An errant doggie-bag drifted across the steps the steps of WV6 on 65 minutes, landing upon its resting place.
It wrapped itself around the base of a Row Q seat, beneath the trainers of an impotent old soul, who honestly thought he’d seen the back of days like these.
“We’re making them look like Real Madrid!,” he shrieked.
Moments later, the linesman on the far side indulged our pathetic attempts to hit the net by keeping the flag down until we had found it, with Brentford backing off in benevolence, thus allowing us our little moment. Max Kilman missed.
It was ever thus.
Bruno-ball, as far as I can make out, is a team full of players with good intentions who are literally incapable of scoring goals in open play or otherwise, with just one tap in goal all to show from our players in 450 minutes of trying. In other words, a steaming pile of turd that the doggie bag was inexorably floating towards, until it was rudely interrupted.
Another interpretation is a team in dire need of three or four new signings to banish any threat of relegation.
Funny that, as Bruno Lage said (on August 6): “I think we need three or four guys (more players) in different positions. I don’t say now the positions. Top players to help us to be competitive, because, see the good example is what happened with Raul last year.
“I think we have a good squad, we can improve it, we have one month to work on that and two weeks to work on the pitch to be competitive. That’s the plan.”
In short, back me or we’ll be making Brentford look like Galacticos in front of our own fans, who we haven’t scored in front of all season. The wait goes on and most worrying of all when compared to Spurs and Man Utd, this performance was genuinely dire.
To criticise the head coach after this horror-show would therefore be missing the point completely; Nuno said the squad was too small before he was sacked and Bruno has said the same since he came in. It’s smaller now than at any point in four years.
The mad-panic to sign Kieffer Moore at 10pm on deadline day is probably the most damning commentary of this squad, which has no track record of scoring goals aside from Raul, who is a pale imitation of his former self since his miraculous return. That’s not a criticism, but just a statement of fact as he shuffles around the field at least two yards off the pace in both body and mind. It’s tragic to see and he needs help. It should be a sight to make Jeff Shi hang his head in shame. Quite how we’re pinning our hopes on a striker who was close to death a year ago is a question that only he can answer. That a £35 million ‘generational talent’ cannot be trusted in his place raises further questions that Jeff must hope we’re stupid enough not to ask.
(Roll the Insta footage from Compton on Thursday morning, as we score goals galore in uncontested Dudley/Cradley scenarios that we’re somehow supposed to get excited about. The social media team doth protest too much).
The sight of Raul hurling his headband into touch with 10mins left told us all we needed to know about the way he’s feeling right now.
If he’s not scoring – which he barely threatens these days – then who is going to lighten the load in his absence? Traore has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he’s utterly useless in front of goal, while Trincao looks more like a feather in the breeze, traversing here and there with underlying beauty until he floats away when dispossessed. Joao and Neves might chip in with a goal or two a piece over 38 games, while nobody will ever score from a set-play while Moutinho is over the dead balls, as he’s literally incapable of crossing them past the front post. His deliveries, for far too long, are genuinely shameful.
With Ivan Toney and Mbeumo the very antithesis of anything we have in our squad, then we can expect little more than the hiding we got today, which could have been more, but for profligacy in front of goal. The subsequent timewasting was the worst I have ever seen in 35yrs of attending home games, but only a by-product of what we brought upon ourselves.
Watching those two Bees against our leaden-footed back three was a sight for sore eyes, and one that was etched into our retinas when entering the final throes of the transfer window. We all knew that spectacles like this were inevitable. Fosun wouldn’t know 2004 or 2012 because they weren’t there, but new signings were imperative in order to avoid a dice with danger at the lower reaches of the Premier League.
There’s only so many performances Bruno can get from this lot and he’s used up four already. That 3pts is all we have to show is a worry at best.
At worst, a 0-2 defeat at home to the likes of Brentford is all we can realistically expect for the foreseeable, thanks to a thumb-twiddling transfer window of doggie-bag proportions.
That was painful, tactics awful, Adama beats his man, but crossing awful, every player poor, long hard season ahead, but come on let’s not panic, wolves aie we.
The problem is Traore!
Everything creative goes through him and he appears not to know himself what he is going to do next so how can anybody else have any chance of knowing?
Our midfield is weak and lacks anything creative.
I fear we will be running around like headless chickens at top speed until Bruno or most possibility his replacement brings in a solid system of play that our players understand. (No unlike the old Nuno way!)
I second that.
This team without Traore might be able to have a game plan. Traore has no football brain (oh, and can’t hit a barn door) and so destroys any thought of a tactical plan. Even if his crossing (disaster vs. Brentford) and shooting improves I would not have him in a Premier League squad. Without him, we can still be mid table with this squad.
Your last sentence is delusional in my opinion.
I’d contest that Traore does know what he is going to do and that is the problem. He decides on his first touch if it’s going to be shot, cross, cut back from the byline or pass. What his teammates and opponents do is irrelevant to him after the decision is made, which is why he hasn’t been picked up by a top team. He is not playing with his up looking for opportunity, looking for runs and defenders out of place. He draws 3 people to him as soon as he gets the ball. The space this creates is rarely, if ever exploited. No one bothers creating an option anymore, no point he won’t see it. I really like all of our players for what they’ve done for the club, which makes it hard to state what is so obvious, several of them are just not good enough to be more than squad players anymore.
All above comments on Traore totally justified. Apart from his purple patch in 2019-20 (when Jiminez was constantly there for him) he flatters to deceive all the time. Frankly his brain and physique would be more suited to a Rugby League three quarter.
For the last 18 months he has been a passenger.
PJB Not a bad idea but I have a better solution. He would better suited to coming over here to the US and playing Grid Iron football !!
Just think, if he signed as a wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccs, all he would need to to would be to catch the ball from a Tom Brady toss, put his head down and run like hell for the corner.
A big plus ? No need ever to use his feet or his brain. No nasty repsonsibilities like seeing who of his team he could pass to. Better yet, after each run he could sit back and relax on the touch line for at least five minutes and take a whiff of oxygen.
And his hair style would go down great with all of his team mates. He`d be a mega star in no time
I can’t extract a single positive from that game. Soul destroying.
We wouldn’t have scored if we’d played all night and Brentford certainly merited the victory.
However, their gamesmanship in the second half was criminal and the referee completely lost control. There should have been 10 minutes of injury time at least for all the rolling around on the floor and prevaricating at every dead ball. You have to expect a certain amount of it from any team protecting a lead, but I’ve never seen it that bad before. I’ve long been an advocate of stopping the clock when the ball isn’t in play and I don’t have a clue why that hasn’t been brought in. The winning team would still try to slow the tempo I appreciate, but not to this extent.
Changes for me would be bringing Boly and Mosquera into the side to see if their pace, height and aggression can help make the difference in both penalty areas. Whether that’s as a two or either side of Coady in a three I’m not too bothered. There’s no excuse for Marcal bodyslamming their guy for the penalty but if we had sufficient aerial power we wouldn’t have to be so hands-on to block all the runners. I’ve said it since Christmas last year when Nuno started messing with the tried and tested formula – you need at least 3 powerful headers of the ball in the team. We used to have Saiss/Boly/Donk with adequate support from Doc and Raul. Now we’ve got Saiss and at a push Kilman (but he’s clearly not as dominant as Boly) and very little aside. That much change, even if we lose some ability playing out from the back.
It might also be worth trying a different combination across the front three. Trincao has something to offer but the guy plays like it’s a kickabout on the beach. Fine when we’re stroking it around and things are going swimmingly, but with Brentford banked up after getting ahead, he didn’t really have it in him to take the game to them.
Playing Traore inverted (as per the first half) is better than down the right (as per the second). Yes he can torture the full-back and put crosses in but nobody looks like heading any of them in so better to have him driving inside.
Bruno said before the game the team owed the fans something and that debt is mounting after three defeats to zip at Molineux. I think we’ll be better away this season but the home form must improve.
Agree Ben re: transfers and that’s not just this summers.
Jeff thinks the sun rises and sets out of Silva’s arse no doubt dreaming of the day he sells him for £70 million.
And Ben’s also right we have seen the signs before where our owners have been in denial detached from the fans and reality.
