Jarvis Scores The Opener

By Tom Bason
October 16 2010

Today, Wolves drew 1-1 in the bottom of the table clash with West Ham United. After Matt Jarvis had given Wolves a first half lead, the Hammers struck back with a Mark Noble penalty early in the second half.

- The past few weeks I've mentioned my frustration at seeing Stephen Ward stuck on the halfway line for our attacking set-pieces, see here. Does Mick McCarthy read these pages? Because today, for corners at least, we went forward and lo and behold, he caused West Ham problems, getting on the end of two corners.

- The teams Matt Jarvis has scored Premier League goals against: Hull, Burnley, West Ham, Aston Villa and West Ham. Either relegation battles or a local derby. When he scores, we know it's a big game. But his all round game still needs work. His crossing in the second half was poor to say the least, even when cutting back onto his favoured right foot.

- Before the game, I was more than a little worried about the lack of pace in our defence against Frederic Piquionne and Victor Obinna, so I did wonder if the injury to Jody Craddock might be a blessing in disguise. And Richard Stearman did very well in the first half. In the second half though, Piquionne appeared to try and play against Stearman and dominated him in the air. Also, our normally excellent offside trap faltered a little, so you have to wonder how much work Stearman and Berra do together in training.

- I've said before, I don't rate Dave Edwards. I didn't think he was good enough in the Championship, but today he wasn't too bad. His energy in midfield unsettled Parker and Noble, and his willingness to get into the West Ham penalty area meant we often had three (THREE!) men looking to get on the end of crosses with Dave Jones lurking on the edge of the area. This is almost unheard of us for us in the Premier League.

- In the sixteenth minute, we conceded our first foul. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Mr Daniel Ben Murphy. Thirteen fouls conceded is slightly high, but with the only caution of the game being Piquionne for handball maybe we aren't the monsters claimed in the press.

- David Jones is a very good passer of the ball, and if we lose him on a free transfer, I will be furious. But, he can be so bloody frustrating at times. One day he will learn that his right foot isn't just for standing on, and can actually be used for kicking ball. He takes so long to get the ball off as well, always needing to take that extra touch that allows the defender to close him down. And he has big ears, but we'll let him off that one.

- We went with our usual tactic of playing a tallish right sided player to try and dominate against the oppositions (normally) small left back. To start with, Fletcher did well in winning headers against Danny Gabbidon (5 ft 10), but then Avram Grant switched Gabbidon with Tal Ben Haim (6 ft), and even though Ben Haim started to dominate in the air, we continued this tactic.

- Avram obviously has obviously done his homework and targeted Ward as the weak link in our defence. It was noticeable how high up the pitch Kieron Dyer played in the first half in an attempt to attack Ward. Fortunately, this often cut Dyer off from the rest of his team, and Ward dealt with him reasonably well.

- I've only seen the penalty once, from my seat in the South Bank. It looked harsh to say the least, especially in comparison to some of the penalties we haven't been awarded recently. I don't think Obinna dived, but both players were wrestling and I'm not sure how Clattenburg could give a decision one way or the other.

- Saying that, I'm not 100% sure how we managed to keep them down to just one second half striker. Piquionne's effort that struck the bar was eerily reminiscent of Kenwyne Jones on the first day of the season, Ward cleared a goal bound effort from Dyer, Berra made one excellent interception, and Carlton Cole put a decent chance straight at Hahnemann before having one disallowed. The last gasp defending was catching though, with Kevin Doyle blocking Jone's effort just after the penalty.

- Rob Green, what a conundrum that lad is. Twice he flapped at crosses, the first time Jarvis gratefully accepted the gift and the second time Jones saw his shot hit Doyle. Yet, the saves he made from Jones and Stearman in the first half were tremendous saves. He's so inconsistent.

- I'm one of those people who have never quite understood how Gareth Barry is such an integral part of the England team. A long time ago I came to the conclusion that it's because he's left-footed and this made him stand out. And again, I have no idea how Scott Parker doesn't even get a look in. He is far and away West Ham's most important player and if he picks up an injury, they are in big trouble. Fingers crossed someone snatches him up in January.

- The league table doesn't lie. We are second bottom after 8 games, and we've only played three top half teams. We are yet to keep a clean sheet, meaning we are in a position where we need to score twice to have any chance of a win, something that hasn't happened since the opening day. Like or not, we are fighting for our Premier League lives here.