Sigh. It wasn’t so long ago that yours truly was dreaming of a time when Wolves would be relegated. Let me take you back to the days of yore. It was January. Wolves were 19th, having won just thrice from 19 matches. The November appointment of Julen Lopetegui looked unlikely to alter that fate. However, they’re comfortably mid-table, dashing your correspondent’s dreams (such is my fate…).
They’ve been a bogey side for us, reminiscent in many ways of facing Tony Pulis’s Stoke sides at their best (worst?). As the graphic above shows, they’re one of the Prem’s dirtiest sides, leading the league with fouls called and red cards issued. Somehow, it’s been us who’ve been warned and booked and punished more than they in our last five encounters:
- Fouls: Wolves committed 50, Arsenal committed 48.
- Yellow cards: Wolves saw 12, Arsenal saw 13.
- Red cards: Wolves saw none, Arsenal saw three.
What gives? One would think that the Prem’s dirtiest side would far exceed Arsenal for fouls, yellow cards, and red cards. In this season, we’re one of the Prem’s cleanest side with just 52 yellow cards. We’re one of just five sides yet to see red, which is a roundabout way of saying that at least one Gunner will get sent off (if you’re an Ivan Toney, you might put down a few on Xhaka. Along similar lines, Costa’s scored just once all seasons, so put another Toney on the Brazliian Spaniard bagging a brace).
In the end, despite all the bad blood between us and them, this has all the marks of a dead-rubber match. Neither side has anythign much to fight for. We’ll be without Saka, Saliba, Tomiyasu, Martinelli, and Zinchenko and may even rest a few others. Wolves do have a chance at finishing above Chelsea should Newcastle put them to the sword and we fold faster than Superman on laundry day.
I might have enjoyed salting the wounds of Wolves’ relegation. At this point, however, I’d be content with any result that doesn’t result in any of our players getting maimed. I’m sure we can count on Andre Marriner to officiate in a firm but fair manner…
Thanks for breaking Raul Jimenez you bastards
That was a freak accident for which I am sorry.
Your players getting maimed, one of your players almost killed Raul. Those in glass houses etc.
No. of fouls doesn’t say what concedes as dangerous, when players dive you get a foul against you if you’re playing a Big Six club.
One freak foul isn’t enough to malign an entire club. Your players are the most-booked in the Prem for good reason. Frankly it’s a miracle they haven’t maimed more players.
How many times was Patrick sent off then?One,two,three,four, five,…………..
Patrick…Vieira? Are you bringing up a player who last played for the Arsenal in 2005 as some kind of accusation against the club? Ok, I’ll bite. Turns out he was sent off ten times in all competitions for Arsenal, that was three straight reds and 7 second yellows. He played 400 matches, so he got sent off about once every 40 matches, roughly once per season. THAT’s your evidence?
The person writing the article comes to the same conclusion with the Wolves cards tally without the knowledge.Raul was sent off for two quick yellows which were by most accounts were foolish rather than dirty.Also if a player was sent off once a season,would you say he was a dirty player who plays for a dirty team.The writer of this article would.
Hi, I’m the writer of this article. Kelechi pointed out that you used as evidence one player’s career from almost a decade ago and explained that his discipline record is actually not all that bad. Getting sent off once per season is pretty mild. By contrast, I offered a season-long statistic that applies to Wolves’ current season. 86 yellow cards is more than two per match, and six red cards is one every six matches. By contrast, Arsenal’s players have been booked just 52 times with no red cards. Here’s a link to the graphic I used: https://i.redd.it/9ihh5c04ex1b1.jpg
The only player I directly accused of being dirty is Diego Costa, a player most fans would agree plays a very, very physical style.
Like I said, look into the reason for the yellow cards and sendings off. Only two I recall this season were stonewall (Collins challenge on Grealish and Jonny against Leeds after he scored a wonder goal). The majority of those yellows were soft to say the least, especially the second for Lemina because he approached the ref (in an aggressive manner LMAO).
You can conveniently just look at numbers and draw conclusions.
For many seasons we have had amongst the fewer, but this season especially we have been hit hard by inconsistent referees and multiple apologies from Howard Webb who probably had his own room at Compton seeing as he was there so often.
Unless you watch every Wolves game you are just another fan of a big six club looking through blinkers and forgetting your own teams foul play tactics, players etc. and I go back to David Luiz with his attempted murder challenge on Raul. One player nearly losing his life after an unnecessary challenge that didn’t even get a booking let alone the red card it deserved.
