Three more goals to safety?

I believe we are three goals from safety.

Not from Wolves as a team, but from one player. Kevin Doyle.

When he has scored we have only been on the losing side twice. We have won four and drawn the other one when he has scored. If he gets to ten, I honestly think we will be safe. Look at the games he has scored in.


Fulham (H) 2-1 (3 points)
Sunderland (A) 2-5 (0 points)
Everton 1-1 (A) (1 point)
Tottenham 1-0 (A) (3 points)
Burnley 2-0 (H) (3 points)
Birminhgam 1-2 (A) (0 points)
West Ham 3-1 (A) (3 points)


Thirteen points we have got from when he has scored. He has only scored at the Molineux twice but away he has five. Forget the game coming up, we have five winnable games after and he has scored against two of them. His goals have come at important times and I think at home to Stoke he will score another important goal.

In the 2003/04 season Henri Camara was our top scorer in the league with seven, the amount Doyle has now. Whatever you say about him, he was our best player that year. His goals came very late on as he only had  one goal up until around ten games left but we were almost down by then.

Three more goals from Kevin.. and we stay up.

What do you think?

Wolves 0 Everton 0

This game had 'last on MOTD' written all over it. I don't care if we were, we are now four games unbeaten going into the Arsenal match (who have two Barcelona games around Saturday's game).

I thought we defended very well, mostly Jody Craddock. He made some life saving tackles and blocks and showed why he deserves his contract for next season.

Everton only had a couple of clear cut chances. Osman should have scored but Marcus made a great save, Dan Gosling was also halted by the American. Zubar had a decent effort after galloping forward. For every fifty-fifty decision, the ref seemed more inclined to give it Everton's way. There were some odd decisions by him.

A decent weekend, although Hull won. Burnley lost in a derby match (with what sounds like a controversial decision), Bolton getting thrashed put us above them and West Ham lost again. Wigan play Man City tomorrow night.

Hahnemann - 7

Zubar - 7
Craddock - 8
Berra - 7

Elokobi - 7

Foley - 7
Henry - 7
Mancienne - 7
Jones - 7
Jarvis - 7

Doyle - 7

Subs: Iwelumo - 6, Ward - 6, Guedioura - 6

Will Arsene 'damage the integrity of football' next week when he has Barcelona three days before and after the Wolves game?

Wolves v Everton Preview

Back to the Molineux, after our three away Claret and Blue games. If we can carry our recent form into this game, we have a chance of getting some points. Everton however our on a decent run too, and have climbed to three points behind close rivals Liverpool.

Everton's players are all getting back to fitness now. Jagielka is back, Arteta has been on fire recently since coming back. Steven Pienaar has been playing very well for them too.  I think if we can contain Everton's creative midfield, like we have done against various teams similar to them then we can pull of a shock.

Against West Ham, our goals were all good finishes. We were ruthless, and let's hope our boys have their shooting boots on tomorrow. Will Mick be keeping the same side, I think so. The only possible change I see is Guedioura in for Michael Mancienne. Elokobi must have done enough to start after a solid game and Ward might not be quite fit.

Hahnemann

Zubar
Craddock

We nearly got all three points at Goodison

Berra
Elokobi

Foley
Henry
Mancienne
Jones
 Jarvis

Doyle

1-1 Doyle. If he gets ten I believe we will stay up.

Another three points closer to safety

Doyle got us going.

Weren't Wolves just brilliant?

After a nervy opening ten minutes we really stepped up and played some great football. The last two goals were great bits of play and Doyle's finish for the first one was perfect.

Doyle was brilliant, as he always is and Faubert couldn't cope with Jarvis. Foley played his part and came so cloe to scoring but the bar (again!) prevented him. Our defence was solid, Elokobi came in for Ward (who I'm guessing was tired and a bit injured) and had a solid game. I was worried about him against Diamanti but he coped. Zubar scored a great goal and was faultless. Craddock and Berra handled Carlton Cole and Benni McCarthy without any problems. Berra had a shakey first ten minutes but contributed for the first goal. The more defensive centre midfielders got on with their jobs, and gave us something attacking. Henry has started being a lot more adventurous, and Mancienne was playing in the holding letting Karl go further forward.

