WHUFC.com
All of the early team news ahead of Saturday's season opener at
Wolverhampton Wanderers
14.08.2009
Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United
Barclays Premier League
Molineux
Saturday 15 August
3pm
Referee: Chris Foy
WHUTV - LIVE COMMENTARY I whufc.com - Live text updates
2009/10 SQUAD NUMBERS
Preview
• West Ham United kick-off the 2009/10 Barclay Premier League season with a
trip to newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
• Gianfranco Zola's side will be looking to carry their away form from last
season into the new campaign. The Hammers took more points away from home
than anyone else outside the top six.
• Wolves were promoted from the Championship as champions and key to that
was a fine run of home form that saw them win 15 and lose just three of
their 23 home games.
• West Ham started last season strongly, winning four of their first six
games in the league including an opening-day 2-1 win against Wigan Athletic,
with Dean Ashton getting both of the goals.
• Wolves will also be hoping to replicate their start to the 2008/09
campaign. After drawing their first game they then went on to win their next
seven - the club's best ever start to a league campaign. However, the
Hammers will be aware that Wolves have not won their opening fixture of the
season since 1999.
• The two sides last met in the league in January 2005 in a Championship
encounter at Molineux, which ended in a 4-2 victory for the home side. Of
the West Ham players on show that day, Mark Noble, who was making his league
debut, is the only player still with the club.
• The game will be Wolves' 39th Premier League fixture in their history. An
ill-fated 2003/04 season saw them finish bottom of the table with 33 points.
• West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola said: "It will be very difficult because
when you play a promoted team at the beginning of the season they are full
of enthusiasm. They will give everything. It will be like a cup final for
them but I think we have got enough in the team - I am talking about
experience and quality - that we can handle the situation."
• Wolves manager Mick McCarthy said: "I'm really excited about the new
season and looking forward to it. I can't wait for it to start because I get
sick of all the posturing and dancing around the handbags. Let's get down to
it."
West Ham United
• West Ham have been in pretty good form in pre-season after just two
defeats in seven matches. Unbeaten in their first four warm-up games, the
Hammers lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final of the Barclays Asia
Trophy before beating Beijing Guoan in the third/fourth play-off. Their
final warm-up match last Saturday saw SCC Napoli leave the Boleyn Ground
with the Bobby Moore Cup after a 1-0 win.
• Following Saturday's match, West Ham have two mouth-watering home games
against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Barclays Premier League and
Millwall in the Carling Cup. Tottenham will travel to east London on Sunday
23 August with Millwall arriving two days later. Two away trips in the
league follow with Blackburn Rovers on 29 August and Wigan Athletic on 12
September.
• The Hammers finished last season in ninth in the Barclays Premier League
with 51 points, a place and two points higher than they managed in the
previous season.
• The Hammers have won 6, drawn 1 and lost 7 of their opening Premier League
games since its inception in 1992.
• Two 3-1 wins count as their best-ever start to a Premier League season. A
3-1 win at home to Charlton Athletic in 2006 was matched by a defeat of
Blackburn Rovers by the same score in 2005
• The biggest opening day defeat came in 2002, when Newcastle United won 4-0
at St James' Park.
• West Ham have not drawn the opening game since 1994, when they drew 0-0
with Leeds United at Elland Road.
• Carlton Cole was West Ham's leading scorer last season with 10 Premier
League goals, one in the FA Cup and one in the League Cup.
• Robert Green topped the appearance charts for the last campaign, playing
every minute of every Premier League game. He has played 88 consecutive
top-flight matches.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Wolves also go into the match on the back of some mixed pre-season form.
After winning their first three games, Mick McCarthy's side drew one and
lost two of their next three. Their two most recent friendlies have seen a
4-2 win at Scunthorpe United and a 2-0 home defeat to Spanish side Real
Valladolid.
• Following the Hammers' opener, Wolves travel to Wigan Athletic on Tuesday
and then Manchester City the following Saturday.
• Wolves will be hoping to do slightly better than their one and only
opening day in the Premier League so far. The midlanders lost 5-1 away at
Blackburn Rovers on 16 August 2003.
• Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was the key man for Wolves last season, scoring 25
league goals to help fire his team to the title.
