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Post by PureOldGold on Apr 9, 2009 16:35:42 GMT -1
Wolves will be without their 40-goal strikeforce Chris Iwelumo and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake for the Molineux showdown against Southampton.
Iwelumo’s scan results have shown medial ligament damage to the right knee, suffered after a tackle by Lee Carsley in Monday’s 2-0 defeat at Blues, while Ebanks-Blake, who missed the St Andrew’s Championship top-of-the-table clash with a tight hamstring, has not recovered in time.
Boss Mick McCarthy has refused to put a time scale on Iwelumo’s absence, but was optimistic 24-goal top scorer Ebanks-Blake would be fit for the Easter Monday trip to Derby.
The manager said: “Chris is not as bad as we thought he would be, but he has still got medial ligament damage and bone bruising.
“But he is doing stuff in the pool. There is no time limit on it – he is out for this weekend and we will see.
“But he is fairly optimistic. He is relieved after the tackle.”
It is more hopeful on the fitness of Ebanks-Blake, who may be fit to travel to Derby on Monday.
McCarthy said: “He is not fit for Southampton, but hopefully he will be fit for Monday.”
The absence of Wolves’ main strike force puts the spotlight on recent loan capture Marlon Harewood.
The Villa man has admitted the shock of returning to the Championship had been a ‘wake-up call.’
The on-loan striker had a testing debut for Wolves in Monday’s 2-0 defeat at Birmingham, after being frozen out by Villa manager Martin O’Neill.
But the 29-year-old, who scored 20 goals in West Ham’s promotion season of 2004/05, insists he can adjust quickly.
He said: “It’s been three years since I played in the Championship so it was a difficult game – it took me by surprise.
“The Premier League is top class, so it was a wake-up call to me really just to get down and start working hard.
“I hadn’t played for so long – maybe six, seven months since I last played 90 minutes, so it took me time to get into it.
“That was my first game so it was just about getting back into playing football again.
“But if the gaffer picks me, I’m looking forward to it.”
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Post by PureOldGold on Apr 9, 2009 16:36:24 GMT -1
Wolves defender Christophe Berra has warned crisis club Southampton could be at their most dangerous while - apparently - at their most vulnerable.
Berra moved to Wolves for £2.3million in January from Hearts, where he was often negotiated on behalf of his team-mates amid allegations of late payment of wages under the controversial Roman Romanov regime.
Southampton’s financial plight made the national news this week, when the club’s parent company went into administration.
The Football League have promised a full independent inquiry into the accounts of both companies, pending the threat of the statutory 10-point deduction hanging over the club’s head.
While all this has been going on, Saints are fighting a relegation battle and boosted their cause with another point in the midweek 2-2 draw at Watford.
Now 24-year-old Berra has warned triumph can come out of adversity.
He said: “Sometimes it galvanised us. When there were a lot of stories in the press about our situation the day before a game, we actually played a lot better. We were all young as well but it affects different players in different ways.
“Saints are in a relegation battle and it affects people differently. Some people may want them to stay up to maybe impress another club to get a move, because they’re a young team.
“They’re fighting for their lives to avoid relegation whereas we’re fighting for promotion. It’s going to be a difficult game, because they’re a young team with a lot of talented players, so we’ve got to be on our mettle and take the game very seriously.
“But it’s important we don’t worry about Southampton and worry about ourselves.
“We have to be on the front foot, put in a performance, play at 110 per cent and hopefully we’ll get a victory.”
Southampton, one of the most attractive passing teams in the Championship, have only lost two of their last seven trips to Molineux and Berra insists Wolves can’t afford complacency.
He said: “One thing I’ve noticed in this league is you can’t take any game lightly.
“Every game is hard, especially at this stage of the season. There’s no denying there are nerves and it’s normal for fans to get anxious, it’s the same everywhere.
“We’re very close but there’s still 15 points to play for and we’ll be trying to take as many as possible.
‘Hopefully we can take maximum points from the games.”
Saints are capable of playing some of the best football in the Championship and Berra acknowledged patience may be required as Wolves try to break them down.
He said: “We have to be patient in every game – it doesn’t matter if we score in the first or the last minute as long we get three points.
“We want to play football too and it’s a big pitch, so I’m sure it will be an open game.
“But we’ve got to try to dictate the play and hopefully get a few goals.”
Berra warned fans it could be a long afternoon if Saints play like 10-man Blues did at St Andrew’s on Monday, as Wolves struggled to break them down before losing 2-0.
The centre-half said: “No matter who you are, if you put bodies behind the ball, it’s very hard to break down.
“But we’ve done video analysis, gone over the mistakes and we all know we have to do better as a team.
“If we go and win our next three or four games that will be one defeat in eight or nine.
“We’ve still only had one defeat in six, which isn’t a bad record.”
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Post by PureOldGold on Apr 9, 2009 16:36:52 GMT -1
Alex Rae closed a night of divided loyalites this week with a comforting message to Wolves fans reaching for the panic button.
The former Molineux star roared: “I’ll be back in Wolverhampton later this year – and I’ll be able to see Wolves play a Premiership match.”
Rae donned a disguise and took a place on the back row of the seating in the visitors’ end at St Andrew’s on Monday night, to watch the 2-0 derby defeat against Birmingham City.
Despite his efforts to cover himself up, a few fans ‘clocked’ him.
It left Rae in no doubt about the esteem in which he is held by supporters, for his memorable contribution to the Dave Jones team which won promotion and fought a gallant but, ultimately, doomed fight to stay in the Premier League.
In truth, it was an awkward night for Rae as he remains good friends with ‘Big Alex’ – Blues boss Alex McLeish – who had originally invited him to the game.
