Great League Update

The first match this time round was against Watford in the FA Cup. We made our signings, Taylor Fletcher, James, and Van der Chaaf. I hoped they would make a splash.

With the player's debut in the FA Cup, a win was needed. On 12, Keogh went one-on-one, missing by inches. On 16, James powered a header just wide of the post. Keogh scored on the 44th minute after a great Ebanks-Blake run and cross. 1-0 at half time.

Taylor Fletcher came on at half time, and I hope the money I spent would not go to waste. We virtually forced Watford to take long shots, as we had a great defensive performance. Taylor-Fletcher's long shot went just wide of the post on 70. A free-kick was awarded on the stroke of full-time on the edge of the area, but no time to take it.



After drawing the FA Cup Fourth Round thingy, we were drawn against the mighty Manchester United. I don't expect to win, but I hope a good performance is in order. Our next match however, was against Plymouth. Hopefully, our current form will take us into this match successfully.

Kick off against Plymouth. We conceded a free-kick on 8, but they missed. We started on the back foot, with shot count 4 to 1. Keogh headed the ball into the side netting on 24 before we conceded on the 27th. Half-time, down 1-0.

Taylor-Fletcher chipped the keeper with his first shot in the second, landing on top of the net. Van der Shaaf was sent off on 70 minutes, and it seems the team was destined for another horridly embarrassing loss. Mpenza then scored on the 82nd minute, another horrid loss, back to the beginning. Ebanks-Blake then scored on the 96th minute, giving a little credibility to a horrid match.



Our next match was a must win to give us some leeway, with only 3 points between us and the nearest rivals. Southampton are on a two match winning streak, and we had to win. Not an easy task.

We started off well, with Euell sent off in the first 2 minutes. We almost scored through Ebanks-Blake on the 16th minute. Ebanks-Blake then scored on the 22nd minute, lobbing the keeper. A corner on the 39th minute rendered Jarvis injured, after a horrid collision. He was replaced by David Jones. 1-0 at half time. Vokes replaced Keogh at half as well.

A few great saves by Hennessey saved our bacon, however Dyer was really dominating his right wing. Stearman had an easy chance on the 87th minute, before blasting it over the bar from 6 yards, and Ebanks-Blake squandered a one-on-one opportunity on 88. Full time, 1-0.



At the time, we were sitting second, with Reading still steaming ahead. Reading were undoubtedly going to win the league, but we hadn't lost all hope of a last game upset.



Our next match was against the mighty Manchester United, it was obviously going to be a colourful match. The thrill of playing at Old Trafford is also a largely anticipated thing for the players.

We conceded first, through Manucho on the 12th minute. Stearman missed an easy interception for go down. Hennessey made a save a minute later to stop Manucho from scoring another. Anderson scored from close range on the 23rd after taking the ball off Stearman on the 6 yard box. Ebanks-Blake went close on 30, but blaster it over. He did score on 33, showing off the prowess that makes him a quality striker. Half time, we were doing well, only 2-1 down.

Stearman was taken off following a bad first half, and then the match restarted. Carrick missed a header straight after the interval, as Wolves survived a mass wave of attack, before conceding through Berbatov on the 62nd. Taylor-Fletcher went wide on the 80, before Ebanks-Blake was only denied by van Der Sar. Giggs then missed horribly on the 83rd minute. Manucho then rounder the keeper to score a 4-1 scoreline. Van der Shaaf headed over the bar on 88, before James shot went inches wide. Full-time, 4-1.



The next match against Coventry, was once again, a match which can be won. The team needed to suit up, in order to get a direct promotion.

With another new tactic, going into the match was not easy, but finding a balance between attack and defence was what I am after. A Vokes cross found Jones in acres of space, before hitting the post from point-blank. A waste. A bad back-pass gave us a corner, a chance to go ahead. Cleared away. A Jones corner was wasted going out. Keogh hit a shot at the keeper, who parried wide. Taylor-Fletcher was injured, replaced by Rebrov. Henry came close to scoring on the 41st, before Vokes headed just over the bar. A match which we were dominating was still at 0-0. Ebanks-Blake replaced Vokes at half-time.

Rebrov found Keogh, who rounded a defender, and missed by inches. Ebanks-Blake came close on 57, before he hit the crossbar minutes later. Coventry came close with Eastwood squandering a one-on-one effort. A penalty was awarded from a trip by Rocha, which was scored by Ward. Elokobi's cross found Stearman, who headed over the bar. A match in which Wolves dominated was lost out due to a controversial penalty.



The match against Crystal Palace was a revenge match, after a dogged 3-0 loss away last time. A few tactic changes hopefully would help us use Ebanks-Blake speed more, and Chris James midfield ability. A great training schedule was helping us a lot.

Adam Federici made his return to football in this match, after impressing during training. No other changes were made apart from tactics.

Ebanks-Blake scored an incredible goal on the 2nd minute, before making it 2 on 4 minutes. What a start. Keogh almost scored on the 23rd, but missed an easy chance. Ebanks-Blake lobbed the keeper to make it 3-0 on 37. What a game for him. Keogh made it 4-0 from close range on 40 minutes. Rebrov came close soon after, so did Ebanks-Blake. An impossible 4-0 at half-time. A new radical tactic seems to work a treat. An attacking approach is quite risky, unless you have great defenders.

Knightly found Ebanks-Blake who scored his 4th straight after half-time. Federici made a superb save on 62. Kuqi finally scored for Crystal Palace on 78 minutes, following a good through ball. Full-time, 5-1.

A stunning match.



The league table is still virtually the same as last time, with us 13 points behind, but 3 points ahead of the next rival. I hope to bring the Crystal Palace form with me to the Premier League. Birmingham and Charlton are doing horrible, promotion favourites now look like being relegated.



The current squad for the Wolves is at the moment quite different. As I said before, Federici impressed at training and for Australia. Other than that, no other changes are present. Knightly is upset that he had a transfer from Everton rejected. He won't be as angry if we get promoted.



The upcoming fixtures are not problem, apart from the match against league 'owners' Reading. At the moment, I am in the process of organising friendlies during the season against some teams around the world, most notably Australian Champions Melbourne Victory.




A number of transfers were made over this transfer season, including the following, most notably the one from Everton.



A range of random statistic about the team, which may or may not be interesting to you.



After that long message, I am still positive that becoming champions is still possible. Hard, but possible, and my goal at the moment is to remain virtually undefeated for the remainder of the season. So that's all from me this post, have fun reading, spread the word about my blog, don't forget to keep tuning in :P.

Keep on Fm-ing.

turner