Adam Thompson's Recent Posts

Are Wolves past failings set to serve them well?

Adam Thompson — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:12:04 +0000

Wolves PodJockey Adam Thompson isn't getting too carried away with their fantastic start to the season and knows ‘it isn't over until it's over'.

Despite Wolves topping the Championship for almost two months now, no-one at Wolves has the champagne on ice just yet. (Blame the credit crunch for that if you will). 6 pts clear of 2nd place Birmingham City and 12pts of Reading in 3rd; many wouldn't blame the Molineux men for checking the availability of open top buses in the spring. A seven game winning streak that has seen Mick McCarthy's team brush aside the likes of Cardiff, Burnley and Sheffield United has put Wolves in the unusual position of title contenders. With each game the run continues and with each pleasurable look at the league table many of the old gold and black army are shaking their heads in sheer disbelief to this record breaking start to the season.

With a few addition to the squad over the summer it's hard to believe this is the same side I described 6 months ago as 'Limp and in need of Viagra' . Last season was a shade of grey, it wasn't poor, it wasn't brilliant. It just dragged and somehow we managed to get ourselves in the promotion picture. Injuries to Matt Jarvis then Michael Kightly took its toll, the signing of Sylvain Ebanks Blake came too late in the season and the whole Freddy Eastwood saga caused division, threatening the 'one for all and all for one' attitude of club and fans of the 06/07 season. Mick McCarthy's 2nd term as Wolves manager will always go down as an underachievement, and forgivingly us fans thought we had a 'one season wonder' at the helm. The recruitment of 'young and hungry' players had a flaw that went unexposed in McCarthy's debut season; they simply lacked experience and leadership for all their endeavours. The boasting in the papers of 'we can win the league' and 'I can score 20 goals this season' played into the hands of the pessimists at Molineux and many fans ditched their patience they were pleading to have the season previous to last.

The 7th place finish flattered and was sobering to the realities of escaping the Championship. McCarthy got the fans back in his favour by admitting he handled the press wrong with declaration of promotion, and although us fans never admitted it, too much was expected by Wolves' too young. Everyone went away over the summer trying to forget a pretty forgettable season that rarely raised a bulge in the trouser department.

This season has been quite the contrary with Wolves playing the sort of sexy football that has the city of Wolverhampton buzzing. 'Big Chris' Iwelumo and Sylvain Ebanks-Blake have hit 23 league goals between them with wing man Michael Kightly pitching in 7 from midfield. Its testament to how well the Championship leaders are playing as to the recent on loan Michael Mancienne to the England senior squad. Add this to 3 quality goalkeepers in Wayne Hennessey, Matt Murray and Carl Ikeme who ooze Premiership class not to mention the impressive England U21 defender Richard Stearman, and you could understand Wolves fans getting out the cigars and booking the Monday after final game of season off due to 'pending hangover'.

Not at all - the message from Mick McCarthy and as importantly the players is that May is a very long way away and you will find no-one at the club resting on their laurels with fines being implemented to any player who mentions the 'P' word. The fans have acted a like, 'You watch we'll lose the next one' has become as common to the Wolves fans vocab as 'One chicken balti pie please'.

Yes we might be top; we might be 12 points within the automatic places, and have the top scoring striking pair in the division. We might have England internationals in our back line and producing playboy football, but this is a club that saw all these things snatched cruelly away from them in the 01/02 season and the only guarantee you'll find around Molineux is that there a guarantee of nothing. With Birmingham the weekend and QPR away on December 6th, the message from Wolves is simple 'it isn't over until it's over'. McCarthy knows it, the players know it but surprisingly the fans know it also. All predictions stating that it is Wolves' year simply must (and is) taken with a pinch of salt by supporters as a whole.

7 years of hurt since that lot down the road stole in to secure promotion in the ultimate humiliation, so while the national press tries to strike up the Wolves Championship band wagon. One watch of the commonly dubbed Season 'we didn't go up' 01/02 DVD serves as a timely reminder how complacency has been the tragic flaw of Wolves sides in the too, recent past.

Are Wolves simply nothing without their celestial duo?

Adam Thompson — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:34:15 +0000

Wolves PodJockey Adam Thompson wonders if McCarthy's men are nothing without their wing wizards Kightly and Jarvis.

‘Woeful', ‘Abysmal', ‘Horrendous' were just some of the words that were used by a few unlucky Wolves fans who attended a miserable game (for us) in a bleak rain soaked Swansea. And I couldn't have put it better myself. After a disastrous 0-3 home defeat to Reading which saw wolves lose not only the watch but arguably the two best performers for Wolves this season in Michael Kightly and Matt Jarvis. The mumbles around Molineux were starting, the ‘Here we go again' seemed oh too familiar but remaining positive was a must for our trip to Swansea despite such setbacks.

