Wolves blog: Getting Berra and Berra

Christophe Berra, a footballer who's surname must seem like a gift from the Gods for Sports editors across the country. If I hear one more fan say about him, "He's getting Berra and Berra."

It isn't that I've had a sudden humour bypass, it's more to do with the end of the season being so tense and I think many of us can sometimes forget why we support our beloved Wolves in the first place.

Manager Mick McCarthy has assembled a young, high-energy exhilarating team that has surely surpassed many of our expectations and who have got us within touching distance of a second stab at top-flight football.

Yes, fans are bound to get nervy and anxious as we get closer and closer to the end of the season. But there are many fans who I can only think have descended from planet JIWAL, who are saying that if Mick gets us promotion then he should be giving a golden handshake and be freed of his managerial duties.

Utter lunacy! We all have our flaws and I'm sure, even through Mick's sometime belligerent and stubborn demeanor, he would be the first to admit that he doesn't always get it right.

On Tuesday night, there were probably 20,000 of us who thought that we would have made better managerial decisions during the game against Ipswich.

I am, like many of us, a fantastic Championship manager in waiting. Against Ipswich, I would have left Kyel Reid on for the second half when introducing Michael Kightly to give us better pace and width on both flanks.

I would also have taken off Stephen Ward for Keogh rather than Matt Hill, and done so a little earlier than the final 10 minutes.

I probably see the game a little differently to Mick. He came out after the game and said that he was happy to hold on to a point towards the end of the game, rather than go gung-ho for all three points.

So perhaps one of Mick's major flaws is that he does have this selective bunch of players who he plays when evidence suggests he shouldn't. Although I think Stephen Ward has had a fantastic season at left-back, he didn't really offer much of an attacking threat against Ipswich.

Unfortunately Mick's blind faith in the likes of Andy Keogh and Neill Collins, who are both incredibly hard working players but perhaps have limited ability, has occasionally turned them both into scapegoats and left fans questioning Mick's strategic decision making.

For large parts of last season, we suffered badly without the presence of Matt Jarvis and Michael Kightly. On Tuesday night it was a similar story, as most of our play in the first half was very narrow through the midfield, leaving strikers Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Chris Iwelumo starved of service.

The introduction of Kightly in the second half was an improvement, but he didn't really hug the touchline and get many crosses into the box.

The two outstanding performances on Tuesday night came from player of the season elect, Ebanks-Blake, who fed on scraps all night from David Jones and David Edwards but who still almost won us the game single-handed.

For me though, top banana on the night was Christophe Berra who carried on from his outstanding show against Sheffield Wednesday.

He may not be the quickest of defenders, but he reads the game fantastically and you wouldn't have wanted to be on the end of one of those crunching tackles!

He found his feet against Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich but before then I could hear a lot of fans saying that he was no better than Collins and what a waste of money.

Give the guy a chance! This is just a typical example of the impatient attitude of some of the more stupid Wolves fans who demand instant success.

So whether you see the Ipswich game as a point gained or two points lost, we are still in pole position to finish top of the pile, especially with Reading and Blues seemingly unable to do anything else but match our results.

Seven points out of nine for us, so you would hope that the top versus bottom clash this weekend gives us three more valuable points.

With the defensive conundrum now seemingly solved, hopefully we can attack Charlton from the start and gain our first home win in a month.

The Addicks now seem absolute certainties for relegation, so this will either mean that they relax and play like they have nothing to lose or perhaps coast the game, hopefully not concerned whether they win or lose!

I'm meeting up with Alfred Camilleri before the game. Alfred is the President of the Maltese Wolves Supporters Club and he and around a dozen other Wolves fans have flown over from Malta for the Ipswich and Charlton games.

Alfred, if you are reading, I'll be at the hotel for 12pm. Let's hope Alfred can return to Malta having seen a much more entertaining game than midweek.

Finally, I have just read that we have been linked with Marlon Harewood. Surely this is some kind of Friday 13th joke?

Have a bostin' weekend.