THE SPECIAL - Wolves Away
Wolves v Newcastle United, Molineux Stadium, 18/Jan/26, KO 2pm, Premier League.
That second goal on Tuesday night was an absolute killer. OK, so even at one down, our chances of going through were pretty miniscule, given our appalling record at the Emptihad. But we could at least have given a huge away following grounds for hope. After all, what's a single goal between friends when penalties lie ahead?
But at two down, it felt like an altogether different proposition. I confess I was completely deflated. At the final whistle, the prospect of that trek up through East Manchester in a few weeks felt like an exercise in utter futility, and judging by those who messaged to say they weren't going to bother selecting their seat the following day, I wasn't alone.
Maybe that's why I was largely blind to what plenty of fellow Mags saw as promising signs in that match. Certainly it was a better performance than the previous four, all of which were wins. Stood at Turf Moor in the second half, I used the word “shambles” to describe what I saw during that Burnley “onslaught” that was most definitely not an onslaught. For long periods, the chaos that unfolded against Leeds and Bournemouth certainly looked pretty shambolic too. In between, Palace was merely stodgy.
One of the astute comments I saw here about the City match was that it was strongly reminiscent of the Barcelona game. We gave a decent account of ourselves that night too, and created some good early chances with dynamic play and whipped crosses in from the right. But it felt like our opponents barely got out of second gear, doing just enough, and allowing their class to tell when it mattered. When your opponents bring on the quality of subs we saw on Tuesday, you know you're playing a completely different game, with no hope of competing on equal terms. That, as much as anything, was the source of my post-match depression.
We came into this weekend in a healthy sixth place. When we kick off at Molineux, we'll be ninth. Lose and we could finish the weekend as low as 11th. That shows how fragile that league position was and how important a win is today. A glance at our fixture list only confirms that. After PSV next week, we face six away matches out of the next eight - PSG, Villa, and City in each of the three cup competitions; and Liverpool, Spurs, and Man City in the league. Our two home matches are against Villa and Brentford, both currently in the top seven.
Am I being unreasonably miserable to say that in a month’s time our season is going to look pretty dismal?
Despite considerable investment in the summer, the reality is that we have no more strength in depth than we did last season. Thiaw has been an unalloyed success, but Ramsdale, Ramsey (better against City!), Elanga, Wissa, and Woltemade have thus far done nothing to improve the team. With the defence decimated by injury, Sandro off colour, and Gordon continuing to underperform Miggy’s goal per game ratio (thanks to Ed for that fabulous stat!), we look short of quality options, even without further injuries.
In that context, it seems reasonable to expect we'll be mid-table again, out of both domestic cups, and at best having another two midweek matches to squeeze into February in the Champions League play-offs before we get knocked out by one of the big guns.
January reinforcements? I just don't see it. They would be reactive and short-term signings, and we had enough of those in our desperate summer trolley dash. I think the club will stick with its longer-term strategy (assuming there is one) and wait until the summer. In the meantime, the same bodies will have to go back to the well one more time. Well, eleven more times before the end of February, if we insist on being factually accurate.
God, I'm depressing even myself now. Sorry, esteemed readers.
Of course, the funny thing is that even now I've started to convince myself that we stand a chance in the second leg of the semi-final. City have looked unusually vulnerable of late, Pep might play the reserves, they could be complacently shite, and if we score an early goal… Hell, I've witnessed Rolando Aarons score in a League Cup win there, so anything is possible!
Regardless, a win at Wolves feels pretty essential with that run of forthcoming fixtures. We certainly should win. We have the quality to do so comfortably. If we don't, then I really will be depressed.
Matthew Philpotts
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Michael Martin - @tfMick1892.bsky.social
Good preview, if a little depressing! Still, better to be in this position than when we did actually beat City away in the League Cup in 2014. Being in the quarter final at Spurs then made me feel what it must be like supporting Barca! Only lasted the 4 minutes or so it took Alnwick to drop that corner though. I think it’s a bit harsh to be negative about Waltemade. He’s only 23 and will be inconsistent but at least he’s scored goals & had some good games, unlike Elanga & Ramsey. I hope they come good today! Over the next 6 away games, I really think we need to remember the art of the draw. A few away draws with two home wins would keep us in the top 10 for the run in. Then we’d be in touch of a decent end to the season! Is that a bit more positive?!?..,,
A thoughtful and poignant Special, Matthew. At least the “Emptihad” reference cheered me up. 😀 Our team is knackered but a win today against Wolves is a must, otherwise a snakes and ladders type slide down the table will surely follow. Will the lads still have enough energy for a decent performance against PSG on Wednesday? We have the best away fans in the country. Please give them something to sing about!