Wolves boss fires derby warning
Saturday 19th February 2011, 11:30AM GMT.
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy today warned Albion ‘lose to us tomorrow and you could go down.’
Victory for Wolves at The Hawthorns by more than a goal would put the Molineux men out of the relegation zone for only the second time since the end of September – and drop the Baggies into the Premier League bottom three.
The huge importance of the first Premier League Black Country derby is underlined by the fact that defeat for Wolves would put them six points adrift on a weekend when there are no other top-flight fixtures because of the FA Cup fifth round.
But McCarthy is concentrating on what effect defeat would have on their rivals.
“Dropping into the bottom three with 10 or 11 games to go when you’ve been out of it can be devastating,” he said.
“Effectively you’re going in the wrong direction then.
“If you drop into it, there’s obviously been a downward slide and everybody’s thought process is that the next step is to drop out of the league.
“We’ve been there scrapping away but our mentality is we’ll get out of it and we’ve got games left to do it.”
McCarthy added: “It has an effect on the whole club when you drop into it – the players, the staff, everybody around the place.
“I don’t play mind games, it’s just a fact. If anyone drops in they’re going in the wrong direction but we can’t go any further down.
“For all our inconsistency, we’re still in the mix.”
McCarthy also admitted tomorrow’s showdown is probably one of the most important derby games ever.
“The club has been running for 100-odd years. Maybe there’s been a more important one but for me and my players there hasn’t been,” he added.
McCarthy also called for cool heads.
“There’s always intimidation and the crowd are more vociferous,” he said.
“But referees are aware of the size of the game.
“I don’t want anyone running around like a headless chicken and getting sent off.
“It ruins the game – especially if it’s one of ours.”
UK Sport
Latest Blog — Same again for West Brom
What a strange two weeks it has been since our last game. I haven’t looked over my neighbour’s fence with as much interest since Pamela Anderson moved in next door and regularly used her trampoline, writes Albion blogger Jarrod Hill.
Albion 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
Lose to us and you could go down!!! Talk about stating the Bl**ding obvious. Just talk to the players Mick, and leave all the newspaper rubbish to someone else. You sound like a boxer talking the fight up, just to increase ticket sales. If any player, from either team needs motivating for this match, then I’m sorry, but they are at the wrong clubs.
Report abuse
It is all about the result tomorrow,we all know it.These mind games I think are stupid and only wind up the opposition.There is just as much pressure on the Wolves as the other lot.It is Early Bird time,and a lot of fans in these in difficult times will think twice if we have bad games against the Baggies and Blackpool.Best of luck to Mick and the lads tomorrow.Win and you are all heroes,defeat is not worth thinking about,even Sir Billy might have a moan.
Report abuse
I remember a certain Mark mcghee would always comment on our big games like this and it would work wonders for the opposition so why cant we just keep our thoughts to ourselves and do our talking on the pitch.
Report abuse
Can anyone wire up Mad Micks teeth. What a statement to wind up the opposition. “Lose to us tomorrow and you could go down”. I demand that there are 14 OXYGEN MASKS and STRETCHERS on the touch-line tomorrow at half-time and full-time for the WOLVES players. Anyone that manages to walk of the field tomorrow without assistance doesn’t deserve to wear the Wolves shirt or claim his wages. I don’t want to hear any more stupid statements from either of the 3M’s before the final whistle. Tomorrow is the time to DIE for the OLD GOLD.
Report abuse
Bottom line is that if you are a Wolves fan you should support your team. So:
If we win, celebrate in your own particular way.
If we draw, accept it graciously and move on. Not bad at all in the context of our away performances outside Merseyside.
If we lose, behave like men and take the blows. Do not throw your toys out of the pram. Still plenty to play for. Don’t drag our own people down with you when it hurts!
Up the Wolves!
Report abuse
Well said paperchase!!
COME ON YOU WOLVES!!!!!!!!!!
Report abuse
“I don’t play mind games”
You’re just a naughty boy, Mick and if you carry on telling fibs your nose will grow and grow and you’ll frighten the mascots.
I think we’ve wound up each other enough.
Let battle commence.
Still don’t know whether we should go 4-5-1 0r 4-4-2 . A pairing of Doyle/Fletcher/Ebanks could do so much damage to a defence that Hodgson will have been drilling all week, but new tactics often take time.
Report abuse
It doesn’t matter who were playing 2moro it just happens to be albion, 2moro’s game is about getting 3 points who ever we were playing…. keep the eye on the ball lads and bring the points home…… come on wolves…
Report abuse
5. Very phylisophical, did i spell that right. Go you Wolves.
Report abuse
Worry about your own team,Worry a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report abuse
Well done Mick, you have just given woy his team talk!
