Patience is a virtue for Wolves fans
Tuesday 30th August 2011, 4:00PM BST.
Wolves columnist John Lalley believes the differing plights of his club and Arsenal just goes to show how impatient fans of the beautiful game have become.
Who would have thought it? Wolves happily facing up to the first international interlude six points clear of Arsenal and just a single goal conceded, compared to the 10 shipped by ‘the Gooners.’
Remarkable scoreline, 8-2, you can barely credit it. I thought I had seen the last of such a glut of scoring back in 1965.
As the goals rained in at Molineux that November day, as we slaughtered Portsmouth by a similar margin.
The North Bank, all terraces and crush barriers, chanted towards goalkeeper John Milkins, ‘Ee aye addio, the goalie looks fed up!’
Milkins dutifully turned to look at his tormentors and, with a resigned expression, forced a thin smile to crease his features to acknowledge the black irony of his ordeal.
The admirable John Holsgrove, a redoubtable defender for us, helped himself to a couple of goals that day, so believe me, Pompey must have been bad!
But Milkins and his team-mates took it on the chin, refusing to take themselves too seriously despite their disappointment.
Such a rapport existed between players and fans in those days and the game was all the better for it.
Sunday’s post match interviews with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger resembled an interrogation relating to human tragedy of biblical proportions.
His expression was so stern that at any moment you expected a profound statement regarding third world debt, or exactly what fate should lie in store for Colonel Gaddafi.
Arsenal got stuffed and so what? The sun still came up on Monday morning. And all those years ago HMS Victory did not sink when Pompey suffered at Molineux. In the return fixture, Wolves lost 2-0 at Fratton Park.
Back then, the legendary Wolves manager Stan Cullis had been ousted from Molineux for just over a year.
Like Wenger, he had been in the hot seat for around fifteen seasons and Cullis, like the Frenchman at the Emirates had created a dynasty of unparalleled success.
After four years without silverware, Cullis was summarily dismissed virtually without a word of recognition for his stupendous contribution as a great player and a remarkably successful manager.
Wenger has endured a barren period lasting much longer but we can only speculate on his future.
Mind you, there was never much chance of a 10-goal bonanza to excite us at Villa Park last Saturday. Gripping stuff, it certainly wasn’t, but from a Wolves angle, it was a significant outcome.
We of all teams in this league have struggled desperately to grind out decent results on the road.
All too often, Wolves have conceded too early, too late and too cheaply and generally travelled home with nothing.
It’s ridiculously early to suggest that any significant shift of emphasis has embedded itself into the resilience of the team, but the indications are promising.
One of the most satisfying aspects at Villa Park was how we absorbed their early second-half onslaught, drew their sting and ultimately finished the game secure in the comfort zone.
There were no late alarms, no last ditch panic stations and no heart-breaking stoppage time concessions.
Sure, it was sweat rather than stardust, but the end fully justified the means and the final result was absolutely terrific.
The double substitution made by boss Mick McCarthy was a tactical masterstroke, the kind of decisive decision that managers are expected make to alter the course of matches.
How anybody with the interests of Wolves close to their hearts could quibble is beyond me. It sure beats conceding a barrow load, as Wenger would appreciate.
If Wolves genuinely do become a difficult team to break down on our travels, then we really could be in business.
Wolves have not conceded a goal for two and a half Premier League matches – a rare luxury indeed.
If our newly acquired resilience is maintained, no doubt we can look forward with relish to more ‘ecky thump’ from Mick as he rounds on the critical minority who would still not be satisfied if McCarthy surpassed the achievements of Stan Cullis.
Our manager is certainly blessed with a choice turn of phrase and no Premier League boss so regularly berates his own paying customers expressing such rousing disdain with complete impunity.
After not giving a ‘flying fiddlestick’ last season, this week apparently Mick doesn’t ‘give a barney’ and it’s an absolute treat anticipating the next verbal explosion in store for ‘the numpties.’
I remember at Fulham a couple of seasons ago, a journalist from Birmingham telling me that Mick simply couldn’t go on berating his own supporters and get away with it.
I strongly disagreed – in fact, I find it almost charmingly endearing, almost like a paternal patriarch ticking off his misguided offspring purely for their own good.
