Under such sad circumstances, we waved goodbye to Dean Richards. The club’s staff, the fans, the minute applause, the signed shirts, ex team-mates, ex managers and especially his brave wife and two young boys combined to give Richard’s one of the most emotional moments I have witnessed in football. The perfect send off for a great player and a great man. RIP Deano.
On reflection, the 3-3 draw was a fair result considering the chances both sides had, but it could have been so different for Wolves. In an emotionally charged game, referee Mark Halsey got two huge decisions wrong; the failure to send off Hutton for pulling back Milijas six yards out and the disallowed Stearman goal were clear mistakes from Halsey who protected the bigger team and players. If the foul was in the Wolves box, 9 times out of 10 the opposing Wolves player would walk. Playing against a ten man Spurs we could have gone onto gain three vital points. Such an injustice could have thrown many teams off their objectives, but Wolves remained resolute and continued to press and fight despite the sense of injustice that must have lingered. Again, who knows what might have happened after a Stearman goal? With the momentum of the goal there was still time to go on and win especially with a roaring home crowd behind them. But despite the wrongs of the referee, we can take pride in the effort and work-rate from our young Wolves side. Is there a team in the Premier League who work as hard as the men in gold? I doubt it.
To top off a day that was a great advert for the club there was Mick McCarthy’s response to the press immediately after the game. This was a man who had just witnessed his team battle to a draw against eleven class Spurs players and an inept referee. McCarthy had every right to fume and an outburst against the referee would not have been misplaced, but did Mick scream and shout? No. Did he have a go at the referee? No. Did he make rushed claims for changes to the refereeing system? No. Did he refuse to talk to the media a la knighthood-worthy Fergie? No. Mick was realistic, calm, optimistic and once again oozed respect. Mick has his doubters but there is one thing that can’t be dismissed about McCarthy and that is his loyalty to Wolves and to football. He really is a great advert for the club and for the game.
What was an emotionally draining day with Richard’s tribute and the rollercoaster 90 minutes, I walked away from Molineux not aggrieved at our refereeing injustice, no, I walked away thinking how lucky I am to support such a great club, Wolverhampton Wanderers.