Wolves 2 Fulham 0

What a perfect game.

Two goals, clean sheet and another assured performance.

Whether it is Survival Sunday, the fitness of Jamie O'Hara or installing Roger Johnson as captain, something has really given us that kick up the ass we needed to push upwards and onwards.


While I don't want to get ahead of myself, we really could have a season to remember. We now seem to be an accomplished Premier League side.

Our two wide men caused Fulham problems throughout the game. Stephen Hunt had  the better of John Arne-Riise, and Matty Jarvis was quietly effective. He now has two assists and a goal to his name, and is in fine form. Surely another England call up is due?


Looking through our team, we have a great British and Irish spine, as good (if not better) as any team in the bottom half. If we can keep this as our spine: Hennesey-Johnson/Berra-O'Hara/Henry-Doyle/Fletcher and get as many games out of them as possible then we can't go far wrong.


Karl Henry looks a different player. He had Danny Murphy in his pocket. It was a great moment when he turned four or five times and Murphy, who was clearly affected by the crowd, couldn't get the ball off of him. Henry and O'Hara, look like they have enough about them to control the game in a 4-4-2, which makes life a lot easier.


I was glad to see Kevin Doyle find the back of the net too. After an early miss, it was good for him to a get a goal that he badly needed. Him and Fletcher with the right service will get goals, as well as them being two terrific footballers.


And then there is Stephen Ward. Another top class performance by the Irishman will continue to add to his growing reputation with the fans. His two blocks in quick succession were nothing short of heroic.


Hennesey - 8


Stearman - 7
Johnson - 7.5
Berra - 7.5
Ward - 8


Hunt - 8
O'Hara - 7.5
Henrty - 9
Jarvis - 8


Doyle - 7.5
Fletcher - 8

Villa up next in the league. A tough away match, but it was last time we played them!

The Don

Here's another article by Phil Chell, on a (surely) soon to be new hero at Wolves.

Those of you who read my first piece for this website about Michael Kightly will have noticed that I tend to write with a certain flair or excitement. This is partly due to, being a creative person, the need to be inspired to write something that I will be proud of due to my own high standards. Louie (the website’s editor) asked me fairly quickly after I’d written my first article to contribute another. I said I would but in few weeks or if he gave me something specific to write about. That was about a week ago so I though, leading up to the opening game that I’d wait and see if anything or anyone flicked my switches. 

Someone did; Big time.

Now, if you read any paper over the last few weeks you will have been told that Wolves paid anything from £4 million to £7 million for Roger Johnson (Wolves continuing their dignified transfer policy by not revealing financial details). Being very honest, I didn’t know that much about him. I remember him fouling someone against us last season at Molineux for what was a stonewall penalty that was never given.

So I went to my local pub to watch the game with around 20 other Wolves fans/friends. The start of the season is exciting at anytime but for some reason this season has got me almost salivating at the prospect of the little round ball being kicked around by 22 over-paid men. I wasn’t disappointed either. The first 15-20 minutes were a little edgy and, as is always the way with Wolves, it took the opposition to score to bring us to life. Once we equalised I always knew we’d end up winning; call it arrogance or stupidity, either way I just knew. But that wasn’t what got me so excited. It was Johnson’s performance that did.

First of all, I think MM making him captain was a great move of two accounts; first off it frees up Henry who I still have mixed feelings about but second, it has put the captaincy where I feel it needs to be in any football team, at the back. 

The first thing that got me with Johnson was how vocal he was in terms of organisation at set pieces through to motivating everyone. He also read the game so well, he was always where he needed to be and was never caught out of position. However, it was one particular piece of action that made me realise that we have a very special player. 

It was around 22 minutes in and it was 1-1. Blackburn attacked down the wing and played a short pass inside to Formica. Johnson read it beautifully and took it of Blackburn and broke down the attack. That in its self was a great piece of defending. However, instead of clearing it up field he did something I haven’t seen us do for a long time; he PLAYED his way out of defence, RAN 70 yards and passed it and finally was in the box to attempt a header. We didn’t score obviously but that move alone showed me something our defence hasn’t shown in a long, long, time. Intelligence. 

