Should he stay or should he go now? That’s the question on all Wolves fans lips as this dire season has stuttered to its inevitable anticlimactic conclusion, writes blogger Nathan Lloyd.
The bottom line is that Wolves haven’t been good enough to get out of a mediocre league and that’s simply not acceptable.
Before we played Watford on the opening day of the season, my prediction was that 2 out of 3 W’s (Wolves, WBA and Watford) would get automatic promotion and the 3rd would go up via the play-offs. Fast forward 9 months and we ended up 9 points shy of automatic promotion and with a woeful scoring record of just 53 goals in 46 games which in the end has cost us dear.
So how many Wolves fans are left in the pro-McCarthy camp at the end of this campaign? Personally, I’d had enough by the turn of the year when Mick’s bizarre squad selections coupled with some terrible signings had left me desperate for some new leadership at the club. I decided to eventually put all those feelings aside and tried each week to stay positive, but it hasn’t been easy.
If McCarthy’s future at the club was to be decided in a court of law, let’s look at the case for the defence. I’m struggling a bit here. I could roll out the old cliché of last season’s success and the over-achievement factor, oh and SEB has turned out to be a cracking signing. But do many other positives spring to mind?
The case for the prosecution is a little bit stronger. Mick has wasted a lot of money, transfers and wages, on the likes of Gibson, Darren and Stephen Ward, Kyle, Potter, Elliott and the bumbling Neill Collins to name a few. He has brought in far too many misfiring strikers to the club when fans were screaming that it was the defence and flanks that needed urgent attention in the transfer window.
He stupidly reversed his policy of playing homegrown youth from the season before and decided instead to farm out the players to gain experience at other clubs when they could have played a part in our own promotion quest. Over the years, nothing has filled me with more pride than to see one of our own perform well at the club.
Even given the fact that we haven’t had Jarvis and Kightly for the majority of this campaign, we haven’t seen any improvement this season compared to last. If anything I think giving Mick money to spend has probably seen the squad progression move backwards. We finished this season on 70 points, whereas in the last campaign we accumulated 76 in an arguably much tougher league.
I’ve sat with many frustrated fans this season watching maladroit football, inept tactics, and bewildering team selections. I’ve seen our best central defender shipped out on loan, whilst Neill Collins, possibly the worst Wolves player in the last 10 years, giving away penalty after penalty. I’ve seen utter garbage like Gibson and Kyle brought in and seen Mick stubbornly refusing to give good homegrown talent like Davies, Gleeson, Gobern, Jones and Little a sniff of first team action.
The Freddy saga was a disgrace. Yes it may have got out of hand on the terrace, but fans are not stupid. They don’t just chant for any old garbage. His parting gift on Sunday was a sublime pass to set up the goal for Olofinjana. Whatever the politics for Freddy’s continuous omission from the first team, I felt he really could have made the difference this season and I for one will be sad to see him leave in the summer.
Under Dave Jones I always got the feeling that business was done behind closed doors and that the manager had respect for the fans. It seems under McCarthy’s management that each week a different Wolves player or Mick himself would come out in the media and have a grumble about the club or even the fans.
Sunday summed up the lack of ambition that Mick has. Although Keogh hadn’t had a great game, everyone could see that Plymouth were playing just one up front and posing little threat. Wolves didn’t need both Craddock and Breen in the centre of defence. But when we needed to score 3 goals, instead of sacrificing a defender, Mick decided to take off Keogh and bring on Freddy. All season we have played really defensively, often playing 2 defensive midfielders in the middle of the park. We can’t rely on Kights and Jarvis to craft every chance, but Olofinjana and Henry don’t really pose enough of a creative threat to opposition defences for me.
At the end of the Plymouth game, Mick said, “That one game has been a reflection on the 46 this season when we have been dominant and not scored, but the lads have worked their socks off and we have had 19 clean sheets.”
Lots of clean sheets, but no promotion, just what every Wolves fans craves for obviously.
Mick couldn’t even be bothered to do the traditional end of season lap of honour at the end of Sunday’s game with his players, which is disgraceful. Perhaps he is worried that the fans, whose opinions he has treated so dismissively, might have actually voiced their feelings about this season’s efforts?
So, I think the prosecution would win quite easily, but with Steve Morgan holding the gavel, what does McCarthy’s future hold?
Most likely is that Mick will get one final shot next season. But with many fan’s patience, including my own, now wafer thin, he will probably need to get off to a storming start or fans may start baying for blood.
I don’t want to hear stuff from Morgan about stadium developments and hotels. The priority must be success on the field. Improvements must be made to the defence and midfield next season. Mark Davies is the obvious candidate to come in and be the creativity we have lacked so badly all season. But I still think we should spend big on a player in the Koumas or Bullard mould. We also need obvious reinforcements at the back and if Freddy departs then a striker to play alongside SEB.
If we can keep Kightly, Hennessey, Jarvis and SEB at the club and see improvements from the likes of Edwards, Elokobi and Foley we might stand a chance. Homegrown talent must not be overlooked again and if a player like Rosa is performing well in the reserves, then he must be given a chance in the first team, otherwise what’s the point of having a reserve team in the first place?
And to finish the chorus by the Clash which I started at the beginning of the piece; “if I stay there will be trouble, if I go there will be double”. I know people argue about continuity in management and that football clubs are guilty of changing their managers too frequently in the quest for the Holy Grail. But after sitting through this season’s garbage I would be in favour of Mick going and new blood coming in to take the club in a new direction.
I’ve enjoyed writing nearly 70 blogs this season and I hope some of you have enjoyed reading them and I thank you for all your comments. It’s not been a vintage season and I would love to be writing about title celebrations or at least our chances in the play-offs but alas it’s not to be.
I’ll be back next season to share my thoughts about the goings on at my beloved club.
Congratulations once again to Albion for deservedly winning the Championship.
It’s been a pleasure and an honour to be the Wolves blogger this season. I hope you and your families have a cracking summer and I’ll see you next season with renewed hope and optimism.
127 Comments
Bravo Nathan. Yet again encapsulating the season and mood of what has been a terrible year under mick mccarthy.
We are almost certainly heading for another year under the muppet. i have no doubt that this bloke is incapable of change, so if sacking him now seems like a bad idea to some, just wait when he gets the boot mid-December with us languishing in the lower, then half having to reshuffle all over mid-deason.
The art of poor management.
Thank goodness its all over for a bit.
Nice article but Davies and Gobern have been injured all season so you cant hold that against MM cos they couldnt play. Every Wolves fan is angry and frustrated at this point, so I think they best time to discuss all these issues would be in a week or so.
Great blog Nathan,just about spot on,sad to say this season I have enjoyed reading your blogs more than the football on the pitch.As you say it doesnt seem right that we havnt had any hungry teenagers on the touchline waiting for their chance,instead they have all been farmed out to other clubs.I dont subscribe to the theory that our players are all young and learning,they are all in their twenties and should be able to come up with the goods. It shows the extent of our season when our goalkeeper,and twelve goals are good enough to get the top awards at our club.I to would like to congratulate the Albion,,(wish it was us)and wonder iff you asked your friend Jarrod how many of our players he would like to take with him to the premiership,,i suspect none.Finally the Freddy knockers remember your words,,he will come back to haunt you..all the best Nathan thanks for your work. See you in August.
May I be the First one to say “what a great blog Nathan” so many questions and thoughts for all wolves supporters to ponder on, but I do agree most heartally in the fact that MM must go NOW.
Talented boy this Nathan. Articulate , insightful and passionate - extra points for slipping in the word maladroit.I think you echo the sentiments of alot of us. It has been an awful season and Mick clearly lacks the talent to get us promoted.I dare say we’ll sack him halfway through next season when it’s already too late .
what a pleasure to read,i second everything that you say,one thing stands out to me,we BADLY need a change in the manager coach and pyhsio dept,and quickly or we will see another wasted season.
rgds tpd
Good Blog again.
Every day Mick stay is now hurting our chances of promotion next season. Get him out now Morgan
Great blog to sign off the season with Nathan. I agree with many of your conclusions but to be fair to McCarthy, he couldn’t really pick Davies or Gobern beacause they spent the entire season moving from one injury to the next. However, if he didn’t pick Little or Jones all season, would he have picked them if fit anyway? I still believe we don’t need too many signings to change our fortunes on the pitch - McCarthy must simply return to the policy of playing those youngsters mentioned.
