Out-of-favour Freddy Eastwood has reaffirmed his commitment to Wolves - despite being dropped.
The £1.5m man has not started for a month after boss Mick McCarthy told him he needed to up his workrate.
He endured a frustrating hour for Wales in Cyprus at the weekend.
“People try to say I’ve fallen out with the gaffer but it’s not true,” he said.
“He just felt he needed to change things around. I think I should be playing but I won’t be going to see him and shouting about it.
“He told me that if I want to get back I’ll have to work harder on the defensive side of my game. I just need to knuckle down.
“He brought me to the club and I’m happy he did. I could argue that I was scoring goals, but I am still learning all the time. And I want to learn from the manager.”
Eastwood hit the headlines last month after being arrested following an altercation in an Essex nightclub - but he insists that has not caused any heat with the manager.
“He understands what happened,” he said.
Wolves have been linked with a move for Sunderland pair Daryl Murphy - a striker - and defender Danny Collins.
83 Comments
Fair play.
I’m sorry but is Eastwood not a striker? Surely MM knew when we bought him what type of player he was and that he is probably a bit lazy. But he bought him to score goals and you do that by doing what Freddy does!!!
Wolves arn’t the kind of team to be spending 1.5m on a player and then not playing him.
That is very relieving news! i had him down as an early exit candidate! glad he wants to stay! i think mcarthy is just holding the reins back til xmas then he will release the blood/goal thirsty freddy!
Totally agree with Doive, But if Elliot is injured Saturday then Freddy may get his chance to play, its up to him to prove himself.In all fairness to MM the last 4 or 5 games that Elliot has started ,we have looked a better team than we did when Freddy started the beginning of the season.
2 Doive: Whilst i agree with your sentiments, surely Wolves are also not a club to pay a wage to a manager and then not let him manage !! Just a thought.
if he runs back to get the ball back from down field how on earth is he meant to be in the box to score goals! one thing we have missed over recent weeks is a natural goal scorer! when you got keogh doing the running and the midfeiled winning the ball back they need someone to aim for upfront but theres no one at the minute because everyones running everywhere to get the ball back! surely it makes sense! one does teh running the other stays. its the same has the center midfield one goes and one sits this should be the same has strikers one track backs the other stays! rooney and owen? bully and mutch? how many goals did mutch set up for bully this could be the same if he lets keogh do the stuff what his good at which is running and let eastwood put the ball in the back of the net! i thought keogh and eastwood partnership looked good at the start of the season!
Freddy Eastwood confirms Mick McCarthy is losing his mind
“He told me that if I want to get back I’ll have to work harder on the defensive side of my game.”
Defensive? Hmm…That’s the reason our other two strikers aren’t scoring
:/
I agree with the way Merlin is handling Freddy. We dont need players who think they’re bigger than the club……
Maybe with Elliot injured Freddy can take the “Dingle’s” bull by the horns and do the business….
The ball’s well and truly in his court!!!!
Come on the Wolves…..Do the Bizz reddy!!
Work on the “defensive side” of his game?
Sorry, am I missing something? Is he a midfielder?
Its just that I thought we paid £1.5 million for a STRIKER to score GOALS.
If we can’t make room in the team for a striker then the team isn’t good enough!
We already have strikers that don’t score goals. Strikers that play a more attacking midfield role. That’s why we scored so few goals last season. We seem bent on repeating the same for this season.
I agree with Mick on most things but not this. One man in the team should have the license to roam around being as lazy as he likes… just so long as he bangs in close to one goal every two games.
Imagine………… Sorry T.Henry/Van nieselrooy/ Van Persie/ Owen/ Inzaghi/ Berbatov… I’m not playing you because you need to work on your defence..????
..No MM you drop defenders to work on there defence.
..You drop strikers when they don’t score….
Clueless..??????????
Hope that Toshack plays him against San Marino (even my Grandad could score two or three past them!!!!)
It is good that Eastwood has rearffirmed himself to the cause and lets hope he does knuckle down and starts banging them in soon…
He was bad for Wales the other night though!