Our lack of even a pinch of ambition from our yes man and mega rich owner and this is what you end up with.
Shocking the way our football club is run.
Well, that’s 96 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.
I really don’t know why Brentford kept indulging in the most crass, shameless and totally unpunished time wasting… because we wouldn’t have scored, given another 196 minutes of play.
We were completely outplayed, outrun, out thought and… well… out of the game after the first ten minutes.
Apparently we nearly signed Toney when he was just fourteen, but there was some health issue which prevented it from happening.
He seems fit enough now!
He looked the complete striker and was superb in every aspect of forward play.
Our attackers were, for the most part, abject.
Our midfielders were, for the most part, average.
Our defenders were, for the most part, struggling to cope with the speed and movement of the opposition attack.
The referee was awful.
Brentford deserved their win and we deserved… absolutely nothing.
Even when they had a man sent off they seemed to have more players on the pitch.
That’s my take on the game, and I’m a glass half full sort of person.
Luckily.it’s half full of Remy.
I need it!
The crows are coming home to roost Mr Shi.
I hope for your sake that you are following orders from Shanghai because with your total inertia in not pushing our football club club forward it has gone backwards at an alarming rate and you are now endangering your principals’ investment which will no longer be worth in excess of the £300 million it is now if you manage to get us relegated.
Please come back from Harlequins Laurie.
Shi is THE problem.
Despite having little or no first hand experience / knowledge of UK Professional football, the pompous ass has driven away key members of the original management team, such as Dalrymple, who would have kept us on the right track, while surrounding himeslf with inconsequent ‘yes men’ who appear to be completely out of their depth.
His posturing during each transfer window has been embarrassing in the extreme, as he endlessly made asurances to strenghten the squad. Assurances which he absolutley failed to meet.
The squad has not been strengthened. Rather available monies have been shamefully wasted. Thirty five million on a kid [ Silva]who may possibly have a little future promise, but who is currently light years away from Premiership standard. Other millions chucked away in dribs and drabs on ‘ones for tomorrow ‘most of whom in the immediate period are loaned out, and will probably never play for our first team.
Worse, for the past 10 months Shi has known of Raul`s career threatening injury, yet thoughout this summer window he failed miserably to find a quality replacement/ back-up. His deperate pursuit of the Cardiff journeyman two hours before the transfer deadline is a damning idictment.
But the real kicker is that Shi, having kicked out Nuno and appointed his own preferred manager, has failed miserably to respond to the new man`s pleading for an increase in the size of his squad, so that he is given a fair chance to succeed. How totally pathetic is this !!
The only positive that I can see is that Chinese business culture demands success. Failure is simply not tolerated. There is a ruthlessness there that is way beyond anything we in the western world understand. Fosun are very unlikely to stand idly by and do nothing whilst their investment is seriously threatened by incompetence, and almost certainly they will act sooner rather than later. We can live in hope that Shi`s tenure at the helm of our Club will be very short lived.
Agree with all that Mike – a comprehensive summary of the club’s management on the ground. The only thing I would add is that Shi and Mendes seem to be 100% in cahoots and I’m not sure in view Fosun’s entanglement with Gestitute how complicit the whole lot of them are in the club’s eccentric transfer dealings since Dalrymple left.
Good point PJB. But fortunately the final issue is that Fosun have a serious investment in our Club which they will not abandon lightly. For them relegation would be an unmitigated disaster – not only financially, but even more imprtantly their loss of status at home, which would be very damaging.
Just watch. If this current farce continues for much longer, Fosun will act very decisively.
Again wise words Mike and your views on the cultural loss of face are very pertinent. For all our sakes I hope your assessment proves accurate.
– It was an awful game, yes. Please wait until Christmas before shouting gloom and doom and before labeling our players useless. This is perhaps the poorest game of the season so far, but I strongly believe we’ll strike back and win our next game against Spurs. Key players had an off-day. Kudos to Brentford for a solid performance.
We have so many players who can create things on their own, and Hwang showed off some real nice technical skills today.
The defence needs an overhaul and I hope we’ll see Mosquera, Coady and Boly (or Kilman) against Spurs. And Ait Nouri will probably also get his chance.
Wait till Christmas….. The way we can’t hit a barn door never mind the goal it could be all over by then.
Over relience on Uncle Mendez coming home to roost.
You’d be great on a listing ship Paul.
Always glass empty.
Try looking beyond all the doom and gloom mate
Yeah and if you were on the Titanic you’d have said ” it’s only a small leak what you worrying about”
Hour and a half later your freezing to death in the Atlantic…..!
Same old rhetoric.
Do you have any other interests ….
A Sting once sang” it’s the rhetoric of Failure “
Nice scoot…
Me mate Barry Baker of London wolves just sold a load of his scooters to finance a building project.
Not a scooter fan but appreciate their worth
Bruno….I’ve got the above now but I’ve had bikes in the past KTM Triumph’ Street Triple R Suziki SV 1000 brilliant bit of kit that’s was…..also got a CCM flat Tracker……listen we might not agree on all things Wolves but I love bikes scoots just as much as I love Wolves…….apart from the wife and my kid I’d kill for both.
Like your Harley, never ridden one would love to its on my bucket list that and riding the Calafornia highway from San Diago to L.A up the West Coast.
We may have different views Paul but are both on the same side .love bikes and the wolves so happy days ?
Riding a proper Harley in the states is so appealing although I really want to ride around Ireland myself.
We won’t always agree but I do respect your opinion mate
Beer one day?
Omg _ I know Barry .. I wish I had known , I’ve been on the lookout for a decent Spanish jet 200 . F f s , has he sold them all ?
No not all. O have been working at his new place in Dartford and he’s needed to sell to pay the trades.
He’s got more as he used to go over to Italy to purchase lambrettas and vespas.barry moved opposite me in Sidcup when I lived with my mom and dad and we become good friends.
Top fella
Better book on a London wolves trip to see him. Easier for us to drive these days cos I’m home by 7 -15 . I shall be on his case . All the best and u t w
Just heard from Baz.
He’s got one on an L plate that he imported from Spain .
Not said if it was for sale though.
I’ll ask him later.
Fabio Silva or Ivan, come on guys smell the coffee fosun.
Ive been harping on and on about how we haven’t brought a player to make our first 11 better since we started back in the prem and got the likes of Patricio in, with the possible exception of Netto, I’d be happy to hear anyone else’s thoughts on that statement.
Weve blown loads on the likes of Semedo, Silva and Cutrone. Someone at the club needs to look at the way we do transfer business. We could be going for the likes of Ings proven quality but instead we keep hoping for the best with players from abroad who’ve not played in the prem.
I know people go on about out defence not being great but we don’t concede loads we just dont ever look like scoring.
Please let us get some proven quality in before its to late. Feeling fed up tonight.
Ben et al
Isn’t it funny unusual how one match can change our opinions about what the rest of the season holds for us. After Watford, we had ticked all our boxes ( goals, wins, clean sheets) and we thought that we actually had a decent squad which would hold its own in this league.
Then along came a “newly promoted, reasonable side” that we would easily beat and have 6 points from 5- onwards and upwards-. After 90 + minutes of no goals again but coupled with a dire performance and its doomsday again and we are ( rightly)harking back to our miserable transfer window and small squad size.
I suppose our problem was/is that the lack of new quality players never went away but festered under the surface to periodically rear its ugly head.
I guess this year will be like the curate’s egg – some good performances and great games, a few goals, some woeful games, and one place above relegation depending on the number of goals we can score
The best part of the game for me is that I missed the last half hour!!
I’ve been saying to friends for ages now that Saiss, Marcal and yes Coady are all past their sell by dates, well past.
Pathetic defending. Scrub that, wrestling, for the nailed on penalty, and worse than schoolboy ball following for the second.
Coupled with garbage from the rest of the team spelled disaster.
He better completely change the defence on Wednesday, give Moutinho a well deserved rest, and start our Korean instead of Raul up front.
Drastic performances need drastic changes.
But as stated above we are and always will be, Eolves ay we!!
Or even Wolves!!!
I’m going to play devil’s advocate.
Yes, that was a terrible loss. I’m not denying that.
And, the lack of goals is a worry.