Intelligence to read the move. Intelligence to play out instead of clearing. Intelligence to fill in at the back while he went forward. 

I know that it is early days and I shouldn’t get carried away. But I can’t help but think that, yet again, Mick McCarthy’s initials actually do stand for Merlin the Magician.

Professional: Blackburn 1 Wolves 2

Take one long hard look at the league table. Savour it, 'cause it ain't gonna get much better than that.

Wolves put in a strong, determined performance mixed in with moments of guile and quality. It was very much a professional, Premier League display that gives us reasons to be hopeful this year.

Overall you could say Wolves were 'good value' for their win as Matthew Le Tissier put it. At times we looked ragged but the defence came through the spells of pressure and while the goal we conceded was  a poor one to let in, it was also quite unlucky.

There were several performances to pick out. Matthew Jarvis looks like he has been working hard on the training ground. He looks like a more considered player, still with the pace and trickery to take his man on as shown when he won our penalty.

While in my preview I said (the impressive) Roger Johnson could be the man to take us to the next level, Jamie O'Hara could be every bit as important. With a full pre-season behind him, he looks ready to kick on and his performance today convinced me he is the man to make 4-4-2 work. His all round game is perfect for it, breaking up playing and moving us forward quickly.

Our match winner, Stephen Ward had a solid game at left back. He never really looked troubled by Hoillet, and his goal was a stunning effort. Every year he improves and looks more and more a Premier League footballer. On the opposite side, Kevin Foley had a class game when he came on at half time for the injured Richard Stearman.

Hennessey - 7

Stearman - 6
Johnson - 7
Berra - 7
Ward - 8

Jarvis - 8
Henry - 7
O'Hara - 8
Hunt - 6

Fletcher - 7
Doyle - 7

Subs: Foley - 8, Elokobi - 6, Maierhofer (not enough time to judge)

This time last year we were saying similar things after an excellent performance against Stoke. This time, can we kick on from a good solid start and have a comfortable season. We;ll just have to wait and see.

Are you ready? Blackburn v Wolves preview

Football is back!

Forget pre-season, that doesn't really count. We only have a day until we kick off a new Barclays' Premier League season and I'm getting terribly excited!

We go to Ewood Park hoping to end our poor run of results there and against Blackburn too. We are yet to win against them in six Premier League games, all records have to come to end at some point right?

With Roger Johnson in defence there is a cause for optimism and belief that we will be stronger at the back, that we can hold out when under pressure. Our new captain could be the man to take us to the next level.

It's less than three months since our last game, against tomorrow's opponents and we will hope that it will be an entirely different occasion. The first forty five minutes of that game where we looked down are ones we would like to put behind us, a good performance tomorrow will do that.

With Phil Jones sold and potentially no Christopher Samba and Ryan Nelsen, this is a good chance to get at a usually strong Blackburn defence. There will certainly be some shifting around at the back, which would be to our advantage. If we can press them high up, and get plenty of crosses in it may cause panic and create openings for Kevin Doyle (if fit) and Steven Fletcher.

The partnership of Doyle and Fletcher is something that will be interesting to see. If Doyle passes his fitness test, which it looks like he will, then both will almost certainly start. There were glimpses of an understanding last year in the few times they were both actually on the pitch and a strong partnership between the two could be one of the best outside the top six or seven.

Here is what I reckon Mick will go with:

Hennessey

Remember this goal?

Stearman
Johnson
Berra
Elokobi

Jarvis
Henry
O'Hara
Hunt

Doyle
Fletcher

There are question marks over Doyle and O'Hara's fitness. If we were to lose the two of them, I'd expect us to switch to a 451, with Nenad Milijas and possibly David Davis coming in. There may even be a place for Stephen Ward, who performed particularly well with Fletcher towards the end of the season.

If you are going to the game have a good time, (hopefully) enjoy the game and make sure you get behind the lads.

