It has emerged that Manchester United have shown an interest in signing Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama, according to the Daily Mail.
The 21 year old put himself firmly in the shop window for Europe’s elite clubs following a commanding performance against Barcelona, as Celtic secured a shock 2-1 win.
United have apparently had an interest in the ace since July, but this most recent performance has convinced the Old Trafford hierarchy that Wanyama has what it takes to make it to the very top.
Celtic Manager Neil Lennon came out last week and told any potential suitors that his transfer value would be £25 million.
Despite this being a slightly unrealistic figure it is reckoned that Sir Alex Ferguson is willing to test the waters with a bid for around half that amount in the region of £12 million.
Wanyama’s contract is set to expire in 2014 with the Scottish club believed to be keen to extend his current deal, but the player is thought to have already rejected improved terms.
The Kenyan who made his international debut at just 15 years of age is seen as a traditional box to box midfielder with a high intensity and work rate, something Ferguson has been craving to find.
Now that Carrick and Paul Scholes are no longer in their years of peak performance, Sir Alex has been eyeing up central midfield reinforcements.
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Tom Cleverley certaintly has showed encouraging signs of development, whilst Anderson and Fletcher remain viable options, but it reckoned Wanyama would add real steel to the midfield that Manchester United have been searching for.
West Brom manager Steve Clarke believes his side can maintain their excellent form in the Premier League.
The Baggies are riding high in fifth place, following a 2-1 win away at Wigan.
As well as this, the Midlanders have beaten the likes of Liverpool and Everton to amass 20 points.
Despite many predicting that his side won’t be able to maintain their challenge, Clarke believes the depth of his squad will give them a good chance:
“We’ve got a lot of options in our squad which gives me some fantastic problems.” He is quoted by the Daily Mail.
“We play with intensity going forward and I was a little concerned the ones who played on Monday night might be carrying fatigue.
“I’ve got a quality squad and I have to use them. They know they’re all valuable in terms of the club going forward.”
Clarke has enjoyed a good start to life in the hot-seat following his switch from the assistant manager position at Liverpool.
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He appears to be getting the best out of players such as winger James Morrison, who netted the opening goal of the win on Saturday.
Clarke’s next challenge comes in the shape of Chelsea, who will be visiting the Hawthorns next weekend.
Martin O’Neill applauded the fighting spirit of Steven Fletcher, who overcame a late fitness test, for his part in Sunderland’s 3-0 Premier League win against Reading.
The Scottish international was doubtful for the game after suffering an ankle injury last week, but made a speedy recovery in time for kick-off.
He managed to get on the score-sheet as the Black Cats rose out of the relegation zone, and O’Neill was delighted with his striker’s attitude:
“Fletcher had done absolutely no work whatsoever. When you were talking to me yesterday, I genuinely wasn’t sure that he could play in the game.” He told SkySports.
“He came out this morning just to do a bit of a loosener and thought he wanted to give it a go.
“I personally thought if he could see it to half-time and just slightly into the second half, he would do great for us.”He has been terrific for us, really terrific. You just feel that he is likely to get you a goal in there.
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“Danny Rose did very, very well, but when it came in, he turned it into a goal for us and it was great.”
James McClean gave Sunderland the lead after just three minutes, before Fletcher flicked home with half-an-hour gone to double the lead. Stephane Sessegnon completed the scoring late on with a calm finish.
Tottenham Hotspur were sitting pretty in third place when last season’s January transfer window reached a sorry conclusion. The club were keeping London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea at arms length, while the coattails of both Manchester outfits hovered tantalisingly close above them.
However, Harry Redknapp’s decision to purchase the dilapidated duo of Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen arguably triggered a monumental collapse that would eventually mean they missed out on the bright lights of the Champions League. At present, Spurs are locked in a battle for fourth with rapidly improving Everton and surprise package West Brom, meaning the ability to learn from past mistakes has never been more important.
Andre Villas-Boas appears to have his feet firmly under the table at White Hart Lane, having finally brushed aside the smear campaign that seemed destined to execute his downfall. As a result, he must use this opportunity to stamp his own authority on an area of football where his predecessor was highly prolific.
