Why Wolves should call Fulham ‘dirty’
Tuesday 26th April 2011, 9:10AM BST.
Wolves columnist John Lalley saw the ugly side of Fulham as the row between the two sides erupted again on the pitch in a high-stake game at Molineux.
Intriguing elements of gamesmanship are constantly evolving in the game, but I can safely say that I’ve never caught sight of what Fulham striker Bobby Zamora tried last Saturday.
At first I was bemused when Zamora, before even touching the ball, raised his right arm the moment goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was in possession of the ball.
When the Fulham substitute continued his semaphore routine using thumb and digits to count the seconds, he resembled a boxing referee standing over a prostrate fighter with brains scrambled struggling to beat the count.
It turned out that Zamora was somehow trying to influence the referee into penalising Hennessey for holding onto possession for longer than the requisite six seconds.
On one occasion, Wayne – instead of taking not a blind bit of notice as he should have done – hastily booted the ball into touch and paid unnecessary heed to the pantomime performance on Zamora’s agenda.
Clearly there was a genuine spill over of the ill feeling the two teams generated at Craven Cottage six months ago.
Fulham manager Mark Hughes made an exhibition of himself with his hysterical over-reaction after one of his players was routinely penalised.
His inaccurate bottle booting was a display of infantile petulance which, in retrospect, he should cringe about.
Banished to the stand, Hughes couldn’t resist cupping his hand to his lughole when his team equalised, safe in the knowledge that a TV cameraman would dutifully record such a childish and predictable response.
The Fulham players engulfed their dugout after the goal and their wildly over the top celebrations said more about a residue of resentment than a run of the mill point that had been theirs for the taking virtually from the kick-off.
Clearly, should we take the drop there will be few tears shed in on the banks of the River Thames.
For our part, Richard Stearman set the ball rolling with a thoroughly ill-advised studs-showing lunge that risked immediate dismissal.
This was a worrying reoccurrence of the rash and reckless time-bomb that ticks resolutely within Stearman’s DNA. Had he seen red, the consequences could have been calamitous.
Stearman is not a dirty player but there exists this latent urge that surfaces in spitefully ugly fashion from time to time, when all reason and common sense is shot to smithereens and he is left with not a shred of mitigation to excuse his lack of discipline.
It’s a failing he needs to address with immediate effect, his sometimes inflammable temperament is not doing neither him nor the team any favours.
Karl Henry felt the need – understandably born out of immense frustration – to label Danny Murphy a ‘bit of a big mouth’ after the game and also to rake over the spat with Joey Barton to infer that referees have been influenced against Wolves after listening to criticism about our supposedly robust approach.
Henry’s sense of injustice is easy to understand – Murphy’s partial and less than objective summary of the Wolves tactics and the Match of the Day judiciary inviting the population to condemn Wolves without trial with Barton, of all people, turning Queen’s evidence were both infuriating and demonstrably one-sided.
But, this time, I can’t help feeling that the Wolves captain would have been better advised to say nothing.
Six months back when this nonsense started, Wolves were rattled and temporarily destabilised and Henry’s over robust challenge leading to his dismissal at Wigan was the boil over at the sense of injustice, but events move on and so now should Karl. He has enough to occupy himself given our current predicament without raking over events of last September.
Years ago, the notoriously belligerent Australian cricket captain Ian Chappell engaged in a furious on field spat with his equally competitive England counterpart Tony Greig.
Asked to explain details of the set to by an inquisitive press afterwards, Chappell explained it this way “I said, good morning Tony and Tony answered, good morning Ian.”
It’s usually best to leave disagreements on the field instead of running off at the mouth in front of a microphone.
Anyway all this superfluous chat about Wolves being too physical, Murphy influencing referees or what personal vendettas were shaped six months ago, carries absolutely no weight in relation to our survival in this league.
Our level of performance has dipped alarmingly since the outstanding win at Villa and Karl Henry, players and management should turn their attention to identifying the reasons why.
