Wolves V Man City...Plucky losers? Not on your nelly.

It's 1am and i can't sleep.I'm too wound up.Not in the bad aggressive way.I'm too wound up by watching Wolves out think the best team in the country only to lose on penalties after 120 minutes of blood pumping football...knowing i will get a headache later through lack of sleep(this is not an uncommon scenario for me) i have taken two pre-emptive Paracetamol with my coffee and made sure the vape machine is fully charged...

I could'nt get to the game in Manchester and had trouble finding a stream of it to watch on my PC,but BBC Radio 5 had the commentary on 5 Live Extra.It's their sister channel which usually only has some Rugby game on that only twenty people care about.They could'nt find any of that nonsense so put our game on instead...First thing i heard was Trevor Sinclair(a Man City fan) say Aguero needed one goal to break the clubs scoring record and was guaranteed to get it versus Wolves.City would also break their record of wins on the trot against a Wolves team their for the taking according to our sage...

To be fair City had put out a fairly strong team and we had made nine changes so it was an assessment not exactly born out of ignorance.Even so my gander was up...I doubled my efforts to find a stream,got lucky with one from the UAE(i think) Wherever it was from the commentator sounded like a bad 70's sitcom joke of what we thought an Arabic commentator would sound like...i tried watching the game along with BBC commentary but they were about a minute ahead so that was a no no.Luckily the 6,000 Wolves fans who made the trip were singing up a storm so drowned out most of the fella...

City had scored something like a squillion goals this season and started with their top two strikers.As i said we made nine changes but tellingly our centre back partnership of Danny Batth & Connor Coady were retained to organise the defence...For the first half hour we could'nt get a touch and City were camped in and around our area without creating much due to our covering each other at every turn.Then we got a break and youngster Bright Enobakhare out muscled Yaya Toure to get in on goal.I think the thought of scoring against City got to him and he messed it up...Yaya Toure is not as fast as he used to be but he's still as strong as an ox on steroids so for a lad of eighteen to physically over power him(more than once) might see the beginning of the end of his career...

All Wolves fans were relieved to be 0-0 at half time but in truth we never looked in much trouble.The second half began the same as the first but we also started to see more of the ball and looked more dangerous going forward than their high flying opponents.Truth be told we could have been two goals up before Enobakhare raced clear of the City defence in what looked like the remake of "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner" Everyone sort of knew he would try to come inside instead of just blasting the damn thing.This he duly did...he has skill but is still lacking a football brain.Still at least it saved us another intstagram pic of Costa Helder's dick...

Extra time was pretty much the same.City camped in our half but being corralled down blind ally's by our superb defence whilst we broke with speed and purpose....then penalties.I don't mind penalties to determine a winner.It's probably the fairest way to do it.I don't like the new rules though.What's wrong with "We take one,you take one etc" When Toure stepped up to take City's second i initially wondered why we'd changed our shirts to light blue...anyway it's bollocks and that's all there is to it...

So we lost,but we did'nt really...we gave the best team in the country the hardest game they've had this season despite them basically finishing the game with a full strength eleven.Not only did we wear them down and on another day may have won two, or three, nil we also did it having rested arguably nine of our best players...

Nuno showed he is up to the challenge of Premiership opponents week in week out.I fully expect it to be the case next season.I only hope it's with Wolves...

Depois que os prefeitos do senhor mostrem*

*After the Lord Mayor's Show...

We have a saying in the UK."After the Lord Mayor's show" 'It goes on to say "Comes the shit cart..."

Wolves 3 Preston 2 was'nt quite like that but frankly i can't see many times i'll be able to use that old proverb this season so...after the rapturous win over Villa the previous week it was always going to be difficult to repeat such a high octane performance,after all we're not Man City yet and Preston are what the tv pundits would call "dogged" or what fans would call "dirty Northern bastards" They'd also only lost once this season before yesterday,so yes,a tough game was in store...

There seems to be a common misconception about foreign footballers playing in the UK,especially those from sunnier climbs.They're ok in Aug/Sept and April/May with the sun on their backs but as soon as it gets a bit nippy they disappear.It's bullshit of the highest order of course but still this lazy stereotype exists,The last two Wolves players i saw wearing gloves were from England & Ireland (Leon Clarke & Matt Doherty) Besides our winters are hardly on a par with The Arctic.We get the odd dusting of snow & temps occasionally dip below freezing for a few hours in February...

Another myth is that they can't handle themselves when things get a bit tough and opposing players think leg breaking tackles are a natural part of the game, just a bit of a laugh,just banter innit...this attitude is about as relevant as Dad's Army's corporal Jones shouting "They don't like it up em'!" when faced with the Waffen SS.

