Saturday and nothing to do. A rare occurrence and so I think what could I do. I’m at home and so I do some writing. I’m not massively inspired but even so manage to do a couple of thousand words which is good.
I look at my watch, its nearly lunch time. I remember that Burnley v Lincoln is on and then start watching it whilst cleaning shoes. The first half is dull but one has to marvel at the brilliance of a non-league side holding a premier league team.
The afternoon wears on and Burnley lose. I love listening to sport on the radio. It’s more evocative and to be fair it means I have less to moan about than the TV pundits and as Pat Nevin was present it was all good.
The afternoon was spent wondering about team selection and hoping for more shocks from the 3pm games which were of course to come. The team comes through and I’m not surprised it’s a strong team for an important game. I feel sorry for Mitchy but I suspect he will be gone in the summer.
I turn on the TV and there is Hoddle and Ince, both ex Wolves managers building up the game. I am not one for pre-game chat but managed to see our manager give another selfless interview. Asked about his personal ambition to win the cup he merely said its not about him but about the club the players and the supporters. What a man.
The game starts and we should be one down. A dreadful error by Zouma and former Chelsea graduate George Saville should have scored. I saw him play at Brentford and he is a decent player but moments like this are the difference between good and good enough.
We then nearly score through Willian and it’s a good open game.
My initial thoughts were its difficult for a makeshift back 5 to just slot in but certainly both Zouma and Ake looked nervous and or rusty. I was also concerned as the midfield was not giving any protection to the defence and the forwards were letting the ball bounce of them. There was also Victo
r Moses doing his best Branna impression, whacking the ball against the shins of the nearest defender or hitting the first fan in the stands.
As the half wore on so did my frustration. In both this and the Burnley game there appeared to be a lack of tempo and urgency and this was again evident. I was muttering banging the arm of the sofa and generally disgruntled.
A goalless first half and a miserable git. My son was not best pleased with me. My frustrations palpable. I couldn’t understand why Hazard was a disinterested passenger and why several of our players were finding it impossible to find another blue shirt. Bar the Saville miss we were not in trouble save for our own lethargy.
As the second half started the team seemed have got the message. There was more urgency and Eden appeared to take more of an interest. There was more of a flow to our game and the back 3 all appeared to be more at ease. I thought that John Terry looked good and Ake was growing in to the role. The problem with Zouma is that he lacks match fitness and sharpness. It is difficult to remember what he was like before the injury but it is obvious he needs time. I was interested that Conte was at Craven Cottage on Sunday, presumably to watch Kalas, perhaps Kurt will go out on loan next season.
There were signs that Costa was beginning to spark. Beating his defender brilliantly but then shooting into the side netting. We were beginning to dominate and
then we scored a goal almost as beautiful and breath-taking as our goal at Burnley. This time started and finished by Pedro and again created from the left back position and in the goal before you could blink. Stunning play aided and abetted by Cesc, Costa and Willian.
I was more relaxed as you tend to be and the sofa took less whacks. The manager made a sensible substitution and brought on Cesar to protect Pedro who had been booked. Interestingly he did not go into his old position of left back, he went in the centre with Ake moving out to that position. It would be interesting to know where Conte thinks Nathan’s best position is. The game was being locked up and the arrival of Kante signalled the end in many respects for the brave Wanderers. As the game was being shepherded to the final whistle Costa scored a second. Great reactions to a loose ball. He is very much a streak scorer and perhaps we forget how fearsome he is.
So job done. I have always thought of Wolves as a big club. The crowd was their first sell out for decades and I thought it was real class that they applauded their team as the second went in. It must however be frustrating , much like Blackburn to see their team give it everything against the big boys but languish in the 
Championship. This was a team who had lost at home to Wigan 4 days earlier.
So the dream of Wembley lives on. First however we must face the Special One again. He can do little wrong in my eyes and the mind games have begun. I will always defend him but the episode after the home victory left a bitter taste. Trying and succeeding in creating a situation that deflected from his team’s dismal showing was not clever but that is him. No one will ever take away his history from the club and he only winds us up because he knows we are a competitor. So just ignore it folks, our manager does not react so neither should we. The best thing we can do is win again and there is no amount of barbed comments to cover that over. Let’s get to Wembley and win it again for the first time since 2012, with the teams left there should be nothing less than fireworks for the rest of the competition. Revenge for 1967 is long overdue. Just saying…
