Albion blogger is thrown to the Wolves
Albion blogger Jarrod Hill never thought this would happen - today the Baggies fan writes the Wolves equivalent in the spirit of Sport Relief.
Albion blogger Jarrod Hill never thought this would happen - today the Baggies fan writes the Wolves equivalent in the spirit of Sport Relief.
I have got to admit, this is something I never thought I would be doing!
Your Wolves blogger Nathan Lloyd had the idea of us swapping blogs for Sport Relief so here I am, in the Wolves lair as it is.
The rumour that he has become a Baggies fan due to the grief he gets on here is unfounded and as Harry Enfield so eloquently put it, it's for charity!
Actually I have many friends who are Wolves fans and having listened to their frustrations all season I feel like I have actually been to some of your games, but luckily I haven't.
I had the idea of simply speaking to fans I know and writing a blog based on their thoughts, but I thought it may be more interesting to give you an account of the way an outsider - I won't say neutral - sees your season so far and the run-in to the conclusion of fixtures.
My overall feeling is that Wolves boss Mick McCarthy began the season with a game plan, a plan that involved making his team difficult to beat with the intention of scraping enough points together that would ultimately achieve his target of staying up.
So if the League finished today the manager would be sitting back sipping some northern bitter celebrating his and the team's success. But, with 11 games still to go, the cans of Courage must remain chilling in the fridge as his team still have a great deal of work to do.
The formation and tactics deployed have targeted nullifying opponents attacking instincts and in many ways it has worked, but a consequence has been the lack of creativity going forward.
It has resulted in Wolves being the lowest scorers in the Premier League and the fact is if you do not score goals you do not win games. Mick's tactics did seem to be working up to the turn of the year but in recent weeks results have pushed his team towards the relegation zone.
So what has changed? Maybe it is a simple fact that the game plan has become too predictable and opposing teams are too well drilled in preparation.
It is a well known fact that Mick has stated he will not change his thoughts on what his team need to do to stay up, and in many ways the sheer predictable nature of his tactics may be playing into the hands of your opponents.
The over reliance on the excellent Kevin Doyle to get the goals has become a heavy burden for the Irish striker. His work rate has meant he has racked up many plaudits this season, but unfortunately the goals have not come so easily.
I am sure he will be looking forward to testing himself against Manchester United tomorrow and it is always a big occasion when Sir Alex Ferguson's team roll into town, as it begins a sequences of five games that will be key to Wolves' survival.
A quick look at the fixture lists of clubs nearest relegation brings with it its own comforts and worries in equal measure. Discounting the dead and buried Portsmouth, Burnley and Hull are the closest teams that can plunge them into the bottom three.
As I see it, the next five fixtures could be defining and Wolves' games against Burnley, West Ham, and Everton are all opportunities to gather points. Burnley's fixture list on paper looks slightly easier with three of their five games being at home, but as we all know football is not played on paper.
The question I would like to ask the Wolves fans is, should Mick change his tactics and play a more attacking expansive game, and does he have the personnel to do it?
Personally I think it would be too much of a gamble and believe the team should continue to play a style that has seen them beat Tottenham twice, Burnley, Wigan, Bolton and Fulham.
Tottenham being the exception, Wolves have managed wins against teams in the bottom half of the league and that gives encouragement, with games against Burnley and West Ham soon to come.
My opinion is that McCarthy and Co will stay up, but that thought is partly based on what I have seen of their closest rivals and the qualities of the current squad.
But I think three things will need to happen to ensure another season in the Premier League. Firstly they will need to score more goals, obvious I know, but maybe a slight change in tactical emphasis could produce more goal scoring opportunities.
Secondly they will need the sides around them to continue faltering, Burnley and Hull in particular. Thirdly and probably more importantly Wolves will need something that has been missing for most of the season - luck.
I have seen cast iron penalties not given, wrongful sending offs and ricochet goals fly into the Wolves net. Maybe, just maybe, your luck will change and Mick will be hailed a hero come the end of the season.
If not then I can see a vacancy at the Molineux that will need filling in the summer. From what I can gather, Wolves fans would accept the current style of play as long as it delivers the target of Premier League survival, however relegation would provide his critics with the ammunition that his tactics to ensure safety were ultimately flawed.
So that is my honest assessment of Wolves season so far, it throws up a number of questions from my point of view.
Does Mick need to change his tactics? Does McCarthy deserve the boot if he does not deliver another season of Premier League football? And the ultimate question, will Wolves stay up?
Answers on a postcard.