Tomorrow (12.30 TNT), a much-weakened Spurs team heads to Molineux for a very tough match that will put us under pressure to win and reclaim top place in the league standings before Manchester City’s match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. In the event that Liverpool and Arsenal lose, a victory would at least maintain our position in second place.
After Monday night’s sending-off, Christian Romero and Udogie Destiny are both suspended. James Maddison (ankle), Richarlison (groin), and Micky van de Ven (hamstring) have joined the list of injured players, which al
ready includes Perisic and Solomon, two long-term absences. Maddison was removed from the England team that was originally selected for the November break. At the very least, hopefully, he’ll be ready for Aston Villa on November 26, when Destiny Udogie will be eligible to return.Ben Davies’ availability for selection tomorrow is another must-have; if not, Ashley Phillips, 18, will almost certainly start at center back in tests. Although Phillips has been a part of the team this season after joining from Blackburn in the summer, he has not yet made his professional club debut.
The Wolves have improved significantly since our last meeting in March and have had some recent success. Then, under Antonio Conte, we fell 1-0 to Adama Traore’s (who is now at Fulham) late goal. Only in three more games did Conte manage to stay in command.
Only days before the season started, Julen Lopetegui left the Wolves by mutual agreement. Lopetegui was not happy with the fact that the Wolves were shackled by financial fair play rules. Thanks to the former Spain, Real Madrid, and Valencia managers, Wolves became the fourth team to be bottom of the table on Christmas Day but avoid relegation, after West Bromwich Albion (2004/05), Sunderland (2013/14) and Leicester (2014/15).
Gary O’Neil, who had been sacked by Bournemouth, was appointed by Wolves, from whom players such as Neves, Moutinho, Diego Costa, and Jimenez had left. In fairness, Jimenez has never been as powerful a force since his serious head injury at Arsenal in November 2020 and has yet to make an impact for Fulham.
Everton did not trigger the clause to sign Conor Coady on a permanent deal with the Wolves. After returning to Wolves, Liverpool-born Coady was sold for £8.5 million to relegated Leicester.
Former Spurs right-back Matt Doherty re-joined his old club, Atletico Madrid. Doherty, who is now 31, was initially loaned by Spurs but then allowed a free transfer as Spurs would have exceeded the permitted number of loans. He made just two substitute appearances for Atletico after leaving Spurs at the end of January. Doherty has made just one Premier League start this season and four appearances off the bench.
Wolves defender Nathan Collins went to Brentford. Matheus Nunes left for 53 million to Manchester City. Arrivals at Molineux include midfielder Tommy Doyle on a season-long loan from Manchester City and midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde on a five-year deal from Strasbourg.
Rodri’s suspension was fortunately served at the time of Wolves’ home match against Manchester City in September, making Wolves the first team to defeat Manchester City in the Premier League this year.
With two opponents’ players suspended and possibly two important opponents hurt, they will have even more luck this time. Thus, the outcome this time around might be much more influenced by these events.
Spurs will be playing without three of their usual back four and playmaker James Maddison. He and Van de Ven have been two of our players of the season so far. Three others who fall into this category are goalkeeper Vicario (heroic on Monday night), top goalscorer and captain Heung-min Son, along with Dejan Kulusevski. Brennan Johnson, who was excited against Chelsea until he was sacrificed following the dismissal, will surely start beside Kulusevski and Son. I fancy a strong midfield trio (Sarr, Bissouma, and Hojbjerg) to protect a weakened defense, which will perhaps include Pedro Porro, Dier, Davies, and Emerson Royal.
In spite of everything, I still think Spurs will win 2-1!
One of the original 12 members of the Football League, Wolves played their first league match on September 8, 1888, at home against Aston Villa. After thirty minutes, Gersham Cox of Villa scored an own goal to tie the score at one. In 1863, Cox was born in Walsall. This season’s rerun of “the oldest football league fixture in the world” took place on October 8 and ended in a 1-1 tie. Once more, Hwang Hee-Chan, a 1996 Chuncheon, South Korea native, scored first for the Wolves.
Two other founding members of the Football League, Burnley and Everton, also currently play in the Premier League. The Wolves are currently in their sixth consecutive season and their longest spell at this level. This is the club’s seventh top-flight spell. They were our victims in the 1921 FA Cup Final, the 1972 UEFA Cup Final, the 72-73 League Cup semi-final, and the FA Cup semi-final in 1981.
Wolves’ heyday was between 1949 and 1960, when, managed by Stan Cullis, they won three league titles and the FA Cup in 1949 and 1960. They played in the first round of the 1958 European Cup but were beaten on aggregate by Schalke. Billy Wright (who until Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton overtook him) was England’s record cap winner and played for Wolves between 1946 and 1949. Wright was a one-club player and, of course, the club captain for many years. Wright died in 1994. Had he lived, he would have celebrated his 100th birthday next February. Wright was less successful as a manager at Arsenal between 1962 and 1966. There is, of course, a statue of Wright outside Molineux Stadium and a stand named after the great man.
Other founding members of the Football League—Burnley and Everton—also currently play in the Premier League. The Wolves are currently in their sixth consecutive season and their longest spell at this level. This is the club’s seventh top-flight spell. They were our victims in the 1921 FA Cup Final, the 1972 UEFA Cup Final, the 72-73 League Cup semi-final, and the FA Cup semi-final in 1981.
Wolves’ heyday was between 1949 and 1960, when, managed by Stan Cullis, they won three league titles and the FA Cup in 1949 and 1960. They played in the first round of the 1958 European Cup but were beaten on aggregate by Schalke. Billy Wright (who until Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton overtook him) was England’s record cap winner and played for Wolves between 1946 and 1949. Wright was a one-club player and, of course, the club captain for many years. Wright died in 1994. Had he lived, he would have celebrated his 100th birthday next February. Wright was less successful as a manager at Arsenal between 1962 and 1966. There is, of course, a statue of Wright outside Molineux Stadium and a stand named after the great man.