But, what signing that was brought up in the window would have changed that result.
Maybe Sanches – but, he’s hurt and wouldn’t have played today. Moore would have been a bench player.
We had a very solid bench today. Podence has been one of the 4-5 best players when given time. Hwang appears to be a good signing. And, I’m a believer that Silva will be a 20 goal per year player (I get it – that’s the future….but, I think he’s a threat now).
I’m not sure what would fix this – but, I don’t think the “bad” transfer window (where we got Trincão, Hwang and Mosquera) is the reason we’re not scoring goals.
My personal opinion (not an expert – so, grain of salt and all of that) is that a healthy Boly (and maybe Mosquera) will allow Lage to play his preferred 442 – bringing Hwang or Podence into the starting lineup. I think that extra attacker will yield results
Yours is the first comment I’ve agreed with, Lou. I don’t believe we’re anywhere near relegation trouble. It was agreed that we played better then our opponents in the first three games, trounced Forest reserves, then comprehensively beat Watford. Yesterday our unchanged team seemed sufficient to give us a good show (although many underestimated Brentford, who had beaten Arsenal 2-0 too ).
Marcal was stupid with that holding in the penalty area – new nickname Tonto ? – and I thought Kilman was unlucky with the way the ball bounced after his tackle on Toney.
So, a few inches lower with Adama’s piledriver that thundered against the bar and we couldhave won lol.
Seriously we will improve with a few tweaks for now, bringing back big Willie , Mosquera and Dendonker, and giving the new striker a start, with Podence replacing Trincao. Obviously the management felt Raul deserved the chance to prove his continued ability, but he needs more time.
It was noticeable too what a strong bench there was yesterday, after all the recent comment.
Don’t give up, we’re supporters. I expected ‘the twelfth man’ to make a difference yesterday, booing won’t help
There were so many bad points yesterday. not sure where to start.
1. Who’s bright idea was it to have Marcal (the shortest Wolves player at the time) marking Toney on corners? Was he instructed to just keep him away from the ball.
2. How is it that when we attack (mostly down the wings) there is hardly any Wolves players in the penalty area to attack the ball (not that it ever lands in there with the awful crosses we have seen so far).
3. Have we got anybody who can shoot from 25m from goal?? Why must we alway get to within 5m from goal to have a go.
4. Has the ball got lighter? Every free kick we have seen so far that is within range, always goes well over the bar. Maybe instead of playing Tik Tok football in their training camp, we go to the basics of how to shoot straight and hard.
Let’s hope things will improve. I was all set to predict a draw for next week against S’Hampton. That’s gone out of the window now.
Thankyou for the Maryjane or I would be sat in a dark, quiet corner self harming by now. Later I may go and find a Sweet Caroline I used to know and have life threatening sex.
The Sly Owd Fox could hardly keep the smirk off his face as he signed off MOTD with ‘Wolves mauled by Tony the Tiger. Grrrrr.’ But it was the Ivan Toney show. end of. That pen at the wrong time, but that was a poor move by Marcel and 8 mins later another one. Talk about stuffing knocked out…… you fear the worst. Did well to keep them down to 2.
Traore wasn’t far off, Jimi too with a decent header, and he chucked his headband down in defiance. That’s a point.
We may have insulted Toney in the past by casting doubt on his physical prowess, but in writing, I’m asking he spare us in future, either that or get a tranqualizer dart out. And one for his mate Mbuemo. Like a swarm of African Tree Bees, the most aggressive Bees In ThA Whole World, when they got the ball they dominated.
Down to 10 Bees you would have expected an Own GOAL at least. Tuff times ahead if no Goals. Too early in the day to be downhearted. Pass the scooby. 1 lv.
COYW.
Ps. I noticed one Clever Trevor predicted a Nylons win. Its not going to be much fun if, to win the PL you have to predict losses to Brentford every week. Give it to Chrimbo then get the razor blades out. I hope all those writing up the Bees pre match while predicting a Home win can still raise a smile )))))).
Thank you Rasta Wolf for your back handed compliment.
The Clever Trevor.
The defintion of a fool: ” Someone who sees his solution to a problem fail, but then keeps on trying the same remedy in the hope of getting a different result. ”
And presently, that seems exactly like Bruno ! For five league games we`ve seen the same things. The same team selections. The same inability to even look like we may just manage to score a goal from open play.
But nothing changes. The same end of game comments that we are playing wonderful attacking football, but we need to convert the chances. So who, Bruno, is going to actually score the missing goals ?
Traore is an enigma. Exciting to watch with huge potential. But potential never realized. No end results. Trincao has lots of skill but seemingly is not up for a fight, is lightweight and has little scoring potential. Raul is a shadow of his former self, left alone up front with zero real support. We have no midfielders capable of bursting into the box to contribute. The nearest we have to this is Dendonker who is left marginalised on the bench.
So Bruno, before you get the sack in very early course, which will undoubtedly be your reward when the hugely incompetent Shi attempts to cover his arse by blaming you for our failure, why not bite the bullet? Be bold. Make changes. Revert to your supposed favored 4-4 2 formation. Boly and Mosqera at the back as part of a four. The Korean guy up front , not as a replacement for Raul, but as a support to him. Dendonker in midfield. Podens out wide. It could well work.
Bruno, Shi`s gross incompetense /stupidity has dropped you right in the mire. You`ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying new solutions to solve the massive problems which are not of your making.
Ah, that word “solutions” again, much used latterly by Nuno and now Bruno. I agree that Bruno HAS to find them quickly otherwise he will not last as long as Walter Zenga did.
Jeff Shi have short fuse.
I’m sorry Adama is a lovely sight, but it’s like touching the six lottery numbers, then having them taken away, he’s never going to change, a Olympic sprinter, with no footballing brain, Beckham was slow, but I wonder how many assists and goals he got, that’s why no top 6 club has bought him, please wolves no Barnsley away trips next season, my ticker won’t take it, wolves aie we.
My Sheffield United friend says mgw is a worldbeater, can’t believe wolves loaned him, wolves aie we.
Maybe, and this is a tad sarcastic, because he’s not Portuguese!
Allen this may well be a very realistic comment
If Dendonker was Portuguese would he be left endlessly on the bench ? I doubt it.
If Silva was an English Bill Smith from Bilston, would he continue to be mollycoddled , or would he have been loaned out to some nondescript Divsion 2 Club which are better suited to his talents ? But he`s Porutguese, so he must be a world beater ! Right ?
Seriously, why in every transfer window do we appear to give priority to signing Portugues players ?
There`s someething drastically wrong with our thinking
I’m not even sure what to say about that comment. I don’t want to be a dick – but, it’s not q very intelligent comment.
Do you honestly think Lage would rather lose with Portuguese players than win with Belgian players?
I get that people are sensitive right now. But, think about what you’re saying. That’s absurd.
Also, don’t take away the fact that some of these Portuguese players (e.g., Trincão) would not be likely to come to Wolves if not for the Portuguese group of players.
Hey Lou,
I`m only trying to point out that the world`s a very big place, and lots of nations have great footballers who would love the chance to peform in the Premiership.
Why then is it the case that our first port of call — for managers as well as players — is always Portugal ? That country does not have a monopoly on quality or value. Why not widen the net ?
The well proven British guy Danny Ings cost Villa some twnty five million. Does that not represent massive greater value than the thirty five million we lammed out for the useless Potuguese junior Silva ?
Yes agree it does seem lobsided. MGW said the commentator had the potential to be the Championships best player. His cross was superb yesterday for Sharp’s goal. Oh well it’s early days we have to keep the Hope. We will certainly see what our new manager is made of. Some on Twitter are starting to compare him to Zenga and Connor.
There’s a major difference in quality between the two divisions. We all know he’s not. Hopefully, with game time he’ll be much better on his return.
MGW is probably more at home in the Championship at this stage.
Adama has made some wonderful passes this season. I think he is improving in that regard.
Just hope that one was a complete aberration and Bruno realises what he’s up against and makes the necessary adjustments to stop us being shoved aside in such an easy fashion.
It could well have been 6.0, a massive wake up call that. Unlike Ben above and the doggy bag I did see some positives. Boly and Mosquera on the bench, and that bench did look strong.
