One team this week has celebrated promotion to the Barclay's Premier League. Today another team suffered the pain of relegation. To me, promotion and relegation just adds incentive to nearly every fixture on the schedule. Plus, it keeps us footy fans glued to our sets and favorite news sites long after the titles have been handed out.
First off for the excited folks: Reading FC has earned automatic promotion to the Premier League by virtue of their 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest earlier this week. The automatic promotion means they will not have to take part in the promotion playoff.
Now for the sad folks. Today Wolverhampton Wanderers were relegated to the Championship. They lost 0-2 at home to Manchester City, but this has been in the cards for a few weeks at least. Fearing eventual relegation back in February, Wolves fired manager Mick McCarthy and replaced him with Terry Connor. However, Wolves have just taken two points from a possible 30 since then, and it has sealed their fate. This ends a three year run in the top flight for them.
So Wolves become the first of three teams that will lose their place in the Premier League this year. The rest of the bottom of the table as of 4/22/12 is as follows:
15. Aston Villa 36 pts
16. QPR 34 pts
17. Wigan 34 pts
18. Blackburn 31pts
19. Bolton 30 pts
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20. Wolves 23 pts
All of the other EPL teams have reached the 40 point mark, which is traditionally the mark at which teams consider themselves safe.
Showing posts with label Wolverhampton Wanderers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wolverhampton Wanderers. Show all posts
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
EPL: QPR vs. Wolves
Coming into this weekend's match with fellow relegation threatened Wolves, spirits were generally high at Loftus Road. The club had made their ambition plain after hiring Mark Hughes as manager and making a big splash in the January transfer window, including the big signings of Bobby Zamora from Fulham and Djibril Cisse from Lazio. Both of those players would create highlights in this match, one good, and one bad.
QPR took charge of the match right from the first kick. They were keeping about 60% of the possession, and when Wolves did manage to get a hold of the ball, they couldn't do a thing with it. Cisse announced his presence in the 4th minute with a shot right at Wayne Hennessey in goal for Wolves. Zamora had the better chance just seconds later but saw the 'keeper knock it wide.
That was not all we'd hear from Bobby Zamora though. Earlier in the week, Cisse had scored on his debut for the club, and Zamora equaled the achievement against Wolves. In the 16th minute he took a back pass from Shaun Wright-Phillips at the top of the area and smacked the ball past Hennessey to make it 1-0 to QPR.
Wolves continued to struggle, to look like they couldn't do anything going forward, but then QPR gave them a get out of jail free card. In the 33rd minute Roger Johnson of Wolves went in on Cisse from behind on a nasty tackle. He was to receive a yellow for the play. However, as the referee rushed to the scene, Cisse inexplicably channeled Joey Barton and grabbed Johnson around the neck. He received the red card for the play. The QPR folks weren't happy, but it was the correct call. Still, despite being a man down QPR held their lead into the half time interval.
Wolves stormed out of the gate in the second half. They added Kevin Doyle as a 4th attacker, and the sub paid immediate dividends. In the 46th minute Doyle sent a cross to Matthew Jarvis, who slid the ball at an angle into the net at the far post to make it 1-1.
Doyle continued to be a dominant force for Wolves even after that. He got on the board himself in 71st minute to give Wolves the lead. He also took a short shot to the back post to make it 1-2 to the visitors.
QPR did formulate a response, but it came from one man. Adel Taarabt took Rangers on his shoulders in the closing minutes of the contest, putting several shots on target. The greatest chance came from distance in the 82nd minute. He sent in a blast that looked to certain to be headed for the roof of the net, but Hennessey got up and just barely put it over the bar. In the end it was too little, too late, and Wolves held on for the much needed three points.
CISSE SEES RED (EPL OFFICIAL)
QPR took charge of the match right from the first kick. They were keeping about 60% of the possession, and when Wolves did manage to get a hold of the ball, they couldn't do a thing with it. Cisse announced his presence in the 4th minute with a shot right at Wayne Hennessey in goal for Wolves. Zamora had the better chance just seconds later but saw the 'keeper knock it wide.
