Monday Comment

Hotseat
By Stuart Smith
October 24 2005

Wolves fans woke this morning, with the dust settling on another weekend of false hope and disappointment, and many asking themselves where their season is going?

2 points from the last 15 at home is closer to relegation form than promotion, and whilst Glenn Hoddle believes his side has deserved a better return for their efforts, many fans would tell him otherwise.

Poor results and more alarmingly poor displays have found Hoddles men slip out of the play off spots, and ironically below Cardiff City managed by Dave Jones, so far the only man to guide Wolves to The Premiership.

Wolves have the stadium, the manager, and on paper, the players, so why is the highest paid team in The Championship still mis-firing in this most crucial of seasons?

Some point the finger at Hoddles insistence on playing his favored 4-3-3 formation, which bereft of Paul Ince's influence frequently sees the 3 man midfield overrun, looking frail and toothless. Others highlight Wolves apparent inactivity in the pre season transfer market, where Jackie McNamara was Hoddles only first choice new signing made. Wolves finishing has at times been shocking, and has seen the side with the most shots on goal this season find the net only 19 times despite fielding the divisions top scorer. To put that in perspective. Sheffield United have scored a total of 16 goals just in away matches.Add to this an ever growing list of injuries, that now includes top marksman Carl Cort and the sense of unease felt by many Wolves' fans can be appreciated in full

Quality is a word you hear a lot from Glenn Hoddle. Quality of signings, quality of finishing, quality of play, and herein may lie a piece of the puzzle.

 Bill Nicholson once said "It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. And we have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory."

Wolves fans certainly know all about aiming high, but many are beginning to concede that failure may now be a possibility.No one has ever won or lost a title in November, but a few have been decided. Jez Moxey has announced that a transfer kitty IS available for January, but by then, will it be too late? Time is fast running out for a side still only capable of performing in patches, and as whole, less frequently than that. Hoddle has 7 days in which one of europes top coaches may well be called upon to justify that tag.