Bully Bites Back with Steve Bull

Wolves legend Steve Bull gives it to you straight in his weekly column and believes that all is not as bad as it seems going into the big derby game with Birmingham.

Well, it could be worse, we could be Wigan Athletic supporters!

As any ex-professional will tell you – there’s a big, big difference between being well-beaten by a better side and being publicly humiliated.

In fact, Wolves fans might yet come to look back on last weekend’s results with a degree of fondness. Because it’s going to be a massive, massive task for Wigan to recover from their 9-1 slaughtering in a hurry. Believe it or not, there were some positives for us to take out of Saturday, in that the score-line didn’t become in any way embarrassing.

After we went 3-0 down at Stamford Bridge in the space of just the first 20 minutes, I lived in fear of us being on the wrong end of a cricket score but there’s some small comfort to be taken from the fact that we only conceded one more in the final 70, away at the club who might well become Premier League champions this season.

Matt Jarvis also sparkled occasionally on the wing, particularly during the second-half – and I felt that his was the right attitude. Yes, we’ve already lost the game, but let’s have a go at Chelsea, and prove that we’ve got something to offer in this division.

There’s still plenty of pride left in this side. Let’s remember that we didn’t collapse like a deck of cards, in the way that Wigan did, for instance. If Sylvan Ebanks-Blake had scored that half-chance with the game goalless, the result might have been very different.

But there’s no getting away from the fact that we need to score more goals and require more, particularly, from our front men. As a striker, I just needed a lucky one to get me off and away on a scoring run – and it really doesn’t matter how they go in.

Some readers may recall the fact that my 300th for the club went in off my ear, for instance! I dived for a low header, it missed my forehead, hit my ear, changed direction, wrong-footed the goalkeeper and trickled over the line. We just need one of those!

I doubt whether our front players will need reminding, but it’s worth mentioning again that we’re on a countdown now until the January transfer window, so how many that they can score between now and New Year’s Day will determine whether they get to keep their places after the turn of the year.

Where Wolves are in the table will determine how much money Steve Morgan makes available to manager Mick McCarthy. If we’re still in the bottom three, then it will be more than if we’re in mid-table, I’d have thought.

Or, to put it another way, if our strikers don’t start scoring soon, they might find themselves behind some new arrivals in the club’s pecking-order, by the time that mid-January comes around!

I never minded that kind of pressure, personally. If a forward from the reserves was breathing down my neck, or the club was rumoured in the newspapers to be after somebody, it just made me all the more determined to succeed – and to score.

I felt that it was both brave and honest for Mick to admit, after Saturday’s result, that the club are now engaged in a relegation battle. But, to be honest, most of us have already known that, since the first day of the season. It’s best for everyone – manager, players, fans – to be open and realistic but it’s also no excuse to tolerate failure or under-achievement.

It strikes me that there really isn’t much between Wolves and several of the sides in mid-table, at the moment. Like Birmingham City, for instance.

Perhaps it’s also worth remembering, prior to Sunday, that we finished last season as convincing champions, whilst Blues squeaked their way into a narrow second place for their promotion.

Yes, Wolves haven’t played too brilliantly against them recently, but there really isn’t much between these two sides. I feel apart from the fact that one glance at the Premier League table sees our friends from up the road looking safe in mid-table, whilst we’re in the bottom three. Perhaps they’ve been luckier in their recent fixture list.

But it is vital that we take something from this one – even if it’s just a draw – to give us some sort of momentum going into our following home game, as the two away after that are at Tottenham and then Manchester United.

So, as I say, a point wouldn’t be a disaster on Sunday, but three would be wonderful. It’s going to be a tough, hard, physical match – and it wouldn’t surprise me if a few injuries were sustained – and probably not one for the purist. It’s worth remembering to, that these games can last for 93 or 94 minutes.

I scored a winner to make it 3-2 deep, deep into stoppage-time in 1996, and victory tasted sweet. I can still see the look now on Barry Fry’s face – he genuinely couldn’t believe what he’d just seen, and was staring blankly off into the distance!

One last thing, I’ve got a few tickets left for my Christmas party at Molineux. Call 0844 372 2491 if you’re interested.

BULLY’S BETS FOR THE WEEK: -

My tip this weekend is an unusual one, it’s basically this – if you’re going to place a bet, do it at Sportingbet and here’s why. If you place a bet on any Premier League game, Sportingbet will refund all losing bets if there is a red card in that game. And Wolves v Birmingham is bound to be a feisty affair!

So go to www.sportingbet.com for a whole host of Wolves bets and this fantastic offer!

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