Perhaps now, the last of Wolves’ defensive doubters will finally fall silent, writes Mark Douglas.
The Molineux back four has been much maligned at various points this season but you wouldn’t have found a single dissenter in the 2,600-strong away support yesterday after the defenders passed their biggest test of the season at Fortress Hawthorns.
The school of thought that Wolves’ defensive strength would be undermined the instant it was pitted against the speed and movement of Albion’s front five was found to be fatally flawed on an afternoon when their unsung hero once again rose to the fore.
No, not Wayne Hennessey – although the unassuming goalkeeper fully deserved to have his name sung from the rafters for the first time after foiling the rapier-sharp Albion attack with two superb point-blank second-half stops.
Because while the impressive Hennessey made the save that ultimately preserved the point, this was a draw chiselled out by a back four led impeccably by Craddock.
The ego-free Jody Craddock is all too happy to slip under the radar after games like this, but his contribution to this brave draw was so immense that it deserves to be immortalised in Black Country derby folklore.
On a day when every single player in gold and black did their bit, it was Craddock who provided the biggest inspiration – getting boot and head in the way of everything that Ishmael Miller tried.
Mick McCarthy has made a few shrewd since joining Wolves, but has there been a better one than prematurely ending Craddock’s loan spell at Stoke?
The Molineux men have lost just once in twelve games since Craddock made his return, and vice captain Karl Henry believes Jody has made a huge difference in that time.
“I think our performance proved that we’ve got the best back four in the division, and Jody Craddock is so important to us. Since he came back from Stoke he has been absolutely inspirational,” said Henry.
“He’s a real leader and with him in the team we look so solid – he wins everything in the air and with Darren Ward alongside him we’ve got a great partnership going.”
Of course, there were others who made a huge contribution too – not least McCarthy, who saw his tactical masterplan executed to perfection.
Reasoning that no team in the division can match Albion for speed and purpose, he deployed one up front and squeezed the space round the home side’s key men.
It worked – and when Albion were all punched out in the second half, Wolves began to come into their own. As McCarthy quite rightly pointed out afterwards, they matched Albion chance for chance with their incisive counter-attacking.
Michael Kightly, Darren Ward and Henry were the other stars for Wolves – but it all appeared to flow from captain Craddock.
It’s hard to believe that just three months ago his days at Wolves appeared numbered. Because this morning he looks like a key player in a promotion push that is slowly but surely gathering momentum.
34 Comments
I trust Mick but clearly he made a mistake with Jody. When he realised this he was happy to have him back asap and that’s how it should be. An excellent manager and a quality defender We are lucky to have them both.
Albion were “all punched out” ? who is writing this drivel ? I have read more reasoned reports from wolves fans than this garbage ?
Other “stars” ???IMO Kightly made no impact and Henry had a average game.
As for the best back four in the division… the score was NIL / NIL.. ie no one scored. We have let in 1 more goal than you all season so lets not get carried away.
I have already posted on here praising craddock and wolves in general, but its inflametary “journalism” like this that makes local banter almost impossible.
Reading this you would think we were lucky to get out without a hammering.
Goood on Jody . He has been different class for wolves since he has cum bck ! shows he is a better captain than breen ! walking in craddock wonderland
I’m still baffled as to why Craddock was sent out on-loan in the first place. Cheers Jody, you’re a star.
There’s only one Jody Craddock,
One Jody Craddock.
He used to be *****,
but now he’s alright.
Walking in a “Craddock Wonderland”
UP THE WOLVES!!!!!!!
i was gutted the day he went to stoke, it would have been a huge loss and it would have had to be back to square 1! he is the perfect replacement for lescott in skill although his age isnt so good! but defenders play til they are 40 nowadays and they get better with it aswell. good times my fellow dingles good times!
Well deserved comments. Well done jody, keep up the good work !!
And how about us fans changing those couple of lines in “walking in a craddock wonderland”, he’s better than that.
E.G.
There’s only one jody craddock,
One jody craddock,
We didn’t want u 2 leave,
U wear ur heart on ur sleeve,
Walking in a craddock wonderland !!
Come on lads, i,m sure there’s someone out there who can think up somethin better…
I have been one of our defence’s biggest critics on these pages, but credit where it is due, they did really well.
However, pace is an essential ingredient in defence, and an injection in January could prove to be vital.
Now, two home wins please.
David Bartley, Tipton.
well chuffed, we are on the up and to give the baggies a good game on their own patch proves it,lots of good things coming from wolves,just need to score some goals now. well done MM, well done me babbies
West Brom returned to the second automatic promotion spot despite being held at home by negative Wolves who knew this was their CUP FINAL. Lucky should have been 1-0. We still have the class!
You Dingles are acting like you have won the league??? we are going up and you are staying down..simple as that and you know it! boing boing, the baggies are, have always been and will always be the greatest!
well said that man
I was at the game and the sound of `There`s only one Jody Craddock` was at one point deafening, keep it up and you may be playing alongside Joleon for England…. awesome game.
pleased with a point, wudda took that at start of game
Please remember we were only playing an average team in Sandwell town.
But we all know Jody is a great player anyway…
as for craddock every dog has its day
as for mccarthy’s masterplan , we still can’t score yet his 2 best strikers elliot & eastwood were on the bench
we only got a point due due to the individual brilliance of young hennesey on 2 occasions , not merlin;s masterplan !
Hats off to merlin for changing his mind and bringing craddock back from loan.
Proof indeed that hes not as stubborn as some like to think.
Got the tactics spot on at the hawthorns
A ginger inspiration, much like my very own Matt Davies.
What artistic talent too….
The bigger question is why did he send him on loan in the first place. That decision alone cost us points at the start of the season.
