Boss Mick McCarthy has warned his under-pressure defenders to cut out the errors – or risk losing out in their bid for the play-offs.
Wolves wasted another glorious chance to claw back ground on the top six as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Vicarage Road – the scene of last weekend’s scintilating FA Cup win.
McCarthy was furious with his side’s slow start – and laid the blame on his back four for failing to cope with Watford man Leigh Bromby’s long throw in the first minute.
Defender Darren Ward appeared to let the ball bounce over his head – allowing Steve Kabba to steal in and head home the first goal.
And that angered the Wolves boss, who is looking for improvements next weekend.
“To be one down within sixty seconds is a dreadful start for any team,” he said.
“It was disappointing to concede so early in the game, but for me it was the nature of the first goal that was particularly disappointing.
“We were aware of Bromby’s threat from throw-ins and we should have dealt with it better.”
McCarthy admitted too many individual players were below par to match the Hornets, who recorded their first win in eight home games.
“We have had three great results, so the next step for us is trying to get another three results,” he said.
“But I do think from our last three performances we had too many players who didn’t perform as well as they have done,” he admitted.
Recalled defender Rob Edwards has called for Wolves to hit back immediately against fellow promotion contenders Stoke on Saturday.
He believes Wolves cannot afford to go on a similar run to the one that saw them go eight games without a win.
“It doesn’t make us a bad team because we lost 3-0, but we’ve got to be able to turn it around quickly,” he said.
56 Comments
Same old, same old.
At least he didn’t blame the supporters this week.
Only 2 wins against teams in the top 12, says it all really Mick.
Has Mick just woken up to the fact that our defenders, epecially our central defenders are not good enough. A bit late I think!
He should have done something about it in the transfer window, instead he gets a donkey of a striker on loan! Perhaps he thinks that we can defend from the front!
This wake-up call has GOT to start hitting home soon. It seems that just when we seem to put in a water-tight display, cock-ups at the back ruin our chances. And this ‘letting the ball bounce’ has been the culprit on more than this occasion.
Our defence might seem make-shift, but the number of goals we’ve conceded says it all really..
It’s up front we’re still struggling.
LCW - I beg to differ. The fact that for the majority of the season we’ve planted two central midfielders in front of the back 4 is the reason for both the low goals conceded to date and the low number of goals scored. With George back soon, if MM picks both him and Henry, we won’t concede that many more. Unfortunately we’ll look even less of a threat attacking wise - even Adebayor would struggle with such a midfield void.
A bad day at the office. Nothing more then that, no need for panic stations or rash decisions just yet.
MM will turn this around, he has to. He now has all his own personnel at the wolves so will have no excuses come the end of the season. Steve and Jez have backed him and it’s now time to deliver.
We gave away a sloppy first goal on Saturday, i’m sure that won’t happen again, if you read into this story a little more MM is seething at this loss and we’ll come back stron against a solid stoke outfit.
Where are all the supreme optimists who have been whooping with delight that the Netto boys were on the promotion trail?
A few wins against lower half teams and you are all up for it. A defeat against a dreadful and unattractive Watford team is more a measure of the status that should be afforded to MM’s goal shy gold and black minions.
MICK OUT!
Isn’t it quite extraordinary how many teams end a poor sequence of results against the perennial under-achievers? Kabba, no goals in two years(according to one report) only had to wait 70 seconds for a gift from Wolves “statues”.
It would be better if Wolves manager and players just said nothing instead of the constant “I/we are better than this” nonsense. In a poor quality Division their results and position say all that needs to be said!
Darren Ward’s been pretty sound for quite a while now, but he does tend to have a habit of letting the ball bounce - criminal for a professional defender at any level. He did it at Sheffield Utd and we ending up losing a game that we should have won. We don’t defend well against the big ‘orrible sides.
DESPARATE.STILL NEED TOP QUALITY KEEPER(HENNER NEEDS A REST AND IS STILL LEARNING),TWO CENTRE HALVES,TWO FULL BACKS AND TWO MIDFIELDERS IN THE MOULD OF MIKE BAILEY AND KENNY HIBBITT WHO WE’VE NEVER REPLACED.
Eh, ‘Bid for the play-off’s’???
Not so long ago, it wasn’t it a bid to go up automatically?
