Preview: Bristol City away

Wolves travel to Ashton Gate to face what has been described in some quarters as a relegation 6-pointer against Bristol City this Saturday. Following their latest 2 defeats, Stale Solbakken's side find themselves languishing in 18th (ahead of Birmingham's game with Middlesbrough tonight), just 7 points above the drop zone where Bristol are - 22nd in the table on 15 points.

Nicky Maynard scores the late equaliser at Ashton Gate

Wolves' record at Ashton Gate has always been quite decent. Although we've lost there 11 times in our history (we've played there 27 times), we've also won 11, scoring plenty of goals in the process. In our last 5 visits there, we've scored 14 goals - including a 6-1 win and a 5-1 win. What we'd all give for similar results tomorrow! Our last visit to Bristol was during our title-winning season and was in similar conditions to what we'll most likely face tomorrow. It was a mid-January evening kick-off (thanks to Sky) and on a wind and rain swept night, Wolves went 2-0 up through Jarvis and Neill Collins before Dele Adebola grabbed one back for The Robins. Wolves looked to be holding out, but three minutes from time, Nicky Maynard popped up to grab an equaliser. That was one of the early games in Wolves' run of 1 win in 11 that almost derailed our promotion hopes. Ironically, we find ourselves travelling to the South-West in another run of bad form. Following Tuesday's 1-0 defeat at home to Millwall, we're currently without a win in 9 games. Indeed, right now Wolves have the 3rd worst league form in the country, only behind QPR and Hartlepool. Bristol have suffered similar woes however. They've only had 1 win in their last 13 games - an impressive 3-1 success away at Middlesbrough last Saturday.

Steve Davies: City's top scorer and a real handful

Despite that poor run of form, Bristol haven't found goalscoring a problem for them. They've just struggled to keep them out the other end too. Overall they've averaged 1.47 goals a game whilst conceding 1.94. But it's at Ashton Gate where their goalscoring exploits are up there with the best in the division. They're scored 19 goals at home (only 6 teams have bettered that total), however they've also conceded 21. Averaging 2.11 goals-per-game and conceding 2.33 goals-per-game. They are very much the entertainers at home. They are really struggling with injuries too though! Key players Louis Carey, Stephen McManus, Lewin Nyatanga, Jon Stead and Cole Skuse are all sidelined. However top scorer Steven Davies is set to start - possibly alongside West Ham loanee Sam Baldock. They like to get the ball forward and won't give us a minute to settle on the ball. In Steven Davies they have someone who will bully the two centre-backs and never give them a minute's peace! The creative presence of Martyn Woolford and on-loan midfielder Neil Danns will look to use our zonal marking and the time this creates to pick a pass and set up Bristol attacks. At the back, Bristol have made a fantastic signing by bringing in Scottish centre-back Danny Wilson on loan from Liverpool. Liam Fontaine has been a virtual ever-present in The Robins' back-line this season and looks set to start tomorrow, aiming to help Bristol keep their first competitive clean sheet of the season. Thankfully for Wolves fans, there are no former players at Bristol City who can come back to haunt us this weekend.

Karl Henry: Crucially back to add bite to midfield

 As for Wolves, well we have serious injury problems of our own, with no fewer than 6 first-team players out of action through injury. That includes midfield-powerhouse Tongo Doumbia who has returned to France for 5 days "to be rested". This is an issue that has split opinion with Wolves fans, with some (including myself) feeling the break will be good for him and will avoid a repeat of the Jelle Van Damme issue of 2 years ago. On the other hand, some Wolves fans think that for the money Doumbia earns, he should be able to play and train each week. However, on the upside we do have Karl Henry back from suspension tomorrow which is crucial to keeping that midfield solid and means there's just a little less space for teams to exploit in front of our back-four. Of course, this week has been dominated by various issues off the pitch. There's been talk of dressing room unrest, with rumours of players going to the board and complaining about Solbakken and his style of football, and then rumours of a team meeting post-Millwall ending up in players criticising Stale's methods and him riding roughshod over them. Then, of course, there was the disgusting incident involding Solbakken's car being covered in paint outside his home on Wednesday night. So all in all, it's been a truly horrible week for Wolves fans that has frustrated us, split us and then united us again - truly a rollercoaster few days! Now we're hearing rumours that if Stale doesn't win tomorrow, then he'll be sacked and replaced by Gordon Strachan or Alex McLeish. Now, I can't speak for other Wolves fans, but I can speak for myself and I will make it very clear that if either of those two are appointed, Steve Morgan won't be getting another penny of my money.

2012 has been such a year of turmoil for Wolves fans, and we've become a laughing stock on several occasions this year. The sooner it's over, the better. Hopefully tomorrow will be the start of the 'recovery' for the club, the team and the long-suffering fans. I'm going for a draw to at least slightly pick morale up.

Prediction: Bristol City 2-2 Wolves

In Stale We Trust.

Lions Roar On As Wolves Look Toothless

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Millwall

(Keogh 79)

And so it goes on. Yet another defeat that left Wolves winless in 6 at home and had Molineux's lowest crowd for 4 years showing their anger at full-time with chants of "What a load of rubbish". This was a game that went according to the form book - Wolves now with the worst form in the league (they had been second-worst before tonight), Millwall with the best. However it could've been so different had we capitalised on our first-half dominance. We were all over Millwall, playing some brilliant football (indeed, I personally feel that first half was one of our best of the season!) but we couldn't take our chances. Countless times Sako, Doyle and Sigurdarson got into brilliant crossing positions on the left, but time after time their balls in found nobody. Herein lies a key problem for Wolves - Doyle and Sigurdarson look good together, but neither looks like a clinical, lethal goalscorer. We were also left cursing our bad luck with officials too as in an incident similar to the Newcastle game at home last season, there was a clear foul on Doyle in the box that both the referee and linesmen deemed to be outside. A penalty would've been such a great chance to get the goal we deserved and, who knows, it could've pushed us on to get more. Certainly at that stage of the game you couldn't tell who was the best form side in the division and who was the worst.