Only one man could rule Molineux with a ” Rod of Iron ” & gain all the players respect :
” Bill McGarry ”
Mick you ain’t no-where near mate
let Eastwood do what he does best
SCORE GOALS …
8. Wet Wolf
Comment is as wet as your sign-on.
We give evryone crap if they do not get their backsides in gear, what makes Eastwood better than Bothroyd (I don’t think so).
I also do not agree that he strikers should drop back as far as we seem to have them doing but he needs to at least chase back to the midfield area and pressure the opposition.
Up the Wolves
Bang on all those thinking MM has /is losing the plot.
A defensive striker…new sort of player Mick!!!
Go and have a word with the leprechauns Mick see if they can conjour one up.
Alternatively get Eastwood to change his name by deed pole to Fergus o’ Eastwood.
One of these two ways is his only chance of a game he will get a game in the near future.
When is the next ROI player (Gibson) due in, anyone know?
Dont think Freddy looks comfortable dropping back,hes a goalscorer let Keogh do the donkey work and leave Freddy up there and he will get the goals we need
Freddy is not the player people are painting him to be. Elliott gives a much stronger defensive game. Hence 3 clean sheets since he has been in the team. It is no coincidence.
It’s official.Your manager is mad.God help you.
We had a player last season called Diomansy Kamara ( you may remember him ).
He scored 23 goals and not once can I remember thinking what great defending he did.
Did MM actually say Freddy Eastwood has to improve the defensive side of his game? Read the article properly before you slag MM off!
Agree with mart the southbanker
who would i prefer in my team
keogh who runs n chases everything n anything down for 90mins but doesnt score
or eastwood who stands around but will score
end of day strikers are strikers n judged on scoring
midfielders should be the ones closing down etc..
and i like keogh but everyone says he providing the goals
agreed but surely this should also be the midfielders role not the strikers?
What I think MM means is that he should be defending from up front. Sounds mad but having played a lot of footy, the more you hassle the opposition defence, not allowing them time on the ball, the more chance that they will make mistakes. I remember Southampton coming down to the Mol while we were in the Prem. Beattie and Phillips gave our defenders no time whatsoever on the ball, caused havoc. I`m sure that is why Keogh and Elliott are MM`s top pairing at the minute. Would love to see Freddy up his workrate. Jay got a lot of abuse for the same as what freddy is doing/not doing…..
u guys make me laf! MM is the best manager we’ve had in months and u r ripping into him like this! i think its u lot that are ‘goin mad’ making statements like that about our manager. freddy needs to get back and help out. even Jay Bothroyd comes back to help so think before u speak
mick done a fantastic job last season ans he”s just letting freddie know who”s the boss and when he does play him the goals will come thick and fast, up the wolves
Well said Lincwolf……..I don’t think anyone is asking Freddy to play centre back, but it should be part of his game to be giving their defenders some hassle when they’re on the ball. Looks like either Freddy or Jay will be getting their chance on Saturday with Elliott injured so let’s hope they are up for it and earn themselves a place in the team for the next match.
Oh - and nobody has mentioned Lescott’s debut for England on Saturday. Great to see I think we would all agree.
1,6,7,8,19. You all make me laugh. 9, are you seriously comparing him to your list?
You can all keep banging on about him being the answer to our problems and probably global warming too, but come on, the evidence is Wolves are a better team without him. We’ve seen him play, where’s the argument?
I’ve no doubt he’ll come good but he might have to listen to what sounds like some pretty good advice from the manager who bought him and will want him to succeed.
21 Mick McCarthy is not way one of the bext managers we’ve had at this club.
He gets a team playing hoof football and only picks players who he gets on with.
Is any suprising Eastwood is off form after being dropped for scoring goals?
He knows now all he needs to do is run around like a headless chicken and he’ll get a place in the team
MM had a flukey first season when he managed to get in kightly on next to no money. Keogh and McIndoe. So this season wot’s he done, he’s sold McIndoe to the Robins when he should have waited to January at least, Jarvis won’t be ready for a month or so and McIndoe is a championship star. What else has MM done, he’s hired every irishman known to his grandad and refuses to play our top scorer. In fact he wants to make our top scorer into a centre back - will he be playing breen as striker? A defensive striker - jaysus mary n josuff. Wots toshack doing when wales get knocked out of the euro’s perhaps we get him in at least he knows how to win (Liverpool, Real Madrid) instead of MM’s relegation with lowest points ever (Sunderland).
