Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Bromwich Albion

By John Georgiou
May 7 2007

Finally, after what seems to be an eternity of uncertainty and anticipation, Wolves have finally secured a play-off berth. And what better way to prove your Premiership credentials than by overturning the best squad in the division, who just happen to be your rivals.

It's 1pm on Sunday 6th May, and 5 teams are still very much in with a chance of securing a place in the hallowed territory of the British Premier League. Some possessed form and exuded a bright aura of confidence as kick off commenced 90 minutes of sheer tension, and some were relying on the fact that they had, at some point, shown semblances of quality and verve, but it was ultimately to be those who managed to stand firm in the face of anxiety and pressure who would afford themselves a priceless shot at the big time.

There was Stoke City, a side relatively weak in comparison to their counterparts had they not the provisions of some glittering loanees, Dominic Matteo, who boasted a wealth of Premiership experience, young Gabriel Zakuani on loan from Fulham, a strong central defender, Lee Hendrie, on the fringes of the Aston Villa team but very much still a talented and creative midfielder working the Stoke midfield engine and Andy Griffin. A fixture against Queen's Park Rangers, who had, prior to defeat to the mighty Wolves won 5 of their last 7, was not exactly a prospect to be relished, but they would go into the encounter on the back of some impressive wins themselves, and with little to lose, and all to gain.

Preston North End, who had suffered somewhat of a catastrophic decline, losing 6 of their last 7, including defeats to relegation battlers Leeds United, Queen's Park Rangers, Leicester City and Southend United, had somewhat of a daunting task at home to a fortuitous Birmingham City side gunning for the Championship title, and with their form very much of the relegation sort, it would surely take a monumental effort to overturn their illustrious counterparts? Paul Simpson would have been looking to emulate the successes of the early season which saw Preston go 2nd in the league, and 1 point from top spot at the beginning of November, and more recently the shortlived resurgence in form of January, in order to keep his wavering hopes of Promotion alive, and with players like Liam Chilvers, Matt Hill, Danny Pugh and David Nugent, much rated amongst the North End faithful, Preston could always be confident of claiming the 3 points, as long as the players could match the passion exhibited by a vociferous crowd at Deepdale.

Southampton, a team peppered with hot property in Gareth Bale,Kenwyne Jones, Bradley Wright-Phillips amd Chris Baird, as well as proven quality in Rudolf Skacel, the prolific Grzegorz Rasiak, Djamel Belmadi and the expierienced Claus Lundekvam, were guaranteed their play-off berth as long as they could equal Stoke's result, and with a home fixture against already relegated Southend United the only obstacle between them and their bid for the top flight, their play off position seemed an inevitability, the only question being WHO they would be pitting their wits against, with hopeful eyes surely on Derby County, who, though comfortably placed in third, would surely be there for the taking after a deflating loss to Crystal Palace, which spelled the end of their Automatic Promotion dream.

Then, of course, our bitter rivals, West Bromwich Albion, almost a carbon copy of Wolves teams gone by, possessing undoubtably talented, skilful, learned players in Jason Koumas, Diomansy Kamara, instinctive striker Kevin Phillips, the promising Robert Koren, Jonathan Greening, Nathan Ellington and fantastic prospect Paul McShane, signed as part of the deal that saw Tomasz Kuszczak head to recently crowned Premiership Champions Manchester United, who, talented as they are, care not what they give to the club, but what the club gives them weekly. A risky situation to be in, but one that can pay dividends should they achieve the desired success. It was to be, and still is to be the Baggies upon whom a massive weight rests, should they not secure promotion, with these exceptional talents preparing to part ways with them should another season of second tier obscurity await them next season. In the knowledge that a win against an already safe Barnsley side with mostly reserve players in the line up would affirm THEIR play-off aspirations, the Baggies would have had supreme confidence regardless that they could achieve.

