Wolves vs WBA - The verdict.

[bod101]

ok for 20 mins or so in first half.
an embarassment in the second.

ratings to come...

[Del Boy]

They had 12 men, with the ref giving them everything. Some of our players looked scared stiff and derby games are not won with perfomances like that. We were too scared to shoot, panicked on the ball etc etc

But no doubt MM will find something postive to tell us.

[UEAwolf]

They are a damn good side though--play attacking football which is easy on the eye under a decent manager. As much as I hate to say it they thoroughly deserve to get promoted.

[N1GHTFALL]

We have to accept that our performances this season do not justify our league position. We looked average to say the least, relatively clueless on the ball and second to almost every 50/50 ball. A disappointment indeed but one that should not be a suprise considering our season in general.

Simply yet again Albion wanted it more!

[Tarcisio Mifsud]

the statistics from the match show that they were better than us, and deserved to get the full points to our huge disappointment. Our players were very inconsistent this season, which is passing us quickly.

[Tomasz]

Played well first half, dodgy second half, lost the plot, threw all the strikers on and tried to hoof it, they delt with that easily.

[Wolv3nsam]

Just got back.. bit $$$$ed off at the way the police handled the crowds, at the beginning of the game we had to get escorted in (anybody would have thought we were the away fans) and at the end we had to walk around the back of some houses, up a hill and had to jump over a wall or two. I think the West Midlands police must be the worst force in the entire country.

Hennessey 7/10 - Thought he played pretty well to be honest, couldn't do a lot for their goal but dealt with everything they through at him.

Elokobi 4/10 - Worst I've seen him, awful awful awful. Gave the ball away too much and I have a sneaky feeling he's the one who lost Gera due to his apparent need to bomb forward.

Collins 6/10 - Bit of a mixed bag, he had his good moments but also dropped a few clangers which Craddock usually made up for.

Craddock 9/10 - MOM. Didn't put a foot wrong and as mentioned previously made up for others mistakes. Was the only one willing to go into a sliding tackle and put himself on the line.

Foley 7/10 - I thought he was okay to be honest, seemed to keep Phillips quiet for most of the match and didn't really put a foot wrong all night.

Gray 8/10 - Another one who can walk away with a bit of credit. Tried to track back and collect the ball if he lost it and was the only one able to put in a decent cross!

Olofinjana 6/10 - He was okay, quiet in parts but I didn't see one past go astray. Was willing to get forward and assist in the attacks as well.

Gibson 5/10 - Couldn't make a pass in the opening stages and then slowly got better, but not much. Had a good shot on goal but otherwise was relatively quiet, he just wasn't prepared to tackle. I would have preferred Potter in the middle to him.

Jarvis 5/10 - I used to think quite highly of Jarvis but now I'm not so sure.. he seems to have a particularly reluctance to take on his man even though he has the pace to beat them everytime. Maybe it's just a lack of confidence?

Keogh 5/10 - Sorry for you Keogh lovers out there.. but he was useless tonight. I gave him a 5 as he just didn't give up the chase but so many times he got pushed off the ball it was unbelievable. He just looked off the pace to me

Ebanks-Blake 5/10 - Very, very quiet game. Had virtually no service apart from the odd long ball from Elokobi that flew over his head. I saw him make two bursting runs and that was it, seemed to be getting rather annoyed by the others just belting the ball up to him.

As for the substitutes well neither Fred or Kev made a big impact.. Freddy has one decent shot on goal and just spent the rest of his time bitching for the ball to be played to him. Kyle put a fantastic cross into the box which, unfortunately, nobody could capitalise on.

Great atmosphere from the fans, who supported them from start to finish. It was absolutely electric and the one particular reason I enjoyed the match so much. I hate to say it but West Brom would be a credit to the Premiership if they went up, great attacking football at just the right place - I didn't see them belt it up the field once.

[By the Seaside]

fred n kev ahh well im drownin me sorrows. sounds like a soap opera.

[jrpb-3]

Only listened on the internet, gutted I couldn't be there. Felt we tried to play to their perceived weaknesses rather than our strengths, too many long balls into the box. Gane them too much possession midfield, what happened to Keough and SEB second half ? hardly heard anything of either of them, from the comm the only playe who sounded like they had a better second half was Gibson

[The Vicar]

Agree with what Wolve3man says. Other comments:

- midfield were chasing shadows for much of the game. If gibson is the best option we have after henry, we are in real bad shape.
- hopefully Elokobi is one for the future, because he is nowhere good enough for the present. Woeful passing and positional sense. We had a warning from Phillips before they scored but we didn't learn.
- football is a simple game, you pass to someone in your own team and move after passing the ball. We were singularly incapable of doing that.
- we played high balls so often i cannot understand why Kyle wasn't bought on much sooner.
- we were playing a side who are very weak from set pieces, and yet we didn't deliver one decent ball into the box.
In truth we got what we deserved, and were lucky it was only one.

Special thanks must go to the WMP for the most ridiculous positioning of police cordens I have witnessed. A job well done.

[Del Boy]

[quote=Wolv3nsam;566223]Just got back.. bit $$$$ed off at the way the police handled the crowds, at the beginning of the game we had to get escorted in (anybody would have thought we were the away fans) and at the end we had to walk around the back of some houses, up a hill and had to jump over a wall or two. I think the West Midlands police must be the worst force in the entire country.

What stand were you in?

[Wolv3nsam]

What stand were you in?

Billy Wright upper. Though I walk past the Steve Bull and that way to get back, the hill was blocked off so we had to go around the back of some houses and a guy over the tanoy told us to get off his property.. let's just say he didn't get a friendly response.

[bod101]

for 20 minutes or so towards the end of the first the performance was ok. Second half we appeared to sit back. Once the appalling goal went in (an all to familiar sight of an opposition player standing unmarked in the box) half the team looked beat and seemingly gave up.

Ratings
Hennesey - seems hesitant to come out sometimes, couple of good saves though. 6

Foley - seemed troubled at times and wasted a few balls. 5.5

Collins - I like Collins but sometimes he is so bloody stupid and never seems to learn from his mistakes, seemed to completely zone out of this world a couple of times, something isnt right there. why oh why he decided not just once to $$$$ around with the ball when getting rid was the thing to do. 5

Craddock - If he wasn't there it would have been worse, mopped up most things played really well and didn't from what i could see didnt make his customary mistake and didnt let his head drop either. 7

Elokobi - A big built mo camara struggled today. 5.5

Gibson - Awful, 1 in 5 passes were ok. Looked either disinterested or scared in the challenge, gave the ball away something rotten, let people run through unchalleged and seemed to need an age on the ball. very very disappointing so much so i was calling for potter. 4

Olofinjana - had to do the work of two as gibson went missing so often, maybe not his best game but he was still busting a gut to get to get in the box late on. unlike others who i will get onto. 7

Gray - worked incredibly hard made the effort but his legs aren't always up to the job, despite loosing the ball he tracked back despite loosing the battle showed up players such as gibson and eastwood who simply can't be arsed. 7

Jarvis - fairly ineffectual just didnt make an impact, poor delivery on many occasions but did keep running til the end. 5.5

Keogh - made space, ran the channels buzzed about and played incredibly well until it came to doing something with the ball, hard to fault his effort and what he tries to do but so many of the final balls were completely wasted. 6

Ebanks-Blake - hustled and busted but nothing really got to him, he became increasingly frustrated andwas coming further and further back to try and get the ball, but he was largely up against it on his own but he never stopped. 7

subs

Eastwood - ok can we finally put to bed this myth that eastwood is some saviour. half arsed is my opinion how anyone can call bothroyd lazy when this sack of poo jogs around the pitch as if it was a kick about on the park. countless times olo joined up with the attack after running up and down the pitch all game only to see Eastwood still trotting along just past the centre circle. 4

Kyle - I wasn't keen on his signing but my god how i would prefer him to eastwood, he at least makes the effort to try and make a difference and almost did with another good cross into the box late on. 6.5

MM - leaving it so long in the second half when it was crying out for a change was criminal, then despite everyone knowing what albions weakness is, aerial balls into the centre, he brings on the charlatan that is eastwood. found lacking again and the team gives away a goal that we have seen countless times this season. 4

[The Bear]

I didn't see them belt it up the field once.Apart from their goal you mean?

[Del Boy]

Anyone see that **** fan that came out of the concourse of w8 in the family enclosure as soon as they scored? He clenched his fist and walked past the north bank doing the same, carrying a grey box. The stewards soon marched him away when they realised what was going on, he must have been a member of the catering staff or something.

*****

[PeteWolf]

One word, tactics.

First half we played well, Albion were obviously the better team, but we did enough to pressure them, clear up their attacks and wouldn't have been lucky if we went in at half time in the lead.

Ask yourself what happened next at half time.

Second half we came out and as with so many games this season we had nothing until the final 5 minutes of desperation. Albion knew exactly what we were about and played to stop us, and we couldn't do anything about it. Plan B? There was none.

The substitutions summed it up, bringing on Eastwood, a player he doesn't like and has as good as admitted he doesn't know how to use, yet someone who likes the ball on the floor and passed to him, before several minutes later bringing on another striker who plays in a completely different style which is the archetypal 'we've run out of ideas' lets lump it up the big man type player.

That was the difference between the two teams today, Albion's tactics were absolutely spot on, we didn't have any.

It's the reason why we lost tonight, and it's the reason why McCarthy will never do well at this club. It's all well and fine talking about building a young side, but when you have a manager standing on the sidelines who doesn't know what to do when the game is crying out for a change of direction then we have no hope.

The only reason we're this high up in the league is because the division is filled with managers of the same ilk, put McCarthy up against most managers in the Premier League and god help us.

Albion will win this league and they deserve it. They have the manager to do it, we don't. Simple as.

Don't be fooled into thinking that they're a great team, or they played well, they aren't and they didn't, they just have someone who can organise a team and combine it with a couple of decent strikers. It helped that they had the best player on the pitch in Jonathon Greening. The sort of leader we haven't had since Ince's legs went.

Mowbay's record currently reads 5 wins out of 7 games against McCarthy. It isn't a coincidence.

[Golden Bull]

Lacked penetration, creativity, intelligence. On the whole we were 2nd best and Albion wernt great- they didn't need to be. They passed the football with ease and zip. We are just hit and hope merchants.

It would be nice to reach the play-offs but I fear we'd be embarrassed ala Derby if by some miracle we were promoted.

[itsonlyagame]

Apart from their goal you mean?

