well be here for a while.
It is likely to mean that Dorus De Vries will get the chance to impress in goal although a chance against City might be a mixed blessing. But he will be keen to impress to earn the first choice position until Hennessey is fit, although Carl Ikeme has been recalled from his loan at Doncaster to provide competition.
It is unlikely there will be many other changes to the team that drew at Sunderland last week. That would mean Henry and Davis continuing their promising partnership in the central midfield. Connor must decide whether that is in the anchor roles in a 4-2-3-1 formation or in a 4-4-2 as they played with last week. Steven Fletcher will be looking to increase his goal tally and is evidently keen to end his exile from the Scottish National team and is also under consideration for a place in the GB team for this summer’s Olympic tournament.
It’s difficult to imagine anything but a Wolves defeat this weekend and the betting interest in the game may well be focused on how many City score. But even a heroic result may well only put off the inevitable relegation confirmation for another week, and then all the focus can turn to finding the manager and team to make a successful return to the Championship.
Would you believe it. Wolves kept a clean sheet. After 31 successive games of conceding and having conceded two goals or more in the vast majority of those games, Wolves finally kept the back door closed and earned a point for manager Terry Connor. And the irony is that this improved result came with a team that included only one player purchased in the Premier League years, as with Zubar and Johnson left out and Bassong suspended it was only striker Steven Fletcher that has been brought in with Premier League cash in the starting line up;
Hennessey
Foley, Stearman, Berra, Ward
Kightly, Henry, Davis, Forde
Ebanks Blake, Fletcher
The first half was not an exciting affair with Sunderland having the majority of possession without creating clear cut opportunities. Sessegnon was the main danger to the Wolves defence. He set up McClean to shoot just wide and brought a save from Hennessey himself, and Bardsley was also wide as the home team were restricted to long range efforts. Forde was having some bright moments for Wolves who were worth an even scoreline at the break.
Sessegnon was continuing to be a threat early in the second half but Wolves were increasingly frustrating the home team and starting to create some attacking moments of their own. Forde had a long range effort saved at the near post and Ebanks Blake should have at least hit the target when put through on the right of the area. And then came the closest moment to a Wolves goal as a cross from sub Matt Jarvis found Fletcher whose header was well saved by Mignolet.
There were a couple of close calls late on to threaten Wolves clean sheet but after Hennessey dropped a cross in a crowded area and there was a goalmouth scramble it was eventually blocked at the third attempt by the keeper. And he also saved a McClean header to secure Wolves a point.
Hennessey – not a busy afternoon but got away with one dropped cross and made a couple of good saves
Foley – as good as anyone on the Wolves team on his comeback
Stearman – had a steady game as Sunderland failed to build any consistent pressure
Berra – unlucky to have losr his place in recent weeks and came back with a sound performance
Ward – not trouibled defensively and made some good runs forward
Kightly – not as impressive as last week but worked hard
Henry – solid in front of the defence and had a good game
Davis – continues to impress. Needs to improve his passing but can form a good partnership with Henry
Forde – had a bright first half and could well have a breakthrough season in 12/13
Ebanks Blake – wasted one decent chance but worked hard along the front line
Fletcher – looked brighter than in recent games, some sublime touches and came closest to scoring
Jarvis replaced Forde after an hour and it was a boost for a player to come off the bench to strengthen the team, not happened much this season.
Edwards and Zubar replaced Kightly and Foley in the final 15 minutes
And so it was largely the ex Championship players of Wolves that earned them their first point for eight games and that will have given a boost and a reminder that the club has the ingredients to make a speedy return to the top flight with the right manager in charge. And for today we can say well done to Connor for restoring some pride in a well earned result
May 072012
Wolves travel up to Wearside on Saturday to meet a Sunderland team revitalised by a mid season managerial change. Martin O’Neill has been an unqualified success for the Black Cats whereas Wolves new man in charge Terry Connor has just looked unqualified. Its difficult to envisage anything other than an 8th straight defeat for Wolves and that would leave them ever closer to the inevitable relegation and that could be confirmed within a couple of weeks.