Millwall players celebrate Keogh's winner

We clearly didn't bring our shooting boots. In fact the first time we hit the target was when 82nd minute substitue Sylvan Ebanks-Blake who chested the ball from 3 yards out which was tipped round the post by David Forde. Our second shot on target also came from Ebanks-Blake, when he tamely headed the ball down and into the arms of the Millwall keeper. Indeed bar Ebanks-Blake's chances, our only other efforts of note were a half-chance that Doyle scuffed wide, a shot from Forde that drifted over, a Dave Edwards effort that sailed over the bar, and Ebanks-Blake ballooning over from the edge of the box. It's safe to say that David Forde won't have had many easier 90 minutes in his entire career. It's that failure to make the most of our opportunities that punished us and, as is becoming the norm now, it was a former player who came back to put us to the sword. As like Guedioura on Saturday, it was Andy Keogh - often much maligned around these parts - who finished clincally inside the box to condemn us to a 6th home game in a row without a win. As is also usual, the goal came from a defensive mistake, with Wolves playing themselves into trouble and paying the price. In fact it was Millwall who looked most like scoring, and could've added to their tally at least twice on the counter-attack had their final ball been better.

Pennant & Berra seem to be undroppable

There's a distinct lack of second half urgency in this Wolves side, unless we go to the extreme of it and just keep hitting long balls forward. We don't seem inclined to close people down, which means the opposition have plenty of time to pick their pass. We don't seem to want to push forward and get at teams and end up resorting to long aimless balls into the channels or directly to the opposition centre-halves. Credit for that, though, has to go to Kenny Jackett and Millwall. They set up to press us high up the pitch - even from goal kicks Keogh and Wood marked the two centre-backs to stop us playing out from the back. It seems a lot of teams have cottoned on to how we like to play, and as a result we're seeing more teams squeeze us up the pitch. This again highlights why I feel we need to play faster and more direct than we currently do. When we did in the first half tonight, we looked dangerous going forward and were dominating the game. There were perhaps only 4 players out there that looked like they had any interest in driving us forward in that second half. Davis, Anthony Forde, Sigurdarson and Ebanks-Blake. Pennant (whom Forde replaced) is yet again proving himself to be a disgrace to the shirt by just not giving a damn about something that I and thousands of others would give our right arm for! How Berra, too, manages to keep his place in the side is beyond me. He was an absolute shambles tonight from start to finish. Why doesn't Stale change it?! We have a perfectly good replacement in Danny Batth, but we don't use him! Surely Solbakken cannot feel that this is still his best XI, given our appalling form. We have taken 3 points from a possible 27 - and they came from 3 draws!! I am not saying we'll go down, but the fact is, that is relegation form. In fact, even bottom of the table Peterborough United have taken more points from their last 9 games! It is simply not good enough and as one of Solbakken's biggest fans, even I am beginning to question just what is going on here.

We have all - staff, players and fans - got to dust ourselves down from tonight and look ahead to what is becoming a vital 6-pointer at Ashton Gate on Saturday. A win there, and we can look to kick-start our season as well as get some comfortable distance (points-wise) from the bottom 3. A defeat, and suddenly we find ourselves potentially facing real trouble - especially with games against Birmingham, Peterborough and Ipswich all still to come in December. I'm targeting a minimum of 7 points from those 4 games, especially as all but Bristol are home games. This is fast beginning to feel like last season did and, if you ask me, both January and 2013 in general cannot come soon enough! It's been a horrible year to be a Wolves fan.

My Wolves MOTM: David Davis. Often criticised by myself, he looked bright for 90 minutes tonight. Always offered an option for the man on the ball, and showed good strength and composure when in possession too. Looked to try and push the team on in the absence of Doumbia.

Wolves In A Word: Toothless

In Stale We Trust.

Preview: Millwall home

Wolves go into the second of their home double-header ever more desperately in need of points after yet another disappointing defeat against Nottingham Forest. As is becoming the norm with Wolves we started off incredibly brightly, taking the lead after 5 minutes through Sigurdarson, before failing to take a hatful of chances and being punished through sloppy mistakes. Then our usual second-half failings materialised again and we slipped to another loss thanks to the traditional ex-Wolves-player curse.

Hammill's sublime free-kick in last season's demolition of Millwall

So on the back of that, the last thing we want is to come up against one of the division's form sides. Millwall are unbeaten in their last 10 games, the best record in the Championship, their last defeat coming at home to Brighton at the end of September. Since then, they have won 6 and drawn 5. Compare that with Wolves who are now without a win in 9 and suddenly the prospect of success on Tuesday night for Stale Solbakken's men looks alarmingly bleak. Having said that, our record against Millwall is impressive. Of the 37 competitive meetings between the two sides, Wolves have 18 to Millwall's 10. The record at Molineux is even more impressive, with Wolves winning 13 of the 20 competitive meetings in Wolverhampton, and have scored a fantastic 41 goals past the South-London side at Molineux in those meetings. However, Millwall won on their last league visit here, a 2-1 win on a balmy September night in 2005 when Barry Hayles won it for them in the last minute. Our last game with The Lions brings much happier memories though, a 5-0 Carling Cup success last season including a beautiful free-kick from Adam Hammill and one of the best goals I've ever seen - a 30-yard screamer from Adlene Guedioura (we know all about those now don't we!)

