Peter Odemwingie scored a hat-trick as West Brom trounced Wolves in the Black County derby at Molineux
Jonas Olsson holds back Kevin Doyle.
Hello there. One year ago last Monday West Brom parted company with Roberto Di Matteo with the club hovering just above the relegation zone on 26 points. Fast forward 12 months and for all the plaudits thrown Roy Hodgson's way the club are hovering just above the relegation zone on 26 points. Improvement? Not exactly.
Fortunately for Roy some of the others are doing much worse, including Mick McCarthy's Wolves who are five points adrift of their Black County rivals. Wolves recorded their first win in 10 games last week (with a helping hand from Djibril Cissé) but will know that three points today against local rivals and fellow strugglers would hopefully give his side the platform to try and work their way out of trouble.In summary: there is plenty at stake.
Here are the teams. Mick McCarthy makes two changes to the side that won at Loftus Road. Kevin Doyle and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake come in to the side for Richard Stearman and Emmanuel Frimpong, who has returned to Arsenal after his season-ending injury.
Wolves: Hennessey; Foley, Johnson, Bassong, Ward; Doyle, Edwards, O'Hara, Jarvis; Ebanks-Blake, Fletcher.
Subs: De Vries, Stearman, Berra, Milijaš, Jonsson, Hammill, Hunt.
West Brom: Foster; Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell; Morrison, Scharner, Mulumbu, Thomas; Odemwingie, Fortune.
Subs: Tchoyi, Andrews, Long, Fulop, Dorrans, Jones, Cox.
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
Kick off at Molineux is 1.30pm (GMT).
1.11pm: So, in other news. When I left my house this morning at 11am my neighbour was having a pizza delivered. A pizza. At 11am. On a Sunday. When did this even become a possibility? I feel like I've wasted so much of my life. If I worked for Sky I would now say "what will these two sides serve up for us today" but I don't so I won't.
1.16pm: The Black Keys really are the current go-to band for sporting montage soundtracks. Poor Lana Del Rey. Won't someone please think of the royalty cheques.
1.18pm: Bragging rights. That's what it's all about. Mick McCarthy says he knows how important the bragging rights are for the fans. Not as important as they are for pundits-for-hire however.
1.22pm: It seems quite strange that so many Irish players have ended up in the four clubs in the Birmingham region," says Declan Johnston. "West Brom, Wolves, Aston Villa and Birmingham - who between them have Given, Dunne, Ireland, Keane, Clark, Long, Reid, Cox, Ward, Hunt, Kevin Doyle, Foley, Carr, Fahey, Colin Doyle and Rooney (Adam!), not to mention Mick McCarthy and Chris Hughton in the dugouts. Is there a case for them to be renamed as the Birmingham Four?" You forgot West Brom new boy Keith 'Xavi' Andrews who is on the bench today.
1.24pm: The teams walk out on the to pitch side-by-side. Is there a case for players to come out one by one with their own theme tunes like WWF wrestlers? I would think there probably is. Everything else has got so ridiculous (see Old Trafford yesterday) that it's probably not too great a leap. What would Liam Ridgewell's theme tune be? Speaking of ridiculous, Rob Moline doesn't like this early-morning pizza deliver. Doesn't like it one bit. "Pizzas are made in wood-fired ovens, anything else is just wrong," he says. "The ovens are only fired up in the evenings, that's just the way that life works. You can't eat a pizza before 7 PM. Anytime. Anywhere. Abominations such as Americans' pizza at lunchtime are just that: abominations. Your neighbours should be (bad word)ed up the (bad word) by Luis Suarez. On general principles."
1.29pm: I am delighted to report that all 11 players have shaken hands with their opponent. No disrespecting of fairly pointless totemic rituals here. No siree. "Nice variation on the march from a pub you were drinking in anyway to a game you were going to anyway," says Phil Russell of some pre-match pleasantries between the fans. "Notice Mcarthy is going with the set-up that did for 10 man QPR last weekend. This is either going to go really well or really badly for Wolves. I reckon at least 2 goals before halftime."
Peeep!!!!: We're underway with West Brom playing from left to right. Cracking atmosphere at the Moliuneux. Obviously the prospect of winning bragging rights has got everyone in a right tizzy.
