Wolves have had a poor start to the season, which has resulted in a managerial change and a drop into the Premier League’s relegation zone.
They provide the opponents on Saturday for our last home league match until Boxing Day.
Wolves are currently 19th in the table, two points adrift of safety and sandwiched in-between Leeds and Nottingham Forest on goal difference.
They have only won twice all season – beating both Southampton and Forest 1-0 at Molineux – and are one of seven teams in the Premier League, including us, still to record an away victory.
Wolves have only picked up a single point on the road – in a goalless draw at Bournemouth – and have lost their other five away games, at Leeds (2-1), Spurs (1-0), West Ham (2-0), Chelsea (3-0) and Crystal Palace (2-1).
They are also the lowest scorers in the Premier League with five goals from their 12 matches, and they have not scored more than once in any of them.
The defeat at the London Stadium at the start of October spelled the end of Bruno Lage’s 15 months in charge following a run of one win in 15 Premier League matches across both this and the end of last season.
Interim head coach Steve Davis will be in charge until at least 2023 after QPR manager Michael Beale turned down the opportunity to replace Lage.
Wolves have had some joy away from the league at least – beating Preston 2-1 in the Carabao Cup to set up a home tie with Leeds the week after next.
This is Wolves’ longest-ever spell in the Premier League after winning promotion in 2018, beating their three-season stay from 2009 to 2012.
Their only other stint in the division was during the 2003/04 campaign.
They have finished seventh twice and 10th and 13th once each in the past four seasons.
Wolves used to be regular members of the old Division One, however, and from 1932 until 1984 (not counting the war years when the league did not take place), they only spent four seasons outside the top flight.
They won the league three times in six seasons in the 1950s.
WHO’S IN CHARGE
Steve Davis, as mentioned earlier, took temporary charge of Wolves in early October following Bruno Lage’s departure.
Steve is a boyhood Wolves fan and joined the club at the start of 2020 as under-18s coach.
This is not his first management role – he started by becoming player-boss of Northwich Victoria in 2003 and then had a five-year spell in charge of Nantwich Town.
In 2009, he joined Crewe as assistant manager before being put in charge in 2011. He spent five-and-a-half years as Alex boss and when he was sacked early in 2017, he was the fourth longest-serving boss in the country.
He then had a brief spell in charge of Leyton Orient.
As a defender, Steve played more than 500 games in spells at Stoke, Crewe, Burnley, Barnsley, York, Oxford, Macclesfield, Northwich and Nantwich.
WE’VE MET BEFORE
We claimed our first-ever Premier League away win when we visited Molineux in September and earned a 2-0 victory.
In a lunchtime kick-off – shown live on BT Sport – two goals in seven first-half minutes sealed the points to take us up to ninth in the table. Ivan Toney gave us the lead from the penalty spot in the 28th minute, before setting up Bryan Mbeumo to score his first Premier League goal.
Shandon Baptiste was sent off for receiving two quick yellow cards midway through the second half but we held on to claim all three points.
That was our first win over Wolves in five games.
They got their revenge 2-1 at New Griffin Park in January in the most bizarre game of the season.
The match finished at nearly 5.30pm after a stoppage following a clash of heads between Rico Henry and Mathias Jensen and then the sides were taken off for 15 minutes after a drone hovered over the stadium, with both incidents leading to 19 minutes being added on to the first half.
Then the second half started late because of a problem with the referee’s headset.
Not surprisingly, there had been no goals before the break, but Joao Moutinho fired Wolves ahead straight after it, Ivan Toney levelled in the 71st minute, but Ruben Neves won it seven minutes later before Adama Traore had a third ruled out in stoppage time.
We played them in five seasons in the last decade – four in the Championship and one in League One – but only won three of the 10 matches, losing five and drawing two.
When we met in League One in 2013/14 – the season we got promoted together – we failed to score, as a goalless draw in the Midlands was followed by a 3-0 Wolves victory at Griffin Park.
That campaign was the first time the sides had played each other since 1992/93 – our last season in the league’s second tier.
Our biggest win came in 2014/15 when we earned a thumping 4-0 victory at Griffin Park in late November. Alan Judge opened the scoring in the 29th minute, before three goals in the last 17 minutes from Stuart Dallas, Andre Gray and Jota wrapped up the points.
A month later, Wolves got revenge with a post 2-1 Christmas win in the Midlands.
