Wolves will carry on playing offside
Wednesday 26th January 2011, 9:25AM GMT.
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has handed his players full licence to continue playing offside.
McCarthy’s men have conceded three goals recently from trying to play the offside rule – two of Liverpool’s three on Saturday and one in the 2-0 reverse at West Ham on New Year’s Day.
Against the Reds, Ronald Zubar was guilty for not pushing up for the first one and Christophe Berra for the other – both scored by Fernando Torres – the latter coming when Wolves were chasing the game.
Liverpool’s first goal came as a result of a correct call by female referee’s assistant Sian Massey, whose appointment sparked the sexist comments by Andy Gray which have led to his sacking from Sky.
But McCarthy is only interested in decisions for and against his team and stressed the merits of playing a successful offside trap in the belief it’s an effective tool when used right.
He said: “Offside is a weapon that’s in your armoury as a defender. If used properly and at the right time it can be effective.
“If it’s used incorrectly and not properly it can leave you in trouble. I’m never happy if someone uses offside as an excuse for not defending.
“We all know how it’s done when it’s done correctly, but you have to give players license to make decisions on the pitch.
“On Saturday we made a mistake.”
UK Sport
Latest Blog — A week is a long time in football
This time last week we were staring down the barrel, third from bottom with a worse record than at the same stage last year, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.
Saddlers Blog
Business Awards
Book a Business Awards table
Join our celebrations of the region's best in business on Thursday March 22 - book your table now
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Express & Star and Shropshire Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases
OUR NEW APP
Get the new E&S app
Download the Express & Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
expressandstar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
