[theo_luddite]

Wolves v Terriers

 V  

Saturday 3rd October 2015

Kick off - as the sun goes over the yardarm more or less - thanks to Sky TV. 

Get yer 'ands in yer pockets Mr. Chairman 

By the end of the first month of the season and the closure of the Summer transfer window, the fans were up in arms at the sale of one their best players to yet another Championship rival with no obvious signing or loan player being brought in afterwards to replace him. The problems with the defence going back to last season and beyond had not been obviously addressed yet and the team was leaking goals yet again.

Home attendances were also down again compared to last season and the fans were demanding to know what would be done to improve the results on the pitch after what they feel is another mediocre start to the season. Fans are moaning on all manner of message boards and forums and saying they aren't coming back to watch until it all gets sorted out to whatever they call their satisfaction.

The Board and the Manager were forced into defending their corner, saying the move was good for the player and the price was right for the club. They also refuse to put the club at risk by overspending on players in the transfer market.

Anyway that's enough about Wolves and the moaning barstewards that support them, if you want to read some more it's all in the Express and Star.

Moxey - Stearman

Moxey - spending (or not)

Fire Sale - slightly damaged goods on offer all over the West Midlands.

So, less than a week after making this announcement in the local press last week

Morgan Loves Wolves

on Monday afternoon this week, Steve Morgan decided to put the club up for sale. 

He only paid £10 for it so if you've £50 to spare he'll probably snatch your hand off.  

Then again, he's supposedly spent about £30 million on the club since he bought it. 

Wolves now join the other 3 big clubs in the West Midlands, WBA, Villa & Brum City on the for sale block.    

Don't get knocked down in the rush to buy them. They'll be offering BOGOF deals on them soon.

Anyone you can play, we can play better, we can play anyone better than you.

After 9 games apiece we are both somewhere around mid-table obscurity but oddly (or not, Mirf, what are the stat's on this happening?) all our first 8 (originally scheduled) fixtures for August and September were against the same teams, with only last weekends (originally scheduled) fixtures being played against different teams.

The Fulham v Wolves fixture was moved as the Met Police requested the fixture be rearranged from 16th to 29th due to a clash with QPR v Blackburn and Chelsea v Maccabi Tel Aviv. They didn't have enough bobbies to cover all of them supposedly.

The results of those fixtures side by side are thus:

So with almost as near an honest comparison of form as you are likely going to get, who did best per pound note invested/gained from transfers during the Summer Window so far? 

Mirf?

Anyone?

One to watch - Woah! Benik Afobe

Former Town loanee from Arsenal, this prolific young goal scorer was signed during the January transfer window. A now fit again Benik had been scoring for fun on loan at the soon to be promoted MK Dons last season. He quickly formed a lethal partnership up front with Nouha Dicko that turned around Wolves alarming pre-Christmas slump and that form continued at the start of this season. He has 4 goals to his name this season. The 3 in the league came in the first 6 games. 

Since Dicko tore his ACL in the match against Charlton, Benik has gone a little bit quiet but not that quiet that we can afford to ignore him. He likes to run at defences rather than be a lone target man. Norwich and other Premiership clubs were allegedly bidding for him during the transfer window but he's still here.

Wolves, like ourselves, also gave a trial to Shola Ameobi who has been released by Newcastle but he has moved on yet again. Watch this space to see where he ends up.

One to watch - Conor Coady

Bring your binoculars as you'll be watching him sat in the stand, probably about 20 rows or more back from the dug-out. He's serving a 3 match ban for getting sent off following a rash challenge against Brighton. Thanks Conor for wrecking my preview but what the hell, publish and be damned.  I can't count, see post from Snoots below. Otherwise he needs no introduction.

Our most recent Young Player of the Season, swiped from under our noses for a bag of scratchings and a six pack of light ale before we'd kicked a ball in anger. He gained two MOM awards straight off the bat for Wolves. I expected no less and told my Wolves mates as such before the season started. He got them purring along straight away (do Wolves purr?) but their results have fallen away after a bright first few games. The good news as far as I'm concerned is that Wolves have finally departed from their long standing and annoying habit of knicking our full backs. In Emyr Huws (aka Emlyn Hughes to some on here) I think we can already say we've found a more than adequate replacement. Maybe we'll get to watch Coady back at our place too.

Some stats and stuff that I've knicked from Statto.com

(now it's back up and running again). 

On top of the games above, of course, Town picked up a 1-1 draw v Forest in front of the SKY camera's, SKY eating yet another hole into my season ticket savings in the process.  

Wolves picked up a point in added time in their other game against 9 man Preston Both Ends. With Wolves winning the rearranged game at 10 man Fulham, they moved back 2pts above us to 10th, leaving us in 16th. Thus we're both somewhat in mid-table obscurity, though it's still a thin line of only 8 points between a play-off place and a relegation spot at this stage. Another roller coaster ride is in store for both clubs and many others in this division this season.