A host of premium names have once again been linked with Tottenham, with fans inevitably dreaming of yet more inspired purchases. The spotlight will fall on Porto playmaker Joao Moutinho, who came within a whisker of joining the club in the summer. Other targets reportedly under consideration include Shakhtar Donetsk superstar Willian and Ajax starlet Christian Eriksen. Both players may strike you as mere figures of a proverbial pipedream, but how many people were caught aghast at Rafael van der Vaart’s arrival in 2010?
The January window is a notoriously difficult playground to conduct business in, especially as negotiations would typically last for weeks rather than days. Teams are increasingly reluctant to destabilise their squad midway through the season, which can lead to transfer valuations soaring through the nearest roof. I imagine both Liverpool and Chelsea are still paying for their rash moves for Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll, in more ways than one.
Nevertheless there are bargains to be had, glistening in the spring sunshine like diamonds in the rough. David Moyes and Alan Pardew benefited profusely from their courting of Nikica Jelavic and Papiss Cisse, which saw their respective seasons continue to flourish. It is this environment that brings out the best in chairman Daniel Levy as he hustles and haggles his way through numerous financially bewildering deals, but the budding relationship with his new manager will surely be put to the test as they both tussle to get their own way.
According to reports, the signing of Emmanuel Adebayor was the only purchase positively reinforced by Villas-Boas. Levy was the mastermind behind the acquisition of the likes of Gyfli Sigurdsson, Clint Dempsey and Hugo Lloris, which have perhaps hampered the Portuguese boss as much as they’ve helped him. It will be interesting to watch which targets – if any – the club are able to attract and whether we will witness yet another modern manager lament his lack of free reign in the transfer market.
Levy may have his intentions diverted elsewhere during the New Year, as the club look to finance their new £400m stadium. He will also be keen not to upset their creditable wage structure that has seen them triumph over adversaries Arsenal, even if they failed to do so on the pitch.
The startling statistic that reveals Spurs would be top of the table if games finished after 80 minutes is particularly interesting. Whether you consider such data fruitless or not, it could be evidence of an inferior mentality under Villas-Boas or a sign that the options on the bench simply aren’t good enough.
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Either way, if the club wants to reaffirm their lust for Champions League qualification then they need to use this transfer window as a real statement of intent.
Aston Villa host Wigan and both teams will be hoping to have some relent from the respite they have had to suffer in recent weeks.
Villa have had a humiliating run as they were smashed for 8 at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea looked to be playing round them like a controller on FIFA. They then added insult to misery with a 4-0 drubbing last time out in front of their own fans against Tottenham
Wigan have not had it much better mind as they are on a desperately disappointing sequence of form, they have sunk into the relegation zone after 5 defeats in 6.
The Aston Villa players though will be shot for confidence after their last two heavy defeats, but they won’t be facing any players of the calibre of Torres or Bale this time out.
The First priority for Paul Lambert will be to stem the tide of goals that appears to be causing havoc for the Villains.
Roberto Martinez may be keen to expose his opponents defence but his is not exactly squeaky clean either with them conceding on average 2 goals a game. Wigan also have a habit of giving their opponents a head start before getting back into proceedings.
Paul Lambert will be without Nathan Baker after he was ruled out with a hamstring injury in the Boxing day defeat. Fabian Delph is also unavailable with suspension.
Baker joins the substantial injury list of Ron Vlaar (calf), Gabriel Agbonlahor (thigh), Charles N’Zogbia (knee), Darren Bent (hamstring), Richard Dunne (groin) and Andreas Weimann (calf) out of contention.
Antonio Alcaraz could come back from a groin issue but Ivan Ramis not quite ready yet. Adrian Lopez (hamstring) is still just short and James McCarthy can’t play due to an ankle injury.
Martinez is without Ryo Miyaichi (ankle), Albert Crusat (knee) and Ben Watson (shin) for the long term.