The best player on the pitch for me was David Jones. I wasn't his biggest fan and wanted Nenad Milijas in but Jones controlled this game. All round he was brilliant. He got back, did his bit defensively and created two great goals. Let's hope he can keep this going.

Hahnemann - 8

Zubar - 9
Craddock - 8
Berra - 8
Elokobi - 8

Foley - 8
Henry - 8
Mancienne  -8
Jones - 10
Jarvis - 9

Doyle - 9

I'm so pleased with the performance and result I can't give below an eight for any of them.

Everton next, can we go four unbeaten?

West Ham v Wolves Preview

Win this we are very close to safety, draw and it's a good result, lose and we're still in a decent position. This is much more important for the Hammers than it is for us.

After the first game of the season, I thought it meant they would be pushing for Europe. Even though we had played well, they had done the job and played some good football. Since then it's been mainly downhill. Of course, Dyer got injured and lots of others did but they haven't looked as good as they did on the first day.

they have some very good players. Parker, Upson, Green and Cole could be pushing for an England place, Diamanti has looked world class at times and they've got various other internationals. so why have they had such a below par season. Maybe it is the manager, or the owners at the beginnnig and of course the injuries problems they always seem to have.

We've been playing well in the recent away games. And now we've started to pick up some points with the performances. Hopefully we can make it three unbeaten, we've only done that once this season.

Hahnemann

Zubar
Craddock
Berra
Ward

Foley
Jones
Henry
Guedioura
Jarvis

Doyle

I won't be surprised if we make a couple of changes. Ward might not be fit and he might want to freshen things up in the midfield.

2-1 to the Wolves. Doyle double.

Aston Villa 2 Wolves 2

Great pass from Zubar!

At the start of the game I would have definitely taken a two all draw. So close to winning though, and heading to Upton Park with two away wins at two of the best home teams.

I've seen ones like them given offside, if it had been us would they have been brought back? The defending for the second goal is terrible. One of the main rules you are taught as a defender is too never let it bounce like that, why were they so deep too? Apart from both goals, we defended doggedly and frustrated some of the best attackers in the country. Downing was very quiet, Milner disappeared after twenty minutes and Young was lively, but wasteful.

I thought our two best players were Jones and Jarvis. Cuellar didn't have a clue what to do with Matty, he got past him time after time and assisted that second goal. Jones got us going, plucking it out of the air and getting us going. Henry was solid, and how fantastic was that clearance off the line?!

Why take Guedioura off, someone who gives us that extra bite in the middle, and put on Elokobi? Maybe he was injured, but that doesn't explain putting Big George on. Or was Mick just trying to be clever again? He could have put Mancienne on in that role, which later hie did. Ward still seems to be playing with an injury, he played OK, and Elokobi also did fine when he played there.

Hahnemann - 7

Zubar - 7
Craddock - 7
Berra - 7
Ward - 7

Foley - 7
Guedioura - 7
Henry - 7
Jones - 8
Jarvis - 8

Doyle - 7

The boys will certainly be confident enough on their travels to London. It's a massive game, it could get us very near to safety and put West Ham in the relegation battle.


Aston Villa vs Wolves 2-2
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Aston Villa v Wolves preview

Sylvan's only goal came against Villa

We don't have the best record in recent times with our derby games. This season we drew with Villa, a good result but twice lost to Birmingham (one of those games being the low point of the season). Of course we aren't expected to win this game, but were we against Tottenham both times or even last week?

Villa will be the ones attacking , they have three of the best wingers in England and two big target men who are pretty useful too. James Milner is probably the in form player in the league. we have to watch out for him. It's hard to focus on one player with them coming from all areas. They have two attacking full backs and are dangerous at set pieces.

This is the sort of game I expect us to play well in and lose. Against a very good team and run them close. We'll have to stay solid at the back and most importantly, take our chances in front of goal.

I was able to get Ian Robathan from astonvilla-views to write a small preview for me, you can see his website HERE

Here's what he had to say:

Well a nice derby for yet another important game for Villa, a game which if we win we know will propel us to 5th, same number of points as Spurs with the rest of the challengers having very testing games.

So what do Wolves bring.

Frankly they have a pedestrian defence one which if Gabby is fit and Young and Milner are on top form like with Wigan we should find easy to pierce, but we will need to put away the clear chances we create. Up front, Doyle has been the outstanding player and Jarvis has shown promise but should the best defence in the PL really be worried about those players ?

