Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v Fulham FC 0

When, some three weeks ago, Wolves opened their Premier League season with a fine 2-0 win against Sheffield United (something of a bogey team last year) there was a belief that normal service had been resumed. I say this in light of their previous game, a tired and lacklustre defeat to Sevilla in the Europa Cup.

In the wake of that United win, Diogo Jota became the second player from the established Wolves line-up to depart, Matt Doherty having done so during the closed season. Both had been integral to Wolves renewal under Nuno and replacing them with oven ready bodies would not be easy. So too Johnny Otto whose absence due to long injury is another hole not easily filled.

Against this backdrop came Manchester City. Wolves did the double on them last season but this time it was not to be as City’s a high tempo game eased them to a 3-1 win...

“My name is Mark and I think Bryson DeChambeau is a great golfer”. There, I’ve said it. Months of repressed angst, worrying about my secret admiration for an era defining golfer. The relief, in coming out, is palpable a feeling I suspect not shared by Bryson who doesn’t seem particularly troubled by self- doubt. All of which places him in a group of pantomime villains of which Patrick Reed is possibly lead husky.

After two rounds of the 120th US Open over the brutal Winged Foot golf course the stage was set for a villain’s shoot out with Dechambeau and Reed at the top of the pile within a shot of one another. Then in round three Reed, had a meltdown, and dropped from proceedings like a stone. Meanwhile DeChambeau maintained his steady form only for Matthew Wolff to steal the limelight by gaining a two-shot lead going into yesterday’s final round.

Much has been written about Bryson...

Europa League Quarter Final
Seville 1 v Wolverhampton Wanderers 0

In the two years since Joao Moutinho joined Wolverhampton Wanderers he has established himself as the hub around which the team revolves. He pulls the strings in the manner of Andrea Pirlo and when he plays well Wolves tend to do likewise. When on Tuesday night he was removed from the fray with twenty minutes of the game still remaining it provided a useful metaphor on where the team found itself. Had he been performing well his continuing involvement would have been assured. But his effect on the game to that point had been negligible and Nuno clearly felt fresh legs were required. That said Moutinho’s expression indicated displeasure whilst his eyes spoke drained. Wolves were physically and emotionally spent a factor only heightened by being totally outplayed by a more than competent Seville unit. The noose was...

Burnley 1 v Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

How much is the way in which a football team plays a reflection of the character of its manager? I ask the question only inasmuch as Sean Dyche with his bald pate and stern demeanour looks like a no nonsense sort of chap and you could say that his team reflects that. Functional, resilient, well organised, yet rarely pleasing on the eye. And in that regard Burnley, though the BBC’s pundits for the evening claimed otherwise, form part of the blob; the fourteen or so teams whose premier league survival is never assured. True to form, up until Christmas as they languished in the bottom half of the table, the boys from East Lancashire looked set for a prolonged and debilitating relegation battle. Since when they have rallied in a way nobody could have predicted losing just one of thirteen games played. Yet the manner of this latest last gasp draw...

Sheffield United 1 v Wolverhampton Wanderers 0

Imagine for a moment that it is Saturday 7th March 2020. You have just returned home from the Molineux where events on the pitch had been remarkably dull. Visitors Brighton came with one intention. To park the bus. They had duly parked it and the ensuing goalless draw has left you tired and listless. You retire to your bed and take a Rip Van Winkle power nap.

Three months later you wake to find that all is not as it should be. The roads appear remarkably quiet. In the sky above not a vapour trail can be seen. Every now and again a family unit wanders by. But it’s a Tuesday in June. Surely their children should be at school. One or two of those out and about are wearing masks whilst others push wheelbarrows full of toilet rolls. Turn on the radio and words such as furlough, social distancing, lockdown, track and trace, bubble and...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Brighton & Hove Albion 0

On Wednesday evening, as I was watching Sheffield Wednesday’s Canute like effort to repel Manchester City in the FA Cup, I found my eyes drawn to the unusually dominant figure of Dominic Iorfa. Wolves’ one-time Bambi like full back had, it seemed, been transformed into a none too shabby centre half. And it got me thinking. What are the factors which determine the success or otherwise of a footballer’s career? And where are others, who played alongside Iorfa, now plying their trade?

For my limited research I settled on the team which was selected for the 2016 home game v Brentford and was gratified to see that current first XI stalwarts Matt Doherty, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss all played. Amongst those who also turned out - but didn’t make the grade - were Benfica loanee Joao Brito Teixeira. In his 17 games for Wolves he rather...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 v Norwich City 0

Seven goals for, none against. A place in the last sixteen of the Europa League beckoning. A place in the top six of the Premier League beckoning. The progress that has been apparent ever since Nuno Espiroto Santo became Wolves Manager continues unabated. And if ever a game demonstrated the extent of that progress it was this encounter against recently promoted Norwich. The chasm between the two sides was Grand Canyon like in size, as Wolves coasted to a comfortable win to keep them in touching distance of a Champions League place.

Not that the opening exchanges reflected that. The game had barely got started when in minute 5 Teemu Pukki was put free on goal only to fire tamely at Rui Patricio from six yards out. Then on ten minutes a good Norwich move ended with a fine strike from Kenny McLean only for Patricio to deal with it comfortably...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v Liverpool 2

I’m not aware that there is German vernacular for “It’s never over ‘til the fat lady sings” but in his pre match comments Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp was clearly eluding to the phrase. His team may be riding high atop the premier league but he is keen to keep feet on the ground praising the quality of Wolves’ recent performance at Anfield and the threat that they pose.

And for a fifteen minute spell during the second half of this absorbing game his sentiment was very prescient. In the wake of the most graceful equaliser by Raul Jimenez in minute 51, Wolves were dominant so much so that Liverpool appeared clueless. In minute 67 the fluidity of the home side’s movement and passing put Jimenez free on goal. The better option would have been to square the ball to the vacant Johnny, who was better placed to score, but instead the Mexican striker...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v Newcastle United 1

Here’s a question. How many clubs has Steve Bruce managed since he retired from the field of play in 1999, as a robust wing half come centre back? Answer; 10 – Sheffield United, Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic (twice), Crystal Palace, Birmingham City, Sunderland, Hull City, Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday & Newcastle United. Of these he was longest at Birmingham City where he oversaw 270 games, followed by Hull City (201). His win record is 38.3% and his modus operandi tends to favour pragmatic organisation over flair. As a Geordie he grew up supporting Newcastle United and is now very much in his dream job. Whether “the Toon” would reciprocate that sentiment is less evident. They loved Rafa Benitez who, despite having to work for the tin eared Mike Ashley, managed to steady the Club after a period of instability. But when arguing...

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Manchester United 0

It is almost a year since I predicted that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be the next Roberto di Matteo https://youneverplayedthegame.svbtle.com/ole-gunnar-solskjaer-the-next-roberto-di-mateo . When, during March and April Wolves outplayed United in first the league and then the FA Cup, I puffed up my chest confident in the knowledge that my prophecy would come to pass.
A poor end to last season followed by a similarly poor start to this indicated that it would only be a matter of time before the proverbial axe was wielded. But it would appear that Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s CEO, lacks the ruthless tendencies of the Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovic. Time spent as an accountant and investment banker will not have honed the survival instincts required in the court of autocrat and one time KGB operative Vladimir Putin.

In fairness to...