If you can’t accept a half volley from your own family on occasions, it’s a damn poor show especially when the admonishment is so entertaining!
Last week, Mick toldd any clubs hoping to prise away his best players before the transfer window closed could go and ‘Foxtrot Oscar.’
After the start we have made this season, his critics are strongly invited to take a similar journey.
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Super Mick can say what he likes about us supporters but perhaps he should remember we pay his wages and we will be here long after he has gone!
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Speak for yourself. I actually find Mick’s professionally bluff northerner act tiring in the extreme – if you’re going to adopt a dramatic persona for your post-match interviews, at least make it a likeable one rather than that of an “I say what I like and I like what I chuffin’ well say” Yorkshire small business owner-made-good. Or better yet, don’t do it at all. Apparently anyone who accuses him of negative tactics on Saturday is a “numpty” – well, Mick, you had six defenders and a holding midfielder on the pitch at the final whistle, so you weren’t exactly going at it hammer-and-tongs for the three points, now were you?
And if all his critics DID “Foxtrot Oscar” then all we’d be left with is a placidly upbeat chorus of unquestioning acolytes – how is that healthy for a football club? Debate, mes amis formidables, debate!
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Have to agree,was at villa pk on sat and could not believe my ears when the boos rang over the subs. mick made,it was not just a few fans . These fans have not got a clue about football,
morons spring to mind
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Well, I’ve knocked him and probably will again hopefully over the many years he will be the Boss at our beloved Club, he is the Manager and he has to take some stick when things are awfull.
The difference with Mick is he doesn’t hide, how many time as he sent Terry Connor our to the media on TV? answer never!!! what you see is what you get, a bloke trying to earn a good living and take the club forward, which he has done by ten years in the last five.
Yes there’s mistakes, but if you never make a mistake you never go forward, he’s doing an outstanding job, and exactly who would the fans who dislike him bring in? keep it up Mick, and foxtrot bravo to the lot of um, keep putting ya shift in.
Just in case you read this Wardy is the only player in the prem who can be offside with four defenders in front of him, surely the medics can sort that nose out, lol.
I’m right behind ya all keep up the good work, the bragging rights are no where near being boring yet, the Dogbogs are hating it!!!
Regards HWB
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No real problems with your article John, as long as MM doesn’t tell Nenad he can Foxtrot Oscar, or he’ll be shooting himself in the foot for sure. Little biut too much complacency in the approach this season too. Them three M’s are winging it once more. You’ll see. I’m off.
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He comes out with hilarious comments like the other week regards Fulham ‘ If we get anywhere near the Fair Play for the Europa League, I will personally kick a couple down the tunnel’. He might be stubborn and not everyone’s cup of tea but what he has done with the club is brilliant. We pay much lower wages than most, yet will still have a team of internationals that are mainly British or Irish. We may have a few defeats around the corner but with the new captain governing the defence, we have to look at mid-table and RJ should have been picked for England!
Fingers crossed that we might sign at least one before the window shuts!
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“After four years without silverware, Cullis was summarily dismissed virtually without a word of recognition for his stupendous contribution as a great player and a remarkably successful manager”.
Wow the expectancy was huge in those day’s. true to say we have many wolves fans up and down the country 60+ from that generation. If we would have maintained the success we could have been as popular as man United till this day.
I guess we’re now on our way back…like our club motto say’s out of darkness cometh light. Ever more so.
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Mick has made difficult decisions time and time again, and the improtant ones he seems to have got right, considering our sucess since he arrived as manager. Even I questioned his decision to take off our wingers for defenders, but it turned out to be a fantastic decision, so fair play to him for proving once again why he is the manager and we arent.
I agree with you completely about how its fine that Mick can continue to tease a minority of Wolves fans. After all, we as fans expect the right to voice our oppinions when we feel things arent going well, why cant he voice his oppinions on certain fans, who he feels arent doing a very good job at supporting this team.
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shepherds pie !!! gonna brown some mince tonight !
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Excellent article. MM endeared himself to me long ago, and we’re lucky to have him. He’s really stabilised the club, and is taking it forward. patience is indeed a virtue!