In truth though this old school Sunday league thinking is helping Wolves this season.Granted Warnock's Cardiff got away with bully boy tactics at the start of the campaign when they mugged us at Molineux a few games in but our boys learn quickly and anyone else who tries this will get a swift kick in the knackers...what better way to build team spirit?

Preston tried it,we got no protection from a preening peacock of a referee so took matters in our own hands which resulted in a couple of mass brawls on the pitch.Don't believe any sanctimonious tut tutting from commentators & journalists alike when there's a mass punch up between players.Us fans love it...the second brawl showed some cunning from our players too.Preston were getting on top looking to make it 3-3 with a few minutes left,a fight involving twenty two players was just the ticket to stop them in their tracks....the dark arts are alive and well down Molineux way.Nobody wins league titles by espousing the Corinthian spirit...

We did'nt play well but we did'nt have to.If we hit our straps for fifteen/twenty minutes during a game we can usually take a team apart and win the match in that period.Which is what we did yesterday...

Things i noticed yesterday through a beer fueled haze...

Leo Bonatini takes a very good penalty.Has to be first choice taker...

Connor Coady is starting to remind me of Emlyn Hughes.He even runs and passes like him...

Everyone insists on calling Matt Doherty "Doc" I assume we all think he spells his name wrong...

Ivan Cavaleiro has really bulked up.Now looks like a prize fighter...oh and he occasionally gives the ball away...

We need safe standing on the South Bank...

Till next time.Ta ta a bit...

Worshiping at the temple of Nuno Herlander Simoes Espirit Santo...

I'm not a religious man.In fact i am an atheist,or maybe agnostic,or quite possibly a deathbed Christian.Only time will tell...The one thing i am is a Wolves fan.That's a close as i ever get to a religious experience and by Christ it's been a test of faith sometimes...

Football fans are meant to be a miserable lot.Happiness does'nt sit well with us.Speak to any fan and it's not long till the moans & groans surface about their club.Usually it's justified but even fans of the top teams find a cloud hiding out among all the silver.Turn on any radio football phone in and mostly you'll hear barely articulate supporters saying something like " well for my sins i'm a Real Madrid fan and i have to say Ronaldo's gotta go.he's only scored twenty goals in twelve games,living on past glories.Lazy sod..."Ok i exaggerate but i have heard Man Utd fans moaning about Mourinho in the last week so it's not far off...

We've had our trials and tribulations at Wolves these last ten years or so.Lots of promotions and relegations and to be truthful it's been fun,even the bad times have given me a perverse pleasure.What's not been fun is the last two seasons.We have meandered along in the middle lane doing nothing,getting nowhere.Becoming a footnote to the story of the season...like going to church every sunday,hearing a bland uninspiring sermon from an uninterested,complacent clergyman and trooping off to the DIY store afterwards..Doing your duty to no purpose other than turning up...Then we got Nuno Herlander Simoes Espirit Santo up in the pulpit...

This is no fire & brimstone preacher but don't be fooled by the calm exterior.There's steel behind the eyes.No soft touch this high priest...His first  job was to get the deadwood who would'nt,or could'nt, co-opt into what he wanted from the team,out of the club.Which he did with ruthless efficincy.Next was to get the defence organised.We'd been guilty of shipping stupid goals,especially at Molineux.He bought in a couple of players but also reinvigorated established lads like Doherty & Batth whilst making Coady a centre back of note.he knew that wins come from solidity at the back but not in a "park the bus" way,not in a "hold out for nil nil and nick a win " way.But in a positive way.Positive defence.Who'd have thought it ? Not us,Not on your nelly...He's got the defenders to actually stay calm under pressure,look for the pass out to midfielders comfortable on the ball.Comfortable with opponents surrounding them,snapping at their heels,knowing they always have the innate ability to sidestep their clumsy lunges or comfortable that a teamate was free to pass to...

Nuno introduced a novel new approach to a moribund team.Pass,move,pass and keep moving...create space all the time.Keep it fluid.Keep that damn ball moving.The opponents may well keep up with you for an hour or so but for the last quarter of the game they'll be blowing out of their arses.There for the taking...the result of young,fit,skillful players and six weeks of double training sessions in pre season is there for all to see.

Much has been made of Wolves getting the services of players like Neves,Jota,Miranda etc.Nuno knew that he needed to get players in who were at least the equal of Helder Costa & Ivan Cavaleiro.No point having a Formula 1 racing car if your going to have it serviced by Gary's Garage of Tividale and driven by Noddy...But it's one thing wanting these players,quite another getting them...Never mind talk of agents etc,if a player don't wanna move he don't move.They all believe in the church of Nuno Herlander Simoes Espirit Santo.You only have to watch them play to see this...and now us fans believe too.

We are all converts.We have all signed up and if you don't believe me check out how many Black Country new borns are named Nuno,Ruben & Diogo in the next year...

