Ikeme is ready for the battle

carl2.jpgCarl Ikeme, the quiet man in the Wolves’ goalkeeping triangle, believes he is now a genuine contender for first team football.

After years of injury problems, Ikeme has the lowest profile of a department staffed with two of the most highly-rated keepers outside the Premiership in Wayne Hennessey and Matt Murray.

Murray continued his comeback from his own nightmarish run of injuries with a 60-minute run-out in the reserves 1-1 draw at Blackburn yesterday.

But manager Mick McCarthy’s decision to put his faith in Ikeme and give Welsh No 1 Hennessey a break from the firing line has sent Ikeme’s self-belief soaring.

With last season’s knee injury problems now behind him Ikeme says: “It does now feel that all the hard work I’ve done over the years in trying to recover from injuries has paid off.

“Considering the problems I’ve had it’s great to have got out and played some first team football and hopefully there are more games ahead.

“I know I’ve got to try and maintain my standards particularly with Wayne and Matt here. It’s some pretty fierce competition to go up against but I’m just hoping to do my best and play as many games as possible.”

Ikeme admitted: “Wayne’s a great keeper and it was a boost to be picked ahead of him which I hadn’t been expecting.”

Have your say on  'Ikeme is ready for the battle', comment below

Advertisement - Stinky Ink
Dating v3 - Princess
Relax in the sun
Jobs Careers Training 2009 - From Express & Star

32 Comments

  1. Mowbray out said:

    Go Carl good luck fella

  2. Weston Wolf said:

    Not rocket science Mick -

    Send out either Carl Ikeme or Matt Murray out on loan to gain/refresh first team action and restore Wayne Hennessy between the sticks for the Coventry match.

    Keep Wayne Hennessy on the bench and suffer the consequences - on the pitch and ultimately financially.

  3. stephen wolves said:

    Weston Wolf; the loss the weekend wasn’t ikeme’s fault. if he plays against coventry then he deserves it. now that ain’t rocket science.

  4. Bob Wolf said:

    Lets stop talking about the goalkeepers and get rid of Collins. It is irrelevant who we have in goal- with Collins in the back 4 the other team will always score!!

  5. Top of the league said:

    Bob Wolf, have you been to any matches this season?? Collins has played well.
    To be fair he wasnt my favouite player last year, but he’s done ok this season.

  6. Bob Wolf said:

    I’ve been to every match and Collins has not played well. He cost us a goal against Palace, was all over the place at Preston, clueless against Swansea and useless against Reading.

    You have to do more than win the ball in the air to be a decent defender. As soon as he comes up against someone with any kind of pace he has no chance. He is sooooo slow and has the turning circle of the titanic.

    Get him out now and Shackell in.

  7. MikeQB said:

    2 - what are you talking about. I have seen all 3 goalkeepers play and when all fit Hennessey is 3rd choice.

    If arsenal came knocking with 10 million now I would have there arm off!!

    Hennessy does not and never will command his box.

  8. David Wolf said:

    Weston Wolf, I honestly dont think the answer is to just put Hennessey back in. I dont believe he is a bad keeper but i do believe he is very over rated, similar to Steve Simonsen was when at Tranmere and Everton bought him for about 5 million! I think it is only fair now that Carl gets his chance, otherwise we may lose an even better prospect in him soon!

  9. MikeQB said:

    2, what are you talking about. I have seen all 3 goalkeepers play and when all fit Hennessey is 3rd choice.

    If arsenal came knocking with 10 million now I would have there arm off!!

    Hennessy does not and never will command his box.

  10. phes said:

    Bob Wolf - i accept that you have a right to your opinion but i cant agree. I think that Collins has done fine this year. He’s not the greatest but i think that the reason that Stearman is playing so well is down to haveing a partnership who can work together …. you know, Bruce and Pallester werent great CB’s and only ever got about 3 caps between them - but as a pair they had great synergy!!

    I’d leave Collins in …. untill be makes a great co*k-up

    (also, most of the pens he gave away last year were when he was playing full-back and the other team had space to run in/across him)

  11. lisa_wolves said:

    am i only the only wolves fan who likes neil collins?? i think you should all lay off him - hes a good player & works hard - give him a break!!

  12. Bob Wolf said:

    Did the Palace goal not constitute a great co*k-up then?

  13. wolvesmod said:

    Bob Wolf is right. End of.

  14. Bob Wolf said:

    Collins is a donkey!! It’s easy to appear good when your team is winning 5-1 and 4-1.

    Wake up people and stop accepting mediocrity!!

  15. Newbridge Wolf said:

    Bob Wolf, you might want to try looking at players rather than listening to what the voices are telling you. Collins was the stand out player against Reading, and his performance was the reason why it was only 1 nil untill the late collapse.

    I can only assume that you spent the whole game in the toilet and not watching the game

  16. brummie rob wolves said:

    Collins has done ok and did so when he first came but Edwards carried him like Stearman is a bit now. Shackell needs to play.
    As for Ikeme he is a quality goalkeeper and did not deserve to be dropped after the Bristol game!
    Let’s get things back in order for Coventry. Let’s face it, any side going to Swansea without their 4 main attackers would lose!

  17. Prawn Sandwich said:

    Bob Wolf 6.
    This was written br a Mr Roch of the Marine Engineers Association about the turning circle of the Titanic.