I’m happy for MM to tell Freddie to improve his defensive work if he tells Keogh, Elliott and Ward to improve their finishing!
No-one denies that all 3 work hard but their goal ratio per chances created is poor.
We didn’t turn up at the second leg of the play-off semi as everyone knows but it could have been a lot different if Keogh had made more of his 1 on 1 with the keeper in the second minute. That kind of limp finish is sadly typical. It’s the failure so often to make the keeper work that’s so frustrating.
With his obsession with the work ethic, you wonder whether Le Tissier would have played for Southampton in the 80s and 90s if MM had been Manager!
Insert: Happy Baggie comment.
Doog,
Rchards,
Bully,
Best ” DEFENDERS ” this club ever had.
Oh & they scored a one or two goals to
( didn’t they )????
i think mm means try win the ball back when u have lost it , not go back to centre half ! when we played coventry he lost the ball the crowd were encouraging him to make a tackle to win the ball, which was only feet away ,but he didnt , i saw mm throw his arms in the air in amazment that he didnt have a go . thats precisly wot he means
30 i saw mm throw his arms in the air in amazment that he didnt have a go
I throw my arms up in the air in amazment every time I see MM team selection.
My god bernie, someone else has seen the light. Any one would think Mick had him lined up to play in goal. Just the odd tackle backwould be a fine start.
This is no critisism whatsoever to any Wolves fan,
you have all i`m sure commented often and at length in the FE debate,
but i was wondering,
how many more different headlines are the E&S going to use to stir up the same arguments.
Hearing rumours of Freddy + a.n.other for Sharp in January
Wbaforever….your right and I suggest it will be many…….but I suppose we’re daft enough to read it even if we think its complete bull.
In fairness Andy I would not want Sharp… He made his bed when he went to Sheffield and I am still sure that Freddy would be the better buy if he played and found his form…
WBAforever I agree with you about the E&S stirring it up.
Basically Eastwood was rubbish for Wales the other night and i think that it is a case of him lacking confidence and maybe he is suffering from that…
Give him a chance he will come alright when he has got two or three goals under his belt…
Sharp is overrated, scored 0 in 5, so no thanks… no doubt he will be good in years to come.
changing the subject,why didn’t that muppet moxey have a clause in lescott’s transfer,that we would get an extra payment if he won a full england cap!
i do agree that strikers should chase down defenders, bully was one of the best at doing that but then always got himself on the shoulder of the last defender. if you think back to when we played stoke a few months back wasnt eastwood praised by MM for running back into his own penalty area to make a goal saving tackle? maybe MM wants that kinda effort every match. big ask if you ask me for a stiker.
Bojangles
You`re probably right about FE`s
confidence suffering at present,
and i`m aware that i am joining a debate that i have previously slated,
but with not much happening on the threads, i just want to talk about anything to do with footy,
so i apologise.
When Freddy was dropped/rested for whatever reason, he could have reacted, as i see it one of two ways.
A) show MM the error of his ways,
knuckle down, work hard, and show his detractor (MM) that he couldn`t
even consider leaving him out in future.
B) go into a petulant sulk,
display poor body language and a dont give a toss attitude.
Sadly, it would appear the latter is prevelant,
but i cant help thinking that MM`s
man management is somewhat flawed,
by publicly decrying FE`s efforts, or lack of thereof.
From what I can gather, Freddy is like a later day Mel Eves.
Wouldn’t chase back for the ball, but knew where the back of the net was!
What a smart operator our Freddie is. He affirms his loyalty, says he needs to knuckle down - and then quotes MM’s idiotic rationale for not playing him!
Game set and match to Freddie, and there’s nothing at all that MM can complain about.
So the lad’s got a brain. Let’s hope he gets a chance to use it in the opposition’s penalty area on Wolves’ behalf before too long…
Im with those that say a striker is to score goals - NOT defend !! Yes they say defense starts in attack and yes I would agree that Eastwood has to close down opposition defenders - but to ask more than that when we need someone in position to stick the ball in the net is unrealistic. I would play Keogh in Midfield he does so much work !!