Wigan have conceded more penalties than any other team this season (six) but Villa are one of five teams yet to win one, and that could all change on Saturday.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-3 Wigan
Check the odds ahead of the game at Villa Park with William Hill here
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For a player that was supposedly well on his way towards irreversible decline last season, even Patrice Evra’s fiercest critics would have a job digging into the Frenchman this term. The ex-Monaco man may have resembled a figure of uncertainty within the Manchester United back four last season, but from what we’ve seen so far, he seems back to his effervescent best.
While some were perhaps overzealous in their critique of a man who played 37 league games for a United side that ultimately only lost the title on goal difference, the 31-year-old was certainly lacking in the authority and assuredness that we’d become so used to seeing since he arrived in England back in 2006. And that’s putting it mildly.
But this season we’ve seen something resembling the real Patrice Evra back in a Manchester United shirt and he seems to have brought his shooting boots along for the first time in living memory, too. Evra has put away four goals so far this term and he’d probably have you know that tally should be five, following the awarding of United’s winner against Liverpool to his defensive counterpart Nemanja Vidic.
One bad season doesn’t make you a bad player and at times last term, while the frustration aimed towards him wasn’t by any means embraced by anything approaching the majority of the Old Trafford crowd, Evra’s performances last season were at times, some way off the high level of expectation he’d set for himself.
With a lack of anything in the way of genuine competition at left-back, complacency was a word that seems to have been banded about at times torwards Evra last term and rumours linking Sir Alex Ferguson with a swoop for Leighton Baines seemed to gain in prominence as the campaign wore on. Was this the proverbial kick up the backside the Frenchman needed? Who knows, but either way United fans have been treated to a refreshed and reformed defender this term.
Yet while many seem happy to champion Evra as king of the left-backs once more, it’s worth noting that in the Premier League’s top ten, only West Bromwich Albion possess an inferior defensive record to the 29 goals that Fergie’s men have shipped so far. That’s ten more than second placed Manchester City, third placed Chelsea and dead equal with Martin O’Neill’s 14th placed Sunderland.
You hardly have to have even watched much of United this season to gauge that that their seven-point Premier League lead has been based upon irrepressible attacking gusto rather than solid defensive steel and a Robin van Persie-backed 56 goal haul for the side is homage to their irresistible form in front of goal.
Although Patrice Evra has hardly got off scott free for the barrage of flack that Fergie’s back line has taken over the last couple of months, the popular area of blame has tended to lie with an ever-changing central defensive partnership and an uncertain presence in between the sticks, with neither David de Gea or Anders Lindegaard yet to solidify themselves as number one at Old Trafford.
Yet while Evra hasn’t been without his faults this season, from a defensive perspective anyway, he’s been as good as any of his more vaulted peers within the Barclays Premier League.
Both the aforementioned Baines and even Chelsea’s soon-to-be out of contract Ashley Cole have been linked with moves to Old Trafford in recent weeks. Although it might surprise some to hear that Evra has won more aerial duels, made more successful tackles, blocked more shots and made more clearances than either Cole or Baines. Not bad for a man still dubbed to be something of a weak link in some quarters this season.
Indeed, Evra’s ability in the air this season has been a hugely underrated weapon in the United defense, with the left-back winning a dominating 48 out of 66 aerial battles, compared with Baines (8/18) and Cole (11/21). If the Everton and Chelsea duo are the yardstick as to which the league’s left-backs must be measured against, then Evra’s not doing too badly for himself, is he?
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Perhaps surprisingly, it’s going forward in which Evra hasn’t quite been firing on all cylinders. His personal contribution to Ferguson’s side with four goals can only be applauded, but in terms of his wider play, he’s maybe not quite the marauding force of old.
Out of his 56 attempted crosses, only 14 of them have hit the target, and while that statistic in itself can be somewhat misleading, Baines’ 66 accurate balls out of 205 attempts tell a story in itself. Still, the revered attacking prowess of Chelsea’s Cole has produced a sorry three accurate crosses out of an attempted 29.