I'm going for a score draw, which I would take right now. 1-1

Team news, ask the oppo, prediction league

About our opponents
Blackburn Rovers hold an excellent Premier League record a Wolves, undefeated in all our meetings. Ewood Park has proved to be somewhere we dread to play, conceding eleven in three games there and scoring just two. This is a huge season for Rovers. After sacking Sam Allardyce and bringing Steve Kean, form deteriorated and only a late surge kept them up. Kean is yet to win over Rovers fans, along with the Venky's, and needs to get off to a good start to keep the pressure off.

Form
Blackburn last six games: LLWDDW
Wolves last six games: DLDWWL
Blackburn at home last season: 7 wins, 7 draws, 5 defeats
Wolves away last season: 3 wins, 3 draws, 13 defeats

Last six games v each other: Blackburn 4 wins, 2 draws, Wolves 0 wins

What happened last time?
Blackburn came to Molineux on the final day of the season for 'Surival Sunday'. Blackburn stormed into a three nil lead at half time, practically securing their Premier League status. In the second half, they took their foot off the gas and Wolves pulled two back which would ultimately keep us up.

Team news
Steve Kean is hopeful that Chris Samba will be fit, but the defender remains a doubt.
Ryan Nelsen may not feature. 
Kevin Doyle is rated at 70/30 to be fit.
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake could be ready in time, but Kightly is doubtful.
Adlene Guedioura and Dave Edwards are still missing with injury.

Ask the oppo
This week I was grateful to get answers from Blackburn fan Carsten

It's best we start off with 'survival sunday', what was your experience of it like? 

Oh boy what a ride that was! Although Rovers were in danger of going down on the final day, I was always confident we would stay up. Well, almost. When I woke up on Survival Sunday my stomach hurt really bad, and I couldn't relax at all. Had a couple of sandwiches for breakfast, then a couple of beers, finally headed to the pub, where all Rovers fans in Oslo meet up whenever we can. I don't remember too much about the game, but what a relief it was when we got the first goal! From that point on I was sure we were safe. Little did I know that it would be one hell of a roller-coaster towards the end! Luckily we could all walk home safe, and meet again on the opening day of this season!

Manager's popularity out of 10? 

Good question. I think on a scale form 1 to 10, it would be about 5. A lot of fans are still not convinced about the new owners, and certainly not Steve Kean because it is his first job as a manager. Personally I think he is doing a fairly good job, but it's still early days, and it's hard to really judge until the season is well under way. I think we played some decent football after he took charge, and the signings he has made seems to be good, although I never heard of any of them before they were linked with Rovers. I'm staying optimistic.

What should be the aim for Blackburn this season?

Top ten. A lot of experts think we are going down, but I can't see that happening with the squad we have got now. If Samba stays, and we can get one more striker in, I think we are looking ok. Hopefully also another centre half will be coming in this window, and then we should be able to push for a top ten finish.

Who should Wolves watch out for?Hoilett is obviously a threat, but I think also Rochina and Formica are ready to make an impact this season, and could surprise a few people.

What do you think of Wolves signings, and how do you think we will do this season?Looks solid. Roger Johnson and O'Hara if I'm right? Solid players with experience. Not too spectacular, but should make sure you are in a better position than last season.

Finally, prediction for the game?Gotta say we need to win at home, and get off to a good start, and I think the squad knows how important this is, if only to calm down some fans. Could well be the same result as when we last met. Rovers 3 - Wolves 2.

 

You can follow Carsten on twitter! @carsten86

Prediction League

The prediction league is back! Can Bob China keep his crown and or will he have it stolen off him?

Just post your predictions of the 9 Premier league fixtures as a comment to enter.

Blackburn v Wolves
Fulham v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Sunderland
QPR v Bolton
Wigan v Norwich
Newcastle v Arsenal
Stoke v Chelsea
Man Utd v West Brom
Man City v Swansea

It's five points for a correct result, ten for a correct scoreline and three for each correct scorer!