Then the team sheet is announced, Hennesey rested, Iwelumo suspended, Kightly Injured, Jarvis Injured, Ebanks-Blake Injured. The fresh faced George Friend in at left back and the new loan arrival of Carlos Edwards starting. Five men across midfield and the not so much ‘Fox in box' but more ‘Assassin Assister' Andy Keogh alone up front, it was hard to feel confident, something this Wolves side had looked this season, that had glimpses of the class of 2003. We concede in the first minute, get a goal back through ‘The Assassin' Keogh but concede again before half time and another in the second half to condemn wolves to their 2^nd defeat in a week shipping 6 goals for their troubles. ‘We were rubbish' said Karl Henry after the game, and those chants of ‘we are top of the league' we can only hope will return when at the crunch of the season.

The worry for myself was that the performance at Swansea had shades of last season's frustrations where fullback Michael Gray was playing right midfield and Kevin Foley was shifted into what's now known as the ‘Makelele role'. Saturday's side was very much that, it was very much mix and match; George Friend who received a torrid time at left back was eventually moved to the left wing with Dave Edwards being deployed as second striker. But reasons for these changes could be looked at in two lights. Is it Mick McCarthy showing blind faith in his players by playing them out of position? Or is it simply that the loss of Kightly and Jarvis leaves are our team unbalanced and in disarray? The latter seems the more likely, Mick McCarthy's belief in the ability in Stephen Ward and Neil Collins has seen two players excel this season when many Wolves fans were left scratching their heads when they penned new deals. But what must not be ignored is that last season wolves were inconsistent or more appropriately unbalanced. It took until late in the season to find our strike partnership where at one point wolves had no fewer than eight forwards, put that with a rotation of midfielders and a team that didn't have Kightly and Jarvis playing in it until we made a last ditch promotion push (Funny that eh?) and our final place of 7^th looks a little more respectable.

There's no doubt that Kightly and Jarvis ‘our wingers supreme' are a massive influence on Wolves, they affect the way we play, the tempo and with two players willing to charge forward with the ball at every opportunity, they take enormous pressure of the defence and with Mick McCarthy comparing the loss of one of the wingers like Man United losing Ronaldo, two of that is pretty crucial.

My worry now is that with both players out can Wolves cope? Are they more balanced this season to be able to reshuffle and still be considered contenders for the Premiership? Or are Wolves simply a mediocre side with the luxury of two match winning assets.

Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter

Adam Thompson — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:35:13 +0000

Michel Platini... he calls premiership team 'cheats' without any foundation, he says the european championships were better without England again offering no reason, he then attacked Arsene Wenger for 'running a football club like a business' and advocating the use of technology to help officials (which suggest he didnt see Reading's phantom goal).... how long untill this fool is brought in to explain his comments? He cleary seems to be from the same school of Sepp Blatter, who not only is the most powerful man in football but also the most ignorant... two men who are the head of their respective federations yet so detached from common sense that as football fans we should have a say over their influence on the game.

Blackburn's new guv'nor can take the club to the next level

Adam Thompson — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:52:37 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Adam Thompson applauds the appointment of Paul Ince and feels that he is more than capable of taking Blackburn Rovers to the next level.

At the backend of last season, (around the time when every insulting adjective was attached to Wolves Manager Mick McCarthy's name.), there came a cry for a new man to steer my club, the apparent ‘sleeping giant' back into the Premiership. Sam Allardyce, Steve McClaren even Graham Taylor were linked to the job. However the firm favourite was a man that had served Wolves well in his 4 year stay, a man that in his first season guided us to promotion and was the experienced head in our ill fated relegation season, that man was Paul Ince or as he likes to be known ‘The Guvnor'.

After McCarthy was selected over Ince as Wolves' man it seemed ironic he was the fans choice for his replacement. As Ince's name was beckoned to be brought back I couldn't help but think of what could have been if Ince had been selected over Mick McCarthy 2 years ago. As great a leader of men he is, The Guvnor has always been his own man and a lack loyalty has been somewhat of excess baggage when the Ince band wagon rolls into town. Despised by West Ham supporters and known as ‘Charlie' by Man United fans (this after Alex Ferguson's comments on his attitude) Paul Ince is no stranger to confrontation on or off the field. It was his desire to achieve that left me feeling a move to Wolves as manager would be a stepping stone to bigger things and his willingness to move (which I argue thus far as ambition) would have surely tainted the service he did show while wearing the gold and black shirt.

Ince has always stated his ambition to manage at the top, from his first managerial post at Macclesfield to his successful promotion campaign (not to mention a football league trophy win) with MK Dons. His honesty benefited both clubs, the respective chairmen were getting a manager striving for success and Ince was given the foundations to reach the top. It speaks for Paul Ince's character that whilst at League Two MK Dons he was talking himself up for the pending Inter Milan vacancy. As far fetched as that may seem for managers in the same circle as he, there was always a feeling that only Paul Ince could jump from the mundane surroundings of Milton Keynes to the pinnacle of Serie A.