I may not go down to the river to pray but i'll gladly go to the Molineux to worship...

Whataboutery...there's a lot of it about.

We've all done it at some stage.Something stunningly stupid...or said something we instantly know is the equivalent of putting your hand in a blender then turning it on.What we used to deflect blame before puberty took hold was "Whataboutery" The classic kiddy get out clause when  caught bang to rights..."But what about Jimmy ?  he did the same thing and did'nt have to cut the lawn with nail clippers.S'not fair..."  No you're right,S'not fair...but here's the difference.Jimmy did'nt get caught till you grassed him up you little shit...

As i said it's the sort of stuff we grow out of when we become functional members of the human race.We may think such things but don't generally articulate them.Especially to our boss who,if we did,may well deploy the exasperated parents cliche of "If Jimmy told you to..." I don't know,probably something to do with  skin & staplers...but you get my point?...and then came social media.

I love social media,i really do.I use it constantly.It's a very handy tool,but it's a tool that attracts a lot of tools.I sort of expect spotty faced Herberts to argue the toss with the Wildean wit of "He said she said" over trivial matters but what i don't expect (even though listening to the constant braying on Prime Ministers Questions i should) is back & forth "Whataboutery" from both sides of the political divide in an attempt to hide their own inadequate failings and hypocrisy...trying to deflect their own bullshit by pointing out smellier bullshit from the other side...If the internet were around in the 30's & 40's Mussolini would no doubt be pointing out that Hitler massacred many more people than he did...

Don't get me wrong it's good to point these things out,but not in the manner of the playground.Not in the manner of five year olds blaming each other for painting the cat green...and then we get the out and out lies as deflection.Lies in the normal conversations can normally be sussed, and squashed,out pretty quickly.Not on social media,it takes on a life of it's own,grows out of all proportion until it becomes accepted truth...the so called Alt Right know this and they have the perfect patsy mouthpiece in Trump.The king of "Whataboutery" who also has enough sycophantic acolytes  to keep spreading the news,fake or not...got to admit the Alt(old) right have stolen a march on everyone with their use of social media.Especially with their use of "Whataboutery"

This is serious stuff.Social Media informs & forms (or at least validates) views in many.Trenchant beliefs become even more so on any social media debate(I'm being very generous using "debate") and no doubt i'm as guilty as anyone else on this front.More and more people now get their world view from the internet,It's the go to platform on world affairs.Seeing the truth through the bullshit is becoming harder and harder and the peddlers of this bullshit with agendas know this.They also know that if they're losing an argument the go to strategy is to play the "Whataboutery" card...It usually works.

Next time you're either engaged in,or furiously shovelling handfuls of popcorn into your mouth whilst watching, a heated Twitter/Facebook discourse,watch how long "Whataboutery" takes to make an appearance.After that all bets are off...

Whataboutery. The new Godwin's law...

Rentazeitgeist...

There's a wind blowing through old Wolverhampton town...not an ill wind.Not a acrid sulphurous wind.Not even a yeasty wind from the Banks's brewery.No this wind is a cooling zephyr on a hot summer's day  that brings with it the alluring waft of light,expensive perfume as a beautiful woman strolls past in the beer garden with a straw sticking out of her pint of cider seductively ...yep i'm talking about football again,or more precisely,Wolves...that's right,i'm waxing lyrically like a love sick teenager mooning over the new cashier in Asda...Wolverhampton bloody Wanderers Football bloody Club (1986) bloody Limited...what in all that is good and holy is bloody well going on?

Maybe a Faustian pact has been signed,sealed & delivered to the smokey old place,maybe the Devil himself has ridden in to Molineux with a contract written in Chinese,Portuguese and Yamyam."Just sign there my good man,don't worry about the details,i'll fill in the rest later"...if the team comes out to Robert Johnson's Crossroads in future then we'll know the deal was done...in blood...probably with a sacrifice or two...

Us Wolves fans are known as a moaning bunch of miscreants in the football world.Indeed we have the perfect accent for a proper no holds barred moan fest.You've not lived unless you've witnessed a full on Yamyam deadpan sweary moan.We are at our best when whining like a DC10 on the runway.It's almost poetry...My mate once heard a bloke say at half time v Norwich with Wolves winning 4-0 " Ar,they've fucking ruined the game as a contest though..." That is beyond mere moaning,that,my friends, is fucking heroic...

But hell there's a new mood around the place,there's happy smiling faces all round on match days.There's "Alright mate?" "Ar"(that's as touchy feely as us Yamyams get)There's bumper crowds.There's optimism,there's adoration,there's something in the air,something good...a zeitgeist if you want,and all it took was a Chinese global conglomerate,a Portuguese super agent,young hungry madly skillful players and a manager who has the nous to bring it all together.If only we'd known it was that simple we'd have done it years ago...