43 - not that smart apparently - if he says he needs to knuckle down - how long has it taken him to realise it ? This forum has been debating this for weeks - perhaps Toshack had a quiet word after his no-show for Wales?
39 - Seems Moxey isn’t the muppett you think he is - see headlines on payment for England cap.
I wonder how many other wrong conclusions are being made prematurely at the moment?
Football is a team game and that means when the team is in trouble players up front have to help the defence - so part of their game has to be tracking back when needed? I think MM knows what he is doing and Freddie will be a much better player when MM has finished getting him to up his work rate. He was a good buy, but needs to fit into the jigsaw with the rest. This is why Arsenal are so good - they play as a team with everyone being involved when needs must, that is the difference.
I agree our strikers need target practice and they probably hit the net in practice 9 times out of 10, but match day football is a very different kettle of fish. This is why the good players shine through. They can do it whenever. We will be there in the end, but we still need some investment at the back and in the middle of the park me thinks.
I used to watch Wolves play when doog and JR were the Dogs. Wish we had their sort now! Hmmm
its good to hear Freddy, is prepared to wait and adapt to what MM wants. I’m sure he will become a better player because of it. Up the Wolves!!!!!!!!!!!!
everythings ok now then,:-)boing boing
when we got eastwood i was so chuffed he would bring what we’ve been needing for ages, a proven goalscorer with a real threat in around and outside the box.
and he scores goals for us and wales ends up on the bench and then told to work on defensive duties. i am sorry but that’s just daft he’s a striker not a defensive midfielder. let him score the goals and the others who can’t score can do the donkey work.
if elliot is injured i would like to see eastwood play along side bothroyd and why not use keogh behind the front two.
and why is it we can only get players form sunderland or the irish under 21’s. do our scouts etc never look anywhere else will no on else deal with us. if they are no good for sunderland the’re no good for wolves.
i hope eastwood stays and that mick can get the best out of him, but lets be honest he won’t stay around not playing and there would be plenty of clubs willing to take him who would not keep him on the bench.
come on the wolves!!
come on freddie show us your class and become a molineux legend,!!!
SLAP IN A TRANSFER REQUEST FREEDIE,MAD MICK WILL WANT YOU IN NETS NEXT…MM AINT GOT A CLUE.
As I said recently - Le Tissier, Hoddle, Jimmy Greaves and Alan clarke.. none of these would get in a MM team.
Even John Richards would fail to impress McCarthy.
thanks terry, good job your here!!
I can’t help but think there is a niggling undertone to freddy’s comments, especially “He brought me to the club and I’m happy he did. I could argue that I was scoring goals, but I am still learning all the time. And I want to learn from the manager.”
I think he is fuming inside but trying to stay calm to appease the fans.
I dunno, i’m confused and a little bored with this story now.
I’m really bored with this story now.
All this topic appears to do is split our fans.
E & S no more PLEASE.
51 - sorry Happy would have to take you to task about Allan Clarke - if he’e the Leeds front man you are referring to ?
If it is - I remember watching that side on many occasions and nobody in that side could be accused of not getting into the opposition’s faces. Clarke in particular, I always felt could be a tad nasty with it, unlike Mick Jones who just clobbered em!
Plus Hoddle - a striker?
Or is the point you are trying to make that MM doesn’t like flair players?
H b.
What bit I have seen of K.Phillips he is not just a scorer of goals, he contributes all round.
I agree entirely with MM for NOT choosing FE at this moment in time.
I don’t think he is a lazy player, he is so used to playing that way for Southend.
This is not the Wolves way and never has been. Look at Bully, he worked his socks off and still managed lots of goals. It can be done!
but if he can be lazy at southend and score 16 goals then surely we create more chances already than southend probably did all last season so if eastwood was playing he would score loads more by now! us our top goal scorer, surely it not freddy eastwood is it?
Birchland 54 - yes its Sniffer Clark i am thinking of - and yes he was nasty and in ya face… but he was a six yard box player and I don’t remember him covering for Paul madeley or Big Jack !!
