Wolves 0, Stoke 0: Bill Howell's big match verdict
PITY the poor portly soul, in his jeans and replica shirt, who got down on his knees on the centre circle at half-time to propose to his girlfriend.
Not only had he shelved his Yorkshire pudding, roast beef and mash potato for this. But, also dressed in jeans and club attire, she just happened to say ‘yes’.
And he’ll have had to have either knocked up his own tea or paid for the takeaway as they scurried away.
‘A scrappy game’ is how Tony Pulis saw it. He was being immeasurably kind.
‘Hard fought’ was Mick McCarthy’s view. He got that right. ‘‘There was never going to be any clever football’’, he said. And quite rightly, Stephen Hawking is not known for his keepy-ups.
And yet if God had wanted football to be played this way then Bill Shankly, Matt Busby, even Stan Cullis, might have put some money into German embryonic research between the wars and tried to develop seven-foot giants with strong necks.
The groundsman had little need to use his mower. The grass could have been waist-high for all that it mattered.
The final whistle came as a blessed relief to another bumper crowd at Molineux and also probably the ball which had been white with blue patterns before kick-off but was nearing black and blue under a fierce pounding.
Kevin Doyle saw the funny side admitting he had enjoyed watching set-pieces for 90 minutes from the other end of the pitch.
But who can blame Stoke? As safe as houses and until the law makers say that throw-ins must be under-arm why change?
As for Wolves, the sight of McCarthy shaking hands with every one of the 22 players as they left the field said it all.
George Elokobi even got a little hug. Thomas Sorensen managed a chat to the bargain.
McCarthy had good reason to be chuffed with the point as he knows Wolves are almost there, six points clear of the bottom three.
David Jones’ memorable strike in the 1-0 victory against Tottenham may be their only goal in the last 760 minutes (12 hours and 40 minutes) of Premier League home football.
But the points are racking up.
And there was just the glimmer of more than a point when, on 89 minutes, Kevin Foley showed neat chest control on the edge of the area and hooked a left-foot volley which sailed barely a foot wide of the far post with Sorensen stranded.
Ninety-four minutes had elapsed when Nenad Milijas hit a 30-yard free-kick straight at Sorensen, who spilled it upwards, and slightly behind his body. Momentarily the North Bank sucked in air.
