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Wolverhampton Wanderers V Ipswich Town


Saturday 18th April 2015 – 12:15
Molineux

Live on Sky Sport 1






Opening Thought – Jamma

As I write this on Wednesday morning, I can’t help wondering whether last night’s events were all a dream. Did we really claim a relatively comfortable (by our recent standards) win against Cardiff to strengthen our grip on 6th? Is our destiny really now in our own hands with just three games to go? And, most incredibly of all, did Cole Skuse really hit a 30-yard wonderstrike to claim his first goal for over 100 games?! Following the debacle at Huddersfield on Easter Monday, everyone agreed that we would have to win our two back-to-back home matches this week to stand a realistic chance of making the play-offs. They may have been won in very different ways but, 6 points from 6 later, that is exactly what we have done. Whereas Town edged through a nervy display against Blackpool with a late winner, Daryl Murphy’s 93rd-minute strike against the Bluebirds was the icing on the cake of a fully-deserved 3 points. Rather than freeze under the weight of expectation, the players seemed to rise to the occasion, defending resolutely and taking our chances against a team that had been enjoying an impressive run away from home.

Christophe Berra has been quoted as saying that, as players, they aren’t particularly able to ‘enjoy’ the run-in when there is so much at stake. Anxiously listening to the radio commentary of the Cardiff game, I had to ask myself if the same was true of us supporters. Of course there is frustration over our downturn in form since the New Year, which has seen us battling to secure a top 6 spot as opposed to going for one of the automatic promotion places. But – the odd fruitless trip up to West Yorkshire aside – we can’t deny that 2014/15 has been an enjoyable season. When compared to the endless campaigns of mediocrity that have preceded it, with a fleeting relegation fight proving about the limit of our excitement, our current situation is one which everyone involved with the club should be relishing. Saturday’s trip to Molineux has long had the air of being a potentially pivotal fixture. Following Tuesday night’s results, we have piled the pressure back on Wolves to make up the advantage we hold over them. With 3 points separating the two sides, Mick McCarthy has readily admitted that a draw would not be a bad result on his return to his old club. We cannot afford to go there with that mentality, though. Instead, the Blues need to take the game to the opposition again, with the confidence and conviction of a top six side. If we can get off to another good start, we may all be able to start enjoying things a little bit more!

The Opposition Wolverhampton Wanderers





The club was founded in 1877 as St. Luke's and later merged with local cricket and football club The Wanderers to form Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 1879.

Having become professional, the club were nominated to become one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888, they ended the inaugural season in third place, as well as reaching their first FA Cup Final, losing to Preston North End. At the conclusion of the campaign the club relocated to the Molineux.

Wolves lifted the FA Cup for the first time in 1893 and added a second triumph in 1908, two years after having dropped into the Second Division.

After struggling for many years to regain their place in the top division, the club suffered a further relegation in 1923, entering the Third Division (North), which they won at the first attempt.

Eight years later Wolves regained their top-flight status after winning the Second Division title under Major Frank Buckley. With Buckley at the helm the team became established as one of the leading club sides in England in the years leading up to the Second World War, as they finished runners-up in the league twice in succession, as well as reaching the last pre-war FA Cup Final, in which they suffered a shock defeat to Portsmouth.

When league football resumed, Wolves suffered yet another final day failure in the First Division, Just as in 1938, victory in their last match would have won the title but a 1–2 loss to title rivals Liverpool gave them the championship instead.

In1949 Stan Cullis's first season in charge, he led Wolves to a first major honour in 41 years as they beat Leicester to lift the FA Cup, and a year later, only goal average prevented Wolves winning the league title.

The 1950s were by far the most successful period in the club's history, Wolves finally claimed the league championship for the first time in 1953–54. Two further titles were soon won in successive years (1957–58 and 1958–59), as Wolves cemented their position as the premier team in English football.

Although the decade opened with a fourth FA Cup victory and almost the first double of the twentieth century, the 1960s saw Wolves begin to decline. Cullis was sacked in September 1964 in a season that ended with relegation and the club's first spell outside the top division in more than thirty years. This exile would last only two seasons though, as they became promoted in 1967 as runners-up.

