Perhaps it was natural to fear the worst heading into this fixture?
Like Newcastle, this one had banana skin written all over it.
Palace are not dissimilar to us or the Magpies in that they’re bloody difficult to break down.
Fortunately, we needn’t have worried.
Though not quite a masterclass in game management – Palace were unlucky to have a goal and a penalty ruled out – a far more clinical first-half display was enough to send us up to third.
The intriguing decision to hand a debut to Ait Nouri paid off handsomely, with the young Frenchman capping off a MOTM display with a sweet opener.
And with Dendoncker and Neves controlling the midfield, a second always seemed likely.
Podence is beginning to look a real star and it was a delight to see the diminutive Portuguese bag his first of the season.
Both he and Neto are offering fluid support for Jimenez, occupying pockets of space that make us far less predictable in attack.
That could explain the continued absence of Traore who, despite his obvious talent, does have a tendency to make us slightly one dimensional.
No doubt Nuno will be hard at work developing his game though, he’s far too dangerous to be a bit part player for much longer.
I still worry a little bit about our defending down the right hand side, though I’ve every confidence Semedo will only get better under Nuno and co’s guidance.
Indeed, that’s a fourth clean sheet in just seven games. If we can can keep that up and continue to be more ruthless in front of goal, who knows where this season could go.
Well, you’ve got to say Nuno picked the right team tonight, although Boly missed a sitter of a header early on that Saiss would have buried. With Nuno’s new-found squad rotation Boly may well be on the bench next Sunday. Coady absolutely superb, and what a debut by Rayan! In fact, the whole team fantastic, but got to say Traore’s knocking £10 million a match off his price tag.
I can`t see how Traore can get into the starting eleven at this stage.
Neto is not as fast as Traore, but is fast enough to give most defenders a good hiding, and his final ball and general awareness is much better. This guy, in my opinion, is rapidly developing into the real deal.
The Pod is now coming into his own, and surely deserves his place. Linking increasingly well with Raul, he also poses a real goal threat.
So for now, I think that Traore`s place should remain on the bench
Traore may be carrying an injury as had a big international break with 3 Spain appearances; I’m a big fan of Traore, and was singing his praises when many thought he was a joke, but got to agree that it’s tough to get him in the side at the moment other than as a sub; Podence seems to tire after 70 minutes, at least at the moment, so that’s probably the cue for the substitution. Got to agree on everything you say above.
I don’t see it. Just because Traore brings an insane rush of power and speed into the game doesn’t mean Podense got tired.
If Traore is injured it he should not play at all. Injuries and re-injuries come at least as often in the first few minutes of playing time. Nothing wrong with playing a veteran like Moutinho for 30 minutes- his game is mature. Traore needs to grow, not sit and watch.
As noted above, Podense is “linking increasingly well with Raul”. There is no reason to think the same wouldn’t happen with Traore. Maybe even exponentially…
True, I just meant Podence looked tired, and I couldn’t think of any other reason to take him off can you? Problem is we have our best performances playing with 3 up front and who’s going to drop Neto or Podence either side of Jiminez to fit in Traore, good as he is? When we try bringing on an extra midielder with just Traore and Jiminez up front, Traore just can’t hack it 9 times out of 10 as he has no finesse, just speeds all the way to a shot straight at the keeper or hopelessly wide. Traore is a great player but only worked for us when we sit deep and get the ball to him to belt up field with it, taking the team with him.
Solid performance and, like I said in a previous blog, more time on the training ground will come good.
Yep, we had lady luck and VAR on our side tonight, but overall, we deserved the 3 points and will kick on from here and go strength to strength.
Kudos to Ait-Nouri, Max and the Pod, all looking really good.
See, the future is bright…
The team has finally started to gel. Wolves bombards the teams with shots from every angle and distance. A pure joy to watch. Too bad Dendoncker’s shot didn’t go under the bar.
What’s not to love?
Ait-Nouri looked assured in both directions and with two galavanting wingbacks, we looked a completely different proposition.
I think it helped that Palace were so narrow but we murdered them out wide for a good half an hour and also used that space to ease some of the pressure when they did eventually get going.
It goes to show how Coady and Neves can really dictate when teams don’t press them in possession.
Semedo relished his role and looked very good. Excellent control and flashes of real class to get beyond his marker.
If there’s a criticism it’s that we didn’t punish them on the break in the second half. We should have got that killer third.
Yes, Palace had a goal ruled out (correctly) and penalty ruled out (correctly – no foul and definitely offside) but I thought they were second best for most of the evening. They maybe should have had a pen when Zaha was sent tumbling in the second half but never actually looked like creating a chance in open play or getting on the end of a cross. Patricio had nothing to save.
And if anyone dares suggest that tackle on Moutinho isn’t a red card, I well and truly give up. I don’t care how much of the ball you take or what the intention was, if you’re above the ankle at that speed it’s a straightforward decision. All these pundits saying ‘it’s a genuine tackle’ are talking out of their backsides. No other player on the pitch had to make a tackle like in 94 minutes, so why did he? Reckless and dangerous. Goodnight.
The most obvious difference between tonight’s performance and every other one this season was speed. Not the raiding wing backs, although having them on both flanks helped tremendously, but speed of passing. We really zipped the ball around in the opening 25 minutes and that is something that hasn’t happened before in 2020/21 and has clearly been worked on in training since the Newcastle game.
Finally, what a pratt Zaha is. Whingeing and back chatting all game and how dare he mess around with Ait Nouri’s hair do! Should have been sent off
Where I part company is the belief we are on a par with Newcastle and Palace. We are a lot better than that. I will wager we will finish in the top 4 next season. I watched man utd v Chelsea last week and they are no better than us. Well I have put it out there. Gladly be shot down. Wolves ay we.
