Mick McCarthy DOES Know What He’s Doing, Sort of

By: Daryl | January 3rd, 2008

Wolves recent run of form (seven games without a win) has seen Molineux turn on Mick McCarthy, with chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” being heard during the 0-0 draw with Sheffield United. On one hand I share the frustration. If we can’t beat a team managed by Bryan Robson at home then there’s definitely a problem, and those automatic promotion placed never looked so far away. And wasn’t Freddy Eastwood supposed to be the goal machine to solve all our problems? But - as usual with Wolves and Wolves fans - this all stems from over-expectation.

Last season Big Mick was treated like the second coming because he put together a surprisingly good team on a smallish budget. This season he spent a bit of money (but actually not THAT much) in the summer and all of a sudden Wolves were being talked about as one of the favourites to win the Championship.

I think all Wolves fans should except that we over-achieved massively last season. Teams with slow, elderly like Gary Breen and Jody Craddock surrounded by a bunch of cheap buys from places like Grays Athletic and a smattering of youngsters don’t normally make the playoffs. In the summer we added two extra strikers in Stephen Elliot and Freddie Eastwood, another slow defender in Michael Gray, an extra centre-back in Darren Ward and an extra winger in Matthew Jarvis (who immediately got himself injured) as well as two more on loan youngsters in Graham Stack and Darron Gibson. All of them are decent players but none of them world-beaters. If anything these signings just filled out a squad that was threadbare in 2006/7. So expectations of a canter to the Championship title in 2007/8 were unrealistic.

The biggest problem this year has been Michael Kightly’s injury. The brilliant right-winger been out since the end of November with that ankle injury West Brom inflicted on him and our poor form (especially in attack) since then underlines just how much we relied on Kightly last season and continue to rely on him this season. His form basically explains Wolves’ over-achievement in 2006/7 and perceived under-achievement in 2007/8.