Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 v Liverpool FC 0

At a guess I would reckon that I have been sitting in my current seat for going on twenty-five years. Whilst the folk who sit around me have remained fairly constant, the area directly in front of me has undergone numerous face lifts. In the early days it was the seating area for one of the corporate lounges where those who attended appeared more interested in the food and drink, than what was happening on the field. It was not uncommon for various groups to absent themselves after half time.

Amongst those who were occasionally shoehorned into the same area were the club scouts armed with their secretive notepads, prompting speculation on whom they were running the rule over. When the veil eventually fell on the corporate entertainment the area became, for a short time at least, a press box before they were shifted sideways and replaced by...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v West Ham United 0

Oh the fickle finger of fate. Fourteen months ago, West Ham Manager David Moyes was the toast of the East End of London, his side riding high close to the summit of the Premier League. The talk was of serious league title contenders. Yet, within weeks of that forecast, the mantle of hope deserted them as the bubbles started to burst as soon as they were blown.

I have always felt that Moyes and West Ham are uneasy bedfellows, he a manager known for his love of grit and effort whilst the Club has always seen itself as one promoting cultured, stylish football. Whatever that juxtaposition, for the last twelve months West Ham’s trajectory has mirrored that of Wolves, both Clubs now finding themselves in battles for survival at the foot of the Premier League. But, unlike Wolves, West Ham has stuck by their manager. Previously infallible, Moyes...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Manchester United 1

For seventy five minutes of this lunchtime encounter and Wolves’ last of year 2022, the home side had just about held their own against the billionaires from the red half of Manchester. For this they had had to rely on some excellent goalkeeping by Jose Sa allied to doughty defending and some less than clinical finishing. It was this lack of poke up front – if you’ll forgive the phrase – that prompted Erik Ten Hag to introduce Marcus Rashford for the second half. The one-time social media activist has prospered under the tutelage of his Dutch manager, regaining a love of the game and in the process his confidence. The pace of the game certainly went up a notch whenever he was in possession none more so than in the seventy sixth minute. Collecting the ball on the edge of the Wolves box he played a quick one two with team-mate Bruno...

England 1 v France 2

Can we dream of a stress free last half hour? So ended my last missive the answer now all too disappointingly proffered. Gallant losers seems to be the tag all too readily attached to Gareth Southgate’s England teams. This, afterall was the year we possessed the talent, experience and mental fortitude to claim football’s greatest prize. Yet it was not to be as a smorgasbord of ill luck, poor refereeing, nerves, French grit, cautious tactics and the dreaded curse of ITV combined to ensure that once again English dreams of claiming their first major tournament victory for fifty-six years were dashed. Since 1998 England have won just three of their 17 world cup matches aired on ITV compared with an astounding 12 out of 16 on the BBC. It’s possibly Aunties trump card in retaining the license fee.

As he and his squad return from Qatar, Manager Southgate will now take...

England 3 v Senegal 0

Discombobulated; To confuse greatly. Day fourteen of the 2022 World Cup and something is amiss. England have now played four games and in only one of those did they revert to type by regressing into a ponderous creative light method of play. Where are those aimless long balls aimed at an isolated forward which are invariably picked off allowing the opposition to mount yet another attack? It is, as I hinted earlier, all rather confusing and as a consequence the usual nail biting, backs to the wall final half hour has been, for the time being at least, strangely absent.

Has this circumstance come to pass because the current England side is particularly good, or is it because their opponents have been particularly bad? It is possibly a bit of both with Iran and Wales slotting into the latter and the USA and Senegal into the former.

For the first half hour of...

England 0 v USA 0

Day six of the 2022 World Cup and football - the main reason for the event - is still struggling to drown out the pre-tournament disquiet, much of it hypocritical. Sepp Blatter, that beacon of moral probity, suddenly declaring that the event should never have been awarded to Qatar. The West decrying Qatar’s questionable record on human rights whilst eagerly purchasing its Liquid Petroleum Gas. Boho leftie Gary Neville taking the Qatari schilling. And a select group of worthy nations trying to outdo one another in the worthiness stakes whilst still taking part. I trust there’s an award for the team which “Most Sincerely Displayed Moral Indignation”.

Away from the blather on the field of play perennial favourites Argentina and Germany both started poorly losing games they would normally expect to win against Saudi Arabia and Japan respectively. In contrast Spain...

Brighton and Hove Albion are one of those organic teams, the product of one individual whose ability as a tactician, a scout and a man manager, melded a side of unsung players into a formidable unit. Now that Graham Potter has departed for the loftier heights of Stamford Bridge, does new coach Roberto De Zerbi have the wherewithal to build on his predecessor’s legacy? Right now, having only been in charge for just seven games, it is perhaps too early to say. His record in the first five read; two draws, three defeats. Then last week matters changed with a resounding 4 – 1 win against, irony of ironies, ex Manager Graham Potter’s new charges, Chelsea.

In the wake of Potter’s departure Brighton fans are apparently livid that the London club has asset stripped much of their side’s back-room staff. That, plus De Zerbi’s relative inexperience, means that keeping the current squad together...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Leicester City 4

Now, before you take to the hard stuff in an attempt to drown your sorrows spare a thought for Brian who sits next to me. As I write he will have just reached the M5, a three-and-a half-hour return journey to Torquay ahead of him. It is unlikely that he will remember Sunday 23rd October with any affection. But then neither will the rest of us as Wolves returned to the era of Dave Jones whose tenure ended with relegation from the Premier League. Back then at least the Club had a manager the continuing absence of which will become ever more problematic the longer they remain in the drop zone.

Following Tuesday’s positive display at Crystal Palace, when the ball just wouldn’t run for them, I arrived at today’s game with a degree of optimism. And for the first five minutes Wolves looked lively, moving the ball well through the lines and in the...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v Nottingham Forest 0

As Kwasi Kwarteng has just experienced it’s always comforting to be shown the door with warm tributes massaging your ear lobes. Close on two weeks ago Wolves’ manager Bruno Lage received similar when his slightly longer tenure was also brought to an end. On that occasion Wolves Chief Jeff Shi said “Bruno is an excellent coach, a hardworking and dedicated manager and a warm wise and honest man. He and his staff have been a pleasure to work with throughout their time at Wolves, so it is with much sadness that we have to make what has been a difficult decision”. Shi went on “I honestly have no doubts about Bruno’s ability and I am sure he will succeed elsewhere but the team’s form and performances over the last few months mean that we have no choice but to act”.

The following is purely conjecture but I sensed that the first nail in Bruno’s...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Manchester City 3

A week on from the Premier League’s somewhat tin eared response to the death of Queen Elizabeth II and fans around the country at last gained an opportunity to pay tribute to the late monarch’s integrity and sense of duty. And, in a week where much of life in Britain was put on hold, Wolves secured the services of one Diego Costa. Those with long memories will recall Costa scoring Chelsea’s second to seal a comfortable 2-0 win at the Molineux in the 2017 FA Cup. On that day the Spaniard more than lived up to his grizzled image, physically strong, possessed of a good touch and with a winner’s mentality. Whether, five years on, he retains any of the attributes that made him such a formidable player remain to be seen. But it looks like a good signing, if only to upset the equilibrium of opposing defenders.

Fast forward to this May when...