When Wolves won against Sunderland at Molineux on December 4th Martin O’Neill was watching in the stands waiting to take over as manager of the North East club a couple of day later. And since him being in charge they have racked up 36 points in 21 games. If that points average was maintained over a season it would add up to 65 points which would last season have secured 5th place. So not an easy task for any team to take them on at the moment but Wolves have won their last 4 games against Sunderland. And in the last 11 games between the teams both teams have scored.
Since that win against Sunderland at Molineux Wolves have won one game in 21 in all competitions. There will be a forced change to the team with Bassong suspended after his sending off on Wednesday. And that will probably spell a return to the team for Christophe Berra who came on as a sub in the week. Otherwise Connor must decide whether to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation they started with against Arsenal but had to abandon after ten minutes when Bassong saw red. If that set up is retained then David Davis would retain his place with a choice between Doyle and Fletcher for the lone striker role.
But the interest is in all the wrong stats that Wolves may well make even worse. It could be an 8th successive defeat, 10 games without a win, a 10th successive game of conceding at least 2 goals, and 9 games without a win in the managerial career of Terry Connor. A win could end all those sequences but such is the depth of the problems on the field that not many Wolves fans would be surprised if those records were still being extended through to the end of the seasin.
May 072012
There were no surprises at Molineux on Wednesday evening as Arsenal got their expected win and extended their run against Wolves to 19 games without defeat. What was disappointing for the home crowd was that the game was ended as a contest very early on and although Wolves showed plenty of fight in the second half there was only going to be one result.
Connor made a couple of changes to the team that lost at Stoke at the weekend with strikers Fletcher and Ebanks Blake left out, with David Davis brought in to strengthen the midfield with Kevin Doyle recalled as the lone striker;
Hennessey
Zubar, Stearman, Bassong, Ward
Henry, Davis
Kightly, Edwards, Jarvis
Doyle
Wolves were on the back foot early as Arsenal got their passing game quickly into gear and between the 8th and 11th minutes the game was effectively ended as a contest. A through ball was played to Walcott who got into a tangle of legs with Bassong as he entered the penalty area. The referee gave Arsenal a penalty and harshly showed Bassong a red card when there appeared to be little intent on his part to make a foul tackle. Van Persie cheekily chipped in the penalty and three minutes later Walcott was played through again and scored the second.
It would be a reasonably impossible task for any team to pull back a two goal deficit to Arsenal with ten men and Wolves rarely looked like troubling the visitors in what turned out to be a first half of Arsenal retaining possession after Wolves were forced into a 4-4-1 formation with Davis sacrificed for Berra. The sending off had ruined the game and with Doyle isolated up front Wolves never posed an attacking threat and Arsenal were looking increasingly complacent as they focused on retaining the ball rather than pushing for more goals.
And the switching off of Arsenal contnued into the second half when it was all looking too easy until Wolves sprung into life and made a real contest of the game after the break. Kightly was in lively form on the right and was causing plenty of problems for the Gunners defence and if Wolves had nicked a goal then Arsenal would have had to wake themselves up to aviod an embarrassing comeback. The closest Wolves came was when a Jarvis cross found the head of Doyle and Szczesny made a brilliant save. Arsenal clinched the three points 20 minutes from the end when Benayoun scored the third.