We have been saying for months now that the defence just isn’t good enough. Pace, power & guile. Everton have a player called Joleon somthing????? Automatic promotion (Quote MM pre-season)has now become a battle for the play off lottery with the mighty Stoke, Hull, Cardiff and er Bristol etc! I was think about the Wolves team that did get promoted & relegated due to bizarre underfunding & lack of planning. Midfield, Ince, Cameron, Rae, Kennedy. Irwin at the back, Lescott? Compare that to powder puff present outfit?
poor again costing us valuable points. defence is rubbish. kyle hopeless why did he drop freddy when he was championship player of the month
Boo-Boys have returned, clearly by post 8!!!!
Shcker isnt it?? They buttoned for the last few weeks, but they are jump on at MM when we lose. When the defaet was to come, whether it was Saturady or in a few weeks, they were always going to reappear. Well we havent missed you.
You were vey quiet over the last couple of weeks. I wonder why??
Danny Jones & George Elokobi must be looking forward to the next game with interest.
The defending against Watford left a lot to be desired & could they be the answer?
Only training this week will tell.
I just hope Mick gives them the fair crack of the whip they deserve.
We just aint good enough.It is obvious we need two mobile central defenders.Not for the first time I question the clubs ambition. We have two wins against Scunthorpe and Sheff Wed for Gods sake and everything is supposedly back on track.We will never get promoted by buying above average first division players and average championship players. Play offs ? no chance!!!
Wolves boss should fire Connor, Daley, Mimms from the coaching staff and Ward, Gray, and Collins from the defence!!!!!!!!!
Where was the new bloke??? Will Mick Muppett keep him on the ‘one for the future’ bench??
And Morgan should fire McCarthy and Moxey!!
70’s throwback:
Mike Bailey & Kenny Hibbett?
Going back a tad too far me thinks!
I reckon Wolves never replaced Ince & Rae!
On another note, whatever happened to the following ex-Wolves players?
John Pender, Dave Wintersgill, Dannie Crainie, pee wee Paul Butler ( not the recent one)& John Humphries?
“Those were the days my friend….”
Oh god the groundhog day comments start again…….fans didn’t want bigger name players because they constantly underachieved…they wanted young & hungry but now that’s not good enough….no doubt they’ll boo the home grown players when/if they get their chance too..
Re: comment 15. Eddie Wolf. I am not a boo boy, season ticket holder who has had enough of McCarthy and the rubbish he makes us put up with. I was just stating that there has been a problem with the defence all season! Why has it taken McCarthy until now to realize that the defence is not as good as he thinks. Yes we won two league games against teams in the bottom four of the league and the FA Cup game against a weakened Watford team. Scunthorpe had their chances against us but could not put them away and Sheffield Wed had chances! The Watford games was the first away match I have missed for ages and was a carbon copy of the game against Hull, when we also fell apart in the second half!
good posting nathan. Agree with what you say. Also may i add, how can any manager anticipate the mistakes made by those players on Saturday. It wasn’t MM’s fault. The players need to stand up and be counted. UP THE WOLVES !!
When we played Stoke earlier in the year we coped pretty easily with there forwards mainly due to a great performance from Breen. No doubt many would moan about it but he should be back in at the weekend to help the battle against another bout of Pulisball.
It’s not the players fault, it’s down to bad management throughout the club. There appears to be little ambition, has the owner one eye on the Liverpool saga.
15) The difference is we have seen the previous couple of wins as a blip, you have seen the last 2 months bar 3 games a blip.
Spot on Posh side of Wolvo!
We are too powder puff and I’ve been saying it for ages! The test of a side is their mental capacity to dig in when they go behind and turn it around. The sky stats showed that once we’re behind, the best we can hope for is a draw….compare that with the lot down the road who are still thinking of winning when they’re 2 goals behind!
A pretty first half on Saturday with no conviction and a second half that fizzled out long before the second goal went in!
Yes, Eddie, I’m a boo boy where MM is concerned….so long as he plays stikers as wingers which is pretty much every game, strengthens where we don’t need strengthening and is way down from his prediction of where we will and should finish!
And being young doesn’t mean being toothless. There are plenty of battlers in football under the age of 25…and some of them were playing for Watford.