....and not even then! Phillips held his run superbly waiting for a ball down the line which he then ran onto and delivered a great cross for Gera to slot home. Pity we weren't as adept at the simple things! :D

[Wolv3nsam]

....and not even then! Phillips held his run superbly waiting for a ball down the line which he then ran onto and delivered a great cross for Gera to slot home. Pity we weren't as adept at the simple things! :D

Had it have been one of our forwards they probably would have run into an offside position.. SEB perhaps the only exception :rolleyes:

[Hebburn Wolves]

Beaten by a better team simple as that really.

Wolves main problem is that theres no creativity in the middle of the park.

[itsonlyagame]

Had it have been one of our forwards they probably would have run into an offside position.. SEB perhaps the only exception :rolleyes:

Agreed, but more likely if it had been one of our forwards our midfield would have been totally incapable of playing the through ball at the right time to give the forward a cat in hells chance. Our midfield don't so much as fail to spot the runners, they can't even be ar**d to look!

[Wolv3nsam]

Wolves main problem is that theres no creativity in the middle of the park.

Greening and Koren ran the show, they took their time on the ball where as with the way we were passing it anybody would have thought there was a bomb inside it ready to blow. They looked up, took their time and made the passes perfectly. I would trade all of our midfielders for those two, none of ours even come close to that quality.

[ProudWolf]

The doom mongers will be out in force but people must realise it's not over and more important games, in terms of winning, lie ahead in the form of Ipswich and Cardiff.
Albion play better football than at least of half of Premiership teams, let alone this division.
They are vulnerable on set pieces but our delivery was poor tonight. We needed that extra quality with the final ball. With Kightly in the side I'm sure we would've scored. We gave them a good game but it is the big robust sides that give them problems and we certainly are not that.
We tried to play football all of the time and at times we did it well. If we win on saturday we are playing well enough to kick on again and make the playoffs.

[ASBO#1496]

Game summed up in two moments,

1st Ball comes across from the left and Gera scores.

2nd the ball comes across from the right to Jarvis at the far post, he has to control the ball and bring it onto his right foot, the chance has gone.

[Wolv3nsam]

2nd the ball comes across from the right to Jarvis at the far post, he has to control the ball and bring it onto his right foot, the chance has gone.

Question has to be asked, why does Jarvis play left wing when he's right footed.. yet Gray plays right wing when he's left footed? :confused:

[ProudWolf]

Question has to be asked, why does Jarvis play left wing when he's right footed.. yet Gray plays right wing when he's left footed? :confused:

If you've seen Jarvis play you'll have realised he's a lot more comfortable on the left than he is on the right. Thought Jarvis played well tonight. Ok some of his crosses were poor but others were excellent and he was our main attacking outlet, constantly beating his man.

[306NOTOUT]

We tried to play football all of the time and at times we did it well.

I'm sorry proudwolf but have you really just watched the same game as me? If you think that is us trying to play football then god help us.

[Wolv3nsam]

If you've seen Jarvis play you'll have realised he's a lot more comfortable on the left than he is on the right. Thought Jarvis played well tonight. Ok some of his crosses were poor but others were excellent and he was our main attacking outlet, constantly beating his man.

I must have been watching a different Matt Jarvis to you, I've seen him have better games, but everybody has their own opinions.

[Golden Bull]

If you've seen Jarvis play you'll have realised he's a lot more comfortable on the left than he is on the right. Thought Jarvis played well tonight. Ok some of his crosses were poor but others were excellent and he was our main attacking outlet, constantly beating his man.

At times though he was reluctant to run at his man.

[Stewarton Wolf]

If you've seen Jarvis play you'll have realised he's a lot more comfortable on the left than he is on the right. Thought Jarvis played well tonight. Ok some of his crosses were poor but others were excellent and he was our main attacking outlet, constantly beating his man.

The fact that both wingers had to check back before crossing the ball cost us tonight. It was easy for everyone to see apart from Mccarthy...

[ProudWolf]

I'm sorry proudwolf but have you really just watched the same game as me? If you think that is us trying to play football then god help us.

The majority of the time we tried to knock the ball about allbeit with limited success tonight. Of course we went more direct at times, you'll find the majority of teams do this. We're not a great footballing side but we do try and knock it about when we can.

[Wolv3nsam]

Even SEB was getting aggravated by Elokobi's hoofing. It would be alright if we could do it successfully but when it's flown into the keeper's arms thrice it has to occur to you that you may need to try a different tactic.

[Pengwern]

I wasn't there, so maybe I shouldn't be on this thread, but I warned earlier this week that we needed 3 central midfielders to hold Greening & Koren. They are, without doubt, the best at their job in this division.

[ProudWolf]

The fact that both wingers had to check back before crossing the ball cost us tonight. It was easy for everyone to see apart from Mccarthy...

You think the other way round then we would've created more? Gray can beat his man a lot easier by cutting in because he doesnt have the pace to get round a full-back. Jarvis can go either way but prefers playing on the left.

[rincewind]

Just back but have calmed down a little after hearing MMs amazing interview on WM. If we had got a draw out of that we would have been lucky. We did put pressure on the in patches but just about every clear chance was theirs. As I feared the centre midfield was appeared to be a no go zone for us. Frankly Gibson and Olo had poor games. Collins does ok for one attack then some awful error to put us under pressure next time. Gray MoM for me, Foley and Hennesey also did ok. SEB and Keogh had little service, Jarvis again only played in parts. Overall this game again highlighted our need for a CH and CM. All said though Albion are a good football side at this level and defended well - I think we will beat Ipswich.

[Bugsy911]

I thought Jarvis has a good game and took the Belgium wonder kid to the cleaners every time...just nothing in the middle to finish it off (including the poor effort at what looked a very good chance for Gray).

[madcav]

[quote=ProudWolf;566261]The doom mongers will be out in force but people must realise it's not over and more important games, in terms of winning, lie ahead in the form of Ipswich and Cardiff.
Albion play better football than at least of half of Premiership teams, let alone this division. quote]

I agree that we still have a chance of reaching the play offs, the problem is MM. Somehow he thinks we matched them tonight, and actually thinks we actually played well !!!!
Please don't anyone give me the excuse that we're a young team, because at the moment we are a young team lacking quality and any style in our play.
It might be a blessing in disguise that we lost to Albion tonight, just imagine if we were to make the play offs and ended up playing them at Wembley. On that pitch they would turn us over with such ease it would be embarrassing.

[Pengwern]

The fact that both wingers had to check back before crossing the ball cost us tonight. It was easy for everyone to see apart from Mccarthy...

OK, king of the moaners, I'll explain this ONCE more. Kightly & Jarvis have not played in the same team once this season. Davies and Gobern are also extremely talented wide players, which is why no others needed buying.

At all times this season, we have only played with one of these players.

MM's system relies on having two good wingers.

We have enough in the squad but injury has robbed us (or MM) of making the most of this strength.

That is why we end up playing Gray & Jarvis together but, nevertheless, they have played well together recently. Maybe not tonight, but in previous games they have.

[306NOTOUT]

So why did he go and sign Gibson as cover for no one when we could have signed a winger instead?

[Wombourne Wolf]

Gibson is shocking. Anyone know how far away Dave Edward is?

[Powelly]

Thought they edged it in terms of chances created.

Mick got tactics wrong in that the way their defence has been recently Kyle ( although im not a fan) should have started instead of Keogh ( who was woefull all night long)... Also think we would have been a lot more competitive in the middle with Potter starting instead of Gibson.

Potter and Olo works far better as a partnership IMO

No real complaints about tonight apart from possibly the worst piece of defending ive ever witnessed from Elokobi for the goal.

Without coming across as masking the result and performance on another day we could have easily taken a point of the game.

Jarvis isnt good enough for this level IMO, based on the last few games we have seen no end product from him at all and his corners are awful..Thought he should have come off instead of Micky gray tonight.


Roll on saturday and the chance to bounce back.

[306NOTOUT]

Not sure about Jarvis but really and truely who from our team tonight would get in the Boggies team?

Hennessey? Not even sure about that.

[Powelly]

Not sure about Jarvis but really and truely who from our team tonight would get in the Boggies team?

Hennessey? Not even sure about that.


Foley is better than their RB IMO and to be fair Craddock is better than either of their centre backs on his day.

Hennesey ( and Murray) are both far better keepers than Kiely ever was.. although to be fair Kiely kept them in the play offs with his first half display in the first leg last season.


SEB will be a better forward than Bednar or Miller as well IMO.

[wolvesman]

Gibson is shocking. Anyone know how far away Dave Edward is?

Gibson should never wear a Wolves shirt again.

[Hereford Wolf]

Its simple really. We gave the ball away too easily all game and when we crossed the ball into a penalty area full of our own players, we didn't find any of them.

Also...they have better players than we do.

[BlahBlah]

Albion were very good, as i worried about after them seeing pass Watford off the park the other day...Greening was outstanding..he was hardly there to tackle..
The difference in play is astounding...the midfield are constantly moving into space and the passing and ball control is instant and almost telepathic. Cut us to ribbons really.

You know when you do that really fast running on the spot...the whole albion midfield look like they're doing that all the time...just too quick for our type of ....get the ball, now control it, wait a moment, look around, give the ball away sort of crap. Miles apart in technique.

As for us...dreadful. No pattern, hoofball, laboured, too slow, bad control...just not good enough. The only thing we can say is that we kept going and might have sneaked a scrappy goal.
Kyle made a difference....cannot understand why he wasn't brought on earlier in preference to the one trick pony who adds nothing.
Another 10 minutes and we could have scraped a draw by hoofing the ball to the only man big enough to win headers.

[Space Wolf]

Gibson should never wear a Wolves shirt again.

As someone else mentioned, if he's backup for Henry then it really does show how poor our squad is.

[wolvesman]

Beaten by a better team simple as that really.

Wolves main problem is that theres no creativity in the middle of the park.


Quite.

I would describe our midfield as clueless and spineless tonight.

[19th Holer]

For those praising Craddock for his performance (of which I was one to a point) he made a $$$$poor challenge which lead to their goal.

[Wombourne Wolf]

I think he was unlucky as the ball fell in Phillip's favour, as for the marking on Gera :(

[Space Wolf]

I think he was unlucky as the ball fell in Phillip's favour, as for the marking on Gera :(

It was one of those moments where you knew it was going to be a goal before it even hit the net. Completely unmarked. Gera could have sat and had a cup of tea and still scored.