1 min: It should be 1-0 to West Brom. Morrisson burst into the area and pulls the ball back. It deflects off Bassong into the path of Thomas who seems to hesitate slightly before firing straight at Hennessey who stays big and makes a good stop with his chest.
2 min: From the resulting corner Wolves fail to clear decisively and debutant Liam Ridgewell hits a low shot from the edge of the area which is easily saved by Hennessey.
4 min: West Brom have started much the brighter here. Thomas scuttles infield from the left touchline but drags his shot a bit and it trickles wide.
1.37pm: Corner for Wolves after Jarvis gets involved for the first time, drifting infield and running at the Baggies' back four. He tries to clip a cross to Fletcher but it's blocked and goes behind. West Brom are a little unconvincing in dealing with the corner but are helped when the referee decides Odemwingie is being fouled.
10 min: Steven Reid fancies a goal today but fires over from 25 yards. West Brom have settled into this much better than Wolves. "I too wonder about the 11am pizza delivery," says Paul Szabo. "Cold pizza for breakfast is a culinary classic--didn't they order enough last night?"
12 min: Fortune is lucky to escape a yellow card for a clumsy swipe at Edwards. He doesn't let it bother him, though, and spins at the edge of the Wolves area but his shot is poor when others were in better positions.
14 min: I should also add that along with the pizza the delivery man was carrying a large bottle of Coke. At 11am. What kind of people are these?
15 min: Dave Edwards tries to burst into the area and appeals for a penalty but there's nothing doing. It was never a penalty. Mick McCarthy then makes a shout for another penalty as Ebanks-Blake is nudged by McAuley as he attempted to get on the end of a long, raking pass.
18 min: It's another big save from Wayne Hennessey as Odemwingie bursts into the area after some a smart passing move on the right. He elects to shoot when he may have tried to pick out Fortune in the centre. Hennessey beats away he strike at the near post and then watches Odenwingie hack the rebound into the crowd. "I've been thinking about the handshakes," says James Wornack. "I think Suárez missed a trick: he should have stopped in front of Evra, paused. looked him in the eye and then embraced him, kissing him enthusiastically on both cheeks."
21 min: Wolves's best hope at the moment is from a set-piece. They force two corners in quick succession and it t6akes some desperate defending from West Brom to get the ball clear. But clear it they do and Jerome Thomas goes on the attack, is upended by Edwards, but Lee Mason decides that it's not even a free kick.
22 min: Yet another save from Hennessey and this is the best of the lot. Odemwingie robbed Bassong, who is struggling, and played in Thomas and knocked it into the path of Scharner. The Austrians left-footed half-volley takes a small deflection and i heading for the roof of the net but Hennessey arced his body and pushes over the crossbar. Great stop. Wolves are all over the place.
24 min: Paul Scharner looks in a bit of bother now after he won a 50-50 challenge in the centre circle. Scharner won the challenge which launched a West Brom attack that was snuffed out by Roger Hohnson, but O'Hara caught him on the ribs and O'Hara picks up a yellow card.
27 min: "Wolves started the QPR game with a defensive 4-5-1," says Duma Langton. "The hand of Cisse and the knee of Frimpong later, and it's 4-4-2 with a bundle of attacking midfielders. Fingers crossed it works." It's not working at moment. Doyle is struggling on the right.
29 min: Free kick to Wolves right on the edge of the West Brom area after Fletcher and Ebanks-Blake combined to launch a counter-attack. Ebanks-Blake skipped inside the West Brom defender and was caught. The tee-up the free kick for O'Hara but his shot is blocked by Odenwingie who is about three inches away by the time O'Hara hits his shot.
33 min: Morrison has been excellent for West Brom so far. He's at the centre of all their moves, most of which have exploited the space on the left hand side if Wolves's defence. Wolves can't relieve the pressure at the moment.
35 min: Goal!! Wolves 0-1 WEST BROM (Odemwingie) The goal has been coming and the only surprise is that it seemed a bit soft on Hennessey's part. Odenwingie cut inside from the right flank and fired a left-footed shot through a crowd of bodies. It took two small deflections and they wrong-footed Hennessey who could only watch as the ball skipped by him and into the net.
