Well now we all know what a mid-season break is like. In the words of Sam Meyer: ‘Include me out!’ Anyway, West Ham return to action with the first of a tricky few fixtures away to Wolves. I originally interviewed Tom Baugh, the editor of Wolves fan blog to discuss the fixture pre-lockdown, so I will run that, although I did contact Tom to see if he was looking forward to the season restarting.
Well footy is back. Are you looking forward to it? Indifferent? Or what?
Yes, looking forward to it. I’m a season ticket holder and get to a lot of games so all the ‘behind closed doors’ stuff is far from ideal, but I just love watching the game, be it in person, on TV or whatever. Plus, the going is good for Wolves at present; better than it’s been for decades, so got to make hay while the sun shines and all that.
I don’t know if you saw the Man City/Arsenal game on Wednesday, how will the lack of fans affect your enjoyment of the game?
I did see it and no problem for me. The piped-in crowd noise was better than the eerie silence and the game was still entertaining. Nothing compares to an actual crowd and the intensity of the game is definitely impacted, but it’s still football and come Sunday, I won’t want Wolves to win any less.
Where to start? Once again Wolves are having another fantastic season. You finished 7th last season, and currently stand in 6th position in the League: this is the consistency that West Ham fans are crying out for. Honestly are you surprised that you have managed to continue your incredible form from last year?
I am surprised by how well it’s gone. We had a small squad last season, didn’t add to it in a meaningful way over the summer and when you pile on the Europa commitments I thought it would prove our undoing. What we have though is stability from top to bottom in the football club, a coach who knows exactly what he wants from the team and players all pulling in the same direction. Those are the ingredients for consistency. We wobbled in the early weeks but have been fine since getting into a rhythm and belief has grown week-by-week.
Most newly promoted teams find that a European season season has a detrimental effect on their domestic form, yet if anything you seem to have been inspired by the experience, what’s your secret?
I think if you know your best eleven and can get it on the pitch in most games, you’re on the path to success, so credit has to go to the players and the conditioning team behind the scenes for allowing Nuno to use so few players. Our squad is also made up of individuals who can play equally well in several positions, which gives us flexibility when injuries do happen. It’s actually quite innovative and means all first-team squad members are close to the action so you don’t get people throwing their toys out of the pram.
Of course Nuno Espirito Santo must take most of the credit for your success: feel free to wax lyrical about him for a few seconds. What has he got that your previous managers could not get near to? He must be getting close to replacing Bill McGarry in the list of names most associated with being Wolves’ manager?
He does have this ethereal, otherwordly quality about him like he was sent from another planet to rescue us from the dross we’ve endured for the last 40-odd years. I suppose you have to caveat his success with the financial backing he’s received and the Jorge Mendes contact book, which many of our previous managers would point out has given him a considerable headstart. However, he gets the maximum out of the players and as we all know, money alone doesn’t guarantee anything. He often talks about his ‘idea’ for playing football and I look at all the other teams in the Premier League and can’t identify another that play like Wolves. He’s made us a unique proposition and very tough to beat.
Talking of managers, what do you reckon to David Moyes being reappointed to the position of West Ham manager? Is he the man to keep West Ham up this season?
It’s uninspiring – I don’t think anyone can deny that. He’ll organise you better than Pellegrini and coupled with the players you’ve got, I don’t think you’ll go down. But then what? If you sack him again and bring in a supposedly more ‘progressive’ coach it’s another gamble. If you stick with him, it might be viewed as settling. I can understand why West Ham fans are pulling their hair out. I think everyone would agree though, that the problems at the club are further north than the dugout.
Talking of which, who are your three picks for relegation this season?
Norwich, Villa and Brighton. The first two are erratic defensively and Brighton just have a horrible run-in. They took a point off us last weekend and deservedly so, but I don’t think they have enough firepower. Watford have been in a false position all season so would be surprised if they dropped and I reckon Bournemouth and West Ham have enough to knock off the wins to get them home.
Assuming that Liverpool win the League, and Man City come second which two teams are going to make up the Champions League entrants (or three if we accept that Man City will be banned)? Are Wolves going to be one of those teams, and if not, what position do you think Wolves will finally occupy?It’s annoying that Man Utd look like they’re coming good now as I would have fancied us to finish 5th at least, but I think we might just miss out now. My best guess on the top six would be:
1 Liverpool 2 City 3 Leicester 4 Man Utd 5 Chelsea & 6 Wolves
I might be showing disrespect to Sheffield Utd as they show no sign of slowing down, but I’m backing us on the basis we have more quality. Spurs are struggling and Arsenal may have left it too late.