Andy Keogh's famous celebration after his winner at Derby

The Millwall we face now are much improved from the side that capitulated so easily at Molineux last season. They're very dangerous going forward, with Chris Wood (on loan from the Baggies) their leading marksman with 8 goals. Former Watford man Darius Henderson follows closely behind on 7 goals and the pair of them can be lethal when played together. Liam Trotter on 6 also provides a goalscoring threat from the middle of the park. It's not to be forgotten that Millwall also have Andy Keogh. The Irish international, who often split opinion at Molineux, has gone down in recent Wolves folklore for his two goals against Derby County that all but sent us up. His shirtless celebration, 3 minutes from time at Pride Park, is one of the iconic images of the Mick McCarthy era, and I'm sure for that he will get a good reception from the fans. But given how maligned he was by large sections of the crowd at times, it is almost guaranteed he will score against us. I'm sure he will follow Guedioura's example of no celebrating, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a tiny part of him that would be delighted to smack in the winner in front of the South Bank - he deserves it after some of the abuse he got at times.

Bakary Sako: Big loss for Wolves

At the time of writing, it appears that Doumbia and Sako are severely struggling for fitness ahead of tomorrow night's game. If we were to be without both these players, it would be a monumental blow. Given that we're already without Henry through suspension, losing Doumbia would see us be incredibly lightweight in the middle of the park, with neither Davis nor Edwards a particularly big physical presence. And, of course, the impact of the loss of Sako doesn't really need any words to describe it. He's been involved in 14 goals for us so far this season - scoring 6 and setting up 8. To lose him would see a real hole in our creativity. A potential solution to this is to stick with the 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 that Solbakken favours, and put Doyle on the right-wing with either Pennant (who is reportedly on a final warning from Solbakken due to his poor performances) or Forde on the left-wing. Then put the recently-impressive Sigurdarson up top with Ebanks-Blake. Doing this, we wouldn't lose too much goal threat thanks to three strikers being on the pitch, but we also have Doyle's workrate to track back and assist his full-back who, on recent form, should be Stearman. The former Leicester man has looked far more solid than Foley in the last couple of months and would be my choice to play tomorrow night.

Given our recent form, and possible injuries, I predict it will be a nervy affair between the two sides. I have a feeling Millwall will capitalise on the nerves around the place and will continue their very good recent form by picking up 3 points at Molineux.

Prediction: Wolves 1-2 Millwall

In Stale We Trust

Wolves Masters Of Their Own Downfall

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Nottingham Forest

(Sigurdarson 5, Sharp 16, Guedioura 57)

Sigurdarson celebrates giving Wolves an early lead

On a rain-drenched afternoon at Molineux, it wasn't just water that was drained away as Wolves succumbed to yet another defeat - their fourth in five matches - and suffered another body blow to their already-fragile confidence. It all started so brightly too. Some lovely football from Sako, Sigurdarson and Doyle - and even Pennant - meant we pushed forward early on and as such, it was no surprise when we took the lead. The goal came from a break forward and when Pennant cut inside, his attempted pass to Doyle broke kindly off a Forest defender into the path of the onside Sigurdarson and the Icelandic striker keep his cool to finish superbly from 15 yards. The goal spurred the fans on and encouraged the team to push on, desperate to seize on the momentum and add to their lead. But it was one of those attacks that cost us our lead. We overcommitted, lost the ball and then Forest smacked us on the break. Berra got caught under the ball, completely lost Sharp who finished so neatly into the bottom corner. I'm still amazed as to why Southampton let Sharp go. He's absolutely lethal!

Guedioura strikes to put Forest 2-1 ahead

But even after conceding, we still looked dangerous going forward. We had a host of openings but as is often the case these days, that final pass, cross or finish was just lacking. But on balance, I think Forest would've been the happier of the two sides going in 1-1 at half-time. However - and I don't know why I'm bothering to point it out anymore as it's become the norm for Wolves at home - we were a totally different team in the second half. We had nothing going forward and struggled to keep possession in Forest's half of the pitch. Indeed the fact that we statistically had more possession than Forest is irrelevant. The majority of it was between our own back four going absolutely nowhere! And whenever we did venture forward into the Forest half, we had no real options for the full-backs to use and so we resorted to hopeful long-balls that the Forest back four lapped up all day long. Then for Forest's winner, again a lack of options in the final third means our attempted attacking play breaks down and Forest break. Yet there is no pressure put on Guedioura as he steams forward. Dave Edwards is struggling to keep up with him, but nobody moves to close him down until the very last second as Berra goes to close him down as he shoots. It was actually Berra's job to close Guedioura down earlier and let Ward cover Sharp's run behind him (who incidentally, may have been offside should the ball have come to him). But Berra was too worried about Sharp so continued to back off from Guedioura. In that situation, you have got to force the attacker to make a decision by pressing him. We didn't and allowed a player with a reputation for lethal long-range strikes to get a shot at goal. Ultimately, we paid the price! And as is always the way with Wolves, an ex-player comes back to haunt us. All credit to the Algerian midfielder for not celebrating his goal though!

Doumbia: Not strong enough on the ball

After that, we always looked like losing. In fact, it could've been more had The Reds' final ball been that little more precise. Again though, it was through our poor passing. In all honesty, Sean O'Driscoll got his game-plan spot on today! All they did was sit back, kept their shape and wait for us to give the ball away and then hit us on the break. It worked a treat because we had no movement in the final third (becoming a familiar story that) and eventually lost possession cheaply. Today was, for me, the final straw and I think it's time we started being a little more direct in our play. I'm not talking about hoofing it 60 yards each time. I mean get the ball down, run at people and stretch the opposition through movement, rather than the statues we seem to have at the moment. We don't have the players defensively, but going forward we have some real quality. Players like Sako, Doumbia, Edwards, Pennant, Doyle and Sigurdarson are all players who can pass a ball and move, yet they don't seem to want to. As a result we are often very static in attacking positions and quickly find moves breaking down. Pennant has been a huge disappointment and I would personally be delighted if he never wore a Wolves shirt again. Doumbia was very poor today too. He wasn't at all strong on the ball and lost possession far too cheaply at times.