[stuj4z]

they were better than us. they have more money, better players and i hate to say this, better supporters than we do.

we played well tonight, the amount of balls into the box was unbelievable at times and on another day we would have scored at least half of them.


if we play like that on saturday then we will have nothing to worry about

[Golden Bull]

Just seen the chances on Sky Sports. They had 6, we had 1 (Which was a great height for Kiely)

It was a one-sided game, which sadly, I believe Albion had a gear or two to up if needed.

[dolmanrj]

they were better than us. they have more money, better players and i hate to say this, better supporters than we do.

we played well tonight, the amount of balls into the box was unbelievable at times and on another day we would have scored at least half of them.


if we play like that on saturday then we will have nothing to worry about

Totally agree, if we were playing any other team tonight we would have won, something would have gave, but because its albion who are superiorly better than us and any other team in this division and i hate to say it deserve to go up but god knows why they keep messing up but they wont this time, at times tonight with some of there passing and movement it could have easily been a premiership team, as for us 4 games to go anything could happen, tonight clearly shows our weakness is in midfield, Gibson was woeful and George looked like a lost sod

[A wanderer from Bristol]

Maybe it is the drive back that has given me a different perspective, maybe it is because I don't have to face a load of baggies fans down here, but I do not feel half as gloomy as some of the posts on here..

first things first, albion were much better than us. They have some good players with good technique and good movement. At times in the second half they were simply passing in triangles around us and they thoroughly deserved to win.

But I thought we were alright in patches. for 20 minutes in the first half and for 10 minutes after they scored in the second half we played some decent stuff. Not enough, I know but still better than other games I've seen. However we also badly lost our shape at other times and there were certain key positions we were lacking in.

I thought Jarvis played well and doesn't deserve some of the criticism I've just read here. Yes sometimes his final ball is lacking, but he was one of the few players who, when he was given the service, consistently beat players or ran at their defence, and he put some good balls in with his left foot - depite what others have said. Maybe he gets criticised because he gets himself into such dangerous positions without always making them count? Victim of his own success? Gray, for all of his industry and commitment did not do that and was far less effective, never got to the byline or beat a player. When Jarvis plays with Kightly and improves his consistency he will be a real force for us.

Thought Keogh did alright, won a lot in the air and buzzed around to good effect. Again lacked end product but another creative force.

Craddock goes from strength to strength. You can't blame him for the goal, he is becoming a real leader and a real key player.

Olo did alright and at times he turned into space and swiched the play and gave the albion something to think about. But he and Gibson did not play well together and at times they were bypassed. We were ouplayed in central midfield.

SEB was well marshalled and didn't have a clear cut chance.

Elokobi had a bad night but deserves to be persevered with.

Henessey and Foley put in solid performances.

But I thought Collins was awful... ponderous on the ball he gave the ball away on the edge of our area several times. I think he was the weakest link in the side and undermined some of the authority Craddock was showing.

But....

Get Kightly back (think he would have made a huge difference tonight and we would've streched the albion)

Get another central defender (for the moment, Breen, ward or edwards, sorry, anone but collins) and a young pacy one for next season.

And Henry or Potter or a.n. other to play alongside Olo. Could argue we need a new and really authoritative sitting midfielder for next season.

I thought we fought really hard though lost our shape when we threw 2 extra strikers on. Albion are a much better side, but I see the makings of a decent wolves side who could still make the play offs... but, more likely, could be a much stronger unit next season...

(ducks for cover)

[Black Suit]

Opinions eh?

[-MTW-]

Just seen the chances on Sky Sports. They had 6, we had 1 (Which was a great height for Kiely)

It was a one-sided game, which sadly, I believe Albion had a gear or two to up if needed.

Hang on then. you went to the game ? and still think we only had one chance all match because Sky sports news showed it that way. Total Balls !!!

WBA beat us because they are the best team in the Championship. They have beaten many other teams also. They are the best team because they have been in the Prem more recently than a lot of other teams and have used their financial resources well.

We are in with a shout of getting into the playoffs and if we do, with WBA out of the way we need to fear no one.

[A wanderer from Bristol]

Opinions eh?

I know, maybe the pain of defeat in a derby game polarises opinions and feelings much more than other games.

I really did feel like I saw a different game to some people... don't make me right though.

Still how terrible it would be if we all agreed (but no worries on that score!)

[Golden Bull]

Hang on then. you went to the game ? and still think we only had one chance all match because Sky sports news showed it that way. Total Balls !!!

WBA beat us because they are the best team in the Championship. They have beaten many other teams also. They are the best team because they have been in the Prem more recently than a lot of other teams and have used their financial resources well.

We are in with a shout of getting into the playoffs and if we do, with WBA out of the way we need to fear no one.

One they thought worthy of showing/tested the keeper... As all 6 of their's did. I know we had chances but we didn't test the goalkeeper with them being on target. Its all well and good Ebanks-Blake heading 2 yeards over from a fine Jarvis cross- but it wasn't on target.

[Black Suit]

Albion are great going forward, and very healthy in midfield.

They had lost the same number of games as we had before tonight. That is too many defeats for a 'great' side, far too many.

[hollo]

I thought jarvis was one of our most dangerous players. Showed pace to beat his man and cut inside easily to put a cross in. He had a better first half than second half and did make that run and cross in the first half that blake should have scored from. The guy is only 23 and there is more to come from him. We shouldn't be so hard on him , and i'll think he blossom when kightly is on the other wing.
It's kind of weird with all the different opposing views on the game.

[Jack]

One of the worst derby performances I've ever witnessed.

From start to finish they bossed the game and it was only a matter of time with that muppet in charge that they scored.

After twenty minutes we were saying in the stand this is shocking. I'm sorry but I'd sack him for brining Gibson in alone, one of the worst footballers ever to play professionally.

No pace, can't tackle, doesn't track his man and can't beat a bloke. And then we've got the perceived best midfielder in the league next to him - yeah right.

Olofairy got a lesson last night from two midfielders, who influenced the game from start to finish. Keogh, well lets, just say he's poor to be kind because he 'runs a lot'.

Collins is an accident waiting to happen and Craddock should never have dived in so early against Phillips.

Last night was terrible and typical of season that has gone from bad to worse. It should have been 4 if we are being honest

[ROVERT47]

I thought we were unlucky and deserved a point.
Keogh and Jarvis ripped them apart down the left at times.
They had the run of the ball but were hanging on desperately kicking the ball anywhere in the last ten minutes.
Have to agree with Bod, from page one i think.
Can everyone please put this great striker,our saviour,mythology that has surrounded 'Freddy' all season,to bed, once and for all.

[Jack]

I thought we were unlucky and deserved a point.
Keogh and Jarvis ripped them apart down the left at times.
They had the run of the ball but were hanging on desperately kicking the ball anywhere in the last ten minutes.
Have to agree with Bod, from page one i think.
Can everyone please put this great striker,our saviour,mythology that has surrounded 'Freddy' all season,to bed, once and for all.

You lost all credibility after the first comment. McCarthy has destroyed Eastwood and that is what you are seeing.

I'm not saying he's the answer, but everytime he plays he must feel like he has to do something outstanding to keep his place. He'll move elsewhere and be a great player, simple as.

[The Bear]

Maybe it is the drive back that has given me a different perspective, maybe it is because I don't have to face a load of baggies fans down here, but I do not feel half as gloomy as some of the posts on here..

first things first, albion were much better than us. They have some good players with good technique and good movement. At times in the second half they were simply passing in triangles around us and they thoroughly deserved to win.

But I thought we were alright in patches. for 20 minutes in the first half and for 10 minutes after they scored in the second half we played some decent stuff. Not enough, I know but still better than other games I've seen. However we also badly lost our shape at other times and there were certain key positions we were lacking in.

I thought Jarvis played well and doesn't deserve some of the criticism I've just read here. Yes sometimes his final ball is lacking, but he was one of the few players who, when he was given the service, consistently beat players or ran at their defence, and he put some good balls in with his left foot - depite what others have said. Maybe he gets criticised because he gets himself into such dangerous positions without always making them count? Victim of his own success? Gray, for all of his industry and commitment did not do that and was far less effective, never got to the byline or beat a player. When Jarvis plays with Kightly and improves his consistency he will be a real force for us.

Thought Keogh did alright, won a lot in the air and buzzed around to good effect. Again lacked end product but another creative force.

Craddock goes from strength to strength. You can't blame him for the goal, he is becoming a real leader and a real key player.

Olo did alright and at times he turned into space and swiched the play and gave the albion something to think about. But he and Gibson did not play well together and at times they were bypassed. We were ouplayed in central midfield.

SEB was well marshalled and didn't have a clear cut chance.

Elokobi had a bad night but deserves to be persevered with.

Henessey and Foley put in solid performances.

But I thought Collins was awful... ponderous on the ball he gave the ball away on the edge of our area several times. I think he was the weakest link in the side and undermined some of the authority Craddock was showing.

But....

Get Kightly back (think he would have made a huge difference tonight and we would've streched the albion)

Get another central defender (for the moment, Breen, ward or edwards, sorry, anone but collins) and a young pacy one for next season.

And Henry or Potter or a.n. other to play alongside Olo. Could argue we need a new and really authoritative sitting midfielder for next season.

I thought we fought really hard though lost our shape when we threw 2 extra strikers on. Albion are a much better side, but I see the makings of a decent wolves side who could still make the play offs... but, more likely, could be a much stronger unit next season...

(ducks for cover)

That verdict is spot on.

What made the most difference is how quickly their midfield closed ours down whereas we stood and watched them pass it around. If we had got in their faces more it would have been a much closer game.

[ROVERT47]

You lost all credibility after the first comment. McCarthy has destroyed Eastwood and that is what you are seeing.

I'm not saying he's the answer, but everytime he plays he must feel like he has to do something outstanding to keep his place. He'll move elsewhere and be a great player, simple as.

I always get behind the boys in Gold and Black,even 'Freddy' when he's on the pitch.
Give it a try sometime.

[Jack]

I always get behind the boys in Gold and Black,even 'Freddy' when he's on the pitch.
Give it a try sometime.

Home and away every match and when I'm there I do get behind them. However, I also know a bit about football and if you think we deserved a draw last night you'll be sitting next to Muppet Mick and Connor next season.

Having been at Bristol and witnessed an average performance, everyone knew if we played olo and Gibson in the middle we would get overrun. Exactly what happened and we didn't even change it during the game, instead lets put on more forwards with no idea where they are playing.

I'm sick to death of watching our players get into good positions and then fail to deliver a decent ball.Jarvis, who at least had a go, probably put ten crosses into tonight, the majority of which found their bloke everytime.