Who have been the most impressive players for you this season, and who ultimately will get your vote for ‘Player of the Year’?
Someone who rarely gets a mention is Rui Patricio. He’s been outstanding this season. As you guys know all too painfully, a naff keeper is a considerable disadvantage so to have his metronome-like consistency really sets the tone. Jimenez is also integral but I think ‘Player of the Year’ has to go to Traore purely for his improvement. He’s always offered great entertainment value but now he’s put most of the pieces together. Nobody wants to play against him and you can understand why. To have a player like that in your team if you’re not Barcelona is very rare.
Are you at risk of losing your star players to the so called ‘BIg Boys’ during the close season.
Definitely – massive risk. Thankfully they’re all tied down to long contracts so we should get top dollar. I just hope if we do sell, we sell abroad rather than to the likes of Liverpool, Utd, etc as it’s a double slap if you’re strengthening their efforts. Hopefully we’re talking one or two departures in a worst-case scenario rather than a mass exodus but there’s bound to be interest in at least 4 or 5 I would have thought. Keeping Nuno is most important though.
From where I sit (i.e. not watching any football unless it involves West Ham) there can’t be many, but which Wolves players have not lived up to expectation this year?
Up until recently I would have said Diogo Jota. Enormous talent but just wasn’t getting it done. Now it’s a different story and he looks like scoring in every game. Other than him, we brought in a defender from Real Madrid and a striker from AC Milan in the summer and both never looked up to scratch, so were offloaded in January. I think that shows we’re not messing around and keeping people to make up the numbers. It seems like the right way to do business.
Where you are placed now – 6th in the Premiership, and in the last 16 of the Europa League, what would you consider a successful season, and what would constitute a failure, or is that already impossible?
It would be disappointing to see it fizzle out. Say we got done by Olympiakos and finished 10th/11th in the league, that would feel like a failure from this position given the talent at our disposal. But it could easily happen as the margins are often so thin. Success is finishing at least 7th to have a shot at European football again next season and fighting to the death in the Europa League, wherever that might take us. The dream remains Champions League football and we have two semi-realistic opportunities to get it.
As we enter that last two months of the season, what have been your highlights so far?
I really enjoyed beating Man City 2-0 at The Etihad. The atypical Wolves performance, soaking everything up and breaking at pace. Seeing Traore go through in the last minute to score the second was exhilarating. Beating them 3-2 at home to complete a famous double was nice too, but that was tainted by the fact I was having a slash when Doherty stuck in the winner.
Conversely what have been the worst moments of the 2019/20 season?
All the VAR setbacks. We’ve suffered more than most. We lost 1-0 at Anfield to a goal that was originally given as a handball and then awarded despite no clear evidence the ref had got it wrong in the first place. Then in the same game we were denied a goal that was given on the pitch but chalked off because the guy who put the cross over supposedly had one toenail ahead of the line. I don’t mind losing and I don’t mind technology, but when common sense makes for the exit, it’s very tough to take.
How will Wolves line up against us this weekend?
Assuming no injuries it will either be a 343 or a 352.
If it’s 343 it will probably be: Patricio, Doherty, Boly, Coady, Saiss, Vinagre, Neves, Moutinho, Traore, Jota, Jimenez
If it’s 352 it will probably be: Patricio, Doherty, Boly, Coady, Saiss, Vinagre, Neves, Moutinho, Dendoncker, Jota, Jimenez
Pedro Neto has been unlucky not to get on the pitch more lately and we haven’t really used £18 million signing Daniel Podence either so both those wingers might get a start at some point, again, depending on what happens in Greece.
Prediction for score?
I’ve actually got a bad feeling about this fixture, which has little foundation given our respective positions and the fact we’ve won the last three matches against West Ham, so I’ll sit on the fence and say 1-1. Good luck for the rest of the season guys (after Saturday).
Well many thanks again to Tom for his time and thoughts. I’m of course hoping to snatch a point from Wolves, but more in hope than expectation 1 – 1. COYI