• Right-back Kevin Foley appeared more than any other player, with 45 starts
to his name.
Referee
• Saturday's referee will be Chris Foy.
• Now 46, Foy started refereeing at the age of 20 in 1983. He joined the
Football League list of assistant referees in 1994 and the Premier League
assistant referees' list a year later.
• Foy became a Football League referee in 1996 before being promoted to the
Premier League list in 2001, taking charge of his first top-flight fixture
in December of that year.
• Foy took charge of the 2007 FA Trophy final between Stevenage Borough and
Kidderminster Harriers at Wembley on 12 May 2007.
• He returned to the national stadium as fourth official for the 2008 FA Cup
final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City before refereeing last season's
Carling Cup final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
• Foy has been actively involved in the 'Don't X The Line' campaign to
eradicate abusive or aggressive behaviour from players and spectators at
junior and youth matches.
• Foy took charge of three West Ham fixtures last season, refereeing the
Hammers' 1-0 defeat at Hull City on 19 October, the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham
Hotspur on 8 December and the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers on 21 March.
• This will be Foy's second official match of the season after took charge
of last weekend's FA Community Shield match between Chelsea and Manchester
United.
Head to Head
• Although this will be the sides' first encounter in the Premier League,
they have met 55 times before. West Ham hold the upper hand with 25 wins.
Wolves have emerged victorious on 17 times.
• The last time the two sides met on 15 January 2005, a goal from West Ham
old boy Paul Ince helped Wolves to a 4-2 win. Bobby Zamora grabbed both of
the Hammers' goals that day.
• That was the only time in the last five meetings that West Ham have lost,
as they have won three times.
Last six meetings (league unless stated)
15 January 2005 - Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-2 West Ham United
2 October 2004 - West Ham United 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
25 January 2004 - Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-3 West Ham United (FA Cup)
6 March 1993 - West Ham United 3-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
4 October 1992 - Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 West Ham United
Last time out
Saturday 15 August
Bobby Moore Cup
West Ham United 0-1 SCC Napoli
West Ham United: Green, Faubert (Spector 63), Tomkins (Collins 46), Upson
(Gabbidon 80), Ilunga, Noble, Parker, Collison (Hines 88), Jimenez
(Stanislas 77), Dyer (Savio 63), Cole
Subs unused: Stech, Kurucz, Daprela, Payne, Lee, Nouble
Saturday 8 August
Pre-season friendly
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Real Valladolid
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Hennessey, Foley (Halford 45), Stearman, Craddock,
Ward (Elokobi 68), Edwards, Henry, Milijas (Jones 72), Ebanks-Blake (Doyle
60, Vokes 82), Keogh, Jarvis (Surman 65)
Subs unused: Hahnemann, Ikeme, Friend, Zubar, Collins, Hill,
Team news
• Gianfranco Zola has a fit squad to choose from and could hand Danny
Gabbidon his first Premier League appearance for 18 months. The defender has
looked strong in pre-season after overcoming abdominal and back injuries.
• Luis Jimenez is set to get his first taste of Premier League football
since arriving on a season-long loan deal from Internazionale.
• It remains to be seen whether Radoslav Kovac will make his debut after
signing a permanent deal from Spartak Moscow on Friday. The same applies to
young defender Fabio Daprela, who has only had just over a week's training
with his new team-mates after arriving from Grasshopper Club Zurich.
• Only long-term absentees Valon Behrami, Luis Boa Morte, Terry Dixon and
Dean Ashton will miss out. Switzerland midfielder Behrami has been working
hard at Chadwell Heath as he continues his recovery from the cruciate knee
ligament injury he suffered against Manchester City on 1 March. Such is his
progress that he could be back in training at the end of the month.
• Terry Dixon is also progressing well and could join Behrami in training at
the end of the month.
• Boa Morte is recovering after undergoing knee surgery in Portugal and is
yet to begin his rehabilitation work. A New Year return has been pencilled
in for the midfielder.
• Dean Ashton continues to work on his fitness as he recovers from an ankle
injury.
• Wolves are expected to start with on-loan Chelsea defender Michael
Mancienne - who partnered James Tomkins in a midweek England Under-21
contest in the Netherlands - as Christophe Berra suffered a hamstring strain
playing for Scotland in midweek.
