No excuses - Sunday really is the day to deliver

The irony will not be lost on 20,000 Wolves fans who will file into Molineux on Sunday with hope in our hearts, but fear and trepidation in our heads.

In the one dugout will be the manager who presided over a Wolves promotion capitulation in 2002.

And in the other will be the boss surely increasingly anxious not to follow his example.

It's official - Wolves have reached "rock bottom".

So says Mick McCarthy in an interview on the official club website which is headlined: "The Only Way Is Up."

All this from a club who still sit on top of the Championship in the race for Premier League football. Don't they say the league table never lies?

Well this one does.

Wolves have won once in nine games, and there is a rational argument for saying we haven't played well since thumping Sheffield United at the end of November.

And next up is Jones' Cardiff side who are unbeaten in 11, and presumably determined to ratchet up the apprehension currently hanging like a dark cloud over Molineux.

Apprehension breeds frustration, and that leads to anger - and that's a familiar scenario for those of us who've followed Wolves for the last 30 years.

The nationwide view of Wolves fans is probably a fickle band of moaners. But I don't buy that. We are passionate - but have become accustomed to despair.

Betrayal is a strong word, maybe too strong. But even when we ended 19 years of hurt to reach the Premier League in 2003, we were let down by a club not brave enough to spend the money that would have kept us up.

Our dream withered and died. We needed some Premier League class - we got Silas, Isaac Okoronkwo and Oleg Luzhny.

There's probably something in the psychological make-up of a Wolves fan that anticipates pain and heartbreak - but in our defence it's happened so often in the past.

However, McCarthy's Wolves, up until Christmas at any rate, had been different. Once the club hierarchy cottoned on to what the fans had known for years - that Molineux was absolutely crying out for young, hungry footballers - we came to embrace a new generation that we backed to the absolute hilt.

Not even a 6-0 hammering at the hands of Southampton would stop us giving our new Wolves a standing ovation.
We believed in them, and they delivered - and McCarthy was "Super Mick".

But after a series of poor results since November, and increasingly desperate performances, the pressure is massively on.

These young starlets have been rewarded for their efforts over the last two and a half seasons, and Premier League managers have cast envious glances at Michael Kightly, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Wayne Hennessey.

Now our big players have absolutely got to stand up and be counted on Sunday.

But the man who holds the key to Wolves' ambitions over the next three months has to be the manager.

For the last three away games, he's combined Karl Henry and on-loan Nigel Quashie in the heart of midfield - and we've lost all three.

And I was left bemused after the "rock bottom" performance at Burnley last Saturday, listening to McCarthy pondering whether he was setting up his team with too much emphasis on attack.

Well a midfield without David Jones and/or David Edwards does not suggest huge attacking intent to me or, I venture to suggest, thousands of other Wolves fans.

We should be celebrating Wolves being top of the league, and embracing the excitement. Wolves fans shouldn't be turning on honest players like Neill Collins and Andy Keogh.

But that's where Wolves are at. It's a real shame - and it requires a massive performance on the field, and in the stands, on Sunday.

Midfield muddle epitomises Molineux malaise

I'm not sure which sounds worse: two wins in nine games, or 10 points out of a possible 27?

And although we're still four points clear at the top of the table, I'm getting worried.

Standing within the massed ranks of yet another superb away following at the Ricoh on Saturday, I expected more. Much more.

Wolves are struggling, and it's not just because we're shipping soft goals. Pretty much everywhere I looked on Saturday were issues and problems.

Now Mick McCarthy points to a better second half showing, and reckons we were worth a point had Sylvan not missed his penalty, but Wolves need to be playing better than this.

Fortunately Reading and Birmingham are giving us a helping hand right now, but if Cardiff win their three games in hand, the pressure will be on.

So to the issues and problems.

How did Wayne Hennessey let such a soft shot slip under his body in the build-up to Coventry's first? I thought that was pretty feeble goalkeeping when bravery was called for - and he was also complicit in Norwich's third on Tuesday night.

