Arsenal Verdict

[Whirligig Wolf]

Just home.

Hahn 8
Zubar 8
Berra 8
Craddock 9
Elokobi 8

Jarvis 8
Henry 8
Jones 9
Mancienne 9 mom
Foley 9

Doyle 8.

Heartbreaking.
Magnificent.
Want to cry.

 

[Big Saft Kid]

Just home.

Hahn 8
Zubar 8
Berra 8
Craddock 9
Elokobi 8

Jarvis 8
Henry 8
Jones 9
Mancienne 9 mom
Foley 9

Doyle 8.

Heartbreaking.
Magnificent.
Want to cry.

What about the subs?

 

[MonkeySpanner]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

[derbyrameater]

Ref -1000

Wolves +10000

 

[Tarcisio Mifsud]

Verdict - against Arsenal

Although, as one expected Arsenal had more of the game and wasted a number of good chances, in the end it was particularly disappointing losing to an 95th goal. Why there was an extra 5 minutes to the second half was beyond me, as there were 6 substitutions which make up just 3 minutes and Wolves made a substitution of 2 players in one action, thus the total extra minutes for substitutions should have been 2.5 minutes plus a minute and a half for the other stoppages.

The referee was the culprit and my wife who was seeing the match with me on tv, put it exactly, she told me, all that the referee needs to do, is to put the ball in the Wolves net. He was so disgusting, sending Henry out, when a yellow card should have been enough. Most of the media is agreeing that it was a very harsh decision on Wolves, and which may have caused them a point.

Let me now give my verdict on our players' performances.

Hah. MOM. He has really settled in our team. 9.5

Zubar. Not the best match for him, and he was defending Brentnar when he scored. 6

Craddock. Very reliable. No wonder he tried when Arsenal scored. 8

Berra. More or less like Craddock. 8

Elokobi. He did well for three quarters of the match. 7

Foley. Did ok, inspite that he was playing against a very good opposition, in a much wider pitch. 7

Mancienne. He was the second best after Hah and deserve a 9. Hope he can put similar performances in the last 5 matches.

Jones. He tried his best to control the midfield and I assume he was changed because he tired out. 7

Henry. He again had a good match. Was very unforetunate to be sent off for a normal foul from behind. 7

Jarvis. Continued to show class against very good players. 7

Doyle. Naturally with Arsenal attacking force, he rarely had a look at the ball, but still did his best. 7

Substitutes. Edwards - did what was expected, but Jones was commanding the midfield much better. 6

Keogh. Disappointed he was introduced, I think Iwelumo would have done better than him, both in attack and also in defence, when our defenders really tired out, as they had to continue working against Arsenal fresh forwards. 5.

Ward. Nothing in particular and for a short time.

MM. I think that he has been able to produce a settled team, even against much better opposition, but today he could have brought need better substitutes than Keogh and Ward.

Referee. Should not be allowed to officiate another Wolves match. He sent off another Wolves player for a tackle which deserved a yellow and not a red card. He did the same against Liverpool away, when he sent Ward off for practically nothing serious.

Croud. Our supporters did their best to raise their voices in a very big ground and against a team having 57K watching. 9

 

[we love jez moxey]

Still in london, drowning my sorrows, we were cheated.

 

[Tarcisio Mifsud]

Although, as one expected Arsenal had more of the game and wasted a number of good chances, in the end it was particularly disappointing losing to an 95th goal. Why there was an extra 5 minutes to the second half was beyond me, as there were 6 substitutions which make up just 3 minutes and Wolves made a substitution of 2 players in one action, thus the total extra minutes for substitutions should have been 2.5 minutes plus a minute and a half for the other stoppages.

The referee was the culprit and my wife who was seeing the match with me on tv, put it exactly, she told me, all that the referee needs to do, is to put the ball in the Wolves net. He was so disgusting, sending Henry out, when a yellow card should have been enough. Most of the media is agreeing that it was a very harsh decision on Wolves, and which may have caused them a point.

Let me now give my verdict on our players' performances.

Hah. MOM. He has really settled in our team. 9.5

Zubar. Not the best match for him, and he was defending Brentnar when he scored. 6

Craddock. Very reliable. No wonder he tried when Arsenal scored. 8

Berra. More or less like Craddock. 8

Elokobi. He did well for three quarters of the match. 7

Foley. Did ok, inspite that he was playing against a very good opposition, in a much wider pitch. 7

Mancienne. He was the second best after Hah and deserve a 9. Hope he can put similar performances in the last 5 matches.