But more so Hwang and Podence looked good, both need a run out from the start. Surely with 3 at the back he has to give Ait-Nouri a run at left wing back?
But those decisions are Bruno’s to make. We always seem to capitulate to big athletic centre forwards. Why?
But that’s not the only problem, the complete lack of firepower is worrying. Three home defeats , nil scored at home, early days but the fight is on to really show our fight and mettle. You just have to win your home games or trips to Preston, Barnsley and Hull are very much a reality.
It could have well been 2-2.
Yes it could have but they had a couple of really good chances missed, one when Neves lost the ball in front of our penalty area. They hit the bar. VAR saved us one of the disallowed goals, it was called wrongly for offside but VAR spotted a handball. But agree in matches there are always could haves and what ifs. I was just making the point that we were pretty comprehensively beaten when all said and done.
Well that was disappointing to say the least don’t understand why we play Kilman at right CH when he can’t kick a ball with his right foot. Why is Boly sitting on the bench when he’s are best defender Lage has got to change things starting against Spurs. It is very worrying that we just can not score what’s going on it was the same last season and Jeff Shi has done nothing to improve things. We Imo need to play with a back four and put either Hwang or Silva up top with Jiminez to give him some support. All so have to say there time wasting was shameful especially from Pontus who jumped on the floor all match. He did it in the penalty area and no one touched him yet there physios were still allowed on to treat him but he was not injured the by that time the ref had completely lost control.
Football clubs are never in steady state. You are either progressing or regressing and we are definitely the latter. The root cause of this? Fosun drawing back from their original objective to making us a European force in 10 years and so as other clubs invest we become self financing. To compound this, however, within the self financing model, we have significant mistakes. Firstly, the colossally bad reinvestment of the dividend from the jota and Doherty transfers. Semedo has added nothing, in fact we have replaced the regular goals and assists from Doherty with a reasonably competently player at a cost of 30m with a resale value that is getting significantly less everyday. We have spent 35m on a generational talent that may come good. Probably a justified punt if we were already in the CL and had a large reservoir of talent at our disposal but we are not and boy, couldn’t we do with 35m invested in an established midfielder or forward right now? And to layer on our problems further we have an unhealthy over reliance on one agent and so despite Jeff ‘s protestations we are severely restricting ourselves in what should be a truly global search for the very best. And if that wasn’t enough, the supporting infrastructure at the club is now filled with ineffective yes men who for the 3rd window in a row made a completely balls of acquiring what was truly needed. I feel sorry for Bruno, seems a decent man and is trying to get us playing decent, attacking football but he has been scandalously left short and everyday, the true intention of the fosun/ mendes axis at our club becomes clearer- simply a conduit for player trading of young talent and not a platform for building a force in European football.
Sutton I’ve been saying the same for 2 years now……sad to say but know finally others are seeing through the bullshit.
Jeff and FOSUN are just using WW FC as a vehicle to make money they have no interest in the football team its self they have got us to the Premier League to trade players not to compete.
But ,Paul.. to make money surely the team has to be successful otherwise it won’t make them any money.
I think the problems are higher than Jeff.
Exactly Bruno I agree with you you they both go hand in hand successfully on the pitch success off the pitch ie more revenue…..but you have to invest in the team to make it successful……..but Jeff and FOSUN just look at a player for there re: sale value not what they can do for the team…….Jeff won’t pay the going rate for quality players Rubén Dias who went to City is a classic example……..look at him now……but Jeff won’t pay the asking price…….penny pinching…..or pound pinching call it what you like,
Look at the squad after fours years in the Premier League a lot of the staring 11 and squad was with us in the Championship….!
Boly.
Coady.
Sias.
Neves.
Ruddy. (Bench)
Kilman.
Brentford were good value for there win they were everything we are not. A centre forward like Toney a centre back and a midfielder with a bit of metal not fancy tricks is what we needed the lack of foresight, commitment and the transfer policy by our chairman is coming back to haunt us.
They had purpose intent and yeah they wasted time they played every trick in the book but that doesn’t hide the fact there were better than us in every department yesterday.
Every fan I spoke to yesterday were of the same view Jeff has hung Bruno out to dry pathetic last minute attempts to give Bruno NOT what he wanted but what he NEEDSto do the job shows just how badly the club is run my one man, if this season does go tits up Jeff Shi will be the one to blame.
Pennywise pound foolish. Yes we know it’s difficult but Villa seem to have managed it and sailed right past us from a far more agricultural base. Shopping in multiple markets for their prime cuts and landing PROVEN quality ay thay. Who would have thought it possible.
After beating Watford this should have been a 3 point banker but we didn’t turn up. There wasn’t a single wolves player who played well. A few nice touches here and there but overall pretty hopeless. Brentford go down to 10 men, we take three defenders off and still have no shots on target. I won’t criticise individuals because they were all poor. Bruno is stuck with this squad until January and can chop and change players and formations but has to make do with what he has. And we will come up against teams who are worse than us but we could be in dire straits by january. We now have to go to Southampton and win which won’t be easy and beat Newcastle at home. That would give us 7 points from 7 games which ain’t bad. Ever hopeful!
Hi Ben…. That errant doggie bag was my Toffee Crisp wrapper that blew away…
Still I agree with everything you’ve written mate.
We were inept in every department and I include Sa for his dribble actions in his 6 yd box trying to sell a dummy to Toney…. Wosack.
We simply had no answer as to how to break them down, even with 10 men.
True, they were well organised and uncompromising but they certainly did a number on us and we’re worthy winners.
As you say too.. the time wasting was of the highest level and Darren (another useless specimen of officialdom OR tosser) England let it go unchecked.
I too endorse you comment about the Wolves’ media machine publishing all those wonderful goals in training, in a non contact, hypothetical rehearsal of what might have been yesterday…. Utterly embarrassing as we’ve now had one tap in in 450 minutes of play.
Lot of work to be done I’m afraid and some personnel changes must abound… no-one came out of yesterday with any credit.
I feel sad that we had all the strikers, that we possess, on the pitch at the same time in the last ten minutes and still not one goal.
I made an earlier comment about not being able to hit a barn door at four paces… I still stand by that or are we just unlucky?
I’m trying to be optimistic but it looks like a long stressful season ahead, uncomfortably watching our beloved Wolves play…
Brentford Had the ball in the net four times it in the first 45 minutes. Okay two were ruled out. In five games we have scored two goals 450 minutes. Goals is the only stat that matters in football.
Always had a sneaky regard for Brentford. Smallish club, but ambitious. Some canny signings and a distinctive playing style.
But yesterday, with them 2-0 up and the game there for the taking they chose to demonstrate the ugliest side of football.
Gamesmanship to the extreme, with players going dow after every challenge, and sometimes when not even challenged.
Time wasting at every opportunity: goal kicks, throw ins, substitutions, free kicks, you name it.
And all in the knowledge that such an insipid referee would do nothing about it.
Welcome to the new, Premier League version of Brentford FC.
RIP Jimmy Greaves. The best goal poacher ever. Brilliant sense of humour and orator too.
When it finally dawns on fosun that their so called master plan of world dominance in the transfer market doesn’t work they will sell our club as quickly as they purchased it and that will happen before the value falls to such an extent that its worthless.
The writing is on the wall .. no investment in the ground is a good starter considering all the hullabaloo about re development and of course the last three transfer windows which have been shameful hardly inspire any one with confidence for the future and of course we are now self financing so we throw £35 million at fabio silva who in my opinion is bloody useless and surely there must be fraud involved in that transfer.
Paul AD has been banging on for ages about fosuns intentions .. well .. its hard to swallow but he may just be right .
In my defence I must state that this is a complete over reaction to yesterdays result
Ben & Thomas Spot on.
I really hope Jeff Shi reads all the blogs on this blog and perhaps he can honestly reflect where he and Fosun have bolloxed things up.
We have all witnessed time and time again defeats like this and it really puts things into prospective how we are unprepared and inadequate we are against teams like Brentford who have a big Quick centre forward to batter our defence with balls over the top of which we have never addressed, Coady Can’t defend those balls and Marcel should be relegated to the bench with Coady.
Time for a change all over the pitch against Spurs Wednesday night, give bench warmers a chance to see what they can do.