But Rae returned to Glasgow confident that the current top two can clinch automatic promotion.
He said: “It was a typical derby with no quarter given and you’ve got to say Birmingham had the better chances on the night.
“But I still think Mick (McCarthy) has got Wolves in a really strong position. Obviously, they will want to bounce back straight away against Southampton and I am confident they can.
“I think the timing of the first goal settled Monday’s match effectively. It was just what Blues needed and Big Alex could set up two banks of four and leave one up front and challenge Wolves to try to break them down.”
The game crowned a nostalgic trip for Rae. Incredibly, he will be 40 later this year but the excitement of the three campaigns he enjoyed in the Jones era still tingles his spine.
He explained: “I was in the area on business and it turned into a nostalgia trip for me really. I took the opportunity to pop into Molineux and all the memories came flooding back.
“I was caught between the two camps on the night because I know big Alex well too from my Rangers days and he had arranged tickets for me in the Birmingham sections.
“But I then got offered a couple for the Wolves end. I thought that might be a safer end to go to!
“I’ve known Mick for 20 years don’t forget. It was a strange night because I had loyalties to both managerial camps.
“I would love the two of them to get there and I think they will.”
He is now finishing his Pro Licence studies, where he has found himself in the company of St Johnstone’s manager, fellow Rangers loyalist and former Baggies adversary Derek McInnes.
Rae quipped: “You can guess which season he likes to remind me of most can’t you” - in reference to the 2001/02 season when Albion overhauled Wolves to win promotion.
Having been abruptly – and by common consent a little unfairly – ejected from his first managerial posting at Dundee, Rae is awaiting a chance to renew his managerial ambitions.
In the meantime, he is a natural for media duties in Glasgow.
If his TV work brought him back here next season, he is convinced he would be talking about a Premier League club in Wolves.
He added: “Wolves have got enough. They have these next three games in which I would expect them to kick-on, then there’s that Sheffield United match at Reading at the weekend that has the makings of a draw.
“The next time I come down I am fairly sure I shall be able to watch Wolves in the Premier League.”
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Post by PureOldGold on Apr 9, 2009 16:37:29 GMT -1
Wolves will be without strikers Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (hamstring) and Chris Iwelumo (knee).
Marlon Harewood, Andy Keogh and Sam Vokes are vying to replace the duo and winger Matt Jarvis may start as Michael Kightly is out for the season.
Southampton have no fresh injury concerns, but head coach Mark Wotte may recall striker Marek Saganowski.
Midfielder Andrew Surman came through the midweek draw at Watford without any ill-effects to a slight ankle injury.
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Post by PureOldGold on Apr 9, 2009 16:37:56 GMT -1
Wolves full-back Matt Hill is backing Marlon Harewood to make up for the loss of Chris Iwelumo and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake through injury.
On-loan striker Harewood, 29, made his debut for the club in Monday's 2-0 defeat at promotion rivals Birmingham.
"He's got a point to prove, he wants to come here and do well, and it'll be for our benefit if he comes in and scores goals," Hill told BBC WM.
Ebanks-Blake may return at Derby on Monday after a hamstring problem.
Iwelumo may struggle to feature again this season after suffering knee ligament damage in the challenge that led to Lee Carsley's dismissal at St Andrew's on Monday.
The Scotland international also has bone bruising, but is already involved in some light training in the hope of playing some part in the promotion run-in.
They can come here with nothing to lose and everything to gain - they've got a lot of young lads with no fear
Wolves defender Matt Hill on Southampton
"It gives other players the chance to step up to the plate," said Hill ahead of the Good Friday fixture at home to Southampton.
"It's been a squad game all through the year and there's plenty of players to come in a do a very good job."
Former Bristol City and Preston defender Hill is wary of the Saints' visit to Molineux, despite their lowly position in the table and the threat of a points deduction after their parent company went into administration.
"They can come here with nothing to lose and everything to gain," he noted.
"It's very difficult - when we went down there they played some fantastic football. They've got a lot of young lads with no fear, so it's important we start well."
There is at least one piece of good news on the injury front for Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, with winger Matt Jarvis fit enough to be considered for a start against Southampton.
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Post by southdownswolf on Apr 10, 2009 12:35:20 GMT -1
Keogh, Vokes and Jarvis all start. Might not be too bad a strike force.
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Post by Wolvensam on Apr 10, 2009 15:37:05 GMT -1
WOLVES ARE TOP OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP, WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!!!
;D
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Post by Pete the Wolf on Apr 10, 2009 17:24:47 GMT -1
Thought about going to the match, but decided I needed to stop at home and work on my project.....
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Post by Wolvensam on Apr 10, 2009 17:58:38 GMT -1
To win 3-0 despite having our three top scorers missing is some achievement.
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Post by Rulesaints on Apr 10, 2009 18:08:03 GMT -1
To win 3-0 despite having our three top scorers missing is some achievement. Despite the fact that Saints are complete and utter shite? I'm pretty sure you could play your reserves while they have diarrhea and you'd still beat us.
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Post by Wolvensam on Apr 10, 2009 18:16:49 GMT -1
You play some nice stuff, just no cutting edge.
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Post by Pete the Wolf on Apr 10, 2009 18:18:43 GMT -1
I'm pretty sure you could play your reserves while they have diarrhea and you'd still beat us. Dunno about that, your defence would probably spot our forwards' runs.
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Post by ---------a on Apr 11, 2009 12:36:36 GMT -1
what a load of fucking gash.. we deserve to go down so much.. just gave up the useless c*nts.l
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