Wolves 3 Sunderland 2
The Wanderers Number Nine
By Tom Bason
November 27 2010
Wolves today stopped the run of four consecutive defeats with a valuable win against in-form Sunderland. Kevin Foley put Wolves 1-0 up, before Darren Bent and Danny Wellbeck struck to put Sunderland ahead. But Wolves fought back, and goals from Stephen Hunt and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake ensured the three points stayed at Molineux
Wayne Hennessey: the forgotten man returned to the team and
did little wrong. His kicking isn't quite as good as my memory told me, but his
ability to clear with either foot is a big improvement on Marcus Hahnemann's. I
don't think he could anything with either goal conceded, and the only time he
was really tested was with an over hit Steed Malbranque cross which he did well
to get his finger tips to. He lacks Hahnemann's organisational skills at the
back, and this could in part have led to Danny Wellbeck's free header to put
Sunderland 2-1 up.
Ronald Zubar: the other returning player, and I'd not realised just how much
I'd missed having him in the team. An infectious personality, who gives 100%
every minute of every game, he slotted back into the team like he'd not been
away. Sunderland don't play a particularly wide game, so he was never tested
much defensively, but he played an important role, especially in the air. One
question though, why was he back on the halfway line for our attacking set
pieces with Michael Mancienne and Kevin Foley pushed forward?
Richard Stearman: like eating a pack revels, it was a bit of a mixed bag today.
Slightly unlucky to have a first half goal ruled out, although looking at the
replay he may have been slightly beyond keeper Craig Gordon, and so be in an
offside position. A five minute spell of madness however was almost disastrous-
two missed clearances, the second directly resulting in Darren Bent's equaliser.
He seems to have a knack of playing well for 89 minutes, but make a crucial
mistake that's costly, and that is slightly worrying.
George Elokobi: as a left back, I happen to think he's useless- poor on the
ball, awful positioning. I may have to have a rethink on him playing
centre-back though. A block with his head in the second half epitomised his
performance. Sunderland's direct game did play into his hands, and I'd still be
reluctant to play him against a more technically advanced side. But, for today
he was excellent, and his header was turned in by Steven Hunt for the all-important
equaliser.
Stephen Ward: firstly congratulations on becoming a father yesterday. A typical
performance was Ward, who naturally plays a little narrower than most
fullbacks, but this worked with Kieran Richardson never trying to get down the
outside of him. He got forward to good effect in the first half, putting in two
dangerous crosses, the first of which really should have led to a goal for
Kevin Doyle. Stupidly booked for protesting the disallowing of Stearman's
effort.
Michael Mancienne: after an impressive outing at right back last week, he
returned to the centre of midfield today and had a solid game. Jordan Henderson
is the Sunderland midfielder who attempts to break forward, but Mancienne
played a vital role in breaking up play in the middle, and providing the
platform for Nenad Milijas and David Jones to play their football. On today's
performance, Karl Henry should be worried about getting his place back.
Nenad Milijas: have I mentioned before how much I love the Serb? Returning to
the team after being inexplicably left out last week, he was excellent. His
intelligent probing caused Sunderland's backline problems- one second half ball
to Jarvis was exquisitely weighted. Any doubts about his fitness are surely now
banished. He appears to be a born winner, and looks like he genuinely cares
about the team. Few would blame him for being unhappy at his lack of game time
in the past eight months, but he has returned to become the heartbeat of the
midfield.
David Jones: a sensible game today, rarely giving the ball away and he seemed
happy to pass the playmaking mantle over to Milijas. His substitution was a
slight surprise as I felt we may struggle to keep hold of the ball without him,
and so it proved. He's maybe now not as important to the team as he was at the
tail end of last season, but I'll be furious if he leaves on a free transfer
next summer. Given the freedom he has to push forward, a few more goals would
definitely be welcome.
Kevin Foley: returned to the right midfield role he played towards the end of
last season wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of Henry, Jody
Craddock and Christophe Berra. Seemed completely unfazed in playing a different
position, even more so when he switched into the centre of midfield following
Hunt's introduction. Started limping on his hurt knee towards the end, but was
still able to put in an excellent tackle when Wellbeck was threatening the
defence.
Matt Jarvis: Jarvis for England. I thought he might struggle today; directly up
against the pacy Nedum Onuoha and without Hunt on the opposite wing to take
some of the attention away from him. I was wrong. He was excellent again,
always looking to run at Sunderland's defence and create chances. He looked
incredibly dangerous on the counter attack and wasn't afraid to have a shot on
goal. Switched over to the right in the second half, possibly to keep Phil
Bardsley occupied as he was looking to progress down their left flank.
Kevin Doyle: I thought Doyle was getting back to somewhere near his best today.
He was a real handful for John Mensah and Anton Ferdinand, and I don't think we
have another striker who could play the role that he does. He missed a couple
of chances, including a golden one in the first half, but at least he was
getting into the positions. If those chances keep coming, the goals will start
to flow. I do feel sorry for him sometimes, he works his socks off for 90
minutes, and then Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Stephen Fletcher come off the bench
to grab the goals and the glory. Keep faith with Doyle, he's still the best
we've got.
Stephen Hunt: introduced for Jones, and got the all-important equaliser. Didn't
really add much going forward, but he works hard defensively and you can slowly
see him returning to full fitness.
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake: what a turnaround from last season, four goals already
this term and today's was a cracking finish. Maybe Gordon should have done
better, but there's no one else in the squad I'd have wanted that chance to
fall too. Currently deservedly ahead of Fletcher in the pecking order, but
needs to work on his all round game if he's to realistically challenge Doyle
for a starting berth.
Mick McCarthy: I was more than a little bit worried when I saw the named
back-4, but overall they worked well as a unit. He will be slightly worried
about the ease in which Sunderland split the defence for the two goals, but we
looked a lot more dangerous going forward. The midfield unit of Jones, Milijas
and Mancienne appeared to have just the right balance of quality and bite and
worked very well. He needs to ensure that we take this performance and improve
on it next week at a Blackburn side who will be looking to bounce back from
todays battering.
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Thinking about it some more, it may be Ward has a similar problem. You say he likes to play narrower than most full backs - perhaps he doesn't get the re-assurance he needs from his centre back to venture further out towards the touch-line? He was certainly caught to far in field when Park did him.
The same applies to midfielders and forwards, but with less consequence (conceeding goals, rather than missing chances). Perhaps there is a synergy between forwards who like to hug the touch-line and full backs; and forwards who play in the middle of the park and centre backs?
That synergy word - used it twice in two days on here . . . I think Big Al used it first. You just can't hide a good education or good spedling!
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Quote:Risca TM
Was Fletcher on the bench or out altogether?
He was on the bench, he came onto the pitch at full time
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