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The sacking of the greatest manager,Stan Cullis,the Wolves have ever had, by that second hand car salesman Ireland, was disgusting.It pained me every time I went to the Molineux to see his name on one of the stands.Fortunately that pain has now been eased and the stand renamed after another of our clubs great servants.Best of all though the new stand being built will continue to bear Stans name,and will continue to do so for many years after our erstwhile chairman Ireland is long forgotten.
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Sometimes a Manager needs his fans yes who do pay his wages, McCarthy still hasn’t learned that.
McCarthy pass Stan Cullis! Now you are having a laugh!!!!!
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John Lalley talks an awful lot of sense. There is at last a tangible sense of progress at Wolves where the stability and financial sense that now prevails in the boardroom is being reflected more clearly on the pitch. A start has been made towards planting roots in the Premiership but there is a long way to go yet. One could argue as JL does that the same support that the three Ms currently enjoy at Molineux should equally be enjoyed by Wenger at Arsenal. The difference though is that Wenger has already been there for 15 years, has taken them to the Promised Land of silverware but then failed to repeat that success in any forum for 6 seasons. He has previously enjoyed a reputation for bringing through young talent and successfully integrating it with experienced older players as well as buying astutely and without spending the ridiculous sums now being splashed around by first Chelsea then Man City. Now though, having been told for the whole of last season and at least part of the one before by the media, respected football commentators and pundits and of course an increasing proportion of Arsenal supporters, that the team needs to be augmented with recognised, experienced players, he has persisted with his own plan, whatever that was and continued to fail. He’s now at the wrong end of the summer transfer window with Man Utd and Man City having secured their purchases and skimmed the cream off the top, his most talented and experienced two players gone and several tens of millions sitting in a bank account when it should be on the pitch augmenting Fabregas and Nasri, not attempting to replace them. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in the job, nor that you’ve brought “quality football” and a couple of trophies to a club that was starved of both for a long time. If all that was over six years ago and you’ve presided over the debacle that is Arsenal at the moment, both on the pitch on Sunday and off it in the transfer market, Wenger, Peter Hill-Wood and the rest of the board have to hold their hands up and recognise that Plan A hasn’t worked. As anyone knows, whether it’s business or sport, if a plan isn’t working, pressing on with it regardless isn’t going to produce a different result. Wenger does not appear to be willing to recognise that, which really leaves the board with only one sensible option…..
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I would happily sell Milijas if a decent offer came in – what’s he done in the past 2 seasons really?
He’s not the kind of player we need, is a luxury and is far too light weight.
he’s just popular cos he’s got a bit of flair, makes a few good passes and scores the occasional long range shot. There is absolutely no comparison between him an O’Hara – the latter full of bite, energy and witha crackign eye for goal.
Milijas is lethargic and does not contribute enough when he’s not on his game – anyone who says any different is talking cobblers.
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MM has his markers right.
A).Good start to the season.
Wolves are a gritty,gutsy team and won’t get turned over easily.
B).Bringing in better quality players,prudently.
C).The Mol is being improved gradually.
D).Wolves are one of the better run clubs (financially etc) in the country.
E).The above bode well for the future of Wolves. Players and fans alike.
Anyone remember the Batty Bros ? or was that a nightmare some time back when we all thought it was over !!
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Mick is one of the clubs most successful managers, not far behind Cullis and Mcgarry.
He is spot on with his comments of a small minority of our fans or numpty,s as we know them as.
Every club has them, i have noticed the bitter baggies boo boys have started slated their own this week after 3 straight defeats.
Micks substitutions against the Villa were spot on and gleaned us with a satisfying and very important away point.
Well done Mick
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I enjoyed the article and, like many people who support (or these days more accurately in my case, follow the Wolves – seeing them mostly away from Molineux), I take the point that MM has many virtues and is making a valuable contribution to the club’s success.
However, the term numpty is intentionally demeaning (whatever it means) and badly misplaced when people simply question or disagree with a point of view or a decision.
Wolves have eased 14 players from their wage bill for the coming season, and taken on 3, of which one came for free, yet with the transfer window 28 hours away are only able to consider a late loan addition. Now, somewhere along the line the club accumulated a lot of driftwood, (because not all the loaned out players are youngsters getting experience), and it wasn’t the fans who did the accumulating!! Which begs the question, who are the numpties who did? Because that surely is a major reason the bank balance wasn’t good enough to allow purchases that would have greatly assisted in ensuring Wolves continue in the EPL.