Report abuse
That’s it Mick,Give them lot down the road some real insentive why don’t you never mind them, Tell our boys if we lose tomorrow we might be going down. Good luck lads win the tackles, and lose balls and more important you have got to want it more than them.
Report abuse
Mick,
your silly ramblings only upset your fans. Never have I heard such nonsense. You’re more worried about ALBION, where you should be concentrating on your own players. I bet you’ve had nightmares all week, worrying about this game, well it will be over for you tomorrow. Thanks for the laughs.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
Report abuse
I’m sick of the e&s making up these silly headlines in the build up to thd derby. All it does it winds our fans up and gives the Albion fans ammunition. All our players need to stay out of the press and stop talking up the game.
Report abuse
hope the Black Country sees off its staffordshire rivals tommoz …..cum on u Baggies
Report abuse
4.ukrainian cossack, Go on my son! hear, hear ! thats the spirit! Even got me walking up n down the living room beating me chest. Let them give it all. We are Wolves !!! COME ON!!!
Report abuse
Thanks for the motivational speach Mick, we’ll have this pinned on the dressing room wall! “Lose to us tomorrow and you could go down” the flip side of this of course is win and go 6 points clear of you with 11 games left. We’ll soon find out tomorrow either way! High noon at the Hawthorns can’t wait! May the best or luckiest team win as long as it’s us!
I’m sure you’ll all agree wolfies defeat in unthinkable for either of us!
Boing Boing
Report abuse
Noticed over the last few days that Mick McCarthy has said a few things about how bad it is that a new manager at this time could send us down, loosing this game would send us down, ALBION ARE GOING DOWN!
Think like its been said above that words often spoken can also be words eaten!
I think McCarthy better think about his own team and yes, even though we have a poor defence record, our attacking play can harm anybody and one of these games the chances that we keep creating, will go in!
West Bromwich Albion 4
Wolves 2
Sorry Mick!!!! HA HA HA
Report abuse
If I was a Wolves fan I’d be wanting Mad Mick to give his gob a rest because he’s gonna look like a right tool if we win tomorrow. It’s a derby, it’s gonna be a difficult game for both sides and I hope that Mad Micks ramblings fire the Baggies players up (not that they should need firing up)
Report abuse
I can see why people call him thick Mick!,
The bloke is a complete amateur.
On the Express And Star pictures it shows
Wolves players laughing and pointing at someone who`s fallen over into the net,
its so ovious Mick McCarthy has got all his
players together and said “RIGHT LADS I WANT
ZUBAR IN THE NET WITH BERRA POINTING AND THE
OTHERS HAVING A GOOD LAUGH TO SHOW ALBION
THAT WOLVES HAVE GREAT TEAM SPIRIT”.
Report abuse
MUPPET Mick, So basically what you are telling Roy and his players is; “All you have to do is beat Wolves and you stay up and we go down, after all we are three points behind you and bottom of the table.
Mick Perhaps you could start for once in your life to try and inspire this Wolves team, Who, as we all know, don’t do well away from home against bottom feeders.
Oh, and please take a course in Psychology because your mind games are in reverse.
Report abuse
Great motivational teamtalk for the Albion Mick,no need for Hodgson to say anything.
Report abuse
Mick, What happens if the Baggies win?.
You WILL be going down!. Boing Boing.
Report abuse
15
for your information west brumich is a little suburb on the west side of birmingham and is not and never will be in the black country and if i were you i would be pertitioning for my club to be called West Birmingham Albion because that’s where you are so just accept it!
Report abuse
No bickering now lads. We all know our manager is quite the full center half when it comes to talking to the press and todays been no exception. Ay Ay better he keeps his wisdom to himself or saves it for the dressing room. Where exactly is Marseille anyway Ronald where you get them Paris derbies or whatever. Up the Wolves.
Report abuse
25
I presume you meant ¨our manager is NOT quite the full center half¨? If you did, don´t you mean he wasn´t?
Report abuse
For goodness sake just shut up once and for all!All this talking up before the game puts even more pressure on the players and winds up the opposition.Too many times already this season we have ended up eating our words.Save the talking for on the pitch
Report abuse
the only people who will be eating there words will be the ones who have no faith in the team
Report abuse
Well done Mick!!
Lets do the talking on the pitch we need this win so much…. I hope for once we are not let down by dodgy team selection, we need to score goals and although Doyler works hard he gives us nothing up front.
Ebanks Blake is wanderers number 9 and the man for this occasion……
Up the Wolves….
Report abuse
that would be the team with the birmingham postcode would it baggie 66, muppet
Report abuse
All I know is Mick has past experience in Blackcountry derbies.
So I think It’s going to be a tough one for Hodgson.
I’m going for 2:0 to Wolves, Hammill and Doyle!
Come on you Wolves!
Report abuse
(26)
ron,
Do you mean, centre half?.
