A poor start to the season and the doom and gloom merchants are already out at Molineux, writes Wolves blogger Nathan Lloyd.
We all know how fickle us Wolves fans can be.
One minute, Mick McCarthy is the greatest manager since sliced bread and the next he is strategically inept and making poorer decisions than when Howard Wilkinson decided that Cantona wasn’t good enough for Leeds United.
We have had a poor start to the season, there I’ve said it, lets move on. If we beat Norwich at the weekend, we will all be smiling again.
I would like to gauge Wolves fan’s views on players who go out on loan and then return to play for the first team.
Colin Cameron would be a good example of this.
Mickey served us well in his 5 or so years at the club, scoring important goals and always putting in 100 per cent.
If Wolves fans think back, I’m sure some will remember berating Mickey’s ability and saying he wasn’t good enough to wear the gold and black.
On his return from a loan spell at Millwall he had one storming match against Coventry, and was deemed a midfield god!
Similarities can be made with the return of Jody Craddock from Stoke.
Another player that a lot of fans grumbled about when he was playing, but now he is heading back to the club, fans are already saying he is the answer to the middle of defensive, but is he really?
On a final note, I just wanted to say what a pleasure it was to watch the majestic JJ Okocha glide around the Molineux turf the other night.
At 35, he put in a man of the match performance and ran himself into the ground.
At one point in the match he was surrounded by 5 Wolves players and still came away with the ball.
I was one of many Wolves fans gracious enough to give him a round of applause as he left the game towards the end of the game to be subbed.
How on earth did Hull manage a signing like that?
Wolves fans, do you agree with Nathan? Have your say below the story.
47 Comments
I have doubts but he is better than ward and breen! loans please and a left winger
The defense should have been sorted out in the summer, Ward is no better than an average centre half, and Collins hasn’t looked anywhere near good enough since we signed him last season. With Breen and Craddock both 32 plus Wolves should have gone and got the best available centre half from whatever division even it that meant 1 million plus £ and then bulit evrything around him. As it is we have an ageing defense with no pace and yet again players playing out of position (collins at left back). Add to that, we have got a young(promising) but very inexperienced Keeper with no decent back up (Stack is nothing more than a journeyman loan keeper). Wolves should have got another permanent keeper in straight away as soon as Murray was injured, someone to put some pressure on Hennesseys place.
Also Ward playing left wing isn’t working (he’s a striker). We need Jarvis fit or can we get Jones back from Northampton?
Either way from what i have seen it’s gonna be a while before we see Wolves hitting top form, just hope it’s not too late by then.
jody craddock may well come back and play very well,he does get forward and at least gets on the end of a few corners ‘ect’ and scores a few goals, but like the rest of our defence is prone to mistakes,but lets face it i think it is a step in the right direction. mm knows like the rest of us only a handful of games have been played, but our defence is having a knock on effect to rest of the team, what we should do us the fans when we play norwich is cheer when winning ‘tackles’ this also has a knock on effect but in a different way this builds confidence through out. WHAT i am saying is lets get behind what we have we need the point’s, and lets have no boo,ing i am 100% sure mick will be sorting it out soon if not sooner.
mccarthy has only himself to blame for this defence.it’s unforgivable what he’s done.he got to much praise last season because without matt murray we would of been fighting a relegation battle.
There have been some moaners and groaners regarding MM, but the great majority of Wolves fans back him all the way. The revelation of last season after the debacle of the Twoddle era will never be forgotten!
I have critised our defence for some time now (since we started to play good football last mid-season). MM has not addressed this area in the best possible way IMO. I do not like playing without 2 proper full backs, I do not rate our centre backs as good enough to get us out of the CCC, I think Ward and Gray were not particularly good singings to improve on what we already had. In short, I have and will question MM on these points. I personnally think he has had a blind spot when it comes to sorting out the defence.
Do I support MM long term? You bet your life I do! I believe he will correct the defensive situation, he has given his selection a chance to work. It hasn’t, so he will move on.
I do not know what restrictions MM is working under. Perhaps the guys he got in was all he could get, who knows!
MM is an honest guy, he will see the obvious and act.
In MM I still trust!
