Agony, Ecstasy & A P45 In The Post

It crossed my mind not to do this, this week. We’re still top with a seven-point gap to third which is all that matters in the grand scheme of things, but that didn’t stop me from hurting on Sunday. For once, it had nothing to do with an overzealous consumption of alcohol, instead, it was something much worse.

We didn’t just lose to Villa, they embarrassed us. Anybody else, I wouldn’t have minded as much, but not them. Anyone but them. Some will argue “what about Albion”, but Villa stir up the bigger hatred within me, so this was bad. It wasn’t quite as bad as the 1-5 defeat at home to the aforementioned Tesco carrier bags, although it was certainly on a similar level.

It All Started Rather Well

On the complete flip side of that, the week actually started rather well. Before the game against Leeds kicked off at Elland Road, if you’d asked any Wolves fan, they probably would have said draw at best and even though I backed us to win in this very article last week, I wasn’t overly convinced myself.

Not too sure what all the worry was about because we played them off the park and won 3-0, which wasn’t a flattering scoreline in the slightest. One of the biggest issues with a win like that is that confidence rockets up amongst supporters and in complete contrast to the Leeds game, the majority of Wolves fan would have said prior to the Villa game that we’d smash them. Such is the wonder of being a football supporter, eh?

N’Diaye and Saiss bossed the midfield against Leeds and looked a real class above their Yorkshire counterparts and it was Saiss, the Moroccan, who gave us the lead after a couple of good chances had been squandered earlier on. As ever, Barry Douglas was the provider as his trustworthy left peg put it right onto Saiss’ head and the keeper didn’t stand a chance. Just what the doctor ordered after the Fulham game. Another unlikely source provided the second goal; the imperious Willy Boly responded quickest to Danny Batth’s header cannoning off the crossbar after another wicked delivery by, you guessed it, Barry Douglas.

After the interval, we were cruising and the icing on the cake was provided by Benik Afobe who had only been on the pitch for four minutes before he lifted the ball over the onrushing Leeds keeper from a fair way out. There we go, three-nil win, Afobe gets his first goal in gold & black for a long, long time and we were pretty at the top of the table again.

In the days in between the Leeds and Villa games, there was more bullshit coming out in the press which ranged from ‘we were breaking FFP’, ‘we had an unfair advantage due to Mendes’ and then, most bizarrely, ‘we aren’t playing our players enough money’. I don’t have proof of this as such, but the majority of it was definitely coming from Villa Park in an attempt to throw us off our game.

Warning: Expletives Follow

We showed our class with a simple statement on our website which basically said “we’ve done nothing wrong and we look forward to the EFL issuing a statement backing that up”, none of this mind game nonsense that had been going on from the Leeds chairman and Villa CEO. Oh yeah, the Leeds chairman said that it wasn’t fair how good we were and it was an unfair advantage that we had over the rest of the league. Get your own house in order, pal. I could somewhat understand if they were second, yet they were midtable achieving fuck all once more.

Now we have to talk about the Villa game. I don’t really want to, so let’s get it over and done with. We’ll start with Danny Batth. He should never, ever wear a Wolves shirt again. He got away with at Leeds because they were so poor. Not against Villa, though. For their opener, he miskicked the ball on the edge of our six-yard box which meant the ball bounced through to Adomah who in turn put it in. Bollocks.

He doesn’t even fit into our style of play. He can’t play football. He just twats it up the pitch whereas Coady and Boly actually seek out a target, he just blasts it up the pitch and hopes for the best. Worst thing is, he’s a fucking Villa fan as well. Get him fucking gone. This isn’t a knee-jerk reaction, in case you’re wondering. He has been a liability for seasons on end and he is still earning a living as a footballer is a mystery that even Scooby & the gang couldn’t solve.

Jota got a goal back for us after a delightful through ball from Doherty caused chaos in the Villa penalty area and as we went in at halftime level, I was feeling good. We could nick this. WRONG. Three second-half goals meant we lost 4-1. I’m not going to bother talking about their goals because my laptop will end up through the window. As much as it pains me to say it, they thoroughly deserved their win, albeit, the score was generous. We should have had a penalty at 3-1 and if we score that, then who knows what happens next? No point resting on what ifs and maybes, though. We lost, we need to regroup and go again.

Stay Down And Go Down

‘We shall not be moved’ is something that we sing because we are top, which makes sense. Why Villa sing it when they are third in the table, I have no idea. I also have no idea why they play Oasis after the game unless of course, Villa Park has relocated to Manchester. I hope they stay down and go on a horrible downward spiral because I can’t stand them. I don’t know if I’ve made that clear?

Enough about things that can’t be changed. What does this week hold? Well, later on today we play Reading at home which will go one of two ways. Pre-Nuno, we would concede a last minute goal to old boys Bodvarsson or Edwards and if that happens, then I will be slamming the panic button repeatedly.

However, pre-Nuno, we hadn’t won in November in ages, either and we had our best November in a long time. So, what I’m hoping will happen is the lads will react to the drubbing and we’ll wipe the floor with them. I’ve gone for 8-0 in my prediction. Wouldn’t read too much into it, I said the same about the Villa game.

If Batth starts against Reading then I will begin to question whether or not Nuno is, in fact, Kenny Jackett in fancy dress because that can be the only logical explanation for that clown to play again. Even if I take the emotion out of it, Bennett is a much better player regardless. A hat-full of goals and Cardiff to drop points at Brentford and come tomorrow morning, I’ll have a smile back on my face.

Six Points From The Next Two Is Imperative

After that, we face Burton on Saturday. It’s a massive two games. We should be picking up six points. We have to be picking up six points. Please, can we pick up six points? Both of Reading and Burton are still involved in a relegation dogfight which could be viewed in one of two ways. Firstly, they will be scrapping for their lives so it will prove difficult or, the way I prefer to look at it, a point is no good to either of them so they will have to play to win which should play into our hands.

Worryingly, there is a possibility that we may not be top when I come to put to paper next week, then again, there is a possibility I could win the lottery, it doesn’t mean it going to happen. Positive mentality. We will be top next week after winning both games. Come on you Wolves.

All things considered, if I was a betting man and luckily I am, I’d be backing us to win by the same score as we did earlier in the season at the Madejski against Reading; 2-0 @ 11/2. Get involved.

Until the next time.