Another game, another stoic defensive outing.
The point is welcome but I’m left thinking if we could have sustained our attacking efforts for the duration of the game, we might have gone one better against a beleaguered Chelsea.
Once they stepped onto us after the break though, we swiftly crawled back into our shell and defended the width of our 18 yard box for the remainder.
Much like the Liverpool game it was disappointing how little Wolves were able to muster on the counter , with the ball bommeranging back time and time again.
Perhaps it’s harsh to criticise Raul but I did think there were a number of occasions he could have done better holding it up or finding the right pass to relieve some of the pressure.
There was just no out ball for our warriors at the back, even after Traore came on and that’s something Bruno has to find a solution for if we’re to become more progressive in possession.
In the first half we moved the ball well and got up the pitch to cause plenty of problems – not least the goal that was ruled out and a fantastic headed chance for Dendoncker.
Daniel Podence was at the centre of all those good moments and he remains a frustrating enigma, able to produce moments of magic but frustrate and disappoint in equal measure.
It would be helpful if one of Podence or Traore or Trincao could step up their game to demand a place in the team with any sort of consistency. As it is, it’s nigh on impossible to say who should and shouldn’t be playing from one game to the next.
What has been pleasing in the last two games is seeing the back up wingbacks enter the action and perform admirably. We certainly didn’t lose anything defensively with Hoever and Marcal in the team and both got forward to good effect at times to support out rare attacking forays.
In fact, the only real chance Chelsea mustered all game was through Pulisic on the counter, but the imperious Sa was there to save our bacon as he has so often this season.
With the top three out of the way, we must now show greater ambition, find an antidote to our obvious weakness and transform this highly satisfactory season into a great one.
I think Raul is trying too hard, and maybe needs a breather, or we change our attacking style a bit.
However, three things pissed me off today, and they all were signs of the favoritism and corruption in the game, in favor of them six clubs.
First was the linesman waiting 23 seconds before flagging for offside when Danny the Pod scored.
Second was the blatant handball, when the same Danny the Pod was clean through.
No var, no red card.
And third, only minor, but still wrong, when they took a free kick for an offside, and moved the ball into our half, where you cannot be offside!
The ref was poor, as is normal, and I felt it was only a matter of time before he gifted them a goal, somehow.
But, we got a very valuable point, even though it was a tougher second half than the first, why did our subs come on so late, with little chance of changing the game, and why oh why is Trincao anywhere near the first team?
At that late stage, surely one of the Babbies could have come on?
If Watford bother to turn up on Boxing Day, they gonna be stuffed like the turkey they had the day before!
Think you have to blame the stupid current implementation of the offside law for the disallowed goal but the handball was a cert and a definite red card.
Clive I think that Raul is increasingly frustrated. For far too long he has been isolated with little or no support. Is he trying too hard because he understands that the team almost entirely depends on goals coming from him ? For how long can any striker be expected to perform well in such circumstances ?
Over to you Mr Shi.
Totally agree with all what you have said Clive,
23 seconds after the ball is in the net the flag went up and the Ref blew the whistle who was Referring this game, Shockley Park me thinks, just watched Motd and they said it was the right decision they ruled the goal out but we all know last week they only interested in the top six, we found that out last week against the shirt.
Yet more VAR bollocks. Debateable offside. Well debateable outside the ” big 6″. The Kante handball . I watched live and thought he did that deliberately to stop the attacking side. It was as clear as the away end at Barnsley for Sandwell Town Friday. But yet again. Yet again. Where the f**k was VAR. It really is getting on my nerves. If that had been Coady doing it you absolutely delighted know it would have been a red card VAR review. Stinks. Really does. And as for the Chelsea plea for abandonment. They have 3 first team squads . Fuckin laughable.
That is CHEESEBURGER of death by the way. Few beers too many!”
Really impressive defensive display again. Week after week our 3 centre backs are outstanding. The Donk header was a huge chance that needed finishing really.
My biggest issue with wolves right now is the sloppiness of the passing. We only had 27% possession second half so I appreciate we didn’t have much of the ball but when we did, we consistently gave it straight back to Chelsea. We were under a lot of pressure second half and I fell that our sloppiness in possession invites a lot of that pressure onto ourselves. Other than that, a good point that I would have taken before kick off.