And finally, Mick McCarthy's majestic Wolves, sporting a rather rough, unpolished looking (in comparison to their more refined rivals in West Bromwich Albion and Southampton of course, who boasted a much more expensive and extensively knowledged side) team, with unearthed gems in the tricky Andy Keogh and swift Michael Kightly, intelligent and wiser heads in Jody Craddock, Gary Breen and Jackie McNamara marshalling the back line, as well as the younger but proven Darren Potter and Michael McIndoe, as well as youngsters with it all to prove if they are to fulfil promising potential in Mark Little, and Jay Bothroyd, the latter just beginning to buy into the work ethic and efficiency that this new Wolves side is becoming reknowned for, much to his credit. They had suffered somewhat of a shaky spell in comparison to the glittering 8 game unbeaten run from the end of January to the beginning of March, but were still picking up vital points from key encounters, though a fixture away at Leicester City, who Wolves had not beaten in 36 years away from home, was surely the potential banana skin the Wolves faithful would not have wished for. With noises within and outside of the club (bar Mick McCarthy who was staunch in his assurances that missing out on the play-offs was NOT a tolerable prospect) praising the team for the success 06-07 had already become, it seemed, despite having arguably the most difficult fixture, that the pressure was significantly lower than that of their counterparts, which would surely serve to aid them in their unlikely promotion bid.

Cue a Stoke collapse at Loftus Road, where a 1-1 draw would be all the Potters could muster against a plucky Rangers side, an impressive although somewhat fortunate victory for Preston over Birmingham that would prove to be in vain as Wolves and Southampton survived an early scare to thrash Leicester and Southend respectively 4-1 apiece, and West Bromwich Albion smashed a poor Barnsley outfit 7-0. It was indeed to be Derby County for Southampton, and a fixture at Saint Mary's at noon on Saturday, and a massive crunch clash between straight talking McCarthy's battling Wolves, and the ever cheerful Tony Mowbray's (pictured below) pampered poodles.

But, ladies and gentlemen, if you thought yesterday was tense, just wait until noon this Sunday, where an immense story will begin to unfold at the lair of the Wolves.

You would have thought 3 fixtures would be enough to size up your opponent ahead of a clash of this calibre, but not so. The only glimpse we've seen of the new Wolves, rather than a thrown together Wolves team, against our bitter rivals was at the Molineux almost 2 months ago, and whilst most Wolves fans would be ecstatic at another 1-0 to take into the away leg, methinks these will be considerably different games in prospect to the three that preceded it. Unlike the Hawthorn encounter that saw a defiant makeshift Wolves side go down to 2 pieces of brilliance, and a contentious penalty, and the two league and FA Cup encounters at the Molineux, neither side has been in any particularly impressive form since that wonderful Sunday afternoon 10 games ago, though Wolves and West Brom have won 3 of their last 5 games (as if predicting an outcome needed to be made any harder). Both are on 76 points, separated by goal difference, and both have beaten each other on their own patch, and so it would seem a firm prediction is impossible for this one.

What it may well boil down to, however, is who has the bigger bottle, and who acquiesces to the phenomenal pressure, and perhaps it's that one fundemental difference between the two sides that will determine the victor.

For the Baggies, defeat would almost certainly be suicide, with key assetts likely to leave in the summer, the loss of parachute payments, and having already missed out on his primary target of Automatic Promotion, Tony Mowbray's head could well be on the block, whereas Wolves now bid for the Premiership in the knowledge that they will be in decent stead regardless of the outcome of their play-off endeavours. However, the expierienced heads in the Baggies camp will have been there and done it all before, and may well relish the pressure they are under, and at the end of the day, what is it to the likes of Kamara and co. if the Albion are not to achieve promotion? They can certainly secure yet another club to be paid by, with Premiership clubs keeping a close eye on the likes of Diomansy, Ellington. Davies and co. The inexperience of this young Wolves side could well prove to be their downfall as they enter battle without an idea of what a game like this will entail, however, Micky, unlike Mr Grumpy, will have himself been there and done it all in the Championship, having expierienced the play-offs with both Millwall and Sunderland, and having lead Sunderland through a record breaking promotion charge, and this, as has his never say die spirit, will surely ingrain itself into the minds of the young Wolves, and bodes well for a spirited, and hopefully successful performance.

One thing is for sure, it is to be a huge encounter, and both sets of fans will be uproarious in their support. With both ties looking like certain sell outs, the magnitude of the ties and the pride and prize of a coveted place in the Premiership at stake, coupled with the desire and passion that will seep through the veins of every man, woman and child associated with either side of the Black Country , and has coursed itself throughout Wolverhampton Wanderers since the arrival of Mick the Magician and his band of proud players, this will surely be one of the most memorable play-off semi finals for a long time, and hopefully it will be the one that paves the way for the great club of Old Gold to return to the peak of British Football for a long time to come.

UP THE WOLVES!!!