Statistics will never tell the entire story but even if you’re looking to pick holes in Evra’s all round play, defensively the Frenchman has more than held his own amongst the generally more favoured duo of Leighton Baines and Ashley Cole. And for United fans, that’s all that matters.
Naturally, Patrice Evra is never going to be the player he was at the peak of his powers a few years ago, but fans need to move on from the season endured last term and start focusing on the present. Because if they do, they might just realize that for however unfashionable Evra is compared to the all singing, all dancing Leighton Baines, they still possess one of the finest left-backs in the country.
In late November there were several who had consigned QPR to the dead and buried pile. Relegation from the Premier League appeared to be the only option.Then arrived Harry Redknapp. The West London outfit have now transformed themselves into a side capable of survival.
If the Hoops become another Harry Houdini success story they can start planning for the long term. The project at Loftus Road is an ambitious one but will it be one for Redknapp to carry out? Will he want to put all his eggs in one basket again and commit to the club for the foreseeable future if they get relegated? Would he stay even if they pulled off the miracle escape? I am not so sure.
The 66 year old will not have forgotten how he left White Hart Lane under a dark cloud. There were few Lilywhite supporters that shed a tear when the axe was wielded upon him. They felt he had run his course and taken the club as far as he could.This must have left a bitter taste in the mouth. Will Redknapp risk being so cruelly discarded once again? He may be a hero at QPR now, that can all soon change.
The frustration at Tottenham towards Redknapp was born out of their manager batting his eyelids elsewhere at the England job. This would be a warning sign to be careful to not make the same mistake twice but this is not just your normal Premier League boss. Redknapp is a creature of habit. He must be painfully aware that he will not have many more chances to manage in the upper echelons of World Football again and can’t turn down taking a risk. This is why you can see him being motivated should a big job opportunity arise for him once again. The roles he would truly desire is set to a very small list of clubs, but what would happen should one of these come calling?
There may be several QPR supporters who think I am barking mad to suggest he would leave after giving him his chance to rebuild his name but they may forget the man we are discussing here.
Harry Redknapp is a football manager who is tactician on and off the field who has always thought of his career prospects first. He after all had no fear in walking out in Southampton when they were consigned to the Championship. Then when he saw a sinking ship on the horizon at Portsmouth, he did not hesitate to drive away to London. It is not necessarily fair to criticise him for this, even though several football fans will, but it does show what he is, ruthless.
There was always an inevitability that Redknapp would be back in the English top flight. The QPR position was the right fit at the right time. The R’s had not won a Premier League game all season and things could only get better. You also suspect that the close proximity of the January transfer wind which coincided with his appointment was a factor.The Winter Window gave the “wheeler dealer” plenty of scope to take punts on those who he saw as “proper” players up for a relegation scrap. He needed no regard for the future.
When Redknapp suggested he was keen on the Ukraine managerial position, just before his appointment in West London, it forced the hand of Tony Fernandes to move in. The QPR owner could not take a risk on one of the few managers that could lead them to survival not walking through the doors. Every man and his dog knew that Redknapp would never go to Ukraine. It was a show of power though that he will use whatever he can as leverage to preserve his managerial name and keep it in shining lights. It is certainly food for thought how often Redknapp though now mentions how great his working relationship is with Mr Fernandes so regularly to the media. Future employers always would want great communication with their manager.
Mark Hughes may have been lambasted for signing mercenaries in January, but Harry Redknapp did too. The difference was that the present QPR boss had a far easier sell to the players he brought in to ensure they were motivated. Loic Remy and Chris Samba have come in for ludicrous and large transfer fees, but if you look at the bigger picture they are in no lose situations.
If they play to their potential they could keep QPR safe which would be satisfying but regardless of how the R’s do they are putting themselves in the shop window.Would you be surprised if Redknapp admitted to those he signed that he was also using the club as a tool to put himself in the media spotlight once again? yes, but nobody would be shocked if that is what he is doing.