Also of course Hoddle wasn’t a striker - but some refer to his type as a “luxury” player - same with le Tissier and i think MM is in that band of people . Skill over percieved work rate dosn’t suit everyone I guess - but I know who I would rather pay to watch.
Notts 55 - yes KP does contribute, but I’m sure FE could also given a run and some confidence.. however KP aint running around the midfield, he is linking the forward play and bringing others in - thats what good forwards do.
Yes Bully was a worker - but he was unique really - a goal scorer who battled Shearer was similar but most times its either or - look at Owen, fowler, cole etc..
Eastwood saying that he’s got to work on the defensive side of his game is amazing. Happie-Baggie is right. The strikers he mentioned were not famous for their tacking. (however Richards’ work rate was always high)
Great strikers find it hard enough to score without having the extra burden of making tackles. Eastwood should be told to go out and score the best way he knows and if this means the others have to work harder then so be it.
We have got to start scoring. One one draws are no use to us anymore.
Maybe Mick should take a look at what is happening at Tesco’s…
More Micky Brown Nosers, what you playing at MM, Sunderland players again, do you know anyone else??
Its getting a joke now honest sick and tighered of hering players from sunderland linked or irish, sunderland are c**p so are there players?? bring Keith Andrews Back, good strong midfielder, Come on ince we need you back!!
rich boy
up the wolves
There’s a rumour that McCarthy is about to drop the ‘keeper, and tell him to work harder on the attacking side of his game.
David Bartley, Tipton
STEVE BULL WAS A GREAT DEFENDER FOR WOLVES HE FOUGHT AND HARRIED THE OPPOSITION DEFENCE RELENTLESSLEY, I DONT THINK FREDDY HAS THE LEGS TO DO THIS, WHEN HE GETS HIS CHANCE AND OF COURSE GOOD SERVICE LETS SEE HIM BANG SOME IN, A TEAM MUST STICK TOGETHER FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL, THAT INCLUDEES THE FANS
JAMIE AT LANYON HOLIDAY PARK CORNWALL CUBS JAMES AND JENNY
Erm. Hate to keep banging on about this but we keep seeing him off the bench and Ronaldino he aint!
Bully was a top defender. How many times did he chase down the keeper and win us a throw in or cause a mistake to set up another attack. Mick is not asking him to join the back four, just to give us a bit of Bully. I think Freddy will be in the team soon and will be our top scorer. Nice to see the Baggies are worried about their poor gates and are trying to fill the ground with cheap kids. Has Peace broken out or broken down?
I agree with 21, Lincwolf and 24, that it is Eastwoods and Bothroyds unability to create disturbancies for the defenders of the opposed team thar MM want them to better. Elliot and Keogh excells in that and that’s why they play.
Defense is not at tactic that is carried out by defenders alone. In total, modern football it is executed all over the pitch.
Those of you who does’nt get that has, i’m afraid to say, missed som important development of footballing since the 70’s. (Perhaps that’s why England has’nt beaten Sweden since the 60’s;-)
IN MICK WE TRUST!
(scratches head)
strikers surely get paid to score goals!
So freddy……….. JOB DONE!
I watched some of the so called TOP STRIKERS in the premiership when we were there, they did not impress me one bit back then, but looking back they popped up for just 1 minute in the game an scored against us!
Id rather have freddy do nothing for 89 mins then win us the game in the 1 min he does! after all its got to be better than running around like a headless chicken and missing chance after chance (coughs) elliot! peeps saying you would rather they worked there socks off GROW A BRAIN! where has it got elliot? 75% of fans i know think he is a waste of space!
Keogh will do all freddys running for him!
STILL THE TOP SCORER AND BEEN OUT SIDE FOR 5-6 GAMES!
ENOUGH SAID!
I think this is face saving BS, come January unless he gets a run in he will be off and rest assured MM will sell. MM is responsible for his lack of confidence by dropping him whilst he was in form for Elliott, not clever…sorry but this season we will not go up unless our top goal scorer gets another run to bolster his and the teams confidence
I totally agree with you Stokie 12 regarding the great Bill McGarry ruling with a rod of iron his repution for being a hard man preceded him from Ipswich -Ialso think that all his players really wanted to play for him MM could do with takking a few leaves out of his book.. Colliewolf
Not so happy_baggie are’t you forgetting Astle and Brown - You must be bored with your boring team or you are closet wolves fan because you never seem to be of the wolves site or is it that you are worried about us and our welfare..colliewolf
not a team player. doesnt like to tackle. doesnt have a great first touch. Mick was right to drop him.