Bromby was MOTM on Saturday - Boothroyd saw the problem last week and sorted it. We looked the same as we have done all season - inconsistent and weak!
10. D. Ward’s been sound for a while now? I think he’s been the weakest link in the whole squad for most, if not all, of this season. He’s been a slow one dimensional player who’s only apparent aim is to see out the rest of his career by just thinking all he needs is to turn up!
Bye Bye Mick.
were not even close to being as good as we were the year we went up.
The only way for us to get out next year is to have a Mick and Moxey gone.
Wolves still need two centre backs
Collins - Rubbish
D.Ward - Rubbish
Craddock - Will Be Gone At End Of The Season
Breen - Past It & Will Be Gone At End Of The Season
Micky Gray - Past It & Will Be Gone At The End Of The Season
R.Edwards - Is The Only Quality Centre Back We Have All Of The Above Are Pathetic!
Have Not Seen Elokobi, So Can Not Judge Him!
Back Four Needs Sorting Out, Have Some Faith Mick And Go With This Across The Back Foley, R.Edwards, Elokobi, D.Jones.
Get James Collins Off West Ham 1m tops!!!! also buy that Ifill of Swindon Town he is quality!!
Come on mick work your super stuff.
Very dissapointing performance and that after an OK first half, the less said about the second the better. We had no enthusiasm and we conceded sloppy goals. I will forget this performance and still support 100% for the play-offs but we need to win a lot of our games to be up there and we won’t win any if we are not lively enough to put in a performance week in week out! I agree we have some good players but its performances like this that beg the question: Is our squad good enough to challenge for promotion?!
I must be the only one who thought we played really well for an hour on Saturday. Oh well. It would be nice to have some information on next weeks cup match too!!!
eddie 15 its not a cas eof being a boo boy its a case of being realistic, we’ve spent more than most others in the division, we were supposed to be favourites to go up and wehave had to put up with a compete load of tosh every week except for the odd occassion where we scrape a win and the clappers like you think its all huunky dory at the MOL. We don’t look good enough to make it into the playoffs, the table doesnt lie
MCCARTHY is a crap manager who couldnt find his way out of a paper bag let alone manage a football team. Wake up smell the roses and accept that MCcarthy should go
7. I’de rather be a netto than a deckchair.
Why is it people relish coming on this site just to say ‘Mick Out!’?
He’s a fine manager and this was just a blip made to look bad due to a rubbish set of results prior to Scunny away.
14. Luigi - What do you mean Kyle was rubbish? He came on for about 20 mins and did no worse than any of the others. Give the guy a chance! It was the defence that let us down (again)! And even though we have conceded less than most, as an earlier poster said, it’s down to having a defensive midfield.
If the “Boo-boys” think this team is bad, were where they in the Eighties when we were playing the likes of Grimsby,Lincoln & Carlisle & losing to Chorley in the Cup?
The team over-achieved last season & to expect promotion this season is not out of the question…YET!
If you don’t like what you see, don’t go.
Simple as!
If however, by some fluke, Wolves do get to Wembley, don’t moan when you can’t get a ticket!
Wolves took over 50,000 to the Sherpa Van,imagine if it was for something worth winning?Wolverhampton would be empty that day.
Other than Kites, I can’t see a match winner in this team! Maybe Eastwood if he played but other than that I dont think the team hosts a talented game changing match winner. Can anyone shoot from distance? can anyone dribble? Can anyone play a forward through one on one? No.
Yet again our player of the season is looking like the keeper!
How serious is this board for promotion? Not ‘challenging for promotion’ as the board likes to put it, every team is flippin challenging, I mean doing it properly like we did with D Jones and buying/loaning some class with Morgans money.
Nobody stands out for me. We are an average team led by an average manager, employed by an average board.
The table proves it.
Ward Heenesey and Foley have been quite solid all season,Gray struggles with Jarvis in front of him hes left quite isolated because Jarvis is wolves main point of attack.
Wouldnt mind oli and Henry IN AWAY GAMES protecting the back four if we had Jarvis and kiteley down the wings.
I would only play Edwards in the middle with those wingers at home.lETS get Kites back and see what happens.Would be interesting to see what team is picked with 2 wingers,would probably balance things up a bit.