Mick may be able to get away with insulting fans who care passionately and show their loyalty over a lifetime, but the Club need them, critical or sheeplike, indeed they are it’s life blood and will be so long after he, and we, are not even driftwood.
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Returning to JL’s comment, and linking it with Arsenal’s defeat, I can stillrecall the feelings watching us lose at home to Liverpool 6 – 1. What made it worse was Alun Evans returning to Molineux with the visitors and netting two (?). Whatever happened to him? I can vaguely remember soemthing about a car accident.
Some fans have always had irrational expectations and MM is trying to manage those and keep the club going forward. I think he’s trying to do it with as much humour as possible – even if it is a bit of a pose at times.
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All the talk of how you treat the fans is irrelevant. Keep improving and you’ll keep you’re job. Mick knows that, if he does things to please the fans where is the long term
or informed plan?
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Difficult one to call re: Villa subs – I think before the game I’d have settled for a point, but realistically it could have gone either way. Yes, perhaps we could have won it if the subs had been different, but we could easily have lost it as well. Jarvis is an excellent player going forward, but finds defending difficult. We sustained mammoth pressure for the first 20 minutes of the second half and perhaps shutting up shop with Foles and George coming on was the best option. But Mick makes the decisions as that’s what he’s paid to do and he lives or dies by them. Probably the best call on balance on Saturday.
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No 1
Got your book of boring football fan quotes out again……….yawn!
Well said and most definitely well done Mick, a master stroke if ever ive seen one.
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Why shouldn’t Mick have a go at the “numpties” ? You only have to read some of the nonsense that gets posted on these boards to understand why he gets frustrated. It’s a mixture of ignorance and craving for instant gratification by these Charlies. The 3Ms are patiently building something we will all be proud of and if there are some who get upset by a bit of plain speaking by the manager….tough ! Even Yuman Rites and elf & Safety won’t stop our Mick (I hope)
You can’t compare Mick McCarthy with Stan Cullis. Totally different set of circumstances. Both of them, along with Ronnie Allen, Bill McGarry, Graham Turner and Dave Jones deserve our thanks and respect for their contributions to our Club.
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16 Navywolf.
Sorry I didn’t reply earlier but I have only just stopped laughing.
McCarthy is still miles away from McGarry and a good few light years behind Stan Cullis.
Hahaha,
next you’ll be telling me Moxey has kept us solvent!!!!
History is not one of your strongest subjects obviously, even McLeish has won more McCarthy.
If survival is your yardstick you have problems.
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John, I was in the North Bank that day in 1965 for that 8-2 win ,but you did not mention a few weeks before we lost 9-3 at Southampton.We certainly didn’t take that defeat on the chin,it was more akin to the Wenger reaction.George Miller never played again for a start. I think Phil Morgan was none to impressed either in the Express and Star.Didn’t Andy Beattie leave and be replaced by Ronnie Allen at that time as well?
Also you mention the sacking in 1964 of Stan Cullis,we all were opposed to it at the time,but we were bottom of the league,played8,lost 6. I am sure the sacking was more to do with our league position and some personal conflict with John Ireland,rather than the fact that it was 4 years since we won a trophy.Also Stan had spent a lot of money on Crawford,Woodruff,Melia and that awful swap of Le Flem for Hinton.These signings were not coming off at the time.I was surprised to read in the Indie today that Stan was only 48 when he left.It is strange that he never really had a successful spell afterwards,just a short stint with the Blues.Mind he did manage to beat us to Trevor Francis,when he signed for them as a kid,rather than us.
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fergie got it spot on when interviewed after the game on sky, ‘its a very cynical world today’ stated wengers record in the prem hardly wheels falling off is it and looking at some of the posts on here, yes you esp pete nuts. top of the league after the vila game a point and a clean sheet! no pleasing some i suppose. we were getting battered till mick stuck on the subs and we then finished the stronger, so mick you got it spot on no question. suppose if we had gone all out and lost youd be happier. no wonder mick uses the numpty phrase.
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John Lalley, go back and read your ‘blog’ after Wigan at home last season. You showed a lot of patience then. Some of us did however. PeteNuts, you are even more boring than Lalley. Have you ever got a good word to say about McCarthy? When MM gos on about numpties he is definitely talking about PeteNuts.