Something really does need to change and fast. We're in serious danger of undoing all our good work in the early part of the season and, whilst it does still seem unrealistic, the last thing any of us want is to get sucked in to a battle for survival. Because right now, that's exactly what this is beginning to feel like it's becoming.

My Wolves MOTM: Bjorn Sigurdarson. Took his goal very well and always looked lively. Tracked back well too whenever he lost the ball. Looks like he's developing into a rather good player.

Wolves In A Word: Predictable

In Stale We Trust.

Preview: Nottingham Forest home

It's a Midlands derby this weekend as West meets East at Molineux. The game is the first of two big home matches in quick succession for the Wanderers, who have seen a slump in form since the win over Blackburn at the start of October. Since then Wolves have picked up just 3 points (all from draws) out of a possible 21, are without a win in 7 and have dropped from 3rd in the table to 16th. However, due to the topsy-turvy nature of the Championship, whilst we are 6 places above the relegation zone, we are still closer to the play-offs in terms of points (6 points off them, compared to 8 off the relegation zone). Two wins in these next two home games could see us into the top ten at least!

Kightly celebrates his first in the 5-1 demolition of Forest in 08/09

Games between ourselves and Nottingham Forest are always crackers - particularly at Molineux. Our last 5 meetings with them at home have produced 15 goals (most of them for Wolves) and have been filled with entertainment and talking points. We do have a fantastic record against Forest. There have been 114 League meetings between the two sides and Wolves have won 53 of them. Indeed, our last home defeat to them came on Boxing Day 1980 when we lost 4-1. Should we score twice tomorrow, we will reach 200 League goals against Forest. So all the signs point to a very comfortable, relatively easy home victory. However, this is Wolves and we know that it's not always that straightforward. In our last 5 home games we have picked up just 4 points, scoring 8 and conceding 8. This is incredibly frustrating as our performances haven't been too bad at times, we just aren't getting the results to match them.

Greg Halford with one of his traditional throw-ins

Forest bring with them 3 major threats to us tomorrow. Two come in the form of ex-players, Adlene Guedioura and, of course, Greg Halford. Wolves fans all know what Guedioura brings to the pitch - a bite in the tackle but also someone who can run at players and has a rocket shot on him. A lot of Forest (and Wolves) fans are backing him to score tomorrow and that wouldn't surprise me one bit. Especially given our record for ex-players finding the back of the net. Halford will come to Molineux egged on by Forest fans who love watching him pathetically attempt to wind us up on Twitter, spurred on by the Southbank's abuse of him, and determined to prove that he's not just all talk. A player who's long-throws are almost as big as his ego, he will provide a stern test for the rightfully-restored Christophe Berra (well done to The FA for getting that one right!) and the ever-present Roger Johnson. Forest's other test comes in the form of Billy Sharp - a lethal striker on his day who many (including myself) were astounded to see Southampton let go after their promotion to the Premier League. He can score any type of goal and his pace and strength will be something that Wolves will have to guard heavily against.

I think we will see Wolves go with their traditional 4-4-1-1 with Davis (who had a good 15 minutes against Watford) and Doumbia sitting deep and Dave Edwards supporting Kevin Doyle up front. I think Solbakken will want to keep it tight and look to hit Forest on the break. It's a tactic that worked against Brighton and Watford when for spells in each game with ten men, we were arguably the better side. It's a side that should have a lot of energy and that is why I think this could be the game that turns our recent fortunes around.

Prediction: Wolves 2-1 Nottingham Forest

In Stale We Trust

Robbed Wolves Stung By Hornets

Watford 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

(Chalobah 35, Deeney 68, Sako 54)

Wolves players protest the inexplicable sending off of Berra

A disappointing afternoon at a very disappointing Vicarage Road left Wolves winless in 7 games. However yet again it is the performance (or lack of) from the man in the middle that is the day's big talking point. I personally don't think I've seen worse refereeing in a match in my entire life. It was absolutely appalling. First there was his inexplicable decision to send Christophe Berra off for absolutely nothing (and I mean nothing, there was no foul committed at all - not even Watford appealed for it). That immediately set the tone for the rest of the game and meant that our backs were firmly against the wall for around 60 minutes. He also strangely booked Dave Edwards for diving when the midfielder looked to have been clipped in the box. Indeed it seems his yellow card was actually punishment for trying to stay on his feet. There was also a possible trip on Sigurdarson on the edge of the box that was completely missed by the officals and numerous other odd decisions going Watford's way. This was, of course, not helped by the conistent diving and time-wasting tactics of Watford's players, who have perhaps embraced a bit too much of the Italian culture that now encompasses the club.

Chalobah celebrates putting Watford 1-0 up

But, despite atrocious officals and extreme gamesmanship from The Hornets, Wolves were once again resilient in the face of adversity.  We were by far the better side before going down to ten men, and although we looked poor for the remainder of the first half - rightfully going a goal behind - we played very well indeed in the second half. We created a lot of chances and, whilst we were quite stretched at times defensively (to be expected given our disadvantage) could easily have nicked a richly-deserved point. Some of the football we played was fantastic at times, and some of the players are beginning to look as though they're really clicking. Again Sigurdarson and Doyle looked like they can actually play together. Sako carried us forward with real power - he took players on for fun at times (particularly in the second half) and looked a real threat.

