Molineux – not a happy place

Last updated : 15 March 2005 By Tony Scholes
Visits to Molineux are not often successful and since a Neil Grewcock goal gave us a win there in 1986 we have suffered six consecutive defeats and haven’t scored a solitary goal, leaving Neil as still the last Burnley player to score there.

Five of those defeats have come in the league, the other in the League Cup last season at a time when Wolves were playing their one and only season in the Premiership.

They were relegated at the end of last season and most respected judges of the game tipped them to be right up there chasing for an automatic place straight back up again. There was enough evidence on their two visits to the Turf earlier in the season to suggest that wouldn’t happen and at one point it looked as though another battle against relegation could be on the cards.

It all cost Dave Jones his job, he left at the beginning of November, and just over a month later they appointed Glenn Hoddle as boss until the end of this season. He came with neither John Gorman nor Eileen Drewery but since he arrived Wolves have lost only once in thirteen league games.

That defeat came at the beginning of 2005 when they went down 2-0 at Wigan and incredibly that was the first result under Hoddle’s charges that had not ended in a draw. There have been plenty more draws since but they have started to win games as well at the beginning of March when both Carl Cort and Kenny Miller scored twice in a 4-1 win.

Hoddle has worked with the same players as he inherited from Jones, that is until the last few days. Last Thursday he allowed Shaun Newton to go to West Ham for just £10,000, Newton was out of contract in the summer.

He’s moved quickly to replace him though and yesterday they completed the loan signing of Tottenham’s Rohan Ricketts. Should he play tonight it will be a second appearance against the Clarets for the former Arsenal trainee, he was in the Coventry side that drew 2-2 at the Turf earlier in the season.

Wolves have recovered somewhat but the Clarets went back above them on Saturday as they drew 2-2 at Deepdale, they too falling victim to Eddie Lewis’ ability to go down far too easily.

Click HERE to see all Wolves results this season.

Team News

Hoddle says he doesn’t know how Burnley will play but suspects we’ll go and turn it into an entertaining game whilst others have been and played five across the midfield.

He also said that Dean Bowditch has done well for us since coming in from Ipswich – I’m not sure the Wolves manager is quite getting the correct messages here from Eileen, he seems to think Dean has been with us for a while.

One thing he does have is one extra player in Ricketts and he will be in the squad tonight although it does look as though he will start on the bench with the same starting eleven being named as played in the draw at Preston.

If that’s the case Wolves will line up: Michael Oakes, Naylor, Seyi George Olofinjana, Joleon Lescott, Jody Craddock, Paul Ince (who will also be refereeing the game given a chance), Mark Kennedy, Rob Edwards, Kenny Miller, Ki-Hyeon Seol, Carl Cort. Subs from: Paul Jones, Colin Cameron, Keith Andrews, Kevin Cooper, Leon Clarke, Rohan Ricketts.

Click HERE to see the full Wolves squad.

Trying to work out what the Burnley side would be was an easy task early in the season. We didn’t get injuries or suspensions then and it was the same for every game. It’s got more difficult now and with Steve Cotterill suggesting that he might give some players a rest it means there could be a number of changes from the side that played against Rotherham on Saturday.

Michael Duff, Lee Roche, Ian Moore and Graham Branch could all come into the reckoning after being named as subs on Saturday.

Whatever the line up is Steve Cotterill will select from: Brian Jensen, Frank Sinclair, Gary Cahill, John McGreal, Mo Camara, John Oster, Micah Hyde, Tony Grant, Pete Whittingham, Dean Bowditch, Jean-Louis Valois, Danny Coyne, Michael Duff, Lee Roche, Graham Branch, Ian Moore.

Last Time

When you have lost on the opening day of the season at home to a side tipped to be relegated a trip to Molineux is not exactly what the doctor would order to put things right.

That’s how it was at the beginning of the 2002/03 season when we last played at Wolves in a league game and how right the doctor’s advice would have been.

Just to get things underway nicely Nik Michopolous presented Nathan Blake with a gift after just two minutes, the usual thing from NTG as he parried a harmless shot right into Blake’s path.

Five minutes it was tougher still and as well as being a goal down we were a man down when Jeff Winter sent off Paul Cook for a late challenge.
NTG redeemed himself somewhat and saved a penalty and we were able to hang on at 1-0 until half time.

It was two shortly afterwards with a farcical free kick from Dennis Irwin. The whole defence was confused as Steve Davis went onto the line then run out, then back on and then out again and again and again (slowly of course) and as that confusion caused panic Irwin hammered home.

It was just a matter of how many after that and there was just one more from Kevin Cooper two minutes from the end.

The teams were,

Wolves: Michael Oakes, Denis Irwin, Paul Butler, Joleon Lescott, Lee Naylor, Shaun Newton, Ivar Ingimarsson, Alex Rae (Kevin Cooper 64), Colin Cameron (Paul Ince 9), Nathan Blake, Kenny Miller (Dean Sturridge 76). Subs not used: Matt Murray, Adam Proudlock.

Burnley: Nik Michopoulos, Dean West, Steve Davis, Arthur Gnohere, Mark McGregor, Glen Little (Dimitri Papadopoulos 69), Paul Weller (Ian Cox 62), Lee Briscoe, Paul Cook, Alan Moore (Ian Moore 18), Gareth Taylor. Subs not used: Robbie Blake, Andy Payton.

Previous 20 Seasons

Season

Div

Ven

Result

Att

Scorers

1986/87

4

a

1-0

5,786

Grewcock

..

h

2-5

2,947

Grewcock James

1987/88

4

a

0-3

10,002

.

..

h

0-3

10,386

.

.

SV

W

0-2

80,841

.

1994/95

1

h

0-1

17,766

.

.

.

a

0-2

25,703

.

2000/01

1

a

0-1

20,156

.

..

h

1-2

15,483

Branch

2001/02

1

a

0-3

24,893

.

..

h

2-3

21,823

I Moore Johnson

2002/03

1

a

0-3

25,031

.

.

.

h

2-1

18,641

Taylor West

2003/04

LC

a

0-2

18,548

.

2004/05

C

h

1-1

13,869

Blake

.

LC

h

1-1

5,013

Blake - won 4-2 on penalties

Click HERE to see more results against Wolves since our first meeting in the inaugral league season of 1888/89.