Remy and Samba know if QPR go down that they will be in demand and could earn themselves moves to clubs that did not even remember they existed six months ago. The situation is the same for their manager at the helm. Even if survival is attained in the summer, the squad requires a huge face lift. Does Redknapp have the stomach for that fight for the next few seasons? That is debatable. There could be several options which could lead him to push the exit door once more.
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The Chelsea manager’s position is seemingly up for grabs in the summer. He has seemingly switched across from one deadly rival to another before. They currently have Rafael Benitez at the Helm who they never suspected would be leading the Blues into battle and if Redknapp moved there you have seen stranger.
Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal may also be up in the summer and Redknapp’s CV would shine over others and North London is not foreign territory to him.
I may be speculating about clubs that the QPR boss could end up at, although there is one thing that I can be fairly certain on. This is that if he were to stay at Loftus Road for the long term I would be more shocked than if he were to pull of Premier League safety this campaign.
The transfer rumours about what could be the biggest move of the summer – Gareth Bale signing for Real Madrid – have brought to the table the name of Gonzalo Higuain, who could be used as a bargaining chip in Los Blancos’ attempt to land the Premier League star. Far from being a trick from the Spanish giants to reduce Bale’s value, Tottenham could be making the best of the deal if El Pipita ends up showing his class at White Hart Lane.
Far away from the ‘Galactico’ label – he is too humble for that – Higuain seems condemned to prove himself over and over with Real Madrid. Perhaps because of the fact that, the Argentinian has learnt in football opportunity knocks but once, and has acquired an ability to convert minutes played into goals that very few strikers can compete with.
In December 2006 and after impressing for a short period of time with River Plate, a 19-year-old called Gonzalo Higuain arrived at the Bernabeu with the difficult task of replacing Brazilian legend Ronaldo. The expectations were quite high and in his first season the youngster only showed skills, hard work and a more than concerning difficulty to score goals. Far from impressing anyone with 2 goals in 23 games, he was nicknamed Igualin (igual means equal in Spanish), in a sarcastic reference to how similar the new starlet was compared to Il Fenomeno.
[cat_link cat=”tottenham” type=”list”]
Higuain could have been one more in the long-list of talents that pass through Real Madrid without leaving a mark because of the lack of patience of fans and media, but his stubborn nature made him stay and prove everyone wrong. Regularly coming on as a substitute – he has been living in the shadow of Van Nistelrooy, Raul and Benzema, among others – he started banging in the goals and his scoring averages would often make the attacking starter blush. Six years and 115 goals later, no one doubts his talent.
The 2012-13 season is not being any different for El Pipita, as the number nine position is shared between him and Benzema, with Mourinho often opting for the Frenchman as a starter in many important games. Nevertheless, the Argentinian has managed to bag 11 La Liga goals in 19 appearances, with an average of more than one goal every two games.
Playing as a sub or substituted when playing as a starter, statistics become more relevant when we look at the minutes played. Considering the time he’s spent on the pitch, Higuain only needs a bit longer than one game (115 minutes) to score a goal. This means he would be hitting 20 league goals at this stage of the season if he had the same playing time as Cristiano Ronaldo. Enough to fight with the best of Premier League top scorers.
Having said that, Higuain does not respond to the classic profile of a goal-hunter. In fact, he is not a scorer as much as he is a goal-chance generator. With a selfless attitude uncommon in a striker, the 25-year-old possesses an outstanding ability to create spaces for his team mates. Unlike many others, he would make a run with the absolute certainty that the ball will not land at his feet, but knowing that his move will increase the collective chance of success.
Adapted to Villas-Boas’ formation, Higuain’s capacity to drag defenders could have a reflection on the scoring numbers of players like Adebayor, Defoe or Lennon, and his speed and constant movements can also be a relief for the midfield when looking for long, raking passes. Those, together with his sacrifice in defensive duties, make for a complete striker whose talent is not being fully exploited in Madrid.
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Real Madrid is a club that when selling is often not looking for money as much as for a space in the squad to bring a new player. Given that, Spurs can take advantage of an underrated estimate for the services of Higuain, as reports suggest the Spanish giants are desperate to land Gareth Bale. Villas-Boas, therefore, could see in the summer a top striker among his squad, as well as a good amount of money to buy two or three solid reinforcements which should stand them in good stead for a return to the Champions League next season.