Even though i'm painting Wolves fans as embittered curmudgeons give us something to get behind and we go in full...there's nothing finer than a full floodlight Molineux at it's loudest.There's nowhere i'd rather be...the new regime seem to understand this and are delivering in spades...

How the hell has my club,my town,attracted talent like Jota,Neves,Costa,Cav and Vinagre? It's not just money as many make out.These players would get as much money elsewhere,in places that,well frankly,are not Wolverhampton...I am a proud Wulfrunian and even though i left many years ago i will defend my home town to the hilt against any detractors but...but...Christ these players have left Porto,Madrid,Monaco etc to willingly( i presume) play for Wolverhampton.Lovely Wolverhampton...

Not only that but they're all in the local papers cracking on about how they're loving being here.Loving the town,loving the football,loving the fans...this might be PR bullshit but i don't care.If i'm dining at the Ritz i don't want to go look round by the bins, i just want to lap up the luxury...

I am now getting people in London saying we look a fantastic exciting team...before all i'd get was "yea,been to Wolves. got chased all round the place" and "Is Bully still playing?" Gooners,Spuds,even bloody Chelsea fans!  Nuts...

We are still at the beginning of a new romance where everything the new partner does is exciting,you think of nothing else,you ache with longing to see them.You laugh at all their jokes,hang on every word,can't see any faults...one day it will become more of a routine...one day you'll turn into a Man City fan.going through the motions except for a couple of big games a season.One day son all this will be yours...

But for now lets enjoy the ride,let's enjoy other fans wondering how an ugly little fud like us copped a six foot  model on our arm...We'll leave the moaning for England games...

Oh no man,it's the international break...

Us football fans put up with a lot...

We put up with shitty owners employing shitty managers who buy shitty players playing shitty football.We then put up with the same shitty manager telling us the shitty football we're watching is actually not shitty at all but the very zenith of the game and we should count ourselves lucky to witness a master tactician like him at his peak...

We put up with police that would like nothing more than to go full  Catalonia on our ass...you can see it in their eyes,you can hear it in their voice.They make their own rules up as they see fit when dealing with us fans.They can impose any banana republic law they want, seemingly at will, on us fans at any given moment. They despise us despite us fans being responsible for topping up their pay packet with mucho overtime...we put up with all that.

We put up with underpaid,undertrained stewards who're either university students out of their depth or fifty year old high vis clad former hooligans with heart conditions looking for one last kick off to tell their mate Dave about in the Red Lion...

We put up with prices that would make The Sultan of Brunei think twice about opening his wallet for...never mind that your team have lost five on the bounce with the right back playing left wing,the centre half playing right back and a deadbeat on loan striker who's on his fourteenth club in five years,that's forty quid please with restricted view...

We put up with catering that gives us the runs just looking at that damn half cooked steak pie.Lord knows what kind of steak it's supposed to be.It's not steak that has any discernible steaky bits in.Don't even get me started on the over priced beer...

We put up with Sky/BT/police being able to move the game from 3pm saturday to sunday lunctime or monday evening or even on a thursday...Thursday used to be the one day when football was never played.Thursday was our sabbath.Not any more...

We put up with all this with a stoicism that would impress a masochistic  cave dwelling hermit.We put up with it cos' we love going to games no matter what crap we have to endure.We love the crack with our mates,we love the occasional winning feeling,we love the moaning...

What we don't love is the international break...it stops us in our tracks.the natural flow of the football season is halted.The real season does'nt really begin until November because of it.Up till then it's just jostling for position...

If your team is on a winning run all momentum comes to a grinding standstill and it's bloody hard to kick start it again.If you've just suffered a twatting all the players want to do is get out on the pitch to put it right instead of hanging around with their finger up their arse...

Us fans want games.Ideally three a week,every week.When managers whinge about playing four games over the Xmas period we snort in derision. We love it.Get out there and play you tart...

Do international breaks even work?  Yes England tend to qualify easily from their group but that's mostly because for the last six competitions we would have had harder opposition from Eurovision contestants...no matter how easily we qualify it does'nt stop us generally stinking up the place once at the finals.Still at least it gives the lads another few weeks off before the next international break...

For a club like Wolves it's also a pain in the arse as we rarely get players in the England set up so when we do naturally we want them to do well...but not too well.They're spending ten days cooped up with Billy Big Bollocks from Liverpool United hearing tales of fast cars,dolly birds and double Nandos...It's enough to turn a young mans head.Enough to make him desire the big city bright lights over the homely Poundstretcher charms of Wolverhampton...Enough to get his agent rubbing his hands with Faganesque glee...

I think what i'm trying to say is that international breaks are bollocks...