THere is no question that Mcarthy should go.
Once again his tactices were inept.
Stubborn, Pig Headed, Ignorant, Dogmatic, Failure.
One shot on goal when we needed to score 3 and that fool says hes proud
Perhaps 7th place is what makes Mcarthy proud.
Seventh does nothing for me or Wolverhampto Wanderers.
Glad I didnt renew my season ticket.
congratulations for putting many fans feelings forward. i myself have highlighted all season the need for a quick centre back, some fight in the middle of the park and some answers to the mark davis, rosa and i think mr morgan should know all about the freddy situation, if it is not sorted now, who will be the next “freddy”, and be ignored although performing for their country?
we did notice when the plymouth player had a head injury and the wolves players formed around the “dug out” that there were no words from mick to his team, very strange situation with all that was at stake. we had almost our strongest side out on sunday and we were ok not much more than that. lets hope the close season is going to be the time for a re think and that inside conflicts are buried and that the best players play…………..it is of interest to us what the goal keeping situation will be if big matt comes back fit, i do not think we will keep them both, with waynes age and lack of injuries i think jez will take the money. all the best to staff at wolves and fans alike.
jamie lanyon holiday park beautiful sunny cornwall.
nb thanks to harry and jack for the guided tour of the ground on sunday, true wolves men.
There is nothing else left to add to that blog Nathan, other that MM is a spineless man who couldn’t be bothered to take the lap of honour. It says alot about the guy as he obviously could not give a toss about the supporters. He would have got stick and he deserves it. MM just another insult which has been an awful season.
Oh well, I wont go on as my feelings on the MM position has been clear since christmas. Paul Ince to be installed as the new manager. Morgan dont waste any time in sacking MM and installing PI to take the club forward.
A 2 week djing week in Ibiza awaits me! What are all fellow wolves fans are up too this summer?
I have sat and watched Wolves under a myraid of managers. bill mcgarry, sammy Chung, John Barnwell, Tommy Dohchety, Brian Little, Some strange fellow’s in the mid 80’s, Graham Tuner, Grahem Taylor, Mark Mcgee, Colin Lee, Twoddle, amd MM. This years football has been the worst.Not only were we not very good (something I have seen alot) but we were NOT PASSIONATE. We were not the Wolves I know and love . We were defencive ,boring, insipid and inept. I need to call for MM’s head he has taken my Wolves away and buried them deep in Yorkshire arrogance.
I omitted Dave Jones. Sorry David. If only you were back!
Great reason to get rid posted by Andy Yestersay on another thread
We have just won once against sides in the top 9 this season gone. That means a vast majority of our points have come against the bottom 15.
Averaging just 1/2 point against the top 9 and 2.5 points against the bottom 15. Is there any wonder why we failed
Get rid of Moxey, Connor and Zoot now before we are all dead from old age the next time we reach the top flight
Dont agree with all the names that are mentioned as bad signings. Most of them are young and should not be blamed for being misplaced or for having to play under wrong tactics.
It has been better the last couple of months and if he could learn from his mistakes he actually could be a really good manager. His major problem is that he think he never makes mistakes so he can not learn from them..
By the way - You forgot Denes Rosa - the clubs leading goalscorer during the season with 13 goals in 12 games.
get rid of Clipboard Connor for starters. Why doesn’t anyone call for his head? How many managers has he been with and gotton nowhere? (apart from DJ of course)
very good blog,nathan.as for the people who say we must not keep changing our manager,well he has had two years & this year he has been terrible & they should go & ask the fan’s at palace & sheff.utd if changing there managers has been the correct thing to do.
nathan another spot on blog! i think you echo wolves fans feelings extremely well… wanting wolves to succeed and so getting really annoyed when we see MM messing it all up for us!
i would love to see MM go, but i think we are in for another season… the only hope is it can’t be as bad as this one? next season is going to hard, derby, qpr and like with lots of money and big name managers.. the big name is important as it attracts the players, will players want to play for MM??
have a good holiday!! shame no footy for us this summer, what ever are to to do? talk to the family????
thanx mate!!!!!great reading all year!!!!i was watching the stoke/foxe’s game and listening to wolves on the net[they had the ipswich game as the other option on fox sports down-under] and it sounded like we just couldn’t finish our chances,what was he thinking about bringing freddy on and taking off keough???we needed 2 goals in 10 minutes,but hey,another clean sheet!!!!
cheers nick
Hi Nath, great blog, thanks for the text on Sunday, what was the reaction of the Wolves fans at the end of the game??
I was on the coach on the way back from QPR and someone pointed out that if the goal by Bednar against Watford (which was incorrectly ruled offside) had stood, then Wolves would be in the play-offs, it is often the small things that go a long way.
Sorry you missed out, all the best.
Ironically, the talk of 40,000 Stadiums, Hotels etc is probably more important than any single Promotion.
Under the ownership of Steve Morgan, we have a brighter long term future than any of the Clubs involved in this years round robin of Promotion / Relegation yo yo.
To truly establish ourselves as a genuine top 10 Premier League Club requires someones of Morgans vision, Patience & long term financial commitment.
In the short term that means the misery of enduring the rubbish & disappointment of this season.
In the medium long term it means truly rising above the yo yo brigade such as Albion, Blues & many many others … and more importantly avoiding the more depressing fate engulfing Leicester, Forest, Leeds et al which is where we were at the start of last season .. no money, no investment, a selling club with o realistic prospect of ever becoming a force again
A terrible Year
An incredible future
An emotionally fruaght journey
It makes me smile looking at all of the negative headlines emmanating from the E&S today. “We cannot fail again warns Morgan”, “Yound guns under fire…”, “Albion celebrate whilst Wolves miss out” to quote but a few. Read the same articles from other sources and you can see that E&S and their esteemed blogger, seem to have a Red Top style approach in appealing the to the south bankers who regularly post comments on here.
So Nathan you would play Gleeson, Davies & Gobern whilst carrying season ending injuries. You deny that Elokobi, Kightly, Foley, Edwards, Keogh, Breen and yes even Eastwood have strengthened a Wolves squad which numbered about 16 pros in July 2006.
Think back to that time, the concensus was that it would take McCarthy 3 years to get us out of this league with what he had to work with. His credentials should be judged in this light and not in the sensationalised world of instant success and whipped up expectation that the E&S loves to foster.
Give the guy the chance to complete the job he started, we over-achieved last year, we came frustratingly close to extending the season this time, with another round of strengthening we are on course for promotion next year.
If we fail, fair enough hes had his crack, its time to move on, but lets be positive, stuff the doom mongers, get behind this great club of ours and push them back where they belong.
GLAD, I renewed my season ticket.
Taking your disappointment out on Mick is not the answer. I firmly believe that Wolves missed out on promotion because of untimely injuries to the squad. Kightley was sorely missed amongst others. Its no coincidence that when Kightley got injured that the Wolves campaign started to falter. You cant blame MM for that. If you had been able to keep the whole squad together for the whole of the campaign. I have no doubts whatsoever that you would have been challenging for automatic promotion and playoffs would have been achieved with ease. You only missed out by a couple of goals. With Kightley in the squad playoffs would have been a formality. MM has a good track record in the Championship. You dont get that by being a rubbish manager.
Great blog Nathan and it’s been a pleasure reading your offerings for the whole season . Certainly , as one previous fan wrote , better than the entertainment on offer at Molineux this year . Like others I admit it would be unfair to write that Davies and Gobern should have been in the team when they were unfit for the whole season but question marks must hang over Gobern’s mental attitude because he is actually rarely fit anyway . I fail to see how someone like Mark Little can play in excess of 30 games the previous year and only 20 minutes this and the same treatment to Daniel Jones was a disgrace . My opinion on all the players you have mentioned is virtually identical to your own with the possible exception of Jarvis where , for me , the jury is still out . He is exceptionally tricky and has sufficient pace but his delivery is poor and hopefully we will have a coach who can help with this aspect of his game next season . I know that he is still young but then try to compare him with Waggy who was 21 when we bought him and went straight into the 1st division which was then the premiership of the day . I llok forward to your blogs next year and perhaps also the football if there are positive changes at Molineux in the near future .
Great blog Nate,
As always I enjoyed reading it.
Spot On Nath!