Nouha Dicko gave them a seventh-minute lead, which was doubled by an own goal by James Tarkowski in the 72nd minute. The hosts’ Kevin McDonald was sent off five minutes later and Danny Batth put through his own net in the 87th minute to give us late hope, but it proved just a consolation.
The following 2015/16 season we did the double over Wolves – starting with a 2-0 midweek win at Molineux in October.
Marco Djuricin gave us the lead in the 17th minute and Philipp Hofmann, on as a substitute, confirmed the victory with an 88th-minute second.
The Griffin Park game was also played under floodlights and once again we kept a clean sheet against as we ran out 3-0 winners.
A goal in each half from John Swift, sandwiching a strike from Sergi Canos, wrapped up a comprehensive triumph which ended a three-match losing run and took us up to 11th in the table.
Things flipped, however, in 2016/17, with Wolves winning both our meetings.
Joao Teixeira put Wolves ahead just after half-time in our September meeting at Molineux with his first goal for the club and added a second 10 minutes later.
Sullay Kaikai replied with his first goal for the Bees but Ivan Cavaleiro secured a 3-1 victory for the hosts in injury-time.
Brentford looked set for victory at Griffin Park on a Tuesday night in the middle of March after Maxime Colin gave us a first half lead. But two goals in the last four minutes by Matt Doherty and Helder Costa earned all three points for the visitors with a 2-1 win.
We failed to score against Wolves as they stormed to the title in 2017/18 – sharing a goalless draw with them in what proved to be their last visit to Griffin Park in August, and going down 3-0 at Molineux at the start of January.
OPPOSITION VIEW
BBC WM commentator Mike Taylor analyses Wolves’s season so far, looks at their managerial change and recalls last season’s two meetings between the sides.
Q – How would you sum up Wolves’s season so far?
A – Increasingly nervous – and after last Sunday, when they lost 4-0 at home to Leicester, mutinous. With goalscoring having been a struggle throughout last season, in early April the idea that they were still realistic contenders for a European place seemed almost too good to be true. Their form since then has proved that it was. They stumbled to the end of the season and despite eventually spending liberally in the summer, have not regained their balance.
A run across the two seasons amounting to 11 points from their last 19 Premier League games has been a sobering experience for Wolves and their irritated supporters, and their extended search for a new manager is putting a further strain on their nerves.
Q – As the Premier League’s lowest scorers, Wolves’s main problem appears to be up front, but what is that down to?
A – The obvious answer is that since November 2020, when Raul Jimenez suffered his dreadful head injury against Arsenal, Wolves have not had a fit, in-form striker. Wolves missed him terribly and rejoiced at his return; his recovery will always remain a personal triumph, but sadly his pre-injury form has not returned. Hopes that he would be better this season were damaged by an injury in July. On 3 September he was named as a substitute against Southampton, but withdrawn from the teamsheet because of “fatigue” issues in the warm-up; since then he has not been seen at all in Wolverhampton, but quite frequently in Mexico. His current status is unclear.
When the expensive but still developing youngster Fabio Silva was loaned to Anderlecht, Wolves fans assumed it must mean replacements (note the plural) had been signed, but there was only the unfortunate Sasa Kalajdzic, whose season probably ended halfway through his first game.
Wolves gambled on Diego Costa, who after eight months without a club was understandably well short of fitness, and so far appears to have been largely powered by personality. The signing excited the fans at first, but all the pantomime-villain stuff is wearing a bit thin now – they want to see goals.
Q – How much of a surprise was it when Bruno Lage was sacked?
A – In the end, not that much, although the end came quickly. Perhaps the next man who took the job after Nuno, who was revered, was always going to be held to a higher standard. Lage’s stock was high until last spring, with many fans feeling he had been sold short by the club in the transfer market. But after last season’s anti-climax, the change of system he implemented in the summer needed to show signs of improvement quickly. When it didn’t, he was always going to be the fall guy, as managers invariably are.
Q – How has Steve Davis done since taking charge and do you think he has a chance of getting the job permanently?
A – While nodding to the idea that “permanently” in the context of a football manager’s job is a rather elastic concept… it is possible that Davis’s spell of caretaker managership will in itself rival some permanent hires for length of service. Last week, having been turned down by Julen Lopetegui and Michael Beale, Wolves announced that since there were “no outstanding candidates to appoint” at the moment – quite a claim – they would stick with Davis and his colleague James Collins “until 2023”. Not, you will notice, “until after the World Cup”. “Until 2023” being another usefully imprecise term, Wolves must hope it has bought them some time – but it has also lost them some faith among the supporters, many of whom reacted with incredulity, on social media at least.
