HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Tuesday evening's game by delving into their forums.

"Ask anyone in August if after 15 games you would take 27 points? Would you take it? Yes, we all would", "Overall the season is going better than we could expect", "We are contenders this year but we need to keep winning games which we dominate", "We're flying, but there's still room for improvement."

"We were lucky to win at Leeds after a shocking first half", "These are the kind of victories we need if we are to be in the mix come May", "Back to back wins against good Championship sides", "Our tactics were spot on away from home. We left something in the tank for the second half."

Wolves come into Tuesday's game in fourth place in the table, having lost just once in their last 13 games. Wins at home to Middlesbrough (2-0) and at Leeds (2-1) before their goalless derby draw at home to Birmingham on Saturday have been more representative of their recent good form.

"We were pretty mediocre today. It was one to forget." Saturday's draw with the Blues was only the second time they have failed to find the net this season. "Birmingham were there for the taking, but our lack of width, tempo and pace played into their hands. We were our own worst enemies."

Managing Expectations

Expectations have been an issue. Some fans still see Wolves' natural place as being an established top flight team. "What an honour and privilege it is to simply be up near the top of the second tier of English football. How lucky we are", "Look at Southampton. We are bigger and richer than them."

"Can we stop all this ‘newly promoted, so mid-table would be fine' nonsense? We shouldn't have been in League One. We were an anomaly with our players and finances. We are not a ‘normal' promoted side so we should be aiming as a minimum for the play-offs in this unpredictable league."

Others are relieved to have a competitive team performing so well having just been promoted and after having endured two straight relegations in the last three completed seasons. "I despair at some of our fans. We're near the top of the league with a cut-price team and some are still moaning."

"I'm really hacked off with fellow Wolves ‘fans' today with their unrealistic and basically childish ‘we should win every game' views, which are frankly pathetic", "Get behind the team. I despair, I really do", "Shall we bring back our good friend Dean Saunders instead?"

Kenny Jackett

"Whisper it quietly, but Kenny Jackett is building something special here. There is fantastic belief amongst this group of players", "We were in free-fall and the club was a shambles. In 16 months, he has made us competitive at a snip of what other teams cost. Our starting XI at Leeds cost £1.5 million."

"I love how Kenny is developing the young players. At times we have shown what a fantastic footballing side we can be", "Thanks for taking the best technical footballing team I have seen here to the top of the Championship. You turned a club in meltdown into Premier League contenders."

Supporters trust Jackett's "calm logic and ability to restore team spirit", "Kenny's got a great record of making the big decisions since he has been here. I can't think of many he has got wrong in terms of team and player selections. When he has had to make a big call, it has tended to work well."

Some fans do have reservations about his cautiousness. "I wonder if Kenny is afraid to go for the jugular. We played a team who had been on the end of an 8-0 thrashing and he had a negligible amount of pace in our starting XI to sweep them off their feet."

Central Defence

"We started the season brilliantly at the back. We then had a severe wobble, but Kenny has made changes and we have reverted back to winning ways", "Up until the Reading game we had conceded three goals in eight games and then we proceeded to concede 11 in the next four."

"We are pretty untroubled." Wolves fans are happy with a defence which is settled and which has conceded just one goal in their last three outings after they stumbled in those September and October games. They do want defence to play a positive role in improving the tempo of the team.

"Our lovely passing and possession play up to the halfway line and back was a joy to watch against Birmingham", "There is too much passing around at the back. It reminds me of watching England", "The passing around had no purpose. It was languid and predictable, almost Solbakken-esque."

Carl Ikeme

"Another solid game by Carl", "His handling is safe", "He has had little to do, but he was alert and made the save of the match off a Birmingham corner." The 28-year-old youth product has been well protected by his back four in recent games. "Apart from his save, he had little else to do."

"I don't know if anyone else noticed it, but Carl seemed to take a knock in the warm-up. He looked very awkward kicking today [against Birmingham]. He didn't look comfortable", "His distribution was iffy", "I'm nit-picking, but his kicking could have been better against Leeds."

"Danny Batth is solid and composed in pretty much every game", "Heading and clearing is the name of his game. He's not the best technically, but every team needs a no-nonsense centre-back and Batth is definitely that", "He keeps it simple and rarely gives the ball away."

There was some criticism of the 24-year-old youth product for his part in Leeds' opening goal last Saturday week. "I felt Danny was too square for the goal and the shot went through his legs", "He had a decent game, but doesn't look as assured as he did early on in the season."

Former Ipswich loan signing Richard Stearman has featured only as a late substitute in recent games and the 27-year-old ex-Leicester man has attracted very little recent comment.