Events from last September can look after themselves, I just hope we can look after the next four weeks.
UK Sport
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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.
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A win at Stoke will shut everybody up…simples
It could even turn out that a point from each of our remaining 5 games could end up being enough it’s been that kind of season.
Well done to the albion for securing their status in the Prem.
I just hope that tonight we can go a step closer to doing the same.
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Nice try John… a valient effort to portray us as the hard done by team – pity you had to spoil it by mentioning the fact that Stearman started any problems with another stupid agricultural challange.
Karl Henry then continued his childish behaviour on and off the pitch – what happened to the footballing lesson we were giving them?
Also, am I the only one who feels Mick is asking for trouble with his comments about the remaining matches – and particulary the derby match ?
Danny Murphy accused us of being “pumped up” to dangerous levels – and now Mick is doing the very same thing to players AND fans in print – its almost incitement…. I pray it doesn’t come back to bite us .
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I was reading the match review in The Observer (for whom, interestingly, Tim Spiers is described as an “Observer reader” – surely, you deserve better billing than that!) and the Fulham fan’s report said that we are a dirty team and that if we go down, we will not be missed. We have to stay up now, if only to shove this particular chap’s words down his throat.
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Who Cares?
Its Tomorrows Chip Paper
We’ve got the Mother of all Relegation battles on our hands… lets focus solely on that
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I just wish that Karl Henry would keep his mouth shut and do his talking on the pitch. Since that Fulham/ Wigan game he has not been nearly as combative.
Don’t forget Fulahm could have been down to 10 men when Murphy pushed Henry in the face- possibly in an attempt to wind him up?
BTW A dose of reality here please, Stoke have not lost at home since October so we are unlikely to pick up any more than a point there.
Regarding Micks comments, perhaps at last he is starting to fear for his job and therefore his comments have become as inane as his tactics on the pitch.
Mad Mick has thrown this season away with his lack of tactics and misguided loyalty to his little favourites.
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Strange Blog, surely more important issues to be discussing.
Oh yeah by the way, I remember when the timing rule came out for goalkeepers to release the ball I remember seeing a certain Steven George Bull doing exactly the same as Zamora is it really that big an issue.
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All this is detracting from us playing football and getting wins, it helps no one, McCarthy and Henry should know better.
Just get the results!
Shame Lalley does not concentrate on the here and why.
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The current relegation battle is what dreams are made of as far as the media are concerned. Whilst we worry about what McCarthy says to the press and why Henry should be encouraged to drag up tantrums from six moinths ago, don’t you think exactly the same sort of thing is happening at Wigan, West Ham, Blackpool, Blackburn et al ?
It’s what makes the football world go round.
It’s almost taken the shine off what happening at the top end of the table.
The media will wring every last drop out of this situation over the next few weeks….and we’re part of it….. get used to it!
And the next instalment is tonight !
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Shewolf – change the bleeding record and start doing what you think you are – by being a fan and SUPPORTING THE TEAM/MANAGER. MUPPET.
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All that matters is
……………Hennessey
..Stears…..Craddock……Berra…..Ward….
…………Foley…..Henry……………..
Hammill………………………….Jarvis
………………O’Hara…………………………………………………………………………Fletch……………………
Subs (if fit)
USA, Vokes, Griffiths, Mancienne,Moyokoulo/Doherty??Hunt,Guedioura
UTW!!!!
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9 JohnWolf
We could say the same to you mate.
In this instance, let’s save the debating until its all over one way or the other.
Let’s not forget that everyone else in the bottom 7 or so, are all fretting too, and moaning about their teams.
The fact is, it isn’t over yet. Despite what I think about this team and the manager, I’m still hoping we stay up ! So up the Wolves and I’m looking forward to the big match!
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John, The Fulham side on Saturday was the best Fulham side I have ever seen. And I think I have seen every Fulham game at Molineux since 1963. They oozed Premier quality.Were better on the ball passed better and looked quicker than us.We were somewhat fortunate to get a point.Let’s move on and get some more lucky points tonight.