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Supporting a club like Wolves is like a relationship.
It’s a partnership, some of it takes you to heaven, some to hell. Yet once the glow for the club is established a commitment sets in and it all becomes part of the adventure and journey.
Currently I am very happy being an Wolves supporter, I have refound love, and I am pleased to say I have been present at the ground over the decades when silver for wolves has been hoisted high.
And yes, Wolves could have been as big as Man U are now. But wait…
What we are witnessing right now is the foundations being laid deep and true.
Have patience, happy days are in process right now.
UTW
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cavan wolf – one of those morons is above you at number two!
the flying wing-er I doubt if you ever saw any of Cullis’s teams – Mick McCarthy is one of the best managers we have had since the great man, he is down to earth and tells it has it is – his problem is that the “truth” hurts a lot of our so called fans.
English Exile-don’t be a prat all your life,I have been watching the lads since 1953 so I think I can talk about the managers,and Mick is one (one) of the best we have had, being in exile has numbed your brain.
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What “MM” did in relation to the choice of subs was a good one.It had an immediate impact on our play as we were getting run over completely prior to the changws made.
Without doubt “HISTORY” shows “MM” has been a good manager for us considering this is our third season in the premiership.
The argument can be made for his stay and his departure.
“MM” for the moment will stay so all I would suggesst we stay behind him.I for one am not a great “MM” fan and probably wont be anytime soon until he takes over the “BAGGIES”!!
MM will be the first to admit he as made a large number of decisions that have cost us further progression.His continued saving grace as been we have stayed up by the skin of our teeths in bothe of the seasons.
No one can argue with our current points tally the majority of us would have been happy with 4 points at this stage.
So on this seasons reaults albeit 3 games in we are in a terrific position to stay up alot comfortably,so we have to collectevily remain behind “MM”.If we were not able to get rid of him last season as the oppurtunities were there with some dreadful results and above all some awful performances.As honest has “MM” is one cant but doubt this,as he has a tendency to put a colourful picture on nearly all are performances last season which on the whole were v poor.So all I will say is that “MM” chooses when to be “HONEST”.
So lets all stay behind him for now and hope he continues to prove the critics wrong,as that would mean our beloved club is doing well.
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23. Was just my opinion, have been going to the Mol since 73. I guess it depends how you measure success, like i said i think Mick is one of the best managers that Wolves have ever had, behind Cullis and Mcgarry.
Lets not forget Turner who brought 2 promotions and the Sherpa van, albeit at a lower level.
Mick joined the club in dissaray post Hoddle, now look at the club 5 years later.
Wolves are in the best shape i have known, atleast since 73 which is as far back as i can remember ;-)
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@26 Jake
I’d actually argue that anyone who uses a word as cretinous as “numpties” to describe anyone who has the temerity to question his every act in a democratic society, is a numpty themselves. But I’d never use a word so cretinous, so I can’t. Now please, don’t take my name in vain again, I like to spar with my own intellectual weight class.
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And for the record, yeah, I have plenty of good words to say about Mick. Good manager. Good man-management skills. Has created a strong team spirit. Generally adroit in the transfer market. The right man for the job. That doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to criticise his weaknesses. It’s called being a balanced human being, and as the denizens of the debauched yet delightful drinkery that is the Newhampton will tell you, you’ll find none more balanced than PeteNuts, unless he has his second bottle of Rioja inside him.
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It could be much worse lads. Over at the Poorthorns – scrapping in the dressing room and nil points!
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Football has changed a lot since the days of Cullis and McGarry. Money talks today and there are an awful lot of clubs who have won zilch since the year dot. There are also a growing number of clubs who have sold their financial souls to the devil to try and emulate the big hitters. Sure, Blues won the Carling last year but who would swap places with them now.
Considering the financial constraints he works under, and the obscene sums thrown around by the top 5 or 6(and others), MM is doing a fantastic job. Championship title three years ago will keep me going for a while.
Look at the record books. How many Premier League clubs have actually won a bean since they joined the so-called elite.