That was not all we'd hear from Bobby Zamora though. Earlier in the week, Cisse had scored on his debut for the club, and Zamora equaled the achievement against Wolves. In the 16th minute he took a back pass from Shaun Wright-Phillips at the top of the area and smacked the ball past Hennessey to make it 1-0 to QPR.
Wolves continued to struggle, to look like they couldn't do anything going forward, but then QPR gave them a get out of jail free card. In the 33rd minute Roger Johnson of Wolves went in on Cisse from behind on a nasty tackle. He was to receive a yellow for the play. However, as the referee rushed to the scene, Cisse inexplicably channeled Joey Barton and grabbed Johnson around the neck. He received the red card for the play. The QPR folks weren't happy, but it was the correct call. Still, despite being a man down QPR held their lead into the half time interval.
Wolves stormed out of the gate in the second half. They added Kevin Doyle as a 4th attacker, and the sub paid immediate dividends. In the 46th minute Doyle sent a cross to Matthew Jarvis, who slid the ball at an angle into the net at the far post to make it 1-1.
Doyle continued to be a dominant force for Wolves even after that. He got on the board himself in 71st minute to give Wolves the lead. He also took a short shot to the back post to make it 1-2 to the visitors.
QPR did formulate a response, but it came from one man. Adel Taarabt took Rangers on his shoulders in the closing minutes of the contest, putting several shots on target. The greatest chance came from distance in the 82nd minute. He sent in a blast that looked to certain to be headed for the roof of the net, but Hennessey got up and just barely put it over the bar. In the end it was too little, too late, and Wolves held on for the much needed three points.
CISSE SEES RED (EPL OFFICIAL)
Monday, December 19, 2011
EPL: Wolves vs. Stoke City
Not sure why Fox Soccer elected to show this one. These two teams aren't squads that I check out much. You have to admit though, Stoke City is SOLID. A lot of folks probably don't like their style, but they're getting the job done and picking up the results. In the end of the day, that's what matters.
Stoke had their problems in the first half of this one though, as Wolves certainly had the brighter start. The Potters had plenty of trouble with Matt Jarvis, which is why I picked him for my fantasy team, but they really weren't grinding out a ton of high quality chances. They did get one from Ronald Zubar, who got a shot after a pass from Jarvis, but his shot just scooted by the post.
There was some first half controversy as well. In the 10th minute Jonathan Woodgate got the first yellow card of the match for bringing down the pesky Jarvis. Then in the 16th minute he brought down Jarvis yet again, this time in the area. Wolves were awarded a PK, but the fould really could have, and some would say should have, earned a second yellow and a sending off. However, the ref was lenient. Stephen Hunt hit the penalty and Wolves took the 1-0 lead on 17 minutes.
However it was Wolves finding the back of their own net that let Stoke back into the match. Stoke got a free kick chance in the 58th minute and Glenn Whalen sent it in for the Potters. It took a deflection off of Wolves' Kevin Doyle and shot past the 'keeper to make it 1-1.
Stoke fin ally wrapped up the 3 points in the 70th minute. Matthew Etherington, hero of Stoke's last outing, sent a cross in for Peter Crouch. The England striker got on the end of it and put it far post to make it 1-2 to Stoke, which was the full time result.
Don't look now, but here come the Potters. It was Stoke's 4th straight Premier League win, and they're even taking the Europa League seriously!
Stoke had their problems in the first half of this one though, as Wolves certainly had the brighter start. The Potters had plenty of trouble with Matt Jarvis, which is why I picked him for my fantasy team, but they really weren't grinding out a ton of high quality chances. They did get one from Ronald Zubar, who got a shot after a pass from Jarvis, but his shot just scooted by the post.
There was some first half controversy as well. In the 10th minute Jonathan Woodgate got the first yellow card of the match for bringing down the pesky Jarvis. Then in the 16th minute he brought down Jarvis yet again, this time in the area. Wolves were awarded a PK, but the fould really could have, and some would say should have, earned a second yellow and a sending off. However, the ref was lenient. Stephen Hunt hit the penalty and Wolves took the 1-0 lead on 17 minutes.