This blokes a joke, ageing central defenders, with no pace and no ability on the ball. God help us we are actually waiting on Breen and Fanny to come back!!! Wake up for Gods sake, not ONE of the central defenders at the club are up to the job and I see it week in week out, feel for RE but he’s as slow as DW and NC, Fanny and Breenie are even slower. What does Mad Mick do in the transfer window, buy a left back we now have 4 and get an absolute Donkey in up front who cant even get in a failing Cov side. We are once again a laughing stock thanks to MM and his short sited naive football brain.
The gap in class is growing by the day and your boast about attendancies is closing fast our average is now just 1090 behind you.going up in style.
The lack of passing out of defence doesn’t help our cause. We get the ball, lump it forward and hope it sticks. People can go on about Stoke and Warford being long ball all they like, but thanks to Mick so are we!
Unpretty football is acceptable in the pro game if it’s winning you games, but as is plain to see, it’s not. How long until Morgan realises our failings are down to the manager, who has not seen our obvious weakness at the back.
15 strikers is not the answer to scoring goals, giving the ball to the midfield from the back instead of lamping it right back to their central defenders.
Bad day at the office. How many more before we have totally lost the plot?! Crap defending, unbelievable how we managed not to deal with Bromby’s long throw in’s time and time again. How many times do you have to see and expect what he is going to do and screw up so often? Sorta beggars belief!
When is Kites coming back. Jarvis was excellent I thought. SEB will be good for us and Keogh just had an off day. We have to feed the strike force down the middle and from the wings and they have to be in the box to receive. Very little of that happend on Saturday. I hope MM gave some of them a kick up the arse at half time. Even though they played better in that half than the 2nd.
I think our season has gone because we will screw up again. Sorry to be so negative, but glow the end of the tunnel seems to be getting darker not lighter. We should be eating up most of the teams in this division with the resources we have!!
Eddie Wolf… I WENT TO VICARAGE ROAD, so I am entitled to have my say. We were ok 1st half and poor second half. The team hasnt progressed since last season. Not enough quality in the final third. KK what a big bloke but a big plank too. A few knock on’s but thats about it. Gave away silly free kicks. Best performer for wolves….. NO ONE!
It is fans like you who keep saying back the mgr blah blah blah. Well I have backed MM last season and we were great because we played football, on the deck and we looked like a really good side. Now this season and Steve Morgan says promotion push will be necessary, MM has started to feel the pressure and the heat.
MM blames the fans,
has a public go at freddie,
plays players out of position
Sends Fanny Craddock to Stoke then when he sees that Collins and Ward are rubbish he goes back on his word.
Plays his favourites when they are clearly arent good enough.
Not addressed the defence
Very 1 dimensional in our approach play.
No plan B
Blames the fans for booing Elliott
Blames injuries where clearly we are a 1 man team.
Brings in a donkey at centre forward Wolves answer to Peter Crouch!
The excuses go on and on and on.
No I dont care if fans think we are fickle but if we travel to matches both home and away to support the team we will, but if the Mgr loses the plot then I wont back him.
MM has got to blood the youngsters like he did last season as we all saw how much effort and committment they showed. Where is Gleeson, Rosa.
MICK OUT!
im not one of the boo boys but this is going to far now it seems to me that the ambition of our once great club has seemed to have disappered. every year we get hyped up the expectation comes to our beloved molineux then for some reason we fall short again .i think there is one or two scare mongers amonst the board who have lost the ambition since dare i say it 2002 when we lost out to our dear neighbours in sandwell .i just want to know who is running the show at wolves is morgan or moxey .it seems forever now that day in cardiff and every season that passes that its just getting a distant memory .so come mr morgan put your money where your mouth and lets get back to where we belong.
33. LCW
Beware the ‘Ides’ of March. Apart from the stupidity of your Netto-ist remark, you really must not take anymore days off from junior school. You see it is so important that you learn basic spelling before you are let out in to the big world. At least then you will be free to communicate properly through the written word, even if they are full of useless drivel.
33 - “I’de (?) rather be a netto than a deckchair” - your wish is granted.
44 rsbaggy:
Oy! Leave our LCW alone.
So he doesn’t know how to spell check,BIG DEAL!
18 tonywolf/28 GlosWolf :
You never heard of the Industrial Tribunal?