Sako celebrates his 'lucky' goal at Vicarage Road

Although Sako's goal was an incredible fluke - Almunia revisiting his Arsenal days by making a comical error - we carved Watford open numerous times. Watford defenders were lucky that they just happened to get a block on almost every shot we had. Had our final ball, or shot, been a bit more precise then we would have had our point. Almunia also made some decent saves as well, to his credit. Had the game stayed 11v11 for 90 minutes, I am positive that we would've come away with 3 points. However, our second-half play ultimately counted for nothing as we switched off at a short-corner and conceded a winner that, as play was going, had been coming for some time. But the signs have been very positive over the last 180 minutes and if we can take that forward to Nottingham Forest and Millwall at Molineux in our next two games (and keep 11 men on the pitch), then we have a very good chance of getting something!

My Wolves MOTM: Bakary Sako. Grabbed the side by the scruff of the neck at times and was a real threat going forward. Looks like, after a few dodgy games, he might be on the way back to his best.

Wolves In A Word: Robbed

In Stale We Trust.

Preview: Watford away

Wolves face a difficult trip to Watford this weekend. We have often struggled against Watford, winning just twice on our last six visits to Vicarage Road. Games between the two sides are often scrappy - as determined by the state of the pitch. However, much like with Brighton, the Watford side we face this weekend is different in many ways to previous Hornets sides. New owners have meant new investment, and new boss Gianfranco Zola has benefitted from this by having no fewer than 10 players arrive on loan from Italian club Udinese.

Not only this, but Watford signed goalkeeper Manuel Almunia on a free from Arsenal - a very impressive signing at Championship level and centre-back Fitz Hall from fellow London side QPR. However, this hasn't yet brought the results that had perhaps been hoped for. Whilst they've enjoyed very good results - including a 3-2 win at Huddersfield and last weekend's 6-1 demolition of 9-man Leeds at Elland Road - they have struggled to beat a lot of the sides above them, suffering 2-1 defeats to Middlesbrough and Cardiff and dropping points to Millwall, Bristol City and suffering a heavy early-season 5-1 defeat to Derby. These mixed bag of results have left Zola's side sitting in 12th place (albeit 3 places above Wolves and only 4 points off the play-offs).

Michael Gray celebrates his winner at Watford

Our last game at Vicarage Road was quite a thriller. A game that twisted and turned before ending up with a Michael Gray winner bagging us a 3-2 victory. In that game, a mistake from Watford allowed Chris Iwelumo to sneak in and give us a first-minute lead. I'd certainly be very happy with that tomorrow! We will need to be alert early on, as Watford will be looking to carry on their form after their result last weekend. Having Roger Johnson back on form is crucial for us. He leads the back-line so well - so much so that there's been talk from some fans of making him captain in Karl Henry's absence. And it is that missing midfielder that will play a big role in how tomorrow's game goes. Previously when he has been out the side (or even been substituted off), we've been incredibly poor. Indeed, Brighton was the first game where he was off the pitch and we still played exceptionally well! I'll be intrigued to see how Solbakken covers the hole he's left. Davis isn't good enough right now for me, so we have the option of Doumbia and Edwards in midfield - one I feel would be incredibly open. So to close things up, I would play our usual 4-4-1-1 but with Pennant and Forde on the wings and Sako in behind either one of Doyle or Ebanks. It's compact, but can be extremely lethal on the counter-attack. Plus it's becoming clear to all of us that Sako would be much more comfortable just behind the striker, rather than out on the wing.

Can't see either side really grabbing this game by the scruff of the neck. Both teams are quite inconsistent too, so this one goes down as a draw for me.

Prediction: Watford 1-1 Wolves

In Stale We Trust.

Wolves Bite Back

Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-3 Brighton & Hove Albion

(Sako 22, Doumbia 61, Johnson 90, Mackail-Smith 43, Buckley 72, Dobbie pen 89)

Well I did joke that it would a cracker. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that! Arguably two of the divison's tightest and lowest-scoring sides served up one of the games of the season so far. It had everything. Terrible defending, great attacking play, a screamer of a goal, disgraceful refereeing (I'll get to that in a moment) and so many other issues to debate long into the night! However, it seems all the effort, passion and desire that has been missing from the last few games came back with real gusto today!

At the start, I thought it was gonna be another of those days as we started very very poorly. Indeed, Sako's goal was the first real move where we actually got at Brighton and played some very clever, intricate football. I have been (as you know), very critical of Sako lately but whilst he faded at times in the second half, he was very good at times today. A lot more movement from him and so much more willing to take players on than he has been recently. I can hold my hands up and admit, I was very impressed by him today. But whilst we saw the very best of him for his goal, we saw the worst of him for Brighton's equaliser. A lazy return pass to Ward was way too short and gave Brighton the chance to get clear of Ward and put in a very good ball for a sublime finish by Craig Mackail-Smith.

Brighton celebrate their late penalty to make it 3-2

Then came the first of the afternoon's big talking points. The red card for Karl Henry. To me, it looked incredibly harsh. He did perhaps lead with the studs showing but it was a one-footed tackle and their player got straight back up. Have just seen it on the FLS and tbh, I can see why he's been sent off. It was quite high, but I think personally the referee was too quick to act. A yellow might well have sufficed. But Solbakken has said it was the right decision so I can't really argue with that. But it was just the start of a very bad day for Scott Mathieson. He walked off to a chorus of boos from the Molineux faithful. But in the second-half his day got worse. He could perhaps have sent off the Brighton player for his lunge at Sigurdarson, and possibly should've given a foul on Tongo Doumbia in the build-up to Brighton's equaliser (to make it 2-2), and his decision to award a penalty at the end was absolutely disgraceful. It was never a penalty in a billion years. My only explanation is that the Seagulls had had a few handball appeals turned down and he decided to give this one. But it's a very poor decision and, thankfully, it hasn't cost us a point.