I agree, Mick will more than likely get one more stab at it. Keep the homegrown talent, Elokobi, Foley, Jarvis, Kites, Keogh, SEB & Hennessey!
Ged rid of the rest!
tell ya what rewind to sundays game its now 2.45 the players are off the pitch all we need is a win because everything is going to plan at blackpool. what happens ?they come out and have a stroll in the park no urgency no commitment. not even a good go at goal. looks like the only way we was goin to score was by walking it in because no one was shooting . there keeper didnt have nothing to do. i looks to me the same old wolves quite happy in that division knowing that most cant step up to the prems level .and then they would be out of a job . hennesy jarvis Elokobi and gray and eastwood wanted it the rest was too lazy just thinking of there cushy jobs and the money££££ and to top it all that donkey Olofinjana goes and scores. then in the last few mins we are running round like mad men why didnt they do that when there was plenty of time or did they think there 2 minutes of madness would silence the fans ? well take this on board moxy . mm. and morgan you will see what wolves fans think on ticket sales theres only us the fans want the prem . so on a closing note mm in my opinion shoul go hes had his chances . he buys freddy eastwood and dont play him . whatever the reason come out and tell us . just another year gone by break the bank morgan and get ince up here and let him start afresh hell kick some butt if you back him
The most shocking thing about this season is those hoofers Stoke city got automatic promotion.
It says a lot about the Championships lack of quality and our poor performance this season.
One point Nathan didn’t mention was the lack of leadership on the pitch. We need a strong captain who can motivate and direct the players.
brilliant, nathan!
in my opinion you are spot on. living in norway and follow my team on radio and internet has been a nightmare this season. i think MM has done all the wrong decicions he could possible make and i am really frustrated. playing collins week in week out is a disgrace, same as keeping freddy in the stands. and how about craddock out on loan?….
i have seen the lads on tv 5-6 times this season and it has been a wast of time. the tactics from MM has been laughable. nothing less!
next season i want ince back as manager. he has done really well with both maccelsfield and mk dons, he has payed under world class managers in england and italy and he is a person who demands nothing less then 100 %.
best wishes to all wolves-fans arond the world from a frustrated wolves-fan in norway
Read this Mr Morgan and you Moxey. Myself and 12 other fans WILL NOT renew our season tickets if Mad Mick is retained as manager next season. He is tactically inept!
Willenhallwolves, were you at Molineux on Sunday? Havent seen stats but we must have had at least 70% of the play, I thought we worked hard to break them down on several occaisions but lacked the quality in the final third to turn chances in to goals. Agree that with SGO & KH in the middle we are defensively solid, but lack creativity.
Would prefer the current work rate & endeavour shown now to that under Hoddle. We just need to add a little quality to complete the jigsaw.
Great blog Nathen, but lets ask ourselves can he get us to the premier next season? but more so could he keep us there, i think not so i’m sorry he has to go now lets get someone in who can do both.
we have had good times we have had a lot of bad times - time for a change
see you all next season no doubt!
how the mighty fall,i bet dopey micks looking at the league table NOW,all those rubbish team selections useless breen collins ward etc it’s cost us 60 mil and second again behind the boggies for bragging rights,we the long suffering fans need a medal,just go away mick and take moxey with yea,still love the wanderers with all my heart.
Nathan, plese send this to Mr Morgan. I haven’t read such an excellent piece of writing about a football club for a long time. Spot on, congratulations! Where else do you work apart from doing this for the Express and Star? It was a joy to read!
Its a results based industry Johnno. Good effort counts for nowt. We have been dire all season, and the glaring inadequacies neglected.
Mick is a stubborn arrogant fool, there’s no need to nit-pick cos the results speak for themselves.
not good enough.
Nathan, thank you for all your efforts, I have enjoyed reading your words as well as Jarrod from the other side. Since “discovering” these pages I have loved reading opinions and joining in when appropriate. It is very interesting reading how we all see the same game in such different ways. I love the humour and can even laugh at a pop at us from a Baggie if it is funny and not fuelled by hatred. I do find it depressing however at the level of mindless abuse aimed at other fans from both sides of the divide. Several time I have given up in despair as I find such mindless hatred too depressing to read.
Enough. Good bye and good riddance to such a disappointing season and let’s all hope this time next year we are preparing for the Mancs and the Baggies and not Barnsley and the like yet again. Have a great summer.
This is a post about Playstation, politics, and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
I absolutely love playing EA Sports’ FIFA Football 2007 on Playstation. I’m quite good at it… in Semi-Pro level, I had my beloved Wolves go a season where they won every game, beat Villa 14-0, win the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League…
Of course, the ’semi-pro’ level on Playstation and professional level in real life are very different things. The results I can achieve with Wolves make that very obvious. So why is this relevant?
It’s relevant because one of the program features is manager rating. This is judged on team cohesion, fan support, and this gives job security. Many of you have the game, I’m sure, so you know all this.
There’s the local derby and if you play as Wolves, the game knows it’s WBA you have to beat. Fail, and fan support and board confidence plummets. Fail to meet a season objective and your points plummet and that job security takes a battering. Lose too much fan support and too many games, and the game allows the board to sack you.
So, just as that 14-0 win over Villa and the Champions League win are the difference between Playstation and reality, so too is the difference evident in the position of Mick McCarthy.
I wouldn’t like to guess McCarthy’s fan support rating out of 99. I’d guess somewhere around the 30 point mark. Team cohesion rating would be higher - say 60 to 70 out of 99?
But where reality deviates most from Playstation is in the manager’s job security stakes. After a season in which we lose the local derbies, fail to meet our season objectives, and see fans verdicts putting Wolves on a par with Gordon Brown’s rating, it’s odd that our real life board give McCarthy job security of something like 95 out of 99.
After such a shoddy season, Playstation would see such a manager out on his ear.
Will life ever mirror Playstation? That 14-0 win over Villa and the Champions League win lies in the heart and belly of every Wolves fan but, realistically, won’t happen in any fans lifetime. Sorry to be a realist and not to actually believe in the power of Playstation.
Will the real Wolverhampton Wanderers follow the path of politics and give the fans an opportunity to elect a Prime Minister? No. The Wolves board have denied the fans their vote on the EU referendum and the guy in the top job will probably cling on to his full term in office, too scared to listen to public opinion and certainly stubborn sit steadfastly as opinion poll after opinion poll show him getting a drubbing. No mid-term election to punish the guy in the top job with. But just as Brown sank from Stalin to Bean, so has McCarthy sunk from Merlin to Stan Laurel.
No general election in sight, no new manager possibility. But just as Labour MPs won’t admit their Prime Minister is rubbish, so Wolves fans can’t vote with their feet. In both cases, those parties know they’ll only end up punishing themselves, not the person who should carry the mantle.
The eventual winner will be time.
Time to return to Playstation. Another game factor is that if you fail to play the fans favourite, you head on the road to doom. I don’t sit in the Freddy Eastwood sycophant group. But the parallel with Playstation is there.
Question is, denied an opportunity for a fan election, how long will we have to wait for the machine to scream ‘game over’..?
Well after reading all these comments and hopefully Steve Morgan has read them. MM-JM-TC should be looking for new jobs. Or better still tell JM to keep his nose away from the playing side and and concerntrate on making money on the corporate side. Steve Morgan wants to build a bigger stadium what i have to say to that is get into the Premier league first and then start any big expansion. I do not feel MM is the way forward anyway and Steve Morgan who is a golfing associate of Paul Ince should look at options. The option would be to bring Paul Ince in NOW and whoever Paul Ince wants. He is a born winner and has done so in sucha short managerial career so far. JM said he has no experience to take the WWFC job when he applied before , but how about letting him have the job now. I feel JM wouldn’t want Paul Ince at the club but no one person is bigger than WWFC . Hold you head in shame JM and either walk away now or re-employ PI. You have a chance to get all those missing fans back at the club… Paul Ince may wll be going to MUFC as there next manager anyway….
only read the first few lines, it’s quite apparent that you enjoy splitting the fans. You know damn well there is a lack of unity amongst our fans on this issue so why add to this? especially when you are well aware of the fact that MM will be here next season! I am so annoyed at so called fans such as yourself not backing our club 100%, I was there too during the darker times of the season but there is still much to be positive about for next season. Why not focus on those positives and help unite the fans in readiness if next season, if the team play with no fear we will go up, if the team play with the pressure of the fans on their shoulders, we will not, simple as. Do your bit next season and SUPPORT what we have.