The decision at least has a logic to it, but it would help the club greatly if they could win a few games during the interregnum – the more they win, the longer they have to make their choice (and the more attractive the job becomes). Davis is presumed not to be a contender, and has not suggested he should be one, although who knows how a good run of results might change the outlook for both him and the club. In that context, though, to lose the next game after the “2023” announcement so badly looked terrible.
Q – This is Wolves’s fifth successive season in the Premier League – what would be seen as a successful campaign?
A – In August, fans would have been looking for an improvement on last season’s 10th place, and at least another tilt at European qualification. Just now, the priority must be to move away from trouble, and at least avoiding a sweaty second half of the season. Even achieving that security, however, would mean a degree of drift from the long-term projection of becoming a serious power in the Premier League. Events of recent months have caused some of Wolves’ harsher critics to wonder what the longer-term plan actually is.
Q – What impact do you think the split season will have on Wolves and are lot of players due to be away at the World Cup?
A – It largely depends on how far Portugal go in the tournament! Wolves could conceivably provide six or seven members of the Portuguese squad, even with Pedro Neto injured. Aside from that they are unlikely to be too heavily affected. A lot of Wolves supporters were lobbying for Maximilian Kilman to make the England squad last season, but it looks like his international chance will come in future years. Short of a very sharp improvement in form before the tournament, the hope will be that the interval in the season gives the club a chance to sort itself out.
Notwithstanding their recent announcements, expect Wolves fans to be pretty testy if the club don’t have a new manager in by Boxing Day – or as a bare minimum, a very clear route to getting one. It would help them if they could conduct that search a little more privately than they have managed up to now, too.
Q – What do you remember about last season’s two Bees-Wolves matches, especially the bizarre second one?
A – Brentford gave one of the most accomplished performances by a visiting side at Molineux last season. It was a 2-0 hammering, and Wolves were left dazed by Ivan Toney and particularly Bryan Mbuemo, who ran them ragged.
The second game had the long delay because of the drone, which ended up changing the course of the match – Wolves had been struggling up to that point, but Bruno Lage said afterwards that they used the hold-up to sit in the dressing room and figure out how to fix it. It took Wolves to the high watermark of Lage’s time in charge – they also won, with a well-constructed tactical plan, on their next trip to London at Spurs three weeks later, but only once more away from home since then.
Q – Finally can you give me an expected Wolves formation and line-up please?
A – After last Sunday there are not many automatic picks… But (4-2-3-1):
Sa;
Semedo (or Jonny), Collins, Kilman, Bueno;
Moutinho (or B Traore), Neves;
A Traore, Matheus, Podence;
Costa.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME IF YOU CAN’T BE THERE
If you can’t get to the Gtech Community Stadium for Saturday’s sold-out 3.00pm kick-off, and want Brentford commentary, audio coverage is available via the new Buzz Box, currently on a free trial.
Coverage starts half an hour before kick-off and is advert-free, with Mark Burridge, who has Brentford Women B team’s assistant manager Charlotte Tanner alongside him on Saturday.
IAN WESTBROOK
@ianwestbrook
PUBS IN BRENTFORD AND TRAVEL NEWS
For Wolves fans coming to the Gtech Community Stadium, there are plenty of pub options pre and post-match and all are most welcoming and away-fan-friendly (as it should be).
The pub areas are split into two zones. There is the area around Brentford’s old Griffin Park stadium. The pubs there are still very busy on match day frequented by Bees locals before heading down the road to the stadium at Kew Bridge which is only 15 minutes walk.
Then there is the area in and around the stadium in Kew Bridge.
It is possible, if you have a good early start, to savour a few pubs in and around Griffin Park and Brentford zone before heading off to the pubs in the Kew zone or even vice versa if you so fancy.
Pubs in Griffin Park/Brentford zone (still very lively but easier to get a pint)
When at Griffin Park, Brentford was well known for its four pubs – one on each corner of the ground. Three are still operating.
The Griffin is closest to the old away end and has always been very popular with both home and away fans and has its regulars who still make the journey down to the new stadium from there on matchday. The New Inn is on the other side which used to also be popular with away fans before the move. The Brook pub is the other option if you want to savour a pub in and around what is left of our old home. Worth a peep if you want to reminisce about old Brentford.
