Albion boss Tony Mowbray today warned his battle-weary players they will be pushed to their limits again by Blackpool at Bloomfield Road tonight.
The Baggies manager revealed the Seasiders are statistically the Championship’s hardest-working team. And he reckons his side will be worked to the maximum as they embark on their sixth game in 24 days against a side who could be just one win away from securing Championship status for another season in their first term at that level.
“I think another win should see them clear of relegation and this will be our third game since they last played so they will be ready for it,” said Mowbray.”Physically they will be in the right shape and this will be as big a test as they come.
“I looked at my stats last week and Blackpool are always at the top of the distance covered stats. They are a team who run further than anyone else in this league and we know we will be playing against a team who work very hard.”
The Baggies are preparing for a return to the harsh realities of Championship football following their brush with the big time at Wembley on Saturday.
Poor weather is predicted for the Lancashire coast this evening and Bloomfield Road remains a windswept ground under development.
So Mowbray is preaching the virtues of “effective football” - a hint that his side might be forced to compromise their normal free-flowing style in the name of collecting points.
He said: “Football is about a lot of different challenges and the top teams can ultimately cope with the big stage and the smaller stage with the quality running throughout. Bloomfield Road is going to be a big test for us and we’ve got every respect for Blackpool.
“They are a team that have earned respect from their results this season and at home they have a pretty impressive set of results.
“After the game we will assess how the players reacted to the difference in the environment but from what I have seen Bloomfield Road seems to have a decent playing surface.
“There is no stand behind one goal, which can cause a problem with wind blowing in and in the game I watched there was a gale-force wind. We have to go there and play effective football and do whatever it takes.
“The circumstances of any given day dictate things but effective football is always what is required.
“At Wembley effective football in my opinion is trying to retain the ball, control the match and get into goalscoring areas.
“If we play on a pitch that’s not well prepared, or it is blowing a gale then you can’t get the ball down and play.”
Mowbray has no fresh injury worries but Luke Moore is available again after a three-match ban and a fourth game on the sidelines because he was cup-tied.
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27 Comments
BLACKPOOL 2-TESCO 0.
Running scared of mighty Blackpool!!!!!
Nice one MORBIDMOWBRAY.
I have to say even as a Wolves fan that your fixtures backlog and the way the league has managed it has been an absolute disgrace.
you might come away with a stick of rock
PHYSICAL TEST EH’.. FORGET ROBINSON THEN CAUSE HE FAILS THOSE HAHAHA.
so according to mowbray, blackpool will be a sternner test than pompey..and you couldn’t beat them. your gonna loose again….LOVE IT!!!!!!!!
2: Did you not draw against Blackpool in February
0-0 I believe.
Read my name if read you can….After bringing disgrace on the Black Country with your mid 80’s antics….Blackpool’s about the only place Wolves will enjoy an “open top” bus ride round any town….GOING ALL THE WAY, THE MOWBREY WAY..IN STYLE…Oh Yes….(Copyright: WORCESTERBAGGIE 2007)
What has happened to you dingles in the last few weeks…
A month ago —
1- “Get MICK out!!!”
2- “Mick doesn’t know what he’s doin!!”
3- Our teams rubbish and isnt gud enough to go up!!!”
4- “were a team of sunderland rejects and irish no-ones!!”
5- “dreading the derby allthough only thing to look forward to!!”
After a few wins—
1- “we guna win the league!!”
2- “Mick is a god!!”
3- “we guna thrash albion in the derby!!”
4- …..blah blah blah!!!!!!
Can you see my point!…keep talking rubbish so we can keep laughing at you!hahahahahaha
BOING BOING!!!!!!PREMIERSHIP HERE WE COME!!!!
1 & 2
I thought the Easter holidays were finished now ?
Super Kev.
they are, these lot probably got booted out of school at the age of ten!!
1.Thanks for your prediction.
2.Thanks for you opinion.
3.I haven’t read anywhere that Mowbray thinks Blackpool will be a sterner test than Pompey, so you’re wrong there, but all the same thanks for your observation. And in answer to you all, Get a Life you sad creatures. It’s bad enough that you have to spend your time on our board spouting Dingle rubbish but at least try and make it informative or sensible or even funny would do, but No! all the time it’s dire tripe!! Can you wonder why we call you Dingles!!!
Well let me say 1 thing had a great day out saturday even though we lost. Had to walk back to the car park with about 30 pompey fans and most of them said you were unlucky. Hope Pompey win the cup. Was a bit upset with the atmosphere from the albion half. But what a day i had. Can any wolves fans say they had a nice day out at the home of football Wembley????