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I only hope Stike play against us as hopelessly as when the played Albion at the Britannia.. They were awful!
Still, the more we are written off for this match, the more likely we are to win it, it’s been that sort of season..
Even a point and we’ll be out of the bottom 3, a win would be massive.
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Here is a quote from our captain Karl henry in a paper today about the Stoke game..
“It’s going to be a really dirty game up there. Both teams will be kicking lumps out of each other, it’s going to be an ugly, dirty game that no one wants to go and watch”.
Get rid of him and that muppet manager and lets try to restore the once good name of Wolverhampton wanderers….. shameful.
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Worst articlee ever. Fulham battered Wolves, gave ye a footballing lesson. So maybe that’s why when we got our equaliser the celebrations were so “over the top”.
You call our point, that we earned “run of the mill”. This point was of huge significance to us as it practically guarantees our Premiership status and our tenth year in the most competitive league in the world. 10 years! Something Wolves can only dream about.
Karl Henry broke Zamoras leg in a nasty challenge. Murphys comments that Wolves were “too pumped up” was bang on the mark. However Wolves, especially Karl Henry, have been using Murphys comments as a scapegoat for their own ineptitude, incompetence, uselessness. Henry says Murphy should “shut his mouth”. Henry is the only one still dragging up what happened Zamora, not anyone from Fulham.
So maybe Wolves fans should have a good look at their own players before siding with them straight away.
Finally Stearman should have been sent off and Hangeland should have been applauded for his tackle, not booked!
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15.Mike Fulham may have a better footballing side at the moment but history never lies. Fulham are a small time team compared to Wolves so get a grip and move on…..
Most of this fabricated bollocks is media driven and probably taken out of context top sell a few papers.
A draw would be the minimum requirement tonight- COME ON WOLVES JUST DO IT!
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SURLEY
For our part, Richard Stearman set the ball rolling with a thoroughly ill-advised studs-showing lunge that risked immediate dismissal.
This was a worrying reoccurrence of the rash and reckless time-bomb that ticks resolutely within Stearman’s DNA. Had he seen red, the consequences could have been calamitous.
Stearman is not a dirty player but there exists this latent urge that surfaces in spitefully ugly fashion from time to time, when all reason and common sense is shot to smithereens and he is left with not a shred of mitigation to excuse his lack of discipline.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE A DIRTY PLAYER THEN?
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Why do you drone on about a game that is over? We failed to get three points and we failed to dominate Fulham – its that simple.
Fulham are no more “dirty” than most other teams and, frankly, Stearman was lucky not to get a straight red for that really idiotic lunge on the half way line in the first half.
Or how about Berra’s persistent shirt pulling even in areas of the pitch where the opponent offered no real threat to our goal?
Why not be more constructive and talk about the football that was on display? Why not write about the fact that our Manager’s tactics have led us to this place? Once again we are bypassing the midfield and the ball spends way to much time in the air. When will he learn that keeping the ball on the ground and playing to feet on a consistent basis is the best route to securing points and maintaining our status in the Premiership? What is annoying is that there have been a few (way too few in my opinion) games where we have played football and looked good doing it.
No doubt we will see one ugly mother of a “football” match today at Stoke.
COME ON YOU WOLVES!!!
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15)Mike. If you’re not a Tesco then you are a long way from home and well wide of the mark with your comments.
Now go and have you’re photograph taken with Jacko. Won’t need a wide lens to get you all in.
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“Our level of performance has dipped alarmingly …”
Not for the first time in the clubs’ history, a dip in form has come after an international break. In particular, on-loan, lucrative move-seeking O’Hara who didn’t play in international games has barely looked worth a starting place since the break. Why should this be?
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15. Mike
Henry’s challenge on Zamora was no worse than Hangeland’s. Zamora fell awkarwardly. That’s all. For you to then applaud Hangeland is double standards.