Copied from comment 35:
If you don’t like what you see, don’t go.
Simple as!
whats happened to all the idiots who said we were going to get promoted after we won against second and forth from bottom teams?
building for the future, my a***!!!!
Daresay,that slow start had nothing to do with you did it Mick.
Ya should be nailing them guys before they start as the are totally ready for a battle.We start so many games on the backfoot - what the hell do you say to them before they leave that dressing room.
Let em have it - ya do enough barking on the touchline.
I was born in Cannock but cannot agree with LCW (33). Mick is not a bad manager but he is never going to be great. I see a huge problem in football, the great players who would go on to be great managers are too rich at the end of their playing careers to bother even getting the coaching badges. Gone are the days when the likes of Shearer would have started his management career at Brentford or Scunthorpe. Now its straight in at Newcastle, ask for exemption while he gets his badges and after a few months of finding out what real work is he is off for a chat on the telly for more huge bucks. Why the hell do you think I admire Paul Ince so much? He is out there doing it and because he loves football. I long for the day he leads his team out at the Mol.
Up the Wolves.
We thought that Wolves played some decent stuff in the first half by all accounts - apart from the basic schoolboy error from D Ward - but Hennessy we felt could have commanded the six yard area better and made an effort to be first to the ball ahead of Kabba - as a “bouncing ball” should be food & drink to a tall keeper (especially in the six yard box)
The second half inclusion of Kyle negated the wing play - which really was our only possible route back into the game - and whilst we accept the clear lack of pace from our centre half’s - We really feel that Kyle’s inclusion and the sudden urge to “hoof” the ball up to him - then keep it wide and attack, led to the further goals that Watford scored to finish us off
The obvious lack of pace in defence should as a matter of opinion point to a patient passing build up from the back to midfield and then spring the attacks with pace wide left or wide right - hopefully followed by TWO strikers breaking their necks to get into the enemies box and make attempts at goal
Granted we need a centre half with pace - but we feel more urgently, we really need a midfield general who when the chips are down, can and will put his foot on the ball and orchestrate the play on our terms
A calm experienced head out there, even with our defensive frailties (no pace), would have meant that we could maintain our only creative routes to goal - slick and fast wing play - BOTH left and right
Did MM hit the “panic” button far too early and changed the tactics? Or are there passengers out on the pitch - who cant lead/ havent got the bottle to get stuck in? (But run around and around attempting to look “busy”?)
A loss against Watford was probably predictable as revenge for a 4-1 home drubbing - regardless of 6 Watford reserve players etc last time out was definately on the menu, we gave away a stupid goal very very cheaply - but lost our momemtum of attack in the 2nd half - not Kyles fault personally, but Watford were not going to be victims of a “sucker punch” coming from kick and rush attempts in the 2nd half - tactics that are far too obvious and lacking in guile and imagination
Post 42 SUPERSTARDJWOLVES:
I’m not saying you dont. I go to the games like you, and I understand we were crap, particularly when you have to travel for hours and sit in the freezing cold.
But, I dont agree with accepting after the Sheff Wed we should support Mick. One defeat later, its all change. Its been a poor run for months, but I dont like this swapping of sides. Mate, you have more than a right to have your say. But so do I!
What we should have done was sign another couple of strikers, then we’d be fine.
comments llike alot of these on ere aint worth reading yes we all frustrated no need to blame mm give him time and support we aint goin ne wher dis season i for one would say wolves and mm have my full support
At the end of the day, this season is not as good as last season. I think MM is feeling the pressure and he doesnt like it when things dont go his way. Its a pathetic way to manage, to do business. Out of all this, if we finish outside of the playoffs, by 1 point or by 10 points I dont think we are not going to progress under MM. He is tactically naive, and his flaws are beginning to surface. He is living on borrowed time. I am a wolves fan not a MM fan that is why he needs to be sacked!
MM OUT!
Maybe Im crazy but I still have faith in MM but can’t help wondering if anyone from Wolves checked out Fox and Scot Dann at Walsall. I have watched them on e
several occasions and they were both excellent. I’m also worried that Kyle (a very average player) was on £400,000 per season at Coventry so I sincerely trust that Coventry are paying part of his wages. Does anyone know?
55 TWW - Scott Dann and Fox are at err Coventry City we think…..