I agree with the vast majority of what you’ve said and have thoroughly enjoyed your comments over what has turned out to be a disastrous season. Having said that, had we miraculously made the Premier Division we would surely be looking at a very embarrassing season to come.
The hierarchy at the Molineux all insist that this is a young team with great potential, I disagree. How many of the current squad would make it in the top flight – 5 or 6, 7 at a push (excluding Eastwood). That would mean we would have to undertake a total rebuild in the 4 months we have before the new season commences and frankly that is not feasible.
We need a squad capable of keeping us in the Premier and that squad needs a good season in the Championship, as the Albion have, and they are the only team who have looked remotely like being promotion candidates – good luck to them. McCarthy, Morgan and Moxey have got to face up to reality next season and clear out the players who aren’t good enough and stop defending under achievers. I disagree with knocking individual players and I wish the boo boys at the Molineux would either find another team to watch (I use the word watch instead of support because they aren’t supporters) or spend their Saturday afternoons catching up on reading their Beano’s, their behaviour is reprehensible.
Apparently Graham Taylor set up the Wolves Academy when he first arrived at Molineux in 1994. How many young players have we seen come to the first team and be successful in the last 14 years, Keane, Lescott, Nailer, Murray, Hennessey, Davis, I’m struggling, are there any more? If there are quality players in the youth system I think it’s time to use them, stop buying sub-standard ex McCarthy hopefuls and start giving these youngsters a chance.
Eastwood, now there’s a topic that could take a few days to debate. If he’s good enough he should be playing, if not he should have gone as far as I’m concerned. We started the game on Sunday needing to win by three clear goals; we have a proven goalscorer on the bench, why? He’s there because the manager can’t see eye to eye with him; it’s a clash of personalities. As far as I’m concerned the team comes first, if McCarthy has a difference of opinion with Eastwood (and I’ve heard all the stories) then it should be sorted out behind closed doors, not make an example of him on the pitch to the detriment of the team.
All of the experts say two years isn’t long enough to build a good team, (Paul Ince has done it in half the time at M.K.Dons) but I’m sure most will concur that 2 years is an eternity when watch what we’ve had to endure, if we had the makings of a good team I’d say carry on the way we are but we know we need to change half of the current squad to have a team that could possibly be in contention for next season. Albion tried a wage cap the last time they reached the dizzy heights and it didn’t work, they’ve learnt and moved on in a big way, we should do the same. I’m not saying do what Hoddle did and waste money, but start getting good young players in with our current young players and build a team to take us forward. Can McCarthy be trusted to spend that money wisely? I’d say probably not. Nathan I tend to agree with your verdict.
Nathan Again a fantastic Blog
I would like to ask you this question and every other wolves fan!
Who could Mick McCarthy attract to the club should we win promotion to the premiership?
I put it to you that he could not attract the players required to keep us up! I think we Mr Morgan has a fantastic opportunity to appoint Paul Ince.
An Appointment that would capture the minds of all fans and reunite us on the terraces. A man who would attract premiership players to the championship never mind the premier league. A manager who no doubt holds ambitions to boss one of the big 4.
Mr Morgan Please do the right thing, the ground re development and potential of this football club could be realised under Mr Ince.
Very good blog,i totally agree.And if (and its a big if) we get promoted next season,is MM the man to establish us in the premiership?No way and if Morgan wants to waste his millions by backing him then he is very naive and stupid.I have no faith in the management,some fans argue that Morgan hasn’t backed MM enough.The money spent on Darren Ward and Steven Elliot was over 2 million and they haven’t contributed a single thing this season.Certain players wouldn’t get in Inces team at MK Dons,(ie Collins,S Ward)so why are they at Wolves?The way Eastwood has been treated is a disgrace and certain team selections/tactics has bewildered me completely.All in all,i’m totally disillusioned and haven’t felt so low since towards the end of Colin Lee’s helm.Morgan is a successful business man and you don’t get to where he has in life without being ruthless,sort it out Morgan please!I’m miserable and totally deflated with all of this.
I disagree with this end of season blog. You start by saying not getting promoted is not acceptable in this league. We have no divine right to be in the top division. Wolves are competing for promotion like any other club. Some fans need to accept that. Two seasons ago we were one of the favourites for relegation!
The Board are building for the long term future of the club with youth and talent. McCarthy is delivering on that plan. Hey, we may not even get promoted next season. Look at how long it has taken WBA to build a team worthy of staying in the top flight and we are starting from a much lower base.
Let’s see what Morgan does in the Summer and judge McCarthy on what he does with this group of players next season now that they have gained more experience. The likes of Jones and Davies may well be ready for regular first team action next season.
SPOT ON NATHAN AS SO OFTEN YOU ARE.
THE MICK ISSUE WILL UNDOUBTABLY RUMBLE ON I FEAR TO OUR COST REGARDING OUR CHANCES OF SUCCESS NEXT TERM. OCTOBER BEING THE BOOKIES SHORT ODDS.
LOVED THE MALDROIT AND THESE WOULD ALSO QUALIFY.
CONTRARIOUS
ORNARY
FROWARD
PERTINACIOUS
MULISH
GAUCHE
IMPOLITIC
GET YOUR DICTIONARY OUT CAUSE THERES LOADS OF WORDS FOR THIS PRAT
I have yet to see a Steve Morgan unequivocable message of support for MM… twice now ( once in interview and on the pitch Sunday) he could have included MM in the comments about the future, but didn’t.
By not engaging the services of a long term PREMCLASS or PREMPOTENTIALCLASS gaffer Morgan is putting off the inevitable.
Forget all this, give him 6,8 10 games next season… no manager should have that noose hung loosely round his neck waiting for it to tighten.
After a season of muddled manangement, now is the hour for a Morgan manager to take the helm.
Saw Denes Rosa, suited and booted, at the check-out in Asda just before the match. After the game it got me thinking - if Rosa had played in place of, say, Karl Henry, then we may be talking about a play-off place rather than looking to next season already. I think Rosa will most definitely be ‘checking out’ of WWFC this summer, but there are a number of other individuals that I hope will be leaving with him… nameless they shall remain, but I’m sure everyone else knows who I mean.
Anyway, on reflection, it is most probably a good thing that we didn’t finish in the top 6 - our team is blatantly not good enough for the top flight yet, but I feel with some surgery over the summer, we could have the makings of a top two squad. Question is, will the current manager be in place long enough to make these changes to the squad? The murmurings from Moxey and co indicate that he will be, but I’m not so sure… it will be an intriguing few months, thats for sure. All we can do now is sit back and watch what happens. And try and enjoy Euro 2008 as much as possible without the mighty Northern Ireland at the tournament!
PS - just want to pass on my regards to Krisztian Timar of Plymouth - I hope he is feeling better soon. I think anyone who clashes with Big George is always going to come off second best, but it looked like a worrying injury at the time. Glad it is not too serious..
McCarthy & Hoddle!
After being subjected to the two above I think Those that appointed them should hang their heads in shame!
All that matters is the future and where we are going. If Wolves are going forward then I expect a statement this week parting company with all those in charge. If we are staying where we are then I should think the team will be playing in front of 15,000 by December.
Up or down, that is the question?
Irresistibly apposite.
McCarthy is truly self delusional.
The continuity of ineptitud….Bush, Blair, McCarthy they all have it. Mick, please invade Barnsley on your own.
Mr McCarthy should go down the road to the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University which over the years has taught thoiusand of engineers the principles of efficiency which is defined as work output(results) over work input. The higher yhe work input without results the less the efficiency. Prime example is Freddie Eastwood who at his previous club had a great work output without too much input therefore his efficiency was higher. But no, Mr McCarthy wanted hard work, to knacker the player so he was so tired as to kick the ball from where it mattered and in where it matterd. And he kept him on the bench where he couldn’t do anything!
It is a matter for the chairman and the Board whether they require a change in management but certainly training methods should be examined.
One word of advice to the Board though. Do not sell Wayne Henessay for less than 10 million pounds, his value is 10-12 million so don’t do a Robbie Keen or Joleon Lescott please. Ditto for Kightley.