• There is still hope that record signing record signing Kevin Doyle will
also recover from a groin injury in time to play.
• Carlton Cole spent two months on loan at Wolves at the end of 2003, where
he made seven appearances, scoring one goal.
• Nigel Quashie spent the tail end of the 2008/09 season on loan at
Molineux, playing three games.
• First-team coach Kevin Keen played 42 times for Wolves after leaving West
Ham in 1993. Click here for more
Travel information
• For directions for Molineux, click here
General information
• Tickets for this match have sold out. For ticket information click here.
• Saturday's weather forecast is for a slightly overcast day with a maximum
daytime temperature of 22C.
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Zola wants positive start
WHUFC.com
Gianfranco Zola is expecting a rip-roaring Barclays Premier League opener at
a hungry Wolves
14.08.2009
Gianfranco Zola is expecting Wolverhampton Wanderers to adopt an
up-and-at-them approach in Saturday's Barclays Premier League opener at
Molineux.
The West Ham United manager has predicted that Mick McCarthy's side will be
full of enthusiasm and commitment following their promotion to the
top-flight as Coca-Cola Championship title winners.
"I expect them to be very aggressive and play with a lot of enthusiasm and
with a lot of passion but, I hope, not with the same quality," said Zola.
"We know that they have come up and will want to show everybody that they
are good enough for the Premier League and are up for the game.
"I expect them to try to press us and try to stop us from playing our
football. That will be their main priorities, so we will have to be prepared
for this, because if we manage to get around this, then we have a very good
chance of winning."
Zola hopes to have a fully-fit squad to choose from, barring Dean Ashton and
Valon Behrami, in the Midlands. Czech Republic midfielder Radoslav Kovac,
who has joined the club on a permanent transfer from Spartak Moscow, is
unlikely to receive international clearance in time to feature.
The club's band of internationals, including England stars Carlton Cole,
Robert Green and Matthew Upson, have all returned from their midweek
commitments unscathed and will take their seats on the coach to the Black
Country.
While the manager has few concerns of his own, he is fully aware of the
threat that may be posed by a hungry Wolves side brimming with confidence.
"It will be very difficult because when you play a promoted team at the
beginning of the season they are full of enthusiasm," he added. "They will
give everything.
"It will be like a cup final for them but I think we have got enough in the
team - I am talking about experience and quality - that we can handle the
situation."
Looking further ahead, Zola believes West Ham possess the quality to make
another sustained bid to reach the UEFA Europa League this term.
With Cole in superb form for England, Behrami close to a comeback and the
club's band of youngsters improving all the time, the manager is in a
positive frame of mind.
"The aim is to improve what we did last year," he said. "We came very close
last year. This year we have had the possibility to work from the very
beginning so that should be an advantage.
"I also know the team still is not complete so hopefully someone will come
and reinforce the team. I think we can improve the position we had last year
and maybe push for the European spot.
"The players know that last year they have been so close. This year we are
starting ideally in a better position and so they know it is the target.
They are prepared for that.
"It is not an easy target but you have to be ambitious in life. If you go
out and just play for just being happy it is not enough. I would like the
team to challenge for a high position. Even if they look unreachable, you
need to set your targets high and try everything you can. Then, if it
doesn't happen at least you have tried."
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Wolverhampton v West Ham
BBC.co.uk
Saturday, 15 August 2009
Premier League
Wolverhampton v West Ham 1500
Venue: Molineux Date: Saturday, 15 August Kick-off: 1500 BST
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 Live, local radio & highlights on
Match of the Day
TEAM NEWS
Wolves are expected to give a debut to on-loan defender Michael Mancienne as
Christophe Berra suffered a hamstring strain playing for Scotland in
midweek. Record signing Kevin Doyle (groin) was also injured while on
international duty, but is hoping to feature.
Luis Jimenez, on loan from Internazionale, could play in an advanced role
for West Ham as Carlton Cole is their only fit striker. Valon Behrami and
Luis Boa Morte are long-term absentees.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Wolves
Suspended: None Doubtful: Doyle & Edwards (groin)
Injured: Berra (hamstring), Iwelumo & Kightly (metatarsal),
Murray (knee)
West Ham
Suspended: None Doubtful: Ashton (ankle)
Injured: Behrami & Boa Morte (both knee)
MATCH PREVIEW
Three Premier League campaigns, three bottom-placed finishes: Mick McCarthy
and Wolves return to the top-flight with reputations to restore.