Ethan Ebanks-Landell

"Ethan Ebanks-Landell is very solid. He is strong and is positioning is excellent on the whole", "The Birmingham game was the best I have seen him play in a Wolves shirt. He's strong in the air, has great pace and awareness and made one unbelievable tackle in the second half."

Supporters are quick to praise the 21-year-old youth product for his tackling skills. "Ebanks-Landell struggled against Steve Morison at Leeds, but stood up to be counted during their late onslaught and made some important challenges", "He made some really telling challenges in the second half."

His passing has been criticised. "Ethan's distribution is woeful at times, which gets shown up more when the onus is on us", "His passing needs work but he's starting to look like a Championship defender", "He has a tendency to hit the ball hard to team-mates, making it difficult to control."

Full-Backs

"Tommy Rowe is much stronger going forward. He is shocking defensively and should be switched", "Positionally he's not the best, but he's a midfielder and not a defender", "He gets caught out of position against wide players. A better team than Birmingham would have punished this."

The 25-year-old former Peterborough man has played at left-back in recent games. "Leeds targeted Rowe and it cost us a goal. He is far better when we are on top and has great footwork to find spaces in the opposition area", "His natural instinct is to drift infield and he needs to overlap more."

"I still can't see why Rowe has replaced the reliable Scott Golbourne." The 26-year-old ex-Barnsley left-back was dropped in Wolves' recent poor defensive run. "Golbourne is our best left-back. He's a natural passer. He may not be the tallest but he's very capable both in defence and attack."

Matt Doherty

"Matt Doherty is the best young defender we have had since Joleon Lescott. He gets up and down the line well. He knows what to do when he gets into a good position as his pull-back for the Leeds goal proved", "It was fantastic. He's defensively solid, making numerous tackles and headers."

"Doherty rarely lets a winger get the better of him." The 22-year-old Irish right-back joined four years ago from Bohemians. He has been praised for his deliveries, including "one delicious cross" on Saturday. "He's much better in attack but didn't offer as much going forward as he usually does."

Central Midfield

"We need more creativity from the central areas", "I am concerned about our lack of pace and direction. It's okay passing around non-stop but there is no penetration and urgency", "The real problem is our lack of movement off the ball and too much passing for its own sake."

Supporters are concerned about their midfield's lack of tempo and their inability to take the game to opponents. Several fans however think that this is a wider problem, and is as much down to a lack of pace and width in the side as well as a lack of movement from strikers.

"We are set up way too deep. They need to be 10 yards further forward, not standing on the centre-backs' feet all the time", "The midfielders looked for the killer ball, but there was nothing in front of them when they played it", "The simple ball is as effective as the Hollywood ball."

"We are crying out for a central midfielder to carry the ball forwards at times and pull the opposition out of position", "We need someone who can run with the ball at pace in central areas", "The central midfielders don't move quickly with or without the ball."

"Kevin McDonald never stops look for or wanting the ball." The 25-year-old ex-Sheffield United man "is nothing like the player that was dominating games last season and controlling play", "He sits too deep, passing for the sake of it and he was largely responsible for our slow tempo on Saturday."

McDonald had a poor game on Saturday. "A better team would have punished his sloppiness", "He was caught in possession a number of times. He gave the ball away in dangerous areas far too often", "His shooting was wayward and three sloppy pieces of play nearly cost us."

"I would hope that Lee Evans would get forward more, beat a man and influence a game. He didn't against Birmingham and his progress will stall until he does." The 20-year-old ex-Newport man "has a touch of the Gerrards, playing too many long balls that are unlikely to come off. He's still learning".

"Evans fought well in the middle of the park against Leeds, chasing and harassing the opposition. He didn't always choose the best option but that will come with time", "He needs to learn when to manage a game, when to change tempo and when to play either a simple or a long cross-field ball."

One regular criticism made is that they are too similar. "McDonald and Evans don't work together as a unit. Too often they look for long cross-field Hollywood balls", "They fail to push play forward", "Neither are particularly dynamic and they often play too close to each other."

David Edwards

"Edwards is one of our most important players. His energy and off the ball running was vital to us today [on Saturday]", "He is excellent at getting in behind teams who sit back. He's our best number 10 option until we sign someone better", "He offers a real threat and plenty of running."

The 28-year-old former Luton attacking midfielder is regularly praised for his movement. "Edwards doesn't just run a lot - he's clever with it", "He's the key player for us in the system we play. He reads the game well, gets into space, pulls defenders out of position and makes himself a nuisance."