It would be easy to pick out star performers after tonight`s much improved display. Neto and Podence looked really sharp providing excellent support to Raul up front, Neves found his old form, and of course the young French full back looked to be a great addition.
But for me, the most encouraging aspect of the night was the fact that the players now seemed to better understand an apply Nuno`s new style of play. The movement of the ball was far faster, more accurate and penetrating form midfield, and with genuine speed on the flanks we always looked dangerous.
Yes we still have some way to go. But we are certainly moving in the right direction. No forecasting at this stage, but let`s say that some of the supposed bigger Clubs will be starting to take serious notice of the pack
A barnstorming performance from Dendonker . His game seems to have completely changed . Fantastic display .. in fact the hole demographic of the team really does seem different. I must admit that I loved the counter attacking stuff from the last few seasons, it always reminded me of a boxing match when your fighter was on the ropes for long periods and then would spring into life with exact and devastating punches no matter who the opposition was , but this stuff now makes us look like contenders from the off . Also its not such a stressful watch for those of us who love the club and are still pinching ourselves
Can’t believe that we’ve finally got a side that could win the Premier league and after 45 years of trapsing around watching all that dross , now we can’t get in to watch em
How’s your flipping luck eh ?
Bang on there about the Donk Matt.
Two fantastic efforts on goal and a goal line save at the other end, (Rui did have it covered)
His game was spot on last night as was the whole team.
Now that was a performance! Really enjoyable, and the team looked very balanced for a change. A joy to watch, although we did ride our luck just a tad, but VAR came through for us for a change! Excellent debut for Rayan!
Tied for first place, points in the bag and hope the top six have a poor weekend. What wouldn’t I give to see the order of the top six being destroyed this season! As Nuno said, dreams are free!
For me our major problems have been Messrs Vinagre and Saiss, thanks for the efforts gents but they really have been holding us back. One obviously left for sunnier shores and after tonight’s display by our new young man the latter should not get another look in. We could have won that by about 5 goals. Below is a message to the delusional Roy who thinks it was not a red card….
Roy,
it’s simple he went in with studs up and could have snapped his ankle. Take off the blinkers and away the emotion then inject some reality and reverse the position, if it had happened to one of your players what would you be saying then? What you should be concentrating on is your own players abysmal sense of sportsmanship. The player that I most dislike in the PL your Mr Zaha should be ashamed of himself for the way he rubbed that young mans face on his PL debut for the sole reason of getting an inexperienced 19 year old to strike out and get carded. Zaha is an awful role model on so many levels and he himself knows that but will never admit it and just cry like a baby that he is always the victim, pathetic!
Saha hurt my eyebrows. Raised in admiration of his skill then furrowed in disappointment when he ultimately goes down. His skills are outweighed by his appalling attitude. He is like a two year old that has had it all his own way at home and can’t accept / understand when he is found out.
Absolutely proud of Rayan facing up to him and keeping his cool.
That was as good as we’ve played for a while, and nice to see a strong first half performance for a chance. Coady was faultless, solid in the little defensive work he had to do, and was pinpoint with those trademark diagonals to Semedo, who had his best game so far. Neves was superb, and Ait-Nouri looks a star.
The one player who probably won’t get the headlines is Dendoncker, who I thought was excellent. We just look so much better as a team when he plays. His energy in getting up and down the field is unreal, and deserved to cap off a great display with a goal or two.
A sidenote on Zaha. He is undoubtedly a quality player and was perhaps unfortunate not to get a pen in the second, but he does seem to think every single tackle made on him is a foul. Can’t help but contrast his mentality with that of Jota, who was kicked and hacked week in, week out here in the Championship, yet never once complained and just got on with his job. That is why one of those players is 27 and still, with the greatest respect, playing for Crystal Palace, whereas the other is 23 and starring for the reigning Premier League champions.
A great team performance which gave a glimpse of what is possible from these players as we move through the season.
We suddenly look good in the wingback department with our young French dude keeping our experienced Brazilian out and semedo growing into his role , Johnny can play either side too when he gets back .
I would pay good money this season to see the self titled big six struggle to finish in , well, the top six, with all the super league closed shop bullshit going on it would be funny to see them struggling to get their fat faces in the champions league trough .
Anyone cynical enough to think some suits will try to get the league stopped if their teams don’t start winning every week again soon? It will be because of covid of course!!
A full week training ahead and looking like we fancy playing anyone and giving them a game again.
Come on you wolves
That could have been a Clive with bit more luck.
A bit treacle – like it may be at present, but the liquid football is coming back.
Loved the way Neto and Podence switched sides, drifted back and forth, and generally gave the Palace defenders a nightmare evening.
Our little French find is yet another star in the making, and I thought Kilman did an immense job of being totally anonymous, by doing his job to perfection, if that makes sense.
The diagonal balls from Ruben and Connor especially were virtually 100% on the money and gave their defense mega headaches.
And to think that once upon a time we complained about not buying Scott Dann when we got Roger Johnson!!
By far our best all round performance of the season, and although Jimmy didn’t score, he did everything else perfectly.
Well done lads, top of the league!
( scousers don’t count, except Coady!)
So so relieved to see this consummate performance
Liquid footy
Best this year
Yep ..CP .. I know
But the brilliance of Nuno’ s strategy is that no one can defend it .. so who now to fear ?
All we need is shots on goal and
Voila!
OOD CL
Feeling my top 6 bet looking good
PS welcome young man
Nice feeling to get a win and see a much better performance.
We definitely got VAR on our side but I don’t think you could dispute the decisions made.
Agree with all the points made just two extras. Thought one main difference was crosses were going over with regularity and we got players in the box.
The other is how quickly and naturally we fall back into our groove of containment and wanting to always hit teams on the break. At times it’s dangerous as witnessed by Palace’s two penalty decisions, but we are so used to playing it, it’s hard to shake.