The club's return to the English top flight heralded another period of relative success under Bill McGarry, with a fourth place in 1971 qualifying them for the newly created UEFA Cup where they reached the final losing to Tottenham on aggregate.

They lifted silverware though two years later, when they won the League Cup for the first time by beating Manchester City in the final. Despite relegation again in 1976, Wolves bounced back at the first attempt as Second Division champions and, under manager John Barnwell, the turn of the decade saw them finish in the top six and win the 1980 League Cup.

The multi-million pound rebuilding of the Molineux Street Stand in 1979 was to be the catalyst for the club's near-financial ruin during the next decade as difficulties in repaying the loans taken out to fund it led to receivership and relegation in 1982. The club was "saved" from liquidation at the last minute when it was purchased by a consortium fronted by former player Derek Dougan. Initially this takeover, financed by two Saudi brothers, Mahmud and Mohammad Bhatti of the company Allied Properties, brought immediate promotion back to the First Division under manager Graham Hawkins, but the Bhattis' failure to sufficiently invest in the club soon saw things unravel as the team suffered three consecutive relegations under different managers through the football divisions, as well as the almost-constant threat of the club being wound-up.

In 1986 with the club again in receivership a deal saw Wolverhampton City Council purchase the club's stadium and surrounding land, while a local developer paid off the club's outstanding debts in return for planning permission to develop the land adjacent to the stadium. The new season saw Wolves' first-ever campaign in the Fourth Division, the team reached the final of the inaugural play-offs but were denied promotion by Aldershot. However, the final two seasons of the decade saw the team achieve both the Fourth and Third Division championship, and also win the Football League Trophy at Wembley in 1988.

Lifelong fan Sir Jack Hayward purchased the club in 1990 and immediately funded the extensive redevelopment of the by-now dilapidated Molineux into a modern all-seater stadium. With work completed in 1993, Hayward turned his investment into its playing side in an attempt to win promotion to the newly formed Premier League. Yet despite this substantial spending neither Graham Taylor nor Mark McGhee could fulfil this, both leading to the team to play-off defeats at the semi-final stage (in 1995 and 1997 respectively).

It was not until 2003 that Wolves were promoted, when they defeated Sheffield United in the play-off final under Dave Jones to end a nineteen-year absence from the top level. Their stay proved short-lived though, as they were immediately relegated back to the newly retitled Championship.

After former England manager Glenn Hoddle failed to bring a swift return, the rebuilding of the squad by Mick McCarthy rejuvenated the club with an unexpected play-off finish. The club was bought by Steve Morgan in 2007, and two years later it returned to the Premier League as Championship champions. Wolves successfully battled relegation for two seasons before 2011–12 saw McCarthy's dismissal precipitate the drop under his assistant Terry Connor.

Following relegation, Norwegian Ståle Solbakken became the club's first overseas manager but his reign lasted only six months before a poor run of results saw him replaced by Dean Saunders in January 2013, who failed to bring any upturn, culminating in both relegation to League One as well as his own dismissal.

Following this Kenny Jackett was appointed in May 2013 in the retitled position of head coach, and led the team back to the Championship in his first season, setting a new club record points total of 103 in winning League One.





One To Watch – Benik Afobe



Wolves have gone from strength to strength as the season has progressed, seemingly intent on being the side which times their run to perfection to claim a play-off place at the death. Their free-scoring front three of Bakary Sako, Nouha Dicko and Benik Afobe have been integral to their success. Having featured Sako last time, I am going to turn my attention to the club’s Player of the Month for March, Benik Afobe.

The former MK Dons frontman had already built up a reputation as a prolific striker before his January switch to Molineux, with his League Cup brace against Manchester United back in August being particularly memorable. In all, he scored 19 goals in 30 appearances in his brief time at Stadium MK, prompting Kenny Jackett to snap him up in the transfer window. The 22-year-old spent 12 years at Arsenal, where he was tipped for a bright future in the game. He saw his opportunities understandably limited at the Emirates, being behind the likes of Robin Van Persie and Olivier Giroud in the pecking order, and gained Championship experience with loan spells at Reading, Bolton, Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday. Rather like Freddie Sears, Afobe had to take a step down in order to progress but didn’t spend long in League 1 before returning to the second tier. He hasn’t looked back since netting off the bench against Blackpool on his debut, going on to score an impressive 11 goals in just 17 appearances. This includes 3 from his last 5, leading to Afobe polling more than 50% of the vote for last month’s award.