37 min: Odemwingie once again tests Hennessey at the near post and again the Wolves keeper stays big and beats the ball away. Mick McCarthy desperately needs to shore up the left hand side of his defence which is being overrun time and time again.
40 min: Re: "Irish Boys in Birmingham" David Fallon writes: "First suggestions to the Irish living/playing in close quarters is that Ryanair are laying on seriously cheap flights to Birmingham Airport. Secondly, when us Irish move to a country to work we do our best to create mini communities (see London, New York). Finally, I reckon that they're basically a little family, with Dunne as the curmudgeonly but warm and essentially loving Dad and Hunt (purely chosen because of his long hair) as the Ma. Robbie Keane is the uncle who spoils the kids and informs them about the birds and bees. The rest are just whining kids." Wolves could do with one of those whining kid - Stephen Hunt - to stop some of these attacks on the left.
43 min: Big Mick will be eager to get his side back into the dressing room and have a few words. Don't they know there's bragging rights at stake? "Having teams coming out separately provided fans with the opportunity of greeting the opposition with a chorus of boos and to make an enquiry as to who the other team might be," says Ian Burch. "Of course if they brought this back now Chelsea fans could boo their own team at the start of the game rather than waiting for the final whistle."
45 min: Goal!!! WOLVES 1-1 West Bromwich Albion (Fletcher) Out of nowhere Wolves have an equaliser. For just about the first time in the game Fletcher and Ebanks-Blake get close enough to each other to cause problems. Ebanks-Blake nods Fletcher's pass back to his strike partner who spins and fires past Foster with his left foot from 12 yards.
Half time: Wolves 1-1 West Brom. How did that happen? Wolves have been abysmal but are level. Roy Hodgson will be frantically rubbing his face in bewilderment at how they are level.
Half time thoughts. What happens to the bragging rights if it stays level? Do they just cancel them entirely or do each set of fans get an equal number of brags? Have you ever been a victim of bragging rights? Is there some sort of helpline?
Peeeep!!:We're underway in the second half. Keith Andrews is on for Paul Scharner. Roy Hodgson is obviously keen to have some more sideways passes. "American sports don't typically have a pre-game love-in," says Paul Szabo. "Surprising that the English game, more passionate by an order of magnitude, does include the ritual. Any idea as to is origins?" Do you mean handshakes? I think it was one of Sepp's great schemes. That's how important it is.
47 min: It's a great chance for Wolves at the start of the second half. Olsson dawdled, Doyle pounced and tries to pick out Fletcher who can't quite divert the ball goalwards. This is much brighter from Wolves with Ebanks-Blake heavily involved.
50 min: Another chance for Wolves as Fletcher lets fly first-time from outside the area. It deflects off Olsson and skips past Foster's left-hand post. At the other end Odemwingie shoots when he should have crossed and it's a wasted opportunity. He doesn't like to pass, does he?
53 min: An pass from Odemwingie! And it nearly leads to a strike on goal. He skips past Ward at left back and pulls the ball back. I'm not sure if Thomas was his intended target but that's where it ends up but, under pressure from O'Hara, his shot is miles over. "Wolves' kit seems to have always been the same, immune to the fiddling about indulged in by other clubs. And it's good isn't it?" says Gary Naylor.
56 min: If one more West Brom player tries some twinkle toes dancing over the ball I'm going to end this MBM and order a pizza. First Odemwingie does a little dance on the ball, then Thomas and finally Fortune. He at least wins a corner from which Andrews flashes a header over the bar.
59 min: In the subject of bragging rights, Duma Langton writes: "Surely the losers get cold pizza thrown at them? If it's a draw, then an Irish referee has to launch the pizza slices at the melée off the end of his hurling stick." Fair enough.
60 min: Bassong is down again - he seemed to have a bit of a hamstring problem in the first half and now he's pulled up and his afternoon is over. Well it's not really over - there's still a few hours left in it, he could go to the cinema or something - but he's not going to play any more football. Christophe Berra is on.
64 min: You have to hand it to the Baggies - they love a shot from an impossible angle. It's another sweet move with Thomas and Odemwingie involved before Fortune blasts from a tight angle and Hennessey has to make a one handed save.