Hopefully Kidman’s form is permanent and he stays in the side, a big plus that and the wing backs actually played like wing backs. I’m sure other teams will press Coady & Neves, but we have other threats in Podence & Neto.
Dendoncker now an important player for us, I’ve always thought he was, but he’s looking very strong at the moment, and his stamina in his box to box work is enviable and key.
Happy with that.
Nuno is unbelievable. His decision to play our French loanee and drop Saiss was spot on. He knows what he is doing and I am happy with that.
Probably the only time I will say this, this season, the Ref and VAR were excellent and justly punished Palace’s unsporting and unprofessional play. Nuno would never recruit a player with Zaha’s attitude- a flawed genius who should be ashamed of his blatant attempt to get Rayan carded. Brilliant alround from us, Ruben and Conor exploited the gaps and our best display of the season. Nunos strategy to replace/ improve upon Doc and Diogo justified. Leo showing what a versatile player he is. Leicester will present a different challenge- we owe them a stuffing, the four points unfairly taken from us last season cost us top 4 status.
I do agree with you but, to be fair, Palace weren’t unsporting and unprofessional. It was pretty much just Zaha. The red card? it didn’t look intentional but he was rightly sent off for dangerous play.
Things are looking good. The team had balance and are improving one step at a time. We’ve just about finished our preseason prep now and I see no reason why we cannot flourish.
Maybe the most significant observation is that VAR appears to have joined the Jorge Mendes agency, after showing no interest in joining Wolves for last 2 years, it may be that they have finally arrived too!!!
A much improved performance Ait looks like he’s going to be a player but if I was going to pick a MOTM I’d struggle to choose between Coady and the Donk.
All the refereeing/VAR decisions which went our way (for once) were spot on. I can’t even see that the penalty against Boly would have been given had it needed to be scrutinised more closely.
Against popular opinion I disagree with the sending off. When a midfielder can’t challenge for a ball the game is gone! As for Thomas’s point about studs over ankle height, until the game is played with tennis balls that’s going to be inevitable.
Overall our best performance of the season but let’s not get carried away just yet – just like we shouldn’t when we lose the odd one. And at least I’m begrudging less the £15 that BT fleeced me for.
I’m sort of with you on the sending off Prawny.
A few seasons ago, that would not have been a red card. There certainly wasn’t any intent in my opinion and he got the ball before he got Moutinho.
But the more you see it in slow motion, the worse it looks and the law now means that intent or not, it’s a red.
And Jao could have been badly injured by the resulting follow through, so I suppose he had to go.
The death of Nobby Stiles yesterday just brings into focus how football has changed.
Football was full of hard men who would think nothing of kicking a ‘tricky winger’ into the stands rather than watch him skate past them.
Back in the day, a tackle like that committed by the Palace captain probably would not even have been a foul.
It was indeed a sad day for football yesterday Doog. Another of our dwindling number of World Cup heroes leaves us.
I’m not advocating a return to the Tommy Smith / Norman Hunter era. I just think we’ve got a bit pedantic in one or two areas. Not being able to protect the family Jewell’s in a wall is one – just in case of handball and secondly not being able to make a tackle because when run at 10% slow mo it looks like it was planned an hour before kickoff.
Surely it should be viewed in real time and unless it is particularly reckless, if there isn’t any intent and the player gets the ball, it should be seen as a legal challenge.
It’s the nature of sport that injuries happen and no way am I defending the indefensible but for the good of the game some balance is needed.
More than happy with what I saw last night. An absolute upgrade on the slow performance against Newcastle.
That is the quickest we have moved the ball around all season. What a difference, nobody slowing down to look for the instruction book just play the ball and get on with it.
Training must have been fun at Compton this week somebody obviously put some hard work into producing that performance.
Welcome to our little Frenchman, got a feeling he could be a real star in a few years time.
Var in our favour for a change what’s not to like.
To put the final gloss on my evening I even predicted the correct score for the first time this season.
Onwards and Upwards.
Ait-Nouri’s stunning debut was right up there with the young Wayne Rooney’s for Everton against Arsenal. Rayan took to the field like a duck to water. Kudos to Nuno for inspired tinkering. Saiss, for all his qualities, was an accident waiting to happen at times, like a red card or a penalty…
A magnificent display by Coady again, spraying long diagonal pin-point passes galore. Back in the day the late, great, Johnny Haynes would practice at Craven Cottage. He would stand on the centre circle and kick balls at the corner flags, hitting each one in turn. I bet our Conor could do that!
Palace gave us a proper match, which I thought they would do, unlike the bus-parking teams. I can see how they beat Man U at Old Trafford recently. That said, my admiration for Zaha is rapidly disappearing due his dark arts tactics and petulance. He tried to get our young debutant riled up and sent off. Disgraceful.
Finally last season’s farcical (VARcical) run of bad luck and rank dodgy decisions is coming to an end. Every decision righly went our way including the almost-penalty on Zaha. I think any VAR official in the land is adverse to awarding penalties on Zaha. You reap what you sow, Zaha.
With Leicester coming up I think any fears that we don’t have a ruthless streak have been answered. We just need to convert more shots to goals.
I’m seriously worried about what to do with our most valuable asset Traore. Without him, the team bas balance now. The whole football world seems to think he is our best player. If that’s the case, why are we not playing our best player more? I’ve said it before but I think Nuno may be protecting him from injury, so that we can get £70mil for him in January. £70mil would go a long way for a goal scoring midfielder . It would also allow us to book a whopping profit on the £18mil we paid for Traore, and that profit would make us more FFP proof.
It’s a long season and we will need Traore and others. As we found out when we were on our knees in August, eleven first teamers just aren’t enough. Our bench all need to be as good as the players on the pitch and not just there to make up the numbers.