When we won [the Championship] everyone was so happy, but finishing 17th
would be the equivalent
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy
Wolves finished at the foot of the table five years ago in their only
previous season in the Premier League, while McCarthy has twice been
relegated in last place with Sunderland.
Last year Wolves made their best start to a season since 1949, and their
hopes of matching the old gold standard have been aided by a favourable
fixture list. Wolves don't face one of the big four sides until November.
606: DEBATE
Have your say on Saturday's game
Hoping to keep Wolves at bay are West Ham. After a slow start Gianfranco
Zola and Steve Clarke steered them to ninth last season, a place higher than
the previous year.
West Ham's summer spending has been limited but Zola is hoping the
investment of his time in developing the club's young players will reap
rewards.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• Wolves are unbeaten in their last four home league games against West Ham,
but the Hammers won the last top-flight meeting at Molineux in 1983.
• Mark Noble is the only current West Ham player to have featured when these
two clubs last met, in January 2005.
Wolves
• Wolves are carrying over a five-match unbeaten run from last season.
• They are vying for a fifth successive home league win. Wolves won 15 and
lost only three of their 23 league games at Molineux last season.
• Wolves have not won on the opening day since 1999 and lost the first
fixture in their only previous Premier League season: 5-1 away to Blackburn
in 2003.
• Kevin Foley has made 249 club career starts, and David Jones 99.
West Ham
• The Hammers have won on the opening day of the season in three of the
previous four years.
• They are starting a Premier League season on the road for the first time
since 2002.
• Dean Ashton has made 249 career league appearances.
LEADING GOALSCORERS
Wolves
Ebanks-Blake: 25 goals (25 league); Iwelumo: 16 goals (14 league)
West Ham
Cole: 12 goals (10 league); Noble: 5 goals (3 league)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Chris Foy
Assistant referees: Bob Pollock & Ceri Richards
Fourth official: Lee Probert
LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS
Wolves (W1-0 v Doncaster, h): Hennessey; Stearman, Craddock, Berra, S Ward,
Foley, Henry, Edwards (Elokobi 85), Jarvis (Vokes 61), Ebanks-Blake
(Hemmings 65 ), Keogh. Subs not used: Collins, Hill.
West Ham (W2-1 v Middlesbrough, h): Green; Spector, Neill, Upson, Ilunga,
Noble (Dyer 53), Kovac, Collison (Di Michele 72), Boa Morte, Cole (Tristan
63 ), Stanislas. Subs not used: Lastuvka, Lopez, Nsereko, Payne.
MOST RECENT MEETING
Wolves 4-2 West Ham (15 January, 2005)
Wolves scorers: Miller 29, 54, Ince 72, Cort 76
West Ham scorers: Zamora 36, 57
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Wolverhampton Wanderers Preview
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 13th August 2009
By: Preview Percy
And so to the opening of another season which, sadly has arrived a week too
late to distract us from the depressing capitulation of the England cricket
side at Headingley
The fixture computer has paired us with last season's Championship winners
Wolves, who are making their first appearance in the top flight since their
one-year-only visit of the 2003/04 season. Last season saw them play in fits
and starts. An opening spell of 7 wins and a draw from their first 8 games
got them off to a flyer whilst an indifferent start to 2009 caused a few
jitters. However, their closest rivals seemed to mirror their form and 4
wins and a draw out of 5 matches in March steadied the ship somewhat before
they finished 7 points clear of runners-up Birmingham City.
They've been active in the transfer market in the summer, recognising the
need to bolster the squad if a sharpish return to the second tier is to be
avoided. Marcus Hahnemann has come in from Reading on a free to provide
competition for Welsh stopper Wayne Hennessy between the sticks.