Norwich can avoid relegation this season despite having tough games against Arsenal and Manchester City, according to Bradley Johnson.
The Canaries midfielder has spoken out to try and give his team-mates a lift going into the final six matches of the Premier League campaign, following a run of one league win in 15 outings which has left them just four points clear of the drop zone.
Johnson is aware that they must travel to face Arsenal this weekend, while reigning Premier League champions Manchester City await at the Etihad Stadium on the final day.
However, the former Leeds man is confident they can get a result against both clubs while Chris Hughton’s men also have to face fellow strugglers Reading, Stoke and Aston Villa where vital points can be accrued.
“We knew it was going to be tough from the beginning of the season,” Johnson told Sky Sports.
“The Premier League is the hardest in the country and we knew it was going to be hard from the get go and we would love to have been safe now but we aren’t and now every game we go into is a cup final.”
On facing the league’s top teams, Johnson added: “No one expects us to go to clubs like Arsenal and Man Utd and win, but we’ve beaten both of them at home already this season so who says we can’t do it away from home?
“We know it will be a hard game. If we get anything out of it, it will be a bonus.
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“We work hard for each other and we got into Arsenal’s faces at home. We upset their rhythm.”
What a difference 3 days make. After the dismal and frankly pathetic performance by Wolves on Saturday, confidence was at a low ebb with fans and with 4 awkward games to go, there was only 1 word on the supporters mind, I’ll let you make your own mind up to what that word is. We started the evening with 48 points and were 2nd from bottom, with Bristol City all but relegated below us on 40 points. There was an odd, dare I say, relaxed atmosphere, a sense of inevitability that Wolves were not going to get anything against the team placed 2nd in the Championship. Maybe that helped the team who knows. I did find it funny that almost exactly a year ago Wolves had to play another team in sky blue to stay up, Man City came to the Molineux on the 22nd April 2012 and duly sent us packing to the Championship, with goals from Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri putting the club out of its long suffering misery. The situation was exactly the same last night, Hull came out, clad in aqua blue, needing a win to all but guarantee automatic promotion, they faced a Wolves team that could not lose otherwise we may find our selves, like Bristol City, cut a drift from the rest of the pack.
After the late win away against the Messiah’s (Mick McCarthy) Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon, Steve Bruce made 2 changes, in came the former Albion man Robert Koren for Jonny Evans’ younger brother, Corry. Bruce’s second change was the rather amusingly named Ahmed Fathy for another former Albion man, Jay Simpson. With these changes in mind, Steve Bruce lined his team up in a cultural 3-5-1-1 formation, in goal was the Fulham loanee, David Stockdale. In front of him were a trio of centre backs, James Chester, Jack Hobbs and the man mountain Abdoulaye Faye. Bruce’s 5-man midfield consisted of 3 Irishmen, Robbie Brady on the wing, Stephen Quinn and David Meyler (no relation) were the operators in the centre of the park. The 2 Egyptians were Ahmed Elmohamady who operated as the other wingback and the aforementioned Ahmed Fathy partnered Quinn and Meyler. Robert Koren sat ‘in the hole’ behind the Peterborough loanee, and highly rated striker/attacking midfielder, George Boyd.
Wolves were largely unchanged, after O’Hara’s sending off on Saturday, Saunders was forced to bring in Tongo Doumbia for the aforementioned midfielder. With that, Wolves had the impressive Dorus De Vries between the posts. In front of him were Gorkss and Johnson with our young prodigies, Doherty and Robinson, occupying the full back positions. The midfield consisted of the revived Stephen Hunt on the right hand side, Doumbia and Henry were the two midfielders who were tasked with stopping Quinn and co, and Stephen Ward was given his second game at right midfield. Our front two was, the captain, Kevin Doyle and Bjorn Sigurdarson.