Boing Boing
Crystal Palace will finish above the Dingles. They will get nothing from the matches against us or Bristol. It will be sack Mick all over again very soon down at the Custard Bowl.
Nice to see the ticket price come down to £10 And to think i was going to buy wolves So glad i saved this £10
Boing Boing
Albion 3 Blackpool 1
I am a wolves fan who went to watch you on saturday at wembley, tonight you need to get the ball forward earlier and stop playing like wolves did under hoddle, sidewards backwards nothing in the final third. You kept the ball well in the first half saturday but never hurt pompey. Play with more urgency like in the last 20 mins on sat and you will win! It was no coincidence that when you moved the ball quicker in the 2nd half you created more chances. good luck tonight.
Don’t sit on the deckchairs, no one will see you.
Camouflage !!
skool!!!have now wiped my tears from sat away…what do i see oh yeah if we win tonight we are top with a game in hand!!! dinglemania lasted oooh all summer have fun building sand stadiums whilst we visit them!!!
9…its you lot keeping us laughing,loosing at Wembley twice…..going for the hat trick the Mowbray way?……….come on you Wolves…and Blackpool
Redge999, there’s a big difference with the Wolves Hoddle team. We normally hurt teams in the right areas of the pitch and score bags of goals. Saturday was an exception but we were playing prem opposition.
19, yes you score bags of goals against many poor sides in the championship, against good oposition there is a way to play against you, not switching brunt to the right and putting greening on the other flank was one, koren other than his shot kept passing responsiblity onto the impresive greening. Sol Cambell is class but his weekness is pace , you dit nothing to expoit this. When you come up against good sides and they sit in 2 banks of four infront of you like pompey did you lack the guil to break them down, you are without doubt the best footballing side in the division, but you should be miles clear by now but your not! That is because possesion football dosent guarantee success. Get the ball forward quicker.
This is our best chance yet of both black country teams in the prem so lets get behind the both of us instead of bickering like kids. With the obvious exception of tuesday next week we should be cheering each other on, a black country derby in the premn would be awesome.
crikey redge999 did u choke on that comment `the best footballing side by far`? good to hear a wolves fan admit it, although to be fair quite a few of you have admitted it over the season. lets hope we both get up, if we go up automatically i`ll be cheering you on big time at wembley, especially if its v stoke!
2. No. Just an honest assessment by ToMo. Blackpool are a hardworking side who have only lost three times at home this season I believe, so it will be tough to come back with all three points.
16. Excellent!!
BAGGIESAD..#11
WHAT A NUMPTY YOU ARE..
it’s because of cabbages like you, the boggies are the depressing collection of fools they are.
B.T.W..15TH APRIL..WOLVES WILL RIP YOUR SAD NO HOPERS APART..GOIN UP THE MCARTHY WAY..IN STYLE OF COURSE..OH YES!!
Blackpool here we come. But can i just say to all my fellow baggies should we perform in front of goal tonight i fear the worst. Any 1 can score past our defence just lately and i have a spooky feeling them dingle dog heads down the road are going to be the form team over the next few weeks as much as it pains me to say it. We lost to a very poor pompey side saturday and my gut feeling tells me a point is the most we will come away with tonight. Fingers crossed though its all 3! And should we lose to the dingles im emigrating!!!!!
BOING BOING
I cannot understand you Wolves fans! It is just a matter of a few weeks since you were all calling for Mick McCarthy to be sacked. As it is you are not even in the play-off places and it is a gamble as to whether you will qualify. You must spend your days in front of your computers! Havn’t you got anything better to do than keep criticising your more successful Black Country neighbours!!
Clapham.
As usual one of the oasis’ of worthwhile comment. I almost lost the will to live reading some of the others. Have to agree with you, this wouldn’t be allowed to happen to one of the ‘big’ prem clubs but the likes of our clubs just have to grin and get on with it. I remember playing Newcastle away in a Wed reply with extra time a couple of years back and having to play again on the Saturday. We lost. Such is life.
Likewise Redge999. Good considered entry and I half agree with you. I’ve just watched the highlights of last nights Liverpool game. We were a bit one dimensional on Saturday. What Liverpool do is vary the possession football with the odd long ball but not the championship hit and hope, pinpoint passes to forward players working hard to find space. I’m not knocking our players. We’ve only been playing this style for just over a season and I’m sure TM is working on this.
Again, thanks both, for posting something worth replying to.