Full backs guarding posts and goal line at corners, our big guys marking their big guys- what’s wrong with that?
What are we paying sports scientists and analysts for if they aren’t telling us about Brentford’s set piece routines ? Are they actually watching patterns of play from previous games and warning us what to watch out for?
Following the Ivan Toney Show last night, Martin Keown pretty much nailed it but I was reminded of a certain Chris Wood who marmalised our defence a few months ago . Wasn’t that the tipping point for Jeff Shi..? Oh yes, getting another big strong oven ready centre back into the first team, a creative midfielder and a proven striker BEFORE next season.
Playing left footed defenders and left footed forwards on the right flank makes the pitch narrower because all the passing angles are wrong. In the first half, their left back was never tested or troubled. At the same time, Traore is doing the same on the left flank so the point of attack is 10 yards wide. Against a 10 man defence this is pointless and very easy to defend. No width means no penetration. Trincao is a lightweight luxury and Traore’s value is based on running fast and hopefully delivering a cross with his good foot.
So much of this blindingly obvious to most of the people in the ground and to 99% of the bloggers here. It’s why we are so upset and disappointed.
We can moan about the problems till doomsday but nothing can be done till the January transfer window so we may as well talk about possible solutions with what we have in front of us, we’re not a club in crisis ‘yet’ (although we could be in a few more games!)
If you watch a video of Traore assists, none come from when he’s pushed to the line by opposing players and gets a cross off just before the ball goes out of play but this has become a staple of his game now. Most of his successful assists come from a pull back and a low drive into the box or a pass/cross when he’s heading towards the 18yard box. Clearly when he uses so much energy and pace to beat one or two players and pop a cross off on the line he’s lost the ability to control the cross so it gets hoofed usually ending up in open space on the opposite side of the 18yard box. Surely 10 hopeful low drives would yield more than ten hopeful high hoofs as a player can stick a toe in on a low drive but noone gets near his high crosses. This was a staple last year too, this is a training ground issue and as most of our creativity comes through Traore this needs to change.
Marcal! Wtf even was that. That rugby tackle was awful and put us on the backfoot early doors. Boly would’ve been a good option to mark Toney with his size and stature.
Wholesale change a must for the next game as continuing to plough the same route would be pointless (no punn intended). Hwang needs to start imo with Jimi on the bench.
Looking forward to seeing our bench on Thurs and hopefully some glimmers of light in the gloom.
When you say we have to make do till January…….I think I r ember people saying something similar end of January……….we will have to wait till the summer…….and look what happened.
The bottom line is window after window after window we have failed to strengthen winter or summer……with our chairmans/owners policy on transfers I wouldn’t hold out much hope…..and that going on past windows not me being half empty..that’s fact.
And who’s going to want to come to us January if we are struggling. Those first two seasons the feel good factor the up ward momentum has been pissed away by back management on and off the pitch mostly off the pitch.
We had the same amount of time as every other club in the League to buy players but failed.
I don’t disagree but we can’t do anything till Jan, if the business is not done early then we know we’re in the same loop. It’s massively frustrating but we’re not at the ‘Fosun Out’ stage yet, far from it.
Something is wrong in our transfer dept for sure, that was plainly obvious with Fabio Silva’s pricetag, not even writing a performance based payment structure into the contract just smelt very bad. Personally i think that was either Mendes pay off or he just conned Fosun cos he had them eating out of his hand. Silva never looked like the new Ronaldo from any angle and that’s what was sold to us. Personally i feel sorry for the lad either way you look at, even if the deal was kosher he wasn’t worth it and it’s a lot of pressure. I have no doubts he will be a very good striker though in the future but he will probably want to leave Wolves by the time he gets there and has warmed the bench for a few years and played in the League Cup. I hope i’m wrong.
Our transfer policy is confusing to say the least and clearly at this point, is not working. We’re 5 games into the season though, iv gotta be at least 10 games in before i start full on moaning.
Until then i’m clinging on to the hope of a turn around.
Jeff Shi is doing what he is told to do………he has not gone rogue FOSUN would have pulled him out by now if he had.
You Talk a lot of sense..
Balanced and calm.
Just got to sit tight with maybe a couple of decent loan signings hoping we don’t have a freezing start to winter cos the Portuguese family won’t like that much.
That’s an excellent analysis of the Traore conundrum . With the changes you’re suggesting we can beat Southampton.
If you throw in the Celta Vigo friendly that is 4 successive home games without a goal. That is getting on close to six and a half hours. In my simple view of what is an essentially simple game, the idea is to get the ball between the 2 posts and crossbar. The fact we can’t do it will set the alarm bells ringing. In this league you will invariably get found out at the other end of the pitch. See yesterday. We are stuck with what we have got until January so it is how we get the best out of those players at our disposal. Looking at the fixtures Watford, Brentford, Saints, Newastle I probably would have taken 7 points from those. So far we have 3. So 4 more to come from the next 2. If we continue to fall behind 1 point per game average we are seriously in a relegation battle. I am sticking to the 10 game mantra before I make up my mind where we are heading. But if we repeat what we have from the first 5 that means 6 points from 10. That will set the alarm bells ringing.
The alarm bells have been ringing for nearly 12 months. And those of us who have been ringing them have been constantly pilloried for saying it. We are getting virtually no shots on target, so not surprising we can’t score.
T
The Jiminez “accident” was the catalyst but the problem dates back to a total over reliance on him which predates his injury and the incompetent attempts (and lack of) to find back up. And sad to say at the moment he looks a shadow of his former self.
Loved the first words of your blog, Ben.
An errant bag.
How many of them I dated and tried to bonk back in my youth!!
Ah, memories!
We all got ‘em, and mostly they are good, coz we forget or repress the bad things in life.
In twenty years time, if any of us old farts are still around, we’re still gonna reflect on this period as golden, despite the hiccups along the way.
Keep the faith, lads and lassies, and errant bags, this is the glorious life of being a fan of the best club in the World.
Life is good.
Bruno said he wanted 23 players and the official site says we have 23 senior players so I don’t know what you are talking about. Yes, 3 are out injured but that is beside the point.
An afterthought about Darren England.
Yes, lost the plot when not dealing with awful time wasting tactics which deserved minimum 10 minutes extra time but is he the first referee brave enough to call a penalty for all the barging and holding that is now commonplace in every match? Has he set a worthy precedent for all referees at any level to copy?
He warned the players involved at the first corner, no excuses for Marcal’s rugby/judo move. Giving penalties should stop the practice and so it should.
Don’t get me started on late flagging for blatant offsides.
Spot on with penalty issue, as long as they are consistent. As you say has been needed for a long time.
Yet again, small margins. A crass error by Marcal and a collective malfunction by Kilman, Coady and Saiss leaves us in a fairly dark place. Putting all our strikers on simply meant that any shape we had, any understanding certain players had of what was expected of them, was lost. Ironically, the one player who might have got us back into the game was Dendoncker, left sitting on the bench. Once Podence and Hwang were on we needed a runner from midfield (something neither Neves or Moutinho ever do) prepared to commit himself to getting into Brentford’s box, disturbing their set-up which was all too comfortable by then.
Positives ? Not many. But had Traore’s effort gone in off the bar, Raul’s header been on target, had Ajer cut his toe-nails that morning thus not depriving Hwang of a certain goal maybe we could have got something from this match.
I’m hugely disappointed by Trincao so far who looks like a man wondering what he is doing in this place. He needs to get a grip as its clear he has the technical ability to do something special in this League if he applies himself.
Basically, it appears the squad is still stuck in Nuno’s style of play but just playing it higher up the pitch. Slow. deliberate passing, refusal to play between the lines, always looking for solutions out wide, reluctance to take risks in the final third.
Where do we go from here ? I have no idea, but I’m thinking that if we don’t have at least one more win under our belts by next Sunday evening alarm bells will be ringing in Shanghai.
Jeff Shi has to go – through being inept to the board and not telling them how dire it all is.
We need players and about £150M quids worth..
As regards Bruno he will lead us down if he doesn’t insist that he needs 2 strikers a midfielder and a defender who isn’t a wrestler..