The Gaffer – Kenny Jackett





The son of a professional footballer, Jackett joined his local club Watford at the age of 12, progressing to make his first team debut aged 18 on 26 April 1980 as a substitute in a game at Sunderland.

He became a regular member of the Watford side that won promotion to the First Division and finished runners-up in the league in the early 1980s under manager Graham Taylor. In addition, he played in the club's only appearance in an FA Cup Final, when they lost to Everton in 1984. These successes also led to Jackett appearing in the subsequent UEFA Cup campaign.

However having undergone a series of knee operations, he was forced to prematurely end his playing career in 1990 aged 28. In total he made 428 appearances for the Hornets, scoring 34 goals, placing him sixth in the club's all-time appearance records.

Jackett made his international debut for Wales on 22 September 1982 and won 31 full caps in total.

Upon his playing retirement, Jackett remained at Vicarage Road and, having already undertaken many qualifications, became a member of the club's coaching staff.

In February 1996 he and fellow long-term Watford player Luther Blissett were selected by the returning Graham Taylor to run the first team, while he served as General Manager. At the conclusion of this campaign Jackett was appointed as the club's manager, with Taylor then becoming Director of Football.

Watford had just been relegated to the third tier and, although Jackett oversaw a long unbeaten stretch of results the team were unable to mount a serious promotion challenge, ending in 13th place – Watford's lowest position in the league structure since the 1970s. During the close season he was demoted to the position of first team coach, with Taylor once again becoming manager.

Jackett assisted Taylor in getting Watford promoted in two successive seasons, as well as being part of the coaching staff during their 1999–2000 Premier League season, which ended in relegation.

When Taylor left Watford at the end of the 2000–01 Division One season, Jackett was released on the instruction of incoming manager Gianluca Vialli.

Following his exit from Watford he joined Ian Holloway at Queens Park Rangers as assistant manager and contributed towards their Division Two promotion campaign.

After three years as an assistant Jackett left QPR to replace Brian Flynn as manager of Third Division side Swansea City in April 2004. In his first full season in charge, the team were promoted from League Two, finishing in third place, and also lifted the FAW Premier Cup. As a result of these successes he received a two-year contract extension.

The following season in League One they finished in sixth place, entering the play-offs. The team reached the final and a potential return to the second tier after a 22-year absence but lost on penalties against Barnsley. Jackett did however win silverware for a second consecutive season as the Swans won both the Football League Trophy, as well as defending the FAW Premier Cup. During the close season he completed his UEFA Pro Licence in coaching.

The following season saw to team struggle for consistency and despite initially insisting that he was the right candidate to take the club forward, he surprised his chairman by resigning on 15 February 2007.

Following his exit from Swansea Jackett was soon appointed reserve team manager of Manchester City on 7 March 2007. Later in the year on 6 November 2007 he left the Premier League club to take up the vacant managers position at Millwall.

After a 17th place finish in the 2007–08 season, Jackett led the team to the play-offs in his first full campaign with the Lions, where they lost in the playoff final to Scunthorpe.

In the following season Jackett once again led Millwall to the playoff final, where this time a solitary goal against Swindon Town was enough to return the club to the Championship.

In their first season back in the Championship, Jackett led Millwall to a ninth-place finish. During 2011–12 though, Millwall struggled for most of the season, remaining close to the relegation zone until a strong finish to the season won Jackett the Championship Manager of the Month Award for April 2012, and ensured their survival.

Jackett once again led Millwall to Wembley in the 2012–13 season, when the team reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup where they lost to eventual winners Wigan Athletic. Although the team had occupied a play-off place around Christmas, they suffered a late season slump and only confirmed their Championship status on the final day of the season, ending in 20th place. Three days after the season concluded he resigned, The Millwall board accepted his decision "with reluctance".

