So Wolves are joint bottom of the Premier League after the worrying 3-0 defeat to Blackburn. Only a few weeks ago whilst taking on the likes of Man Utd and Arsenal, we all thought that as soon as our fixtures became those of a less daunting prospect our results would change too. So where has it all gone wrong?
I personally believe it's as simple as having too many average players playing in a formation that doesn't suit and playing with no confidence. The 4-5-1 in the second half of last season worked to good effect, but there was a shared belief that points could be won. Now the players are lacking faith and conviction resulting in the formation constantly failing. So many teams now play with variations of the 4-5-1 formation but they do it effectively, Arsenal are the best example. When Chamakh has the ball for Arsenal, players like Nasri and Arshavin will 'bomb on', but when Doyle has the ball for Wolves, none of his team mates risk advancing beyond their ever trying striker. Milijas and Jones just aren't the type of players who'd dare run into the box, preferring to remain relatively motionless in the centre of the field stroking ten yard sideways passes. And with so much expected of Jarvis, if the opponent can nullify his threat, we just aren't going to score, it's as simple as that.
The defence is made up of average players who panic and lack composure, resulting in a seemingly endless run of clean sheet failure. Ok, we've missed the organisation and roll-up-your-sleeves attitude of the injured Jody Craddock, but players like Elokobi, Stearman et al just aren't consistent enough to be Premier League successes. They might have one solid game, then look like a panicky League One player for the next three. Then there is the anchorman. I'm Karl Henry's biggest fan and I think Mancienne has a good future but their jobs are redundant if the defence behind them make so many basic errors.
Mick McCarthy seems to be running out of ideas and running out of time. Money was spent in the summer on players who have since become bench-warmers meaning we have pretty much the same team as last season, and which means minus Doyle, Zubar and Milijas, we still have our Championship side. With points needed we have to start going for wins so surely Ebanks-Blake or Fletcher have to start? Should we play 4-4-2 or re-work the 4-5-1? Should Zubar switch to the position we bought him for in the centre of defence? Why don't we convert our numerous chances or threaten more from our countless corners and free kicks? Is the training ground too 'pally'? These are questions only Mick can solve, and if he hasn't got the answers, I'm afraid he might be facing the worrying old cliché of 'he's taken us as far as he can'…