Wolverhampton Withdrawls

There is no cure for what lies ahead and I am already dreading it. Next weekend the Wolves are home to face Hull City and their newly acquired American, Jozy Altidore. Over here the game will not be on live but will be on at midnight and I will be awake watching. After the 90 minutes is over and a result is left in the win, loss, or draw column, all of us come to face the same reality, were about to suffer withdrawals.

According to the Dictionary.com, the word withdrawal is defined as: the act or process of ceasing to use an addictive drug. We all know this drug to well and the only cure is Wolves Football.

Well after the Hull City game we will be Wolveless for 13days.....13DAYS. This is the dilemma we all face collectively as Wolves fans. So how do we deal with it? I will watch a couple of the games I have recorded, watch youtube clips, and read articles, however this just will not be enough.

Oh well we have no choice but to suffer those 13 days and suffer we will....GO WOLVES!

Nill Never Felt So Good

What a match. Dave and I sat at the pub, Gus O'Connors, in Novi, drinking pints of Guinness and Stella Artois, and watching the game unfold in front of us.

The first half saw the Wolves a bit unsettled. Manchester City kept the ball in our half for most of the first half. The Wolves held off wave after wave of City's attacks but a goal was in the cards for the boys and blue, and was delivered by Togo striker Adebayor in the 17th minute, keeping it low and near the post, just out of reach for Wayne Hennessey.

Tevez and Robinho had there chances at Wayne Hennessey, but failed to test the keeper with anything close to the save Shay Given had to make on a beautiful curling strike by Matt Jarvis, that was destined for the top right corner, had Given not put a hand to it.

The second 45 minutes saw our record signing Doyle enter the game, along with should be a rugby player Elekobi.

The Wolves went from a 4-5-1 formation in the first half to a 4-4-2 in the second. The change of formation saw the Wolves go from victim to pursuant.

In the 49th minute Keogh crosses the ball into the box, just inches shy of a diving Kevin Doyle, that would have drawn the game to 1 a piece. 20 minutes later Keogh struck the cross bar with a beauty of a strike.

Vokes would soon step on the pitch but alas the boys never drew on terms.

I was very proud of the way Wolves set about attacking Manchester City in the second half, and though a point or three is always preferred, I have never been more happy coming away with Nill than I was today.

Come on you Wolves!

Wolves Attempt to Take Down Shieks

The Wolves will visit the Eastlands Saturday, for the first since they drew 3-3 in 2004. Wolves have intermittently improved their squad while the oil rich Manchester City have overhauled their roster with the likes of Tevez, Adabayor, Gareth Berry, Robinho, and more.

I am hoping I will see the game live on Saturday, but will be about 4.5 hours from home at my bosses cottage and am unsure of his cable capabilities. I do however have the dvr set up just in case.

I see the gaffer employing the same formation that earned us 3 points mid week vs Wigan which was a 4-5-1 with Andy Keogh as the lone striker.

I see our back line getting allot of work during the game but expect to see a 1-1 scoreline after this one.

Come on you Wolves!

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, No It's Andy Keogh

Wolve 1, Wigan ZEROOOOOOOOOOOOO

When the Wolves win life is good but when the Wolves win on the road for the first time since the Premiership was established, lets just say foods taste better, sugar tastes sweeter, and the beer...well that always tastes great.

As I mentioned before Andy Keogh takes allot of sh1t from fans because he lacks in the goal scoring department. Well today guys you can kiss his @ss. If it were not for the efforts of the lone striker the Wolves could have well walked back to the Molineux with a point or even pointless. His first shot on goal was denied by the woodwork but on a cross from Nenad Milijas "Super Keogh" flicked a header down bouncing it in just passed the keeper all whilst waving hello to the woodwork that previously denied the last goal.

Keogh will never be a prolific goal scorer, but you can be certain that for 90 minutes he will give his blood sweat and tears for the crest on his chest. So on behalf of everyone I would like to say "Thank you Mr. Keogh.

Wolves Hungry for Win Against Wigan

Im frothing at the mouth for our first Premier League win of the season and it may come on our road trip tomorrow at Wigan.

Wigan stunned the football world in week one with a decisive win over top six candidate Aston Villa. The Athletics finished last season in 11th place four points above Blackburn, Portsmouth, and Bolton, and 11points out from relegation.

Roberto Martinez holds the reins for the Premiership club and has them believing the sky is the limit. Still the losses of Wilson Palacios, Emile Heskey, and Antonio Valencia will play a factor in the teams progress this season.

The Wolves come into DW Stadium ripped apart by injuries to Sylvan Ebanks Blake, Kevin Doyal, Michael Kightly, Kevin Foley, and other contributors to the squad. The the team line up has not been announced I have to believe that Sam Vokes will get the nod to start.