Each fan can mount the same defense of their own club – many fouls, yellows, and reds can be debated. We’ve had the PGMOL apologise twice for two decisions that went against us – that’s five or six points we should have had, but what’s to be done?
I apologised to another comment regarding the injury to Jimenez, but you do yourself no favours when you resort to hyperbole by calling it an “attempted murder”. There doesn’t seem to be any footage of it, at least none that I’ve found, but I think we all know what it was very, very serious. I’m grateful that Jimenez has recovered.
Maybe attempted murder is going too far, but it was an incident that left a lot of Wolves fans with a lot of anger that one of our own was so close to losing his life, let alone career.
We have also had Howard Webb personally apologise to Julen Lopetegui over two or three decisions where obvious penalties were not given or even reviewed by VAR. So again possible points in our favpour which would have meant safety in the league for us a lot earlier and higher up the table for more prize money.
My original point was that we are not a dirty club with horrendous tackles and violent conduct happening game by game, sure there are flashpoints but I think that also happens to other clubs. The card count against us would be for cynical fouls i.e. shirt pulling or accumulation of niggly fouls. I don’t recall any Wolves player making a dangerous tackle that left a player unable to continue. So unless you watch our games every week, your article is very unfounded and totally inaccurate and defaming.
You have a tendency toward hyperbole that leads to positions difficult to defend. To assert that this post is totally inaccurate and defaming is another such example. As I said above, all clubs can mount a defense of many of their fouls & yellow cards as merely professional or cynical rather than malicious or dangerous.
Wolves are 2nd in the league behind Leeds for fouls committed (12.2 per match). I’m not saying anything about how many of them were violent. Maybe it was wrong of me to compare this squad to Pulis-era Stoke, my own hyperbole on display I suppose.
Well, the match has started. Neither side has much to fight for here, so let’s hope it ends amicably.
You are also likely to commit more fouls when u don’t have the ball as much as opponents. Look at the lamina sending off ..absurd…. And number of penalties denied… Webb nearly lived at molineux for a period of constant apology…
Wolves average 50.1% possession, 8th-highest in the Prem. West Ham average 41.1% possession, 18th lowest. West Ham have picked up the fewest yellow cards (43) this season.
Atleast if Arsenal win they will definitely not be celebrating like they have won the league.
Winning earns you the right to celebrate as you choose. If you don’t appreciate your opponent’s celebrate, work harder to prevent them winning.
How is it then Arsenal fans have been celebrating winning the league for ages?When they have not won it.
We celebrated a victory over your club (I’m assuming you’re a Wolves fan) because it took us a dramatic step closer to a top-four finish, something we’d missed the previous two seasons. I don’t see why Wolves fans would still be so upset a year later. I seem to remember Wolves’ players and fans celebrating a few results that didn’t earn trophies themselves. Celebrating is part of the game.
Until I read this I was sorry Arsenal hadn’t beaten City to the title. Now, however I really hope we can get a result to spoil your afternoon
Eh I don’t think any of us is all too worked up about this one either way. 2nd place secured, numerous players injured, well probably just see what happens with a shrug. Maybe youvlot can enjoy a win and celebrate as if it means something.
Who is second in the league?Who cares,we only remember the winners.
This season no trophy’s, next season arsenal back to mid table mediocrity unless they can pinch more ex man citeh players.
The condescending tone of this article is exactly why Arsenal fans are hated.
You’re giving this puny little blog far too much credit. I don’t reach an audience nearly large enough to earn the club itself any hatred. We’re hated because we’re successful but our arrogance outstrips our success. We continue to boast about the Invincibles nearly a decade later as if that proves we’re still the best in the Prem. At the same time, we come across as put-upon, complaining that our opponents rough us up without getting booked or sent off.
Thank you for acknowledging the author’s tone on this. I wouldn’t say hated, but a certain dislike of some fans that maybe have a sense of entitlement. And just so it’s known, I was hoping Arsenal won the league.
Re-reading, I see just how snide it sounds and apologise for that. I try to go for a lighter, tongue-in-cheek tone and missed that mark Part of that is my assumption that I’m writing only for other Arsenal fans, but when one of them calls me out, I should take that as an indication to mind my p’s and q’s more carefully.
Successful…. we’ve won nothing of note in yonks. Tone it down.
Aye, I should have written we’d been successful to draw a line between Wenger’s first decade of success and the last 15 years or so. FA Cups are wonderful but it’s winning the league or UCL that most “big” clubs see as proper success.
So Wolves are like Stoke with Costa. So Arsenal are like Man City but without the title.