Will the real Wolverhampton please stand up?
Sort it out Mick
By Tom Bason
February 7 2011
Saturday saw Wolves’ amazing season take yet another twist. Following the heartbreak of a late defeat against Bolton in the week, Wolves bounced back in dazzling fashion, becoming the first team to defeat Manchester United in the Premier League this season. Yet another schizophrenic week in the life of a Wolverhampton Wanderers supporter.
Let me give you a few statistics. This season, we have managed seven victories. But that statistic only tells half the story. Of those seven wins, three of them have come against teams occupying the Champions League spots, while six have come from teams who are currently in the top-9. Yes, that means we’ve beaten six of the current top-9, yet have managed three points just once against the teams in the bottom half. Indeed, of our 24 points, half have come from teams in the top-6. In fact, in the 10 games we’ve played against bottom half teams, we’ve managed a frankly pathetic five points, and just one from the four games we’ve played against the other teams joining us in the relegation zone.
Last summer, I wrote about the fact that too many of our points had come against top-half teams and that we needed to focus more on beating those teams around us. It appears we have not only failed to overcome this, but we have gone massively in the other direction. How bizarre is it that I feel we’ve got more chance of gaining points in the forthcoming matches against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur than the games against West Bromwich Albion and Blackpool? Has any other team ever been relegated having beaten so many teams at the top of the table?
If anyone has any idea what on earth has happened this season, I would love for them to let me know. Is it a case of motivation? Why do the players perform so badly in the games against so-called poorer teams, yet manage to raise themselves to almost superhuman performances against the elite? And it’s not just been the performances in the victories either. We were the better team in the trip to Stamford Bridge earlier this season, while Arsenal will have felt extremely fortunate to have left Molineux with three points. And while the performances may not have been brilliant in the matches at the City of Manchester Stadium or White Hart Lane, both Manchester City and Tottenham knew they had fought hard for those three points respectively.
Last season, we saw Wolves given a £25,000 suspended sentence for playing a weaker side at Old Trafford in order to keep the players fresh for the relegation 6-pointer with Burnley (a game which we of course won, vindicating Mick McCarthy’s decision). However, this season we have seen the complete opposite. Can you think of any other reason for leaving out Nenad Milijaš in the defeat at the Reebok Stadium last week if not to ensure his fitness for the impending defeat of Manchester United on Saturday?
Our big problem now is that we are quickly running out of big guns to beat. A trip to the Emirates awaits us on Saturday while Tottenham visit Molineux on March 6th. In between, we have two massive games against West Brom and Blackpool, but they are the sort of games we will lose. Think back to last summer when the fixture list came out – everyone thought that the end of the season was decent, if we needed points there are games in the last eight where we could deliver. Yet, I’m now looking at those teams praying for big-guns. How we need Everton and Aston Villa to recover the form of past seasons, so they too can be odds-on favourites to beat us, thus guaranteeing us victory. I can’t see us winning any of our last three home games (Fulham, West Brom and Blackburn), but can we win at Aston Villa, Stoke and Sunderland? Hell yeah.
This season has been a bloody weird one, every time we think we’re down, we somehow bounce back. No-one doubts the attitude of the players, but if we can learn to focus on the teams down and around us a bit more, a third successive Premier League season surely beckons. If we do fall through the trapdoor into the Football League, we will have many highlights to look back on, but it will be with a sense of frustration, too many dropped points against teams we should be doing better against to mention. Oh, the joys of being a Wolves supporter.
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Out of Darkness cometh Light.
Posters have written off the signings made during the January window as, putting it mildly, disappointing! I think we will come to a different conclusion when we look back.
We have not seen Griffiths perform in a gold shirt yet, so these remarks concern just O'Hara and Hamill. In themselves, as players, they have ability and, just as importantly, bottle and spirit.
But it's not just their personnal abilities - it's the increase in options that they have afforded MM. This has channelled through into, what some consider to be the most important aspect in getting players to play - competition for places.
Where's Foley going to go? Midfield, dn't think so . . . only as a sub! What's Zubar think of it now, knowing he aint going to get another game if he cocks up again? Stearman? He's got Craddock on his heels. Will Hunt get back in? Every where you look those who thought they were untouchable just might have played their last game this season.
But returning to your question about teams underestimating us. Oh, to be sure there are many clubs who have far, far better players than us. They must be - just look at their wages. But there is many a country mile between having good players and having a good team! And having a shop window full of superstars doesn't necessarilly translate into an all conquering team. Look at Real Madrid just a few years ago. And, of course, the opposite - average players don't necesarilly make a poor team. Ask Brian Clough on that one.
My only concern is if MM has built a squad with more bottle than he has. Love to be a fly on the wall when he realises that!
If Wolves were consistent all season we might have been sitting in mid-table. I don't think we have the quality to call ourselves a mid-table side, but Wolves certainly deserved more points than we currently have.
Cutting out individual errors and improving the defence is a must in the summer whether we stay up or go down. Luck has been against us this season. Wolves can hardly boast a 'lucky win' out of any of our victories so far. All seven have been hard work. If our luck changes and we beat West Brom and Blackpool - I think we have a extremely good chance of staying up.
I wonder if Mick will rest a few against Arsenal. What do you reckon? Rest Jarvis, Doyle and Milijas at least. Defeats against both West Brom and Blackpool would be a disaster! If we can just finish above them two plus maybe Wigan / West Ham - happy days!
Is Doyle on international duty? If he plays the full game for Eire, then maybe he should be on the Bench against Arsenal.
Perhaps the new players will also bring more balance when it's up to use to attack and exert pressure.