We have so many positives within the club, Daniel Jones is a natural left sided player with a fantastic engine, straight swap for Ward. The only frustrations are with the ageing defence and lack of creativity within the side, the crab like midfield are too predictable. Perhaps MM should eat humble pie and bring in Rosa from the cold, to be honest injuries apart the lad has not done a great deal wrong. Bring in a premiership loan defender and I dont think we are too far away. Loved Colin Cameron but we need to look forward not backwards, ive got Bullys number if you want to go that route.
craddock no better than ward
ward no better than craddock
theyre both tripe n as long as we play one of those two with breen it will never work you need one of those 3 with one of edwards or collins
loan moore of derby till jan
MM is big enough to admit he might have got it wrong. Lets all welcome Craddock back, and hope hes the answer to our problems, sure he lacks a bit of pace, but hes got plenty of experience and skill, he also pops up and scores crucial goals for us. Lets all get behind Mick and the team, stop being negitive every time things dont go to plan. Come on the Wolves.
I feel sorry for the defence as IMO its not entirely their fault.The real problem lies in the midfield with The central two not mobile enough and the two wingers not getting involved in the game. If you compare the current midfield with the midfield we had when we were promoted(Alex Rae etc) there is no comparison.With the exception of Mark Davies I have not seen anyone at the club who is good enough to replace those already there hence the reason why I feel we are going to struggle this season. I dont consider myself to be a doom and gloom merchant,merely a realist.
no guts in midfield plenty of flair but who wants to die for the cause.Incey on loan would be the one!!!Pity he’s a gaffer now.But i tell all wolves this all the time plain to see cmon MM.Phil brown done his homework on wolves Weak points;
Central Midfeild.
Centre Backs turn like ferries.
Run at defence clumsey tackles.
MM was a defender surely he can see this.Watch the goals leek from these areas.
welovewba(7) i see you want another ex baggie to come to your rescue, you still havent thanked us for the last time we saved you from extinction
boing boing
The Start of last season was nothing to write home about. I’m not dissapointed “YET” Sunderland had a worse start last year, give MM time. its a long season and Wolves need FULL support.
Great goalie - Matt Murray. When he’s better - sell him! Make some money out of him, as mark my words he will be injured again. Some people are unfortunately always getting crocked.
If we lose on Saturday, MM is gone.
Sorry Nathan, you have got it wrong. No-one is saying Craddock is the answer to our defensive problems, he is not better but he happens to be more consistent and more reliable and he does what the others do not do…score goals and vital ones too! His age may be against him but his reaction time is much quicker than any other centre back we play every week. We still need younger, pacy centre backs but who they could be I have no idea, that is for MM and his scouting team to find out and find out quickly before the season becomes one of face-saving instead of promotion chasing!
NO one is saying that Craddock is ‘the saviour’ as printed in the E&S this week - what a ridiculous statement! However he is not our worst centre-half.
On last seasons form Breen should have been shipped out, although he hasn’t been too bad so far this season - currently Ward seems to be the weak link.
Craddock isn’t good enough for a sustained assault on this league but he is SLIGHTLY better than the other two!
Mick sort it out or clear out - squad is nowhere near good enough for auto-promotion! Steve get the cheque book out in January please!
let’s see how your ” new look ” defence will cope with the pace of Huckerby.
I bet he will given a lot of the ball on Saturday.
It’s not for me to decide whether Craddock is better than Breen or Ward, but I do know he is coming into the side with the advantage of not having his confidence shaken or abilities doubted by being slated by some so called supporters………….
Guys I hear what you say for what its worth we we just don’t seem to have the passion right now, no desire no energy, lack lustre. I forget which manager once said it but if you have not got the skill match them for passion and desire. For me Breen plays like its a stroll in the park there is no urgency in his play, we also don’t have a motivator in the centre of the park, and these last few games we should be putting the chances away. Tactically we don’t have a clue, we don’t know how to shut up shop aka Sheff Utd or put pressure on aka Hull which was dire. That said I gather that there is a manager going available that has the passion the tactics and the desire. Mr M of Chelsea…..i know I know in my dreams but what the heck. Saturday is do or die for MM if we don’t win or play well he should consider his position.
terrywalsallbaggie, thank you very much for your generous help last time but we do not need your cast-offs, we have enough already!
CANTONA WANTED TO GO TO MANCS WILKO COULDNT STOP HIM HARDLIY INEPT
People talk as if at the age of 32 a player is finished but look back and see how some older players too many to name have done a first class job at the Wolves and at other clubs.The problem now is not age but players not playing in their natural positions.
