If there was one player feeling the sting last weekend, I bet it was Conor Coady.
Whatever his shortcomings as a player, to be accused of not trying, of not caring, of downing tools, would have cut right to the bone for someone of his character.
How sweet then for the skipper to be the man in the right place to power home an equaliser and prove there’s still life in this much-maligned team.
It had looked like another bad day at the office for our captain after his wayward pass was returned for Romelu Lukaku to get his second of the game.
Romain Saiss had already given away our customary – if slightly soft – penalty headstart and you’d have been hard-pressed to find anyone talking about a comeback.
Even the bench was all at sea trying to solve the equation of who was coming on for the salvage job with Bruno ringing in his requests.
When they did finally sort it out, those changes turned the game on its head.
Trincao was inspired with one outstanding finish to half the deficit, albeit then squandering an easier chance to get us level. But he was right in the middle of everything as the chances continued to flow.
Chiquinho was even better, operating from right-back but galloping forward and creating all kinds of chaos with his pace and unorthodox trickery. The cross for Coady’s equaliser though was textbook brilliance.
A tough question Bruno must answer is why we haven’t seen more of this guy with our powderpuff attack firing blanks for weeks? He might be raw but he clearly possesses the necessary ability to unsettle Premier League defenders.
Prior to the subs and coming back from the dead, it looked like the only positive from the performance was the return of Pedro Neto. The real Pedro Neto. He was back to his tenacious best, snaking between defenders and making life uncomfortable for a mediocre Chelsea.
Wolves should have profited from all his good work with Ait-Nouri and Dendoncker culpable for wasting glorious openings on the break.
For once though we weren’t left ruing that impotence in front of goal and it’s a credit to this written-off, down and out team that they were able to get up off the floor and start throwing some punches.
That’s all that any fan will ever ask.
Well well well! Wolves finally woke up and performed. At one stage I thought we were returning to LIQUID football, if only in glimpses.
Had great chances in the first half to be at least two ahead, then a very soft penalty and a defensive error had me thinking about the bragging rights pain I was about to endure!
But fight we did and this time the boys made us proud. And to score in the death of injury time was ecasty!
Well done Wolves, well done. The guys tried, fought, battled, and got their just rewards!
Well done Wolves!
Anyone accusing Conor Coady of no trying, not caring, or downing tools, says more about his own character than that of Captain Fantastic.
‘not’ trying ! See how I ‘squandered’ that chance to make a point !
Spectacular result and just to see Chelsea faces at the end means MOTD worth recording for prosperity..
Connor Coady I love you..
Great prediction Stevie.
Thank you, Sir Rod.
90 + 7.!!!!!!! Captain Coady.
50 points. !!!!!! Crucial stuff.
Just getting Chiquinho warmed up for the Citeh game.
1 lv & COYW.
So, is this the line up that clicks? Best form of defence is attack and all that… City and Pool will know we can win the title for either of them… 7th still in sight.. Let’s hope this ignites our run in…
What a shame we have squandered so many points over the last few weeks.
If there’s one thing you can expect from Wolves it’s to do the unexpected. Looks as if the introduction of some fresh faces did the trick and it’s hard not to suspect that we need a lot more of the same; it’s been a long hard season but this squad looks more than a little bit jaded and in serious need of an overhaul or at the very least some serious tweaking and innovation.
Maybe we should try to pull off a swap of Trincao for Traore after all. Big need for a new striker though. Give Bruno the tools to do his job.
And a special word for Captain Fantastic.
With FOUR at the back… and Neto and Chiquinho (and Conor) in attack…
We’re Wolverhampton.
Are we on our way back?
Sad to say (very sad) but we need a replacement for Raul Jiminez to be properly on our way back. Still a decent squad payer but no longer the world class striker that he was pre David Luiz. And I don’t think Fabio is the immediate answer though he has been given very limited opportunities to prove himself. Hwang also not good enough as a starter along with Podence, Dendonker, Hoever and now Saiss.
Ruddy, Moutinho , Traore and unfortunately probably Neves on their way out so a big summer upcoming which will show where we are really heading.
Podence not good enough to start?
Neves and Moutinho are staying, probably.
I would tell Traore’s agent to find a team he wants to go to that will pay 25 million or sign a new contract.
Hope you’re right John,
Still in Canada, so didn’t get to see it, but we’ll done Conor.