I must say, I was very disappointed with Brighton. I was expecting them to be very good going forward, with a lot of flair, and very solid at the back. But in all honesty, they only really threatened on the counter-attack and after they'd made it 2-2. For the first 25 minutes of the second half, we were all over the South-Coast side and should really have added to our advantage. Their defending for Johnson's goal was terrible too. If you're 3-2 up with about 2 minutes to go, you make sure your head is first on any ball into the box. Johnson's position - and with the ball going away from goal - should mean he doesn't score that. But fair play to him, he couldn't have picked a better moment to get his first goal for the club, and his celebration has endeared me to him even more! Another who's passion is always wonderful to see is Solbakken's. After Craig Mackail-Smith made it 1-1, Solbakken smashed the roof of his dugout. I don't think that's happened at Molineux in a long long time. At least fans can't accuse him of not caring!!

The dugout that took a beating from Solbakken

A lot of credit has to go to the fans today too. The atmosphere on the Southbank at 2-1 was one of the best I've heard. The fans stuck with the team for the whole game. A lot of that was, I think, down to the sense of injustice we all felt. But it worked. Molineux really was the frightening, intimidating fortress we've all been crying out for. Now if we can just do that from the start, we'll see such an improvement in our fortunes, I'm sure of it. One thing's for sure though, I have never celebrated a draw more in my life. We were all - Wolves and the travelling Seagulls - treated to an absolute cracker.

Next up is a trip to a Watford side who've stuck 6 past Leeds away today. Without Karl Henry, it'll be very tough but hopefully we can take some of the passion and good moments from today with us to Vicarage Road next week. I'll see you there!

Johnson equalises with a brilliant diving header

My Wolves MOTD: Roger Johnson. For the second game running, he was immense today. He dominated the box, got forward well (having an effort cleared off the line) and even cleared a Brighton shot off the line too. Great goal at the end too. A real captain's performance from him, just without the armband.

Wolves In A Word: Resillient

In Stale We Trust

Preview: Brighton home

How times change...

This weekend Wolves are up against a real bogey side for them when Brighton visit Molineux. We struggle to really perform well against Brighton, and only have 5 wins to our name in our 22 meetings with the South-Coast side. Having said that, we are actually unbeaten in our last 4 games against them. However, our last meeting with them stretches all the way back to the 22nd April 2006. That day was the last home game of the 2005/06 season and was to ultimately be the last home game under Glenn Hoddle. It was also the last home game for much of our "Golden Era" squad - the likes of Lescott, Cameron, Kennedy and Miller who had become synonymous with the club over the years.

Poyet: Could've been Wolves boss

However, the Brighton side we faced that day is very different from the side Mark McGhee brought to Molineux that day. They're now under the stewardship of Gus Poyet - a man targeted by Wolves to replace Mick McCarthy last season - and play some very attractive football whilst remaining very tight at the back. Indeed, Brighton have actually conceded the fewest goals in the division, with only 11 strikes getting past them. Going forward they contain some real quality, with flair players such as Vicente and Will Buckley supplying star-striker Craig Mackail-Smith with the chances he needs. That said, goalmouth action at either end isn't Brighton's specialty. Games involving Brighton have thrown up the League's lowest goals tally with 30 (scoring only 19 and conceding 11). They have failed to score in 6 of their games this season, and all four of their defeats have been 1-0. This highlights just how hard it is to score against Brighton, but also that they don't pose a great threat of their own. Indeed they had to wait until the 90th minute to snatch a winner against a resilient Peterborough side at the AMEX on Tuesday night.

Sigurdarson: Worth trying with Ebanks-Blake

Brighton are clearly a very well-drilled, organised side. The same, too, could be said of Wolves. Solbakken is clearly trying to build from the back and make sure we're tight defensively. Ironically this is something we haven't been of late, conceding 2 goals in 4 of our last 5 games. We've not been too impressive going forward either. So far at Molineux this season we've averaged only 1.57 goals per game. We're not really playing well either, with very little movement coming from the forward players. Sako is looking a shadow of his former self and Pennant has been hugely disappointing. I would love to see Sigurdarson and Ebanks-Blake upfront together tomorrow. Siggy and Doyle just do not work, and I'd be intrigued to see how the big-man/little-man combination would work between Siggy and SEB.

Either way, I can see it being a very tight game with neither side really throwing caution to the wind. I think it will be a game based on keeping the ball for long periods and trying to suss each other out. However, this is the Championship and for all we know, this could be a 4-4 classic. Unlikely though.

Prediction: Wolves 0-0 Brighton

In Stale We Trust.

Tiger Bite

Hull City 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

(Aluko 29, Simpson 51, Chester (og) 67)

Yet another away defeat, they're becoming a bit of a bad habit now. But unlike our rather pathetic showing against Burnley, there was much more positives to take away from tonight. We played some rather neat, tidy football at times. We actually looked rather comfortable defensively on occasions too. And our build-up play was better, with much more of an end product. Having said that, a lot of these positives only really truly showed themselves in the last half hour, when it was 2-1. We have got to start performing from the very beginning.

Aluko celebrates his free-kick that puts Hull 1-0 up

The curse of bad luck struck Wolves again tonight too. The first Hull goal was as a result of a free-kick decision when there was no foul whatsoever. The player simply fell over his own feet with no touch from a Wolves man and the referee gave it. Having said that, Ikeme really should have positioned himself better. He was beaten far too easily at his near-post. As a fellow goalkeeper, I would be hugely disappointed if I was beaten like that. Luck also shone on Hull for their second goal which, while a very good finish, could be regarded as a bit of a fluke. Jay Simpson was practicaly behind the byline when he clipped the ball over Ikeme. But it had enough spin on it to hit the far post and go in. The former Arsenal youngster could try that same shot a hundred times, and not score. Just happened to be tonight that it all clicked for him. Then Wolves had chances but the ball always seemed to fall kindly for Ben Amos in the Hull goal.

