Wolves 3 – 1 Sheffield United – The Blades are Blunted, Wolves left licking their wounds.

By: Toby | November 25th, 2008

Result aside (Which was fantastic), I’ve got a bone to pick.

When a team like Sheffield United, who play tough and physical Football gain results, they earn plaudits for “putting it up them” and “knocking them off their pedestals” and while, yes, I can appreciate a tough and hard fought game with competitive challenges I can’t appreciate thuggery with the occasional football being kicked. Not content with putting one player into hospital this season, Sheffield tried to unsettle Wolves by systematically kicking them off the pitch. With this random act of violence (here) not unlike the kind of thing you’d see in the streets in the early hours, inflicting that horrific scarring and injury you can see to the left coupled with the challenge which saw Edwards getting withdrawn makes my blood boil, coupled with the fact that the referee did nothing, he didn’t even book a United player all night. Along the same lines, nothing will be done about Hulme and his collapsed skull after he was the victim of GBH from Chris Morgan. Respect referees? Yes, I’ll get right on that. Firstly, DO YOUR JOB. When you allow a goal that’s not a goal, it’s annoying but it’s part of the game, when you allow a team to bully their way through a game, ending people’s seasons, who knows, careers with Hulme…it’s just a hard pill to swallow. We ended last night with Edwards off with concussion, Ikeme off with stitches and Kightly finishing the game with a broken nose while at Hereford Murray was carried off the field,

The last name on that list came as a sucker punch which hit me hard. In some accounts I’ve heard he fainted from the pain when his knee gave out under him during a clearance. It doesn’t sound good, those of you who read often will know that Matt Murray is somewhat of a personal hero of mine, and having suffered the same injury, and having indeed fainted from the pain of it’s reaccurance, I can only wish him all the best, the big man is going to need all the positive wishes he can get right now, keep on fighting big guy. At the time of my injury, the pain was immmense, there’s no questioning, it’s like getting stabbed in the knee with someone twisting the knife, yet the real pain dawns on you while you lie there, or while you get carried away with your knee swelling up infront of you and going numb, you’re not going to play again for a long time. I’ll admit I broke down and cried on the pitch when I did mine for the second time, I can only imagine what it’s like for Matt. My heart goes out to the big guy, truely England’s number one were it not for his terrible luck.

Right, that out of the way let’s talk about the game.

I’m glad to say on the freezing night of November the 25th 2008 the Wolves I’ve known and loved (despite all they’ve done to me in the past) for the last God knows how many years truly proved to me to be a different team to that which I’ve ever seen. On nights like this in the past, Wolves would have wilted under the pressure, the realisation of the game’s importance would have forced them to hide, they’d have been scared off by Sheffield’s dirty play; they would have lost. But no, they stepped up, they played the football which we all know they can play, and created chances and were happy to rise above the dregs with their heads held high. Lead by the big Chris Iwelumo a player, (who for some reason has been given the tag of a dirty player by most refs in this league) powered in two goals for the second time in two games. Not to be left out of the party, Ebanks Blake got onto the score sheet for the first time in a while. All our goals were the result of passing, flowing movements which (excuse the pun) cut the blades apart time and again. Wolves were the coiled spring for the majority of the game, happy to soak up pressure and then deliver killer blows.

Sheffield’s huff and puff against a team which they’d managed to remove two players from managed a consolation goal, but they deserved nothing more than that, and didn’t get it. The gap between first and fourth, seemed massive…15 points to be exact.

Elsewhere saw Birmingham keep the gap at the top to 6 points going into Saturday, whilst Reading were held to a 2-2 draw at Cardiff, which stretches the gap between us and them to 12 points.

So there we are, another three goals against Sheffield, three worrying injuries, seven wins in a row. It’s all either great news or terrible news, but for now, let’s focus on the positives and once again, look lovingly on at that beautiful Championship Table.

Tarra-a-bit.