A great point but perhaps with a bit more clinical finishing aka Dendonker we could have had the full monty with 3 points!
Agree that hand ball stopping our attack should have been a straight red. Big 6 let off as usual. In fact I was amused at the Spurs v Liverpool game there as were several major decisions that VAR should have reversed, but as it was two “big six” teams playing each other it must have confused the VAR officials!
We have reached the time for Lage to play a more aggressive attacking game now the top three are out of the way.
Another fantastic defensive display against a multi million pound Chelsea outfit despite Tuchel’s whingeing. What do these people want? Just look at our bench you wally.
Bruno doing a brilliant job amassing points with our threadbare playing staff but we have to do something to help him in the goal scoring department in Jan.
Jeff Shi – you are a senior executive with one of China’s largest corporations so you must be intelligent enough to isolate the goals scored stat. from the PL table. It’s 13 or if you prefer .72 per game. By the way the man you sold for a pittance to Liverpool has now scored 3 less than our whole team, while the replacement (£37 million) you bought has hardly set a foot on the pitch this season..If you won’t spend any money bring back both Leo’s from Grasshoppers.
Well played lads.
You make some good points PJB and then spoil it with your penultimate sentence. Both Leo’s are untried at this level and we all know Bonatini is nowhere near good enough. He couldn’t get in Forest’s team for goodness sake.
January’s window is unlikely to help as it’s far more difficult to secure decent signings then than in the summer particularly of the high quality we need to look at. I’m sure you will agree that another costly damp squib is the last thing we need. Our best hope is to cross fingers that Pedro is on his way back.
Desperate circumstances require desperate measures Sea Pigeon. It was a bit tongue in the cheek, but do you really see them spending what’s needed in Jan. to resolve the problem because at the moment the answer sure ain’t Silva.
And Rafa Mir couldn’t get in Forest’s team, either.
No but his career has been on an upwards trajectory and he’s moved on to a top Spanish team not a Swiss second rate team.
I hoped for Jimenez and Rafa Mir up front this season, because they would have complimented each other as types, but it wasn’t meant to be. The club made some terrible choices before the season, and goal tally wise Wolves have consequently struggled so far. Gaetan is rumored to be on his way, and he certainly knows his way to the goal ;=)
Corupt officialdom again, passive offside was the reason, wtf is that?!
Have to agree if we had kept the 1st half tempo and pressing game, could have been different.
Boy do we need some further investment.
But, point closer ladies & gentleman, a point closer.
Happy Christmas bloggers.
Agree about Raul it just wasn’t going for him today, and the ball just didn’t stick, but he had no one to play off or lay off to. Difficult role for him.
Pleased with point and league position. Great defence to survive Chelski’s second half turnaround. And what a damm cheek that this
bunch of elitists ask for the game to be called off.
They looked to have enough fit and able players, Kovatic coming off the bench. Tuchell said he was concerned that more of his players could test positive but surely they have to follow protocols?
It’s a tough and controversial area I know, and there is too much uncertainty around the level of restrictions we should now be under. It’s tough for all, but I’d expect a big team like Chelsea to have enough players to give Wolves a game!
They will almost certainly claim playing the game cost them 2 pints! Noticeably no moans from Wolves, they just get on with it.
Could be the last game for a while but it’s going to be interesting to see which way the clubs decide to go. Waiting with baited breath for the direction of future travel with football and Covid.
Best defensive unit in the League bar none, supported by an outstanding keeper. Coady has upped his game to another level, Kilman has grown into an international class performer, and Saiss is consistently very solid. The introduction today of Marcal — who I thought had an excellent all round game today — and Hoever had no adverse impact upon our defensive solidarity.
But up front it is an entirely different story. No cutting edge whatsoever. The goals for column does not lie.
My summary is that Bruno has done a great job to date, despite the very limited resources made available to him from the Boardroom, such that our team has real potential to ‘Kick on ‘ from this point, and become a potent force. But Mr. Shi, only if you actively support your man in the January window, Surely time for you to out all the BS and lame excuses, and show us all that Fosun really does mean business.
We can only hope.
For starters it as to be Neto PLUS Hwang not instead of. And then AN Other if Traore leaves which I strongly suspect he will.