15. n.hallchurch
What are you on boy???
It takes more than one man to make a team.
Grow up, it was a good result for which MM deserves the plaudits for getting his tactics right.
We are on the up and once we click into gear everyone around us will have something to worry about.
Look at the next two games for those teams in the top six. We should be sitting comfortably after that should everything go to form.
wolveswolves - I don’t know the answer to that like most of us.
What I do know, is that none of us are in the know as to everything that goes on in the club on a daily basis, and because of that it is almost impossible to second guess some decisions.
Maybe MM was close to signing someone either permanently or on loan and it fell through??
The policy has been not to highlight targets until the deal is done so this may be a possible answer.
What I do know, is that Jody was brought back and is playing the way we all know he is capable of - and that is a good decision.
i see that Hoppy-Boggie is off on one again, to be honest most piggies have been honest and applied a rational debate to the subject, except hoppy-boggie who obviously he couldn,t have been at the game, sounds like one of these who has his ear stuck to radio WM, no way could he have been at the game, and talking about cup finals, it’s the piggies that have always seen us has a big scalp not the other way round, if i was hoppy-boggie i would get another hobby because his obsession with wolves is driving him mad
merlins masterplan?
what aload of ********,
if henessey hadnt saved the penalty the so called masterplan wouldnt be mentioned. We played well and escaped at the end. Lets see if the so called magical merlin can come up with a masterplan on how to put the ball in the net plus dont forget who let jody go to stoke and was willing to let jay leave?
if anybody was misnamed its the pr@tt wiseguy 10. No forwards you’re heading for midtable dont forget to wave as we pass you into the automatic places. Facts dont lie we have the best defence in the league and 4 fit forwards ready to produce the goods. I can see another sale at Tesco’s in May
happy baggie, kightly caused problems several times especially putting in the cross for seyi
were you even at the game?? he did more than that brunt who cost 2.5m in summer
i thought midfield in seyi n henry were terrific
happy baggie stats speaks for stats we have conceded the least, kept most clean sheets
hence why we got the best defencee in the league
if we were 2nd top scorers n you had one more than us, im certain you would say your the top scorers
boggie boing boing back to wba page, where you can discuss how the mighty wba could only draw angaist the lowly likes of wolves
22 - once again your fixation with me is more than a little weird.
Where did i mention cup final ??
As for being at the game, I think I gave an accurate, maybe slightly biased opinion of the match which other wolves fans on here have agreed with. Your constant referal to being at the game only highlights the fact that you wern’t there !
You are entitled to your opinion - but when EVERYONE ELSE is disagreeing with you - including wolves fans, maybe you should try shutting up.
Also your constant referal to us as piggies and boggies sets your age at about 13 - are you off school poorly today ?
23 - wimblebury wolf
Yes and lets not forget that he brought him back from Stoke, and that he put Wayne in the team and stuck by him when others have said he should have brought in a first choice goalie.
Both decisions paid dividends on Sunday.
I don’t know why people are getting so pumped up about this game?
It was just another draw, like Leicester, don’t remember all this
ho-ha!
More important is the next two games for both clubs. Wolves need to win both to close the gap and Albion need good away results because if you don’t get much out of the next two the confidence of the team and the fans will suffer.
Happy, you can’t blame Wolves fans for being ‘up’ about the result on Sunday. It just maybe the turning point and a match which saw Wolves at last turn a corner. It isn’t so much of an issue for your lot, but if you don’t watch out you may, as a club make it into one!
Just one more thought for Albion fans;
If you hadn’t played Wolves in the play-off’s last season I think you would have beaten Darby easily.
I think both teams put far to much into this fixture, and it might really cost you if you don’t get up this season!
It just keeps happening in this league, the best teams don’t always go up.
The rest of the season will be a big test for you and your style of football. Will you be suited to winter football, and can you kick your way out if you need to?
10. Wiseguy said
“You Dingles are acting like you have won the league??? we are going up and you are staying down..simple as that and you know it! boing boing, the baggies are, have always been and will always be the greatest!”
One word, arrogance! Getting a reputation for it as well. There a lot of fans from a lot of clubs who will be more than happy to remind you of these comments if you blow it again like last season. There’s a long way to go yet! People like you give the majority of boggies fans a bad rep
Sounded like a great game and Jody shone at the back, why are the comments so cutting?
We have the best defensive record thats stats for U and if we had not tried to get back into a couple of games by throwing caution to the wind the record would be even better.
The Baggies have got a great attacking line up but lets see if its all down to a couple of guys.
I do not think we have found our scoring level as yet as we create a lot more than we put away.
Whats the rumour about Boro after TM, and who will he take with him????
im a wolves fan and happy baggie is spot on this is drivel… wolves didnt defend that well on another day another collins blunder would have made us lose one nil
We got away with daylight robbery, an average performance against an understrength yet average side.
We haven’t enough potency up front and Eastwood has done nothing to convince me yet, Elliot shows signs of intelligence unmatched in the squad and probably the league but we have no goalscorer.
Keogh is injured which is a blow but he’s not a goalscorer either, there comes a point when a striker has to score goals not just run themselves into the ground..
I am pleased with a point and think that we deserved the point. But we’re still at the moment, playing average football and being too negative.
Mick’s style just isn’t working with a young, vibrant and clearly creative team, he’s not letting them play while maintaining a STRONG back four, which is what is required if we’re to get out of this league…
The transitional period from a thread-bare squad to now having a squad of young starlets is over, it’s time these boys turned into men and hopefully after a battle on Sunday, they are half-way there and we see genius in Merlin’s plans.
I will be watching tonight’s game eagerly to see what becomes of this Wolves team now we’re at home against a decent yet very beatable squad.