Jones. He tried his best to control the midfield and I assume he was changed because he tired out. 7

Henry. He again had a good match. Was very unforetunate to be sent off for a normal foul from behind. 7

Jarvis. Continued to show class against very good players. 7

Doyle. Naturally with Arsenal attacking force, he rarely had a look at the ball, but still did his best. 7

Substitutes. Edwards - did what was expected, but Jones was commanding the midfield much better. 6

Keogh. Disappointed he was introduced, I think Iwelumo would have done better than him, both in attack and also in defence, when our defenders really tired out, as they had to continue working against Arsenal fresh forwards. 5.

Ward. Nothing in particular and for a short time.

MM. I think that he has been able to produce a settled team, even against much better opposition, but today he could have brought need better substitutes than Keogh and Ward.

Referee. Should not be allowed to officiate another Wolves match. He sent off another Wolves player for a tackle which deserved a yellow and not a red card. He did the same against Liverpool away, when he sent Ward off for practically nothing serious.

Croud. Our supporters did their best to raise their voices in a very big ground and against a team having 57K watching. 9

Sorry I started another thread. I was writing my contribution when the this was started for I looked before to see if there was already a verdict thread. My thread should be closed now to continue on this one.
__________________
I stopped dreaming on 18th April, 2009 at 1755hours CET. Wolves were now Premier League.

 

[goldfish]

From TV:

Han: 9 Fantastic. In total command of his area.

Zubar: 7.5 Positional naivety a couple of times and let Bendtner get in front of him for the goal, but generally very strong.

Craddock: 9 Super.

Berra: 8 Looking better and better.

Elokobi: 8 Tireless, pacy and stuck to a difficult task manfully. Looking every inch a Premiership defender.

Foley: 7 Neat and tidy in possession.

Jones: 6 Broke up play well but wasted some of his own possession by not releasing ball quickly enough or playing people into trouble.

Henry: 7 Did his usual job and was calm on the ball. Ridiculous decision to send him off.

Mancienne: 8.5 Ate up space. And what a challenge when Arsenal had that 4 on 2 break after they'd scored: typified his defensive work all day.

Jarvis: 7 Saw little of the ball but still got in some dangerous crosses. Felt he could have done more defensively in opening 20 mins.

Doyle: 7 Held the ball up well but some of his movement off the ball was a little odd: ran towards the ball too much for my liking when he should have been creating space.

Edwards: 7 Looked at home straight away.

Keogh: 6 Couple of sloppy touches but then worked tirelessly up front and tracked back to help defensively. Daft to try a cross from the corner flag and dafter to try shot from half-way line.

Ward: n/a

 

[dr cool]

Proud , we aint going down ..

 

[goldeneyed]

Of course bitterly disappointing but in truth we hardly created anthing attack-wise. The good news: Hull, Bolton lost, Portsmouth drew and Burnley 5-0 down at half time. Five games to go we should just about make it. Hope the club appeals Henry' red card because to lose him for three games is a serious blow. I expect Edwards will replace him in the next three games which is a bit worrying. At least Mancienne is in hot form covering the back four. Disappointed Milijas, yet again, was not called on.

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

Proud , we aint going down ..

Proud, we belong, we aint going down..

 

[The Weasel]

Left the emirates absolutely gutted. That must show how far we've come. Henry's card was very harsh but this ref's got form. Marcus motm, but craddock, mance, doyle all outstanding.

 

[Lupu]

I want to thank the lads for the way play with pride in the shirt they wear. McCarthy has built a side worthy to play for our beloved club.

 

[goldfish]

Disappointed Milijas, yet again, was not called on.

I'm not convinced this was the game for Milijas!

 

[sedgwolf1980]

So proud of the lads tonight and confident we will only move onwards and upwards over the next few years.

At the same time, i dont remember feeling this gutted for ages. Even more so that after Blues away.

MM - i have given you some critism over the past few years but the past few weeks have helped reinforce just how proud we should all be to support this young team. All in all, where we are now compared to where we were the day that slack jawed $$$$stain Hoddle left is just unbelievable.

More than anything these players ALL give the impression they would die for WOlves. I dont remember ever having such a close bond between players and fans since the early Bully years.

Totally gutted, but still very proud. Bring on Stoke, no way is this team going down.

 

[Wednesbury Wolf]

Sat with the Arsenal fans today who moaned the whole match,although did give us some praise at the end (when they'd won)
I was absolutely gutted at losing and tonight I think I am as dissapointed as at any point this season.That point may have been the one that keeps us up as it's not any means over by a long way and all this talk about us being safe is just that - talk.