Theses blogs have been a great read all season, shame we can’t say that about the woeful performances, not entirely the players fault. Henry says the players have to take the blame, yet McCarthy is the one who picks the team! If we roll back a couple of years to when McCarthy was manager of Ireland and he had that bust up with Roy Keane, everyone was thinking Keane was the bad guy yet you look at Wolves and surprisingly lightening has struck for a 2nd time with the Freddy problem, and to a certain extent Rosa. How things could have been different. A manager who has got an ego that big I’m surprised he can get through the doors at Molineux! And to top it all he didn’t even join the players in the lap of honour after the game which is a disgrace and an insult to the fans that pay his wages!. We thought the times when Hoddle was manager was bad the way he distanced himself from the fans, this is no better. Hopefully a change of the summer and not someone who thinks they are bigger than the club!
great blog nath,mccarthy should he stay or go well whatever we think mccarthy will stay its the backroom staff that need to go when mm was appointed manager he should have brought his own backroom staff in & not have to rely on others cast offs conner & co are not good enough.we need footballing coaches play it not hoof it dare i say it take a leaf out of albions book?now what about players we need a striker.midfield playmaker.a winger.and 3 defenders thats 6 players minimum with age and experience mid to late 20s can we get them who knows we have got 3 months to wait and see what happens?
—The crazy days of Batty have gone we the paying fans are entitled to give our view-It is clear that MM does not have the backing of the Fan base-Some of his decisions this season have been unbelievable–The body language alone of MM tells a story–Of couse the players back him, what player critises the boss-Let face it he has is favorites they are not good enough he himself has failed to produce and lets face it some of the opposition we have faced at home has been poor.ime to move on the quicker the better.
Nathan that’s the best blog of the season and sums up what the majority of the fans feel, may I suggest you somehow get it to Morgan so he can get a real understanding of how the fans feel.
One thing that makes me laugh is how the pro MM fans keep falling back on the ‘If Kightly was fit we would have been promoted’ argument….well how about this as a retort…if MM had half a brain he would have had another winger as perfectly good backup but his obsession with forwards messed that up!
On the Ince debate I doubt he will ever come to the club whilst Moxey is still here as some of his comments after his snub were aimed at the fat controller.
One more thing to add. I do not know how much truth there is to this but I have been told that Dan Jones wants out.
Enjoy your summer everyone
Mick needs to go we are going backwards. We are a joke because of him. Freddy should of been playing every match his quality showed on Sunday. This league was perfect for us to get up and wat we go and blow it. Next season will be twice as hard to get up. Resign Mick dothe honest thing if not SACK him.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
E&S Well Mick another season over, I guess you have had a look at the table now ?
MM No I haven’t looked yet
E&S Well you are still in the championship, how does that make you feel ?
MM Well no one can say we never put a shift in and I can’t ask anymore from these players, they are a terrific bunch to work with.
E&S That’s all well and good Mick but didn’t you say judge us at the end of the season ?
MM When did I say that ?
E&S At a similar time when you said ;
Freddy could be the difference for us in this division
Elliot and Keogh are the best striking duo
Stephen Ward is my best ever signing
Craddock is finished he can go to Stoke
Jay has proven us all wrong
The defence is not the problem
Potter is the unluckiest bloke here not to be in the team
Daniel Jones / Lewis Gobern / Mark Little etc…could do a job for us this year
Stephen Elliot is a great option to have on the right
People look at Kevin Kyle and think he is clumsy
The table is irrelevant, I don’t look till Christmas
I will look at the table in March
90% of the fans are behind me
We are not a one man team
MM Paper talk, that’s all that is, I don’t read the papers
E&S So what next Mick
MM Well we will gather our thoughts and decide who we want in the trenches for next years battle
E&S So you have plans then ?
MM Of course I do but I am not telling you
E&S Will they possibly involve “putting a shift in” “knuckling down to some hard graft” “sticking together” “casting our net further” “looking at a couple of young Irish lads” “looking for young hungry players”
MM Look all I am prepared to say is judge us at the end of of next season
E&S Do you think that is going to satisfy the fans
MM Fans! Fans ! I don’t give a fiddlers elbow what the fans think
E&S What about Freddy Eastwood
MM Who
E&S You know Freddy, you signed him from Southend for £11/2 Million
MM Can’t place him
E&S Young gypsy lad
MM Oh him, is he still here? He’s not really a box to box striker
E&S Don’t you think at times the team cried out for a proven goalscorer
MM Goalscorer ? what good is a goalscorer if he can’t defend ? Football is not just about scoring goals , what about putting a shift in ? let him go and score twenty goals somewhere else,getting everyone behind the ball is more important, we kept 19 clean sheets you know
E&S But don’t you feel your defensive mindedness had a major effect on the goals tally?
MM No I don’t, scoring more goals wouldn’t have got us up
E&S That’s not strictly true Mick, if you look at the table you will see we only missed out by a couple of goals
MM Oh well that’s Freddies fault then ! and I don’t look at the table.
Enter the fat controller
E&S Hi Jez , disappointing isn’t it especially for the fans
JEZ We must of course, first and foremost, not withstanding any other issues, stick with the young cheaper, sorry I meant hungry younger players
E&S But you sent most of them out on loan to other clubs
JEZ Ours is a long term plan, there are no quick fixes in this game, Rome wasn’t built in a day, patience is the key. The manager has our full support, we all have to work harder and put a bigger shift in
E&S What about now, what about reality, what about the loyal supporters?
JEZ We feel their pain too , we don’t just do it for the money you know !
E&S Well I am sure it will be reflected in next years season ticket sales
JEZ Well you will be surprised to hear we have sold 29000
E&S Jez the ground only holds 28500
JEZ Oh. Well we are optimistic.
MM What’s a season ticket ?
JEZ Those people who sit around the ground booing and moaning buy them
MM Perhaps we shouldn’t sell so many then
E&S DON’T WORRY YOU WON’T
Nath, excellent blog as they have been all season. Some have said you’re fluffy and divisive, however I don’t think anyone can question your passion for the club and it’s a shame that the overpaid players and management don’t share it. Glad to read you’ll be giving us your views next season, I was worried that one of the bigger boys might poach you…
The post-mortem for the season needs to be conducted quickly. I think Mick would have been forgiven for playing ugly football if the team had been winning, but when you’re not winning AND playing ugly then changes need to be made.
The long, tall and short of it is that a club of Wolves’ stature needs to finish in the top 6, and if it doesn’t then it has failed. When that happens you have to hold key personnel accountable. Sorry Mick, but you’ve got to go.
Let’s just give Mick another season. He did say when he first came here that he needs 3 seasons to get us there and while this season was an underachievement we have learnt and added to a young squad. If we get a new manager he will say ‘give me 3 years to win promotion’ and we are back to sqaure 1. With a few select purchases of quality we should be automatic contneders. Before anyone says we said that last year, yes we did but we didn’t add quality. D Ward and Eastwood have failed to make an impact and Jarvis was injured for a large spell. So if we can pick the quality players up by spending some money I will be very hopeful. But if Mick fails to add quality (and just padds out the squad like last season) I sack before the first game! Moral= lets learn from our mistakes!
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
E&S Well Mick another season over, I guess you have had a look at the table now ?
MM No I haven’t looked yet
E&S Well you are still in the championship, how does that make you feel ?
MM Well no one can say we never put a shift in and I can’t ask anymore from these players, they are a terrific bunch to work with.
E&S That’s all well and good Mick but didn’t you say judge us at the end of the season ?
MM When did I say that ?
E&S At a similar time when you said ; Freddy could be the difference for us in this division
Elliot and Keogh are the best striking duo
Stephen Ward is my best ever signing
Craddock is finished he can go to Stoke
Jay has proven us all wrong
The defence is not the problem
Potter is the unluckiest bloke here not to be in the team
Daniel Jones / Lewis Gobern / Mark Little etc…could do a job for us this year
Stephen Elliot is a great option to have on the right
People look at Kevin Kyle and think he is clumsy
The table is irrelevant, I don’t look till Christmas
I will look at the table in March
90% of the fans are behind me
We are not a one man team
MM Paper talk, that’s all that is, I don’t read the papers
E&S So what next Mick
MM Well we will gather our thoughts and decide who we want in the trenches for next years battle
E&S So you have plans then ?
