Walking With Wolves

The opening fixture of the season is so so important, setting the tone for so much that will follow. Remember our first game back in the Prem? Blackburn came to Upton Park first game up and I was struggling to find a signal on my transistor radio on a beach in Venezuela. 1-0 down at the break, a difficult season threatened but then came an epic second half performance, with goals from Sherringham, Reo-Coker and Etherington turning the game on its head. This mad Englishman was screaming his head off, punching the air, oblivious to the questioning looks of everbody in my vicinity on the beach. From that point onwards, optimism pulsed through the veins of players and fans alike and, hitting the ground running, we took the Premiership by storm despite having what was, in truth, an average team.

Today, the boot is on the other foot. We go to a newly promoted club as the established Premiership side and, just as we were expected to get a result at West Brom last season, on paper we should be good enough to come away with at least a point. Indeed, if we are to finish in the top half this season, a draw is the minimum expectation. The trouble is, Wolves will be fired up just as we were on our return and, if they could pick any team to play in their opening fixture, I would imagine West Ham would be up there amongst their preferred choices.

My worry is an early goal for Wolves because who would you then back to get the equaliser? Cole has been playing well but is not hitting the back of the net and there are no other strikers in the squad. I am sure Clark and Zola will be telling the team to be cagey at the start to silence the crowd, pricking the bubble of anticipation and enthusiasm by keeping it tight and hitting Wolves on the break. That is fine providing Wolves don't get that early goal; but if they do, what is plan B? Usually there is a player on the bench who you can send on to change things around, but who is there this season? Savio? Stanislas? Hines? More "If, But and Maybe" than "Super Sub" aren't they?

That is the problem with doing business late in the transfer window. Every point is crucial in the Prem and we have seriously handicapped ourselves by kicking off with only one striker with Premiership experience on our books. That is criminal in my book and I cannot understand why there is not more anger amongst the fans. If we lose and fail to score, nobody would be terribly surprised would they? Remember Tottenham last season? Late business put them on the back foot and after half a dozen games, they found themselves in terrible trouble.

I look forward to the game with a greater sense of trepidation than expectation. I hope I am wrong. I hope we do to Wolves what we did to Reading two seasons ago, demolishing them with fast counter attacking football, or repeat the performance at Wigan and Sunderland last season, suffocating the opposition and grabbing a winning goal. I hope but sadly I do not expect.