Metaphorical question don’t know what is more frustrating. Folding like a pack of cards over the last few games, or showing amazing resilience to come back at Yankee owned Stamford Bridge.
As I say, metaphorical.
Sorry I won’t catch the bloggers at the last game either I’m afraid.
Perhaps you should look up “metaphorical”?
And, while you’ve got a dictionary in your hands, look up “rhetorical”
Looked it up for you as you requested
(of a question) asked in order to produce an effect or to make a statement rather than to elicit information. xx
Pack of cards is a metaphor.
……and the ‘ecasty, ‘prosperity’, and ‘we’ll’, seen earlier ?
What pisses me off is why we can play brilliantly for ten minutes at the end of a game we are losing, ( see Villa away ) and not the previous eighty minutes.
Chelsea were there for the taking, and if we hadn’t forgotten how to score in the first half, missing several easy chances, we would have come away with a “Clive”
Hindsight is wonderful, tho, ay it?
If me Auntie had balls and all that.
Most of us would have snatched at a point before the game, but how galling to see us play super footie……but only for the last ten minutes.
Well actually it was eighteen, but who’s counting, eh?
Wonder what Peppy is thinking about next Wednesday eve?
And our result last weekend don’t look as shabby now, when the supposed most famous team in the world get royally stuffed on the south coast!
We are a simple bunch really. It’s a tough life in the Black Country and the daily grind. All we ever ask of our beloved custodians of the old gold and black is whatever happens show a bit of fight. And we will love you. Today was truly a case of out of darkness cometh light. The fight was there. The passion was there. Well done lads.
If only Trincao could produce this quality of football– and commitment !! –on a regular basis, we`d have a real player on our hands. But can he ????
A big plus was the performance of Chiquinho. The guy has real pace, huge enthus1asm and self confidence, and he`s not afraid to run at defenders. His cross to Coady at the death was outstanding. The question that should be asked is why has he not been given more opportunities when our attacking potential is so limited? Hopefully that will change for the final games of the season.
But for me, the biggest plus of the day was the re-emergence of Pedro Neto. Clearly he is regaining match fitness, and today he was able to show what he`s really all about. In my opinion, his continued well being will be key to our prospects for the next campaign.
Negatively, it would seem that Saiss `s days as a first choice defender are over. But it was good to see that his young replacement was no overawed, and did well showing real future promise.
I’d settle for this every game
Underdogs every time but what a performance!
Its just a taste of what is to come imo
BRILLIANT!!!
WOLVES AY WE!
I prefer pictures of tractors and farming machinery.
Is that politically correct?
They made me remove my JCB screen saver.
Was it in Wolves colours
Yes JCB digger in Wolves colours and a page three model in the dri vers seat.
Airbags are a safety feature.
Europe started it lol
Are you, or were you, an MP?
A military policeman.?…..nononono as spoken regularly by Jim of vicar of Dibley fame.
Noooo- I was referring to Neil Parish, the Member of Parliament caught watching porn!
Oh I see irony is not lost on this blog.
No
It wasn’t porn i googled it was pork.
Or was it titbits?
‘ Free the Nobby Nobbit one’
Wolves surprise u again, we we went 4 at the back , started going for it, looked a different team, the young kids coming on take a bow, trincano give him a break , new country, watch him next year, boy got talent, roman is finished, young cubs , blood them, love u bloggers, wolves are we.
Arriving home tonight I was surprised to find my wife had washed and polished her car. Or rather, had paid someone else to do it. That was the second biggest surprise of the day.
How Wolves have managed to go from European hopefuls to probable mid table also rans in a few short weeks has spawned many discussions.
A lack of investment. Not enough ambition. An unproven coach being found out. A threadbare squad, vulnerable to injuries. A centre forward whose best days are behind him. Key players out at critical times. A coach trying to play his way with a team he inherited from someone else. A contentious loan of a divisive player to Barcelona. And so it goes on. And on. So many factors to consider. So many inaccurate or unfair accusations. Some with a ring of truth.
However, we are still sat in a position that most of us would have taken, without hesitation, last Summer.
It would be churlish to ignore the result against Chelsea. How many times have we been on the receiving end of soul destroying late winners against us ? And that point was well deserved after a spirited, morale boosting fight back. No prizes for guessing who the happier team was at the full time whistle.
But why oh why does it take until the 70th minute and two game saving substitutions for Wolves players to start playing with urgency and belief ?