On 31 May 2013 Jackett was announced as the new head coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers following the sacking of Dean Saunders. The team went on to record a run of victories which earned Jackett a nomination as the August League One Manager of the Month and which brought the club their best ever start in a league campaign. Jackett was again nominated for the Manager of the Month Award in October.

Under his command, Wolves gained promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt as League One champions and set a new divisional points record by reaching 103 points. At the conclusion of the season, he was announced as joint-winner of the LMA Awards Manager of the Year for League One, having earlier won the monthly award for March 2014.






Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev





Trev's Trivia


Players to play for both clubs

Frank Nouble ITFC 2013 WWFC 2012- 2013

Christophe Berra ITFC 2013-present WWFC 2009-2013

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake ITFC 2013-2014 WWFC 2008-2013

Media Watch - K L Blue


A great wee piece on up and coming star Teddy Bishop courtesy of Squawka

Ipswich Town’s star striker, Daryl Murphy, has likened his young teammate, Teddy Bishop, to Premier League regulars Jordan Henderson and Jack Colback.

Henderson, 24, and Colback, 25, came head-to-head at Anfield last night with Liverpool beating Newcastle United 2-0 to close the gap on the top four in the Premier League to just four points.

The Liverpool man continued his good run of form when wearing the captain’s armband and Daryl Murphy – who’s had a great season with Ipswich – has compared the England man to a teammate of his.

Bishop, 18, has had a fine season for Mick McCarthy’s men in the Championship as they seek promotion. The young midfielder has made 29 appearances and created 25 chances. Of those chances created, five has been assists – the second-highest figure at the club behind Paul Anderson’s seven.

The youngster has also been linked with a move to Liverpool, as reported by the Mirror.

And now Murphy believes that Bishop is a bit like Henderson and Colback, who are now experienced Premier League players.

“He is probably as good a young player that I have known,” said Murphy. “I played with Jack Colback (Newcastle) and Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) when I was at Sunderland and I could see how good they were then. Teddy is probably on a par with them both at that age.”

Murphy himself has scored 23 goals for Ipswich this season, more than treble anyone else at the club, as he’s scooped the club’s Player of the Season award. Bishop has just one goal to his name but has won 34 out of 68 tackles to showcase his ability as a ball-winning tyrant in midfield.

Stat Time


Head To Head


Wolves Wins...........25 (35.21%)
Ipswich Wins...........28 (39.44%)
Draws...................18 (25.35%)

Wolves Goals...........82 (ave. 1.15 per match)
Ipswich Goals..........93 (ave. 1.31 per match)

Head To Head at Wolverhampton

Wolves Wins............15 (42.86%)
Ipswich Wins............6 (17.14%)
Draws....................14 (40.00%)

Wolves Goals..........43 (ave. 1.23 per match)
Ipswich Goals..........31 (ave. 0.89 per match)





The Predicted Teams


Wolves


01 Ikeme
33 Iorfa
06 Batth
05 Stearman
30 Hause
11 McDonald
19 Price
17 van La Parra
04 Edwards
10 Sako
12 Afobe


Ipswich Town


33 Bialkowski
04 Chambers
05 Smith
06 Berra
03 Mings
02 Parr
27 Bishop
08 Skuse
18 Tabb
20 Sears
09 Murphy





Marko’s Caption Competition


A very good week in the prediction league. So much so that I had to offer more points to more players as I couldn't separate them.
Blueblood wins the week with:

"Here are the 4 leaders of this years General Erection , and the 1st up is......"

Very amusing leading up to the farce that will be the election.


Blueblood 4pts
Barmy Billy & Nicsreamer 3pts
Ashfordblue, Number 9, Quasar 2pts

TABLE


Blueblood 43
Quasar 42
Herforder 41
FrostyNZ 38
James Scharmann 38
DerickIpsw 31
Barmy Billy 24
Bluemike 21
Ashfordblue 15
Nicscreamer 15
Supershred 13
IpswichtownNO1 12
Number9 8
Loudnproud 7
Floors 7
Ohiotractorboy 7
Jamma123 6
AndyM 5
Charnwood 4
Mr Punch 4
JimmyT 3
Morph 3
Hallamblue 2

Only a few left. Try this......