I thought the withdrawl of Doyle was a very bad move from MM because Keogh was absolutely terrible and gave the ball away every time he got it.I thought Mancienne had his best game in a Wolves shirt with The Yank and Jody not far behind.

The ref was definitely overcome by the Arsenal players protesting,would not have been the same had it been a Wolves bloke on the ground.If Henry and Doyle had stayed on a point would have been the minimum we would have got.

Never been to the new Arsenal ground before, was very impressed makes Wembley look like a hole.

 

[shenfieldwolf]

Went to the game and feel worse now than I did after our thrashing at Crystal Palace. I had a terrible seat so couldn't make out that much of the game but to be honest, it looked like Arsenal could have put 4 past us, based on the first 20 minutes. I wish i'd been sitting closer to Bully, who got a fantastic rendition of all the old chants from the travelling support.

Thought that their support was shocking; the Emirates might as well be Islington Borough Library for all the noise that was made. The only time they livened up was after the goal.

Didn't see the incident that caused the sending off so can't comment on that. I do believe that Keough was grossly stupid with his effort from the half way line when what we needed to do was sit tight for two minutes.

Gutted not to get the point despite an almost entirely defensive performance. I do believe, though, that we will stay up based on today's performance. I noted that the players all looked genuinely gutted at the end, too.

Highlight of the day was them playing an Electric Light Orchestra song that I lile while we queued for what seemed like 20 minutes just to get out of the place.

 

[Harlow Wolf]

Just back after a depressing crawl back across London to Essex. Had free tickets in the Club level section amongst the Arsenal "supporters" and don't think I've met a more passionless, arrogant bunch of fans in years. Completely devoid of any real feeling for the game and moaned every time one of our boys got within a yard of one of their precious darlings. Very limited range of songs too - the Wolves fans showed what real support is.

Aside from that I thought we were awesome defensively and Hahneman, Craddock, Berra and Mancienne in particular didn't deserve the disappointment of that last minute. From where I was I couldn't see how bad Henry's tackle was but from the radio since and what people have said on here it was harsh - not helped by their players surrounding Marriner who seems to need little encouragement to wave the red card when its at one of our players. Think with Henry on we'd have got a derserved point as he was having his usual solid game.

All in all gutting experience but good to get that game out of the way and all our rivals have lost. We've come a long way in a few months to compete in games like that and can feel proud of every one of our players and Mick.

Lets hope Everton do us a favour tomorrow and after today I'm a Barcelona fan when it comes to Tuesday.

 

[Wagstaffe Was Magic]

People need to see what Henry did to Rosicky in his challenge. He then seemed to stamp on his calf needlessly. He then left his foot there when he should have withdrawn. I love this team to bits, but that was unacceptable esp from the Captain of The Wolves. Ashamed!

 

[Edmund Dantes]

People need to see what Henry did to Rosicky in his challenge. He then seemed to stamp on his calf needlessly. He then left his foot there when he should have withdrawn. I love this team to bits, but that was unacceptable esp from the Captain of The Wolves. Ashamed!

I saw the replay on TV and never saw that. Even the commentator thought it was way too harsh.

 

[Big Saft Kid]

People need to see what Henry did to Rosicky in his challenge. He then seemed to stamp on his calf needlessly. He then left his foot there when he should have withdrawn. I love this team to bits, but that was unacceptable esp from the Captain of The Wolves. Ashamed!

Even the comms on 5Live thought it was only a yellow. MM on his interview on the BBC website says he got the ball.

 

[Wagstaffe Was Magic]

I saw the replay on TV and never saw that. Even the commentator thought it was way too harsh.

It was an earlier 'tackle' and not the sending off one

 

[Bjorn Star]

Felt sick when the goal went in - worse than the Phillips double at Brum for me. You have to be proud of the performance though. The important thing is that I don't think that result will make much of a difference for either team come the end of the season.

 

[The Weasel]

Ok home now so will try and give an objective view. They absolutely battered us for the first 20 mins, we couldn't have complained if we'd been 4-0 down. Marcus was outstanding and they were profligate, it was like watching a Hoddle side once they reached our 18yd line, no-one wanted to shoot.

We weathered the storm and carved out a couple of openings ourselves and I breathed a sigh of relief when the half-time whistle blew. I was sitting with Arsenal fans, one seat behind Motty so I had the benefit of replays on his monitor as well as a half-way line position.