I also thought these days were behind us too…
We are odds on relegation contenders and that absolutely makes me fume…
Sorry Steve but you are talking rot. We are 5/1 to be relegated. That’s a long way from being odds on.
Actually steve … you are not as wrong as a few will make you out to be . I’ve been at a family wedding this weekend and I have a cousin who has played football professionally and semi pro . He is a wolves fan and attends games . He always tries to explain things to me from a level that I have not experienced and tries to be realistic as apposed to my wolves tinted spectacles. He did say similar
He doesn’t know why we paid 35 m for fabio
He says conor is sometimes too slow ,
He’s sadly, of the opinion that Mourtinio s legs have gone… and worse still he thinks that Raul is no where near his best self and is giving the ball away too much .
I unfortunately have to listen to him as he knows his stuff . He definitely thinks the midfield is where we should have spent . Sanches was the type of player we needed but not actually but a similar player .
‘He doesn’t know why we paid 35 m for fabio’
Nobody apart from Mendes knows why we paid £35m. Even the relevant authorities.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/fabio-silva-wolves-jorge-mendes-24628156
‘He says conor is sometimes too slow’
Yup but Gareth Southgate is a lot more qualified than your cousin and he rates him.
‘He’s sadly, of the opinion that Mourtinio s legs have gone’
This would be Joao Moutinho the first choice Portugese international midfielder, just started two games for them in the recent World Cup qualifying international break and played 4 games for them in Euro 21 in the Summer.
‘He definitely thinks the midfield is where we should have spent . Sanches was the type of player we needed but not actually but a similar player .’
Perhaps a similar player who’s not injured for the next few months?
Makes you think don’t it ballsall..
Noone has a clue what this season will produce.
Even the management …
Could be an absolutely wonderful season… maybe not.
On paper we’re worldbeaters
Yeah lol
Look what McCarthy y did for the Ireland squad.
It’s not always about having the best players.. sometimes the best players are the ones that you have
I said midfield is where we need to strengthen last season london.a strong midfield before strikers and defence.A beefed up middle is attack And defence.
He always talks rot. He wanted rid of Nuno and he got his wish. We were NEVER in this position under Nuno.
I am depressed. What I saw yesterday was what I saw most weeks before Nuno joined us.
OK, so Nuno has gone but I am fearful that we are going backwards now. I must admit that I am losing interest, but am glad I was fortunate enough to see us play some brilliant matches over the last few years.
Seriously considering watching from afar unless this changes pdq.
Nuno wasn’t backed by the club.
As soon as Laurie Dalrymple left it looked as if Nuno was marginalised in transfer decisions which became the Shi & Mendes show. Cuitrone, Jordao,, the sales of Jota and Doc etc, the “ones for the future” instead of players for the present. Can’t believe this was all on Nuno’s wish list.
Glad to read someone agrees. Once Nuno was not given the support needed the writing was on the wall. To me, and since my first attended game in 1969, Nuno was the best manager I ever saw at the club. Top 7th in the top league and European competition, what was not to like.
I am not dismissing Lage, and I hope he delivers, but without the backing needed I do not see him achieving what we have recently had.
BW
Many on here are in denial. The gold tinted glasses brigade aren’t out in force yet, but for sure they will hit back.
Apart from Cullis I would put Nuno on a par with McGarry and Barnwell.
And Bruno can only work with the tools he’s given.
It’s a funny old game!
R.I.P Greavsie you were a legend.
At the final whistle yesterday the first thing I did was to check when we play Burnley. Brentford highlighted our shortcomings much as Burnley do every time we play them(30th Nov) and their off the ball antics were exactly the same as well.
Our transfer policy over the last two years is coming back to haunt us. The left back position remains a problem area. Marcal would appear to prefer playing rugby and unless Ait-Nouri has put on at least a stone and can now actually head the ball, for me he remains far too weak for the Premiership defensively. Our reliance on non-UK players means that in the summer instead of going for Antonee Robinson -the finished article- for £10m we invested the same amount of money in “potential”
Given his record over the last couple of seasons I don’t think that we can rely on Boly for more than 20 games a season so we have to look for reinforcement from within.Both Kilman and Coady have their attributes but again both, particularly Coady, are turned too easily. You just have to hope that the gradual introduction of Mosquera will give us the physicality and stability we are begging for. Again, despite our investment in youth over the past few years, it’s disappointing that no one from the u23’s is breaking his neck to challenge for a first team spot – or perhaps he’s already on loan somewhere.
On the positive side we must remain confident that in Jiminez, Traore, Hwang and Podence we have players who can trouble defences and score goals if those behind can provide the chances.
Agree with your comments about the left back position and of course Ait- Nouri is an Uncle Jorge client!
I also think that a number of our recent signings despite having good skill levels lack the physicality required for the English game.
The one certainty about Jeff Shi is that while his knowledge of the game may be limited, he must be astute enough to realise that his relationship with Mendez is not providing the on pitch success he was looking for.
Plenty of commission and fees going into the Gestitute coffers though. It runs into millions since Fosun arrived.
Neves, Costa, Cav, Jota, Jonny, Semedo. Patricio, Podence, Moutinho, Doc, Semedo, Campana, Neto, Cuitrone / Jordao?, Vinagre, Sa, Silva, Ait-Noori. Trincao several of whom have been in and out. And I’m sure others I’ve missed.
And Fosun taking a cut all round with part ownership of Gestitute.
Conflict of interest?
MGW ironically would have been a great fit yesterday
Nuno out!!!
Writing on the wall in North London!!
Oh how they would love another Jimmy Greaves about now.
Indeed, RIP Jimmy, one of the all time greats.
I can’t help feeling we did the wrong thing in sacking Nuno. I didn’t understand it at the time. I don’t now. Maybe he’s back here by Xmas!
That would be a retrogressive step!
7 hours before kick off I’d written saying yesterday’s game was one of those that felt far more important than the 3 points on offer – pivotal I’d called it. In all honesty, I had in my mind that we would likely win, and so would start our steady climb up the table, with Jimenez and Traore starting to fire once again, Hwang playing an effective supporting role, Podence chipping in, Neves continuing to control the midfield and Boly and Mosquera due back imminently to add much needed authority and pace to the back line. Neto back before Christmas and everything would be hunky dory.
The first three defeats would be a small blip, a perfectly understandable blot on Bruno’s CV, after all they were 3 tough opening games.
And then yesterday happened. Or, the contents of that doggy bag happened. Right now the blip was the win against Watford. The opportunity to build on a morale boosting away win not just lost; it was thrown away, thrown further than a Tessa Sanderson javelin.
So everything Wolves now feels grim, dire, dark, disappointing. Early season optimism gone. Replaced by anger, frustration, told you so, and so on. All perfectly understandable. Much of it justified.
Just a couple of points I’d make as pretty much everything else has been said already on this excellent post.
No one at Wolves, Fosun, Shi, Lage, or agent Mendes has anything to gain from our club performing poorly. Absolutely nothing. Quite the opposite. So, we can assume they are not happy with current events, and will want to take action to sort it out. Sooner rather than later I’d hope.
2019/20 after 5 games we also had 3 points. 3 draws, but still 3 points. Finished 7th that season.
I’ve learnt in life nothing is ever quite as bad or quite as good as it seems. Unless you wake up one morning with a WBA tattoo across your forehead.
We are in the Premier League with 33 games to go and there are 4 teams below us.
Perspective at all times.Enjoy the roller coaster ride that is Wolverhampton Wanderers.
UTW !
Good stuff mate. Good stuff.
Just because Jeff and FOSUN and Mendez didn’t plan this…….DOES not excuse there incompetence and total disregard for the fans for there arragonace at thinking they know best……espeacilly Jeff………poor management is no excuse…..it just compounds there incompadance
It is arrogant to think you know best, I’ll give you that.
Good post Mutt.
One question I’d like to ask Jeff Shi…………why did FOSUN by Wolves after 4 years of ownership he or FOSUN have never given us a direct answer……..and to this day I’m baffled as to why…….?