Match Referee – Stuart Attwell







Final Thought - Frosty


Firstly great result on Tuesday night beating Cardiff, it was always a winnable fixture, but putting that into practise at this late stage of the season is sometimes another matter. I think this win has me believing that I will be involved with minimum of two and hopefully three more previews to do this season over and above the regulation 46 fixtures.

So it’s off to Wolverhampton on Saturday (or watch it on telly) where we are basically playing finals football for the last three fixtures of the season. Up until recently I thought Wolves were just hitting their straps at the right time of the season with consecutive wins over Derby, Forest and Leeds, however it went ‘tit’s up’ away to the Brum last Saturday and didn’t improve with a visit to the Riverside on Tuesday where Boro took the maximum points.

With any luck we can make crap results come in ‘three’s’ for Wolves at the Molyneux on Saturday but it’s not exactly a happy hunting ground for us at this venue where we only manage to win less than 20% of our matches, although we did win on our last visit there.

My pick (which is invariably wrong) is that this will be quite a tense gritty affair with both sides playing for a huge stake which usually means attractive football goes out the window. A minimum of a draw here would what we want from this fixture, as although I think we can turn Forest over next week at home, the last fixture of the regular season is against Blackburn away who have been in reasonable form recently.

As we are not playing for automatic promotion anymore, this weekend’s other fixtures which include the Budgies at home to Boro (although this may be a top two decider), Bournemouth hosting the Owls and Watford versus the Brum don’t really have a major bearing on ‘our’ season so to speak. What is somewhat more interesting is Brentford’s game at home to Bolton and Derby’s away trip to Huddersfield.

It’s all quite exciting really, playing for something this season other than avoiding relegation. 

For those of you travelling to the West Midlands on Saturday …. Safe travels and don’t forget to leave a little earlier as kick off’s at 12:15pm!

COYB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1

(just to p*ss on Marko's parade)

Ref Caption:


"........ Stop! in the name of love before you break my heart ...."

I can see an honourable draw. 1-1

Caption - After several frustrating hours of pushing, Barcelona "pass" the football

2-0 to Wolves I am afraid but hopefully we can do what we did at Watford and surprise us all

CAPTION COMPETITION

Ronaldinho takes ball control to a whole new level

Excellent preview, and really loving the pictures. Very funny indeed. That young picture of Frankie Boyle in a wolves shirt is superb.

Arguably the most important game of the season so far, (and then Forest will be bigger......., then Blackburn will be fkn HUGE!) I have a bit of a dodgy feeling about this one, especially after Wolves recent defeat......., they'll come out all guns blazing and Tommy might Shyte a large brick. Hopefully not, a draw wouldn't be a disaster but I feel that would make Forest a definite must win. It'd be nice if the Blackburn game wasn't a must win. So......, to summarise......, win it.
1-2

Ref:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA, WAIT.........., AA AA AA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, WAIT!!!!! I've not sprayed the shaving foam yet."

Jackett caption:

(Echoey, dead, obi wan kenobi voice) "Use the force, Kenny."

CAPTION COMPETITION

Ronaldinho tries out for Barcelona one last but it's clear to see "his legs are gone"

Voted for a home win. Think on the day they'll want it more and the venue should be the deciding factor. Having a match official this time that is beyond sixth grade should work in everyone's best interests but unfortunately (believe) the points will be going to the opposition on this occasion.

Wolverhampton 1 Ipswich 0

Caption :

Ronaldinho : " whoaaaa Guys stop, don't go there, ive just done a Lineker "


( some of you might get this )

PUBLISHED: April 16, 2015 4:05 pm LAST UPDATED: April 16, 2015 6:34 pm
VIDEO: Kenny Jackett on Wolves v Ipswich
Watch Wolves boss Kenny Jackett preview the potential crunch clash at home to Ipswich Town in Saturday's early Championship kick off.

http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wol ... v-ipswich/


...........................................................................

The teacups don't fly with Kenny Jackett

Wolves boss Kenny Jackett insists he has never thrown a teacup as he prepares to welcome firebrand ex-manager Mick McCarthy back to Molineux on Saturday.

http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wol ... y-jackett/

.............................................................................