The game kicked off in beautiful sunshine, with a hint of breeze, Wolves had the better of the opening opportunities, a Stephen Hunt free kick was caught by Stockdale after Tongo Doumbia was brought down. It was clear to see Saunders set the team up in a 4-4-1-1 formation with Stephen Hunt in behind Kevin Doyle, to solidify the midfield and match the 5 men of Hull. In addition to Hunt’s free kick, Bjorn Sigurdarson picked the ball up and drove at the midfield, something that he is becoming extremely good at, and fed the ball out to Jack Robinson, Hull applied pressure but the Liverpool man held it well and gave it inside to Tongo Doumbia. The Malian midfield general looked up and switched the ball to the other side to the oncoming Matt Doherty who, again, like Robinson, was pressured off the ball and Hull passed their way out of danger. With 15 minutes of the 90 gone, it was clear that Wolves, even with 5 in the middle, had no midfield, the ball was being lumped up to the Doyle or Hunt in the hope that they could perform some sort of miracle with it. Wolves had a surprisingly good passing rhythm they knocked it around nicely, we just seemed to lack any sort of intensity. Wolves’ best chance of the first 45 came when Tongo Doumbia’s presence and strength stole the ball off Quinn and his pass found Jack Robinson, who’s precise cross found our Icelandic striker, who’s header bounced out, Ward found the ball to cries of “shoot!” he duly obliged. The ball, sadly, bobbled out after Kevin Doyle came close from Ward’s deflected shot.
Hull were under the cosh, but, once again, Wolves could not capitalise on the early pressure. Hull got forward on 20 minutes through the Egyptian, and Sunderland loanee, Ahmed Elmohamady. He got the ball deep and displayed a fantastic burst of pace to run roughly 60 yards and deliver a pin point, low cross into the Wolves box, hearts were in mouths for a few seconds, but thankfully, Elmohamady’s cross found no one. Hull had another good chance when the other Egyptian, Fathy, smashed the ball from 30 yards only to see it whistle past the right hand side of Dorus’ goal. The 4th officials board went up for the first time on the half hour mark, Steve Bruce had decided Robert Koren’s evening was up, he was hooked and Jay Simpson replaced. Initially, the thinking was that Bruce wanted to match Wolves’ 4-man midfield by putting Boyd and Simpson up front together. However, Simpson was put out on the wing, an odd move from Bruce I thought.
Halftime came and there was a sense of frustration amongst the fans that were sat in my earshot. I, like them, felt that Wolves lacked any sort of intensity to get a goal, we had some half decent chances and one very good chance we just lacked any sort of ability to take an opportunity if it came along, sound familiar? Hull on the other hand had a very odd first half, it looked as if Bruce had waited to catch Wolves on the break, seeing the way we started on Saturday, can you blame him for doing that? Saunders trumped him, he was happy to keep the ball and containing Hull’s rare bursts forwards, he deserves credit for that. That frustration and annoyance soon dissipated though when Wolverhampton Wanderers’ favourite rude boy, Adam Hammill, came on and gave the crowd, an American football style, half time show. His flicks and tricks dazzled the pie eating, tea-drinking supporters as the temperature took a sudden drop. It really was awesome to watch some with that much ability just ‘larking about’ with a football.
The teams arrived for the second half unchanged, to cheers and mutual applause from both sets of fans. After a rather dull first 10 minutes, fans cockles were warmed when Bjorn Sigurdarson ran down the right in typical, powerful, fashion cut inside with such confidence for a man of such a young age, he was unfairly pulled down and the attack was snuffed out by the diligent Hull defenders.
At around about the hour mark, came a moment, a moment that gave Wolves the slightest notion of a glimmer of safety. Doumbia, impressive all game, pounced on a dawdling Ahmed Fathy just inside Hull’s own half, the tackle wasn’t the best and the ball bounced forward to an eager Bjorn Sigurdarson, he, as he had done all evening, ran at Abdoulaye Faye and co. Sigurdarson spotted the run to his left, of the captain, and ever loyal, Kevin Doyle, who let the ball run across his body, into the 18 yard box, and first time, with his left foot, brushed the ball, Claude Monet-esque, past David Stockdale’s left hand side. Unlike the celebrations on Saturday, these cheers and smiles were not tinged with the nervousness like against Huddersfield, it was utter joy from every home fan there and it was spectacular.
