Not so Clueless Exile

First week mixed bag

One week of the season complete and three matches played already. As always, the action seems to come thick and fast at the start of the campaign, so, even at this early stage, it is possible to take stock and see what Wolves have achieved.

The Watford game was a disappointing result, although I didn`t feel that the team actually played that badly. We saw an excellent team move finished by Seyi, and I was feeling reasonably comfortable with 5 minutes to go. How wrong can you be? The deflected free-kick equaliser was bad enough, but I think a draw would probably have been a fair result, had we managed to hang on to it. To then concede a penalty so late in the piece really sticks in the craw, and King`s finish was clinical. Hopefully our penalty-takers were watching because the technique was excellent. I believe that results since have appeased the nay-sayers that appeared in the 24 hours afterwards, but the point to take forward is that Watford are without doubt amongst the best sides in the Championship and we matched them for the vast majority of the contest. We will play more poorly in future and win.

A good example of this would be the Bradford City performance in the midweek Carling Cup game. For 45 minutes we looked very poor against a weak side from a considerably lower level. However, we managed to pick up the 2-1 win, and progressed into the second round where Morecambe, the conquerors of Preston, await. This also turned out to be Jody Craddock`s last game (assuming the move to Stoke becomes permanent) and he left us with a typical curate`s egg of a performance. The brilliance of his goal which made the entrance fee worth it for the 9,600 odd who attended, was balanced by a blunder that allowed Bradford to get a goal back and make the last few minutes unnecessarily nervy. Thanks for your efforts Jody. I hope you are happy at the Potters.
So bye-bye Jody and welcome Freddie. Mr Eastwood opened his account with the first goal against Bradford and also hit the mark for the first time in the league in Sheffield on Sunday. I am amazed by the statistics from the game at Hillsborough. It certainly felt to me that we had more than 4 shots on goal, but three on target, resulting in 3 goals is a sign that our finishing power is growing. Think back to Birmingham at home last year where we were on the other end of that sort of statistical freak. It definitely feels better when we take the three points.

The whole team (with the exception of Potter) put in a good performance, but I have to make special mention of Seyi George Olofinjana. Over his time with us he has impressed and frustrated me in equal measure, but on Sunday he was immense, putting in a near flawless performance. If he can replicate this regularly, and the strikers remain in the goals, then there is great promise for the weeks and months ahead.

Roll on the Blackpool game. I for one can`t wait.