Sylvan Ebanks-Blake targets key Wolves role
Monday 23rd August 2010, 11:28AM BST.
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake today set his sights on a key Wolves role and insisted he doesn’t have to prove his Premier League pedigree.
The striker dismissed suggestions the £7m arrival of Steven Fletcher means he is under pressure and vowed to fight for his place.
The 24-year-old grabbed the equaliser in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Everton – only his third in the Premier League – after struggling for form and fitness last term.
Ebanks-Blake has to battle it out with record buy Fletcher and Kevin Doyle, but is eyeing an extended run.
“It’s not what I’ve got to prove. It’s about what we as a group have got to prove to the Premier League – that we can play at this level, stay here and consolidate,” he said. “That’s all that matters. What I do, what anyone else does, is irrelevant as long as the team gain from it.
“The gaffer picks the team and I leave that decision solely to him. I want to stay in the team and work hard. We’ve got good competition in my position and throughout the whole squad. For me personally, I just want to stay fit and help contribute to another season in the Premier League.
“At this point last season I was injured and out for six weeks. I never got to build any momentum but hopefully this seasonI can stay fit and show people what I can do.”
A Tim Cahill opener threatened to derail Wolves but Ebanks-Blake’s 74th minute leveller made the Toffees pay.
And he knows Mick McCarthy’s men must build on their fine start to the season.
He said: “I love scoring goals, everyone who knows me knows that, but it’s confidence for the whole team not just me. We’ve got four points from a possible six and that’s confidence in its own right.
“It’s a very good start, we’ve come out of the blocks strongly. We’ve had a season in this league so we’re all better players for it and we’re delighted with four points.”
But, despite their form Ebanks-Blake added Wolves were keeping their emotions in check.
“We’re not getting carried away, we’re trying to consolidate and become a Premier League team. The only way we’ll do that is by working hard and sticking together,” he said.
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Lets just hope Blake, doyle and fletcher all score the goals to keep us in the league and improve on last season. Newcastle beating villa 6-0 will give them tonnes of confidence, lets hope they take us for granted and we show them which midlands team they wont be beating this season.
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Good to see SEB getting into the box to take the chance – If SEB can do that more often and get himself into scoring positions by busting a gut to get there he will score more often
Listening to some Wolves fans talking about getting into europe – well I’ll be happy with safety first – anything else is a bonus!
Imv Newcastles result againts Vile should be a wake up call to not take them for granted as long as we are more ‘up for it’ we should be fine
Up the Wolves!
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Well done Sylvan. Another good point against Everton on Saturday. Let us keep this good run going and kick these anti Wolves pundits into where it hurts the most.
fletch
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I love the Wolves and I love SEB
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What a tackle from Ward on Saturday, world class, kept Wolves in the game, please stop knocking him and anyone else in the gold and black shirt. Let Mick worry about team selection, enjoy the ride….
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Highlight of Sat for me
SEB hovering like the predator he is when at the top his game … his absolute hunger, frustration and desperation as Jarvos great run didnt quite yield him the chance to win the game.
If SEB can bag another goal or two and really cement his place..then his already increasing confidence will soar
Will be miles better than any new signing we could realistically afford before the window ends
Great news. Great point Potentially Great Player
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The 1 thing about wolves this season and last is that we never give up. What a amazin comeback in the 2nd half and congrats to mick and the lads. We may not be the favourites to win alot of matches but its no coincidence that we keep fighting till the end. After we equalised there was only one side in it and proud ov the way we try and play football. Roll on next wkend against Newcastle.COME ON YOU WOLVES!
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Great result and excellent performance.
SEB had a superb game and Ward’s tackle on Beckford was brilliant.
Did you notice the attendances at Albion and B’ham. Empty seats everywhere.
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Well done Seb, if he can stay fit and contribute a few goals on top of what doyle and fletch it would be a hud boost to the team.