    I understand from Mr. Wilding the effect is this - that the Titanic has the turning circle at what is roughly 22 knots and has a turning circle at what is, broadly speaking, 11 knots - that is half the speed - more than half the speed of this vessel - and he tells me, and I have no doubt it is accurate, that whereas in 37 seconds you turn two points at the higher speed, in 74 seconds at the lower speed you will not turn very much more than the two points; that is to say, the turning circle is about the same at the two speeds, but that at the slower speed it takes double as long as at the other. Therefore, you do not by decreasing your speed affect very much your power of averting that which it is your object to avert by your action.

    Which pretty much says that despite being a bit slow it shouldn’t affect how quickly (or slowly) he turns.

    Go on, ask me another!

  18. Grumpy Ole Man said:

    Awesome post Prawn Sandwich. Best chuckle I’ve had for a while.

    Could you research the turning circle of a prawn, please.

  19. Weston Wolf said:

    I may be cynical but I suspect Wayne was dropped for the Swansea match for two reasons. One the match was in Wales and the second was another reason for Mick to continue his media feud with John Toshack.

    Wayne plays a blinder in Moscow - gets sent off at Preston and is promptly dropped for a match in South Wales just before the international break….coincidence ??

  20. Andy ov Stourbridge said:

    I fail to see why we must all “gang up” on a particular player! Collins has done little wrong this season and is still young and learning; but if it isn’t Collins it’s Stephen Ward, if not him then someone else! For gawds sake stop this sheeplike behavior and get behind whoever is picked!!

  21. Prawn Sandwich said:

    If Bridgetony is chasing me.. Pretty swift!

  22. pip said:

    The turning circle of Jez Moxey, Collins is doing ok, midfield needs a kick up the back side,apart from that everythings fine.

  23. Prawn Sandwich said:

    22.If we’re moving the debate to the Fat Controller I think we need to shift the analogies to birds. How about the “Wise Old Jowle” for starters?

  24. Rich said:

    I agree that Shackell is deserving of a start. Collins was very poor on Saturday. He looked very shaky, sold Ikeme some suicidal backpasses and was completely overrun by Jason Scotland. He’ll come up against a lot better strikers than him as well.

  25. baggie said:

    You wouldnt get 2.5 mill for hennesy stop livivng in dream world. Who exactly rates him highly yes he may get watched loads but who actually put a bid in. And as for Matt Murray being the england no1 what is that based on. He plays for a mediocre championship side and is always injured, how exactly does that make you englands number 1 or even in contention. I would imagibe cappelo doesnt even know who he is. Please all of you take off your gold and black tinted glasses its pathetic

  26. Bob Wolf said:

    No-one is ganging up on Collins, mearly pointing out that he is not, and never will be, good enough to get us promotion.

    Prawn Sandwich - useful facts, but like the titanic our promotion chances will hit a Collins size iceberg and sink without a trace if we don’t get rid of him.

    People come on here saying Collins is doing ok?? Ok is not good enough, neither is ‘putting in 100%’. Leon Clarke used to try hard but he was useless, just like Collins!!

  27. Bridget & Tony said:

    21 LOL - Now that was funny! :-)

  28. Eddie Wolf said:

    6 Bob Wolf said ‘Collins…was all over the place at Preston’

    Erm….I dont think so! He was absolutely immense.

  29. Grumpy Ole Man said:

    Prawn S..

    I’m still chuckling but it has been bugging me all night. Just got back from the casino, flush in the pocket but a little intoxicated; ideal time to make sense of that report!

    It seems to be saying the turning circle of a designed object remains constant but the speed may vary among objects of the same design, with the inference that an inherently faster object will turn faster than an inherently slower will so do. But they will both turn on a sixpence if that is what they are designed to do.

    If the same concept is transfered to humans, then it proves Bob Wolf is right since the knock on Collins is that he turns slowly, and the slower you turn the slower you are.

    Right, that’s that, then.
    I’m off to drink 3 pints of water and sleep it off.

    See you later, whenever I happen to wake up.

  30. brummie rob wolves said:

    24) Totally spot on.
    25) Do not get cocky because you have beaten 2 mediocre Premiership teams. You are still very poor up front. How many games and goals for the brilliant Luke Moore.? He has already surpassed the legendary Frankowski!

  31. Prawn Sandwich said:

    G.O.M (26)
    Now listen, I didn’t write it - I just reported it.
    All complaints to be sealed in a bottle and cast into the briney addressed to Mr Roch C/O the Marine Engineers Association
    Hope the heads OK!

  32. pope said:

    30 -We are not getting cocky, just enjoying the moment. Luke Moore has made 2 sub appearances this season but i beleive Mr Bednar has 3 prem goals to his name in 4 starts. Sounds impressive to me. Seems like certain Wolves fans just can’t face gacts. You said we were going to conceed buckets of goal…….two clean sheets? You said we wouldn’t score goals but have scored a goal a game so far. Not so bad for a team who were going to be relegated with a worse record than derby. Oh hang on, i think we have already won 3 times as many as they did last season all ready. Do you lot enjoy being so wrong all the time?

Post a Comment

*
*

* Required fields. Your email is never published or shared.

Disclaimer: We will put up as many of your responses as possible but cannot guarantee that all comments will be published. We prefer short comments that include no external website links. We reserve the right to edit comments and will not enter into correspondence over editing decisions. Comments featured on the site are not representative of the views of the Express & Star or Midland News Association.