Looking forward to a potentially great game on Saturday G&B. How do you see it?

Dubai Blue wrote:Looking forward to a potentially great game on Saturday G&B. How do you see it?

job to call this one mate. both need to win and should be an open game, could be a few goals with both teams having some good strikers.

if we start with Dicko, Sako and Afobe up front then I think we will win.

Have a safe trip all you blues coming to the Mol.



one from the good ol days

Im with Marko on the preview, very good Frosty!

With so much at stake hard one to call, Wolves are going to go for the throat, I can see it being very physical and maybe a red somewhere. On the fence with this one, a draw.

COYB!!!!

Don't quite agree with G&B. I think we would be happy enough with a draw. Will be interesting to see if Wolves start with 4-3-3. wouldn't be a surprise, so will Mick go 4-4-2 to try and stifle and catch them on the break?

Tomorrow we will find out

What I absolutely LOVE about that match day programme Wolfie is; only ONE sub each on the bench. In the days where it was MORE physical, and LESS injuries. Says a lot about the big girls blouses who play the game these days.
I remember a Hibs v Celtic game at ER back in the late 70's when Danny McGrain emptied Arthur Duncan....., Duncan must've went 7 feet into the air, landed on his back. He got up, dusted himself down, McGrain shook his hand and they proceeded......., no cards, no handbags......, (as my grandad would say) "when fitbaw wiz fitbaw son!"

marko69 wrote:What I absolutely LOVE about that match day programme Wolfie is; only ONE sub each on the bench. In the days where it was MORE physical, and LESS injuries. Says a lot about the big girls blouses who play the game these days.
I remember a Hibs v Celtic game at ER back in the late 70's when Danny McGrain emptied Arthur Duncan....., Duncan must've went 7 feet into the air, landed on his back. He got up, dusted himself down, McGrain shook his hand and they proceeded......., no cards, no handbags......, (as my grandad would say) "when fitbaw wiz fitbaw son!"

those were the days mate.

what the Wolfs are saying..ignor Jack the Hat. every village has one, Sandwell Village has around 22k.

Must-win game for Wolves as Mick McCarthy returns to Molineux
A huge day awaits Wolves on Saturday, says Wolves legend Steve Bull


Albrightondek
April 17, 2015 9:19 am
Yep, this is it - win or the dream will be over (or at least for a year). It can be done as long as all the players are on song.
It did not surprise me that Jackett dropped Dicko in favour of an extra midfield man for the Boro game. Indeed, I fully expected it. The best we could have hoped for in that game was perhaps a draw, and I think that was what Jackett was hoping for as well. Didn't work, we move on.
Tomorrows match will almost certainly start with both Afobe and Dicko upfront. Probably Golbourne will be restored to left back as Wolves need to have his attacking contribution on the left flank. I'm hoping too that Henry will get the nod over La Parra, as he is more consistent with his crosses, and is far more likely to score than the dutchman.
Should be a cracking atmosphere.


Jack the Hat
April 17, 2015 9:23 am
Steve,
wolves didn't over-achieve in the last two games and Mick isn't coming back to tour the ground. Mick is a tough cookie and his squad want Premiership football. Mick knows how to get there as he has done it before as you well know, there is nothing greenhorn about him.
Tractor boys to plough wolves 2-1.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~J♣H.


Hatherton Beerwolf
April 17, 2015 12:11 pm
You keep talking like you're a Real Madrid fan, has the penny dropped yet that you're a very poor side yourselves, you even said it in a thread two days ago. What makes me loff is that if you keep playing Pulis dinosaur football , you'l be glad of a play-off spot next season.......


1wolves
April 17, 2015 10:09 am
ALL games now are a must win.