From that vantage I can tell you the Henry red card was harsh. He definitely got the ball (or at the very least some of it) and Rosicky made an absolute meal of it. It was a mistimed challenge but not a reckless one. A yellow yes, but a red no way. I watched the replays and sure his momentum takes him through Rosicky's standing leg (and that's what gives Marriner his excuse - and why we won't appeal) but it was in no way a malicious challenge.

Anyway, gradually we seemed to nullify their threat without creating clear-cut chances ourselves and as we entered injury time I actually started to believe a point could be ours. We were however suffering an absolute siege at that point and it would have been very much against the run of play had we got away with it.

I felt the substitution of doyle for keogh left us less able to hold the ball up front but to be honest by the latter stages we were lumping it anywhere. I did wonder what keogh was thinking going for the audacious lob - but had it gone in he'd have been a hero and I applaud his confidence in having a go. We just needed a minute and a half less time allowed (where did 5 mins come from?) and we'd have made it. Absolutely gutted at the end, and the body language of our players said it all, Berra had to help Zubar off his knees a good couple of minutes after the final whistle.

Nobody say this side doesn't care, or that the players don't give their all because they clearly do. I think we've just about got enough left in the tank to see us over the line but we'll miss henry and really he shouldv'e stayed on the pitch.

Hanheman - 9 - MotM - outstanding, Arsenal fans were praising him and wishing Almunia was more like him
Zubar - 7 - decent game, Bendtnar edged him for the goal, but it was coming...
Craddock - 9 - imperious - and clearly gutted not to keep that clean sheet
Berra - 8 - solid performance, back to his best
Elokobi - 6 - didn't impose himself as I would have liked but make some great last ditch blocks
Foley - 6 - out of position (pulled all over the place by Arsenal's movement) but did ok
Henry - 8 - solid game, never a red
Mancienne - 9 - his best game yet in a wolves shirt?
Jones - 7 - didn't get any time on the ball really but played his part
Jarvis - 8 - a constant threat on those rare occasions when we ventured upfield
Doyle - 8 - was never going to get much service but played an intelligent game, wish he'd stayed on

subs:
keogh - 6 - just not as good at holding the ball and bringing others into the game as the man he replaced
Edwards - 6 - good to see him back, needs a game or two and with henry out may well get them! still has a role to play for us this season
Ward - not sure if he touched the ball

ref - 4 - bottled the big decisions, and was a real homer

away support - 9 - louder than the home fans til the 94th minute

 

[fielden05]

http://wolvesffs.wordpress.com/2010...r-a-95th-minute-winner-from-nicklas-bendtner/

 

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

People need to see what Henry did to Rosicky in his challenge. He then seemed to stamp on his calf needlessly. He then left his foot there when he should have withdrawn. I love this team to bits, but that was unacceptable esp from the Captain of The Wolves. Ashamed!

I really do wonder what your motive is as you seem to be really overstating your case without taking into account what others say. Too many who are far more qualified than either of us have stated that this should never have been a red and some that it was not even a yellow. Yet you are so sure that all that happened in this incident added up to a red.
Maybe you didn't notice that Rosicky made an incredible recovery as soon as Henry walked.
As for the earlier incident I dont know if Henry could have avoided that but I suspect you probably dont either. But if it had been that bad Arsenal would have milked it.

 

[fullmoon]

WWM, i think you got it all wrong on this incident. Henry doesn't desrves the red. The stamping was an earlier incident on Walcott i presume. Still, the eleven was demi god until the subs came in......

 

[fullmoon]

Edwards - 6 - good to see him back, needs a game or two and with henry out may well get them! still has a role to play for us this season
Ward - not sure if he touched the ball

ref - 4 - bottled the big decisions, and was a real homer

away support - 9 - louder than the home fans til the 94th minute

I was hoping for the Algerian to fit in for Henry.

 

[scotiawolf]

Given the hostility to contributions from tv viewers, I dont contribute to the verdict very often. However, even watching the game from far away in Canada, I think I can venture the following comments.

1. Arsenal obviously outclassed Wolves especially in the early going but by the second half we had them well in control and they did not look like scoring. The goal was a real heart breaker.

2. Henry went in for the ball because Rosicky had let it run loose. After he began his slide, Rosicky came across him and got clobbered. A reckless tackle, yes, a sending off, no way. Marriner is a cheat as evidenced by the Liverpool game. Even Wenger agreed that the decision was harsh. That must the 5th or 6th sending off and Wolves are not a dirty team. We have also had one penalty all season. You have to question the attitude of refs to newly promoted teams.