Saw the villa game on match of the day last night and Alan smith and joey barton were awesome in the middle ofthe park. They were throwig themselves into tackles, tackling hard and giving the villa midfield no time on the ball. On what i saw i think Guedioura definitely needs to start as henry and jones will be to lightweight against those two.
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Well done Seb, if he can stay fit and contribute a few goals on top of what doyle and fletch it would be a huge boost to the team.
Saw the villa game on match of the day last night and Alan smith and joey barton were awesome in the middle ofthe park. They were throwig themselves into tackles, tackling hard and giving the villa midfield no time on the ball. On what i saw i think Guedioura definitely needs to start as henry and jones will be to lightweight against those two.
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ok ok ok SEB scored but if you watched the entire game, he was dreadful! lot of running (which is nice to c from him) but he couldnt keep the ball, lacks real pace in this league plus he cant really pass, so really there was just alot of ball chasing going on, i still think he is owed another chance for what he has done for us but i seriously think he is lacking in quality for the prem! how anyone can say he had a quality game is madness! another supporter who read the sunday news paper headlines n put 2 n 2 together! but he scored so ……. i guess thats all we want!?? UTW
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Love you Sylvan like most of the posts, and as a Championship player you are a real standout.
But old son, when you compare Fletcher, Doyle or other Premiership strikers, you really do not rate…hard as it may seem, wolves need another quality striker to run with Fletcher, and have only about a week to get one.
If McCarthy believes you are the answer other than a sub , then he must take a good look at himself.
Sorry Sylvan, a real trier, but you are not the answer.
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great result because everton is a tough place to get any sort of result so i,m happy with a point, nice to see Seb banging one in lets hope it,s the first of many. As somebody else said what a tackle from ward, were playing as a solid unit with no big time charlies and our bench looked strong and then we still have Kites and a few other long term injuries to come back. Well done mick and the lads and what about the fans, loud, loud, loud..
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Ebanks-Blake seems to have shed some weight from last season and looks the better for it. Took his chance well when it came to him on Saturday.
Apart from Blakes goal the highlights from the game were Wards well timed tackle on Beckford and the introduction of Guedioura.
Ward looked far more effective when reverting to left back and Guedioura turned the game around for Wolves in midfield.
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He did nothing all game…then scores. Every team wants a striker like this, why do we knock it? Not all left backs are world class, why do we think ours have to be? Should remember were wolves and not one of the Sky4!
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I can see what is developing here among some of the fans now we are in the Premiership.
I call it Premier league syndrome,
Its when alot of fans, of all ages, copy the pundits comments (Charlie Nicolas, Merson, Andy Gray etc…) they are fans who never go to any games, they are only hi-light watchers. They are fans that only measure a players ability on their transfer fee and the ‘press status’ of the club they play for and paper they read.
The kind of fans like NO.12,Petrified. They all talk absolute nonsense.
I bet you thourght England were gonna win the world cup as well.
Well done SEB, keep the goals coming son, and remember, you outscored Doyle two seasons running in the championship!
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Totally agree with 11 and 12, seb is not a prem player and he still looks to overweight, he did 1 thing all game, yes he scored but he is no comp for fletcher and doyle, i pray mick starts those 2 when we play newcastle!! Who i must say looked really impressive againist villa :/
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We have a tremendous opportunity to establish ourselves as a decent Premier League club. Steve Morgan please do not blow this chance by diverting funds on a new stadium.We need to concentrate on the team.Did anyone notice all those empty seats at Middlesborough and Coventry.That is what happens when you build new stadiums rather than concentrate on the team.The reason OLD Man Utd are on the slide is not the age of Giggs and Scoles,it is down to their debt.We need Plan B give Mick full support in the transfer market for the next two years then concentrate on the ground.
