By John Georgiou
November 16 2009

Blanks. Story of our season. Forgive the poppy laden euphemism but I thought Id keep it relevant. I was surprised to hear in the build to Arsenal that we hadn't won in our last six. Not that I was unaware, it just hasn't felt like that kind of a run, certainly not performance wise, but alas we are, again, staring down the barrel (that's the last war pun),

The Arsenal match was very much men against boys, or at least it looked like a 9 year old swinging aimlessly at Mike Tyson. If you didn't happen to see the match it went like this-

 Wolves playing brilliantly- what effort! How'd he miss that? He's missed it!

 Free-kick

 Christ,  1-0 down still plenty of time to go. 

 2-0 down? More men forward!

 3-0 Bad idea

  4-0 Ah fuck it. 

Might as well go ho... GO ON JODY!!

Well, that was my interpretation but I've no doubt it's the correct one. Again, it's either the final ball or the fact there's no one in the bleedin' area wanting to finish it off. I can't say the play was tentative as I expected, we did more than give a good account of ourselves, we showed what we have all season- that we play football and we play it well, and there's not a team that can match us for effort, however, if there were some belief and clinicality then we'd probably see these efforts rewarded. The midfield looks solid but I'm not convinced that A we have good enough wingers to create from the flanks, B that a lack of creativity through the middle is a worthwhile sacrifice to have a defensively solid midfield pair. But that's just me. 

 Looking ahead to Chelsea. Yeah, I've got nothing. If Craddock and Berra can double their pace, Henry memorizes Fabregas' passing moves from last week, and Kightly has 2 cans of red bull pre-match then we do stand a chance I must admit. In all seriousness, however, whatever calamities you're envisioning, there probably isn't going to be a better time to play at Stamford Bridge than after internationals, and with Chelsea racking up key injuries, the opportunity is there for an upset. I'm not saying they're there for taking, just a thought! As last game, a point is a bonus, 3 points and we'll be wondering what was slipped into our half-time pints. If there's no hope of a result, then perhaps experimenting with the midfield/forward line-up would at least offer an opportunity to players on the bench to impress, and help us find that elusive plan B. That said, I'm not really sure if we're in a position to be "throwing" the big games and settling for a half decent performance. Hull, Burnley and Birmingham all have very winnable home games and, wouldn't you know it, come the Tottenham game, all 3 will have home games against weaker opposition. Frankly, I don't think we can survive with a settling mentality, and to be even more blunt, we're going to have to a pull a massive result out of the hat at some point for the sake of confidence as well as the points total and of course just to stay up. Stupid as it sounds, I'm certain we'll know whether we're staying up or not by the City game. 

Until then, and until I find precious article writing time again, I can only wish you an enjoyable next two months should your football interests converge with mine, if they don't then it doesn't matter because you won't have read this article. 

We'll be fine. Hull are shit.

Ready, aim...

Discussion started by Wolves , 16/11/2009 17:16

Wolves
16/11/2009 17:16

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Risca TM
19/11/2009 15:43

Ha! Nice summary John.

I agree that we have to go nuts out to get a result in every game. If the manager can ally a cunning plan to channel the effort / abilities / limitations of the players available so much the better.

Against Chelsea I don't think we'll get much out of playing Henry and Castillo together. Milijas should play as it increases the chance of getting something from a dead ball or a long pass to break out or ease pressure.

After Ireland's disappointment I wonder how drained Doyle might be, so it might be worth playing Maierhofer up front; perhaps with (don't laugh) Keogh who can support but also cover back better than SEB. Maybe Kites could also play this role.

Like you, there could be worse times to be travelling to Chelsea, so who knows? Wigan did them in after all!

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Ivybridge Wolf
19/11/2009 19:35

Risca - I was wondering that about Doyle. He worked his bloody socks off for 90 minutes last night only to be defeated by 'le main de dieu' - well le main d'henry. Not just the physical stuff either - the mental trauma of the France match will be tough to cope with too.

Mind you I'd rather have a half fit Doyle than a fully fit Keogh!

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Risca TM
20/11/2009 10:33

I reckon Doyle really struggle to re-motivate himself Ivybridge, and even if he thinks he is fit to play he'll probably be more tired than he might notice.

It will be interesting to see come Saturday - I suspect MM will opt for SEB, with Edwards, Henry, Castillo, Kightly plus Halford all playing in midfield.

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