Wooh hoo!
I’m getting that feeling again. That feeling I know I shouldn’t get too attached to or let take over my consciousness totally. I think of my favourite film, The Shawshank Redemption when I get this feeling… ‘Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.’
Don’t I know it. I can’t help it, though. It’s impossible to help it, surely, right? Is there any fan of the Whites not feeling this way? And no, I’m not being rhetorical. Of course, I’m meant to feel this way. If it was a contract I’d signed or a pinky-swear I’d made, this feeling would be the prominent point of agreement. This is the feeling football revolves around and the future of the competitive game depends upon. This is the emotion that sells season tickets and clunk-clicks the turnstiles. I don’t have a crystal ball or the Gray’s Almanac to check future results, but if I did I wouldn’t use them because of this feeling (well, maybe for the odd flutter). I’m justifying it to myself to envelop hope, I know, but if there’s a manoeuvre to avoid it, I’d love to hear…
It’s all Bolton’s fault, anyway. They were superb against Wolves on Saturday. Alright, they took their foot off the accelerator pedal earlier than desired, but in my glass-half-full universe, I comfort myself thinking Wolves were that bad to warrant such a decision. Saturday was our day and the wannabe Wanderers of Wolverhampton knew it. The passing and movement were fluid and inventive. The defence was assured when called upon meaning the skill players swaggered around the field with the aplomb of a Premier League team elect. I’ve waited for this performance. We saw a prelude to this against Hull at the Reebok earlier in the season, but this was the Directors Cut, 90 minute version with 5 minutes of extra footage. My only grumble was we only have a +7 goal difference to show for the outing rather than the +10 or +11 the display warranted.
Which leads me to a genuine dilemma to which I have no answer…David Ngog. This is a player that not only divides opinion in the terraces but splits my personal opinion down the middle. The American sports scouting system works on evaluating intangibles. They look at how fast they can run, how high they can jump or how far, they check on how many reps they can bench-press. They even take into account what grades they get at school, something our game would surely benefit from. I don’t know how well Ngog did in double-maths but if he was being graded in America he would be a first-round draft prospect. His skill set and intangibles are as good as you can wish for, especially at this level and not alien from the Premier League elite.
So why hasn’t he hit the heights? Again, I’m not being rhetorical, I genuinely don’t know. Unfortunately, Wanderers are in no position, financial or league, to harbour too many luxury players, so when Ngog was bought, it was hoped by Coyle that the player would flip the norm of his career to-date and blossom into that prolific marksman so desperately desired. One relegation and two seasons later, Ngog hasn’t tallied the goals hoped. If he was bought as the centre-forward or ‘playing off the main striker’ role his situation would be more forgiving. However, Mr Prolific isn’t lined up in front of him on Wanderers’ team-sheet which has lead many fans to campaign the sale of Ngog in the summer. Here I would interject. Please, here me out your honour.
Before I would advocate the sale of the aforementioned Ngog, I would draw the courts attention to the age of the attacker. David Ngog only turned 24 on 1st April. Now, I know only last year Quentin was saying, ‘he’s only 23’, but I’m convinced the best of this Frenchman is yet to come. My biggest fear with Ngog isn’t keeping him, it’s letting him go only to watch his footballing brain mature and connect with his feet. If we can afford to keep David Ngog we should. I would like to see what he can produce after a summer with Freedman and if we are still in the Championship, what he would do to the opposition. If after another 12 months Ngog’s production remains underwhelming, it would be hard to defend the Frenchman’s corner for a fourth campaign. This is only an hypothesis so feel free to present evidence against for the prosecution in the comments section.
As we head towards the play-offs I ask you fellow Wanderers to accompany me. Not only in support but if it ends in disappointment and hope delivers another rabbit punch, you will be the ones to lift me to my feet and tell me, don’t worry, there’s always next year… ‘Hope’ in other words… Cheers.