However it was Wolves finding the back of their own net that let Stoke back into the match. Stoke got a free kick chance in the 58th minute and Glenn Whalen sent it in for the Potters. It took a deflection off of Wolves' Kevin Doyle and shot past the 'keeper to make it 1-1.
Stoke fin ally wrapped up the 3 points in the 70th minute. Matthew Etherington, hero of Stoke's last outing, sent a cross in for Peter Crouch. The England striker got on the end of it and put it far post to make it 1-2 to Stoke, which was the full time result.
Don't look now, but here come the Potters. It was Stoke's 4th straight Premier League win, and they're even taking the Europa League seriously!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
EPL: Liverpool vs. Wolves
Both Liverpool and Wolves came into yesterday's match at Anfield on a down run of form following bright starts to the new Premier League season. For Liverpool, this was about trying to keep pace with the 2 Manchester clubs and Chelsea, for Wolves, 3 points was needed in order to avoid a continued tumble down the table.
Wolves got things off to a great start in the first 5 minutes. They had a lot of possession and seemed to put Liverpool on their heels a bit. Their nice play culminated in a good free kick chance just outside the 18. However, O'Hara blasted it into the wall and then picked up a yellow for pulling a Liverpool player down on the ensuing counter attempt.
The bad news for Wolves was the first half got progressively worse after that. In the 11th minute Captain Roger Johnson was trying to defend a ball in when he got bulldozed by Andy Carroll. The ball fluttered over to Charlie Adam, who smacked it toward goal. Johnson tried to get up and defend it, but he ended up deflecting it into his own goal to hand Liverpool the 1-0 lead. He tried to argue that he should have had a free kick against Carroll, but the ref wasn't buying. Then in the 38th minute Luis Suarez appeared to put the icing on the cake by slicing a brilliant goal in from an angle to give Liverpool a 2-0 lead at the half.
However if Liverpool thought Wolves were going to come out and roll over, they were wrong. Fletcher entered at half time and scored a goal for Wolves in the 49th minute to make it 2-1. Wolves were hunting a point.
The rest of the game turned into a pretty entertaining, wide open affair, but most of the quality chances went to Liverpool. Hennessey just managed to deny Suarez a brace in the 50th, then in the 52nd Carroll had a header clang off the post. Just one minute later, Downing nearly struck off of a counter, but again Hennessey made a great save to keep Wolves in it. Unfortunately for them, they could never quite threaten the equalizer, and Liverpool took the win 2-1.
On a side note, Steven Gerrard played the last 10 minutes or so for Liverpool and looked pretty sharp. This was on the heels of his Carling Cup run out earlier in the week.
Wolves got things off to a great start in the first 5 minutes. They had a lot of possession and seemed to put Liverpool on their heels a bit. Their nice play culminated in a good free kick chance just outside the 18. However, O'Hara blasted it into the wall and then picked up a yellow for pulling a Liverpool player down on the ensuing counter attempt.
The bad news for Wolves was the first half got progressively worse after that. In the 11th minute Captain Roger Johnson was trying to defend a ball in when he got bulldozed by Andy Carroll. The ball fluttered over to Charlie Adam, who smacked it toward goal. Johnson tried to get up and defend it, but he ended up deflecting it into his own goal to hand Liverpool the 1-0 lead. He tried to argue that he should have had a free kick against Carroll, but the ref wasn't buying. Then in the 38th minute Luis Suarez appeared to put the icing on the cake by slicing a brilliant goal in from an angle to give Liverpool a 2-0 lead at the half.
However if Liverpool thought Wolves were going to come out and roll over, they were wrong. Fletcher entered at half time and scored a goal for Wolves in the 49th minute to make it 2-1. Wolves were hunting a point.