Sharmwolf
April 17, 2015 10:10 am
AND THEY WILL WIN 2-0

Sharmwolf
April 17, 2015 10:15 am
I think the Birmingham result may have killed it for this season. I thought the whole afternoon was flat from the large following right through the team. However we know what has to be done now so lets go for it as 1 . Fans and team together. Expected close to a full house but the early start may have put a lot of people off. Ipswich only sold 1000 as well
COTW

johnwaynessaddle
April 17, 2015 10:17 am
some will say he "got us in the premiership"he was the catalist for the downfall of the club, lets not forget his football, sidewards back to the keeper hoof up front " rubbish football, terrible standards and left the club in a awful mess, hope we boo him back to tractor land
Report abuse
Jack the Hat
April 17, 2015 10:32 am
johnwaynessaddle,
You lot used to say Mick was the best manager wolves had for thirty years. Hail Mick, he got us in the Premiership, remember?
Times past, soon forgot with you lot.
BOING~~~~BOING~~~~J♣H.

Solentwolves
April 17, 2015 11:23 am
"Times past, soon forgot with you lot" - no, JtH, not all of us at all. When he came along, he was the right man at the time - and he had a long tenure compared with many a manager (even some of yours). I was one of those who was disappointed with how it ended for Mick - especially when there was no foresight given to how to best replace him.

Hatherton Beerwolf
April 17, 2015 1:54 pm
100% agree.
44 million and never had a left- back, he also bought Greg Halford cos he had a long throw. Just about sums the Barnsley Brawler up.

stevebull09
April 17, 2015 10:25 am
"It will be great to see Mick McCarthy back. When he left it was probably the right time"
It will only be great to see Mick back if Wolves win the game. I do remember him fondly but Kenny is the man now and tomorrow Mick is the enemy and will do anything he can to beat us. Im not bothered about sentiment tomorrow.
As for the second part of the quote, the timing of Micks dismissal was terrible. The Summer before or afterwards, even before January, but 13 games left with no plan of action was shocking. Come on Bully, stop talking to Jez so much lol
Wolves 2-1 Ipswich - Fingers crossed.

DancesWithWolves
April 17, 2015 11:26 am
Steve,
You're right, it's a must-win game. Where we finish is out of our hands anyway but 3 wins out 3 would pile enormous pressure on Ipswich and Brentford. An emphatic defeat of Ipswich might tip them over the edge.
In a recent interview you said that you didn't want Wolves to be promoted this season as that would be "too soon". Have you changed your mind now?
The defensive lapses in recent games (and I would include the win over Leeds) are down to the players. You can't understand how players can just "switch off"? I can! The players concerned are simply not as good as you were. Glenn Hoddle found it hard to manage Wolves for the same reason, having to understand players who were never as good as he was. He found it easier at the higher level of managing England.

CAROLINA WOLF
April 17, 2015 1:22 pm
No complaints here. They are 8th in the league and pushing for the playoffs. A year ago i would have
doubted this was possible.
If we topple into the playoffs it will be a great experience for the lads. Hone their confidence for next year. If they do make it to the Prem (still possible) it would strengthen the squads future (players retained) for next year.
Congrats to the club,team and fans.
Still Howlin.

....................................................................

What Kenny has to say

Wolves host play-off rivals Ipswich tomorrow lunchtime realistically needing to win to be sure of extending their interest in the top six with three games left.

Jackett’s side go into the crunch match three points behind Ipswich after successive defeats, while Mick McCarthy’s Tractor Boys have won their last two.

But head coach Jackett reckons his players can handle the heat as he was asked if the pressure had got to his side.

“Maybe that’s the case but if it is, that’s what we get paid to to handle,” said the boss. “So I don’t really want to use that as an excuse.

“We want to be here, we want to be in these games and we want to be at grounds such as the Riverside with everything riding on it.

Fighting

“We don’t want to be involved in dead rubbers or fighting at the bottom, we want the big games at the top and to be competing for a Premier League place. If some added pressure or responsibility comes with that then we should thrive on it.

“I feel responsibility and desperately want to do well and this is a big chance for me here at Wolves and it’s something I should enjoy.

“The stakes are high but we should relish that really, we should want to be in that particular game.”

Jackett’s Wolves ended rivals Brentford 19-match unbeaten run in February 2014. But he admits tomorrow’s collision is probably the biggest of his tenure.

“Yes, possibly – it’s a big match, definitely,” he said.