It is quite possible that Mr Shi is a puppet CEO and does as he is told by the Fosun hierarchy. My pessimistic view is that he does not hold the purse strings. We hear that he was much involved in the purchase of Silva. The result of that transaction
will not, at present, endear him to his spreadsheet superiors.
I imagine that we all baulk at the oft used phrase “cash strapped Wolves”.
I am no expert in these matters but Shi , I understand, has been told to create money by selling and then he can spend. Our most saleable assets at present seem to be :
Kilman, Coady, Saiss, , Ait -Nourri , Neves, Traore and Sa.
In my view, we cannot afford to lose any of these players given the present squad.
If any of the back three went, Dendonker could be a makeshift CH. Boly is a mystery at present and it is possible that he and Saiss could go to Africa in January, although this may be a Covid casualty.
If Ait Nourri departs, we are left with two ageing full backs who are not without their injury susceptibilities.
Kilman and Neves are world class players I believe. We need them.
It is unlikely that there is a better captain than Coady.
Traore is an enigma , but just like Waggy, the crowd stirs when he starts a run.
No coach yet seems to have found out how best to use him since Tony Pulis.
To sell any of these does not make sense to me as a lifelong fan. Fosun , however, are not like us. They see a balance sheet. They want financial profit .
I get that. Such is the way of the Premier and the top European Leagues.
Really annoyed today as me and Sue had to journey back to Newark without getting to the game due to car problems. But, at least we got home in time to watch us robbed again on TV. So, we have just played the top 3, we lose to a 95th minute goal against LiVARpool when it should have been 92 minutes tops, we lose to Manchester City when the ball hits the nipple of one of our players and they get a penalty, then, wait a minute, it’s little old Brighton, let them win that one, and then today normal service is resumed. We score a good goal but lets give offside to the player that didn’t even touch the ball and then the handball when Podence could have been clear through isn’t even looked at , really wish it had hit his nipple. All in all they really do favour the big clubs. Despite all of this corruption me and Sue have had the most amazing weekend in Staffordshire with a very special couple of Wolves fans.
Corruption has reached the shameless and blatant level. Very little attempt to hide it any more.
It really is corrupt. I didn’t bother celebrating today. I saw the Wolves players wheel away in celebration. Then i saw the referee in the penalty area cupping his ear . I thought. VAR. Fucked.
A Romain Saiss appreciation post. I thought he was outstanding today. Strong in the tackle, intelligent and positionally sound. The one time he gave the ball away he won it straight back. He’s been here a long time now. We’ve seen mistakes and rashness in the past but he’s become an integral part of the team. It’s becoming the same old story of praising the defence.
Agree with the point on Raul, he was off it today. Shame the goal didn’t come in the first half because there was a spell where we had them on the ropes.
In the end it was probably the right result. They had a big chance and we decided to protect the point when we maybe could have been a bit braver. Can’t sniff at a point against Chelsea, no matter how depleted they were.
If Watford does go ahead on Boxing Day please oh please can we have some goals.
Agree entirely re the case for the defence- maybe the confidence added by an exceptional goalkeeper has been a major factor in the overall improvement from last season? I liked Rui but Sa has an air of almost invincibility, positional sense and speed of reaction plus Conor has gained authority from at last being recognised by England. Raul clearly frustrated but doing his job. As others have said, top 3 played, now let’s play more expansively . Loving the season so far, Jonny and Ait are not shoo-ins to return but Neto will be like a £30m new signing. Would like a look at Jordao soon.
Loved the noise today.
Loved our intensity most of the time
Loved how right I was about Dendonker having very little power when he tries to score.
Loved meeting up with a few bloggers again.
Loved the journey home.
Merry Christmas folks.
You had a good day then. ?
Loved the whole day.
So. Spurs v Liverpool. Harry Kane goes in studs up on the Liverpool bloke. Verdict. YELLOW CARD. So i ask again. Where is VAR ? Its a bloody joke. Jota clearly impeded and a definite penalty. VAR ? It’s a load of bollocks.
Felt sorry for Traore again today. Given very little time (maybe 15-20 min) and did not receive the ball to his feet a single time.
Agree.
