Wolves going nowhere
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 v Preston North End 0
How do you motivate a sports team to perform at the optimum? I pondered this in the light of two articles which appeared in the press this week. The first by Matthew Syed was on the phenomenon that is Leicester City. He wrote “It is wrong to single out individuals. More than any other team I have seen this season the Foxes exceed the sum of their parts. They run for each other and they protect each other. They are a group of mostly decent players assembled at just £55m; yet as a team, lead by their kindly manager Claudio Ranieri, they have grown to improbable stature”.
A contrasting view came from Oliver Holt writing about the England rugby team following their win over Scotland last Saturday. “Let’s not kid ourselves. This was the same old England, dour and mediocre. Eddie Jones has made few alterations to the side he inherited. The core is essentially the same. What has changed is the team’s philosophy. Jones’s predecessor, the schoolmasterly Stuart Lancaster, believed ardently in teamwork and respect. But Jones, a fierce man who exudes a need for control, has little time for that sort of thing. He doesn’t care how England play provided they win.”
Though Claudio Ranieri is three parts through his season he has still to take his charges across the line. Eddie Jones is just starting out, but it will be interesting to see how each of them fairs. I suspect that a definitive answer lies somewhere between the two. The trick is in judging when to hold out a carrot and when to wield a stick and knowing which individuals react better to which medicine.
Not that the use of either by Coach Jackett was readily apparent as, once again, a lacklustre Wolves succumbed at home against mediocre opposition. Something of a shot to the foot had been administered before the game had even begun with Kevin McDonald and Joe Mason finding themselves warming the bench. McDonald is a driving creative force in midfield and Mason has already opened his goal scoring account and looks comfortable on the ball. Their omission was symptomatic of a club that appears to have lost its way and it should not surprise that, following Preston’s second goal, the South Bank should vent its frustration with chants for Jez Moxey to go.
The opening fifteen minutes of the game saw little in the way of incident until Paul Gallagher fired over from twenty five yards. A minute later the Preston midfielder was involved again when he collected a flighted ball in the Wolves box before lobbing the advancing Carl Ikeme. Though on hand Matt Doherty was unable to prevent the ball finding its way into the net. In the thirty minutes of the half that remained Wolves offered little in open play, their only chance coming from a free kick which Nathan Byrne fired against an upright.
As the sides emerged for the second period one wondered if Coach Jackett’s half time team talk had made the required impression? It was not immediately evident as Preston continued to be first to the ball before, in the 52nd minute, extending their lead. As the ball was fed in from the right, rather than catch it Ikeme elected to punch. Unfortunately he only succeeded in laying it into the path of Adam Reach, who fired home first time.
Somewhat stung Wolves at last produced their best spell of the game Conor Coady central to much of their good play. On 66 minutes he picked out Mason with a lovely pass from which the Wolves striker rounded the advancing Anders Lindegaard before coolly finding the net. Wolves continued to huff and puff but without an end product, Preston resilience snuffing out further opportunities.
The Club is up for sale with an owner who has lost heart. Until that issue is settled Wolves are going nowhere.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Ikeme 5, Iorfa 6, Batth 6, Ebanks-Landell 6, Doherty 6, Coady 8, Price 6, Saville 6, Henry Sub Bynre 7, Van La Parra 5 Sub Mason 7, Sigurdarson 6
Preston North End: Lindegaard 6, Woods 6, Clarke 6, Huntington 7, Wright 6, Cunningham 6, Gallagher 7 Sub Welsh, Johnson 6, Browne 7, Garner 6 Sub Doyle, Reach 7
Attendance: 21,204
Referee: Kevin Johnson 7
©Mark Brennand