Wolves 2011/12 Premier League Betting Preview

Premier League Betting

The Club:
After surviving by the skin of their teeth last season in the Premier League, Wolves will be hoping for better this season. The backbone of the club remains the same, and for all their grit and determination, the big question surrounding Wolves Premier League betting, is whether or not they can actually get any better. There is no question over their fight, it is over their quality. It was something that was lacking for long periods of last season, which saw them rooted in the bottom three for most of the season until they pulled themselves together for a survival charge. Can they get off to a more convincing start this season, get some confidence under their belt and push forward rather than just surviving?

Players/Manager:
Boss Mick McCarthy was treated like a hero again after keeping Wolves in the Premier League. There is something so misleading about the scenes of a manager being praised so much for securing Premier League status at the death, when it was that same man who led them into so much trouble. But the end result seems to be all that counts, and for all of Mick McCarthy’s failings during the season, he gets another shot because fans and the board see him as the man upon which the club depends. There were a lot of poor performers in the Premier League last season, and on a whole, Wolves were probably among the worst. It was their really uncanny ability to pull out the stops and beat the big teams in the league, points which should never have been coming their way, which helped them to survive. But one minute they are beating Chelsea and the next they are losing, completely underperforming against teams around them. Not sure exactly where Mick McCarthy can take Wolves in football terms, to make sure that they do more than survive another relegation battle. Their big summer signing has caused controversy, all because of McCarthy. They signed defender Roger Johnson to bolster the squad, and immediately McCarthy handed him the captaincy of the club. That means long serving Karl Henry was stripped of the armband causing a bit of a riff and controversy and head scratching amongst fans. For a man who has never played for the club to be handed the captaincy is a bit of a slap in the face and not the greatest move of management by McCarthy. Granted Henry didn’t have a great season last year, but his is Wolverhampton born and bred, who has just been discarded. Whether Henry will be happy staying at the club or not remains to be seen. McCarthy wants Johnson to captain from the back, leaving Henry in what may be a bit of a midfield wilderness. Other moves by McCarthy to try and improve the squad has to bring in Jamie O’Hara. There have also been other names on the hit list of McCarthy, with Michael Johnson a target from Manchester City, Jay Spearing from Liverpool and taking a good look at Thomas Hitzlsperger who is a free agent. There remains the same problems at Wolves, perhaps a lack of solid guidance for the future, and a lack of quality.

Last Season:
Wolves struggled for most of last season. Yep, they managed to beat Manchester United and Chelsea along the way, but it was nowhere near enough. There was not too much attractive football being played by Wolves, it was all spit and sawdust type stuff, borne out of hard work. Nothing much looks to have changed so far. They didn’t have the firepower up front to compete, and a softness in defence let them down badly as well. Will probably see more of the same.

2011/12 Projection:
Wolves failed to impress many last year. In fact they drew a lot of criticism throughout season for being bully boys and concentrating too much on the physical side of things. With the attractive football being played by the promoted Championship sides of QPR, Norwich and Swansea, Wolves may actually find themselves lagging behind them. Mick McCarthy really can do nothing more than get Wolves to scrap and fight for every point they can this season. They will make life as physically demanding as possible for teams heading to the Midlands, but they will struggle away from home again because there is not the quality there in the squad to put their foot on the ball and play football. Not enough chances will be created and not enough goals scored. They really look to be one of the main relegation candidates this season, despite the optimism of their great escape last season. When a team who fights hard for points at the foot of the table all long can’t win with brute force, then there isn’t much they can do to change it. We are not going to see slick football from Wolves and they will likely struggle badly again. At the end of the day, their experience in the Premier League and fighting spirit may be the thing which saves them again, but they are serious relegation candidates. They need at least half a dozen new players coming in to change things, and probably a change in the managerial seat as well. They are not one of the more progressive clubs in England’s top flight and they will pay the price for it sooner or later. Looking at their first few fixtures, they have been handed an easy start. If they don’t get points out of those matches, then they will be in for a very long season.

Finishing Position Wolverhampton Wanderers: Threat of Relegation

Premier League Relegation Odds:
11/4 at Bet365

First Three Fixtures
August 13th: Blackburn v Wolves
August 20th: Wolves v Fulham
August 27th: Aston Villa v Wolves

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