However, I cannot just sit here and bemoan bad luck. That's pathetic. We are the masters of our own downfall. And it all starts with the attacking moves - or lack thereof. For some reason, we are incredibly static when we're in possession of the football. There's no movement off the ball and therefore we struggle to create openings, resort to playing it long and lose possession very quickly and very cheaply. This is an unpopular opnion, I am now aware, but the main culprit of this is Sako. He really doesn't look interested in getting out wide and being an outlet for us. Nor does he look like he wants to take on his opposing full-back. Indeed, as far as I (and a few other Wolves fans I've spoken to on Twitter and at the game tonight) are concerned, bar his set-pieces and finishing, he actually contributes very little to the team's overall play. The same can be said for Pennant on the opposite wing. He doesn't seem to get involved much and, when he came on today, actually hindered us as it forced the promising-looking substitute Anthony Forde to a Right Wing-Back position and we lost a lot of momentum from that (Forde had made a huge difference when he came on - as I predicted in my last blog). We have suffered from the same problems at throw-ins for years now, where players almost seem to actively shy away from receiving the ball. It's now beginning to look like that's creeping into our overall play.

Doyle and Sigurdarson: Not a successful partnership

I just wish Stale would realise that we need to be a little more direct in our approach play. Not long-balling it, but getting it to the wings, stretching teams and pushing them back. I've watched a lot of Swansea over the last 4 years as I have developed a huge soft spot for them and whilst they keep possession and build things, they also - particularly in the Championship - were quite direct, exploiting the pace of Sinclair and Dyer as well as getting their full-backs overlapping. It stretched teams and meant Swansea could push up two or three gears when required and try and get a goal. At the moment we just don't look to have that in us and I'm not entirely sure why. Starting Doyle and Sigurdarson together is just a bad decision too, as they're too similar and offer no threat as a partnership. I would personally love to see Siggy and Ebanks-Blake start together. I think they could be a brilliant partnership given time. But for some reason, Solbakken doesn't favour pairing them together.

There's still a long way to go however, and next up we face an organised, professional and difficult Brighton side. It will be a tough test, but maybe just the sort we need to give us that spark to kick on.

My Wolves MOTD: Roger Johnson. A rock at the back tonight, he was back to his very best. Heading everything away and making some important tackles. Much improved from the weekend.

Wolves In A Word: Static

In Stale We Trust

Preview: Hull City away

 

As is the way with the Championship, the games come around thick and fast and next up for Stale Solbakken's men is a trip to East Yorkshire to face a surprisingly in-form Hull City side. I think at the start of the season, if you were to pick your top 6 at this stage of the season, Hull would not be in there! A lot of credit has to go to Steve Bruce and his players for their season so far. Despite all this though, the stats show a mixed bag for Hull. Whilst tomorrow they will be chasing a 5th win in 6 games, they are actually yet to beat a top 9 side. What this points to is that Hull are where they are because they beat the teams they "expect" to beat (although they were rather strongly beaten by a then-bottom Peterborough side) but their failure to beat the top sides prevents them being higher in the table.

Stephen Hunt equalises for Hull in 2-2 draw

We do have a pretty poor record at the KC Stadium. In our 4 visits there, we've only won once - back in the Hoddle era. We've suffered two 2-0 defeats there, and scraped a 2-2 draw there three seasons back. And with recent poor away showings at Huddersfield and Burnley, I don't expect that to change. Solbakken says he will make changes but it is a change in mentality that is needed. Not in their playing style, but in their self-confidence. They perhaps need to gamble a little bit more and believe in themselves. This season we have a very miserly defence (indeed, on the road, only Brighton have conceded less goals than us). But we're not scoring enough either. We've scored only 18 goals all season, the joint-lowest in the top 10 (again it's Brighton we share that 'honour' with).

What the stats do point to is that, whilst there many not be many goals, whoever gets the first one will have a great say in the way the game goes. Wolves have scored first in 10 League games this season, and have gone on to win 6 of them. Hull on the other hand, have only scored first in 4 out of their 14 League matches this season, but have gone on to win all 4 of those games. With our rather tight away defence, an early goal for us could see us go on and pick up points.

Pennant: Out of sorts?

A bonus for us is that Hull have defensive injury worries. Liam Rosenior and Alex Bruce both face late fitness tests and with those being two positions where our key goal threats come up against (namely Sako and Ebanks-Blake), there is potential for us to exploit any weakness there. Solbakken has said he intends to make changes, and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw the introduction of Anthony Forde in place of Pennant, who hasn't looked anywhere near up to speed in his 4 appearances so far. Another chance could be in the middle where - similar to Ipswich away - we might see Tongo Doumbia rested and I fancy Edwards to come into the middle and make an impact. At a push, potentially Danny Batth might feature in place of Roger Johnson who has looked off the pace in the last 3 games, but I'm unsure as to whether Solbakken would want to split up the defence.

Either way, I think we're all looking for a much improved performance from Saturday, and I reckon we'll get it too. I have a feeling it'll be a tight, perhaps slightly cagey affair, but this time I'm backing us to come out on top.

Prediction: Hull City 1-2 Wolves

In Stale We Trust

Wolves Lack Bonfire Spark

Burnley 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

(Paterson 18, Austin 53)

Paterson celebrates opening the scoring

And so, the Wolves woes continue. Another tepid display, another away defeat, and yet more howls of pure anger coming down from the supporters. Ironically, on bonfire weekend, Wolves just lacked the spark needed to ignite this game. Having said that, I don't think things were as bad as some people make out. Before Burnley's goal, we played some lovely football, with one and two-touch passing a regular sight. We looked comfortable on the ball and were arguably the better side, just looking for a way to break Burnley down. However, we go and make a stupid, sloppy mistake and go 1-0 down and after that, we never really looked the same side.