I can not see Wolves scoring a goal never mind two or three to threaten us and Gabby the derby destroyer will once again score to see the hapless Wanderers back to the custard bowl with their tails betweens their legs.

For Villa the importance of being 4th can not be understated, we have a golden chance with the net two home games to press forward our advantage and get right into the league mixup. Obviously for Wolves a relegation battle looms but this is a game most fans with sense would not expect that much from. Therefore for this game it is far more important for Villa and I expect this to show on the pitch and for the final results.

Thanks Ian

Back to the Wolves. Here's my line up.

Hahnemann

Zubar
Craddock
Berra
Ward

Foley
Guedioura
Henry
Jones
Jarvis

Doyle

Also expect to see Big Chris Iwelumo at some point, especially if we are losing late on.

1-1 Doyler!

Crucial win

This could turn out to be the most crucial win in the whole season.

We looked up for it and again used our bouncing back ability once again. It was quite disappointing last week but we came here and did exactly what we set out to do. Win whatever it takes. We didn't play as well as in previous weeks but we certainly did enough to deserve the points.

Jarvis must take huge credit, he didn't give up even when he saw Mears had it and he got the goal. I thought in the first half we defended quite well. Zubar once again was solid and the others did nothing wrong.

Adlene was superb, I think he was the difference in the middle, while Henry was sweeping up behind and Jones using the ball with effect. Foley has me saying this every week, he played well. He always does and I feel sorry for him that he doesn't get to play his favoured position.
Doyle harassed the Burnley defence, and forced them into silly mistakes. I'm sure he would have scored had Jensen not assaulted him. Surely that is a red card? Had it been an outfielder would it have been a red?

We rode our luck today, but when have we had much luck?  The back heel was great play by Clarke Carlisle, he placed it to perfection! I'm glad we scored one that like because or players don't shoot enough and maybe this might make them shoot a bit more.

Hahnemann - 7

Zubar  - 7
Craddock-7
Berra - 7
Ward - 7

Foley - 7

Guedioura - 8
Henry - 7
Jones - 7
Jarvis -8

Doyle - 8

Two more Claret and Blue away games, can we get some points though?

Burnley v Wolves Preview

This was a very big game back in December. We won that one (and scored two!) and this one is obviously even bigger than that one. The team that wins this one will create a mini gap and a crucial one above the others.

We put in a great performance at the Molineux and won with ease. We need to put in a similar one. Burnley had a mid week match against Stoke, which is always tiring and have a small squad, we have to take advantage. But when have we ever taken advantage, we aren't clinical enough.

For the fifth straight game Mick will be picking the same side, eventually this has to get some sort of momentum going and we have played well recently. Burnley will probably be making a couple of changes themselves, with Steven Fletcher returning and others returning.

The appointment of Laws said it all to me. It didn't give out a signal of intent to stay in the league, and they have won just one game since he has taken over. Their away form is still terrible, and their home performances have looked less impressive as time goes on. I think they will finish worse off out of us Hull and them.

Last time we harassed them from the start, which is why we scored our first. Carlisle dithers to much  and Bikey has played midfield a lot this season so they won't be great at the back. we have to score some goals in this match, our team is capable of scoring goals. We need to be more positive once we get to the penalty area, take some risks and keep shooting.

Hahnemann

Zubar
Craddock
Berra
Ward

Foley
Guedioura
Henry
Jones
Jarvis

Doyle

3-1 to Wolves. Doyle, Foley and Keogh.

Wolves 0 Man Utd 1

It's just the same everytime isn't it?

We can definitely match these teams, but we just can't score. We are good at building play up, but once we make our way to the penalty area we look lost. The lack of players taking a shot from distance is frustrating, only Adlene seems to like shooting.

Our defence was excellent bar the goal. It was a bad bit of defending from Jody Craddock and he repeated that later which nearly gave them another goal. Next to him Berra was solid, I can't recall him making a mistake in that game. Ward, facing probably the best winger in the league, did well. Valencia got past him a couple of times but it was encouraging that United started booting it up to Valencia. Zubar had Nani in his pocket, he was solid and so nearly got an assist at the end.