Even the notion that we might “cash in” on Adama because he’s had a couple of subs appearances is frankly ridiculous.
I hope you’re right about Traore. But we have the luxury of a bigger squad now. Nuno is not afraid of taking controversial decisions to evolve the squad. If someone had said at the end of last season that we would sell Jota and Doc, you might have thought that notion was frankly ridiculous…
Bang on mate. I said when Doherty left and when what’s his name
… oh yeah Jota left that they will be replaced by better. And imo they have. If Nuno is having a struggle to fit Traore in the side and decides to move him on then I am happy with that. He will be replaced by better.
It was only about four days ago he was being offered a new contract!
A new contract means we are in a very strong bargaining position if offers come in for Traore. The contract probably includes a release clause, and I’d
love to know what that is I’d personally prefer to keep Traore as he is so awesome, but I’d like him to be awesome more often. The only way is playing time on the pitch.
Over the past ten years Liverpool sold some great players in order to grow the club in both football and financial terms. Nothing that we can’t copy.
Being on a long contract means Wolves can ask a bigger price but with a contract running down, the price would be lower. However this often means the player can demand higher wages from his new club. So, if Traore had doubts about his future at Wolves, why would he sign a new contract?
” The only way is playing time on the pitch.”
Alongside another superstar like Podense.
In the preview to this game I was presumptuous enough to try to suggest a way to shoehorn Adama into the starting eleven. My great idea was to take Donk out and play Adama instead. Fortunately in the unlikely circumstance of Nuno reading my suggestion he took no notice, except maybe to have a laugh.
I did say Nuno knows best and so it proved. Haven’t seen the game as yet but from the radio commentary, and reports on this Blog and in the media Donk was a candidate for MOTM.
So I’ll retire from making selection suggestions and stick to watching and cheering the team on.
Can you tell Tim too.
How much better we look with a couple of quality wing-backs. Semedo is now settling into his role and Ait-Nouri was a revelation; totally unruffled even when Zaha tried to provoke him into a reaction. Composed on the ball, eager to get forward and consistently providing an outlet on the left, he looks like a top quality addition already and he’s had barely any time on the training ground.
Tactically Nuno got it spot on. Van Aanholt is renowned for his attacking prowess, but also for his defensive deficiencies and what was the source of our two goals ? – the space in behind him. Credit to Neto for picking out Podence as being better positioned than Raul for the second goal. After two outstanding performances I barely noticed Kilman which, as we didn’t concede, suggests he must be doing something right.
All in all an excellent all round team performance – here’s looking forward to many more.
I was always told that the less you notice the centre back the better he is playing. This seems to be the case with Kilman who was also tasked with covering for the superb young galloping Frenchman. Special praise also for Dendonker for a fabulous box to box performance. Often criticised he is now central to the team.
Outstanding performance. Totally different team turned up, amazing what a difference time on the training ground makes.
2 WBs made a massive difference, solid back 3 & midfield & attacking from all positions. Donk was amazing, Semedo looks more settled & as for Ait Nouri, wow, he looks like a real find, full credit to the lad.
Finally that tackle was a red any day of the week, studs up – could have easily broken Moutinhos ankle. These so-called pundits can say fair challenge but clearly VAR & the ref thought otherwise, quite correctly. As for Zaha the least said the better.
Great team effort.
I’m guessing Joao will miss at least a couple days of practice. He was limping while on the pitch after that tackle.
I honestly thought he might be out for the season after watching the slo-mo replay.
I feared the worst, was relieved when he got back up.
RIP, the greatest James Bond in the history of 007, Sean Connery, all round wonderful man and funny actor.
That really takes the shine off my day after a great result, really loved watching that man act. 🙁
Nuno is an Avid reader of this great blog of our’s, well so it seems anyway.
Some of our requests from the last 6 blog postings:-
Scoring in the first half, Check.
Getting in and around the box more. Check.
More shots on goal all areas. Check.
Podence shooting from inside the box. Check.
Dendonker to play as half the midfield. Check.
Better control of the ball and retention. Check.
Slicker faster passing by everyone. Check.
A credible option to Vinagre. Check.
A fair rub of VAR decisions. Check.
Playing a full 90 minutes of games. Check.
Top four position. Check.
If you want to relieve it all and make sure you aren’t dreaming, Check the Wolves website 12 mins + highlights, no BBC or Sky bias there, just loads of chances and all round good footy. Well worth a watch.
The last two weekends have gone our way by way of results, let’s hope it continues this week.
Oh yes,
Hesgoal was outstanding last night, two fingers up to the greedy Premier league bosses.
You missed one.
Don’t play Saiss check.
Re live it all.
Sean Connery once told cilla black he could have sex 3 times a night even though he was 73.
Intrigued, cilla offered to join him at his hotel that evening.
After the first time he said,, let me shleep an hour and shex will be better next time, just put one hand on my balls and one hand on my Willy while I shleep
She did
And it was
He said let me shleep another hour and the next time it will be better, just put one hand on my balls and one on my Willy while I shleep
She did
And it was
After she asked him if holding his parts kept him aroused while he slept?
He said not at all pet, it’s just that the last time I slept with a scouser she stole my wallet.
The old ones eh
Utw
Well, what an entertaining 90 odd minutes that was.
We were like a team reborn.
Everyone earned an eight out of ten for me last night, except for the new French lad, who was a neuf, the Donk, who was a neuf and a half…
…and Conor Coady who, like Nigel Tufnell’s amp, went up to ELEVEN!
Oh, and ten out of ten for VAR.
What a pleasure to watch us perform like that.
And fair play to Woy’s team for having a go.
Apart from Zaha who should be put on the naughty step for acting like a spoiled brat for the entire match.