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You, PeteNuts, are a numpty. We got a point. What would you rather, out and out attack and a goal conceded in the last minute, like last season. Collin Murray (god only knows why!) said on MOTD2 it took us until October to get 6 points last year. If we surpass that by playing 6 defenders and a holding midfield player, then so be it. Long reign grumpy old mick. And please Foxtrot Oscar numpties, until you have something to actually complain about. Idiots.
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@Wig In China
I refer you to my comments regarding people who use the word “numpty.”
You’re missing my point, which is that I am in turn NOT missing the point that we won at Villa, merely that Mick is out of line for calling the people who accused him of negative tactics by that same annoying name. Six defenders and a holding midfielder is negative, a tactical move designed to throttle the last bits of life out of a dying game – FACT. I’m overjoyed with the result, fully respect the merits of his decision, am less enamoured with a manager (and indeed fans like you) who seems to think that “differing opinion and capacity to express criticism = NUMPTY! NUMPTY!” If you’re happy to think like this, then enjoy your life in the meadows nibbling on grass and being sheared periodically before you end up on a plate coated in mint sauce. Some of us, however, possess the power of abstract thought.
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He gets away with it because the vast majority of fans think he has done a fantastic job, as have Moxey and Morgan. It never ceases to impress me how they tirelessly resist buying big time Charlies and hasbeens.
There have always been idiot fans who never tire of the sound of their own voice and imagined wit. How many matches in my life have I had to sit through with some nit grumbling about the performance – again – within minutes of kick off. Like so many sports fans these days, these people don’t do to watch, they go to be watched, deluded that people are impressed with their knowledge and wit.
Keep slamming the numpties, Mick.
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I’ve always liked Mick for the unpretentious, down-to-earth bloke he is. He’s very much in the Yam Yam mould: Someone who says what he thinks, even if he is, at times, a stubborn mule. So, he strikes a chord with (most) of Wolves’ working class fanbase.
It doesn’t entitle him to berate fans who question his tactics, though -especially given the very high cost of attending matches these days. Fans rightly expect entertainment when forking out big sums (on away games especially). However, the match at Vile needed drastic changes because we were being overrun. The end justified the means for sure…but fans aren’t ‘numpties’ for expressing disapproval, Mick. They don’t see games for free nor do they get paid a King’s ransom, either. So, respect is a two-way street.
So, Mick both gets both my seal of approval and my anger, at times. If nothing else, he’s a colourful character to have as Boss and, as we’ve had some pretty dour, lifeless characters sitting in the hotseat in the past, I suppose Mick’s outspokenness is the lesser of two evils.
I mean, Mr. Hoddle or the ultra-boring Colin Lee, anyone? Nope, didn’t think so!
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Can everybody hear @38 Ye Olde South Bank? That, ladies and gentlemen, is the Voice Of Reason. Please familiarise yourselves with it, and come to terms with it for your future benefit.
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39 – ‘Voice of reason’? Why, thank you for the compliment, Mr. PeteNuts. Just telling it as I see it (as always), mate.
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@40 It’s just nice to hear from people who recognise that having an opinion that might deviate ever-so-slightly from the party line does not a numpty (God, just using that word makes me feel dirty) make. Others might learn from your example, sir…
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16: I reckon he has surpassed Mcgarry already. Lets not forget he inherited alot of his team, Mick has built his from scratch
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41 – Well, thanks again for the kind words, Mr. PeteNuts. Don’t recall the last time I was addressed as ‘Sir’, either, lol!
I only read the other posts after I’d posted myself, mate….and, for my money, your comments are perfectly valid, fair and reasonable. Thus, we’re singing from the same hymn sheet.
Liking, admiring and fully acknowledging a Manager’s contribution does not HAVE to go hand-in-hand with eternal, simpering gratitude -nor should it preclude one from taking issue (when and where pertinent) with major decisions taken (such as team selection, etc), or indeed tactics. As you rightly conclude, this is (supposedly) a democracy that we live in and besides, a plethora of opinion should be welcomed. Diversity keeps the kettle boiling, after all.
Yes, some fans’ comments are ridiculously OTT (both ‘anti’ and ‘pro’ McCarthy) which is why, I feel, that we read such profound reactions from certain posters on here. However, if we all took the time to realise that football itself (let alone our Boss) is not an exact science….and that no amount of arguing changes anyone’s opinion one jot….
