Facts are Wolves have only lost once under Hoddle’s reign as a coach, which says a lot, they are a “hard team to beat”, but not getting beat doesn’t earn promotion as Wolves have proven in recent weeks. From a possible 39 points since Hoddle joined Wolves, Wolves have earned 16 points. In the last 13 games of Dave Jones' reign, Wolves earned 16 points out of a possible 39. Which creates the question, has Hoddle really made an improvement?
Hoddle’s future seems to be getting increasingly bleak as time goes on. Hoddle is still only on a temporary contract with the club, and he or the board have yet to make any indication it will be extended. Many fans believe Hoddle is just the “filler” manager, until the season draws to a close, then the path will be open for Paul Ince to step in. Recent comments from Ince and Hoddle have made fans believe this scenario even more so…
Hoddle was asked again about his future plans at Derby’s pre-match media conference. Hoddle sidestepped the issue with his "we'll leave it until the end of the season" stance from which he refuses to budge. After this Ince stated his desire and ambition to become a manager, leading many to believe the job is already his, as he is currently training to become a coach, at the end of the season he will have completed this course which will allow him to manage the club.
Despite all of the kafuffle involving Hoddle and the managerial post, Wolves need to keep heads held high and keep this unbeaten run going. Wolves’ lacklustre defence was exposed during the midweek 3 – 3 draw where Wolves failed to keep a lead twice, both times losing the lead within five minutes of taking it. Wolves looked in control and surging towards the three points as Carl Cort headed home as the match was heading into injury time, but then Wolves concentration slipped and they let Reich in for a late goal to earn promotion-chasers Derby a point.
Crewe themselves have had a rough season, currently on the same amount of points as Wolves, but they have a game in hand. The major disappointment for them was the loss of star-striker Dean Ashton, as they had no choice but to sell him to Norwich. With Crewe’s main attacking force banished, they haven’t been so impressive since, with only two wins in the last 10 games, Crewe are on a major downtrend. Since Ashton have left Crewe haven’t won a single game, maybe proving they were just a “one-man team”? Crewe haven’t scored more than one goal in a match since, which Wolves will look to take advantage of. Crewe’s influential defender Steve Foster will miss this match through suspension as his appeal to have his red card rescinded failed.
Wolves have no new problems ahead of this game, as all players got through the midweek game unscathed. The travelling may take its toll on the Wanderers, as they had to travel to derby then straight to Crewe. Wolves have been in much better scoring form lately; they look sharp and fluent in attack, which is the exact opposite to Crewe. The fans have recently been disgruntled by all of the draws Wolves have been achieving, singling out players, and venting their anger towards them.
Prediction: 0 - 2