I watched the game with a large glass of Remy after a couple of beers.
Luvverly!
But after that performance I think I’ll order a pint of whatever Wolves were on last night!
He likes the baguettes,
He likes the escargot,
Think of this.
If West Ham can do to Liverpool what they did to us, Spurs and Man City, we could be sitting 2nd on goal difference in the EPL, at 8pm tonight.
Not too shabby.
IF a kangaroo and a sheep mate you might get a Wooly jumper!
IF. Ha!
Well that burst my bubble Prawny. 🙁
What are we without a dream?
Who was it that said ‘Dreamin’ is for free’?
Almost back to our very best; just need Jimenez to get on the end of some better chances, but that’s being picky. The ability of our coaching staff and particularly Nuno of course shone through after having some time to have the squad with its newcomers together to work on our needs. Without a bit of luck; we’re owed plenty, it would have been much closer, so we should not, I don’t think we ever would, rest on our laurels. The wing backs looked especially good and they were up against some very good wide men in my opinion. It was also great to see Neves looking his old imperious self. Every guy on the field deserves individual praise. I thought Rui Patricio did a bit more than some seem willing to see; perhaps we are getting too used to his immaculate handling of fierce, tricky bouncing shots and I have yet to spot anyone acknowledging the great improvement under Nuno with regard to his distribution and kicking (hope that does not put the mockers on it). A lot of unseen work has gone on there. I’ve always been a big Dendonker fan and remember how wel he played against the great Kevin De Bruyne. Kilman seems to be oozing class; early days, I know, but I hope he can really prove his worth over time. It’s so nice not to go through the disappointing feelings such as after the Newcastle match with the weekend’s matches stretching ahead. That was a really good win on what could have been a proper banana skin. Every game can be a toughy; well done to the lads.PS, you cannot slide in with studs showing nowadays and a good thing too. Playing through the bad old days ,I’ve had my share of torn ligaments and blood vessels from such uncontrolled play. I expect the lucky Moutino will be feeling some after effects today. I love hard, fair tackling and I don’t think for a minute it was intentional but it could finish or damage a career; well done to the officials; I can’t believe I’ve said that.
I like VAR. It did us a favour last night. Let’s face it we are still due pay back. AND next up Leicester who benefitted by 2 points last season and cost us 4 due to VARmint. Well I’m in the pub. Two more sessions over the weekend and then that is it until 4 December at least according to reports of the next lockdown. Just hope they keep the footy going this time in a safe environment of course. I feel sorry for the pubs. Especially those in Wolvo who so depend on Wolves and the fans drinking before and after the game. They haven’t had that since 7th March our last attendance in the Temple. They are unlikely to get it until next spring. Feel for them and the staff. But if it saves lives then so be it. Let’s hope we all emerge from this shit in 2021. Stay safe all.
Do you know if the Combemere in Chapel Ash is still hanging on in there Cheesy??
Yes it is still open mate. Well till Thursday!
TFFT.
Well said.
I had forecast this as 4-1 in the hope that things would come together. OK , I didn’t get it right for the PL, but what did please me was that, probably for the first time this season, we easily could have scored four – two excellent saves by their goalie and a number of could-have-beens, Donk alone could have had a hat trick and on another day would certainly have at least got off the mark.
It’s a pity the Harry Potter books have all been filmed, Nuno would have made a great Dumbledore – after all he really is a magician!!!
There have been times of late when choosing a MOTM was a nightmare as no one deserved the accolade. Equally difficult in this one but for a vastly different reason. Did anyone actually not excel? Absolute stars all over the pitch and another stood on the touch line overseeing the coming of age of this new, improving team.
What a joy to watch from my vantage point in the pub. What a rotten hangover I had this morning?
Hi guys… don’t comment very often here but love this site from afar and read comments and reports religiously.
Firstly great result and hopefully the sign of things to come….Positive from start to finish….
But here is my beef… not with Wolves .. would never criticise the team… probably a happy clapper…..
The issue I have is the game itself were totally pathetic fouls are being given as penalties…eg the one given against us were basically the Crystal Palace player ran into Boly then falls down as if he is shot…. and penalty is given….. thankfully Karma prevailed and was overturned but not because he was cheating…(which it is)… gaining an unfair advantage by deception…. but cos the build up was offside
The problem is every body has just accepted it… commentator said definite penalty…..instead of look at that cheating price….
And the worrying comment by commentator in Liverpool v West Ham game when Liverpool were given their penalty was … oh.. it is just part of the game now a player gets touched and he goes down…but not in a critical way ,just total acceptance….
BULLS$#T….. IT IS CHEATING….
It ruins the game…. every time there is a tackle in the box you wait for the obligatory theatrics from the now crippled player who miraculously makes a full recovery within 2 minutes….
Rules need to be changed and VAR used correctly to weed out the cheats and given automatic red cards and 6 week bans….
At the moment it is not acceptable and more importantly not ACCEPTED as part of the game….
Rant over …
UTW
Sorry should have been PRICK not price….
All the best to you all
Tas I truly believe you and I could become best friends:-)
Welcome TAS, be careful of praise from Prawny, he / she is only after a cheap holiday. 🙂
Joking aside, great to see more and more people contribute, makes for a diverse set of opinions and adds to making this International blog even better. (I’m assuming you live abroad).
Hi Stuwolf and prawns
Yep..live in Tasmania..Australia
Been a Wolves fan since 1970 when we got colour tv and I liked y the colours…. I was 5 yo.
Only ever seen Wolves play once at the Baseball Ground (Dad was a Derby supporter ) in 1979….in between emigrating twice to Oz …74 to 78 and 1980 to present
In that game Wolves won 1-0 but typical bloody Wolves they scored within the first couple of minutes and I missed the sodding goal as we had just got through the turnstiles and we hadn’t quite made it to the terraces in time ?