Why did Matt Jarvis waste countless opportunities to deliver effective crosses? I lost count of the times he skipped down the left, but practically every centre was either too low or mis-directed.

Why was Michael Kightly playing inside-right instead of outside-right? Still our best creative option, but clearly not playing with pace or confidence. A rampant Kightly creates a rampant Wolves - and neither has been seen for weeks. And why doesn't he hug the touchline anymore?

Why isn't Sam Vokes getting a chance when Chris Iwelumo's form has completely deserted him? Big Chris has 15 goals, but hasn't scored since November 25. Increasingly, he's finding it easier to upset referees than find the net - and surely Vokes, with two goals in three substitute appearances, is worth a run now.

And why did Wolves line-up with Karl Henry and Nigel Quashie at the heart of midfield?

Quashie gives it his best, but what message is being sent by deploying two similar players in midfield? David Jones is a better passer than either, and David Edwards is more athletic.

And there is no disguising the fact that Quashie was deemed surplus to requirements by a manager struggling to properly kick-start Birmingham's promotion push.

Wolves burst to the top of the league in the closing months of 2008 with some delightful attacking play that dazzled the fans, and left opposition defences in large amounts of disarray.

Most of those players were on show at Coventry yesterday, but it all felt a bit one-paced. Maybe even lethargic - and muddled in midfield.

I vote a rapid return for Jones in midfield alongside Quashie or Henry, Vokes alongside Sylvan - and Kightly and Jarvis to start delivering and living up to their star billing.

And despite the goals conceded column, I still can't a better back four than Kevin Foley, Richard Stearman, Christophe Berra, and Stephen Ward.

This isn't a crisis, but it's not very clever.

Wolves back on track for Match of the Day

It's a crying shame it wasn't in different circumstances, but Wolves got a rare mention on Match of the Day on Saturday.

Unfortunately Messrs Lineker, Hansen and Shearer were talking about the impressive Premier League debut of Mark Davies for Bolton.

But it's a start - and my faith that Wolves will be a word that figures much more prominently on BBC1 from August remains unshaken.

In fact my faith was strengthened by a performance against the Hornets that reminded me why Wolves are deserved leaders of the Championship.

While Reading were slipping up slightly, Super Mick's men confidently and competently dealt with Watford with a performance that was a bit of a throw-back.

On a sticky pitch, Wolves rediscovered a fair bit of the zip that has clearly been missing since the start of December.

So ok, it wasn't a rampaging performance, but there were spells when Wolves were fairly rampant, pinning Watford back with lively attacking breaks.

And there were several performances that confirmed my long-held view that McCarthy's squad will really take some catching in the race for Premier League football.

No wins in five games had played into the hands of the doom merchants, but the Championship league table still shows us four points clear of second place - and six clear of lucky Blues.

Victory was never in doubt for me at Molineux from the moment it became clear Richard Stearman was going to enjoy a terrific afternoon alongside the ever-popular Jody Craddock.

And at the opposite end of the pitch, the recently subdued Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was back to his barnstorming best.

I thought Sylvan was fantastic. He got his goal early on, then battled for everything, including the centre circle tussle that ultimately led to Andy Keogh's goal.

Sylvan's goal record is sensational, and on Saturday so was his work rate.

I had a sneaking suspicion that Craddock would play in place of the heavily-criticised Neill Collins, and he was top class. But I've another suggestion - that may have been his Molineux farewell.

But where this leaves million pound signing Jason Shackell is now a matter of obvious debate, with Christophe Berra hopefully making his debut on Tuesday night against Norwich.

If the Berra deal is completed, McCarthy's transfer window activity will surely be deemed a great success - a desperately-needed central defender, a solid midfielder as cover or assistance for Karl Henry, and a lively winger as cover for Matt Jarvis and Michael Kightly.

While some people have been losing their heads, McCarthy has calmly guided Wolves through a difficult December and January - and I don't see why we couldn't fly through February.