Much as Traore infuriates me he HAS to be given at least 30 minutes.
Major attack on refs/VAR operators on MOTD2, there really were some awful decisions. It was suggested that they review things on (say) Monday and if the weekend had some ‘easy’ penalties they decide to toughen up the following week and end up not giving blindingly obvious ones – Joata getting flattened and Lpool Goalie taking our Newcastle forward. Joate’s not given because ‘he stopped’ and the other because the defender picked up theloose ball and cleared it. Unbelievable. These clowns are ruining the game. Pundits saying that standard of refs is back to the atrocious level of last season.
Merry Christmas to all bloggers, keep safe and enjoy yourselves.
It’s all been said above really.
Makes you wonder why we bother.
I really enjoyed the game today and thought we matched The Champions of Europe and maybe should have won.
A pity nobody told The Donck that when the ball comes at your head, the idea is to do rather more than just let it bounce off your noggin in the general direction of the goal.
It’s called ‘heading the ball’ not ‘balling the head’.
After watching MOTD I can see why the Podence goal was ruled out. Raul was in an offside position and did affect the play by making the keeper commit to block his attempt to play the ball.
Whether it would have been ruled out if it had happened in the other penalty area is another question.
Also, after watching MOTD, I can see that the state of refereeing and the use of VAR in the Premier League has reached an all time low.
Some of the decisions in the matches today were absolutely criminal. Not least the complete missing of both the ref and the idiots at Stockley Park of obvious red cards. One for a real leg breaker of a tackle by the England captain (what a surprise), and one for deliberate handball by Kante.
Is it corruption, favouritism, or is it incompetence?
I suspect it’s a bit of all three.
Perhaps the time has come to have foreign referees take charge of Premier League matches.
That would almost certainly rule out club loyalties. And I’m sure there would be no favouritism granted to the (yawn) ‘Big Six’.
Before I turn off the light and get my head down I’d like to give thanks to the West Parkians, Dougie, Barbara and Tricia for so richly feeding, watering and entertaining myself and the PMDG’er tonight.
One final question. What do you get when you follow Beer with Brandy and Baileys cocktails?
I suspect, a bloody great hangover.
I’ll let you know tomorrow.
Nighty night all.
Agree with the foreign refs or European at least. Test match cricket has independent Umpires who don’t come from the same place as the competing teams.
It’s clear that Prem football needs that as well. There is just too much contention and really bad decision making. All the chat post game is now based on poor decisions, the very thing that VAR was brought in to stop. It’s made it worse.
Doog that’s exactly why they wont import potentially impartial foreign refs.
Because they would be impartial and that’s not how you keep the cartel that is the big six where they are .
I cant imagine sitting down a dozen European independent refs and explaining to them that they must at all costs keep the big six at the top because the need to maintain tv revenue is the most vital part of football as we know it.
Sooner or later this is going to come out as the biggest scandal (after Blatter) that the football world has ever seen .
Now they have reached the level of being called totally incompetent because all other excuses for their ridiculous bias have been used up.
As much as I dislike motd it is only when ex pros on the tv make enough noise that it gets to the stage where something has to be done.
We and dozens of others on various clubs blogs can moan all day about this blatant corruption but our voices will never be listened to so it will be left to the tv pundits or an undercover newspaper investigation to make sense of this oh so obviously bent situation.
We are at the brink of something happening (I hope )and I cant wait for day when those greedy snivelling suits we have never heard of are dragged out from under their stones and exposed for the cheats they are.
“Their names are in the book and come the revolution they will be first against the wall”
wolfie smith
Spikey, great post. So true.. isn’t sad what the game has come to. For years I refused to have Sky, as I felt it would ruin the game. We go up, unable to get away tickets, I now am part of the problem as I have sky. Vicious circle.
Maybe now Mr Shearers beloved Toon were denied a pen, VAR will get proper scrutiny and refs will up their game…… not holding my breathe, whilst Sky relies on overseas cash and the status quo to be maintained.
You lost the plot Spikey, lighten up, merry Xmas. We are wolves in eighth place.
Watford up next, the worlds our oyster. C O Y W.
EIGHTH !!! EIGHTH !!!
WE SHOULD BE TOP !!!
TOP I SAY !!!
TOP !!