Getting back to my my my moan … I would pay squillions if possible to see Leeds of the 70s… ie Messrs Hunter…Bremner..Gray…etc and possibly a transfer of Chopper Harris to Leeds for the day to play any of the so called present big 6 teams and just watch the carnage unfold…..
Might toughen some of these theatrical prima donnas up a bit and just for a moment remember what proper football was….
Not saying it should return to that but by God it needs something doing to stop the amount of cheating…. no other word to describe it…
As Wolfstroker said no wonder rugby fans laugh….
Well I can add that Aussie Rules fans here laugh their socks off at it and unfortunately I can’t defend it……Cos it is true …
Hope you and all contributors to blog considering the blight on world at the moment are doing ok…. we are pretty lucky down here with it but know that a lot of you are having a rough time with it…..
My thoughts to you all
Sorry again…. bloody predictive text…..Prawny not prawns….. not a good start as best friends…..??
Quality!
I’m sure your opinion is shared by the vast majority of fans, not only here, but fans everywhere. A penalty is like a free goal and can make a huge difference to the course of a match. If VAR is to have any value, and personally I doubt it does, it must stamp out the diving turds who besmirch our game with their cheating theatrics. No wonder rugby fans laugh.
I agree completely, Tas (my connection is a 3 x gt uncle who was shipped off there via The Lady Montague in 1852!) , but equally frustrating is that many definite penalties are not given when defenders regularly get away with strangleholds and the like. No consistency at all.
Yeah, great. Palace had a goal and a penalty taken away (rightly) by a few inches. What a genius the Wolves coach must be. The team avoided the disaster of conceding a late equalizer after dominating the entire game like against Newcastle.
The best player played for a few minutes- almost scored from the ground. He replaced the second best player- wouldn’t want to run up the score and embarass the other side…
Wolverhampton seem to want to be a very good team- they don’t seem to grasp that they have the talent to be a great team. Jimenez, Neto, Semedo, Moutinho are fine top flight players. Boly, Saiss, Neves, Dendoncker, Patricio, are all quite solid.
But Traore and Podense are budding world class superstars. Both need to play 90 minutes. It’s absurd to expect talented players to mature and blend in with their teammates if they sit on the bench.
You don’t replace Messi with Neymar in the 65th minute (especially when in their twenties). You don’t care whether Messi helps out on defense. You don’t care if Neymar occasionally tries to show off his individual skills. And you don’t care if Newcastle scores in the 88th minute if you’re ahead by 4 goals….
We have taken 10 points from 12 so there is a valid argument in not changing the front line IMO .
I don’t think anyone doubts traore s talent and I’m a massive fan myself , I think he will come into his own over the next few games against teams who fancy beating us and not parking the bus and doubling up on him .
Win the next couple of games with traore starting and then it will be his place to lose .
Utw
“We have taken 10 points from 12 so there is a valid argument in not changing the front line”
Except the 2 points dropped came on a very late Newcastle equalizer in a game dominated by Wolverhampton start to (almost) finish. In that game Traore came in for Podense (who had played brilliantly) in the 65th minute. Although he was not directly involved in the first goal 10 minutes later, he clearly put pressure on the defense.
Let him strike fear on one side of the defense from the start; with Podense striking terror on the other side. Jimenez, Neves, Neto, Dendoncker, or whoever can load up pot shots from the middle all day. If it stalls put in Semedo… But it won’t.
Who is your team squash? Just curious because calling us Wolverhampton tells me you’re not a wolves fan
Utw
If there is anyone out there who has managed a team, be it kids, or Sunday morning in the park or higher, you’ll know that the biggest trick to pull off is to manage the substitutes. They aren’t happy if they’ve busted a gut in training only to be told they won’t be in the starting eleven, then as the game evolves they are itching to get on and as a manager you’re thinking about if and when to make your move. It’s no different in the Premier League, in fact it’s worse with the money and pressure involved. We have Nuno and we are lucky to have him,
he will have Neto and Podence desperate to keep the shirts and Traore (for now)
desperate to take one. I hope he talks Traore through both of our goals-
“OK Adama, see how Daniel runs into the space behind van Anholt so that Nelson can play his pass into that space? I need you to do that.”
“And secondly, see how Pedro is moving forward to receive the pass from Raul, then takes one touch before crossing the ball carefully making Daniel’s job so easy? I need you to do that. Things like that, Adama will get you in my team”
Abs quash.
You make some valid points there, but, I don’t know how old you are and so I am unsure if you’ll appreciate this. I was listening to the guys on MOTD against Liverpool and they were arguing the same point as you with the same passion. It was pointed out that this is the modern game (whatever that means) and that the large swathe of trainers and physio’s and analysis’s boffins sitting on the bench make the substitution suggestions and sometimes even the decisions. Such is football today that every move, every pass, clearance, header, cross and I would imagine, every time a player spits using up his energy and fluids is monitored.
If you look at a Wolves players back during the game you will see they all wear a vest underneath their shirt which carries a monitor which Bluetooth’s information to the bench constantly. That’s where decisions are made as to who comes off and when their body is at maximum output and in danger of stress or overload.
We may not like this but it’s fact, this is the way it is. They can see that by running Podence, Neto another few minutes puts them in danger of being injured through muscle tissue breakdown or overloading tendons and ligaments leaving us without them for weeks.
Like you, I couldn’t believe they pulled Poddy off against Newcastle and left someone like “Dendonker” on the pitch. But then after the game, I read the very stats the press and training staff glean from every nano second of the game, I find Dendonker had a blinder and went under my radar because I was too busy watching Poddy and Neto tying folk in knots.
It’s a different game now that Nuno and his backroom team are here, all the old Wolves players who go watch them training will testify that they are amazed with the set up. Our position in the league confirms, someone somewhere is getting it right.