“For us to really bring the last two games into play we need a positive result against Ipswich. But you still then never know because people can slip up.”

Dave Edwards could keep Jack Price out of the team tomorrow, if Nouha Dicko wins a recall

Firstly, many thanks to the team for another excellent preview. Great, too, that it's sparked some really good banter and input from the Town regulars, and Woolfie.. Interesting to see Mick Mills wearing the No 7 shirt - and to revisit many of the good old names from that era. Great servants to both clubs in the day.

So, tomorrow, then? Critical for both, MM/TC returning to their old stomping ground and the presence of the dreaded Sky cameras to beam the whole kit and caboodle across the universe! Wow - despite the stakes and the pressure, surely this is what C'ship soccer should be about?

Going for a hard-fought, probably nervous, 1-1. But that will undoubtedly prove to be total bolloc*s!

Caption (using MM voice): Don't panic lad - once the swelling and bruising go down, they'll just reattach it!

there behind you Mick.

our new loan signing from the New York Penitentiary .FC

As ITFC never do things the easy way I'm quite expecting a defeat tomorrow.

Wolves 2 Town 0

There will be a few goals in this one, I think. Both team's defenses have been a bit leaky of late. I'll stick with 2-2.

Caption: "Un momento Amigos! I think I'm going to sneeze!"

Big game, just loving the fact they are still meaningful at this point in the season!

Wolfie, thanks for the contributions. If you start Tyson, Town players better cover their ears.

2-1 Town win, and it is going to be a long day tomorrow. For the second time in eight days, Ipswich is on TV over here!! Imagine that. The problem is, I have to work until 2pm (7 your time) and I am going to be fretting to get home to watch it on record.

BTW Wolfie, in the pic of Mick running from the wolves, is that Roy Keane in the background? Bringing up bad flashbacks.

Ohiotractorboy wrote:Big game, just loving the fact they are still meaningful at this point in the season!

Wolfie, thanks for the contributions. If you start Tyson, Town players better cover their ears.

2-1 Town win, and it is going to be a long day tomorrow. For the second time in eight days, Ipswich is on TV over here!! Imagine that. The problem is, I have to work until 2pm (7 your time) and I am going to be fretting to get home to watch it on record.

BTW Wolfie, in the pic of Mick running from the wolves, is that Roy Keane in the background? Bringing up bad flashbacks.

They're not even Wolves, they're German Shepherds (!)

Well here we are the day of potentially the biggest game for years. It really is too close to call but if we knew we were going to beat Forest next week then a point would do without question. The way i see it is that if we can get 4 points from the Forest & Blackburn games then Wolves or Brentford really have to get all 9 to overtake us as they cant rely in GD to catch us, if we were to take something from Wolves and still beat Forest that would be Wolves out of it and only Brentford to worry about, of cours a win today and we would have one foot over the line.

I hope we stick with Bishop, Parr and Sears again today, I really dont think any of them can be dropped on performance it is just fitness that may come into play with Bish. We need to go at them and not sit back, if we do the latter Dicko, Sako and Afobe will rip us apart, I honestly think they are at times vulnerable at the back and we need to exploit this, if we can get the crowd anxious and on their backs it will be our 12th man today. Expect an early onslaught, if we stand firm and see that opening 15 minutes through I think we can get something from the game.

1-1 draw for me.

Im going for a 2-2 draw. A point is good enough this weekend, sneaky 3 would be superb. Now cracking my first stellar before heading to pub to watch on sky.

Caption. "YOU TWO DONT MOVE, YOUR BOOTS MAY NEED SURGICAL REMOVAL!"

Caption Comp :
This covering the Ball is Gunner hurt me more than you 2 .

Great to be watching the game on TV in South Africa.
It will be a glorious day if we win.

COYB.

BLUEBLOOD wrote:Caption Comp :
This covering the Ball is Gunner hurt me more than you 2 .

So only one change Tabb in for S.Hunt

Caption:

'Spot the Ball Competition' .... You're doing it wrong!

COME ON 1-0 TO TOWN

Stearman own goal from a corner, totally against the run of play as Wolves been most dangerous

Smith being beaten every time.

Parr booked