65 min: Goal!! Wolves 1-2 WEST BROM (Olsson) West Brom have regained the lead and it's a bizarre, bizarre goal. Wolves struggled to deal with the corner which came from Hennessey's save. After a crazy game of head tennis the ball fell to Olsson 12 yards out. He fired a left footed shot which was more or less straight at Hennessey but O'Hara got in the keeper's way and somehow the ball trickled over the line. I'm not sure who's more culpable - O'Hara or Hennessey - but it doesn't really matter. West Brom are in front and in touching distance of those all-important bragging rights.
68 min: Mick McCarthy makes a change and sends on Milijas in place of Dave Edwards in central midfield. After a bright start to the second half, Wolves have lost their grip on the game.
70 min: A great cross from Stephen Ward on the left - smashed first time low across the penalty area - but there's nobody in the centre to convert.
70 min: Great save from Ben Foster and you don't say that very often. It was a brilliant header from Fletcher and was heading straight for the top corner but Foster got across and clawed behind. From the corner Roger Johnson heads goalwards but a combination of Mulumbu and the crossbar save West Brom before Foster gathers.
72 min: West Brom go straight up the other end and Odemwingie skips past two Wolves defenders and only has Hennessey to beat. he seems to take an age which allows Wolves to get men back and when he does eventually shoot Foley is there to hack clear on the line.
75 min: Dancing Jerome Thomas comes off and Simon Cox is on. "I receive royalties for 'A New England.' Does that count as Bragging rights?" asks Matt Dony.
76 min: GOAL!! Wolves 1-3 WEST BROM (Odemwingie) It's another soft goal from Wolves' point of view but a lovely finish from Odemwingie. Once again Wolves failed to defend a corner. Ridgewell's header kept the ball alive, Olsson flicked on and Odemwingie spun and fired into the corner from close rang. Smart finish. Wolves are in big, big trouble. Maybe they should bring Steve Morgan on?
80 min: A terrible mistake from Roger Johnson who allows a big punt upfield to bounce and then can't find Hennessey with his header. Fortune nips in and pokes past the Wolves keeper but it rolls harmlessly across the face of goal. "This is now what could be described as a cup tie midfield," wrote Duma Langton of the Wolves midfield moments before West Brom's third.
83 min: Goal!!! Wolves 1-4 WEST BROM (Andrews) This is astonishing and Keith Andrews has a debut goal. Again it's a soft one from Wolves' perspective. Again it takes a deflection. Stephen Ward dallied, Morrison bundled him off the ball and pulled the ball back to the edge of the area where Andrews hit a left-footed shot first time which clipped a defender's leg and nestled in the bottom left-hand corner of Hennessey's goal.
87 min: O'Hara nearly gets Wolves a consolation with a swerving effort which nearly deceives Faster who scoops the ball away.
88 min: Goal!! Wolves 1-5 WEST BROM (Odemwingie hat-trick). It's a rout. Fortune played in my man of the match Morrison on the left. He squared across the face of goal and Odemwingie fired goalwards. Hennessey got a strong hand to the shot but couldn't prevent it crossing the line.
90 min: "Apparently crossing your fingers doesn't work. Who knew?" says Duma Langton. Odemwingie comes off and Graham Dorrans is on. The Wolves fans are getting on the back of the team and McCarthy now. They're not happy at being on the receiving end of the bragging rights.
90+1 min: We're in the first of three added minutes and it's West Brom who are pushing for a sixth. Keith Andrews brings a full-stretch save from Hennessey.
Peeep! Peeep! Peeep! The final whistle goes and it's Wolves 1-5 West Brom. Boos ring round Molineux. The scoreline is harsh but there is no question that West Brom were the better side by some distance. But for a brief spell either side of half-time Wolves were poor. The players have a lot to answer for but, as ever, it could be the manager who pays the price.
Final thoughts. If you are a West Brom fan you can go and find out what exactly bragging right are and then use them liberally on any Wolves fan you can find. At least I think that's what's meant to happen. Thanks for your emails. Aston Villa v Manchester City coming up right here. Bye!
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