The best player on the pitch had to be Henry, how many times did United break and there he was covering the out of position full backs. And when he got the ball, he picked out some great passes. Adlene Guedioura put in a great display, he never gave up and hardly ever loses a challenge in the middle. David Jones was quite bright, always looking for the right pass and had a decent effort on goal.

Matthew Jarvis didn't look quite as confident as he had in the previous weeks. When he did take his man on, he had the beating of Brown and Neville and put in some good crosses. Notably the one for Ward which he should have scored. On the other side Kevin Foley was his consistent self. It's just the lack of attacking flair that concerns me, he doesn't have that natural instinct an attacker needs.

Doyle ran the Manure defence ragged. His run through the middle was fantastic, a shame he couldn't finish it off. I hope he scores next week, because it would be fantastic if he got ten by the end of the season.

But what a shame about the end. The three subs made us more attacking and carved out one real chance. A scramble in the area and you would put your money on Vokes to score from there. Last season Vokes scored so many late goals, he could have been a real heroe. Keogh looked slightly sharp and Sylvan was a lot sharper. He seemed to know where Doyle would be, and linked up well with him.

Hahnemann - 7

Zubar - 8
Craddock - 7
Berra - 8
Ward - 7

Foley - 7
Guedioura - 8
Henry - 9
Jones - 7
Jarvis - 7

Doyle - 8

SUBS: Ebanks-Blake - 6, Vokes - 6, Keogh, 6

Another 'must win game' next. Burnley are quickly falling apart and we need to win this game to create a gap between us and the bottom three.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United
by oodinjeta

Wolves v Man United Preview

The great Manchester United return to the Molineux, anyone remember what happened last time they played there in the league? Kenny Miller's winner set up one of the greatest Wolves win for a while. But how different it is now.

We aren't bottom, and United aren't top. They won't be talking about Wolves' famous victory in 2004, but about what side Mick picks. What the pundits on ESPN will obviously talk about will be what happened in December.

The ten changes, the ridiculous fine we got and maybe even how many changes United make?

They've just won the League Cup. they have a HUGE match in midweek and suddenly they have a few injury doubts. Rooney somehow is injured, even though he played ninety minutes for England on Wednesday. Berbatov has a few problems with his knee and Michael Owen is out for the rest of the season. Who plays upfront, I reckon Berbatov on his own, depends if Rooney is declared 'fit'.

Last time, the feeling before the game was that we had a chance. United weren't doing too well, had a few injuries and that we could give them a game. Then Mick gives them the win and they beat us easily.

Mick says we won't make any changes. The only change I might make is Milijas for Jones but Mick wouldn't do that. Jones didn't impress me against Bolton. He almost lost the ball twice with no one behind him on the half way line and got two soft free kicks. He doesn't seem quick enough, in his mind. He has a decent freekick (when he's not flicking it up) but he hasn't got that ability on the ball that Nenad does. He has done well recently, and he's just returned from injury and might need a rest.

Team:

Hahnemann

Zubar
Berra
Craddock
Ward

Foley
Jones
Henry
Guedioura
Jarvis

Doyle.

If we get any kind of result it will be depending on Super Kevin Doyle (and Jarvis). If he can get us an early goal we might just be able to get something.

1-0 to United.

And here, watch this.

Captain Fantastic

Henry is especially good at holding off players.

No, I'm not talking about Mick.

There is a man at Wolves who does not receive the enormous credit he deserves.

The player who, along with Doyle, has looked most comfortable in the jump from Championship to Premier League.

That man is Karl Henry.

Moaned about because he passes sideways and often called 'the crab'.

Even though this is his job. To give the ball and let it go. He knows his capabilities, he does not go for glory and works his socks off. With the likes of Jarvis, Kightly, Doyle and Ebanks-Blake bombing forward, someone has to hold back and cover. Henry has done this from day one and done it to almost perfection.

The only fault I ever saw in him was holding onto the ball for too long. This only occurred at the start of the season and every game he improves at this.

Slowly though, attention is being brought to him. By other clubs. He was today linked with Aston Villa, Sunderland and Blackburn. I can see why.

The club I think he would most suit is Villa. They have players like Young, Milner and Downing to use the ball and create chances. They need someone to do the dirty work and just get it to the more creative players.

So when you see him pass it sideways don't groan, remember he is doing his job.