Head to Head.

Recent League Matches.

Frequently the home team wins these games but we've won the last two at Wolves 1-3 and they turned the tables 1-4 at our place last season.

Who's going to play for Town?

Hopefully a fine selection of 10 young(ish) chaps plus a few subs wearing our brand spanking new third kit and a keeper in some lurid pink, purple or maybe black or it could possibly be a green outfit no doubt?

Between them they should all play with pride, passion, skill and nothing less. Their names escape me but they will all be in the match programme and most of them played in the last game. 

It was donkeys years before Wolves started putting the actual fixture on the front of the programmes. It was likewise with most other clubs. They didn't have to pay the printers more brass for resetting the print for each match, thus saving themselves about 5/- for the season.

Generally, subject to injuries I'm expecting no changes from the starting line-ups from last two games. There will be at least one change on the bench with Lolley joining Wallace on loan at Sunny Scunny this week. He should at least return match fit.

Three Blind Mice.

 

The blind mice turned out in what were darned near Wolves home colours in a game down here v Crystal Palace that I attended a couple of years back and apparently it's not the first time it has happened. So don't be too surprised if another set of homer's turn up.

What Stand we in this week dad?

I know we keep reselling the naming rights to our stands and the stadium but Wolves take this to another level and all without actually making any brass out of it. Every few years it seems, they rename another one of their stands down at the Moulinex after a famous son or so. This season it became the turn of the South Bank, aka the Jack Harris Stand, to be renamed as the Sir Jack Hayward Stand. As plans are afoot to rebuild both this and the Steve Bull stand (formerly the John Ireland Stand) to the height and level of the North Bank (currently the Stan Cullis Stand) if they should happen to get back to the Prem or otherwise raise another £40 million to pay for it, it very likely could have waited, if indeed, it was necessary at all. 

However I somehow find it unlikely that the Billy Wright Stand will become known as the Benik Afobe Stand regardless of how many goals he scores at any point in the near or distant future. Once again however - watch this space.

We are in the Steve Bull Lower again this season, by the half-way line, if you don't know already.

Parking.

Some used the free Park and Ride just north of the ground off the A449 at the Bushbury Lane roundabout on the way into town from up north last season. It's park and walk until Xmas by the way. There is a new KFC on the roundabout for those that like that kind of thing. The old red and white Island House pub at the island is supposedly being converted into a big fish and chip restaurant by a local chap that owns a few chippy's in these here parts. It was still boarded up last time I looked. Otherwise there is lots of parking around the ring road and cheapish offers in the Railway Station at weekends. Don't use the ASDA car park and many of the local streets by the ground are all for permit holders only. There is some official parking behind both the North and South Banks and around the ground as Wolves have bought land and demolished buildings by the ring road but these have to be booked in advance. Contact the Wolves Ticket Office by calling the TicketLine on 0871 222 1877 

Read more at 

Visiting Fans

Moulinex Parking

How to pick up an £60 fine and not even know it.

Really easy these days - just drive down the bus lanes. The Council have taken over the policing of these from the under-worked over-paid local plod and have now installed bus lane cameras that are nowhere near as obvious to spot as the speeding camera boxes. Particularly relevant on the A449 Stafford Street (between 5 Ways/Halfords roundabout and the inner ring road), the A454 (to/from J10 M6 nearer to the city), the A4124 Wednesfield Road coming in from Wednesfield and Wolverhampton Road coming in from Dudley. An easy way to make your day out more expensive than it already is, so keep your eye's peeled and your wheels out of the bus lanes. 

Bus Lanes

It's a great idea - full time bus lanes for buses that run about every 10-20 minutes for 18 hours a day at the most. (OK some bus lanes are only 12 hours but not all of them). If for some reason your journey brings you down the M54 from Telford, and if you come off at Junction 2, don't make the mistake of driving through the i54 business park either. It's where Jaguar-Landrover have a big shiny new factory. You'll get dinged £60 for driving through there too, just like my mates missus did the other week.

Train

The station is about a 10-15 minute stroll from the ground. From the Station, walk up to the ring road, take the path slightly to the left just before you get on the bridge that goes over the ring road then turn right and follow your nose anti-clockwise round the ring road. Can't miss it. It's big and all the stands are painted old gold yellow with the odd splash of black.

Breakfast

There's a nice little greasy spoon in a portacabin in the ECC Sports and Social Club car park just on the left on Showell Road before you turn right into the Park and Ride Car park mentioned above. Seats about 10 inside with a big car park outside and there is also another decent little place called Tastebuds on the north side of the A449 between the Island House and the Micky D's islands. Seats about 20-24. Otherwise there's more than a slack handful of cafe's in the city centre and all the usual fast food crap that puts a spare tyre round your waist if that's your bag.