Keogh is like a jigsaw, he goes to pieces in the box.For all of his running, he looks about as convinced as me that he's actually going to produce something meaningful.

The $$$$ will not have an easier game in the run-in, that says everything to me.

[ROVERT47]

Home and away every match and when I'm there I do get behind them. However, I also know a bit about football and if you think we deserved a draw last night you'll be sitting next to Muppet Mick and Connor next season.

Having been at Bristol and witnessed an average performance, everyone knew if we played olo and Gibson in the middle we would get overrun. Exactly what happened and we didn't even change it during the game, instead lets put on more forwards with no idea where they are playing.

I'm sick to death of watching our players get into good positions and then fail to deliver a decent ball.Jarvis, who at least had a go, probably put ten crosses into tonight, the majority of which found their bloke everytime.

Keogh is like a jigsaw, he goes to pieces in the box.For all of his running, he looks about as convinced as me that he's actually going to produce something meaningful.

The $$$$ will not have an easier game in the run-in, that says everything to me.

Hmm,the 'i know a bit about football' fan.
This msg board and half the Moilneux is full of them.

[JJ82]

Hennessey 7/10 - done his job, could still come out for more and command area,couple of bad kicks in 2nd half but thats just being picky, great save in the first half from wba.

Elokobi 4/10 - looks like was told to get forward and woof when possible, one problem, they brack fast and he lost his man a couple of times, one cost us dear. Poor game for the big fella, hopefully he can bounce back from this.

Collins 5/10 - One of the most awrkward defenders i have seen play, i cant knock the guys efforts i really can't, a great header of the ball; but as someone said to me while on the stafford road waiting for the cops to let us through even when it's passed to his feet he wants to head it, couple of times he got caught with the ball due to poor footwork.

Craddock 8/10 - Good match from the captain, didnt really do much wrong from what i remember, one great inteception.

Foley 6/10 - didnt to to much wrong, few wayward passes again which he needs to stop doing, not the best or worst i have seen him.

Gray 8/10 - like craddock, great few tackles, what a derby needs, plenty of legs in him, had a chance to shoot in the 1st half opened up for him on left foot and should have tested the wba goal.

Olofinjana 4-5/10 - very poor i thought dunno if it was just i was expecting a big game from old george or not giving him such a low rating might be due to that, felt he has the ability to match wba's great midfield, and could have been more stout in the challenge, passing not bad, but no ones was fantastic, from one of our best players he was found more than wanting, biggest let down of the night player wise.

Gibson 4/10 - No midfield lastnight and against these guys you can't do that. gibson was very poor, to be honest cant remember him doing much, found missing very often, but maybe being unfair to him cause the space WBA was getting in midfield esp greening who had a great game, you would expect george to help this youngster along.

Jarvis 5.5-6/10 - not bad, but wasnt really helped out by the midfield which put more pressure on him to make an impact to, had a few runs, couple of poor crosses and a few good ones where if strikers took a gamble then would have got something.

Keogh 5/10 - lots of running great effort but that doesnt make a footballer otherwise we would all be having a crack at this level, great on his day when he has end product but today wasnt it.

Ebanks-Blake 5/10 - Very, very quiet game.

Best team i have seen down here this season, passed with such ease, like we were cardboard cut outs. pass and move and how much time and room they had on the ball was unreal.were we poor or were wba really that good ? or a mixture of both.

Hate to say this if there was one to loose this was it, i would take this loss, (did i really say that?) as long as we beat ipswich and cardiff.

[Taffywolf]

1st of all, If we were to make the play-off's and be promoted we will be playing sides that are much much better than the Albion. They are streets ahead of us, They have built there side around players that can pass and move (simple stuff) apart from the 20 mins leading upto half time we were 2nd best all night.
I am not a McCarthy fan by any stretch and think his tactics were lacking. WHY does he continue to play the left footed Gray on the right and the 2 footed Jarvis(who often cuts onto his right to cross the ball) on the left. Olokobi was often found wanting as left back and with the experience of Gray infront of him that would of helped him.

Hennesey Top save from free-kick and handling looked good in bad condition..7
Foley. Did ok..average.6

Olokobi. At times couldn't make a 10yd pass? Is strong and powerful(what MM builds his sides on not talent) Left Gera for the goal, His crosses into the box weren't good enough. 5. Is he better than Dan Fox????
Collins. Dreadful, He should thank his partner Craddock this morning. 4
Craddock. 110% threw his body in, strong in the air, lead by example. 9. AND MICK WANTED TO GET RID OF HIM TO STOKE??????.
Gray. Doesn't have the pace to hurt sides anymore, 110% effort but WBA were showing him down the line onto his right foot as that 1 is for standing on.
Jarvis. Showed in the 1st 20 mins that he has the pace on their right back but we couldn't get the ball to him on 1 on 1 positions. Was our best outlet but needs to improve his final ball into box. 7
Olo. He is a big player for us, Did well in a midfield that was over run and out passed. 7
Gibson. Doesn't bring much to the side, Gave the ball away far too much. didn't get enough tackle in, Edwards should of started. 5
Seb. No service, Closed down well and does look a threat. 6
Keogh. Won alot in the air but disappointing on the ground, run the channels but his final ball was poor. should of been taken off for Kyle as soon as they scored. 5.
McCarthy. He should of designated someone to mark Greening, who strolled aroung the park picking passes all night. The baggies look for everything to go through him and was always available for a pass. Mick should of got Olo closer to him which then would of made them look for a different ball.
The subs should of been made earlier as many players looked out on their feet, Potter for Gibson should of been made. Kyle would of been a good option earlier as they looked weak in the air. We tried to out pass them at the start and they made us look average. 4

[ErnieTheMilk]

I suspect on last nights result we may well have seen the Championships champions, and in fairness based on last nights result good luck to them, I think they might need it in the Prem!

At the end of the day we didn't match them, nor did we ever look like we were going to. What concerns me tho is that McCarthy whom I have always thought would do a decent job for us sent out the likes of Gibson against Greening and Koren, who are the best midfielders in the league. Men against boys and so it proved. Upfront you could argue that Keogh and SEB have been in a good vein of form and should cause the Albion problems. The problem is when it doesn't materialise in these situations, instead of offering the opportunity to somone like Eastwood who is a proven goalscorer, he pops him on to play alongside SEB in a partnership which obviously doesn't gel, as the two of them are far too similar in style.

Listening to the Managers being interviewed after the game summed it up for me. Miserable Mowbray talked about flair football getting the ball down and playing attacking football and scoring more goals than the oppostion. McCarthy talked about endeavour, putting a shift in and working hard. Kind of sums it up really doesn't it!?

[brummywolf]

Thoroughly deserved victory for Albion- they hit the woodwork twice, defended excellently and should have scored just before half time were it not for a puddle stopping Miller in his tracks.

I said after the Bristol game that as a unit some of our defensive play was calamatous in and around the box: I think this was very evident again last night. Why are we so indecisive to put a challenge in or clear the ball when it's in a dangerous position? It's clear that we are really missing Karl Henry. Olifinjana had a better game tonight but he has almost no support from Gibson who was very poor defensively.

Michael Gray had another great game, he really is a revelation at the moment. I thought Jarvis played better than some are saying on here but he lacked support down the wing. Foley in particular displayed a reluctance to overlap or get forward at times which was very frustrating.

SEB and Keogh again worked exceptionally hard but Albion coped with them formidably. Like Saturday, Eastwood came on and did nothing to change the game. Kyle struggles to win a lot of headers for such a big tall man. I imagine Kyle is out for the Coventry game as he is on loan- and Eastwood really is not proving an effective player to bring on- therefore the time is right to recall Bothroyd: Stoke are not playing anybody with any significance to us, so what's the point on loaning him to a team who are probably going to end up as our play-off rivals? If we're 1-0 down with 20 minutes to go against Coventry, I really don't fancy our chances if we've only got Eastwood as our main attacking outlet on the bench.

It's essential to bounce back against Ipswich- we HAVE to win our remaining home games, it's that simple. Crystal Palace have two tough away games coming up, so despite their superior goal difference, we're in still in with a great chance of catching them.

[brummywolf]

Oh and I forgot to mention Hennessey- yet again, he made a number of a great saves- at least one of them from point blank when our defense went to sleep and ball watched in the box again. I don't think he put a foot wrong with his distribution either.

[BridgnorthWolf Inc]

They are a damn good side though--play attacking football which is easy on the eye under a decent manager. As much as I hate to say it they thoroughly deserve to get promoted.

!00% agree.

[Elephant Pyjamas]

We have to accept that our performances this season do not justify our league position.

That in itself is a contradiction in terms, especially at this stage of the season.

[Bend It Like Dennison]

The best team won I m sad to say.

We had a decent 20 minute patch in the first half & if anything was going to happen, it was going to be then.

But Mowbray had us figured in the 2nd half & we resorted to McCarthy's tried & tested hoof ball. For the first time since his arrival, I actually wanted Mick to bring on Kyle on, as Jarvis was banging over cross after cross & the defence was banging long ball after long ball so what does he do?? Brings Eastwood on.

Midfield?? What midfield? We needed Man Olo last night more than ever not Big Gay Olo but unfortunately we got the latter. Gibson, although having our best chance was poor. Think Id have actually preferred Potter & that says alot.

MOTM Gray by a country mile, followed by Jarvis. Thought the defence didnt look that bad tbh but was seriously let down by the incompotent midfield infront of it.

A disappointing night indeed. Let down yet again.

[Big Saft Kid]

We got beat by a (much) better team. Simple as that. I don't think you could fault the effort put it in but we lacked quality where it counted -- in the midfield, where Greening totally controlled things, and up front, where we could never deliver that final ball for all the huffing and puffing. I thought that McCarthy was wrong tactically to try the hoof in the 2nd half and Kyle looked what he is -- an embarrassment. But if Albion and Hull do it auto, I think there every chance we could win the play offs, since the rest are no better than us. If that happens we would have to buy a new team: only Hennessey and Ebanks Blake could make it in the Prem of those who played last night, plus Kightley.

The league doesn't lie, and the only surprise is that Albion have taken this long to hit the top, as they are far and away the best team I've seen in the Championship this season and on this performance should have strolled the league. How on earth did they lose by 4 goals at home to Lecester and Cov?

[brummywolf]

They were down to ten men against Leicester. But how anybody can concede four goals against Coventry is beyond me....I've put the kiss of death on us now.