His performance against coventry said it all. Just watch how much work he actually does.
57 - Happy, where has MM stated that Freddy has to cover the back four ? nowhere thats where - just another example of your selective trouble making memory.
And I’m sure we would all like to watch pretty football all the time, as you are at the moment, but I think you will agree pretty football doesn’t always get results and its results that players, coaches , and Managers are judged on. Or are you saying you wqould be happy for the Baggies to play attractive football all season and stay in the Championship?
Just remember the off the ball efforts ‘Bully’ used to put in to the overall team work ethics we needed !
I also remember that work ethic was ONE of the reasons he was loved so much…..100% at ALL times and STILL able to regularly hit the onion sack !
I think a bit more of that work ethic from Freddy would probably enhance his goals ratio, as I said before it didn’t do Bully much harm !
Happy
wouldn’t mention wolves and Hoddle in the same breathe if I was you mate…
The majority of us cant stand him!
Birchland 70 - the problem is that no one knows WHAT MM is expecting of Eastwood (inc Eastwood).
As for pretty football - last season was the most enjoyable I have watched in years… even more so that Megson getting us promoted twice. Its not ALL about promotion - although I think we have the mix of pretty (skillful) footbakll and a stronger spine this year. But to answer your question - I would rather watch TM’s football in the championship than MM’s in the premier.
Happy Baggie I think that from the article Freddy knows exactly what is expected of him and has done for some time, the fact that other people don’t(us included)is of no consequence - whether he wants to do it is down to him.
Your last comment is rather stating the obvious - unless of course you really do have split loyalties?
And I do agree that you have a better balanced side this season, but I think it is as yet unproven whether you have the players to ‘win ugly’which you may have to do to win automatic promoation.
Agreed the eastwood saga is a cloudy issue - but MM has made some very public statements and FE was brought (presumably) to score goals for you - not for his work rate. If he is lazy AND not scoring, fair enough but am I right in thinking he was doing ok for goals when he was dropped ??
I meant I would rather watch TM’s STYLE of play in the championship than MM’s STYLE in the prem - of course i meant whilst watching wba.
Finally - thanks for the fair assessment - we still have a lot to prove, but games such as Scunny & Stoke are showing us to have the abity to play (and win) ugly as well as pretty.
ick is dead right about Eastwood being poor on the defensive side of being a striker. defence starts in the other side’s half. A good striker should make the opponent’s defenders uncomfortable on the ball so that they are forced into long aimless clearances. Keogh does it wonderfully but when Eastwood loses the ball he lets the defenders get away. Bully was excellent at it. No defender could be comfotable with bully around.
75 - Happy - no you are not right in thinking he was doing OK before being dropped. Immediately after the last round of internationals Freddy was played, didn’t score and looked totally disinterested,
so hopefully, now that you are fully informed, you can make a more reasoned assessment of the situation
77 - I thought he was your top scorer when he was dropped but I don’t follow it THAT closely so I may be wrong… or maybe you agree with MM that running and work rate are more important than ghoals in a forward - and thats fine, just not for me.
I see this article co-insides with Elliott being injured… FE may be doing the talking but its MM’s handwriting he is reading…
Happy - you do make some very good points on many occasions, but also on occasions you follow up with an absolute load of nonsense ( Post 79)- I suspect because you just like to have the last word.
I have no interest in going round and round in circles debating things which have already been thrashed to death as in 78.
But if its my personal opinion you want, yes I think work rate is important - but its all relative - I don’t believe anyone including MM wants FE to chase back and cover defence, but a little effort in trying to win back ball he’s just lost would be nice.
Given the latest headlines it looks like this debate is closed - for at least a week anyway
Birchland 81 - looks like MM is off the hook for now.
to be continued…..
As sure as the sun rises every day - somewhere anyway!