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if ebanks is overwieight then he has been overwieght for his whole wolves career and no one complained when he bagged the top scorers award 2 years running its total rubbish the chap had a good pre season and scored a goal that rescued us a point and for any one who says he lack any quality just look at the goal he scored against charlton im sure that a lot of teams would kill for our strike force i know albion would posts like 11 and especially 12 do not speak for the majority of wolves fans who whenever ebanks gets a touch shout his name
p.s. guardioura in for ward next week jarvis back on the left
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All of a sudden SEB scores and he is a great player!
SEB is a great championship player and just another player in the premiership.
He needs to improve dramatically in terms of control,distribution,off the ball running and his sharpness and fitness,and start to average a goal every other game.
His attitude seems to be good so that is a positive along with his natural ability to put the ball in the net at championship level,he needs to translate that to premiership level.
He is worth chancing but will find himself on the bench more often than not,POSITIVE for him is that DOYLE/FLETCHER are fitter and technically better but they are not natural goalscorers.This is something SEB can captalise upon if he is scoring regularly he will be in the team otherwise out.
We need a classy midfielder with the ability to mix it also,SNOGRASS of LEEDS could be the man.
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Sylvan’s goal is no surprise to me at all and I fully expect him to bag a fair amount more this season (at least, I hope he will, as he is in my fantasty team). Strikers are, for the most part, confidence players and do their best when their confidence is up. Surprising what a goal in the last home game and a good close-season can do. Lots of players take a year to acclimatise to the Premier League, what price that Sylvan is one of ‘em?
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i saw the game yesterday between newcastle and villa and villa were shocking in defence. ok newcastle played well but villa were missing cuellar and collins at the back and they were all over the place. so im not too worried about newcastle on saturday as they werent the best at the back either. if we start with doyle and fletcher up front we will cause them some trouble.
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A very good point on Saturday against one of the better teams in the league. We might struggle against the likes of Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Spurs, Man City and Liverpool – although we took points of a couple of them last season – but there is no doubt that the current squad is good enough to beat the rest. The full backs did well, Berra and Craddock were solid, Henry provided a barrier against a class midfield and Jarvis was quality. At top Doyle and SEB worked hard but did not have many chances. Guedioura must start on Saturday and assist Henry in the battle with the likes of Barton, Smith and Nolan and we can beat the Geordies!
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Unfortunately I wasn’t there on Saturday.
But have just watched footy first.
I’ve heard a few people banging on about how bad we were first half but Hannemann only had one save to make & that was one for the cameras.
I thought Guerdioura did fantastic for the goal, and was pleased for Sylvan to get to get off the mark, can’t comment on how well he played, but he was great against Stoke & deserved a goal against them, can’t understand why there are posts on here saying he aint good enough, bizarre!!!
But we have had a great start to the season, with alot of our big guns still to get up to speed, so all bodes well & I still think we will get a couple more in before the window closes, though I don’t Keogh will be going to Bristol as they have signed 2 strikers today.
18, Chris
You seem to have a real hang up on the ground issue, I dont think all of a sudden we are going to stop spending when its took us over 20 yrs to retain our top flight status & as previuosly mention the club have announced that they already have the funding in place for the first 2 stands.
Chill fella & enjoy, this is a great time to be a Wolves fan.
KTF
Wolvesforever
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Im gonna take a guess that a load of the people dissing SEB are probably those who were in the “why doesn’t Mick sign Benny McCarthy” and the “why would mick want to sign Andy Carrol” brigade.
Just let our boys be.
They’re doing us proud.
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We bought Seb to score goals. He came off the rails a bit last season, mainly because of the system MM played. Playing two up front… and he’s scored two in three games. So why have we got ‘fans’ knocking him ? Same with Ward, he’s injury free and doing a job. He may not get into the side when everybody’s fit, but, what a squad player to have.
FGS enjoy what’s happening. I still think Mancienne will come back home this week before the window shuts. Then it will be interesting to see the 25
19) Agree with all you say David, but, not sure about your PS. Ward at LB and maybe Guediora in midfield, but for who ? Jarvis looks better on the right.
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some of the opinions on these pages are so hilarious its unreal.