About five minutes’ walk away from the old ground are two pubs which are enormously popular. The Globe (Windmill Rd) is a “lively but comfortable” pub on matchday. Incredibly friendly and cosy, it has always been popular with a selection of away fans who fancied having a beer a few minutes further walk away from the ground without having to queue six persons deep. After the move to the new ground, The Globe has retained many of lot its regulars from the Griffin Park days and with screens throughout the pub and in its sheltered beer garden, it shows both Premier League and EFL football before and after each match.
Meanwhile around the corner, The Lord Nelson (Enfield Rd) is another incredibly friendly and cosy away-friendly pubs about one minute walk from The Globe. Again with a TV screen for live sports and a lovely beer garden, this is another pub frequented by “away fans in the know”.
The other pub worth checking out in the Griffin Park region is The Black Dog Beer House, formerly The Albany, on Albany Road, if you like your real ales.
There are plenty of other pubs in and around Brentford High Street including real ale pub Magpie and Crown (Brentford High Street) and the cosy Brewery Tap (Catherine Wheel Road) near the river.
For a Griffin Park area pub crawl before heading over to Kew we recommend the following: Take the Piccadilly line to Northfields station. Turn left and walk for 2 mins and you will come to The Plough (Northfields Ave). Then walk to The Lord Nelson (10 min walk from The Plough) & then The Globe (1 min walk from The Nelson) en-route before hitting The Griffin (8 min walk from The Globe) and then The Black Dog (2 mins from The Griffin). You can also try and do the other three pubs on the corner whilst down here if you fancy.
Then you can then either walk (15 minutes from The Globe/The Nelson and The Griffin/Black Dog ) or take a train from Brentford station (which is five minutes walk away from both The Globe/The Nelson and The Griffin/Black Dog) or a bus (237/267) to Kew Bridge.
Trains run at 24 and 54 minutes past the hour to Kew Bridge from Brentford and take two minutes.
Pubs in the Kew Bridge zone (very busy on match days)
Right next to Kew Bridge station, you will find the Express Tavern – an ale pub with a retro feel. The pub has been refurbished in readiness for the new football season and needless to say, is popular before the match due to its close proximity to the stadium.
Across the road by the river is One Over the Ait – a spacious boozer right next to Kew Bridge. This pub is situated on the location of the now-demolished Oxford & Cambridge pub where Brentford Football Club was founded in 1889.
Across Kew Bridge and the River Thames, there are two pubs on Kew Green – the Cricketers and the Greyhound – very close to the pier where Brentford fans have embarked on their away journeys by water to F*lham, Orient, Charlton, West Ham and even Southend.
North of the river along hoity-toity Strand on the Green, you will find The Steam Packet, in an old Cafe Rouge, and The Bell and Crown. A bit further down are The City Barge and the Bulls Head – two pubs side-by-side in which you would often see Ant and Dec hanging out.
There is also The Pilot which you can get to coming out of the BACK entrance of Gunnersbury station and we believe the old John Bull pub at the front of the station has been refurbed as The Gunnersbury but we have never been there so can’t give it a rating.
Transport to Brentford and Kew Bridge
The simplest on paper to get to Brentford FC from town is to get the tube to Waterloo (Northern, Jubilee lines) or Vauxhall (Victoria Line) and then take the Overground train to Kew Bridge, which is right by the stadium. Brentford is one stop further on if you are on an ‘Original Griffin Park Pub’ mission.
With trains from Waterloo being only twice an hour (22 and 52) and taking 28 minutes, we normally recommend people jump on the tube from King’s Cross or Euston and head to Northfields or South Ealing on the Piccadilly Line as it is quicker (including the time getting across London and waiting at Waterloo) and trains are more frequent.
It is only 40 minutes max station by tube to station meaning you could be in a Brentford pub within an hour of embarking your train at Kings Cross, Euston or Liverpool Street.
The other station option is Gunnersbury. You can walk to the stadium from Gunnersbury tube station (District line) in 25 minutes or take a bus (H91, 237, 267, 110), but note that it is closed for entry for one hour after the match.
For the Brentford/Griffin Park pubs you can get the Piccadilly line tube to Northfields station from King’s Cross or Euston (35 minutes) then walk down to The Plough, The Globe, The Lord Nelson and The Griffin and other pubs from there.
The new stadium is around 25 minutes’ walk from South Ealing station – if you don’t fancy Gunnersbury – or you can get on the 65 bus from across the road which will drop you almost outside in 15 minutes.
You can also pick up the 65 bus from Ealing Broadway (district and central line) which will take you to the new stadium in 25 minutes.
You can check out Transport for London’s guide to travel on the Tube and Overground.
