@SteveMadeley78
First up, Wolves' relegation was confirmed this week - when West Ham picked up a point at Palace on Monday night - how do you think it will affect the players for the rest of the season?
Steve: “In a strange way, Monday night was almost irrelevant. It was relevant in as much as it made it official but, really, 95% of Wolves fans have known since Christmas that they were down. There was a brief, mini upturn when they beat Villa and Liverpool (and drew with Arsenal) and had one defeat in six games when a very small minority of fans looked at it and went, ‘maybe, maybe, maybe’ but, like I say, a very small minority. Most fans accepted that it was good to be winning games, but it didn't really change anything. I think where the mood has changed a little is after the last two performances (4-0 loss at West Ham, 3-0 loss at Leeds). After that six-game run and some improved performances, they've done well for 35 minutes at West Ham and then capitulated for the other 55 minutes and then just not really turned up at any stage at Leeds, reverting back to performances earlier in the season – the fans weren’t happy with that.”
Having said all that, Steve, Spurs fans will travel to Molineux remembering those displays against Arsenal, Villa and Liverpool - Wolves looked a very different team to what they showed at West Ham and Leeds…
Steve: “I would say as a caveat that they were good games for Wolves. This squad has a lot of flaws, but arguably the biggest is that it hasn't got any attacking creativity in terms of a creative, attacking midfielder, natural wingers and a complete centre forward. So, in the games where Wolves have to make some of the running, they struggle, whereas the games against Arsenal, Liverpool and, to an extent Villa, there was a lot more clarity to the game plan – basically, we defend and we play on the break. That almost suited them a bit more, because it was just about having a structure and playing from that. There's been a definite improvement since Christmas, but it's still a marginal improvement.”
Do you expect a reaction - a performance for the fans - back at Molineux on Saturday?
Steve: “I'm sure Rob Edwards will try that angle. If you looked at the faces of the travelling fans at Leeds on Saturday... the players, to their credit, went over and took that. They didn't shy away from it. There was a lot of anger, and understandably so. You would think that Rob Edwards would be saying, ‘well, you saw the fans at Leeds, let's give them something now’. I'm sure he'll also be saying that this is a massive game for Spurs, and Wolves will need to play on their nerves, all that kind of stuff - but then you come back to the fact that Wolves have won three games all season, and there's a reason for that - even if Wolves play up to their maximum, they can still struggle.”
We last met in September - what has Rob Edwards done differently since taking over in November?
Steve: “Tactically, he hasn't changed a great deal in terms of the set-up. Formation-wise, they still play three at the back with wing-backs, then it kind of varies as to whether they play three in midfield and two up front, or two in midfield and three up front, or a diamond or a box. It’s still essentially three at the back with wing-backs, that hasn't changed from Vitor Pereira's preferred formation. I think what has changed a little bit under Edwards is that over the last couple of games, they've been a bit better organised, harder to break down, and they've sat a bit deeper and not worried as much about possession, whereas Vitor was trying to get them to play a bit higher, a bit more aggressively, have more possession - but they didn't have the squad or the players to do it. I think Rob Edwards would like to do that long-term, but at the moment they sit more in a low-block and try and make themselves hard to beat.”
Who would be your player to watch?
Steve: “Mateus Mané would probably be the one. He hasn't actually started the last two games and was taken off at half-time against Brentford. I think he will probably start this game. He's the one player who's got a bit of a trick, a bit of something different, the quality to create something out of nothing.”
Final question - how do you think it will play out on Saturday?
Steve: “My hunch would be that it'll be a tight game, but Wolves will potentially be a bit more liberated and Spurs will be really nervous, which might just give Wolves the edge. If I had to pick one, I would say Wolves will edge it in a tight game.”
Last time we met...