Man United… didn’t we just play these guys?! Nevertheless, off the back of another loss against Liverpool, we’re heading back to the north west to see if our slide into the abyss is going to continue, or just like that turkey in the fridge, we’re going to hold on for one last moment in the sun before the calendars change.
Will it be Quality Street for Wolves? Will there be a few Heroes in the team? Are there going to be Celebrations at full time? Should we leave these poetic turns of phrase to Peter Drury?
TRIANGLES AND WOLVES, BEST BUDDIES!
One point! We scored one point! Good god, did you see that? Okay, maybe we conceded yet again, but for the first time in what, 30 years, we scored an equal amount of goals as the team we were facing. Which, looking at the rules of association football, gives us a point. That gives us three, exactly the same as a triangle.
Good luck and good fortune is hard to come by in a gold and black shirt, so this feels like a win, not just because we need to take whatever we can get, but because of how it was done on the pitch.
There’s still rogue elements of our team, mercenaries and circus folk, but there was a hell of a lot of fight on the pitch, both from the absolute will to win, and the fact that the boys broadly looked like they’d both kill and die for the shirt. Say what you will about the facets of the modern game, seeing one of your guys clatter the guy on the other team is absolutely delicious viewing.
Where do we go from here? Probably nowhere, but seasons can turn on one result, and this might be the moment where we make a late, late charge for Europe, or we’re awkwardly trying to talk through how United away was the game of the season. Hard to call.
The Manè Man
There were a lot of good performances on the pitch tonight, but let’s take a moment for a bit of praise for young Mateus Manè.
It can’t be easy being a young footballer today; you’ve got to sink or swim, and you’re possibly under more scrutiny than ever before, especially so when you’re making your debut on a sinking ship.
However, what can you say about him? He’s silky, he’s smart, plays well with and without the ball, and shows the kind of fight that you’d expect from a grizzled old captain. He’s taken to the team like a duck to water, and is looking very much at home rubbing shoulders with some of football’s biggest names, and Wolves.
Championship football still feels inevitable, and we should be preparing to build a team that suits him. We could lose him, we’ll probably lose him, but our priority should be to lock him within the grounds of Compton and only let him out for 90 minutes a week, until he promises to stay forever.
There’s a lot of danger in giving a young man tonnes of money and telling him he’s the chosen one, but we should give him tonnes of money and tell him he’s the chosen one.
He’s Korean, Hopefully He’s Leaving This Season
Hwang Hee Chan. Hee Chan Hwang. Unfortunately for you son, this January feels like it’s time for you to take a bow and leave via the stage door.
You can’t deny his charity, the children of Manchester will be waking up to actual, official Premier League balls tomorrow morning, largely as a result from his efforts on goal.
His loan spell was great; he felt electric, and the fact his nickname back home was “the Bull”, just added to the story. Since signing permanently, there hasn’t been much to say. He doesn’t add much to the team at best, and at worst, actively denigrates the efforts of the team. Not particularly great when goals and chances are at a premium.
There should be a lot of outward activity in January, and unfortunately, Hwang should be one of the first out of the door.
Three Points Down, 37 to Go
Looking at some of these results in isolation, they’re not actually that bad. Liverpool was a tight, tricky loss, so was Arsenal, which in a usual season, you wouldn’t be so cut up about.
However, as Jools Holland boogie woogies his way into 2026, we’re still a long, long way off of safety. We’re still nine points or three wins off of Burnley, and five wins away from Forest. There’s still half a season left to be played, but the first half has hardly done much to excite the senses.
If we can continue with the same fight and spirit we showed today, there might, just might, still be a chance for us. But the ecstasy of battling United to a score draw in their back garden soon wears off, only to leave you realising that we are still completely cut adrift.
The transfer window will be painful, and the rest of the season will be painful. There may be more respite on the horizon in the form of results like this, but unfortunately, beatings will continue until morale improves, morale will remain at rock bottom until beatings stop.
To you and yours, from everyone at Talking Wolves, we wish you a peaceful and prosperous new year, in everything bar football.