Probably the most concerning element of today's game is that we looked like we had very little ideas of how to break the opposition down. There were some nice bits of play, but we lacked a real end product. The biggest culprits of this were Pennant and Sako. Pennant at the moment looks terrible. I know he needs game time to improve - but he's had 4 matches now and he looks shocking. He doesn't take players on, he doesn't think when he passes the ball - often giving away possession - and his delivery, both crosses and set-pieces is absolutely abysmal. I would quite happily have taken him back South in my car tonight, but stopped off at Stoke and given him back. Indeed, I would personally start with Forde on the right on Tuesday, as he looked very positive when he came on and showed some good touches. Pennant, however, really needs to up his game if his claim of being a "Premier League winner" is to prove anything but laughable. Bakary Sako too, after fantastic early-season promise, is really starting to get on my nerves. He's lazy, he doesn't really take on his man, he stays narrow the entire time and again doesn't always think when he's passing the ball. He has no positional sense whatsoever - so much so there was a period of 5 minutes in the second half where he and Pennant were on the right-flank and getting in each other's way.

Michael Duff: Unbeatable

What I must say though, is that Burnley's defence - and in particular the superb Michael Duff (don't know why Ben Mee got their MOTM over him) were brilliant. They stopped almost every move we tried and were incredibly solid. Remarkable really for a side that had conceded the most goals in the Championship before kick-off. Although we weren't at our best, their back four were impenetrable and as I said, Michael Duff was unbeatable all afternoon.

On the flip side, yet again we look very weak defensively. Christophe Berra, who has done well so far this season, had by far his poorest game of the season. Stephen Ward looked rather solid first half but faded in the second. And Roger Johnson was up and down in his performance too, perhaps a tad lucky not to be sent off although it looked like Austin made a meal of what was only a slight tangle between the pair. But not for the first time in recent weeks, it is the form (or lack of) from Kevin Foley which is a huge concern. In our promotion season, he was Mr Consistency himself. A solid 8/10 every week minimum. Now, he looks bereft of confidence on the ball, scared to put a foot on the ball and rather timid when it comes to crossing the ball too. It is extremely worrying how such a good footballer can look so different to his old self and this must surely be high on Solbakken's list of priorities in the coming weeks.

What I think we need right now is another International break. A chance to regroup and change our stuttering form. Whereas before I think we were getting the end product right but looking a little iffy in our overall play, it appears we're suffering the opposite now. We look like we have the build-up play and possession football relatively sussed, but we're struggling to get the killer touch added to it. But I do still believe it will come good. Chants of "boring boring boring" and booing Stale Solbakken and his players off the pitch won't help matters at all though. Do we really want to bring back a culture of having players afraid to play for Wolves?! The signs from the team are encouraging, they just need that first win again to boost morale and confidence. Hopefully that will come on Tuesday night at the KC Stadium.

Henry: Professional performance

My Wolves MOTM: Karl Henry. Kept possession sensibly, including some good linking up with Doumbia (also another MOTM contender, just fading as the game wore on) and got forward well. Kept things ticking over in midfield. A professional performance.

Wolves In A Word: Lacklustre

In Stale We Trust

Preview: Burnley away

Next up for Stale Solbakken's men, it's a trip to Turf Moor. Wolves have a good recent record there, with only 1 League defeat in our last 6 visits. However, this time around, we face a very different Burnley side. They are the joint top scorers in the division, with 26 goals (15 of those coming from Charlie Austin). However, they also have the joint leakiest defence in the Championship with 29 goals conceded. What this points to is an open, end-to-end game. A throwback to the "old days" of English football. However, I don't think Stale Solbakken's style of play will allow for that, and Wolves will want to keep it tight early on - particularly with the presence of Charlie Austin and the "new manager effect" that Sean Dyche will bring.

I firmly expect Burnley to come bursting out of the starting blocks. There is a lot of pace in their side, with Paterson and Stanislas down the wings, and Austin up front. Also, the presence of technicians such as Chris McCann, Ross Barkley (who is struggling with a hamstring injury) and Dean Marney will mean that the Wolves back-line will have to be on their toes to guard against threats coming from all dimensions.

With Wolves having drawn our last 2 home games, I imagine Stale's message to the players will be to get back in form away from the pressures of Molineux. Indeed, the lack of the so-called "Molineux Factor" could be a key component in Saturday's game. Away from home we also look more able to compete for a full 90 minutes, instead of suffering our usual 'second half fade out' at Molineux. The first 25 minutes will be key. If we can keep it tight, perhaps quieten the home crowd a little, we can start to impose ourselves on the game. Whilst I have somewhat lamented the lack of width at times, ironically keeping it compact and tight tomorow could benefit us. Burnley will look to stretch the play, attempt to suck us out wide to the ball and then carve us open. Keeping a disciplined shape will make it much harder for the Clarets to do that.

It would be worth (and I will probably do so myself) putting a little bet on Sam Vokes to score against us tomorrow too. With the talent Burnley have on the ball and out wide, you can expect there to be crosses coming in. And we seem to have an unenviable record of ex-players (particularly strikers) coming back to haunt us. Particularly those who weren't always one of our 'preferred' striking options. With Vokes feeling he didn't have much of a chance in the Premier League - even more so after that miss against United - he'll be chomping at the bit to prove his point. And I wouldn't put it past him to do so.

Prediction: Burnley 2-1 Wolves

In Stale We Trust