Slow
down, you're moving too fast
Wolves 1 Burnley 0, Saturday 26
August 2000
Report by Firmo
All runs come to an end sometime. But the gloom
I felt on the journey home had a novel feel to it. So this is what away defeats feel like.
Remember them? It had been January 3rd in the league and a handful of days
later at Coventry in the cup since we last lost away. Now we haven't lost away since…
the last time.
But we didn't let ourselves down, and in that
unreal world where all results are just, this was a draw. We matched Wolves, and the fact
that they didn't overwhelm us like sides were doing six years ago was partly down to the
fact that they are not the force they clearly wish to be, but mainly because we are better
so far than we may have hoped.
Unfortunately, we matched Wolves for pace. The
game was played at a frantic speed. It was hard to keep track of the flight of the ball as
it pinged hither and thither. I would have liked to see us slow it down and play the game
at a pace that suits our constructive players. The Wolves crowd is easily frustrated, and
I felt our best chance of a win was to make them turn on their team. Here, speed was often
substituted for skill. The big tv screens (actually lots of small screens stuck together,
for reasons that aren't clear) in the corners of this gleaming ground had little action to
replay. The pattern for the first half was one of lame Wolves attacks being swiftly but
ineffectively countered. Indeed, it's hard to recall any concrete Burnley chances from the
half. Still, perhaps it wouldn't have made much difference if we'd have got the ball down
and played it a bit more, utilising the proven ability of Weller and Little. For our
attack lumbered.
It doesn't do to over criticise at such an early
stage, but Andy Cooke hasn't made the step up to the first division and doesn't look like
doing so. He was never less than hardworking here, as we have come to expect. Supporters
can forgive much of players who show effort and determination. But it's not enough.
Wolves' central defence was sound, and Cooke couldn't beat them. It was a physical
encounter, and one which ended, too often, with Cooke sitting on the ground deprived of
the ball. Not that Gray was any better. In a fast game, he looked slow, never in it.
Payton's presence on the bench became more frustrating as the game passed. He's the one
striker in the squad who possesses both attacking instincts and true quality. We need
another, and we need Payton on the pitch.
But we shouldn't be too harsh. And Cooke was
unfairly singled out by a referee who seemed all too aware that Wolves were the home side
and an established first division force. Naturally in the early games I've found myself
thinking back to our last attempt on this division, and it seems some things haven't
changed: referees still defer to bigger clubs. Cooke was booked for chasing a loose ball
in the box and making minimal, if any, contact with their keeper, who made not so much a
meal as a banquet of it. I'd have booked any striker who didn't pursue that legitimate
ball. After that, there had to be a lid on Cooke's natural aggression. Perhaps half of the
bookings we emerged with were reasonable, but Wolves could have had as many that went
unpunished.
There were plenty of positives to pick out.
First was the daft brilliance of Little. Wolves didn't know what he was going to do next.
Trouble was, half the time, neither did we, or perhaps he. He ran at them and popped up in
unexpected places. Early games suggest that he has found a stage suited to his talents. If
we are able to give him the freedom to invent, and if he is able to respond to the close
attention sides will pay him, then we'll have reason one way or another to be grateful
that he signed that new contract. Our spies in the home stand reported that, once again,
they all got rather worried whenever 'the number seven' got the ball. Weller had a quieter
game than the last couple, with more defensive work to do, but Briscoe was full of running
and quick thinking down the other side. The back three were solid, and Thomas and Davis at
times managed to join breaks forward. There can be no doubts of the ability of that trio
to play in this division. Ketsbaia was contained with more ease than we may have hoped
while noted lardarse Robert Taylor was never a worry. Crichton was a little more inspiring
of confidence than in his first couple of games, too, taking most of his crosses. Amazing
how the arrival of a new goalkeeper can concentrate the mind.
Gray and Cooke were eventually replaced, but by
Branch and Mullin. Now, the former fop and last season's late revelation have both proved
themselves to be players capable of attack and positional versatility, but there can be
little doubt that neither of them is a leader of the line. With these two up front, we
were effectively playing with no one up front. Payton was what we wanted. It looked like
Ternent was going for the draw.
We could have got it, and then we would have
paid further homage to our increasingly sage-like manager's tactical acumen, because no
one was going to get greedy and want a win. If we were going for a draw, we should have
had it. In the main, Wolves were hitting hopeful shots from too far a distance, and we all
enjoyed one moment when Ketsbaia chose to pass to no one rather than take a shot. It took
a lucky goal to beat us. Wolves had enjoyed the more clear cut of the second half
attacking chances - 'Baggies reject' Crichton had saved one with his feet, and Briscoe had
to clear from close to the line before they scored, while Thomas had to do the same later
- but their goal was fortunate. George Ndah, on for the inexplicably once rated Sinton,
headed, it hit a post, bounced out, was played blindly back in and Sedgley poked at it. It
crept in. Perhaps the marking was at fault, but on most days it still would have rolled
out.
Instantly Payton came on, but there wasn't
enough time. He had one good chance, but just couldn't get enough on a header from
Briscoe's cross to make it unsaveable. The best chance fell to Mullin, again with a
header. He somehow managed to get underneath a fine cross which left him unmarked in front
of goal. If you want to play up front, you have to get these on target. I think it was
around this time that Branch, receiving the ball from Thomas, and with a chance to run at
goal, immediately passed it back to the defender, who was surrounded by rust-coloured
Wolves shirts. Not intelligent.
It was also a bit disappointing that Weller went
off for Payton. Paul Cook clearly should have been the player subbed. Like his near
namesake Andy, he shouldn't be given too many games to make an impact at this level. I
don't know if he and Kevin Ball can play in the same midfield. It may seem to contradict
my feeling that we were trying to play the game too quickly, but in this vital area we
lack pace. If you're going to play fast football, you need the players to do it. Cook
looks ponderous. When he gets the range of his passing right, he's our best player. When
he doesn't, he spends an age turning and taking touches before playing a long ball to
nobody. After the goal, what we needed was urgency. You won't get that from a player who's
not fit for 90 minutes. In pre-season previews, he'd made much of the fact that Wolves
were one of his old clubs and he was looking forward to playing here. You wouldn't have
known. There were a couple of other things I saw here that I didn't like. One was
remonstrating with the linesman while play continued, and the other was blaming a
team-mate for not being where a pass was played to. So far this season we have shown the
concentration on the task in hand and the team spirit that got us up and will enable us to
survive. We mustn't lose that.
The game ended and we weren't disappointed. We
cheered. The defeat was undeserved. It happens sometimes. You lose games you shouldn't.
Before the start of the season we'd been thinking that we might have no points after three
games. After three tough games, we have four. The big games are still to come - against
the lesser sides. I just can't see us blowing it this time. Even in defeat, we don't look
like gatecrashers.
Team (3-5-2): Crichton,
Davis, Thomas, Cox, Weller (Payton 76), Briscoe, Cook, Ball, Little, Cooke (Mullin 71),
Gray (Branch 57). Subs not used: Armstrong and Smith.
Scorer: Sedgley
(74).
Attendance:
20,156.
Referee: M
Jones.
London Clarets Man
of the Match: Glen Little.
The home game