[BridgnorthWolf Inc]

Stewartson/Highlander,

Please go and follow another team,
We don't want you & WWFC certainly do not need your ''Support''.

Love BWInc.

[yatess]

2 disastrous performances (Gibson & Collins) + 3 sub-standard ones (Elekobi, Foley + Keogh) add up to half the team not firing. Can't hope for a result under those circ's.
It should mean we NEVER see Gibson (career in Div 1 or below beckons) or Collins EVER again. Just not up to it.
But...... we will.......:mad::(

[JR's Boots]

The shortcomings of McCarthy were fully exposed last night by a good Albion side. His post match comments had me seething. It was the usual guff about putting a shift in and lots of effort. The problem Mick is if the opposition put the same level of shift in we're stuffied. We had no class or composure when it mattered. Mick was satisfied with the nights work and ala Tony Blair it's time to move on. But it's not. We should be learning from that game on what is required to get automatic promotion, quicker and better movement on and off the ball, better delivery into the box and in a nutshell better quality footballers.

What has really irked me for some time now is McCarthy playing left footed Gray on the right and right footed Jarvis on the right. It means they constantly check back onto their favoured foot and cross behind the strikers.

I doubt we'll make the play offs and the club need to think long and hard about who is the right man to take them forward.

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Our best period of play last night was immediately after they scored, whether that was down to Albion slowing the tempo or not i'm not sure, but Keogh seemed to go up a gear and we looked capable of creating something. That is why i think MM left it longer than normal for Eastwood to come on, as soon as he did come on we looked desperate again, further more when Kyle came on. It's disappointing that the best cross of the game came from Kyle, how many times did Jarvis beat his man, only to underhit or overhit his cross? He really needs to work on this element of his game.

Overall a fairly good performance against a very good team, they have players alot more experienced than ours, and i think it showed. Though it hurts to lose this game, Ipswich is the key, if we beat them and i believe we will it's back in our hands. If we play like we did last night we will have more than enough to beat Ipswich

One more thing though. Drop Gibson, he looked like a frightened child last night.

[ProudWolf]

Maybe it is the drive back that has given me a different perspective, maybe it is because I don't have to face a load of baggies fans down here, but I do not feel half as gloomy as some of the posts on here..

first things first, albion were much better than us. They have some good players with good technique and good movement. At times in the second half they were simply passing in triangles around us and they thoroughly deserved to win.

But I thought we were alright in patches. for 20 minutes in the first half and for 10 minutes after they scored in the second half we played some decent stuff. Not enough, I know but still better than other games I've seen. However we also badly lost our shape at other times and there were certain key positions we were lacking in.

I thought Jarvis played well and doesn't deserve some of the criticism I've just read here. Yes sometimes his final ball is lacking, but he was one of the few players who, when he was given the service, consistently beat players or ran at their defence, and he put some good balls in with his left foot - depite what others have said. Maybe he gets criticised because he gets himself into such dangerous positions without always making them count? Victim of his own success? Gray, for all of his industry and commitment did not do that and was far less effective, never got to the byline or beat a player. When Jarvis plays with Kightly and improves his consistency he will be a real force for us.

Thought Keogh did alright, won a lot in the air and buzzed around to good effect. Again lacked end product but another creative force.

Craddock goes from strength to strength. You can't blame him for the goal, he is becoming a real leader and a real key player.

Olo did alright and at times he turned into space and swiched the play and gave the albion something to think about. But he and Gibson did not play well together and at times they were bypassed. We were ouplayed in central midfield.

SEB was well marshalled and didn't have a clear cut chance.

Elokobi had a bad night but deserves to be persevered with.

Henessey and Foley put in solid performances.

But I thought Collins was awful... ponderous on the ball he gave the ball away on the edge of our area several times. I think he was the weakest link in the side and undermined some of the authority Craddock was showing.

But....

Get Kightly back (think he would have made a huge difference tonight and we would've streched the albion)

Get another central defender (for the moment, Breen, ward or edwards, sorry, anone but collins) and a young pacy one for next season.

And Henry or Potter or a.n. other to play alongside Olo. Could argue we need a new and really authoritative sitting midfielder for next season.

I thought we fought really hard though lost our shape when we threw 2 extra strikers on. Albion are a much better side, but I see the makings of a decent wolves side who could still make the play offs... but, more likely, could be a much stronger unit next season...

(ducks for cover)

Top post, sums it up very well

[Jack]

Our best period of play last night was immidiately after they scored, whether that was down to Albion slowing the tempo or not i'm not sure, but Keogh seemed to go up a gear and we looked capable of creating something. That is why i think MM left it longer than normal for Eastwood to come on, as soon as he did come on we looked desperate again, further more when Kyle came on. It's disappointing that the best cross of the game came from Kyle, how many times did Jarvis beat his man, only to underhit or overhit his cross? He really needs to work on this element of his game.

Overall a fairly good performance against a very good team, they have players alot more experienced than ours, and i think it showed. Though it hurts to lose this game, Ipswich is the key, if we beat them and i believe we will it's back in our hands. If we play like we did last night we will have more than enough to beat Ipswich

One more thing though. Drop Gibson, he looked like a frightened child last night.

We were playing Albion not AC Milan or Barcelona. Yes they are the best team in this league, but they're not invincible as shown on Saturday and against seven teams away from home this year.

If you think that was a good performance, we really are in trouble

[Welsh Y'am Y'am]

I can't fault any individuals (except, perhaps, Gibson and Olofinjana, who were poor with both their passing and tackiling), but the way we tried to play was abysmal.

Albion passed to each other. Wolves passed 'into space'. Every ball forward ended up being a 50/50 chance that we might get on the end of it. Hoofball at it's worst.

Our defence was largely sound, but Phillips completely lost Craddock for their goal with a little bit of quick thinking. Collins had to come across, leaving whoever scored in acres of space.

We bypassed the midfield with our hoofing. I've not seen the wolves live since around Christmas time because of the six nations and it was hugely disappointing to see that we have not changed our game plan.

Olofinjana put in his usual good-one-minute/$$$$e-the-next performance. Albion controlled the midfield. That's what albion do. Their ball retention was superb, whereas every time we got possession, we HOOFED it away again.

The worst thing was Mick clapping Elokobi every time he hoofed the ball into the channel for the knackered Keogh and SEB to get on the end of.

Jarvis and Gray looked good when they had the ball, but neither saw very much in the second half as by that point the hoofing had well and truly got out of control.

Mick went for the usual panic-and-bring-on-all-the-strikers tactic which to me pangs of desperation and sheer cluelessness. The man has no tactical nous about him whatsoever. He asks far too much of his strikers - hoof the ball into the channel and hope the striker can make something from it. No wonder we've failed to score so often this season.

I'm not going to go into individual scoring - i think most of our players okay under the circumstances. Surely Gibson is a better footballer than what I saw yesterday. My only conclusion is that they have all been coached to play this way and 'this way' $$$$ing stinks.

[itsmee]

Hennessey 7/10 - As usual pretty solid performance, also came off his line a couple of times

Elokobi 5/10 - Sometimes has the touch of a donkey, othertimes ok

Collins 5/10 - Always seems to have the touch of a donkey !. He was petrified of Alibion, totally outclassed.

Craddock 7/10 - Solid, captains performance, had to do 2 mens work with that thing Collins next to him

Foley 5/10 - Poor, out of his depth

Gray 8/10 - My man of the match for us. Never stopped trying, just knackered at end, he cant help being in the twilight of his career

Olofinjana 4/10 - I just don't get him. He was on a different planet. Or maybe time zone, took too much time with the ball, running to the ball, and to slow in reaction to everything. Then on another day he is superb, I JUST DONT GET IT. AAAAAhhhh

Gibson 4/10 - Crap, get him out, surley Edwards or even Potter is better

Jarvis 5/10 - Flatters to deceive

Keogh 6/10 - Held the ball up ok, one a few headers as a target man, but still not the best

Ebanks-Blake - Didnt really get much service

I listened to WM on way home and Tony Butler summed it up

Albion - Skill, class, and determination and guile.
Wolves - Huff and puff

I personally thought it was embarrassing and humiliating last night, and as for MM's comments after, happy with the players efforts, we could have won!
And then he went and said it again, his favourite phrase "They put in a good shift"

NO, Mick, no, they did not, and neither did you.

[Jack]

Hmm,the 'i know a bit about football' fan.
This msg board and half the Moilneux is full of them.

Tell me why we deserved a draw then Hansen?

[Oldgoldwulf]

Apart from their goal you mean?

That was not an aimless hoof upfield... Phillips timed a terrific run to beat our offside 'trap' :o... and a good long ball over the top found him..

It was aimed at him not hoofed in a blind panic like most of our efforts.

[Essex Wolf]

On the day they had a little too much for Wolves. No excuses but had Kightly been fit and Henry in the middle I feel maybe Wolves could have earned themselves more but there is nothing can be done about it now so look forward to Saturday and back the team all the way. The next game is more important.

[19th Holer]

No way did we deserve a draw !

They hit the woodwork twice and worked our keeper, what did Kiely have to do, two saves ?

Mick's tactics must be a dream to plan against.
Not losing last Saturday meant the same line-up with a soft central midfield and regardless of how the game is going Gray comes off for the last 20 mins for Eastwood and if we're still losing stick on another forward and hoof the ball up to him.

Jesus wept.

[Essex Wolf]

No way did we deserve a draw !

They hit the woodwork twice and worked our keeper, what did Kiely have to do, two saves ?

Mick's tactics must be a dream to plan against.
Not losing last Saturday meant the same line-up with a soft central midfield and regardless of how the game is going Gray comes off for the last 20 mins for Eastwood and if we're still losing stick on another forward and hoof the ball up to him.

Jesus wept.

Have to agree 19th holer.

Gibson was poor Saturday and no better last night. Edwards is fit and gives the team more bite and atacking options.

[ROVERT47]

Tell me why we deserved a draw then Hansen?

Because i'm a Wolves fan,i have Gold and Black eyeballs and i don't do love in's with the $$$$.

[Disley Wolf]

Best team won
Greening gave a masterclass in patience and passing to his own men
Gibson and Elokobi gave a masterclass in passing to the opposition (they weren't alone in this but they were the worst offenders)
We seemed to have two plans:
Plan A pass to each other
Plan B hit and hope
Plan A failed because they were better at it than us
Plan B failed because there seems to be little or no understanding between any combination of our forwards.
Policing was a disgrace
See you on Saturday!