MM Of course I do but I am not telling you
E&S Will they possibly involve “putting a shift in” “knuckling down to some hard graft” “sticking together” “casting our net further” “looking at a couple of young Irish lads” “looking for young hungry players”
MM Look all I am prepared to say is judge us at the end of of next season
E&S Do you think that is going to satisfy the fans
MM Fans! Fans ! I don’t give a fiddlers elbow what the fans think
E&S What about Freddy Eastwood
MM Who
E&S You know Freddy, you signed him from Southend for £11/2 Million
MM Can’t place him
E&S Young gypsy lad
MM Oh him, is he still here? He’s not really a box to box striker
E&S Don’t you think at times the team cried out for a proven goalscorer
MM Goalscorer ? what good is a goalscorer if he can’t defend ? Football is not just about scoring goals , what about putting a shift in ? let him go and score twenty goals somewhere else,getting everyone behind the ball is more important, we kept 19 clean sheets you know
E&S But don’t you feel your defensive mindedness had a major effect on the goals tally?
MM No I don’t, scoring more goals wouldn’t have got us up
E&S That’s not strictly true Mick, if you look at the table you will see we only missed out by a couple of goals
MM Oh well that’s Freddies fault then ! and I don’t look at the table.
Enter the fat controller
E&S Hi Jez , disappointing isn’t it especially for the fans
JEZ We must of course, first and foremost, not withstanding any other issues, stick with the young cheaper, sorry I meant hungry younger players
E&S But you sent most of them out on loan to other clubs
JEZ Ours is a long term plan, there are no quick fixes in this game, Rome wasn’t built in a day, patience is the key. The manager has our full support, we all have to work harder and put a bigger shift in
E&S What about now, what about reality, what about the loyal supporters?
JEZ We feel their pain too , we don’t just do it for the money you know !
E&S Well I am sure it will be reflected in next years season ticket sales
JEZ Well you will be surprised to hear we have sold 29000
E&S Jez the ground only holds 28500
JEZ Oh. Well we are optimistic.
MM What’s a season ticket ?
JEZ Those people who sit around the ground booing and moaning buy them
MM Perhaps we shouldn’t sell so many then
E&S DON’T WORRY YOU WON’T
without doubt.
to be fair we do not need to buy anywhere else except at the back. Gleeson, Davies, Gobern and Jones are four perfectly capable midfielders added to the ones that are already here. my biggest fear is they continually are ignored by MM.
I fear the worst for next season, Elliot and Kyle as the front two perhaps. Another season of Keogh having his skills coached out of him, another season of us trying to accomodate elliot and s.ward at any possible opportunity. It’s cringeworthy already but oh so predictable.
It should come down to a fans vote, who goes Mick or Freddy. . .
Absolutley first class blog you have summed up exacly how I feel about the season its nice to know Im not alone.For all the fans that have turned up home and away myself included I salute you for your loyalty and patience.This club is bigger than Steve Morgan,Jez Moxley they are the custodians of our precious club and should take notice of what the fans are saying we all have a part to play.As far as McCarthy is concerned he has turned fan against fan with his bizzare team selections a totaly ignored and dissrespected the fans all for his enormous ego shown absolute incompetance saying I dont look at the tables until April.He said in his own words judge me at the end of the season we have,he is not worthy of being the Manager of this great club.There is a man who ticks all the boxes as far as managing this club a man that has the desire,passion and skill who would command utter respect from all fans PAUL INCE so if you read any comments Steve go get this winner for us
you all know my feelings..BOG OFF MUPPET..and unless he does, next season won’t be any better than this distgusting drivel we’ve just had.
one word..
FREDDY..FREDDY..FREDDY..FREDDY..FREDDY!!!!
Please, please, please, please Mr Morgan read that blog - excellent. I thought I was the only one who noticed MM’s absence on the lap of “honour”.
I will also be sad to see FE go. He has the makings to be a top forward. Get INCE in he’s a winner, is respected in the game, plays proper football, coaches the lads on the training ground and has the personality to handle big players without regularly reorting to violence ( we know about Bothroyd at start of season and Breen at end- what else went on). He would be respected on and off the pitch adn will atract good footballers to the club not ex-Sunderland donkeys.
He will be a VERY successful manager. Please Mr Morgan get him now whilst we have the chance cos we are going nowhere with MM.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make a decision and SACK HIM NOW
This blog totallt sums up our season. Not taking anything away from these clubs but how can Stoke, Hull , Bristol City and Crystal Palace finish above us? The answer clearly is not that they have better players, it is down to better management skills. Eastwood will be gone and he will come back and haunt us. Why was Little and Jones not played? Mark Davies, if fit, must be first choice central midfielder. We must sign a quick centre half and get another goalscorer.
vindaloony
Funniest blog of the season by far, whatever you do for a living , your wasted!!!
SORRY MM, BUT TIME TO GO
Apart from the fact that some of those players you mentioned who should have played, you have summed up the season and the issues accurately in my opinion.
Even taking into account the injuries, Mick bought in poor loan signings and assumed the lack of goals was down to strikers, ignoring the fact that we weren’t creative enough in midfield.
Other sides managed to get in good loan signings, but we got the likes of Kyle who made ni impact. Enough said really.
Thanks Nathan for the season long blog. I for one would love to see an even better Molineux but not, repeat not, until we have a team to grace it. Whatever else happens we must hold on to the likes of Kites, SEB, Jarvis, Hennessey and Keogh and build a team around them. Too often this season the play has been defensive and mediocre and not what I expect from a team which I have supported for over 50 years. Don’t wait to halfway through next season to change the manager - do it now - let’s be clinical about it - MM had had two years and what have we achieved - another season is not going to change the man and his idea of playing football.
55 Vindaloony - brilliant - love it~
Vindaloony… utter brillance, well done. I’m approaching this blog business too seriously!
Re Dudzie (post 14). I was amazed myself when I calculated those stats.
In essence, out of all of the teams that had a theoretical chance of promotion on the final day, we had dropped 39 points out of the 48 available and only won 1 out of 16 games. However, against the remaining 15 that had no chance of promotion, we averaged more than 2 points a game. In 30 games, we only lost three times, and on each occasion (Barnsley and Preston away, Burnley at home) by the odd goal. However, 11 of these 17 wins were also by the odd goal.
I can only come up with two conclusions from this analysis.
First, the better sides in the division were consistently able to break down our defensive team selection, whereas the weaker sides weren’t. We also failed to score in 10 of these 16 games - so the emphasis on being defensive against the better teams didn’t work and had clear repercussions in terms of our attacking prowess, or lack thereof.
Second. I can’t help but draw comparisons with the Sunderland team that McCarthy got promoted with back in 2005. At the time, I was amazed how regularly they won against the ‘weaker’ teams in that division, especially by the odd goal. That was the secret to their promotion - winning those games whilst promotion rivals dropped points. When McCarthy was sacked in March 2006, his premiership side had 2 wins, 4 draws and 22 defeats and was on the way to becoming the lowest points scoring team ever in the Premiership. I admit that he had no money to spend so this may be a bit harsh but his style of play got them promoted but quickly relegated. Again, possibly a bit harsh since he’s finsihed 5th and 7th in two seasons, but the track record and style of play suggests that this man’s tactics are out of date - not only against the creme de la creme in the Premiership, but based on this season’s results, more importantly against the key Prem wannabe’s in the Championship. In essence, we need to change our style of play to build the longer-term success of the club; the same longer-term that the powers that be keep quoting in their support of MM against a number of supporters’ pleas to replace the manager.
So, the board are telling us to think longer-term and stick with a man that I would argue is detrimental to the longer-term of Wolves. Being more short-term, i.e. replacing the manager, is arguably the best course of action to benefit the longer-term. A most ingenious paradox.
Ridiculous. Anyone who thinks we haven’t moved forward leaps and bounds since Hoddle left must be mad - but I guess all this vitriol has to do with the fact we overachieved ridiculously last season.
The future is bright - what is the average age of the team - is it 24? If Kightly had been fit all season I reckon we’d have had a chance of going up automatically.
Football has changed since the 1950’s - Wolves aren’t going to win 4-0 every week. It is pointless changing managers every 2 minutes. Give mick time and this young team will pull through.
Excellent blog Nath, when reading it i thought this is a bit negative, but then in reality you are just stating the honest truth (much more eloquently then I could have put it).
