Dave Porter's key lessons from another bleak night.
Wolves (R)
We all knew this already but there was a lingering hope, beat Forest, lift the mood, get something against United and then you are on the coat tails of the pack for a January revival. Any lingering hope is gone. The only target which in itself looks like a completely insurmountable mountain is the lowest points tally. Failing to achieve that target now seems a probability rather than a humiliating possibility.
We are exactly where we deserve to be
Maybe it has been my blinkers, but until now I had felt that we were a team that was struggling, a team that was bad and deserved to be in relegation contention but not two points bad. Not so abjectly terrible that there was any real chance of being labelled the worst team in Premier League history. The reality of it all has however come crashing in. We are the worst team the league has ever seen, filled with poor players who are playing poorly, without any confidence or bravery. We got what we deserved today, arguably more than we deserved in terms of the scoreline. The truth is clear, we really are this bad.
Edwards has made a mistake and he knows it.
Pictures paint more than a thousand words and Edwards face on the sideline was one of disbelief of how bad this team actually are. He surely knows now that he has made a decision that has a real possibility of being a career suicide. No-one in their right mind will lay the blame of relegation at Edwards door, but if he cannot get any more from this team before the end of a season that could and probably will see a team finish on single points, then it will be very difficult for him to either keep his job at the end of the season or stem the tide of despair at the start of next. This has the unmistakable stench of a double dip relegation and who would then take a chance on Edwards. This was a mistake and he knows it already.
Jackson and Arias. Times up.
Players do not want to give them the ball, they don’t trust them and who can blame them. These two underline everything that was wrong in the summer. Awful purchases of players that even their fellow pro’s know are simply not good enough. Performances today were not only amongst the worst Wolves performances you will see but probably right up there with the worst Premier League performances ever. Neither player could have argued with being withdrawn and both should be grateful that they managed to make it to the second half.
We don’t even do the basics right.
It is one thing to say we do not have the quality, it is an another thing completely to not even be able to get some of the fundamentals of football right. Five yard passes. Missing flight of the ball, Heading out to opposition players back in front of goal. Coming for crosses you have no hope of reaching. Add whatever you like to the list of basic football skills that are taught to under 10’s teams. Its not just that we are missing quality, its more that we cannot even do the very basics correctly.
8 (EIGHT) hours and no goals.
Derby managed 11 games without a goal in their drought. Wolves are now almost halfway to that target and it shows no sign of ending any time soon. Never mind the next win or point, there is real uncertainty as to where and indeed whether we can score a goal. This is not entertainment, this is not something people pay to watch, its a cross between humiliation and boredom. The drudgery of supporters dragging themselves to games where not only the result is inevitable, but even the chance of scoring a goal seems far fetched, will drain even the most stoic of fans. Continuing to show up and care is an act of self flagellation and nothing more.
It’s easy to give decisions against the bottom club
It’s not an excuse but so many decisions went against Wolves tonight along with criminally long VAR checks for situations that were abundantly clear in real time, let alone when viewed back. All it did was extend time that would have been better spent for everyone getting home earlier or tuning into I’m a Celebrity. One of the few upsides of relegation will be the absence of VAR.
It’s a really hard thing to be embarrassed of your football club.
We have now fallen below a joke and have crossed into the threshold of pity from the rest of the footballing community. We are a dying dog, kicking us at this point is no longer fun. It’s an act of unnecessary violence that would hurt the abuser much more than it would hurt the dying animal. The banter has gone, its more a polite smile and a patronising pat on the back with an unwanted chorus of better luck next season. That hurts way more.
ARTICLE BY DAVE PORTER
Wolverhampton born, East Sussex based supporter. Old enough to have seen the descent to the bottom, young enough to not have experienced the days my friend. Not many Wolves fans to celebrate or commiserate with round these parts, so had to find an outlet to discuss the enormous highs, crushing lows and share the frustrations that only come with following Wolves.