Ipswich Town v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Saturday 27th January 2018 – 15:00
Portman Road
Pre-Match Thoughts - Bluemike
The game at Bolton last weekend was for me probably the worst I have seen all season, certainly the first half anyway, it was as bad as it gets, yes it marginally improved after the break, especially the final Fifteen minutes, but taking into account the opposition etc we were woeful. That said I have read a lot of posts and comments all over social media saying we did well to battle back and gain a well earned point !! Really ?? I musyt be missing something cus for me I saw nothing to suggest it was a point gained. I said after the game that had we approached the whole Ninety minutes like we did the final Fifteen we would have won that game at a canter and I stand by that. Mick's philosophy of keep hold of what you have and don't lose was never more evident, it took us going a goal behind before we offered anything and the last few minutes saw us rip them apart, they were all over the place as we finally came alive. to be honest it makes me furious, I would actually have preferred us to be crap the whole game because it makes you think what might have been, just as we did on a few other occasions this season we threw points away through a negative attitude to the game. Several others stand out, Hull away a classic example, QPR too was of the same ilk, we just lack the belief and this will probably dictate our failure to make the top Six come May.
It's strange how differently we all see things, some people have stated how they thought Didsy was our best player at Bolton, I though he was rank bad, yes he had a hand in our goal and for that he should be applauded but he also had a hand in Two that "got away", in fact he was instrumental in them because his greedy nature kicked in and instead of relatively balls cut back across the box to teammates he elected to shoot both times with little effect, add to that his often laboured and half hearted attempts to win the ballhad me fuming at times, his Legs have clearly gone too so if the rumours of Cardiff being interested in him are true I would snap their hands off, he will be going for zilch in the Summer anyway so a fee of any kind would be good business.
Another player regarded as "One of our own" has recently left the club for pastures new and I wish nothing but the best for Tommy Smith as he embarks on a new life across the pond, reading his departing letter to Town fans had me feeling what a genuinely nice guy he is and a credit to himself and the club, I do however feel a sense of "No loss" where his footballing ability is concerned, for me Tommy was very limited and bang average, yes he gave his all every time he played but the mistakes eem to far outweigh the pieces of magic, I think it is fair to say Tommy will find his level with the Colorado Rapids so he goes with my blessing for sure.
There has been talk as to whether we should/could sign Callum Connolly on a permanent basis and I for one would love to see this happen, for me he has been a success since forging his way into the starting Eleven, Connolly is a grafter and never shirks challenges, he gets stuck in and gets hurt, add to that his ability to get forward and score goals makes him very versatile, to think we signed him as a Defender too but he has made his mark in Midfield thanks to a classic case of needs must due to our injuries, the much maligned Cole Skuse looks a much better player with CC alongside him too so if we must play Two defensive Midfielders at least we appear to have a combination that works fairly well and compliments each other. Can we sign him is the big question, I tend to think he may well be out of our price range but I seem to be in the minority, I doubt he will have a future at Everton so the Summer could be interesting where Connolly is concerned.
This week see's us up against the Champions Elect as Wolverhampton Wanderers come to town, I must admit I was not overly impressed with them at their place two days before Christmas and I felt the goal they did score was fortunate in as much as their was a foul on young Myles Kenlock in the build up to the goal, clearly it must have been an off day as they are still ripping up the Division and currently hold a Nine point lead over nearest challengers Derby County, barring a massive collapse they will be seeing Premier League Football at Molyneux next season. Their current form is a little patchy with some in and out results, Forest coming away with a creditable 0-2 win last weekend shows they aren't unbeatable so can we please just for once "give it a go" from start to finish, defence has to be our best form of attack, our strengh lies in going forward so play to that strength for god sake. I actually fancy us to turn them over, God knows why I just do, Martyn Waghorn doesn't seem to have scored for ages so I am going for a 2-1 Town win with Waggy & Celina getting the goals. COYB'S!
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.
In the 2014/15 season, Wolves almost made it to the playoffs, finishing on the same points as Town (78 points) but finished one place behind us in 7th place due to goal difference.
Last season never looked like reaching the same heights with Wolves finally finishing up in 14th place on the table.
On 21 July 2016, it was confirmed that Fosun International had bought the club from Steve Morgan, for an undisclosed amount, with Jez Moxey stepping down from his role as a CEO. On 29 July 2016, Wolves announced that Kenny Jackett's contract with the club had been terminated, Former Italian international Walter Zenga was appointed the following day.
Zenga was axed and, on 5 November 2016, Paul Lambert was appointed new head coach, with the team dropped in 19th place.
However, at the conclusion of the season, Lambert too was removed, with former FC Porto boss Nuno Espirito Santo replacing him.
On 10 June 2017, Jeff Shi, one of the executive directors of the club (as well as one of the two directors of W.W. (1990)), was nominated as the executive chairman of the board. He moved from China to Wolverhampton in the summer 2017.
Last season Wolves finished in 15th place with 58 points.
The Manager – Nuno Espírito Santo
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Media Watch - K L Blue
Do you agree?
https://www.twtd.co.uk/blogs/21701
MM about fans after Gleeson signing
https://www.balls.ie/football/mick-mcca ... son-381697
Another do you agree?
http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-town ... -1-5363379
Form Guide
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – Currently in 12th place with 40 points
26 Dec Ipswich Town 0 - 0 QP Rangers
30 Dec Ipswich Town 1 - 2 Derby County
2 Jan Fulham 4 - 1 Ipswich Town
13 Jan Ipswich Town 1 - 0 Leeds Utd
20 Jan Bolton 1 - 1 Ipswich Town
Wolves Last 5 Matches – Currently in 1st place with 62 points
26 Dec Millwall 2 - 2 Wolverhampton
30 Dec Bristol City 1 - 2 Wolverhampton
2 Jan Wolverhampton 3 - 0 Brentford
13 Jan Barnsley 0 - 0 Wolverhampton
20 Jan Wolverhampton 0 - 2 Nottm Forest
Fixtures of Interest
BRENTFORD FC VS NORWICH CITY
Match Referee - Simon Hooper
IPSWICH TOWN 1 WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 2
Nah we will win 3-1 Wolves are on a blip
He got them from a POW camp in Germany