22, The problem is lack of pace, simple as. Huckerby will be licking his lips tomorrow unless whoever marks him can keep up. Breen and Craddock haven’t got the legs. It would be suicide to play them together, but im sure even MM realises that.
The Tescos ex forward, kamara or sumert, showed us how vulnerable we are when speedy forwards run at us. This should of been the first thing MM should of addressed pre-season.
Des Walker on loan.
We’ll win tomorrow, norwich aren’t up to much. The bad thing with that is it’ll gloss over again how bad our defence is.
Mick Out
The 1950s were by far the most successful period in the history of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Captained by Billy Wright, Wolves finally claimed the league championship for the first time in 1954, overhauling fierce rivals West Bromwich Albion late in the season. The club was described by some as the greatest football team in the world after beating the Hungarian side Honvéd 3-2.
Altogether now “Those were the days my friend…..
we need the basis of a team that can cope in the premier,especcialy in defence…if the defence is good when&if we get to the premier we can build. as it is now i cringe when i see the defence on paper.we need to a midfielder that can win &boss the game ,i’m sorry but we hav’nt gotthem. i dont know why wolves owner wants promotionwith what we have.start now,january will be to late.
“If we beat Norwich at the weekend, we will all be smiling again.” Don’t agree with that. We pay hard earned money to be entertained and need to see a team playing with some style and flair.
Nevermind letting Mcindoe or McNamara go (we should have done everything we could to have kept him!), but are we also seeing the folly of letting a competent keeper(who never did anything wrong in his time at Wolves), I think we would all feel more comfortable with Oakes as back up!
Good comments WBury Wolf, Bring back Rosa he is in some form at the moment 5 goals in 2 games his confidence will be up and havin spoken to him he wants to stay.lets get Daniel Jones Back more nateralon the left and he does support the defence as well as get forward.Great news about Mark Davies being nearly match fit we need the new Pysco. Lets all stick together and get behind the team. the old fat lady hasn’t even started to sing yet.
All this talk about Mick going is crazy, if he goes we then face another season of relaxed football and if we do well then its a bonus. To me Mick has to sort it out himself, we need to get behind the lads and become the 12th man. As i have said before the lads just need support and the passion will come back, on Tuesday by 7.55pm you could here the players talking on the pitch, is that anyway for 22000 fans to react after 10 minutes…….
To be fair terrywalsallcrappy.. If u cud turn bak time and keep steve bull. uno full well you would.
Y’am jus sour u let ur best ever player go for nothin..
And.. Leeds had no choice but to let cantona go :S .. Ridiculoud article.
Wolves 4 - 3 norwich… lets face it .. if were gna win anymore were gna hav to score atleast 2, normaly 3 or 4.. and if MM starts playin eastwood like he was played at southend… and not exactly the same as keogh, hes well capable or 3 or 4 goals a match
Scunny 1 - 0 Albion.. Awful away and Scunny excellent at home
And there were back on level points ?? Whys everyone over reactin.. Its way to erli in the season..
Ohh and since when has Darren Huckerby been fast LMAO rubish !!
One convincin win (satday) and were away to be fair x
Agree entirely about JJ Okocha but one small point he only turned 34 in August so he is an even bigger bargain.
Oakes omg fif you ever attend any of his games ffs!
Is there really a posting on here (10) wishing you could get Paul Ince in loan ??
Just how low are your expectations now ?
Who next - John Richards, Waggy ? Dennis Irwin is still young enough for MM….
Why not put the Billy Wright statue in the box ?
To all those who are saying Sunderland started badly last year - true… but then they changed the manager !!!
As usual a wave of panic and ’sack the manager’ has taken over due to a bad patch. Everyone needs to calm down a bit. I agree that the defence is shaky but there is still a long way to go this season. Look at who got promoted last season and where they were at this time last season. Time tells, BUT you have to give the team and management time before helping to destroy their confidence and belief. Stand strong and support the team!