He was dropped for striker Leon Clarke after an anonymous performance at Leeds. "Leeds pushed us back and Edwards couldn't cover the huge space between the midfield and Dicko up front", "He ended up dropping too deep to get involved", "I didn't remember he was playing at times."

Wide Midfield

"We are too one-paced with Henry and Jacobs out wide against Birmingham", "It didn't help that they didn't keep their width and force the Blues to be stretched", "With Henry and Jacobs looking to cut in-field, our lack of width counted regularly against us."

Many supporters believe that playing with faster out-and-out wingers on the flanks would offer a far greater threat than that which Wolves offered against Birmingham. "We desperately lack pace and power without Sako. If he's not playing Van La Parra has to."

"Michael Jacobs isn't a winger", "He tried hard but looked a little lightweight in a rough and tough derby." The 22-year-old ex-Derby man has covered on the left-wing. "He's more effective playing as a number 10", "He lacks the pace, power and directness and doesn't do enough on the ball out wide."

"When Jacobs did stand up the full-back at Leeds he usually lost the ball", "He looked off the pace. He spent too much time drifting inside, losing our width", "He rarely beat his full-back and when he did there was a poor delivery", "He got on the ball when he could but usually ran into trouble."

"I still think Kenny Jackett is making a mistake in leaving out Rajiv Van La Parra, especially today (against Birmingham) as he had no pace. Even when playing badly, he can stretch teams", "I was disappointed he didn't get a run-out after a good cameo at Leeds last week."

The 23-year-old Dutch right-winger is a summer signing from Heerenveen. "VLP has precious pace and no mean skill", "I thought he looked one hell of a player from the start of the season", "He works well with Doherty on the right and gave the Leeds full-back Warnock a torrid last 15 minutes."

James Henry

"James Henry is at his most effective when he does the simple things, bringing the ball down, shifting and crossing it. It does not suit him when he tries to come inside and get involved", "He put in some absolutely fantastic crosses. How we didn't capitalise on them I'll never know."

The 25-year-old former Millwall right-winger is lauded for the quality of his crosses. "He's a threat, but a lot of his good crosses weren't met", "He's the best forward-thinking player in the team", "I wish he had more pace", "He can drift out of games and didn't influence Saturday's game enough."

Bakary Sako

"I'm a bit worried that we are becoming a one-man team", "Sako is so important to our attacking it's unreal", "He is our big threat and makes things happen, a constant menace and a cut above", "Our continued reliance on him for pace, tempo and creativity is frightening."

The 26-year-old Mali international and ex-St Etienne left-winger "is our most important player by an absolute mile", "His pace and power petrified Birmingham", "They put three players on him at one stage and he still beat them", "When he's missing we really lack class and flair out wide."

Sako only made a substitute appearance on Saturday as he has been carrying a groin injury, but his appearance transformed the game. "He was injured against Middlesbrough and hadn't trained for two weeks", "We looked bereft of anything without him and he made us look livelier."

"What a difference he made. He beat his full-back for fun and fired some cracking balls across the box." Wolves are worried that he may leave when his contract finished this summer and he may be away in January with striker Nouha Dicko if they represent Mali in the African Cup of Nations.

Strikers

"The big dilemma now is who starts up front at Ipswich if Dicko is still out. None of our other strikers look much cop at the moment", "We are suffering for our lack of a good striker", "We were the better side but just could not find that goal", "We knew this would happen if Dicko got injured."

Liam McAlinden started against the Blues on Saturday, the 21-year-old youth product having been recalled from a loan spell at Fleetwood. "We were never going to use him well by lumping the ball to him against the big Birmingham centre-backs", "He worked his socks off but was easily handled."

"Did we watch Yannick Sagbo before he signed? He is awful", "The sooner we can send him back to Hull, the better", "I don't think he's fit and is clearly very rusty", "Why we signed him, God only knows", "I'm not sure what he offers us, being brutally honest", "Anyone but Sagbo."

The 26-year-old is on an emergency loan from the Tigers, and does have a small number of supporters amid the tidal waves of criticism. "He finds space and movement to receive the ball to feet", "He gets into the box and puts himself about, and can link play well."

Leon Clarke

"Clarke is not a number 10. He's a striker - a poor one - but a striker." The 29-year-old ex-Coventry frontman played in behind McAlinden on Saturday. "He was too slow, has no real change of pace, gives the ball away and takes the wrong options."

"Clarke is just the same as he was before he left and we need more from him", "He looks slow and languid", "He spend all his time lurking on defenders' shoulders rather than working for the ball and making things happen. I get the impression that he's happy just to pounce on mistakes."