3. I like Keogh but he was rubbish today. Not only did he give away possesion with that ridiculous lob--Almunia was not even off his line--but at little earlier, he feebly hit the ball towards the goal when he could have kept it in near the corner flag and wasted some time.

4. Why was Dave Edwards brought on? He is was usually only a sub in the Championship and is a total powder puff who runs around a lot. McCarthy should have sacrificed the wide position and brought on Guediora who is strong and could have run with the ball. hence supporting Keogh and keeping possession. On the rare times Edwards got the ball he lost it with his terrible first touch. Why would anyone think he is the obvious replacement for Henry.

5. If Henry is out for three games, this will at least show if he is essential to Wolves or a negative force as argued by many fans. I thought that Mancienne was much more impressive once Henry had gone and for home games at least, he should take Henry's position with Guediora taking over in mid field--we need to be more attacking at home.

6. Hope the virus doesnt go through the whole team--is this why Guediora wasnt brought on?

7.What has happened to Milias? I dont see that Jones is much better--his free kicks are generally useless--and Milias would be much more use as a sub than the likes of Iwelemo and Dave Edwards, neither of whom is any where near Premier class.

8. I think we can do it but it is going to be tense. I will be there for the Sunderland game but hope we are safe before then .

 

[astraltrader]

Hahn 9 MOM
Zubar 7
Berra 7
Craddock 8
Elokobi 7

Jarvis 7
Henry 7
Jones 8
Mancienne 8
Foley 7

Doyle 7

Keogh 6
Edwards 6

 

[mak1]

People need to see what Henry did to Rosicky in his challenge. He then seemed to stamp on his calf needlessly. He then left his foot there when he should have withdrawn. I love this team to bits, but that was unacceptable esp from the Captain of The Wolves. Ashamed!

I think you were watching a different game to the rest of us, yes hang your head in shame for seeing what no one else did!!

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

From TV:

Han: 9 Fantastic. In total command of his area.

Zubar: 7.5 Positional naivety a couple of times and let Bendtner get in front of him for the goal, but generally very strong.

Craddock: 9 Super.

Berra: 8 Looking better and better.

Elokobi: 8 Tireless, pacy and stuck to a difficult task manfully. Looking every inch a Premiership defender.

Foley: 7 Neat and tidy in possession.

Jones: 6 Broke up play well but wasted some of his own possession by not releasing ball quickly enough or playing people into trouble.

Henry: 7 Did his usual job and was calm on the ball. Ridiculous decision to send him off.

Mancienne: 8.5 Ate up space. And what a challenge when Arsenal had that 4 on 2 break after they'd scored: typified his defensive work all day.

Jarvis: 7 Saw little of the ball but still got in some dangerous crosses. Felt he could have done more defensively in opening 20 mins.

Doyle: 7 Held the ball up well but some of his movement off the ball was a little odd: ran towards the ball too much for my liking when he should have been creating space.

Edwards: 7 Looked at home straight away.

Keogh: 6 Couple of sloppy touches but then worked tirelessly up front and tracked back to help defensively. Daft to try a cross from the corner flag and dafter to try shot from half-way line.

Ward: n/a

This is pretty much the way I saw it, I don't know how anyone can give 7,8,or 9 to Jones. He has been great recently, but this game he was the weakest link of the starting 11, running around flapping his arms, getting caught in possession, and playing others into trouble.
I would add Mick 8 up to the substitutions, got the formation and tactics right, but because of the substitutions drop him to 6

 

[singwolf_1]

I have to agree about the comments on Jones. He seemed to be the weakest link in midfield for me. And Edwards seemed really out to sea. Guardieoura would've been the player to bring on, as he tends to keep the ball and relieve pressure on midfield.

 

[fullmoon]

I still think Jones was all right. He played his heart out. I still can't get over the substitutions MM made. That's all. I lost loads of my finger nails biting when the duo came in.

 

[NOKASPLACE]

Gutted to lose to Arsenal at the emirates in the lsat minute 0-1.

Shows how far the lads have come.

Only going to get better

Proud

Noka

 

[Wagstaffe Was Magic]

I think you were watching a different game to the rest of us, yes hang your head in shame for seeing what no one else did!!

It was shown in slow motion on Irish TV . .and showed Karl leaving his foot on the back of Rosicky's calf and being slow to withdraw it. Ray Houghton who was one of the pundits was appalled by it. It did look awful to be honest.

 

[The Weasel]

Thought I'd add these photos showing Motty's notes to my earlier verdict!