A 2-0 loss to West Ham has left a bitter taste in the mouth of all Wolves, fans and players alike. So look for the Wolves to come out strong and to put a fight up against the "tree loving" Wiganites, despite the key losses mentioned above.

If Wigan come out and play as they did in a Villa look for the Wolves to be 0-2-0 on the season but a draw could be in the cards for the old gold side.

Players to Watch-
Sam Vokes, should he start, will want to prove to the Gaffer that he has what it takes to be more than a super sub.

Milijas will also be an intriguing watch as he was in game 1.

Andy Keough will be starting again and if he wants to show his worth he needs to burry one in the back of the net to make up for his early miss in game 1.

Official Prediction- Wolves lose 3-1

Wolves Tamed By Hammers

I made the 40minute drive down I-75(freeway) and across I-696 to a pub in Novi to witness the Wolves play in the Premiership for the first time since I became a fan. The bar which does not open until 11am(est) opened an hour early for me and my mate Dave(a brit from Wolverhampton), whom he invited two other American Wolves fans Mike and his daughter Christina.

So here we are, us four, sitting in a two story pub with waitstaff getting the place in order for when the bar officially opens their doors.

As I sit in my chair at the bar I take in the beauty that is the old gold and black milling about on the greenest of pitches. Even the worlds forth most atheist must agree on this day that there is indeed a God.

The game unfolded as it were, Keough missed a sure goal in the opening miniutes, They had us on our heels and we had them on theirs. Craddock and Foley made great saves off the line but the defense failed to close in on Noble just outside of the box conceeding a worthy goal in the upper left hand side of the goal. After a few more failed attempts by the Wolves including a heartbreaking tip of the foot save by Green from an Ebanks Blake shot, and 47 minutes after Nobels goal, Upton put a header in the back of the net to seal a 2-0 victory vs Micks men.

The Wolves did show some tennacity and I believe they tipped their cards a bit showing that they will not be a pushover or favorite for relegation come May.

Thoughts:

Andy Keough- why does he get so much flack on the message boards? Though he missed on an early attempt at goal and made a couple questionable passes, he played hard the entire match, he showed great skill with the ball, and a willingness to take on defenders. I like him, maybe not as a full time starter but surly not a player I would derogitorely write about on message boards.

Ebanks Blake- we didnt get him enough of the ball. To be effective he needs the ball at his feet and we failed to do so for most of the day. He now appears to be out for a couple of weeks with a hamstring so get ready for some more of Andy Keough if Doyle remains unfit.

Milijas- though he looked a bit rust and weak footed the first half, he came out and showed us some creativity and what kind of thunder he has packed into his left boot.

Our post game video can be seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q68patek1o8

Our next preview will be for Wigan vs Wolves and should be posted by Monday evening.

Wolves vs Hammers Pre-Match Analysis

Well Wolves fans, the time is upon us. Were back in the Premiership for the first time since 2004. Like most of you I will find it awfully hard to fall asleep tonight. At 8:45am my time I will be rolling out of the driveway on a 35 mile journey to a pub called Gus O'Connors to watch the match live via satellite. Accompanied by only my friend Dave, we will live and die with each minute that ticks by.

The Wolves start their assault on the Premiership by facing West Ham at the Molineux. The Hammers finished 9th last season but were within 6 points of finishing twelfth and just 10 points clear of 15th. There away form was near as good as their home form but in my opinion with their current squad, the were the consonant overachievers. Their away record against lower table opponents was 4-4-2 with key losses to West Brom(2-3) and Hull City(0-1).

The Wolves and Hammers have never faced each other in the Premiership but have squared off on the pitch 55 times in their history with the London side edging out the boys from Wolverhampton 25 wins to 17.

Last season of the three promoted sides only one team managed to lose in their first home game. Hull took Fulham down 2-1, Stoke beat the Villains 3-2, while it was the Albion whom got bitch slapped by Everton 2-1.

West Ham did very little to improve the squad from last season while the Wolves seemed to spend wisley on players like Kevin Doyle, Ninad Milijas, and an on loan Mancienne.

Players to watch:

Sam Vokes- this super sub scored 9 goals in all competitions not including a goal for the Welsh national team in their 2-1 loss midweek.

Ebanks Blake- his golden foot netted 25 in the Championship League and if on good for and injury free I see at least 14 goals for this rising star.

Nenad Milijas- the Serbian international scored 22 goals in all competitions last season and has been labled a creative midfielder.

Players to hate:

Dean Ashton- that guy is an ugly bastard and mediocer at best.

Robert Green- the 6ft2 keeper stopped 133 shots last season but let in timely goals for the opposition.

Wolves win this home opener with a score 2-1. I see Ebanks Blake and Nenad Milijas opening their premiership goal scoring account in this one.

You can see my daughter and I discuss the Wolves on youtube. Our user name is wolvesfcdetroitfan .