MM knows as well as the rest of us that the defence is weak. While this is true, I also think we are not scoring enough goals. It seems hard sometimes to see where a goal is comming from if not from Freddie. If we are to keep Keogh in the side then we need a goal scoring midfielder. We cannot rely on one of the two strikers to score all the goals. Look no further than the reserves (Rosa, 5 goals in 2 games). We might see a more confident display from our defence if we were 2-0 up!!. I think the world of George but lets have other options.
craddock is not a saviour, but i think he will hopefuly give us a more secure, composed defence.
because our back four as been making basic errors, rubbish aginst anyone with pace,giving away stupid free kicks and penalties. not just clearing the ball sometimes.
he has more of a goal threat from corners too, and as we a struggling to take our chances this has to be a plus.
mick should have been backed over the summer and decent quality defenders should have been bought.
the quality of our squad is not good enough, if the likes of eastwood, kightly get injured where’s the quality replacement.
hopefully the team can be strengthend in january. defence, midfield and quality proven striker.
i for one liked colin cameron and he always worked hard and scored goals too.
bring jones back from loan too.
it may be only few games into the season but it can go from being unlucky and missing chances etc to a run of defeats and then we have a crisis. i hope we go on a run of good results and the team grow in confidence but we have to be aware if we keep going this way it could become a lot worse.
come on the wolves!!!! give us something to smile about, give back our optimism stuff the canaries
sunderland changed manager!!!
weluvalbion (20) dont mention it mate,you know our motto,every little helps
boing boing
I think Nathan is a cheeky (probably young) so and so. Fickle!? - When you have been watching the Wolves for 30 plus years like me, in all weathers, one false dawn after another, I think we have every right to be a bit grumpy, sitting with our ’seen it all before’ faces on! Don’t get me wrong all us grumpy old men will be over the moon if we do well, but don’t expect us to be happy when we don’t - because the Wolves really do matter. And as for the ‘majestic’ JJ Okocha the only reason he walsed around Molineux all night was because his best mate Olifijana failed to put in a tackle all match. Alex Rae would have put him in row Z!
He will as always give 100% but the entire back 4 need replacing.Surely MM cannot continue giving gaffe-prone Neil Collins a place.
Geoff Bull, I sort of see where your coming from with your comments about Collins but when he’s allowed to play in his natural position, he’s so much better. He does do a decent job for us,… but NOT at Left Back, if you play him there he might as well be LEFT BACK IN THE DRESSING ROOM !
norwich to win by a canter,they will feel right at home in another custard bowl.win for the baggies and the point and class gap gets bigger by the day.boing boing.
nch… I’ve only been going to the Wolves for the past 20 years, so perhaps I’m not qualified to talk about the team!
Fickle is something that a lot of football fans are and last season Wolves fans were anything but, especially when we were being comprehensively taking to the cleaners by Southampton at home!
JJ Okacha was something special the other night, a rare talent. Granted the opposition in midfield was lacklustre, but he still showed some great touches.
I care deeply about the Wolves, I wouldn’t write a blog if I didn’t. I want to get debate going and I’m glad there has been a response. I am extremely disappointed with the start to the season, but we haven’t become a bad side over night.
A few tweaks here and there, which may include a complete revamp of the defence and central midfield and it should all fall into place.
You watch Freddy Eastwood bang in a hat-trick at the weekend and we can maybe start talking about the positives the Wolves can bring to the league!
I’ll be back Tuesday if my Mum will let me use the computer after school! I’m 34 by the way NCH!
Aint u boggies fans got anyfin interestin about ur club to read and comment on? Stop clogging up our forums wiv ur bitterness.
craddock back in side wolves win ,next week mm will drop him and put breen back the side ,moxey holds the purse strings thats why they did not sign anyone on transfer deadline day.
Our defence has been dodgy for as long as I can remember (40 years). Dean Richards and Joleon were outstanding, but we have always been susceptible at the back - its just the way we are! Would like to see Collins and Edwards again filling the central defence as they had a good understanding and more importantly younger legs. We will bounce back soon, as their is enough class in the team and apart from Watford who have had two lucky last minute wins, it is a very average league. Keep the Faith!
Dear Nathan
Of course you are qualified to talk about the team - just not as qualified as me! (only joking)
Sorry for being a grumpy old git - and a bit pompous. I do agree with much of what you say. You are right, we haven’t become a bad team over night, and a few tweaks here and there should see us right. In Mick we trust.
Keep on blogging Nathan! - Although I do find it a bit worrying that a man of your age has to ask his mum for permission to use the computer!