Are Wolves now dead certs for relegation?
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has admitted that his side threw away the opportunity to escape the Premier League relegation zone at the weekend after only securing a draw and one point against Birmingham, a side that had lost their previous league game 5-0 at the hands of Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool side.
With Craig Gardner sent off for two bookable offences before half-time, Wolves should have taken advantage of their opponents playing with ten men for more than an hour but were unable to dominate in the way that their numerical advantage should have allowed, despite the fact that Premier League games are usually made all the tougher when one side is reduced to ten men. Wolves narrowly edged possession, with 52% compared to their opponents’ 48%, managed to win more corners, but still only managed a couple of shots on target through the 90 minutes.
Wolves scored the opener in a 1-1 draw away from home, with Steven Fletcher scoring with a pinpoint spot kick from the penalty spot after a foul from Ben Foster, while Sebastian Larsson pulled his side level just before the half hour mark after earlier hitting the post with a header from close range, capitalising upon an error from ex-Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne.
McCarthy, who has spoken recently about the lack of “magic” in the Wolves squad at the moment, revealed after the final whistle that it was “a missed opportunity against ten men”, while stating that he believes the relegation battle will only be decided on the last day of the season, which is only a couple of weeks away now.
Wolves’ failure to secure all three points was made to look even worse as their relegation rivals managed, on the whole, to pick up at least a point. With Blackpool and Wigan managing to secure a point apiece, and with the latter unlucky not to win against Everton after an attacking display of real merit against David Moyes’s in-form side, Blackburn also beat Owen Coyle and his inconsistent Bolton team to move into what many now regard as a position of safety in the league.
As it stands, Wolves occupy 19th position in the league, placing them just two points above West Ham, with West Ham boss Avram Grant apparently still believing that his players can escape relegation this season by winning seven points from their final three games, but missed the chance to move up to 17th place with a win. West Ham co-owner David Gold has revealed this week that he has been considering the reality of relegation and may eventually be forced to allow the England regulars in his squad, including the influential Scott Parker, to leave if Championship football does become a reality next season.
With the season close drawing ever nearer, neutral fans whose sides have secured their mid-table fate this year will nevertheless be pleased that there is still all to play for at the top and bottom of the table, with Chelsea and Manchester United locked in a tight battle for the title and a handful of clubs, including the likes of Ian Holloway’s Blackpool now desperate to escape the relegation zone.
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