[Big Saft Kid]

I went with my son, a neutral ( Man U fan), who does not see us very often. He thought we deserved a draw on the balance of play. The problem was we simply couldn't make our possession count; but when they came forward, they looked like scoring every time because of their excellent movement and accurate passing. We were lucky not to concede 3 or 4.

[Big Saft Kid]

PS depite the result, easily the best match at Molineux this season - exciting, good atmosphere, and some very good football.

Nil desperandum -- with MK back, we will make the play offs IMO and may well win them -- the rest of the contenders are nothing special, and certainly no better than us. I just hope Albion make auto to give us a chance.

[richard]

I went with my son, a neutral ( Man U fan), who does not see us very often.

Lucky bloke.


He thought we deserved a draw on the balance of play.

He only said that to humour you.

[Del Woppio]

I‘ve got to agree Mick to a certain degree – we weren’t *that* bad. We looked a bit shaky at the back, but so did they. The reason we lost the game was simply an appalling central midfield partnership. Gibson had a shocking first 20 minutes, and improved slightly after that, but was made to look like Roy Keane by the rancidly ineffective Olofinjana. I’ve never seen a midfielder bottle out of so many challenges in 90 minutes. I think the stick Jarvis and Keogh are getting from some is out of line; Keogh won 80% of the aerial balls, and looked keen to beat his man when shunted out wide. Along with Craddock, the Hen and Gray he played well. Jarvis always looked dangerous, and put in two cracking crosses that we really should have scored from. Albion were one goal better than us, all told – and you’ve got to give them credit for their movement off the ball when in possession, though ebony and ivory in the middle made it easy for them.
WH – some good saves, looks for an early ball more often.
KF – quite solid, supported Gray, but never went past him.
GE – He’s got potential, but makes Mark Little look like Gary Neville in the positioning and composure stakes
JC – Won an awful lot, and had Miller in his pocket. Wrong to dive in on Phillips for the goal.
NC – Getting better, but needs to know when to lace it.
MG – Worked his socks off, but little end product. Robinson worked him out.
MJ – Keen to take on his man, but I wish he’d go outside more. Some good balls, and most of our attacking play went through him.
DG – Took too long to settle, some decent passing. No tackling.
SGO – Worst footballer on the pitch. Possibly the most cowardly man in the ground.
AK – Won more than his fair share in the air, and didn’t lose the ball when at his feet. Shunted to the right and did well.
SEB – Had one chance, missed it. They were scared of him, though.

Eastwood – Comfortable on the ball, but didn’t really get too involved.
Kyle – created a couple of chances – should have been brought on earlier.

I was saying on the way home that the pain of losing to Albion pales into insignificance compared to the pain of missing out on 3 points. From here on in, every game is potentially the last of the season, but I still think we'll be alright for 3 wins and a draw, and that will be enough.

!

[Jack]

Because i'm a Wolves fan,i have Gold and Black eyeballs and i don't do love in's with the $$$$.

I hate the $$$$ more than anyone but rather than trying to delude myself that we were robbed, unlucky, the ref was against us, I'd perfer to focus on the facts that we were $$$$

[The Weasel]

On the day they had a little too much for Wolves. No excuses but had Kightly been fit and Henry in the middle I feel maybe Wolves could have earned themselves more but there is nothing can be done about it now so look forward to Saturday and back the team all the way. The next game is more important.

Simple but effective post Essex, a measured response.

[Panthera]

They were down to ten men against Leicester. But how anybody can concede four goals against Coventry is beyond me....I've put the kiss of death on us now.

They had Robinson sent off against Coventry. Went down to 9 men against Leicester.

[The Weasel]

Ok, I've had a chance to sleep on it now so here goes. First things first it was an entertaining game and the crowd was well up for it - full respect to the South Bank. Next - the ref and linesmen made some truly remarkable calls (simple things like giving throw ins and corners the wrong way, and what about the blatant shove in the back SEB got in there penalty area - looked like yet another stonewall pen not given to me).

Anyway, we lost (and could have shipped a fair few more) for two reasons IMO. Firstly we had no central midfield whatsoever, secondly some of our players froze like rabbits in the headlights.

Let's take central midfield first because Gibson was the worst of the rabbits and from that performance you've got to be amazed he's come from ManU's academy. We really missed Henry, but after 30 mins (max) it was clear Potter should have replaced him cos he'd totally let his nerves get the better of him (and I'm no big fan of Potter). Frankly, my Mum would have been more effective in midfield than Gibson. Then there's the enigma that is Olo - sometimes brilliant, sometimes seems like he's left his brain in the locker room....how much 'thinking' time does he need with the ball. I'm not sure if he was having an off day or if Gibson's no-show made him look distinctly average, but the net result was we had no central midfield and this meant they could dictate play.

Ok, on to the other rabbits. Foley looked terrified for the first half an hour then gradually improved, Collins looked alternately petrified or composed (depending on whether the ball was near his feet or head) and Elokobi chose this game to have a mare. These are young players and this turned out to be too big an occasion for them. Mick was right to try to emphasis to them that they should just play the game, but they didn't - they looked rattled from the off.

All of the above means that Craddock and Hennessey had wave upon wave to deal with at times and fair play to the pair of them for manfully repelling most of those attacks whilst their team-mates pretended to be the Keystone Cops. Craddock was immense, sure Phillips got the better of him, but when we see the goal again, you've got to look for our absent defenders and ask what the hell were they thinking positionally?!

Out wide both Gray and Jarvis had good spells and quiet spells but the quality of balls to the front men was not good.

Keogh worked tirelessly and looked absolutely shattered by 70mins (when Kyle should have been brought on). SEB looked a threat but was feeding off scraps and was well marshalled.

Eastwood looked a million miles better than he did at Ashton Gate on Saturday but still he was lumbering about in our half when we were pressing forward for a winner, and he was our fresh legs. Thanks Freddy.

Kyle wasn't on long enough but still got a decent ball in.

As others have said, this is not the be all and end all that some would have us believe. If we beat Ipswich and Cardiff I think we'll be in the play-offs as Palace have some tough games ahead, and to some extent I'm glad WBA won't be in the play-offs now.

This is still a time for unity, not a time for calling for the manager's head. We can still do this. I take it, those baying for blood won't be going to Wembley with us should we make it...

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Hennessey - Fabulous save from Clement, and generally handled very well, bit hesitant on crosses, but on the whole had a good game - 8. (age 21)

Foley - Often resorted to the long ball, but this was much down to our lack of movement in front of him rather than a lack of vision, again looked hesitant with his defending, and was bailed out by Craddock in the first half who covered him well - 6. (age 23)

Elokobi - Distribution was woeful at times, on at least 3 occasions simply played it straight out of play, was up against a good player in Gera who didn't really beat George, rather played it around him, I felt George looked out of his depth in this game, though he did make a couple of crunching tackles and you can never criticise his effort - 6 (age 23)

Collins - Other than one occasion where he dwelled on the ball for what seemed like a decade, and then gave away the free kick that led to Clements free kick, I thought he had an ok game, he has been in good form since the QPR game, was strong in the tackle and good in the air, he scares the hell out of me when he has the ball at his feet, but can only think of one occasion where this caused us problems. 6.5 (age 24)

Craddock - Immense, possibly his best game in a Wolves shirt, one step ahead of the Albion forwards all game, he was very unlucky for the goal as he caught up with Phillips brilliantly, but Phillips managed to just step away when Craddock committed. A real captains performance, strong in the air and strong in the tackle, was really up this game and is getting better, not worse with age. 8.5 (age 32) MOM

Gray - Very quiet first 20 mins, but there was no play down the right during this period. Other than had a good game, got back and tackled well on numerous occasions in the second half, attempted to play football. He had a decent effort in the first half with his left foot, but I felt he should have done better. Disappointed he but the ball out when Phillips was down, this is the ref's responsibility. The more i see of him the more of him the more I think he could do a job in centre midfield with Olo. 7.5 (age 33)

Jarvis - Very frustrating, our most dangerous player but whenever he beat his man or got in a position to cross the ball his delivery was found wanting, either under hitting or over hitting his crosses, also seems very reluctant to shoot, not a bad game, but no means his best either. 6.5 (age 21)

SGO - He made a fabulous tackle (foul) on Robinson in the first minute and i felt he was the only player we had (with Gray) that had any semblance of composure. He regularly turned and beat his man in the centre of midfield, his distribution was good and his work rate was excellent, having more desire to get forward than Eastwood at one point. He got in a good position in the box in the second half losing his marker easily, he didn't panic he tried to seek out a pass, there wasn't one on and he almost beat Kiely at his near post. Felt he took the ball off Keogh's head from Kyle's cross, but at least he was there to make the effort. I think on the whole he had a good game and people are too quick to get on his back. I think he is a genuine footballer, one of a few we have. 7.5 (age 27)

Gibson - Awful, looked like a frightened child from the moment he stepped on the pitch gave away a needless corner after a couple of minutes or so, kept giving away the ball, was weak in the tackle and the game bypassed him. Second half he was better, but not much better, had a 2 efforts at goal, one almost hit the corner flag, the other forced a good save from Keily, his set piece delivery, much like at Bristol was abysmal, he made a good challenge right in front of the dugout, which the ref gave a free-kick against him for. Would have been much happier to see Potter start, a player with experience in this fixture and a player who had played well in this fixture before, Potter may have made a difference last night, poor decision from MM, especially given Gibson’s lightweight performance at Bristol. 4 (age 20)

Keogh - His best spell was immediately after Albion scored, beat his man beautifully with a SEB turn on the edge of the box, but on three occasions his decision making was poor and on three occasions it was either cleared or Keily collected, very frustrating as i felt if he'd just hit it hard we would have had more success. Didn't win a great deal in the air and didn't really create anything. As ever worked tirelessly. 6 (age 21)

SEB - Was poor, should have done better with his header, didn't hold the ball up as well as he has done in the pass and simply didn't do enough, admittedly his service wasn't great though. Tried hard throughout. 5 (age 22)

Eastwood - Did nothing of any note, except a tame near post effort, far too deep for me, I was frustrated that he didn't 'show' for SGO when eventually SGO shot at Kiely's near post. I'd hoped for more from him, its just never going to happen. 5

Kyle - The headers he won he managed to send back towards our goal, displayed effort and energy, produced the best cross of the game (much like at Charlton) when he knocked it far post, unfortunate SGO seemed to take it off Keogh's head. Looked quicker than i realised. I was dead against his signing, but I’ve been very pleased with his performances. 6.5

The Ref - Seemed to favour them and rarely let the game flow, SEB should have had a free kick early on, and why Gibson was penalised for what seemed an excellent challenge was beyond me, Keogh was pushed over a few times-got nothing, yet Miller got free kicks for the same thing from Wolves defenders, very frustrating.