Greg Halford came in from Sunderland. Halford has an, er, interesting,
history over the past few years. He left Colchester United for Reading in
January 2007 where he made only 3 appearances before the summer window
opened. Amidst comments that he had not "fitted in" at the Wiggydome, he
left for Sunderland in June 2007 where he managed to "fit in" for all of
another six months before the Mackems announced they would "listen to
offers" for the player, who ended up spending the end of 07/08 on loan at
Charlton. Unable to find a permanent buyer for the defender/midfielder,
Sunderland shipped him out for a season-long loan to Sheffield Hypocrisy,
where his goal against Preston in the semi-final helped the two-faced liars
qualify for the final. He also appeared in the final but we were too busy
laughing at the result to notice his contribution. The hypocrites were
unwilling or unable to meet Sunderland's asking price for a permanent deal
and Wolves stepped in during the close-season to become the long-throw
specialist's 6th club in two and a half years.
Another defensive new signing Ronald Zubar is unlikely to feature this
weekend following an out-of-sorts pre-season in which he was described by
Mick McCarthy as having "communication difficulties". McCarthy recognised
the problem from his own sojourn as a player to Lyon who, naively, presumed
that they'd be getting someone with an Irish accent when signing a Republic
of Ireland international. During pre-season Bobo Balde featured in
pre-season on loan and Chelsea's Michael Mancienne has come in on a
season-long loan following a shorter loan spell last season.
In midfield former Grays Athletic midfielder Michael Kightley's metatarsal
injury is likely to prevent more than a bit-part on Saturday. Chris Iwelumo
picked up an identical knock on pre-season in Australia and is a definite
non-starter. New arrivals in the midfield include Nened Milijas, a Serbian
international in from Red Star Belgrade and Andrew Surman who escaped the
Titanic that is Southampton the day the window opened.
Reading were raided for another new arrival up front in the form of
Wexford-born striker Kevin Doyle, an Irish international who actually sounds
like one. Doyle was close to recovery from a hernia op but was forced off
early in midweek during the Republic of Ireland's 3-0 defeat to Australia
and may be a doubt for the weekend. With a reported fee of a club record
£6.5m on his head they'll be looking for him to form a decent partnership
with last season's top scorer Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Blake, who I keep wanting
to refer to as "Sexton", has won the Championship Golden Boot for the last
two seasons and his 25 goals in 39 league matches last term were a major
contribution to Wolves' success last time out. This season will be the first
time out in the Premiership for the Cambridge-born striker who started his
career with Man Utd where his first-team opportunities were limited, partly
by injury, to a few League Cup outings. If Wolves are to survive the
traditional "curse of the newly-promoted" one gets the impression that much
will rest on Ebanks-Blake being able to recreate his form of the last couple
of seasons at the highest level.
As for us, well we've been a lot quieter on the transfer front and we can be
very thankful that the midweek internationals left the resources unscathed.
Traditionally we seem to suffer more than most during international breaks
and I for one was half expecting at least a case of swine flu to hit Green,
Upson or Cole.
"Jim" Jiminez has come in on the "one year with an option" deal which we are
told will be the norm around these parts for a while. The permanent signing
of Kovac will excite some of the ladies I suppose but, speaking as a 100%
heterosexual male whose sole interest in these matters is football-related,
I find the signing difficult to get too worked-up about. We are crying out
for another striker – someone with a bit of pace to compliment Carlton Cole.
Dare I say it a Bellamy or Defoe-type of player. At the time of writing we
are told that talks are continuing with one or two targets. Whilst I
appreciate that these things take time to organise, the problems we had last
season, especially when missing Cole through injury & suspension should have
started alarm bells ringing long ago. With Ashton's fitness no more certain
than the day he first broke his ankle and the (admittedly merciful)
close-season departures of Tristan and DiMichele it's looking like Cole will
be the sole striker at the weekend. As well as he played for England in
midweek it was notable that he did so as one of a forward pair, something we
are unlikely to be seeing him do in claret & blue at the weekend. Given the
apparent reluctance by anyone to actually shoot last weekend against Napoli,
the lack of firepower up front is a worry. At the time of writing there's no
news on the transfer front and even if someone were to come in between now
and kick-off it would take any newbies a while to settle in.
In the departure lounge we have Lucas Neill. Neill is in the queue for the
metal detector and is dithering about whether to walk through at the moment.