Do you want a beer with your bacon butty?

The usual suspects that you find everywhere are scattered around in the city centre and will mostly be open early. Whether you will get in if wearing Town colours will be up to the chaps or maybe chapesses on the door. Otherwise, very cold lager/beer in very flimsy plastic cups along with an assortment of pies, hot dogs and usual stomach churning stuff are sold in the ground.

Some proper pubs like The Great Western, The Lychgate and The Posada will also open before the game. 

The Bluebrick which serves as the restaurant/pub for the adjacent Premier Inn, off Sun Street and below the station, will be open all day. 

There used to be 3 pubs around the ground but now there is only one and it's not called the Goalpost anymore either. You can apparently smoke a wacky baccy hubble bubble pipe there, if you are into that stuff, if the sign I can see from the bus that goes past the ground and the pub is true. Otherwise use the old thread I did a couple of season's back for more ideas if it's still around. (Is that old site still up? I haven't looked).

Enjoy your day out, it's a fair bostin place if you know where to go. Apart from the city centre being full of poundshops, betting shops and not quite so many payday loan shops as there used to be (where isn't these days apart from York???) there are a few decent places to eat, drink and shop around the Mander Centre and Queens Square and some good pubs not far from the Ring Road and the Station. There's also a few numpties that run around in Wolves colours too, as there are that allegedly support Town, but most of the natives are a friendly bunch.

Avoid like the plague

Cambridge Street, off Cannock Road, which houses the rubble of the old M&B Brewery and is the proverbial shit hole that some will no doubt sing about. If you park on there you'll likely find a car window or two bust when you come back. The University is taking over the old brewery site to train folk how to build proper buildings, apparently, which they will then use for the University in some form or other. Who knows, they may then start a degree in demolition course?

Watching at home or down the pub

This was nearly all wasted on you wasn't it? Unless you are watching from abroad or have a decent reason for not going.

Predictions

I will likely be having some pre-match and post-match banter with a few of the locals that I know down here and a locally brewed shandy or two. I'm looking forward to seeing Scanz and Mustava Carryout tear-arsing down the wings and getting balls into the box for Hot Cross Bunny and Windy Miller or Wells to get on the end of. Assuming of course that Powell lets any of them get over the halfway line that is.

Come on you blooooo'oooos. Attack is the best way for us to defend.

9 goals in the last 2 games played between us so likely that's why the dullards at Sky picked this game. Can't see it being nil-nil this time either.

Oh, I found another Town fan that lives down here on Friday. At last, someone to talk to from Yorkshire that doesn't follow those numpties from the wrong end of the A62.

[Lord Snooty]

Nice one, Theo.
I think young Coady has now served his three match ban and will be available to play on Saturday. They had a League Cup match and a rearranged league match.

[theo_luddite]

Thanks Snoots, I missed the League Cup match.

[WakeyTerrier]

Bustin effort!

Despite our recent better performances I can't help feel that Wolves will have too much pace and power going forward so the only thing we can do is go for it. 2 wingers and big Ish up top with added support from Bunn and Huws should give them something to worry about

[Mirf]

I've no worries whatsoever with the outcome of this one, as we've travelled to Molineux 8 times since 1995 in league action and Wolves have yet to register one single win, whilst Town have won 4 and drawn 4, picking up 16 of the 24 points on offer.

So, since we are Wolves bogie team on their own patch, it's a 2-1 win for Town at the very least. 

[sloppyattheback]

Confident we can get something, last season they couldnt hit a cows arse with a banjo had loads of effort and possesion, we just scored at the right times and Grant Holt bullied their defenders - always a happy hunting ground. Saying that they found their sights in the return fixture midweek.

Expensive tickets ( all ticket too again?) n on the gogglebox but I'm too close not to go so me n the lad will add to the 150 or so who might be bothered.

[theo_luddite]

Good to know I won't be the only one sat/stood/whatever in the stand on Saturday Sloppy. 

Anyone bringing a Twenty's Plenty banner that we know of?

[MNTerrier]

this game is actually going to be televised across the pond here , but due to the time difference it starts at 6.30 in the morning

interesting fact , Huddersfield have only lost once when i have watched them on TV over here and never in the league

Wolves will be expecting big Ish up front and will have seen how well forrest did a number on him , i think we might see a change with maybe wells starting instead

[Jeebers]

Better make sure that alarms set then MNT, hope town prove me wrong but we'll get nowt

[Lord Snooty]

Reading between the lines of Mr Powell's press conference (who do we think we are giving press conferences?), this will be the last game for Jed Steer as Joe Murphy is due back for the next game, down at Ipswich. But he wants to keep Ward for a bit longer.
Steer going back will open up another potential loan player coming in. Captain Hudson is back in training and could be back in the side tomorrow, but with Murray Wallace being away at Scunny, he needs cover at centre back.