Thursday 22 October 2009

Ready for a thriller with the Villa

We've waited more than five and a half years. So another 37 hours is just about manageable.

But the sense of anticipation surrounding the return of Aston Villa to Molineux encapsulates exactly why we all want to follow a Premier League club.

Liverpool at Anfield, Man Utd home and away, and Villa at Molineux - the four games that make my season, make me thrilled to be a Wolves fan in the Premier League.

Deflated after Portsmouth, delighted after Everton - now Wolves run out at what will be a rocking Molineux to face the best team in the West Midlands - who arrive on the back of a superb win over Chelsea.

Villa strike fear into me, a fantastic team with riotous pace that could rip us apart if we are not careful.

But if we are careful, they may not.

Our last league encounter was a humbling 4-0 defeat in March, 2004. Villa were three up after 24 minutes. www.soccerbase.com/results3....

Incredibly, of the 27 players that turned out that day, only one will be playing on Saturday. And I wonder what odds you would have got back then on that player being Jody Craddock?

And what a challenge awaits the Wolves warhorse in the face of Gabby Agbonlahor, John Carew, Ashley Young and James Milner.

Of course we can all predict that Craddock will rise magnificently to the occasion, but even that may not be enough. This Villa line-up really does set alarm bells ringing.

It's easy to build these local derbies up, but this really could be a cracker. All I hope is that Wolves come flying out of the traps, and turn early pressure into a goal.

Remember the fantastic opening 30 minutes against Villa's city rivals in April 2007? A storming, ferocious display full of attacking intent, but no goals, and ultimately a 3-2 defeat.

Saturday's fantastic point at Everton was a real bonus after the Portsmouth defeat, and now Sylvan is settling back into the team alongside transfer "bargain" Kevin Doyle, we do have hope - and we have goalscorers.

We also have a team that doesn't include Kevin Foley - which seems so strange after his spectacular run of form last season. But all credit to Ronald Zubar after his debut, and no-one would ever accuse Mick McCarthy of going back on his mantra of "you earn the shirt, you keep the shirt."

Villa are a top class team that will properly test everyone at Wolves.

But what is there to lose? Throw Matt Jarvis back into the team on the left, hope Michael Kightly comes alive down the right, and go toe to toe with the aristocrats from Aston.

In many ways, this is a bonus fixture for Wolves - we all acknowledge we need to be beating the teams around us, not necessarily the teams escaping over the horizon.

But what a bonus is on offer.

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