However Paul Ince finds himself at Blackburn, a team in my opinion ready made to break the top four. Another of Fergie's apprentices, Mark Hughes has done the ground work now Ince takes on the baton. It's been a little over a decade since Blackburn was champions of England who better to shake them back into possible contenders than The Guvnor? His lack of experience will count against him, but two trophies and a successful relegation battle all would have been recognised upon his appointment. But what Ince lacks in managerial experience he makes up in drive and determination. His former United team mate Roy Keane has only two managerial years under his belt and you feel Keane will kick on from that.

By taking the Blackburn post he becomes the first black English manager in the Premiership a milestone to add to the great honour of becoming the first black England captain. Much has been made of a lack of black managers in English football, a great role model for the black community (myself incuded), critics of the lack of diversity in the game will be watching Ince with sincere interest seeing a success for Paul Ince as a success for the image of the game.

He has already stated he's relishing his return to West Ham and simply said he will tell Alex Ferguson ‘No' if he attempts to sign Roque Santa Cruz. The next Premiership season looks to be as exciting off the field as on it. With ‘Big' Phil Scolari joining Ince on the side lines, add this with Arsene Wenger, Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane and the evidence is there that England not only attracts the best players but the most talented managers too.

For Ince this hard work is to come, I'm sure he is under no illusions about the harsh nature of the top tier of English football he only has to look to his former international team mate Gareth Southgate who said ‘It's a lot harder what I thought and a lot harder than what you think' on management. The stage is set for Ince to prove he isn't all mouth and can hack it as a top flight manager; it has been this opportunity that has spurned the great man on, back in his playing career and so far in his managerial career. Will it be the chance to make Blackburn a top four side again? Or will it be a chance to get one over Fergie? Or Will Blackburn's success depend upon Ince's chance to become the first black manager to lift the Premiership trophy? He's already made history before, what's stopping him doing it again?

NB - Adam Thompson is competing in our Bloggers Euro Championship so if you can give his article a rating in the voting box, it would be greatly appreciated.

Why Liverpool must pull out stops to secure striker!

Adam Thompson — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:54:39 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Adam Thompson feels that Rafa Benitez must pull out the stops and bring in the one man who can make Liverpool serious title contenders.

Euro 2008 hasn't produced any unknown stars for me, in fact if anything it's only enhanced the growing reputations of stars who are dazzling their own domestic leagues, Lukas Podolski, Wesley Sneider and the Tottenham bound Luka Modric have all caught my eye. However one player has been simply fantastic (deadly even) all most as sharp as the lines in his goatee and the spikes on his head and that is Spain's David Villa.

This lad is exciting and it's exactly the style what I wanted to see in this summers tournament, he plays with such pace and confidence he almost resembles the player Michael Owen could have been if he remained injury free. Ironic as Rafa Benitez disposed of Michael Owen at the start of his Liverpool reign but with Fernando Torres the scoring king of the Kop now, the days of Owen playing in Liverpool shirt again is just a romantic's hope.

David Villa on the other hand may not be. Villa's strike partnership with Torres looks a match made in heaven and an essential factor for Spain's success. After completing his hat-trick against Russia the little man (Villa) ran towards the already substituted big man Torres to celebrate, underlining at that point the camaraderie between the pair. As each game goes the Spain number 7 reputation increases, ok its only 2 games in, but 4 goals in 2 games speaks for its self.

Rafa Benitez must be watching with interest at Spain's progress, firstly because of the Torres-Villa partnership and secondly if that pairing could finally bring a Premiership title to Anfield, (the later being the major factor). Will Benitez stake his intent on winning the league by signing Villa? Surprising the only links to the Premiership for the little Spaniard has been with Chelsea, but who isn't linked with them now-days? The surprise is that Arsenal, Manchester United or more importantly Liverpool hasn't shown a firm interest. Benitez is looking for another striker to play alongside Torres, so who better than a man whom he has a current goal scoring partnership with?

There is a bedrock there for Liverpool to be Champions of England again (Bit when hasn't there been?) but surely its time they make another signing as big (if not bigger) as Torres, to make the other 3 Premiership big guns sit up. I'm sorry to say it, but Liverpool isn't going to win the league with a Torres-Crouch or a Torres-Kuyt partnership. With his connections with Spain and more crucially Valencia, Benitez should pull out all the stops to raid his cash strapped former side for Villa. With Torres and his little amigo, for the first time in a number of years, I would actually consider Liverpool genuine challengers to United crown.

While all the talk this summer is about Ronaldo possibly going to Madrid and Barry more than likely joining Gerrard in the Liverpool Midfield, an out and out poacher who can turn their plentiful draws into wins for Liverpool must be purchased and, as Sweden found out to their cost, that man has to be David Villa.

NB - Adam Thompson is competing in our Bloggers Euro Championship so if you can give his article a rating in the voting box, it would be greatly appreciated.

Grp B Poland vs. Croatia. 19.45

Grp B Austria vs. Germany. 19:45

Or for some alternative entertainment from Rambo...