The rest of the game turned into a pretty entertaining, wide open affair, but most of the quality chances went to Liverpool. Hennessey just managed to deny Suarez a brace in the 50th, then in the 52nd Carroll had a header clang off the post. Just one minute later, Downing nearly struck off of a counter, but again Hennessey made a great save to keep Wolves in it. Unfortunately for them, they could never quite threaten the equalizer, and Liverpool took the win 2-1.
On a side note, Steven Gerrard played the last 10 minutes or so for Liverpool and looked pretty sharp. This was on the heels of his Carling Cup run out earlier in the week.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Survival Sunday: Blackpool and Birmingham City are relegated.
Going into the final round of fixtures today in the Barclay's Premier League, West Ham had already been relegated, leaving two spots open. Five teams were on the bubble to fall into those two slots. They were:
Wigan Athletic
Blackburn Rovers
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Birmingham City
Blackpool
The top 3 escaped, the bottom two did not.
Blackpool fought hard against Manchester United, but the newly crowned champs were just too much for the Tangerines, and beat them 4-2. Birmingham City conceded a late goal at Spurs and lost 2-1, to finish them off.
For the survivors, Wolves and Blackburn squared off. Blackburn won 3-2 to seal their top flight status. Wolves remained one point ahead of Birmingham City and Blackpool. Wigan climbed out of the bottom 3 with a 1-0 win at Stoke.
I do feel bad for Blackpool, and I'm impartial as to Birmingham, who won the Carling Cup this year. This will be a huge hit to the finances of these clubs.
Wigan Athletic
Blackburn Rovers
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Birmingham City
Blackpool
The top 3 escaped, the bottom two did not.
Blackpool fought hard against Manchester United, but the newly crowned champs were just too much for the Tangerines, and beat them 4-2. Birmingham City conceded a late goal at Spurs and lost 2-1, to finish them off.
For the survivors, Wolves and Blackburn squared off. Blackburn won 3-2 to seal their top flight status. Wolves remained one point ahead of Birmingham City and Blackpool. Wigan climbed out of the bottom 3 with a 1-0 win at Stoke.
I do feel bad for Blackpool, and I'm impartial as to Birmingham, who won the Carling Cup this year. This will be a huge hit to the finances of these clubs.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
EPL Blurb: Sunderland vs. Wolves
I actually watched this whole match, but despite the goal count, it was rather pedestrian.
Sunderland started out well. The commentators were speculating that the Black Cats might already be on summer break, with their place in the Premier League for next year already secured. They came out hot on the attack, hitting the wood work and forcing Hennesy into a save or two, but couldn't notch a first half goal.
Wolves were slightly more fortunate and they need all the fortune they can get in the fight to stay up. They got agoal against the run of play in the 23rd as Craddock scored a nice volley off a cross to give the Wolves a 0-1 lead that held until the 34th minute, when Sessegnon scored a volley off of a corner for Sunderland that equalized at 1-1.
Wolves came out on fire in the second half, knowing they needed all 3 points. They got all 3, with goals from Fletcher in the 54th and Elokobi in the 78th. The 1-3 result gave Wolves a vital 3 points after beating West Brom, and puts them on an inside track to stay up. For Sunderland, well, nothing more to play for, so who cares?
Sunderland started out well. The commentators were speculating that the Black Cats might already be on summer break, with their place in the Premier League for next year already secured. They came out hot on the attack, hitting the wood work and forcing Hennesy into a save or two, but couldn't notch a first half goal.
Wolves were slightly more fortunate and they need all the fortune they can get in the fight to stay up. They got agoal against the run of play in the 23rd as Craddock scored a nice volley off a cross to give the Wolves a 0-1 lead that held until the 34th minute, when Sessegnon scored a volley off of a corner for Sunderland that equalized at 1-1.
Wolves came out on fire in the second half, knowing they needed all 3 points. They got all 3, with goals from Fletcher in the 54th and Elokobi in the 78th. The 1-3 result gave Wolves a vital 3 points after beating West Brom, and puts them on an inside track to stay up. For Sunderland, well, nothing more to play for, so who cares?
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