If Wolves are, as you said, inept, useless and incompetent, I wouldnt be too proud of your team that as it stands, is only 6 points ahead of us, and 5 outside the relgation zone.
I agree about Stearman though- was very lucky to stay on the pitch for that.
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21) Hathwolf
Going to have to strongly disagree with you regarding both challenges. Henrys was not a good tackle. Hangelands tackle was well time and executed perfectly without malice unlike Henrys.
I am proud of my team, having the play the majority of our season without our target man who is essential to how the team plays. No doubt we would have been much higher up the table, if he wasn’t taken out by Henry.
Anyway good luck tonight. Stoke are much worse than Wolves. Hopefully ye can drag them down.
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The problem Wolves have is their captain denies that he a dirty player and then makes a statement about the upcoming Stoke game stating that the 2 teams (funnily enough named by Danny Murphy) will be kicking lumps out of each other!
Just about sums up the sort of football Wolves have to play because under MM they are unable to play any other way.
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JohnWolf- 9.
I do support the team. I do not boo when players make mistakes/are subbed/ make poor decisions.( I might inadvertantly groan, but I think that is almost a reflex action) I do not boo when they have drawn/lost a game I keep my silence.
I have renewed my season ticket not knowing what division we are going to be in next season.
Surely that is support?
My derision of McCarthy is surely not a shock to any Wolves fan who watches the team regularly. In fact it should not come as a shock to any football fan who reads that McCarthy has the worst record as a manager in the Premier League ever.
So why does it make your opinion the right one? Criticism can be constructive and negative.
I like to think that my comments portray a healthy mixture of both.
I support the team but not the manager who I think is completely tactically inept and who also does not carry himself well, makes inappropriate comments to the press and really has a certain lack of dignity about him.
He reminds me of the sketch in Harry Enfield- I am showing my age here- the ‘I’m a Yorkshireman me, I say what I like and I like what I bloody well say’ sketch.
I could warm more to McCarthy if he had not insulted the fans.
I think that really was unprofessional of him and I coould never imagine a consummate professional such as Martin O Neill making such a gaffe.
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Mike – Henry’s tackle on zamora was an exceptional challenge. Its funny how after the match, not a single pundit said it was a bad challenge, not a single pundit said it warrented even a yellow card, not a single pundit dissagreed that it was actually a really good challenge. Unfortunately as does happen in football, Zamora fell awkwardly and injured himself. Yes, if Henry didnt make the challenge, zamora wouldnt have fallen, and therefore wouldnt have been injured, but if every player failed to put in a challenge for fear of injuring their opposition, tackling would no longer be a part of football.
As for comparing it to Hangelands tackle, it wasnt the same, simply because Hangeland went though our player during the tackle, which is something Henry didnt do, so in theory, Henry’s challeneg was actually a better challenge.
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I have watched Henrys tackle on Bobby a few times and although it wasn’t deemed a foul at the time you can clearly see that his shirt was being tugged causing Bobby to fall back instead of having his momentum carry him forward and preventing serious damage, that said I don’t think it was “Dirty”.
Stearman on the other hand should’ve walked and had he done so Fulham would’ve coasted to a 3pt win.
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22)Henry wasn’t even booked and Fulham players, including Zamora, as well as the TV pundits all agreed it was a fair tackle.
I watched it live and later on TV and agree with all of them.
So exactly where are you coming from on this ?
Hangeland was booked and Hughes sent off
…and you disagree with that too !
I think you need to be a bit more balanced in your assessments.
We’ve had to play all season without one of our inspirational players thanks to one of your midfielders. Swings and round abouts, mate.
Thank you for your back-handed good wishes for tonight. I hope we can fulfil them
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Admittedly Stearman made a wreckless challenge on Saturday but Fulham did not look to me as a team at the top of the Fair Play League. The referee, once again, let a more established but far less successful team than Wolves get away with more or less everything. Mark Hughes reaction was typical of someone from the Man Utd and Fergie old school. Let’s face facts that Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea have been some of the dirtiest teams in the Premiership for a number of years and funny enough the most successful. One rule for one and another rule for others.
