I will give it a go ! Wolves have conceded 38 goals so far this season. Any club with that statistic has been relegated in previous seasons. They have scored 23, which is 9 more than us. I cannot see anything other than a draw 2-2.
This is arguably the most winnable fixture over our next eight games. I wonder if Gary O'Neil will even be in charge for this one. If he is, you'd think a home loss to us would end with his sacking. If we can score an early goal and the home crowd get on their backs, maybe we'll do something we've only do once all season and see a result out? If the players like O'Neil, they know they'll have to perform and get the win. I can see a draw being the likeliest outcome, but I'm going to be optimistic and go for a 2-1 win. I think McKenna's going to switch up the formation a bit and get a win over O'Neil - a manager I'm surprised is still managing in the Premier League.
Forget new formations, tactics, or a different starting eleven - a new matchday thread management bounce with Evesham!
A very physical game, at least one of Morsy, Delap or Hutch get another yellow and rules them out for the next game. We score first as often we do and crowd get to them, and for once we see the game out. 2-0 Away win.
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna says he's going to stick with 'extremely talented' goalkeeper Aro Muric. Well, we were all mistaken there!
A mate of mine is a Burnley fan and he rang me to thank us for taking " that bloody liability Muric " off their hands, he said he will pull off a few good saves but always a catastrophic error is not far behind which will cost us goals and matches and therefore points. He's not far out so far is he.
Long term that kind of faith can pay off but it doesn’t help us if he makes a blunder against Wolves. If we fail to beat wolves we could find ourselves cast well adrift by New Year so we need to dispense with the cool headed long term plan and inject some urgency. The long term plan becomes much more difficult to achieve if we are relegated and lose the likes of Davis and Delap. Many players we signed in the summer are heading for being worth less than we paid for them.
The question is , can KM or our goalie coach, coach these idiotic errors out of him before the New Year? I have never been a keeper, and yes, we all know he can make some worldly saves, but his crass throwing and kicking out just gives possession back to the oppo so many times. If I was.a defender,which I was some 45 yrs ago, he just doesn't instill much confidence. Lets hope he can prove us wrong.
I think there's far too much focus on one player carrying the can for our poor results (note, I say results not performances). Lots of our players have made errors this Season,in defence,midfield and up front and because of the level we find ourselves at those mistakes invariably get punished.The goalkeeper’s errors are "worse" because they've lead to goals.But the fact is we're letting in too many goals and we're not scoring enough at the other end.The whole team (and coaching staff)must take responsibility.
I am sure you are right BigAl, I am guilty of apportioning too much blame on one player. Trouble is, he is our stopper, and we havn't scored enough goals, and for the foreseeable we dont look like scoring many!
Gaffer, they concede goals for fun. Hopefully KM will get his tactics right for this game and we can put a couple in the back of the net without reply. (I am still sticking with my prediction)
It's early Saturday morning cuppa tea time and madam sleeps on. I am learning much about being a carer 24/7 as she recovers from major surgery. Tbh, I am not too hopeful but whatever the result today, we must all stick behind our club thru thick and thin. We all know it has been one helluva ride, and mostly enjoyable. If we play like we did against some of the top teams in England Liverpool, Villa, Man Utd, Spurs then we could be surprised. If we play below our best then Wolves with their tails up and snarling will get the all important win. Avoid that early goal against horror, if we score 1st the crowd will get nervy, get another, they turn on the players. KM follows our advice and brings subs on much earlier. Delap, if still on the pitch, is knackered, and Ali comes on and scores the 3rd. Our season kick starts. Am I deliriously deluded?
The mistakes are a problem - although if it’s not for some exceptional skill then Muric is a hero against Bournemouth - what’s far more of a problem is the poor and slow distribution. We are conceding so much possession, missing counter attack opportunities and losing momentum because Muric fails to release the ball and punts aimless long balls forward. That means we are creating chances and having to defend more. Because of all the pressure on us week after week, we are finding that the damn invariably bursts sooner or later in the match. It’s a shame because we are generally moving the ball really well when we do have it.
Gaffer, I hope you are not too hopeful about the result rather than your other half recovering from major surgery!! In all seriousness I hope recovery is OK. Full time caring is a very challenging role.
My thoughts are with you Gaffer,I know what a struggle it can be ,mentally and physically,to be main carer for a loved one.