Reports on Aussie radio suggest that his absence from the Socceroos match in
midweek had something to do with him flying off to sign for his new club,
whoever that may be. In the event that Neill does not re-sign, Zola seems
happy to have Faubert and Spector covering right back. I have my doubts.
Matthew Upson is the other player at the metaphorical airport at the moment,
though we don't know if he's there to travel or simply to see Neill off.
Whilst we've been assured that there is no financial need to sell the
current skipper, it's hard to deny that the money that he'd fetch would come
in useful. Since centre back is possibly the position for which we have most
cover at the moment, there must be a temptation to cash in, especially if a
new striker is required.
Opening matches away against newly-promoted sides are difficult. The crowd
are up for it and players new to the top flight will have a lot to prove. If
this match were to come up later on in the season I'd feel a bit more
optimistic about things but with goals looking in short supply in pre-season
(notorious as such matches are as a reliable guide) I'm hard pressed to see
us getting more than a draw out of this. I'll therefore plump for a 1-1 with
the hope we can pick up a few points early on before the cavalry arrives on
or before the 31 August deadline.
Enjoy the game!
Last season: N/A
Danger Man: Ebanks-Blake – "Sexton" won't have had the confidence knocked
out of him yet and will be itching to prove that he can replicate his
Championship form at a higher level.
Look out for: Some dodgy musical moments – "HI-Ho Wolverhampton" is bad
enough but my spies tell me that since we were last there "The Impossible
Dream" has become a favourite.
Referee: Chris Foy – presided over the 1-1 draw at Blackburn and the 2-0
home defeat to Sp*rs. Failed to award blatant penalties to us in both
matches.
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Wolverhampton Wanderers Vs West Ham United - Dare Ya!!!!
Admiral Lard - Fri Aug 14 2009
WestHamOnline.net
West Ham United Vs Wolverhampton Wanderers is a fixture The Hammers tend to
enjoy far more than Wolves. P 58 W 27 D 14 L 17 (Courtesy West Ham stats).
The first thing that surprises me is just how few times this fixture has
been played given the history of these two great clubs.
Partly this can be explained by Wolves best years in the early mid 50s, when
West Ham were languishing in the Second Division. West Ham's best years,
under Ron Greenwood and John Lyall were at a time when Wolves star had faded
(from which it has never truly recovered).
Wolves have a place in my heart, they were the second team I saw play at the
Boleyn Ground on the 16th November 1974. West Ham triumphed 5-2 and,
following our 3-0 win in my first game against Boro, I left the ground
thinking life as a West Ham fan would always be like this!
Many rude awakenings later both clubs have been through torrid times, both
clubs have remained true to their roots preferring to redevelop their
historic grounds, both clubs are the nearly teams of their respective
locations.
Neither club has been particularly active in the transfer market, hardly a
surprise given global financial constraints, though West Ham's squad has
considerably greater talent and, of course, far greater premiership
experience.
We can expect Wolves to go off with a bang, first game in the Prem at home,
Mick McCarthy at the helm and a full house at the famous old ground,
including some 2,500 Hammers.
There is little to go on currently. Pre season for West Ham was abysmal,
last weeks tepid friendly against Napoli produced some disturbing gaps in
our team, at right back, right wing and up front we lacked guile and on the
odd occasion we threatened the Napoli goal, well, frankly we didn't.
Recent records show a 4-2 win for Wolves at Molineux in 05, we won 3-1 their
in 04 and prior to that really it's too long ago to be relevant.
This is a hard one to call, Wolves will be fired up and raring to go, I
don't know how West Ham will react, I sincerely hope the coaching team have
worked hard on getting them right mentally this week.
I think we could win this one though it will be tight.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 West Ham United 2
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PREMIER LEAGUE - WOLVES v WEST HAM
MATCH PREVIEW
Sporting Preview 14 Aug 2009
Sporting Preview.com
Last year's runaway Championship winners Wolves begin their life back in the
Premier League at home to West Ham, who gained much momentum after a
precarious start last year to finish eighth. Bettingzone editor Jonathan
Turner has backed the Hammers to kick on from that this season and I would
second that view, as like he says, they had all sorts of injury problems and
with players coming back they should improve again. Their five away wins
last season came at Fulham, Sunderland,Portsmouth, Wigan and Stoke - that
latter win in particularly signalling they won't be intimidated by whatever
Molineaux has to throw at them (not literally) on Saturday.
