14 December 20024
Wolves 1 Ipswich Town 2
This was the ultimate six-pointer at Molineux as Ipswich Town rocked up to town. You felt both of these managers were under pressure but Kieran McKenna less so after committing his future when the vultures circled in the summer. Gary O’Neil was trying to juggle owners who sell their star players without letting him replace them, along with a team devoid of confidence.
Both sides had lost their last three games. You wondered whether a victory for either team would be celebrated like an FA Cup final win. If Wolves felt that the visitors were coming here to sit behind the ball and try and counter, they were hugely misled. Granted, the Tractor Boys have done that against the bigger sides this season, but they looked different.
Rather than feeling out of place in the Premier League, they decided to take the bull by the horns. The physical presence of Delap was causing problems. As he cut it back from the byline, Hutchinson tried to work an angle to shoot. He rounded the keeper but his effort was blocked on the line. It dropped to Chaplin, who never looked like scoring, until the clearance from a Wolves defender struck Doherty and ended in the net.
At this point, if you had bugged Gary O’Neil to name a goal they had conceded that summed up their season, this was it. Weirdly, they have rarely looked like a team out of their depth this season. Yes, their defence resembles Poland’s borders in 1939, but in other areas of the pitch they look capable of causing anyone in this league problems.
That said, football owners never take that into account. Their approach is more like sacking all your employees and then holding a team leader accountable for call queueing times increasing. They have a good manager in the former Cherries’ boss and if you don’t tie his hands behind his back, he could make this team a mainstay of the top-flight.
Lemina then laid a chance on a plate for a certain equaliser. Bellegarde was arriving at the far post and there was not a person in the ground who did not expect to see that net bulge. He sliced his shot wide of the target and the collective groan could be heard from the stands. This is where players let their boss down when they hit a woeful run of form.
Every week this Wolves team create chances. The big problem is, they are playing catch-up far too often. Trying to undo having conceded another goal before they can even try to play the way O’Neil had intended them to. The home fans seem to turn quite quickly here, they can be remembered for singing ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ to their manager last season.
That day, they were trailing at home to Spurs. He had to take all the toxicity on the chin as he hoped his vision would be recreated on the pitch. Wolves went on to score two stoppage-time goals to get a win against a Tottenham team that had spent the early stages of the season sat at the top. Football fans are definitely short-sighted, they cannot even comprehend long-term plans.
If Sir Alan Sugar pulled the trigger as quickly as all his football owner mates, The Apprentice would last one, maybe two weeks tops. To be fair, most managers make a rod for their own back. After defeats, coming out with cliches, generic phrases and absolute delusions. It would be great to see more Ian Holloway types, who tell you how it is.
Ait-Nouri then got forward and fed the ball into Strand-Larsen in the box. His shot was tame and an easy save for the Ipswich keeper. Soon after, the Algerian received the first booking of the game for a clumsy challenge. It underpins that if the hosts had another left-back, he would be far more use to them in the attacking third of the pitch.
The hosts just could not handle Delap all afternoon. He was dropping off, finding wide positions, dragging defenders all over the pitch. As a result, it allowed their wide men to cause problems. Burns let fly from a tight angle but Johnstone made a superb save. That said, as Delap was nowhere to be seen, no Ipswich player could seize upon the loose ball.
Then came one of the worst misses for the former Man City youngster. As Burns whipped in a cross, he picked out Delap just a few yards out in the middle of the goal. Surely, there could be no outcome but goal. Somehow, the winger put it in at the most awkward height possible. The striker tried to adjust to volley home, but it struck his knee and went wide.
Cunha stands out like a sore thumb in this team. Without him, they would be rock bottom and throwing in the towel already. Guedes played it into his feet in the box, with a tight angle. He beat Muric at his near post to add some positivity to the stands. Don’t get me wrong, the home fans are brilliant when behind their team, making it more noticeable when they are not.
It was one-way traffic at this stage. The Tactor Boys were well and truly on the ropes. Tackles never get as much credit as goals obviously but take a bow Cameron Burgess. His sliding challenge in the box, when Strand Larsen looked set to score, was as good as a goal at the other end. Wolves weren’t knocking on the door, they were driving a car through it.
The Norwegian striker almost scored again. This time he got to the cross with no challenge, just the keeper to beat. Most will say he tried to put it in the corner too much, but with a ball in at that pace, he is just looking to make contact. Either way, he sliced it wide to more groans. You would have fancied him to score, all he had to do was hit the target.
Cunha then had two chances to score, one saved by Johnstone, the other skied over the bar. The visitors decided they would have one last go, deep into added time. As the corner came in, Taylor rose to head it into the bottom corner. The away end went berserk, knowing they had sealed a victory that could define their whole season.
It was a massive three points for Kieran McKenna’s side. It was to prove to be the last straw for Gary O’Neil, he was sacked the following day. He seemed to have a bond with this squad, they would run through walls for him. It seems a poor decision to get rid of him and bring in another manager and ask him to perform miracles. The squad needs investment, end of.
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