Now the pressure was on, as every one took their seats, Wolves had half an hour to hang on or get another one and kill off The Tigers. The pressure started from the impressive Elmohamady who had another trademark burst down the wing and whipped a ball in, it was deflected out and the young Irishman, Robbie Brady, skied a long-range shot over Dorus’ goal. Another chance fell 8 minutes later when the goal scorer, Kevin Doyle, cleared the aforementioned Irish man’s cross. Hull’s pressure was there but Wolves, surprisingly, dealt with it diligently and professionally there was hardly any drama from Wolves’ defensive play, it was impressive. It was weird if I’m honest.
Wolves, with 30 minutes remaining, created a fantastic opportunity when Stephen Ward’s cross was headed out to Tongo Doumbia who took one touch on his chest and, to coin an Alan Partridge phrase “had a foot like a traction engine”, sadly the midfield general’s shot went inches wide, to many gasps from the Molineux faithful. It seemed that Hull’s main tactic was putting balls in the home team’s box, this was obsolete as Johnson and Gorkss were both rocks at the back and dealt with the deliveries of Elmohamady and Brady with consummate ease.
With 15 minutes left, Bruce brought on Matty Fryatt for Abdoulaye Faye and went for the equaliser. Hull nearly found it with about ten minutes to go, Brady ran at the Wolves backline, he dazzled Doumbia with a few step overs. Brady dropped a shoulder to the right and picked out Jay Simpson with a delightful, Xavi-esque, pass that split Wolves’ offside trap. Simpson, like Doyle, let the ball go in front of him, across his body, he placed it with his left passed De Vries. Time stood still for the South Bank and co as the ball glided past our Dutch goalkeeper. Thankfully the woodwork was on hand to save Wolves’, it was lucky that the ball did not go in, but it was luck we made ourselves.
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Now, one highlight this season has been the introduction of youth into the squad. This was emphasized in a moment by a young man, Matt Doherty produced a match winning tackle on Jay Simpson, it had the timing and awareness of a player 7 or 8 years his senior, it got a standing ovation from every one clad in gold. It was one of those season defining moments, a highlight certainly. As the great golf commentator Peter Allis famously says, “Well done young man”. This tackle created one of the most crazy moments at the Molineux this season, from the resulting tackle Wolves hit Hull on the break with Hunt who scrambled possession from the Hull defenders and hit a tame shot straight at Stockdale who parried the ball to his left onto Sigurdarson, who took a second or two to get the ball from under his feet, his resulting strike hit the underside of the Englishmen’s goal, every single person in the ground had their hands on their heads, in utter disbelief that it was not the goal that sent Hull packing.
Another chance came 7 or so minutes later when Roger Johnson, ran from his own 18-yard box and hit a surprisingly accurate pass to Kevin Doyle, who flicked it to Ward, he delivered a decent ball to the oncoming freight train that was our former captain, sadly, like most British centre backs he was flagged for an offside. The substitutions of Ward and Sigurdarson for Batth and Foley, gave Wolves’ the solidity and stability it needed to see the result out, with relative ease. Hull offered little in the last 10 minutes or rather they did, it was just that Wolves matched the away teams attacks with their solid defensive work.
Andy Woolmer blew his whistle after a questionable 5 added minutes. Relief, pride and joy exuded out from the Wolves fans as the players stood and applauded each side of the ground. “Hi Ho Silver Lining” rang around the ground as the fans made their exits, each one with high fives, smiles and hugs for their fellow supporters. It was nights like that which make me so proud of my beloved club, after such a disaster of a season, which has seen two managers and some truly shocking results, Wolves fans stayed behind and sung their hearts out, till they were puce in the face. It is this sort of positive attitude that has given Wolves a lifeline, one that they simply have to grasp, otherwise we shall be joining The Robins in League 1 next year.