Carlton Cole scored in three of their road victories last campaign and he'll
have his chances this weekend too. He looked in good nick for England in
midweek and is probably worth an anytime poke at 5/2 with Paddy Power.
Verdict: Wolves 1 West Ham 3 (BL)
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Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United preview
Read a full preview of the Premier League match between Wolverhampton
Wanderers and West Ham at Molineux on Saturday, Aug 15 2009, kick-off 3.00pm
BST.
Telegraph.co.uk
Published: 6:00AM BST 14 Aug 2009
Saturday, August 15
Wolves v West Ham United
Molineux
Kick-off: 3pm
TV: Highlights, BBC1 MotD
Wolves are back in the Premier League after a five year absence after
winning last season's Championship. They finished the season with just one
defeat in their final 11 games, and at Molineux, they score 44 goals, more
than any other team in the division. But when they were last in the Premier
League (in 2003-04) they started badly, taking one point from their first
six games and took eight games before they won their first game. They
finished the season bottom.
West Ham could give a debut to Chile international Luis Jimenez.
Stat of the game: The last time these teams met at Molineux, Wolves won 4-2
and former Hammer Paul Ince scored for the home side, in January 2005.
Wolves (Probable, 4-4-2): Hennessey; Foley, Stearman, Craddock, Ward;
Edwards, Henry, Milijas, Jarvis; Keogh, Ebanks-Blake
West Ham (Probable, 4-4-1-1): Green; Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga; Noble,
Kovac, Collison, Jimenez; Dyer; Cole
Referee: Chris Foy
Last season: N/A.
Betting tip: Be dangerous and go for 4-2 -- at 66-1.
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Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United: Wolves seek winning start to
season
Wolverhampton Wanderers entertain West Ham United at Molineux this Saturday
for the first time in the top flight for 25 years and their record against
the Hammers in the Midlands is pretty decent.
SquareFootball.com
The last meeting between these two was in the Championship in 2005 when
Wolves ran out 4-2 winners and Mick McCarthy's men haven't lost at home to
the Hammers since 1983. However, Wolves haven't won on the opening day of
the season for 10 years. West Ham United have lost just one of their
opening day fixtures over the past six years and will be hoping to give
Wolves a rude awakening to life in the Premier League. Gianfranco Zola likes
to play football the way it should, on the deck, but Wolves will be fired up
right from the off and will chase every ball as if their lives depended on
it. Home form will be crucial if Wolves are to avoid going straight back
down and the majority of the panel sees the Molineux club nabbing a share of
the spoils.
Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United; Kick Off 3pm 15 Aug 2009
Prediction Panel
Our panel contains both Squarefootball writers and readers, the writers are
marked: (sqf).
Dave Blackburn : 2 – 1
Chris Cox: 2 – 1
Sue Gardener : 1 – 1
Chris Goodwin : TBC
Paul Grech (sqf) : 1 – 0
Colin Illingworth (sqf) : 1 – 2
Hugh Larkin (sqf) : 2 – 1
Peter Lee : TBC
Don McMahon : 1 – 1
Antony Melvin (sqf) : TBC
Stephen Orford (sqf) : TBC - TBC
Tony Ratton : 1 – 1
Dan Taylor : 1 – 1
Nick Tomkins: 1 – 1
Andy Wakeman : 0 – 2
Isaac Williams : TBC
Mark Williams : TBC
Panel Verdict
The panel is split but a draw would be a decent result all round.
Home: 4; Draw: 5; Away: 2; TBC:.
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And finally ......
Lawro's predictions
By Mark Lawrenson
BBC Sport football expert
Wolves v West Ham
I think Wolves will be OK this season, they must focus on getting results at
home against some of the lesser teams. They have a lot of striking power up
front and in Mick McCarthy, they have a manager who knows what it takes to
stay in the Premier League.
West Ham will be fine over the course of the season, but they can't have too
many injuries to their key big-name players. They have a fantastic manager
and a very promising batch of young players, but I get the feeling Wolves
will get the better of them at Molineux.
Verdict: 2-1
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