Time for a change…………bang on certainty. He was noted as saying judge us at the end of the season, the time is now! All his own players, back room staff etc, there can be no excuses, MM must now see the door and take “clipboard” with him. The only backroom staff who should stay is Bobby Mimms as he always seems to bring through quality keepers. Which is why if we had to lose one of our 3 best players Hennessay would be the one for me, as i think Matt Murry or Ikeme could do just as good job, i don’t think we could replace SEB or Kites in this division!
Next season will be the same as always I suppose, over hyped and I will be saying this is our season.
Oh well - have a good summer holiday Nath and I look forward to your blogs next season, i’m sure my work output will improve now you have stopped blogging for the summer!!
Egg on face Moxey, left Stoke as WWFC better bet to get in the bigtime. Also his mailer re playoff tickets, waste of postage & print, Moxey should resign.
As for MM, we went backwards last season in every conceivable way, he failed, he should resign. Revolution not evolution. If the players are that good a better manager will get more from them.
NATHAN, I have enjoyed the blogs this past season and today’s blog summed up the season very well. Have a good summer and lets all hope next season turns out to be better than this one?
Anyway to take your point about improving the team before the stadium, many will remember back to the days when the John Ireland stand was built to replace the old Molineux Street stand. We had the same situation then as we have now. The stadium was considered more important than the team and consequently future teams were not good enough because no money was available and we then struggled to compete.
If Morgan has the same kind of ideas then this club is finished! Team before ground every time!!!
On the football side, if this season told us anything it is that we were not good enough, not strong enough and not competitive enough.
As to the manager, he may be a ’saviour’ in most peoples eyes because of the relative success of his first season but each new season we all begin at square one and previous achievements count for nothing and thats what was achieved in 2007/8 - NOTHING!
This past season is best forgotten for so many reasons but I cannot foresee the future being any better as I have no confidence in McCarthy whatsoever and should Morgan retain his services even for another 3 months, it will give a clear indication that we will NOT be challenging for promotion in 2008/9!
As for players coming or going (and should any want to go then get rid!), well the rumours are already flying around and who would bet that we have seen the last of Kightly, Hennessey, Ebanks-Blake or even Jarvis?
Repeatedly we fail to gain promotion yet WBA have achieved it yet again, so why can’t we and this was in a season when the CCC was probably the weakest since its inception?
The only outcome I can see is that we dump ALL the deadwood beginning with the boardroom and the directors, dismiss the manager who has little time for anyone including the fans, send under-performing players along with those not fit to wear the gold and black to any team prepared to give them a contract, reduce admission prices throughout and bring in a manager who knows how to play ‘proper’ football, who acknowledges the fans contributions to every game and has a squad which will die for the club and players who stop moaning to the E & S every time a result goes against us!
To finalise, 2007/8 was a disaster! With the Premiership almost a ‘closed-shop’, we will soon find the door permanently closed if we do not force our way in and the only way is by playing football the ‘proper’ way a-la WBA, go up as champions and with confidence that we can stay there.
The time has arrived for wholesale changes but will Morgan make them?
Nathan great blog gonna miss em !!
Vindaloony really funny well done!!!
Southbank well said totally agree.
My mate who sits right behind the goal says that Eastwood was crying on the lap of honour after the game on Sunday when the fans started singing his name. I think he loves this club and dearly wants to be a part of it. Shame that Zoot doesn’t want him as part of his plans
Vindaloony - hats off to ya pal…..
I agree fully with Nathan LLoyd in everything he says.It is time for change if we are going to see the Premiere from the inside.I will repeat MM must go,his sidekicks must follow him,Kightly must stay and a team built around him,Freddie must stay also,why on earth he wqas never given a aproper chance is beyond me and ownly MM knows the answer [I think ].Sam must be in ASAP and I have every confidence that a cash injection for him to build with will show us how to get promotion.Finally to the team I say go out and fear no-one and at the same time enjoy playing your football without talking of PRESSURE. Good luck lads.
Great Blog & Vindaloony great post cheers guys
71 posts and only 3 support MM - a true reflection of how Wolves fans are feeling? - i think so.
Some great points made as well!
My thoughts for what they are worth -
If the board wait unti Christmas 08 to replace Macarthy because things are not going well, it will be January 09 at the earliest before we get anybody in (cos the Wolves board always takes 2months to carry out interviews and then appoint a manager). That will leave the new man 4 months to turn things around (a big ask!) so that’s next season written off. Make the change now - we have the nucleus of a good squad and with 2 new centre backs and a creative midfielder we would really be in business (assuming that we have managed to hold on to the young talent that made last season a “success” but have been so poorly treated this season).
Vindaloony - brilliant post
Nathan Lloyd - brilliant blog
Finally Amesham Townwolf it is impossible to
win 4-0 every week as you stated - but it is possible to score more than 1.2 goals per game - ask WBA they managed it and where are they now?
Nathan…I agreed with everything you said. Hope you blog next season too.
Vinndaloony…you can say that again!…oh, you did!
Simon
Nice one Vindaloony!
If you dont laugh you’ll cry…
76 - he wasn’t crying - he was out of breath.
76. Crying on the lap of honour. How did honour feel about that?
to be honest I get a bit bored of fellow wolves fans carping and whingeing and knee jerk cries to sack a manager as soon as things don’t go to plan.
We are Wolves, not Real Madrid and we have a good young side who can do things next year.
Stability is the key.
Up the Wolves.
Mcarthy has been given a task to do. Get us up by morgan and mcarthy has failed he has to go. He wass given alot of money to spend so he can’t say he didnt get given enough money. The bloke doesn’t have a clue of how to spend lots of money only little bits. ye bye mick
MM let the club down by abandoning our youngg players,jones gleeson,little all would of improved 50% for playing another 30 odd games at first team level,when we didnt have a left or right back available he played players out of position instead of promoting through the ranks, when we didnt have wingers available he idnored jones and played strikers and full backs on the wing, and the constant use of gibson instead of our own youngsters was an insult,as soon as jones mentioned he went to see MM about his future we all new he didnt have one, same with bothroyd who like it or not was our most gifted player, but MM wants our strikers to tackle back 80 yards,
who can remember the quote keogh and elliot are my first choice strikers? elliot never played up front again!!!daren ward possibly the worst footballer ever has also sealed his fate with a newspaper article questioning his use at the club,in a nutshell MM is a dictator with no class.
85 what makes you think we can do any better next year than we have this?
I am all for stability and if MM reverts back to the policies and tactics that served him well last season then great - keep him - but if he insists on negative tactics, playing his old chums from days gone by and shipping out the young, hungry talent that came so close last season then he can go and for the sake of the club - the sooner the better!
Twice McCarthy said he was happy with is squad August and January, he now says he has no regrets, and he couldn’t have done anything different. So it must be his miscalculation of the ability of his squad. McCarthy has been backed to the tune of 8.5 million, plus a number of free signings of his choosing, all could see in January we wern’t good enough, but Mick knows best, yet another wasted season, bottom line is anyone who rates Stephen Ward as is best ever signing must be a very poor judge..
Is the only argument for keeping MM as manager stability. Can any of you foolish, misguided supporters of the mad dinosaur please, please, please come up with some positives to support his wonderful (mis)management last season. I am fed up with people saying we need stability. NO, NO, NO. Albion would have gone nowhere if they had stuck with Robson (a worse manager than MM).
I agree there is a time for stability but not with this joker. Please wake up and smell the coffee we will go nowhere with MM and his cronies. Complete clear out needed.
Only one man for the job
THE GUVNOR
FREDDY FOR KYLE IN SWAP DEAL
So thats what it has all been about!!!
Wolves are about to swap Freddy for Kyle…Straight swap deal!!!
I wonder who will score most goals next season?
Cold light of day….Enough is enough….time for change - BUT I think the coaching is first for change. I here the players sayong good things about Wolves coaching - BUT the players haven’t performed and are desperate to continue on this gravy train for as long as they can.
Coach out first I think - Taxi for Clipboard
First of all i must say bad luck wolves i will miss the local derbys lol.
I have enjoyed reading the blogs you wolves fans have written and a lot of it makes for a good argument to be rid of mad Mick,but Paul Ince no way he,s had good run with the dons but by no streach of the imagination will that make him the man to bring glory back to the wolves.
Spot on Nathan, great season of blogging..you have made automatic promotion…take a bow..!!! Not seen a decent home game in any of the 20 I attended. Reckon Gerard Houllier might appear here in the next month…someone who can COACH the team properly….!!! Have a great summer.
