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When players go off to play for their country there is always a worry that something bad will happen and of alll the players Wolves had in action for their country this week, the one they could least afford to get injured was Kevin Doyle. The medial ligament injury he picked up early in Ireland’s game against Macedonia will mean he will miss most of the rest of the season and probably all of it.
So step forward Sylvan Ebanks Blake and Stephen Fletcher to take the starring role in securing Wolves place in next season’s Premier League. It’s at times like this that the strength of the squad becomes most important and Wolves do have two strikers there that are well capable at this level. But Doyle is so important to the style and formation of the Wolves team that it will be a dilemna that will fill the thoughts of McCarthy and Connor as they prepare for the long trip to Newcastle on Saturday. Blake and Fletcher are as good if not better at finishing than Doyle but their all round game is not as good and they are less adept at the lone striker role. So it will require not just a change in personnel but some change in style also to make things work.
Ebanks Blake has done well this season when called on and has been unlucky to get only 9 league starts, although he has also made 16 sub appearances. He has netted 6 times and after a poor first season in the top flight in 2009/10 he has looked much more the part this season and looked capable of getting amongst the goals. His work rate has improved as has his movement and control, but there is still a question mark as to whether he could cut the mustard if he was pitched in as a lone striker.
Fletcher was Wolves main signing of last summer and made a decent start to his Wolves career. But his season was disrupted by injury early on and he has never established himself in the team since and with 8 starts and 13 sub appearances he has netted 5 times so his record is similar to SEB. He did play some games as a lone striker for Burnley last season but his movement off the ball has not looked good this season and although his touch and aerial ability is better he has not impressed as much as SEB over the season. His performances have rarely justified the £6.5m fee paid for him last summer but that fee will look cheap if he came in and did the business over the last 8 games of the season.
For optimism most Wolves fans will reflect on the opening day of the season when, with Doyle injured, it was SEB and Fletcher that played up front and looked good in the win over Stoke. And McCarthy must decide whether to revert to that pairing at the probable expense of Milijas in midfield, or stick with the 4-5-1 formation that has been working well and hope that Doyle’s link up play is compensated by the penalty area menace of SEB. I suspect for the next game, as it is away, that is what he will do.
Just as we were starting to feel confident about staying in the division this major setback has brought back the doubts. It’s a chance for SEB and/or Fletch to become the heroes but in the short term Wolves fans will be nervously watching the likes of Hennessey, Berra, Milijas, Jarvis and Foley in action for their countries and praying they come through unscathed.
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