And where has that Trincao been hiding ? What an instant and brilliant contribution and wonder strike ! To be fair, Jose Sa, super keeper extraordinaire, kept us in the game. £97.5m Lukaku, who had yet to score in the Premier League this year, must have been rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of playing Wolves with our current form. Three second half minutes and another Saiss shocker ( what’s happened the the Moroccan Maldini ? ) and a Coady cock up and it looked like our free fall was turning into a power dive into oblivion.
Up steps our Captain Colossus to save the day, save face and save a point in the dying seconds.
Positives. The team showing character and fight to comeback from 2 down. More than that, the scenes of joyous celebration and how much that really meant to them to earn a point at the death. The team spirit and togetherness seems very much alive. And some good individual performances, most notably Trincao, Sa, Neto and Chiquinho. Also Bruno’s substitutions (communicated remotely, apparently) actually paying off and proving invaluable.
However, unless we achieve an unlikely 7 or more points in our last 3 games, nothing much will have changed since mid March. Our season, which had started slowly, but had begun to blossom late Winter will have finished satisfactorily. No more than that. No matter which way you cut it, it will feel a little disappointing after showing such promise and raising our hopes.
That’s the trouble with momentum. A bit like driving a car. You get a buzz when put your foot down and accelerate away, only to get caught in roadworks as you near your destination. You still end up arriving at the same time as your mate but he has the smile on his face because he had clear roads for the last bit of his journey. Our season has stalled, but at least we arrived safely in reasonable time.
Continuing with the car analogy, unlike my wife’s car, Wolves will need more than a wash and polish this Summer.
UTW
For ‘Saiss shocker’ some are saying ‘soft penalty’. Saiss is much maligned, not sure about the Maldini, but he’s a very good player, and, as with all full backs, occasionally finds a tricky top class opposing attacker ‘drawing a foul’ as the writers euphemistically put it.
I liked that.
Well at least the last bit.
See you all (or at least some of you) in the Italian on Saturday night.
You’ll certainly see me and the PMDG’er.
It’s been a sad couple of weeks. Could do with a pickmeup.
…Or maybe I’ll have a pizza.
Sure Brighton are playing really well at the moment but I don’t agree that their win today makes any difference – I was at Molineux last week- Wolves were simply very poor. Today was much better and could’ve been better if Chiquinho had been in the starting eleven. It’s been obvious from his brief cameos that he’s capable of that performance. Great to see Neto getting back to his high standards too. I still would rather see Cundle instead of Dendoncker; he would have probably put the sitter that Donk missed in the back of the net! I have been a big fan of Saiss but he is making a lot of mistakes recently. But a whole lot better and no doubt we’ll beat both Man City and Liverpool then probably lose to Norwich.
Trincão hasn’t done enough to earn a permanent transfer. But, I think we should sign him. He’s gonna be a star somewhere.
That left foot is magic.
It’s also probably the best route towards getting a decent fee for Traore if the excgange is done.
I suppose it was natural for Chelsea, as it has often been for us, to play too deep once the two goal lead had been established. The introduction of our young, vibrant and very talented forwards capitalised on their nervousness and, by the end, we were well worthy of at least the point.
Trincao is a talent and I fear that, if we turn him away, we could live to regret the decision.
Chiquinho is a talent and could turn out to be the new Adama but with end product.
Neto improves with every outing.
The rot has been stopped. I for one could not be more pleased.
See you Saturday Steve?
Wouldn’t miss it for the world buddy. ?
And, lest we forget in our hatred of all things Stockley Park related, we beat var 2-1 yesterday!
Firstly to all players at wolves please accept my sincere apologies for stating I thought you were on your holidays a month early .
Secondly congratulations on a first class performance in the second half especially as you have now restored my faith and made me (in the immortal words of Gary Powndland ) a very happy rabbit .
We do still “have it” we haven’t “lost it” as many including myself thought.
No criticism of any players as they all gave their all including Mr saiss it just wasn’t his lucky day.
Now lets do it again against city and then Liverpool and finish with a bang !
What a difference a day makes
24 little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain
Dinah Washington
If there were any training ground bust ups, you couldn’t have picked it at the final whistle!
Thinking of changing my screen saver of the Southbank for the pic of our away fans celebrating with the players @ the 97 minute mark .
We have our wolves back
Bring on citeh
If Bruno’s brother was the “head coach” for the day and in the technical area the whole game, why was everyone filming Roberts as though he were?