Warnock knew that Palace had to score early,to take the game to Burnley.They poured men forward and just kept raining in shots & crosses - it was only a matter of time before they scored. Then once they’d scored, they put the game out of reach.
Wolves on the other hand knowing that they had to score at least two/three goals, hardly managed a shot in the first half. When they finally managed to score, the team were in two minds as to whether to push on for another goal or sit back with what they’d got.McCarthy or Connor failed to get a clear instruction through to the players or couldn’t be bothered. Compare this with Warnock & Boothroyd who had updates on league positions sent to the dugout every few minutes.Both Watford & Palace were fired up to get the results they needed - I didn’t think Wolves wanted it enough, as they went through the motions against a very understrength Plymouth team. Kightly had a mare, and should have been taken off much earlier for a fresh set of legs.
As for the final table, missing out by one goal, we may as well have missed out by a shedful.I haven’t heard any Wolves fans say “well at least they had a bloody good go” -the team went out like lambs not wolves - with a whimper (just like the cup) when it should have been a bang.
85.
Never a true word spoken.
Get a grip guys we are rebuilding and it takes time.
Lets see what happens over the summer and comment then.
As for Stoke they were unlucky last season, fell away at the end.
Overall a very very disappointing season - I suppose a number of reflections on this best forgotten season really : 1) If only Kites had not been smacked up early season. 2)If we had signed SEB at the start of August instead of mid Jan. 3) If we had brought in a couple of 1.5 milllion pound defenders from the outset.
P.S. If we are not in the top 3 or 4 by Christmas show Muppet Mick the door and bring dream ticket of Ince as manager and Bully as assistant boss.
Bring back the Liquidator and the Happy Wanderer!!!!
Don’t forget you settle for second best people we were European pioneers along with Man United and at one time had no domestic equals!!
Wolves 4 ever!!!
Great Blog. Enjoy reading your thoughts all season Nathan and looking forward to doing the same next.
Have a good summer everyone.
Great blog nathan, Sorry but mcarthy has to go ! Too many poor signings and he comes out and says we wern’t good enough ! The worst championship for years and we couldn’t even get into the play offs, no back up plans when kightly got injured the bloke is inept in every way.
i am sick and tired of wlves fans wingeing and moaning every season,maybe if they were to get behind the team instead of trying to compare us with the likes of arsenal,man utd,chelsea,they might have got to the playoffs,they have got countless millions to splash out.i think weve got a young bright,talented side,that need fans behind them,not slaggin them off everyweek,give em a break 4 gods sake,and they might achieve your expectations.
Yes a disappointing season but we have more talented players than we had when we made playoffs last year!
All managers make bad signings but MM has made lots of good ones - Kights, SEB, Jarvo, Big George, Foley. We have 2 best goalkeepers in the Championship.
Everyone believes that the players they would pick instead would be brilliant. Best of all they can never be proved wrong! But of course every manager believes that and only a few can succeed.
Genuinely believe we shall do it next year. Stick with MM & he’ll get promotion. Maybe change the manager after we do make the prem!
Come on everybody! Let’s all pull together
Excellent Vindalooney…….. & bloody true…lets hope Steve Morgan reads the blog…
I’m warming to Vindaloony 55.
you said it all,we have not progressed this season,so ultimatly the manager has to pay the price with his job,he has to go now,incey or big sam please mr morgan
I can’t agree with much of the blog. It has been a very successful season, except for the extra income we are missing from the playoffs.
We have maintained a very high crowd for home games, done well with sales in the shop and managed to buy some young, quality players for very little.
The real excitement now starts. How much will we get for Hennessy? Already the rumour factory is talking £6M!
How much will we get for Kightly, again a good £4M, and look what profit that is.
Finally EB, could easily make another £5M.
Add to that the sale of more minor players and we could raise another £15M during the close season. We may have to spend £5-6M to replace these players, but look at that £10M profit margin!
An excellent season all round, and congratulations to Messrs Morgan, Moxey and McCarthy.
An excellent blog, and well done for keeping our spirits up during this cruel season.
You ask how many fans are left in the pro-McCarthy camp, and my experience is that there’s very few. I haven’t heard a good word said for him at the matches for months. The only people who I hear supporting him are armchair fans who have not experienced the dire football that a Mccarthy team always provides.
What we saw this season is the future again for Wolves if McCarthy is allowed to carry on nailing the coffin lid on our Premiership hopes.
I am not paying out hard-earned money (I am not on £1M per season, like MM) to see another season of such useless dross. I will pick out a few games against the higher placed teams, but that is all I can endure next season.
nathan your spot on, my sentiments exactly with mick and this dire season.
i travel down from scotland for many games but it got to the point at new year where i hoped he would be sacked and my views have not changed now.
what you have said about team selection/tactics are spot. i am so down at the moment, and i don’t have confidence in mick spending wisley over the summer, are we in for e.g eastwood goes and we sign kyle permantly!!
85. AmershamTownwolf
There was a time when Wolves could take out Real Madrid, and that is why the long-term suffers get so angry at this lack of ambition to get out of the Championship and mix-it again with the big boys.
It can be done with the right management structure and coaching staff.
It will never happen under the current management team of loosers!
As a passionate and loyal Wolves fan I often read this message board. I’ve never made a comment before but I feel moved to do so now.
As Wolves fans it is our role to get behind the team and give them our 100% support. I’m afraid I cannot agree with those that are calling for Mick to go. Are you not the same fans who sang “Super Mick” game after game, home and away?
This is the manager who signed Kightly, Sylvan, Foley, Jarvis, Keogh and Elokobi. He exceded expectations last year and yes we’ve underachieved this year. But Mick deserves our loyalty, patience and support.
I think the big change that needs to take place at Molinieux is in the stands. We need to stay positive and get behind Mick and the team.
I notice that Mick has been quite distant and dismissive of the fans of late. With the stuff that’s written on these message boards who can blame him. But, and it’s a big but, he would be well advised to work on re-building his relationship with the fans. Not playing Eastwood is baffling, and giving him some regular starts at the beginning of next season would be a good start.
So please Wolves fans let’s be positive and get behind our team AND our manager.
Up the Wolves!
Thanks for the great blogs this season Nathan. I only discovered them around 6 months ago and have thoroughly enjoyed reading them, and at times, posting a comment myself.
Everything you say in your blog today is spot on.
I can’t think of many Wolves fans who aren’t disgusted with MM absence from the lap of honour on Sunday. He always claims that he’s got thick enough skin to take any flack and comments - clearly not so on Sunday though!
Who knows whether he’ll still be here next season. I suspect he will be, but agree with others that if, by November/December we’re lagging in the lower half of the league, that’ll be the time that he goes.
This season has been difficult, frustrating and above all, disappointing to say the least, but, being Wolves through and through, no matter who’s manager next season and who are wearing the shirts, I’ll be just as passionate about them next season as ever!
Great blog Nathan,just about spot on. For me MM stands for marmite man, u either love im or hate him, I’m in your camp but Im woried that Mr morgan is in the other. Im afraid that we may lose some of our better players in the closed season and that would show us where SM is coming from, as it may tie in with the funding for the hotel money spinning proposal (nowt to do with 40k seats). However I have been told from VERY reliable sources that 7 are to be shown the door and £5M will be shortly given to MM. Looks like the republic squad and any ex-sunderland players are due for a windfall!
Yes a good blog. Certainly explains things we knew and a good summary. I have my doubts about Morgan and his true aim here. Either he is very much into getting us promoted next season or hanging onto his investment or only investing money based upon his concept of only spend if you can see a return on investment.
It will take at least ten million to get us some good quality players who can give us any chance of moving out of the championship. His aim appears to be more along the lines of investing his money in a huge stadium to get in more income. That’s the return on investment he is possibly seeking.
MM is ideal to run a championshipo team but not the right manager to take us further.
Morgan will soon show his hand. Unfortunately I think the hand shown will be selling several of our players, Eastwood, Hennessey and I fear SEB and buying lower division players again.That’s again a return on investment.
He hasn’t exactly shown he is prepared to get the team right has he? His comments after the last match were basically “will do better next time”. His thoughts being “keep buying season tickets!”.
Very little one can add after a poor season based upon all the hype that started it. I feel Morgan has let us down actually.
Yow lot do arf goo on - lighten up, its anny a game..