I will be happy with a point tonight, then bring on the Noses and the Tescos!
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25) Mick will Save Us
Henry came in from the side and wins the ball after taking out Bobby. Hangeland won the ball fair and square.
Also just because pundits said it was a good tackle, doesn’t make it so. Pundits are often wrong. Infact notice how there has been no pundits that have picked up on Stearmans tackle. Shocking.
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YAWN!!
Anyway on a serious note have a look at the photo attached to this blog, the Wolves Fan standing up heckling Mark Hughes is he wearing a Haloween Mask?!
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For our part, Richard Stearman set the ball rolling with a thoroughly ill-advised studs-showing lunge that risked immediate dismissal.
What about the challenge seconds later by murphy that had both sets of studs showing in front of the ref, the handball from adlenes header that was blantant hand to ball, dont see what youre getting at here really but an article on the upcoming games rather than mulling over what will be tommorows chip papers ( cheers no 4 ) would be better.
1-2 away win tonight please.
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Re Shewolf 5. Stoke havent been beaten at home since October?
Defeats to Blackpool and Fulham at the Britannia in December kind of make your comment a bit inaccurate.
The comments from Murphy saying Wolves are too pumped up going into games is only backed up by Henry stating that tonights match is going to be dirty, with tackles flying all over the show.
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Mike – Considering after the match earlier in the season, on the likes of match of the day, the incident was played over and over in slow motion, and not one pundit could deny that it was an excellent challenge, it hink thats more conclusive than you just saying it was a foul. For your information, with the use of slow mo replays, better angles and expert oppinions, pundits are rarely wrong in the modern game. The only instances when pundits can occasionally be wrong is when the view is blocked and the Henry incident was clear as day for everyone to see. (Apart from for you, it would seem.)
Also, yes, Henry came in from the side and yes, Henry won the ball, but he didnt take out zamora, zamora fell over Henry’s legs after the tackle was made, and the injury occured when he landed awkwardly. Hangeland did win the ball, and it was a fair challenge, but in doing so also took out the player by going though with his feet. In my oppinion it was a fair challenge, but considering Henry didnt even go through zamora to win the challenge he made, Henry’s challenge was clearly a better challenge.
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Mike, Hathwolf,
‘Henry came in from the side and wins the ball after taking out Bobby.’ His challenge at the cottage was perfectly fair (albeit risky) and bobby landed very awkwardly – these things happen in football. It is not this incidence that has riled Murphy and Hughes. It is the demeanor and mentality that has been instilled into wolves players to go into every challenge with the intent to win the ball at all costs. This was epitomised by stearmans challenge – he knew he was late so he left the ground, with complete disregard for his opponents safety, in order to win the ball. It shows such stupidity and lack of respect for his fellow professional its embarrassing. It was this challenge that set the tone for the rest of the game. Both teams were playing dirty. I have to admit this was the first time this season ive seen this fulham side lose their heads in a game.
Playing ‘dirty’ wont keep you in the league, playing good football will. Hathwolf – read whats written by your fellow wolves fan in post 12) the difference between the footballing ability of the two teams on saturday was massive. Thats why i have been able to watch my ‘small club’ play consistently against the best teams for the last 10 years.
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Aaron ff
Sorry- I didn’t spot thiese when I glanced through the fixtures. In the words of one famous Homer Simpson- Doh!
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All I’ll say about the game in regard to Danny (Murphy)’s comment was that it was probably in the heat of the moment. Imagine if your team’s top scorer had just had his leg broken… It was a huge blow to the entire side, we didn’t know if Bobby’d be as good again.
I’m sorry that you saw a bad side of Fulham. Usually we’re a very fair side with extremely polite (although tuneful) support and we’re second in the fair play league behind Chelsea.
Anyway, as Fulham fan I have a lot of respect for Wolves. Hope you guys stay up at the end of the Season and to see you again next year.
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