4 points out of 6
just ask west ham or wigan fans if they would like to swap places and squad with wwfc, and what would the answer be?
as for our sylvan bieng not premier standard,
i would take him to be our striker before heskey,beckford,crouch, d.j. campbell, jason scotland, marlon king, dirk kuyt, do i have to go on?.
my point is there are so many strikers considered to be premier class but when it comes to the crunch they fail miserably.
so far im happy with 1 goal in 2 games and if any so called supporter is not, just ask what a certain wayne rooney would give for any sort of goal right now.
utw
tough game against newcastle but we should sneak a 2-0. doyle and jarvis.
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SEB is in the team for one reason and that is to do what he did at Goodison on saturday.
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sylvan aint in the team for nothing.
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No 19 and anyone else who thinks SEB is a Premership class player has to be blind. He scored the goal that he would probably have missed last season but he did nothing else in the game.
He hasnt got that bit extra that counts in this league. He cant keep the ball, he cant pass the ball, he cant beat other players with skill or speed. He just doesnt have a deft touch, high work-rate or enough creativity.
His level is the Championship and will not cut it at this level.
He can always improve of course as he’s still young but from what I see, he has a long way to go. He’s got two excellent team-mates, Doyle and Fletch, to learn from though.
He’s a viable sub to come on when we’re chasing a goal as an extra striker but not as a starter.
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Wulfskin – your calling people blind but your making your assesment on 1 game. Yes he didnt do much all game apart from his goal, but at the end of last season, i remember him making some fantastic passes and through balls, setting up a few chances, so to say his distribution is poor based on 1 game where we struggled to get the ball to him is ridiculous. There are plenty of world class players that have poor games, but pop up with the winner. Thats what strikers do.
Remember, all these world class players are at clubs with other world class players who get the ball to them on a regular basis and give them multiple chances each game. We havent got the team that will supply SEB with chance after chance, which means hes not going to score as many as Drogba. But he is a natural goalscorer as he showed in the championship, and given the players around him, could score goals in this league.
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30 – Wulfskin. Amazing how you’ve never posted before. A whiff of a boggie WUM methinks
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IMO SEB is a great sub to have, why people on here try to smash this lad to bits is beyond me.
every tem need 4 strikers to have a decent season. we have 4 and i think that doyle and Fletcher are our 2 starters when fit, but its a long season with injuries and bans will come so SEB will get games.
Just get behind the team and cheer on whoever starts or comes on.
Take out the top 6 teams and our strike force will stand the test against the rest.
Their are teams like Blackburn who are trying to sign decent strikers but cant. Honestly people chill out and be grateful we have 3 decent strikers.
MM wanted Andy Carroll and from what i remember got slated for this, i know its only been 2 games and i dont really rate him to highly but he has done the business so far.
that why we ared not manager of Wolves and he is. let him do his job
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when i said guardioura for ward i meant stick with elekobi at left back play a narrow midfield to combat the barton smith and nolan kicking trio with jarvis on the left and guardioura on the right side of a narrow midfield and as for people knocking ebanks i just dont understand why your basing your analysis of a man who scored in a game and he is rubbish ??? if you watched the stoke game ebanks was praised by many who said he looked sharper and his link up play was good he did also have a good chance of a goal and wulfskin oracle of how to be a perfect striker at the moment doyle and fletcher are swapping injuries so blake is the next striker in line keogh would not have got anywhere near equalising on saturday its about being in the right place at the right time and ebanks has that knack as a striker you need to put the ball in the net we have doyle and flecher to do the link up play out and out goals scorers include : shearer owen van Nistelrooy ian wright etc… you dont have to have brilliant link up play if you score goals.
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I stand by my assessment. I am not knocking the bloke for no reason. I just think that the modern striker needs to have more up his sleave and contribute more to the team than just scoring – which SEB hasnt done a lot of lately. He’s just too one dimensional to be effective in the PL.
Goal-hanging isnt enough.
And in answer to 32, I was a regular in the South Bank before you were born
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