Did he just take interview duty and that confused everyone?
He got Covid too so didn’t travel
After the last three performances where we didn’t look like a Premier League side, let alone a top half one, we go and secure a spirited comeback. It should be said we repeated the mistakes at the back to gift them two goals (Saiss’ form has fallen off a cliff since some brilliant showings earlier in the season) and there was more woeful finishing (Donk, Hwang) before that Trincao beauty.
Brilliant on one hand but frustrating in equal measure as they were there for the taking. Nevertheless, a point at the Bridge can never be sniffed at. Coady came out fighting in his post match interview against accusations the side were ‘on the beach’ but what can he expect, honestly? Last week against Brighton was unacceptable, it’s as simple as that. At least they showed some guts time, but that’s a pre requisite.
What do to about Trincao? For most of the season he’s been lightweight but this was a reminder there’s a real player there when he fancies it. Why haven’t we seen more of Chiquinio? Instrumental in both goals so it’s baffling he hasn’t been more involved given our insipid showings over recent weeks when we’ve been crying out for some energy and inspiration.
Good to have something to smile about again, at least.
Sloppy goals given away but great come back and Bruno got the subs right.
Let’s give the last games now a real go…..we have nothing to lose let’s have a real go a City and Liverpool show them they cannot walk over every team in the Premier League because……..We are WOLVES..!
Yay! We’re Wold beaters again.
Until next week….
Francisco sure played with determination and effort. Maybe he is finally getting it that if he wants to play in the Premier League he has to show not just skill but also determination to win the ball back for the team.
He still might be the best thing we can get for Traore after all is said and done – a player with high potential who is signed to a relatively long-term contract.
Every Premier League team (to a lesser extent Liverpool and Man City) have poor games where they play below their average level.
It is up to the powers that be at Wolves (Jorge Mendes) to determine if it is the players, the coach, the coach’s game plan, the other team’s style, the other team’s players, or the coach waiting too long to adjust his game strategy which is causing that most of the time.
Now that 5 subs will be allowed to be made next season, changes to the starting 11 can be made earlier without worrying about holding back substitutions in case of injuries.
MOTD didn’t let us down: inexplicably behind one goal game Palace v Watford in the running order. Short sentence about Wolves in the post game conversation, the rest about how Chelsea were at fault plus what the new owners need to do. Good to know some things never change.
I love it pennski
Don’t want to be counted amongst the European league wantaways.
We’re a proper football club with proper fans.
Why is a photo of the tragedy at Slade Green being portrayed? Have I missed something?
Just something that I find extremely moving Brompton
Ww1 and the local people from where I live.
Its an incredibly dreadful story about munitions girls killed dismantling munitions just after the war.
Sorry…not wolves related for once.
Started a conversation though lol
Yeah, total respect mate.
I think Frank Skinner is behind the running order . Mind you. Sandwell Town have a lovely fixture to look forward to. Rotherham away on a cold Tuesday in November.
Come the man cometh man city .
NO ONE TAKES OUR GROND ……NO ONE !
Agreed let no one take your Grond.
Magical Molineux evening incoming. This is the night we put Citeh to the sword. They hate playing us anyway. Could be a five for Clive i reckon. As for MOTD . I think fucking Kilmarnock have been on Football Focus more than us. Fucking wankers.
Happy my Accurate prediction scuppered in 98th minute
98 …really?
Still bewildered why we can’t play like last 25 minutes for say 75 minutes??
Not a lot to ask is it?
Meantime just about to start packing my scarf and shirt for annual pilgrimage to
Last home match
Will be Roccing up at Rocco with my son Andrew and new lady Linda ( she may need a translator btw)
Look Forward to reconnecting with dear bloggers and hopefully listening to
First hand stories of nest Wednesday night heroics
Then we can debate who goes and who stays …. And who returns??(?mgw?)
OODCL
Why can’t we play like the last 25mins for the whole game Marin?
That may have something to do with the other team.
Dead right Wolfstroker, a poor performance by one team is often mirrored by a very good performance by the other team, as critics of our team often fail to observe.
Very true- fortune favours the brave and whilst I was mortified at the manner of our collapse against Leeds, I had to admire our opponents tenacity in turning the game round. We’ve seen a lot of good players over the years but the current crop of Neto, Chiquinho and dare I say it Fabio, should provide some exciting games to come. Starting on Wednesday, nothing to fear if our attitude is right.