Because they were on the lookout for a football club to buy at the right price. They looked at several clubs including Sandwell Town.. They bought Wolves for 30 million. It is most certainly in their interest to sell us on for maximum gain. They looked at the price, our history, potential. They initially pumped funds in to get us to the premier. League. To maximise potential gain. It is in their interest to maintain Premier league status. Apparently Fosun were prepared to unleash another wave of funding, but Jeff declined because he is trying to prove his worth. That theory will be tested come Xmas if we are wallowing around in the bottom 3. It is not in Fosuns interest to have a prime asset at risk of relegation. The assumption is Jeff may be a potential casualty should things regress alarmingly.
I assume they had an interest in international football already, since they own Mendes’ agency. When they looked to buy an English club Wolves must have looked very tempting, and they were proved right about the club’s potential. It doesn’t mean that Fosun were prepared to break the bank to take Wolves to the very top.
China anyway has an ongoing plan to increase their influence all over the world in every sphere,and all Chinese companies have certain obligations to their government.
‘…since they own Mendes’ agency.’.
No they do not. How many times does this have to be repeated ?
I wasn’t actually asking the question…..I still don’t see why an investment Company would want to own a football club when 99 per cent are in debt and just money pits
I can understand someone like Jack Hayward and Jack Walker because they were genuine fans of the clubs they owned.
Paul
Reuters have a very interesting take on the historical tripartite relationship between Fosun, Mendes and WWFC. Well worth a read..
First off: a quick thanks to all the bloggers on here who, without wanting to get all ‘drama’ about it, gave me some comfort this morning after ‘that’ performance, knowing I’m not the only one feeling it.
Regarding the game itself, given that performances (but not results) have generally been decent so far, the only thing I can put yesterday down to is complacency. Maybe we thought we could just turn up for the three points? (it DOES happen, based on an ex PL and England international’s book I read recently). Maybe Tony’s comments about teams disrespecting Brentford with ‘Championship’ jibes were aimed at us? Dunno, but that was a proper humbling, and felt a bit like the last time we were relegated from the PL…
I think over the last couple of years, we’ve seen/seeing the consequences of starting last season with a weaker squad and this season with a weaker management structure.
Looking at things rationally, and I’m not having a go at them here, but Fosun are still learning how to run a club in the PL, still trying to find the right balance between high levels of investment in players for today, and lower levels of investment in players for tomorrow (the profits from which they hope will fund the ‘today’ players in the future, i.e. a self-financing club).
From any angle you care to look at it from, the last thing Fosun want is relegation, and if we continue to struggle, I think they’ll realise that they need to adjust their today/tomorrow balance more towards the ‘today’ and invest in a couple of ‘oven-ready’ players in January.
Can anyone give a definitive account of Wolves position in relation to the financial fair play situation ? A lot of stories have been quoted about needing to sell to buy too. If buying any of the new players wanted would we have had to sell Traore and/or Neves ?
This is not the definative but covers where we are at this season as regards FFP. It says we have to break even this season else we face more sanctions.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/aug/07/wolves-must-cut-squad-if-they-qualify-for-europe-after-ffp-breach-uefa
Hi Balsall. The sanction is a further 400,000 euros in fines and having to play with a squad of 23 if we qualify for Europe this season rather than 25. A) we haven’t even got a proper squad of 23 currently b) the chances of us qualifying for Europe for this season are definitely open to debate c) we paid out £8m euros in fees to Jorge and Fabio’s dad in doing the Silva deal so 400k in fines is neither here nor there. The one thing Jeff said in his recent interview that actually rings true is that FFP was most definitely not a factor in the outcome of the recent transfer window.
Cheers Sutton, i think the Silva deal was used as a front for a backhander to Mendes for ‘favours’ and other backhanders to Porto. Silva was never more than a £15m player and that’s being generous.
FFP is a joke, clearly demonstrated by Man City winning their appeal over CL ban. A toothless regulation to create a facade of some sort of level playing field. Total BS.
Team for Spurs in the cup.
Bruno is taking it serious I think but will be chance to give those comming back a game.
3-4-1-2
Ruddy
Boly, Coady, killman
Semado,, Donk, Neves,, ain’t nuri
Whang
Pod, Jimenez
And when we are 3-0 up with 10 to go bring on Mosquitto, Traure.
Could anyone please tell me where are “the ones for the future” in our hour of need; we have been told for 3/4 years by Shi and Mendes the way forward was to invest for the future to progress.
Well the future is here. Where are they? Average age of yesterday’s starting XI was around 27, bench maybe a tad younger.
So they must be out on loan, sold or have fallen by the wayside.
Dang, that was fugly! I mean really, really fugly!!!
But every team has a game where nothing goes right at some point. This was ours (duh, obvious.) Back to work we go.
Not to worry, we’ve just launched our own record label.
Although I’m not sure if anybody actually buys records anymore…?
I saw that to Newt. Lot of avid collectors of vinyl out there tbf, some going for big bucks too.
I wonder if all the diversification into this, cruises, games et al is just away of increasing turnover/revenue to overcome the rules on T/O versus expenditure for the WWFC holding company?
Just a thought, looking for some positivity amongst the gloom.
Keep the faith bloggers.
Bring back Big Dave. He’s scored 3 in 2 games for Bala Town
Well I get the agonized wailings from all and sundry but ,,,
I have a very personal battle that didn’t go well Saturday.
My daughter met her Australian (now) husband while he was studying in London,
Now they live in Melbourne,
While he was in London he fell in love not only with my daughter but also Brentford FC
I now have a granddaughter…..called Edie
In panic I sent her appropriate football kit ( see photo)
Alas, when we had a family zoom call Saturday afternoon my son-in law was smiling broadly and wearing his red/white scarf….pointing out the futility of putting his daughter in Wolves kit
This, my friends, is a BIG problem even when compared to the agony over neanderthal defending , mistrust of Fosun and Mendez and expensive forwards who can’t score in a month of Sundays…
So when is that light coming, may I ask?
Simple answer.
Tell them you will get busy spending their inheritance, unless there is a change of allegiance.
That’s certainly a tonic after last week’s game
She’s lovely
Why was Big Willy not bought into the team when playing a team with a 2m striker. Is he not fully fit? Marcal was left out to dry and had no hope of controlling the gert lummox.
Credit to Brentford. We won’t be the only side to come a cropper at their hands this season.
Anyone going to the Spurs game Wednesday? I have been known to take a pre-match glass of fine ale if anyone fancies chewing the fat.
I heard it all now. Wolves are starting a record label. Russell Jones says in local rag starting a record label will expose Wolves to new fans……….really we I hope they don’t want to come and watch Wolves because there’s no where for them to sit.
He says the money generated will be fed back into the club and ground…….when..? 5 years, 10 years. What about investing in the the football side of the club ever thought of that, its absolutely getting ridulous now the amount of ventures the club are getting involved in that having nothing to do with football or Wolves apart from sticking the club badge on a game cover or a CD sleeve how is that going to generate more exposer and more fans really .
More bullshit to try and deflect criticism away from Jeff and FOSUN. At this rate we will be the best known club in the world but for reasons that are nothing to do with football.
You really couldn’t my this crap up…!
Can’t disagree with that Paul.
I think getting into all the non football stuff such as this is because they need to generate money for the football side.
It’s becoming rather embarrassing .
Anything that generates money for the football side has my backing. So there.
And if it doesn’t, at least they’ve tried it.
Sticking a wolves logo on a record how is that going to help fund transfers and stadium redevelopment.
how many records do think they need to sell to by a striker……its ridulous to say this new venture is going to provide funds for players and the stadium….I suggest you read the full article…….no wonder we are in a mess this Russell Jones head of marketing is living in cooko land they couldn’t of picked a more cut throat business to go into.
Is is Christmas because panto season has started.
And we all know who the panto clown is, don’t we , Paul?
Oh no we don’t, we do know who Widow Twanky y is though.
Fully agree, lots of concerns on this thread regarding the perception that the club is regressing. This development, at least, demonstrates a willingness to look at new options to increase commercial revenue. Comparison has been made to Spurs and Man U commercial activities and we appear to have best chance of success with Warner involved. Continual wringing of hands and Luddite attitudes won’t help atm.