….well, we might learn to accept other people’s views. It’s called behaving like adults, Mr. PeteNuts. I think we’re in agreement there, too.
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@43
You lost me at “behaving like adults”…
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44 – Sorry, PeteNuts. I think I lost myself at that juncture, too….
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Gozzle-well said,got to agree I have people round me who start moaning after about 5 mins, does my head in..
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after reading with a lot of amusement the comments above, I felt that I had to say my five pennyworth. I can remember the great nights of the 50′s when the results of the games against Dynamo and Honved led to the creation of European club competitions, of Wolves losing out on the double at Burnley the consecutive league wins 59 & 60 and then the sacking. Since we have won a league cup and league titles from the old 4th upward, since then, the world of football has changed beyond recognition and as such of the new era before Graham Turner and Dave Jones MM is one of the best managers we have had. If we the fans can have a go at him then he is entitled to have a go back learn to take it and dish it out but get behind the team after one of the best starts we have ever had in the premier league,and yes I was at the 6-0 drubbing by Liverpool with Alun Evans, I banned the wife from the Mol after that
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Occasionally I read a poster’s name and think “that’s a new one”. Seems that some folk make them up as they go along. Those that always post under the same name provide the regular reader with a growing train of thought which means we know “where they are coming from”. So they don’t get judged on an individual post – allowances are made, even if they are not agreed with. Hence Jake @26 is wrong in his assessment of PeteNuts who is generally supportive in his own innovative way.
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@48 Solent
“Generally supportive in his own innovative way” – words I want carved on my headstone!
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47…Absolutely spot on!!
I think some are missing the point here, i dont think for a second the term ‘Numpty’is aimed at anyone who has an opinion that differs slightly from Micks, or someone who gives fair criticism etc etc.
I think Mick is referring to a very small minority that havent a clue about football and will disagree or slag off the club no matter what, just for the sake of it, the negative, the doom mongers, the boo boys etc etc.
There is a big difference between the two…and the latter really are numptys.
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42. Fair point Cornish.
Like i said earlier it all depends how we measure success. Trophys won, improvement, finances, the type of football played etc etc.
Under any circumstances i agree Mick has been one of the very best managers we have had at the Wolves (and i reckon there’s more success to come yet)
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Wednesbury,So that is who was in nets,on that dreadful afternoon.
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47 Wednesbury. Yes agree with all you say except for Wolves losing out on the double at Burnley. You probably mean TO Burnley. We’d thrashed them 6-1 at the Mol a week or two before in a midweek game, but, they won at Maine Road to spoil our double. I too was at the 0-6 game and in keeping with the Scaffold’s hit of that era the Scousers sang “Thank You very much for Alun Evans, Thank you very much, thank you very, very, very much” He scored two, I seem to remember.
A night to remember for the wrong reasons, with the awful (really awful) Alan Boswell in goal. (Chris Hoggard. Dick Le Flem would probably have done better with the gloves)
42 Cornish (and 52 Navy) I’m a big MM fan, BUT he simply has not acheived what Bill McGarry did….. YET. Check the record books, look at the two teams and think again. The League positions over his years, The League Cup victory and The UEFA Cup final when both were very meaningful trophies.
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(34)
YOSB,
Mick can’t be in the Yam Yam mould, he wasn’t born in the Black Country, Just like your club wasn’t.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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54) Keep on fighting in the dressing room, Birmingham’s third team!
Great start but if we do struggle this season, the blame is firmly at Moxey or Morgan’s door. Little effort made yesterday and the one area where we have not got proper cover ie holding midfielder, we loan out a youngster!
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@54 Jack, your posts are like your team – they don’t have a point. Ouch…
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54 – Hello, Jack. With respect, my Boggie friend, I don’t recall saying that WWFC were “born” in the Black Country. I said McCarthy was in the Yam Yam mould. Big difference, that.
Mind you, I wouldn’t go down that path -tiresome as it is- lest I have to point out that your beloved Whorethorns is partly in Birmingham and partly in Sandwell (with the Brummie Road End fans sitting within the Birmingham city boundary, as it happens). So, as your ground is neatly split in half, I’d say that your club has an even bigger identity crisis, chap. Kind regards.
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