Find a striker, retain Trincao and Chiquinho. Add a solid defender and a creative midfielder with a bit of pace and we’re off to the circus in 22/23.
Maybe we could try Trincao, Fabio, and Chiquinho against Norwich ? Many are still positive about Fabio’s value to the team ‘going forward’, he hasn’t really been given the best chances to prove it yet…..
Absolutely right about Silva; the jury is definitely still out but how can Fabio be judged on the odd start here and there on a very sporadic basis and about 15-20 minutes probably every other game if he’s lucky.
Time on the pitch by the pound (sterling) must be mighty high so far based on £35 million against minutes on the pitch over 2 seasons,
From my vantage point in the East Stand amongst the blue enemy I had a bird’s eye view of the Wolves supporters in the Shed End. Any dejection after the Brighton result was nowhere to be heard or seen. The few thousand Wolves supporters made more noise than the entire 35,000+ Chelsea fans combined. I’m sure this helped when we went 2-0 down.
The ludicrous penalty decision seemed to stun us (how many have we suffered, more than most teams) and the second goal could have killed us off. This seemed all the more galling, as we should have been ahead at half-time. How Donk missed that open goal is beyond me. My Chelsea mate beside me nearly had kittens about that. Well, he nearly had a full litter when Trinco scored that stunner! Minutes after, Trincao all but grabbed a second. We were clearly up for it and the noise from the Shed End was practically deafening. It set the stage for Captain Marvel to nick a point in the last seconds in front of the fans. It was the very least we deserved after a superb fightback. Chiquinho was a revelation, and Trincao showed his sheer class. Saiss I’m a bit worried about, there seems to be too many penalties and cards against him these days. No way should he have been tussling with Lukaku on the edge of penalty area, with no apparent danger in sight.
Memo to myself to compare with the March 2019 Chelsea v Wolves match which finished 1-1. Although we had Jota and Doc in that team, and were destined to finish 7th with a place in Europe, we played better on Saturday. In 2019 we nicked a goal and parked the bus well, only to concede in injury time. On Saturday we were harshly penalised and immediately conceded a second in the aftermath, and could easily have collapsed. But instead, we fought back and more than matched Chelsea in goal attempts. In Trincao, Neto and Chiquinho we have three very promising attacking talents. With any luck Silva will have a breakthrough next season. We might even have Traore back then, and by now he must realise the grass isn’t greener elsewhere. We missed Traore’s distraction runs in our recent slump. OK, he might have run himself into blind alleys but he also took defenders with him, leaving space for us elsewhere.
We have 10 penalties given against us this season. One given for. Something doesn’t seem right when 33% of goals against are penalties. Totally disproportionate. But we seem to suffer ludicrously at the hands of VAR compared to other teams. And we have done since it was introduced. I cant remember one marginal /contensious decision going for us. Hundreds given against us !
Great research Cheesey …
This VAR stuff is corrupt beyond doubt ..
You up for a quick swift pint on Sat.,?
Not sure about Saturday mate. Depends if my other half has got the kids or not. They sometimes go to their dads Saturday. But i will be about Sunday before and after the match for a few beers so if anyone is drinking anywhere just let me know and i’ll come and partake in a few beverages. Incidentally. Just had a look at latest VAR table and yet again we are down in the bottom four for negative VAR decisions. We were bottom 2 2 seasons ago same last season I believe.
I can’t go 3 years without a bit of cheesey.. I need to sort something with you..x
RIP Dennis Waterman.
He played two of my favourite characters on TV.
And, I believe he was a Wolves fan.
All of a sudden .. the Annual Bloggers’s Ball looks like we’re going there with our tails up.. following that at momentous effort at the Bridge…
Strange how a good performance can lift the spirits…
Talking of spirits .. I do believe that Wolfstroker, Dougie, Brompton and my good mate The DOOG have all lined up to ply me with .. SPIRITS.. the alcoholic variety of course and Marin Wolf too .. so this Saturday looks like a Hangover Sunday…
See you all at Roccos.. and for those who want to give it large ..
come and join us ..
Great performance btw on Saturday..
Can the ‘disliker’ …. please get a life … you’ve obviously never enjoyed yourself .. unless you’re taking the piss..
That would probably be Clive as he had been told he can’t come as he spent all his dosh on a new house.