A brand is a collection of attributes. The wolf head logo and our colours are very distinctive. Extending the brand into non football related activities is actually a smart move to exploit its full value. Think pop stars with clothing, perfume ranges etc. However, the core attribute of the brand has to remain attractive, relevant etc. Who would buy Gary glitter aftershave for example? To that end, if our football team regresses by association all other related products, services etc will be perceived as inferior. However, the converse is also true, a successful football team, disrupting the world order will be seen as cool and attractive and a beneficial multiplier effect will be seen in associated products. If Russell Jones thinks these spin off products can be successful as a stand alone in their own right without the core brand being successful he is a prize idiot.
When did he say that?
The point is don’t invest in spin off areas until you have a coherent plan and evidence of making your core product really successful e.g Branson exploited the virgin brand once the core product record shops and label were already successful and not before. The fact that Russell Jones thinks lots of wolves branded services/ products will generate sufficient revenue to support the core product implies that he thinks they can stand alone. Otherwise why try and get these products/ services off the ground now while the core product I.e. the football team is clearly regressing
Agree totaly Sutton……its the classic chicken and egg senario..!
Have just read Russell Jones’s CV on the official website. Wish him well but not inspired.
Lots of waffle about nebulous outside marketing projects to close the gap on the big six.
Sorry the way to close the gap on the big six is to invest in players and football related infrastructure. MUFC are particularly adept at cashing in on their FOOTBALL brand and Fosun’s marketing strategy should be similar, specially with their far eastern strengths to play on.. That was the plan when they came in, but they seem to be drifting away from most of their 2017 strategies.
If we wish to get into showbiz related entertainment business why not sponsor Cirque du Soleil Mr Jones – keep it within the group.They are just about to reopen big style in the US and Canada. Seems to make more sense than this hairbrained scheme.
It appears there is more than one clown on this blog.
Once again, who are we to tell Fosun et al what to do with THEIR money?
If someone came to my home and told me how to spend my hard earned dosh, they would get a two word retort, the second one being OFF.
Who is TELLING anyone what do?
And yes there are plenty of clowns on this blog including you.
We had this situation a while back, with you and your half wit brother Paul, or perhaps you are the same person, and he just pretends to have a spelling and grammar problem, and it got too personal, as it now appears you want to again.
Therefore I shall firstly refrain from lowering myself into the gutter you currently occupy, and secondly say no more.
The old saying that you cannot argue with a closed mind applies in your case.
No need to respond, I am gone.
I don’t hide behind anyone or anything Clive or Texas Jack or any other name you’ve called yourself in the past..!
Just like you isn’t it you cannot put forward a reasoned response so you result to insults and say your off.
You really need to grow up.
‘…you cannot put forward a reasoned response so you result to insults and say your off.’
Pot, kettle…
I recall discussing something with you in the summer and your final line was ‘…I’d love to chat but your boring me now…..!’
I see you’re still having trouble with your Italian keyboard…
Congratulations, btw, on single-handedly turning what was an open, friendly blog into a parody of the worst excesses of social media.
I responded in kind……think on this I have never called anyone a derocitory name unless provoked.
I have been called a Bastard……by Clive and a half wit and other names…..have I called anyone a Bastard on this Blog…NO……Have I used someone else’s name and log on details to try and inpercenate them and stir up trouble…..NO I haven’t.
Yo and Clive and everyone else on here have the right to disagree with me……..BUT you don’t have the right to abuse me and name call me and think I am not going to defend myself.
I have single handedly turned this blog in the worse excess of social media really……..I think you’d better revisit some of your mate Clive’s blogs and read them again before you make sweeping statements like that.
It seems you turn blind eye when it suits.
When have I EVER called you anything derogatory ? Evidence please.
Clive is no mate of mine, but from what I have seen he merely responds to your unimaginitive, repetitive and frankly boring attacks on Fosun. Quite why you feel the need to attack the owners who have given us our most succesful seasons for over 50 years I do not know. Your concern seems to be that they just want to make money – as though none of the owners of other clubs are trying to do the same. That they buy talented young players with the intention of developing them and sellling them on at a profit – as though no other clubs do that.
And you should get rid of that Italian keyboard – did you know that its illegal to handle stolen goods ? They have unique registration numbers and can be traced…
Don’t let him get into your head Jack, he has driven away quite a few of our erudite and intelligent bloggers over the last 2 years with his incessant and repetitive negativity.
I can accept that he is entitled to an opinion. What I can’t accept is that he never posits a cohesive argument, supported by facts, to support his opinion. I am reminded of the old phrase ‘ Never argue with an idiot – they drag you down to their level then beat you through experience’
I am not Paul.
I am not the person who started calling people clowns
I refrain from using personal insults when contributing to these columns and endeavour to air my views in a civilised and objective manner unless, as here, when responding in like manner.
You on the other hand descend into smart arse sarcasm and downright ignorance when other posters happen to have differing opinions to yours. To accuse others of having closed minds is without doubt the height of hypocrisy.
End of dialogue with the playground bully.
True, but if you were charging them to enter they might expect something more than just staring at your mug. And the more you charge the higher the expectations.
The comparison with Spurs and Man It’s is ridiculous.
Spurs last won a major Trophy 10 years ago.
Man Utd 3 years ago before that dominated Premier League for 20 years 2 European Cups.
Wolves last major Trophy 61 years ago…… .that’s why we’re are so far behind commercially
They have more commercial revenue because they have won more trophy’s…it’s as simple as that.
Mid table Premier League doesn’t get you noticed like coming first or winning a cup.
If led zeppelin were to reform and sign up to the wolves record label that would be a proper coup and a proper earner !!!!
But somehow I doubt it .
Perhaps setting up a building firm that could refurb the stadium or at least maintain it may have been a better use of any spare money.
But as our clive states its their dosh not ours so to be honest if i wanted to set up a record label and my staff didnt like it i would tell them to mind their own business and i sell motor spares which is about as far away from records as wolves fc is.
I would though have to ask myself if a record label would enhance the karparts brand or whether it was just an indulgence i liked .
Nicely balanced post looking at both sides of this rather eccentric project. Just one point though we are the club’s customers and lifeblood not their staff.
Good call Spikey –
‘Perhaps setting up a building firm that could refurb the stadium or at least maintain it may have been a better use of any spare money’
Maybe we could do a deal with that chap from Liverpool, who owns Redrow housing…lol….
Joke everyone. Trying to inject some humour between the stone throwing. 🙂
On another note, be a good game tonight, we will bounce back, beat Spurs for a confidence building win. 1-0
Redrow…… now where do I remember that name??
Did you find them on’trust a trader?’
?
Some interesting comments on here. Some balanced views, others maybe not so. But hey, it’s all about perspective.
I agree Saturday’s match was dire but it is time to move on and look forward to tonight. Wolves’ latest duel with Spurs will be interesting, not least because there are first team places for grabs throughout our team. I look forward to seeing who can seize this opportunity.
I sometimes think that some fans are happiest when we lose , and I’m starting to think we may have the moaniest fans in the league, we’ll just behind Newcastle anyway.
What could be wrong with putting something together that helps support and promote local business ( bands) ?
Anyhoo, who’s under the most pressure this evening
Bruno ?
Nuno ?
Correct, the answer is nuno , all day long .
Wolves 2
Spuds 1
Come on you wolves
Marney, I agree with you re: supporting local bands and such the part I don’t get is how is starting a record label going to fund transfers and ground redevelopment bearing in mind how much those two things costa date the label has just started.
This guy Russell Jones is telling us this will help us compete with Spurs and Man Utd commercially………I mean I find that hard to believe.
How much is this record company thing going to cost? £100,000 or £10,000,000?
Is this going to keep Jeff away from his scouting duties?
Jay-Z is a Billionaire so there must be money in the business if you are as smart as Jeff is.
Is any/all income generated by these Wolves branded ventures going into Wolves’ revenue stream or is Fosun taking it? I hope they set it up properly so FIFA will consider it Wolves revenue as far as FFP is concerned.
OMG. We are utterly crap just now. Bruno …. sort this mess out!
That’s better Bruno. Just penalties now.
Come on me babbies
Nuno 2
Bruno 0
Now I wonder why I am not surprised.
Guess I know what my prediction for Sunday’s game will be now.
Almost…
A nothing cup
Really proud of our lads for digging in and pushing slurs all the way
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