Fan column: Wolves break a hindrance to confidence
Wolves fan columnist John Lalley has his say.
A season approaching its climax yet Wolves without precedent find themselves unencumbered by the burden of having to play any meaningful football for 25 days.
The kind of dispensation annually yearned for by the advocates of a mid-season break, but surely more of a hindrance than a beneficiary at this stage of a campaign. Especially with the team right now displaying the kind of confidence that had previously eluded them for so long.
Rob Edwards has indicated that a competitive friendly game will be played at Compton at some stage during this extended purdah, but the reality is that the Molineux fixture against Tottenham next month will be our first home game for a remarkable 50 days.
The only similar suspension of hostilities that springs to mind concerns the ‘Big Freeze’ which wreaked havoc with the football season of 1962-63. Back then, undersoil heating at stadiums was considered to be a whim of science fiction and the number of postponed games soared.
The third round of the FA Cup began in early January and took 66 days to finally complete. Wolves showed a touch of innovation with Stan Cullis taking the team to Ireland where the elements were slightly more favourable. 10 days across the water saw Wolves twice defeat Coventry City in a couple of friendly games in Cork and in Belfast.
With all the cancellations causing such disruption, we were keen to keep tabs on the two games and unusually pleased that Wolves had come out on top in what were virtually practice sessions to retain fitness and match sharpness.
When the team reassembles at West Ham a third of the way into April, no doubt this elongated break will be identified as either valuable or unproductive depending on our level of performance!
Took the opportunity to check out Jody Craddock’s artwork celebrating the lives of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva located in the reception area of the Cullis Stand. Two paintings hang side by side, one a selection of messages from fans drawn from the original tributes left around the perimeter of the Billy Wright Stand; the other, a colourful depiction of Jota celebrating one of his goals for the club.
Craddock as always has surpassed himself using inks ingeniously created from the petals of the floral tributes left outside Molineux after the tragedy in July.
It’s impressive; a weatherproof outdoor memorial will follow in the near future.
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