I've put the age in brackets simply to show just how young our team was last night, i think its no coincidence (although subjective) that our older/more experienced players played better than the youngsters. Gibson for example had fear coursing through his play, as did Elokobi.

Overall a fair performance against a very good team, they have players a lot more experienced players than ours, and i think it showed. After their goal they were in complete control, their movement was excellent, each time they got the ball they seemed to have 2 or 3 options. Unfortunately our movement is $$$$ poor, I pitied Foley who simply had no option on a few occasions other than to knock it long.

Though it hurts to lose this game, Ipswich is the key, if we beat them and i believe we will it's back in our hands. If we play like we did last night we will have more than enough to beat Ipswich.

[QB Wolf]

After som eof the dross we've seen this year last night was a breath of fresh air, one of the few games I've enjoyed this season.

I actually feel quite positive because we are closer to the albion than last year!!

[goldfish]

We missed the snap of Henry no end. Koren and Greening (a class player) were able to find far too much space.

Jarvis' crossing let us down, as did E-B's heading ability. We were second best, but it wasn't for want of trying.

[Jack]

After som eof the dross we've seen this year last night was a breath of fresh air, one of the few games I've enjoyed this season.

I actually feel quite positive because we are closer to the albion than last year!!

How?

[ROVERT47]

I hate the $$$$ more than anyone but rather than trying to delude myself that we were robbed, unlucky, the ref was against us, I'd perfer to focus on the facts that we were $$$$

You thought we were $$$$,i didn't,we'll leave it at that.;)

[Jack]

You thought we were $$$$,i didn't,we'll leave it at that.;)

Fair play mate, it's all about opinions. Just easily riled this morning;)

[Uncle Festa]

Simply outclassed in every department. We ran around alot without the ball, mostly chasing shadows, and didn't have enough movement when we had the ball or technique to be able to keep it - basically because they closed us down far quicker than we did to them. Biggest mystery to me was that we gave Greening so much time and space to pull the strings whilst we were continually harried and harassed when we had possession. Based on last nights performance by both teams the only player we had that would get in Albions team is Hennessey. Looking on the bright side, last year without Kightly we got a right stuffing and then managed to compete with them when he returned. There wasn't so much of a gulf this year but we don't half miss Kightly.

[Hibbitt was King]

The team sheet showed we'd conceded central midfield, and so it turned out.

Olofinjana has been here long enough to conclude that if he's a 25+ games in a season member of the team, we won't go up.

[thisisgil]

Regarding Collins last night: I haven't seen a centre back play as badly for Wolves since the days of Lawrie Madden....

[Uncle Festa]

That was one of Collin's best games! I only had two near heart attacks last night when he had the ball - I usually have about 5 or 6.

[Kenny-11]

That was one of Collin's best games! I only had two near heart attacks last night when he had the ball - I usually have about 5 or 6.

One of them, which led to the free kick that Hennessey tipped over came thanks to our central midfield going missing. He had the ball looked for Seyi and Gibson to avoid a pointless hoof but there were both stood out wide, so as he got closed down he had to turn and then calamaty Collins took over as he fell over the ball, lost it then hacked down the player

[UEAwolf]

He really shouldnt be in the team---yes Breen is slow, but he would be a better choice. I'd throw in Mark Little now--give him some experience.

Indeed, I think Gleeson would have done a better job than Gibson in recent games.

[Law's Bus]

I thought that we played reasonably in the first half. In fact, I was quietly pleased. Although they were clearly the better of the two sides, we matched them as much as we could, fought for things and created some chances.
Then we came out in the second half, and were utterly rubbish. I can’t work out if we just got worse, or if the Albion went up a gear. Our passing was poor, and we were second to everything. When they hit the woodwork for the second time, I thought that with the kind of luck we were getting that we might just nick it.
Overall (and this is incredibly painful to say), the best team on the night won, and deserved to win. Now onto Ipswich on Saturday – which is a must win game and in the grand scheme of the League more important than last night. Still, it was a horribly painful night, and I’m getting stick at work today from all the Albion supporters.

Ratings:

Hennessey: A good game. Made some excellent saves, and looked very confident. 8

Foley: Getting slowly back to the form we saw before Christmas. Didn’t show much getting forward but did his primary job well. 7

Elokobi: Someone sat a few seats away was constantly moaning whenever he went near the ball. Whilst I didn’t think he was that bad, he definitely (and I seem to be saying this every game) needs to practice passing to someone wearing gold. Can’t fault his effort, or his ability to put opposition players in the stands! 6

Craddock: As the song goes “and now he’s alright”. Well, no he wasn’t last night – he was far better than that. Other than the goal, read the game well, positioning excellent. Now, if only he had pace... 8

Collins: Continued with his recent improvement, though some of his tackling was on the desperate side. Lucky to not give away yet another penalty. 7

Gibson: We lost the battle in central midfield. In fact, I’m not even sure we put up a fight there. Whilst he could certainly pick out a pass every 15 minutes or so, he was poor at the defensive side of the job. As someone else has mentioned, there’s no chance of him becoming a regular at Manchester United on this display. We missed Karl Henry very, very badly – and shockingly I’d select Potter in front of Gibson on Saturday. Hell, I’d select myself before Gibson, and my days as a box-to-box midfielder were a long, long time ago. 4

Olofinjana: Better than Gibson is perhaps the best praise I can give him. Made some good runs into the box, and could have saved the draw near the end, but hesitated when he should have taken it first time. Some decent tackles, too – just not enough. Dave Edwards must be in contention to play against Ipswich after this performance. 6

Jarvis: Tried hard, but constantly checked back rather than going past the full-back. Not his night at all – one time he went past the defenders and there were bodies in the box, he promptly crossed behind every one of them. 6

Gray: Another good performance, though without the end product we’ve seen from him recently. Ran his socks off and his absence was noticeable. 7

Keogh: If I’m awarding marks for effort, Keogh would get 9.5. As unfortunately I’m looking at the entire performance, it’ll be less than that. He tried to pull the Albion defence around, won balls in the air, but was starved of service. When moved out to the right wing, he proved that crossing isn’t one of his talents. 6

Ebanks-Blake: Good workrate again. Stood no chance with almost zero service provided to him. 6

Subs:

Eastwood: Not the appearance that might suggest that he needs to start games. Ran around lots, showed for the ball plenty, and showed some good touches. Was shunted to left wing when Kyle came on, and he’s even worse than Keogh as a winger. As with SEB, it was almost impossible for him to stand out. 6

Kyle: The right change, but it should have been made earlier. Once he came on, we actually started winning balls, and other than one truly terrible header that went 30 yards straight to one of the opposition, I thought that he did reasonably well with his usual “brick outhouse” routine. 7



Officials: Terrible. Every decision in the (surprisingly even) first half went the Albion’s way. And I mean everything. Came out in the second half, and performed much better as we got worse, which means I can’t really blame them. Damn. 4

Mick: Sorry Mick, but you got this one horribly wrong. If there was ever a home game to play 4-5-1, this was it – or possibly 4-4-2 with two defensive minded central midfielders plus Eastwood dropping deep. Substitutions were too late, and we really needed Kyle when Eastwood came on (and vice versa), and why on earth he didn’t make a change in central midfield is anyone’s guess. 5

[EasternWolf]

Hennessey - Fabulous save from Clement, and generally handled very well, bit hesitant on crosses, but on the whole had a good game - 8. (age 21)

Foley - Often resorted to the long ball, but this was much down to our lack of movement in front of him rather than a lack of vision, again looked hesitant with his defending, and was bailed out by Craddock in the first half who covered him well - 6. (age 23)

Elokobi - Distribution was woeful at times, on at least 3 occasions simply played it straight out of play, was up against a good player in Gera who didn't really beat George, rather played it around him, I felt George looked out of his depth in this game, though he did make a couple of crunching tackles and you can never criticise his effort - 6 (age 23)

Collins - Other than one occasion where he dwelled on the ball for what seemed like a decade, and then gave away the free kick that led to Clements free kick, I thought he had an ok game, he has been in good form since the QPR game, was strong in the tackle and good in the air, he scares the hell out of me when he has the ball at his feet, but can only think of one occasion where this caused us problems. 6.5 (age 24)

Craddock - Immense, possibly his best game in a Wolves shirt, one step ahead of the Albion forwards all game, he was very unlucky for the goal as he caught up with Phillips brilliantly, but Phillips managed to just step away when Craddock committed. A real captains performance, strong in the air and strong in the tackle, was really up this game and is getting better, not worse with age. 8.5 (age 32) MOM

Gray - Very quiet first 20 mins, but there was no play down the right during this period. Other than had a good game, got back and tackled well on numerous occasions in the second half, attempted to play football. He had a decent effort in the first half with his left foot, but I felt he should have done better. Disappointed he but the ball out when Phillips was down, this is the ref's responsibility. The more i see of him the more of him the more I think he could do a job in centre midfield with Olo. 7.5 (age 33)

Jarvis - Very frustrating, our most dangerous player but whenever he beat his man or got in a position to cross the ball his delivery was found wanting, either under hitting or over hitting his crosses, also seems very reluctant to shoot, not a bad game, but no means his best either. 6.5 (age 21)

SGO - He made a fabulous tackle (foul) on Robinson in the first minute and i felt he was the only player we had (with Gray) that had any semblance of composure. He regularly turned and beat his man in the centre of midfield, his distribution was good and his work rate was excellent, having more desire to get forward than Eastwood at one point. He got in a good position in the box in the second half losing his marker easily, he didn't panic he tried to seek out a pass, there wasn't one on and he almost beat Kiely at his near post. Felt he took the ball off Keogh's head from Kyle's cross, but at least he was there to make the effort. I think on the whole he had a good game and people are too quick to get on his back. I think he is a genuine footballer, one of a few we have. 7.5 (age 27)

Gibson - Awful, looked like a frightened child from the moment he stepped on the pitch gave away a needless corner after a couple of minutes or so, kept giving away the ball, was weak in the tackle and the game bypassed him. Second half he was better, but not much better, had a 2 efforts at goal, one almost hit the corner flag, the other forced a good save from Keily, his set piece delivery, much like at Bristol was abysmal, he made a good challenge right in front of the dugout, which the ref gave a free-kick against him for. Would have been much happier to see Potter start, a player with experience in this fixture and a player who had played well in this fixture before, Potter may have made a difference last night, poor decision from MM, especially given Gibson’s lightweight performance at Bristol. 4 (age 20)

Keogh - His best spell was immediately after Albion scored, beat his man beautifully with a SEB turn on the edge of the box, but on three occasions his decision making was poor and on three occasions it was either cleared or Keily collected, very frustrating as i felt if he'd just hit it hard we would have had more success. Didn't win a great deal in the air and didn't really create anything. As ever worked tirelessly. 6 (age 21)

SEB - Was poor, should have done better with his header, didn't hold the ball up as well as he has done in the pass and simply didn't do enough, admittedly his service wasn't great though. Tried hard throughout. 5 (age 22)

Eastwood - Did nothing of any note, except a tame near post effort, far too deep for me, I was frustrated that he didn't 'show' for SGO when eventually SGO shot at Kiely's near post. I'd hoped for more from him, its just never going to happen. 5

Kyle - The headers he won he managed to send back towards our goal, displayed effort and energy, produced the best cross of the game (much like at Charlton) when he knocked it far post, unfortunate SGO seemed to take it off Keogh's head. Looked quicker than i realised. I was dead against his signing, but I’ve been very pleased with his performances. 6.5

The Ref - Seemed to favour them and rarely let the game flow, SEB should have had a free kick early on, and why Gibson was penalised for what seemed an excellent challenge was beyond me, Keogh was pushed over a few times-got nothing, yet Miller got free kicks for the same thing from Wolves defenders, very frustrating.