(24)
ChW,
West Bromwich is a town, that is in the Black Country. Have a pop into the Bugle office, you might learn something. W-ton had a boundary change. wolves originated from Staffordshire, You think just because you grabbed Bilston
( which is in the Black Country ) to make you big enough to be called a city, your lot think you are now part of it, wrong. Black Country Boundaries don’t change. Glad to educate you.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
Report abuse
No 4 what a brilliant post, made the hairs on my neck stand up!
COME ON LADS, don’t let us down
Report abuse
everybody calm down!we will win tomorrow no worries,as long as mm gets his team selection right and that means fletcher and seb up front as we need goals and leaving our 2 joint highest goalscorers on the bench will not be good.boggies have the worst defence in the prem but can score a goal or 2(especially with our back 4) so its no good us playing five in midfield and expecting to get a draw,lets just rip into em from the off and test that dodgy defence, C’MON YOU WOLVES!
Report abuse
“Lose to us and you could go down” and on the B side “if we lose to them we WILL go down”!!
Words of wisdom from our illustrious leader! Do the talking on the pitch! 3 points is all that will be acceptable!!
Report abuse
It’s about time we just shut up and got on with the game.
Report abuse
24) Cradley Heath B63, Birmingham postcode? AND Cradley Heath IS in Sandwell, turncoat! or are you planning to move? because that’s where you are so just accept it!
Report abuse
Stop the goal music at Molineux
Would you like to register your dismay at our club deciding to play music every time we score at Molineux. The playing of this music makes us look like tourists from the league below and needs to be ended as soon as possible. Our goal celebrations are from the heart because we love The Wolves – we do not need this ‘Americanisation’ of our goal celebrations. Please, please stop the goal music; we know how to celebrate a goal.
Follow the link below to sign the online petition ‘Stop the goal music at Molineux’:
ipetitions.com/petition/stopthegoalmusic/
Spread the word…Up The Wolves.
Report abuse
Stop the goal music at Molineux
Would you like to register your dismay at our club deciding to play music every time we score at Molineux. The playing of this music makes us look like tourists from the league below and needs to be ended as soon as possible. Our goal celebrations are from the heart because we love The Wolves – we do not need this ‘Americanisation’ of our goal celebrations. Please, please stop the goal music; we know how to celebrate a goal.
Key into google, ‘stop the goal music’ and go from there…
Spread the word…Up The Wolves.
Report abuse
Why do you delete all my posts?
stop the goal music…google it
Report abuse
stop the goal music…google it
Report abuse
Stop the goal music at Molineux – google it
Report abuse
If Albion are pinning that to their dressing room wall then things must be desperate.
Can anybody actually find the quote in there “lose to us & you’ll go down” ?!
Report abuse
24 – Hear Hear ! !
I remember when, if you were on the bus going to Birmingham, you had to pay again at the Albion ground because you were in Birmingham!
And the driver had to clock in there.
It’s not a Black Country derby.
It’s Wolverhampton v a bit of Birmingham !
‘Ommer ‘Um Cradley !
Report abuse
For a moment i thought i had been stuck in a time warp and Mark Mghee was still manager. Nothing like winding up the opponents eh?! Oh and putting pressure on your own players because if we lose we could go down.
Why oh why do the Wolves Board think this chump is a Premiership manager?
Report abuse
Shut up or put up! It’s tm to get on with it!
Wife asleep next to me as I quietly send this along from Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, Calfornia, where we are staying for the long weekend. No Fox Soccer Channel! Recording the match at home in San Francisco. Won’t be able to watch until we get back home, on Monday night. Am about to go undergrond for two and a half days Nobody tell me the result! However, we will upset the Albion! President’s Weekend holiday
UTW!
Report abuse
15 – “Staffordshire rivals”? You’re obviously referring to Stoke City, then, considering that Wolvo ISN’T in Staffordshire. Go back to school, I say. No wonder Sandwell Education Authority is frequently mocked as being amongst the worst-performing in the country -and here’s the proof.
Report abuse
By the cringe JACK you are last person to be accusing people of RAMBLING ON. You obviuosly don’t read your own post do you!!!
Report abuse
What was Mick thinking ???
brings foley off, disturbs the deffence
then brings on craddock, totally shakes up the deffence what was doing well intill mick messes everything up !
where did the 4 mins come from ?
As usual ANOTHER game thrown away… Mick you just cant put 10 men behind the ball like that its too risky and asks for trouble.
NEGATIVE MICK STRIKES AGAIN…..
Report abuse
Jack. You educating someone!!!!!!! You cannot be SERIOUS. Plank and thick as comes to mind.
Report abuse
Mick. Please don’t say i is bad luck. It is pure BAD tactics. The result became obvious as soon as your love child appeared. Chamionship here we come along with the “Navy Blue” stripies.
Report abuse