A Tale of Two Cities

Its been said to me on more than one occasion by fellow Wolves fans and Americans alike. "You cant really support the Wolves because your not from there."

I hate this statement and I disagree with it whole heatedly. As it has been stated I am from Detroit, MI USA which is Southeast of Wolverhampton by thousands of miles. From what I can ascertain Detroit and Wolverhampton are very similar in some regards. We were both at one time strong engineering and industrial towns and now suffer the same rough economic times. The Wolves at one time made it to the 4th division while the Detroit Lions have not been close to decent since the 1950's. These are just some examples of the likenesses our cities share.

However it is easy to see why an English person would feel this way as almost every town has some sort of team and the travel time to a game is 20 minutes for most people . But in America some of our states are as large as all of England and we as people have adapted to this way of life and how we follow a team and choose a team has many different factors. For example in Michigan, it takes me 35 minutes to get to a game in Detroit, yet if you live in Sandusky, MI it could take you near two hours to make it to the game, further North you may find people that follow the Dallas Cowboys because they never get to a game and Dallas is always on tv, further North of that and your closer to the Greenbay Packers than you are to Detroit. Now I work with one such man who grew up in Michigan's upper peninsula and follows the Greenbay Packers from Wisconsin, a rival state. I am not about to tell this guy that he is less passionate about his team because he isn't from there and has seen them more on tv, but not in person.

I wake up everyday and the first thing I do is check my Wolves news feed, then I visit their website, then I talk about them with my boss, there on my screen saver, and their the first thing I scan for on youtube. Do I share the same history as the guys growing up in Wolverhampton, No, but I do share the passion, and we see the same game unfold on the pitch, and we read the same articles in the news, and when we bleed, it is old gold that flows. I am up watching the games live at 7:30am on a Saturday and Sunday, I am at home watching the Monday games I ve recorded at work.

We may be from two different cities, but when our hearts beat, no matter how far apart, they beat for the Wolves.

Hello Wolves my names Adam

On the 15th day of August in the year 2009, the Wolverhampton Wanderers will take the pitch, in their first Premiership game since the 2003/2004 season. This blog will catalogue my journey and perspective as an American born Wolves fan.

I was born May 20th 1981 in Detroit, MI. My parents are American and most people refer to Football as Soccer. I will call Football by its propper name for the purposes of my European followers.

I played football as a young kid in a league referred to as AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) from the age of 6 thru 12. After moving to a small town and missing the deadline to register, football fell by the wayside. For those of you who are not familiar to American cutlure in regards to football, its not viewed as a skilled sport, its the sport "anyone can play". So by the time we hit high school were pushed toward basketball, baseball, and gridiron football. Especially when I was growing up there was no football on tv, no football celebrities, and no footsteps to follow in.

It is growing up in this atmosphere that lead most Americans down the path of shear football hatered. Most Americans will tell you that football is the most "boring", 'low scoring", "pussyfootin" sport ever invented and not worthy of even being considered a sport. Mind you most people are only exposed to "soccer mom" kiddy soccer, and do not have the proper knowledge to accuratly express the sport, thus handing down biases they learned by word of mouth.

I was one of these Americans just over a year ago. I was living in Little Rock, AR, when I got a phone call from a British engineer back in my home state of Michigan, about a job vacancy. I took the job and started working there in June of 2007. That britsh guy, my boss, came from the town of Wolverhampton, and from the start I would jokenly tease him about his chosen sport, calling it a woosie sport, and many other insults.

Fast forward to April 2008 and possibly in an attempt to kiss ass or atleast make some conversation I started to prod him about the Wolves and even purchased their online subscription to listen to some matches. It was neat to listen to but I didnt make a concentrated effort to follow. Then at the end of May he told me ESPN was airing the Champions league final between Manchester United and Chelsea. The game went 0-0 to penalty kicks, again no spark. Finally I decided to watch the Euro Cup competition in June, so that I could "talk shop" and show I was making an effort. I was hooked after watching Turkey beat Switerland and the Czech Republic in late game horoics.

It was Eurocup 2008 that took me from being a Baseball 21 game ticket holder and an NFL season ticket holder, to a 100 percent football fanatic. I finished out the summer by purchasing Setanta Sports and Fox Soccer Channel just in time for the start of the 08/09 Premiership season. I watched almost every game every week and saw developed the most affection for West Brom lol.....just kiddin, Liverpool was the team I rooted for in part because I love watching Gerrard and Torres and in part because I wanted to see neither ManU or Chelsea win the title.

I was able to watch the Wolves play on 2 occasions and followed their season through BBC news, and so with their return to the Premier League and my early affection for them, and after watching countless youtube clips and time spent talking to my boss about the Wolves, not to mention the dvd's I borrowed of his to watch over and over again, my heart and passion lies with the Wolves.

I hope you enjoy reading about my journey this forcomming season with the Wolves.