I've put the age in brackets simply to show just how young our team was last night, i think its no coincidence (although subjective) that our older/more experienced players played better than the youngsters. Gibson for example had fear coursing through his play, as did Elokobi.

Overall a fair performance against a very good team, they have players a lot more experienced players than ours, and i think it showed. After their goal they were in complete control, their movement was excellent, each time they got the ball they seemed to have 2 or 3 options. Unfortunately our movement is $$$$ poor, I pitied Foley who simply had no option on a few occasions other than to knock it long.

Though it hurts to lose this game, Ipswich is the key, if we beat them and i believe we will it's back in our hands. If we play like we did last night we will have more than enough to beat Ipswich.

This is an excellent report with a great deal of thought and analysis. Thanks very much. I couldnt go (midweek) and listened to it. This report made sense in that context.

Having said that, i think it is rather obvious that Mick made a mistake playing Gibson. Potter has to be better than him. Edwards, suggested by many here, is not a defensive midfielder. Who else have we got? Nobody I guess. From what i've seen, Olofinjana needs someone like Henry to bring out the best in him so it appears to be a game of two midfields - their's the best in the league, and ours.

Sorry to all his fans, but i still feel uncomfortable about Keogh as a striker. He is potentially a classy player, but not at the expense of a striker. Also, the time to bring Eastwood on is not when you take Gray off Mick! Freddy needs the ball in to his feet about 20 yards out. He would do well with Gray .. orKightly ..but will he last that long at Wolves??

Like most of you, I feel there is much to be done when the transfer window opens.

Do you need a transfer window for a new manager?:rolleyes:

[Bend It Like Dennison]

Regarding Collins last night: I haven't seen a centre back play as badly for Wolves since the days of Lawrie Madden....

Completely unfair mate, Collins & the defence on a whole did well last night. It was our complete lack of a midfield & cutting edge that let us down last night.

[Ginger Chimp]

No. Collins was very poor last night.

[thisisgil]

Completely unfair mate, Collins & the defence on a whole did well last night. It was our complete lack of a midfield & cutting edge that let us down last night.

I thought the defence generally did okay - I think Elokobi has come in for some harsh criticism today, but supported Gray well on occasion, and made some crucial interceptions, and I thought Craddock was a different class and kept Phillips in his pocket for the majority of the match.

However, I felt pretty uncomfortable when Collins was on the ball, as others have mentioned, didn't think he was confident with the ball at his feet, and he almost seemed to play his way into danger during the incident where he hacked down just outside the box for the Albion freekick....

The biggest issue with Collins seems to be one of confidence and/or concentration. He seems to just switch off a couple of times a match, and the number of penalties he's given away this season is symptomatic of this. Maybe Mick should look into booking him in with a sports psychologist this summer.

[Space Wolf]

Maybe Mick should look into booking him in with a sports psychologist this summer.

Or we could just bring in a replacement.

[Vio Ganea]

We can all do match ratings for last night but fact of the matter is we lost, end of. Lets regroup, have a cup of tea/coffee/beer and concentrate backing the lads to get the points we need from the next few games. Don't get me wrong, I like the rest of you have had endless crap of the $$$$ all day but just trying to keep everyones heads up.

[Paul76]

Thanks for the excellent reports. Seems we just weren't good enough.

[Blunty]

I don't understand why Greening and Koren were given so much time and space? There were time especially in the 2nd half when Koren was in centrally advanced positions with no one near him. Greening given time to collect off the back 4 and pick a pass without fear of any aggressive pressure. Didn't make sense to me, it's obvious to see that is the starting point of the majority of their play.

I personally thought that Collins and Foley looked shaky. Neither had a scooby what to do with the ball when it was at their feet. Don't know whether this was just nerves or lack of confidence. Craddock I thought played well and did a decent physical job on Miller. Although Collins let brush past him in the first half in the box, I think that's all 'big ish' acheived.
Gibson was shocking in the 1st 10 giving the ball away under no pressure 3 times at least. Improved afterward but didn't force himself on the game. And when they were in possession, acheived little. Olofinjana had a couple of nice touches but didn't affect the game in any way, far too nonchalant on the ball at times and got beat in the air by Koren at one point?
That said we were on top for decent spells in the game and certainly had better possession than at times than they did. Let's not forget there were several points in the game when they looked less than comfortable.
Unfortunately we lack the purposful fluidity that albion attack with. They've got a plan and they know how to play it out. We on the other hand seem to be making it up as we go along.

I'm very disappointed but objectively we've still a decent chance off P/O action this year.

[UNCLE REMUS]

The problem is all in midfiled, specifically central midfield, Ofilinjana is big enough to boss the place, yet he's like a big tart. Gibson kept "pinging" balls anywhere. Greening should have been given notice of imtention the first time he touched the ball.

Banging the same "drum" again, but we lack a leader on the pitch.

Collins, I have defended him in the past, but after last night, he has the ability to drag defeat from the jaws of victory. Although referrin to my previous remark, perhaps he would be different with some giving him some verbal.

[Del Woppio]

It's amusing to note how many people are slaughtering Mick for being proud of the effort put in, suggesting his teams are all graft and no craft...and then going on o give Mickey Gray MOM who...put a lot of effort in, and was all graft and no craft.

[Dewsburywolf]

I wouldn't say Gray was all Graft & no Craft. At least he was getting stuck in and seemed well up for the battle. Also he was constantly pointing at Elokobi/Foley telling him what to do where he wanted them to run. Worth another year's Contract on Leadership Qualities alone.

[Elephant Pyjamas]

It's amusing to note how many people are slaughtering Mick for being proud of the effort put in, suggesting his teams are all graft and no craft...and then going on o give Mickey Gray MOM who...put a lot of effort in, and was all graft and no craft.

Very true, what good would it do MM to slaughter his players at this stage of the season? He needs to keep their heads up and keep them confident. This was the basis of that interview in my view, to keep their heads up.

[goldeneyed]

Tony Mowbray (and Mark Venus) have done a great job for West Brom when you consider they lost five or six quality players and had to re-build. The playing style is excellent and their signings on the whole have been excellent too. I will see what MM can do in the last few matches and will reserve further comment on this season's offerings till then but I fear the worst unless Kightly can lift the team when he comes back.

If we lose out on the play offs then I hope there will be a grown up debate about whether MM is the man to take the club forward. For the moment let's just support him and the boys and see what happens. but anything less than wins against Ipswich and Cardiff and that's it. Henry is already proving a big loss and I would like to see Edwards back with Olo playing as a defensive midfielder for the moment.

[goldeneyed]

The problem is all in midfiled, specifically central midfield, Ofilinjana is big enough to boss the place, yet he's like a big tart. Gibson kept "pinging" balls anywhere. Greening should have been given notice of imtention the first time he touched the ball.

Banging the same "drum" again, but we lack a leader on the pitch.

Collins, I have defended him in the past, but after last night, he has the ability to drag defeat from the jaws of victory. Although referrin to my previous remark, perhaps he would be different with some giving him some verbal.

Agreed - but Collins especially should be nowhere near the first team - we need a far more authoritative and talented player in that position - in fact we need two. Craddock as back up next season. Goodbye to Edwards, Collins and Breen. Apart from Mark Davies (when fit), Edwards and possibly Henry for cover I would start again in midfield also. Get some decent money for Olo and sell Potter, give back Gibson. Another winger needed too as Gobern is far too injury prone. Oh and we also need someone who can teach them how to play the football West Brom were dishing up.

[Gratters]

Very true, what good would it do MM to slaughter his players at this stage of the season? He needs to keep their heads up and keep them confident. This was the basis of that interview in my view, to keep their heads up.

In the same way he's screwed up Eastwoods career with public slatings you mean ?

[Wolv3nsam]

No offence to Jarvis but he needs to learn how to use that left foot of his, he either passes it back to Elokobi or cuts inside on his right. Defenders are already starting to work him out.

Look on the back of the program and feast your eyes on West Brom's squad.. quality cover in every position. Their two left wingers are Morrison and Brunt FFS. Gera and Teixera on the right.. we lose Kightly to injury and we're stuffed.

[Elephant Pyjamas]

In the same way he's screwed up Eastwoods career with public slatings you mean ?

You're not comparing apples with apples there, i can't be bothered to point out what is wrong with your statement, its obvious.

[Paul76]

You're not comparing apples with apples there, i can't be bothered to point out what is wrong with your statement, its obvious.

I don't know why you even bothered replying to It. I thought about It, but then decided against It.

[Elvis Wolf]

MANY Thanks to everyone who contributed very thorough and enlightening reports.
MUCH appreciated from down here on the Costa del Sol.
C'mon Me Babbies we can STILL finish in the top 6.
KEEP THE FAITH !!
Elvis Wolf

[Wolv3nsam]

In the same way he's screwed up Eastwoods career with public slatings you mean ?

You cannot compare Eastwoods early season bad attitude with the want and desire most of the team put into their performances last night. Shame it didn't pay off.

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I don't know why you even bothered replying to It. I thought about It, but then decided against It.

Instead you repl