Hennessey – hardly had a save to make other than to cut out some crosses and pick the ball out of the net three times
Zubar – had a decent game with some good runs forward
Stearman – made some good challenges but was also caught out at times by the Arsenal movement
Bassong – probably unlucky to see red
Ward – had a good game generally but caught out of position when the ball was switched to his wing a couple of times
Henry – battled hard and drove Wolves forward after the break
Davis – unlucky to have his game cut short when a defender needed to be introduced to replace Bassong
Kightly – Wolves best player on the day with great energy and no little skill. Great to have him back and fit
Edwards – often chasing shadows as Arsenal retained possession
Jarvis – had some good runs down the left and created Wolves best chances
Doyle – struggled as an isloted striker in the first half but unlucky not to score after the break
Berra replaced Bassong in defence and had a steady game and is unlucky to have lost his place
Milijas replaced Edwards in the second half and played his part in getting an improved showing from Wolves
Fletcher replaced Doyle late on
So no great surprises but Wolves made a pretty good fist of an impossible task in the first half of the second half. They have not played badly in the last four games but its now 7 defeats on the trot under Connor with 22 goals conceded. The formality of relegation may be confirmed quite soon now after Wigan and QPR’s successes on Wednesday. And in many ways the end can’t come soon enough for the team, manager and supporters. But there are still 5 more Premier League games to go starting at Sunderland on Saturday. Then the big decisions of the summer will need to be made to set Wolves up for a successful return to the Championship.
Just three more Premier League games left at Molineux this season and maybe for a while to come. And its three of the most established top level teams that will give Wolves a send off with Arsenal on Wednesday evening to be followed by Man City and Everton in the coming weeks. Next season it will be the likes of Barnsley, Hull and Watford to whet the appetite so I guess we should try to forget the gloom and just enjoy seeing the top players in action while we can.
During their recent stay in the top flight Wolves have enjoyed memorable wins against Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea and Spurs but not Arsenal. The Gunners had won all 6 Premier League meetings between the clubs up till this season but Wolves gained a draw at the Emirates at the end of December and that was a result that may well have saved McCarthy’s bacon temporarily as his position was probably reviewed before the January transfer deadline. In fact that draw was the first time Wolves had avoided defeat against Arsenal since 1982 and you have to go back to 1979 for the last Wolves success in this fixture. Since then there have been 3 draws and 15 Arsenal wins. And to make matters worse Arsenal come to Molineux in their best form of the season having won 7 of their last 8 games, and after Spurs surprise home defeat to Norwich on Monday, the Gunners who sit in 3rd place, can establish a 5 point gap to 4th place with a success against Wolves.
As for Wolves it may be a case of trying to be motivated as their fate is looking assured now, not only for relegation but probably for bottom place in the league. A number of teams are juggling their squad to cope with the Easter glut of fixtures but there are not many options open for Wolves to make changes. But the likes of Foley, Johnson, Berra, Milijas, Davis and Doyle will be on stand by for a chance. Given Arsenal’s passing game there must be the chance that Davis is reintroduced at the expense of a striker.
Both Stephen Ward and Hunt have revealed there have been problems in the dressing room while the club have been struggling and both have indicated they have welcomed the team captaincy beng handed back to Karl Henry. A strong team ethic has been a vital factor in the McCarthy years and it does appear that was lost to some degree this season and it has showed in the disappointing performances. Henry himself said that the 11 that started at Stoke were united. All those hints suggest that previous captain Johnson has been a figure that has split the dressing room.
There have also been demands in some quarters for Wolves to look for an immediate managerial change, and Paul Ince for one has expressed an interest in stepping in. But the horse has bolted for this season now and I would prefer Wolves to wait to the summer now and to then look for a top new man to come in and to not be restricted in their search to those managers out of work. Wolves remain a club with great potential and they should be able to attract a top young ambitious manager. And it seems that Alan Curbishley who turned down the unattractive offer of trying to save the season with 13 games left, would still be interested in the permanent role from a fresh start next season. And a promising manager like Poyet would surely be attracted to the potential of Wolves compared to his current club Brighton.
Its difficult for supporters to generate enthusiasm now for the club given their plight and its worth pointing out that when McCarthy was sacked after 25 games Wolves had got 21 points, an average of 0.84 points a game. A continuation of that average would have seen Wolves on 27 points now and still in the mix. It might not have been enough to save the season but at least there would be something to play for instead of what has looked like a lost cause for a few weeks now. And the last few games look set to be meaningless.
But at least we should see some good football from the away team on Wednesday and hopefully Wolves will manage to be competitive and make a game of it. Can Wolves get another point this season, can Connor win a game, can we concede less than two goals in a game. All this and more will be revealed in the coming weeks.
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