"Quite simply Clarke didn't have a clue what or where he was supposed to be, and he only looked comfortable when moved properly up front." It's worth noting that his goal against Leeds was well received. "I hope it does his confidence the world of good. You could see what it meant to him."

Nouha Dicko

There is wide agreement that Wolves would have beaten Birmingham if Nouha Dicko had not been absent with a hamstring problem. He and Bakary Sako are seen as the two players who can threaten Championship defences. "Without any doubt we lacked power and pace against Birmingham."

"For the love of God, let Dicko be available. Without him we have no outlet." The 22-year-old former Strasbourg striker is a doubt for Tuesday's game and will be deeply missed if unavailable. "The running and strength of Dicko masks our other problems and they are exposed without him."

"The job he does closing down defenders is so good it's unreal", "He's always looking for the ball and makes very good runs", "Without the usual movement of Dicko against Birmingham, the midfielders had nobody to pass to", "We have nobody who can come in and replace Dicko and that's my worry."

Wolves Fans' Views on ITFC and the Game

"Two of our best managers over the last 30 years are head to head on Tuesday", "Mick will have his boys fired up for Tuesday. If we turn up like we did on Saturday, we'll be done for", "This will be a very difficult game. A Mick McCarthy team will never be a walkover."

Most fans are expecting a difficult game. "This is going to be a real test", "I'd definitely take a point", "I can't see us winning. Old Mick would have been doing his homework on us from day one", "He has turned Ipswich round from relegation certainties to credible play-off contenders in two seasons."

"This will be a tough game. I hope we get into our rhythm quickly because if there was any type of team we struggled against under Mick it was one who kept the ball and moved it quickly. I'd imagine Ipswich will play in a similar style to how we played under him."

There was one interesting nugget: "My work colleagues who follow Ipswich say that fans are very divided over Mick. I think that he's a good fit for them though. They have very low expectations of any success so are happy to have such a good and experienced manager at the helm."

There was also some reminiscing as outlined below. I expect a welter of additional comment ahead of the game, given the number of on-field connections between the two clubs, and will update the forum on Tuesday afternoon if there is sufficient interesting feedback.

"I loved going to Portman Road when I lived in Norfolk although the results weren't always great. I always hated James Scowcroft who always seemed to score against us. I do have a memory of possibly my last visit when we won and Lee Naylor hit a fantastic long range shot."

Websites

There are two informative websites. Molineux Mix is full of well-informed comment on the squad, and Wolves Forum also has some good discussions.

Photo: Action Images

trncbluearmy added 11:13 - Nov 3 Low expectations were do they get this drivel from? Expecting Town to win this one,think we have far to much up front for them. Watford is the tricky one. COYB
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carsey added 11:39 - Nov 3 HarryFromBath - I don't know how you do it with these articles. I have tried scanning other club sites and forums and can rarely find anything sensible. Seems some Wolves fans have delusions of grandeur regarding where the club belongs. Having said that I do think the next 4 games starting on Tuesday will be a real test for Ipswich Town FC and will show exactly how good we are and whether we can be real contenders for promotion come the end of the season. I just hope we attack the opposition and if we get beaten we go down fighting. I'm not sure I could stand anymore "snatching a draw from the jaws of victory".

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SamWhiteUK added 12:09 - Nov 3 They think 1.5m is a cheap starting 11? Pah. MM would like a word.
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theblueginger added 12:51 - Nov 3 They comment on the team that started the other day costing 1.5 Million. I have three points to make regarding this: 1) That doesn't include the 3 Million Sako cost. 2)They have people such as Roger Johnson and Kevin Foley wasting away and costing as much in wages as half our team. 3) thats STILL nearly 1.5 Million more than our squad! Puts MM's job into perspective. Im hoping Sako is not fit enough to start, or at least that Parr is at RB. Ive always liked James Henry as well, somebody with his crossing would be perfect for Murphy and Sammon. 2-1 Town.

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Ipswich_Loyal added 14:12 - Nov 3 No expecations? Patronising b@stards! I really want us to get the 3 points tomorrow night, for MM and TC more than anyone. COYB.
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Philip added 14:30 - Nov 3 Bigger and richer than Southampton?
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bennyitfc added 13:44 - Nov 4 I have a suspicion we won't be missing as many as MM is saying
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tractordownsouth added 20:48 - Nov 4 ONLY £1.5m? Ours the other week cost 10k, so ours is a 'snip' in comparison to their 'snip'! Anyway, Sako cost £2.6m alone?
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