What a difference a week makes. At long last images of the new style and shape materialise with great effect. The new kid on the block will hopefully be there for a long time to come. Kilman doing so well you hardly notice him and Dendonker starting to shine like we hoped he would. A much better performance from everyone on the field with Cody and Neves in total control of midfield. Great win, roll on Leicester.
Love these 8.00pm kickoffs as here in NZ it’s 9.00am, Wolves and Footy for breakfast.
Mind the g a p!
Just to clarify things, you don’t have to hit someone’s leg hard to make them trip and fall, you just have to disturb their stride or knock their back foot into the calve of their forward leg. It just takes a slight touch.
I would caution against assuming that all of these infractions are not legitimate if there is not a great deal of contact involved.
I once saw Delli Ali try just slightly moving his leg as though he was going to touch Adama’s back foot to trip him up. He realized he wasn’t going to make contact and didn’t actually go through with it but when they showed a particular angle in slo-mo, you could see he was thinking of it. Someone brought Adama down immediately after.
It must be fabulous to be always right, and even more so to be able to see what someone is thinking, on a tv screen.
Can you bottle and sell whatever you drink, or smoke, so we can all benefit from your all encompassing wisdom?
No, I’m just smarter than you.
That’s nothing to brag about, everyone’s smarter than me!
That shirt you wore to the ball was smart stu … everyone said so
Clive not stu … dumb ass me …
Stu s shirt was awful … everyone said so . Lot of people thought it needed a good ironing , luckily no one said anything to him
Too right, because er indoors was there, no one’s that brave.
I did, I told him it was wrinkled…he told me every wrinkles an inch!!!
Matron get the sedative.
He told me it was supposed to be wrinkled cos it was from the 70 s and it was called cheese cloth .. he said that Alan Sunderland had signed the collar somewhere.. we walked around it for a while and there was some black marks but nothing that looked like an autograph
That reminded me of the black guy who had WENDY tattooed on his todger. Or so it was thought until he was asked. He said it was not WENDY It was WELCOME TO JAMAICA AND HAVE A NICE DAY.
Ah, the old ones are the best Brompto’. Sometimes.
Although I’m a no-mark and a ‘once in a blue-moon-er’ on this site, I don’t think there’s any need for that.
Regarding players going down for penalties, even though I was a poor player, you can just SEE (well I can) when a player throws himself to the floor when there’s not enough contact to warrant it. Salah and Sterling are two of the most high-profile examples today.
Unless I dreamt it, Michael Owen, according to his book, would NEVER go down if there was no contact, but if there was ANY contact (however slight)…you know the rest…
Fully agree with Wolfstroker: video evidence should be retrospectively used to punish the divers (not that anyone will read this, as it’s so late!)
I’ve read it Mighty Atom and, as you can imagine, I agree wholeheartedly.
I’m loving all the attention and plaudits the media and pundits are heaping on our very own Nelson Semedo.
The guy is silky smooth going forwards, has great ball control, makes amazing runs into the box, can cross the ball too and has come with a great pedigree. That bloke from Ireland that used to play for us used to know the ball forwards and go off on a run, to me he always seemed to bump and bang his way through. Having Semedo offers us a little extra I feel. If as Nuno says, Semedo will keep improving whilst learning Wolves style of play,
I for one think we should make Nuno Pope, for his vision and ability to work miracles with these guys week in week out.
The future is looking positive , Villa lost and Newcastle have just gone 2 up against Everton.
Newcastle pay back some of the points they stole from Wolves.
Tim,
I know Delli Ali well, I once bought a takeaway there !
Forgive my sense of humour. The old ones are the best ones !
Yeah, I’m not the best speller.
Late to the party, so nothing in depth.
Get in wolves. Utd and Everton losing, and chance for us to really push on.
Mind the gap Solskjaer!!
I’ve found a reasonable link for some games. Those of you whose first initial is not C are welcome to try it.
http://www.releasesky.com/2020/11
Villa and their imaginary superiority is quite something. Most of their success was when people with beards ran around smoking pipes and they lived in houses with no roof and the horse and cart came round and utilised the horse manure for compost. Apart from the Vile title in 1981 and a league cup win they have won nothing for 100 years. Wolves won 3 league titles. Vile are shite and all I will say is ‘ mind the gap Aston Villa’. Villa villa villa. And as for that shower of shite tonight Manure. RUBBISH. Nothing to be scared of.
So, Ancellotti, Mourinho and Nuno all die and go to heaven.
God is sitting there, ready to interview them and says to Ancellotti,
“What do you believe in?”
“Hard work and discipline” is the reply.
“Come and on my right side” says God
He then says to Mourinho
“What do you believe in?”
“Style and flair” is the reply.
“Come and sit on my left side” says God.
Turning to Nuno, God asks
“And what do you believe in, my son?”
And Nuno replies
“I believe you are sitting in my chair”
🙂 That’s a cracker Clive. 🙂
well they were all out today in my local and was it soooo nice to listen to them making excuses .
I cant get any of them to take a bet on who will finish higher .
we are getting there they are treading water and struggling to keep their heads above water.
im enjoying this immensely .
tee hee
Massive ay it. I remember when we took them to the cleaners last season and the Vile fan at work quite actively avoided me. It was laughable. Fuckin Brilliant tho !
He told me it was supposed to be wrinkled cos it was from the 70 s and it was called cheese cloth .. he said that Alan Sunderland had signed the collar somewhere.. we walked around it for a while and there was some black marks but nothing that looked like an autograph
Ah for fux ache !!! Bring that editing thing back
Another fairly hard fought win, this seems to be becoming the norm!
Gutted that Dendoncker strike didn’t go in though, what a beautiful hit!
Welcome ‘latest footy’. You will see that there is quite a lot of ” anti villa” on here. To be fair Wolves and Villa is for the most part banter. The real deal is West Brom and Birmingham City . There is a significant amount of horrible feeling between Wolves and Albion / Birmingham City. Weirdly you will find Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion are quite relaxed with each other. They both hate Wolves/Villa .
I agree with Cheese, having been recently in a workplace where I was the only Wolves fan amongst numerous Baggie, Villa and Bluenose. Lots of banter but underpinned by complete envy of what we have become and where we are heading.
Talking of which, this week’s Champions League highlights showed that Bayern are exceptional and quite scary however on the basis that we matched Sevilla and beat Olympiacos, there was nothing else and no one else to be worried about. Not anymore, bring it on.
Here Cheesey. Changing the subject, I bet you’re looking forward to Friday night on BBC4.
Should be a cracker!
Doog. Just had a look what on. Mate. I will be in my element. I think Annie Nightingale was involved in being extremely pissed when she went out drinking with The Damned prior to their appearance on Old Grey Whistle Test 1979. Always remember Captain Sensible coming on with ‘We’re the Damned. We are a punk band’ Expletives deleted . Incidentally I saw the Damned at JB’s Dudley about 1993. The disco was just pure 70’s punk. I was very pissed. Anyway. The Damned finished and went off. Half hour later Captain Sensible appeared on dance floor. I shook his hand. Never washed it since !
Given Man Utd’s current league position, shouldn’t they now be re-classified as one of the “Little Six”?
:0)
According to the league table they are in the top 15!!
Well done on a good job.
As an aside I have supported Wolves for over 60 years but, unfortunately live in Kent so very rarely get to see them apart from when they play London teams and once against Gillingham.
I would like to get in contact with other supporters/ organisations in Kent with a common interest.
Welcome to our wonderful blog, Tony.
All new views and opinions will be welcomed with open arms.
Tim will be pleased.
I said new!
Hi Tony
Like you I’ve been a Wolves fan for many years. First game I went to was 1965. There are loads of codgers like us on here! I lived in Kent 1976 to 1988. I was “the only Wolves fan in the village” perhaps in the Weald. Occasionally went to Gillingham in the Tony Cascarino days. Saw a lot more away games than home games. Now in the North West. You’ve come to the right place. You are home here.
Further to my post above about Man Utd’s lowly position in the league . . . . and long may it continue . . . . I have to say that Marcus Rashford is a bloody superstar and I am full of admiration for him.
Perhaps he should sign for a Big Club.
I wouldn’t mind if he came!
BEAT PRE LOCKDOWN BLUES. Fulham 1 Sandwell 0. Hoorah!
BOSTIN. 2-0 !
Interesting week prior to the Palace game. Comments on twitter from folks claiming to be Wolves fans included. ” Nuno’s style of football is ‘Puliseque’ ” and “Nuno has favourites, examples being, playing Boly when he was shaky last season and Raul when he was blowing”.
I just struggle with any criticism of Nuno, including (1) his relationship with Uncle Jorge (2) the substitutions he made in the cup semi final (3) agreeing to the sale of Doc and Jota (4) tactics against Newcastle last week (5) rubbing Warnock’s face in the muck after winning at Cardiff (6) playing with a small squad last season (7) not playing Traore from the start.
The way he has and is evolving this team is almost unbelievable and apart from that he is clearly a man of magnificent dignity.
We now have a run of about a dozen very tough games and we are likely to slip now and then. Plenty of opportunity for the fair weather fans to raise their comments.
Have to accept that raising opposing opinions is part of a free society. But just for the record, they are wrong.
All power to Lord Nuno and stuff the begrudgers!
Couldn’t agree more JackoMac- dignity coupled with a humble desire to continually improve. Nunos team has made me proud to support Wolves- a team created in his own image.
Lovely way to sign off for the new lockdown. Sandwell Town in bottom 3. Looking very bad for them. Not sure if we will be there in January. Very sad if not. Oh well what can you do. Just get yo yed down and ger on wi it. Ay it !
For those of you interested in blue chip investments, why not back Sandwell for relegation? I availed myself on Betfair a few weeks ago and am feeling pretty smug right now! You can still get a 50% return on your investment and that certainly isn’t to be sneezed at!
Nottingham Forrest fans are shocked that Rafa Mir is being kept tabs on by Real Madrid now.
It just goes to show you that the style and manager make a big difference to the success of a player. They have to be suited to the style or the style has to be adjusted to accommodate their abilities.
Forest.
Sometimes they can’t see the wood for the trees.
Please Jurgen, can we have Diogo back now?
The boy’s doing well isn’t he.
But, time will tell if he keeps it going. He’s always been a confidence player and it will be interesting to see what happens if the goals dry up.
Wishing him all the very best, gave 100% for us. But I hope the contribution of Nuno and his team in his development aren’t forgotten.
Right Jacko – plays for Liverpool trained in Wolverhampton. Wish him luck but I suspect his form is temporary.
For Wolves Diogo scores a european hat trick and you get a little or no publicity.
For Liverpool the internet is full of it against a very poor side.
I am pleased for Diogo but wish the scousers would get a life.
Or a job
Rumour has it that Sandwell Town are joining the Oceanic Division Championship.
There are 20,000 leagues under the sea, so they might have a chance of winning one of them!!
You should tell that joke to that S**t fan who runs your local chip shop. He would joke on his battered cod.
Choke on his battered cod…….
Preferred the predicted text!
I wonder if this is why Diogo went to Liverpool, if not I wonder who it is?
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/reality-tv-wag-micropenis-footballer-22961782
She said he was good looking. Probably Ronaldo.
Pity she never bumped into Jamie Ohara. He was a massive bell end.
Massive? Thats not what she told me!