It’s hardly a surprise that one of the most technically gifted sides the game has ever seen swatted Wolves away with ease under the Molineux lights.
I came away feeling very little disappointment at being totally outplayed by a team that operates at a level we’ll never get anywhere near reaching.
At least most of the lads put some sort of shift in, and us weary fans are nearly at the end of a season that promised so much but, in the end, exposed the lack of backing given to Bruno to overhaul the squad.
Nothing less than a complete squad reshape will do this summer but we all know Fosun aren’t going to sanction this.
The biggest positive to take from the City mauling is Chiquinho’s performance even if he was playing out of position at right wing-back. His willingness to take on players with his pace and trickery and get involved at every opportunity was a breath of fresh air.
It was also nice to see Neto finding his form and setting up Donk for the equaliser. Raul, too, provided a timely reminder that he still has the ability to lead the Wolves line. Yes, he’s looked out of sorts at times this season, but that’s not been helped by a lack of service. A not-quite-at-it Raul is still levels above Fabio, who is a fish out of water. Who sanctioned that dreadful transfer?
I don’t understand Bruno’s logic either to move Jonny to centre back and play Chiquinho as the RWB. If you’re going to start Chiquinho then why not take the positive approach of playing him in his best position in a 343 and drop Donk into defence, allowing Jonny to start as RWB?
As good as City are on the ball, they shouldn’t have been able to cut through our defence so easily, especially for the first three goals. And that was playing the supposedly more solid system of 352. But what do you expect when you have Boly on the left, who has seen better days, and Jonny and Chiquinho out of position on the other side.
The most disappointing aspect of the evening was the way we passed the ball at a snail’s pace. This, and a lack of pressing, was the hallmark of the later part of the Nuno era, and it’s still very much embedded in the Wolves DNA. But what do you expect when the squad is largely unchanged?
It’s a shame because when we pressed City and moved the ball forward quickly, we caused them problems.
It’s a bit like when Fosun sold us the dream of competing with the elite – you’re given a glimpse of what could be, but you’re only too aware that isn’t the reality.
Thanks Paddy. I agree about Chiquinho, Neto and Raul being positives. The open nature of the game was certainly to their benefit, if not the team as a whole – particularly in the first half.
It was admirable of Bruno to try and engage City higher up the pitch, but the reality is we played into their hands. This team is built to sit deep, absorb pressure and counter. I’m surprised that such an attack-minded approach was deployed in this particular fixture. Maybe the logic was we had nothing to lose and the element of surprise might knock them off balance? When that Donk equaliser landed, you’re thinking ‘OK, maybe we can do this’ but reality soon set in after the second KDB goal.
3-1 still felt a bit harsh at half-time as we’d competed reasonably well, but the second half was a turkey shoot – it probably should have been seven or eight.
Not only did they have the individual superiority, but as a team they knew exactly what they wanted to do at every point in the game. Wolves have lost that cohesive feel that served us so well late December/January and we have spluttered out down the home stretch.
I think it’s easy to be reactionary and say the team is trash but that’s not the case. They’ve proven over the whole season that there is a competitive outfit in there but it just needs beefing up.
Sa, Semedo, Jonny, Ait-Nouri, Coady, Kilman, Neves, Neto, Podence are the senior pros to build a team around. Add three players down the spine of that team and we can do something. We’ve got plenty of others capable of being good squad players.
I think a centre-forward is the most important addition (I’d like Belotti who is leaving Torino on a free but it won’t happen), closely followed by a central midfielder to give us more legs.
Getting them and resolving the situations with Neves and Traore (they’ll both need high calibre replacements too if they leave) is what the summer is all about.
I would tend to be harsher! We would not have lost like that under Nuno, it concerns me about the huge drop off in form . I imagine it concerns many other Wolves fans and Fosun as well. But love the blog, cheers
We got a footballing lesson. Not the time of the season you want to play the City juggernaut as they continue their march to the title. Earlier in the season you might catch them on an off day. They also wanted it more, which was a shame. I can understand how demoralising it must be to have a side like City toy with you but tackles, second balls, being physical, these are all basics. We could have made life more uncomfortable for them but in the end the score flattered us. It was more like an FA Cup tie, where the plucky minnow gets an early punch in but from there is totally outclassed, rather than a game between two sides in the same league.
Beating Norwich is crucial. If we lose we’ll end with just five points more than last season, which was awful. A win will take us onto 53 which can be considered a decent return, albeit a missed opportunity given how our form has dropped off a cliff.
Agree with Paddy squad needs massive overhaul in the summer but cannot see it happening.
Finishing the season on a low it’s seems cannot see us getting anymore points even against Norwich it could and should have been different but this is what happens to a club when the owner doesn’t invest.
You only have to look at Leeds to see how quickly it can go wrong. If we don’t invest cannot see us any where near top ten next season.
There are no excuses FFP rules don’t apply Jeff get the cheque book out.
Everton and villas owners invested heavily, what happened there then I wonder ?
Tell what happened the brought shit players…….Then again I couldnt trust Jeff and Sellears not to do same on past recruitment.
It’s not just about how much it’s also about who you buy. Everton just like us have a clueless board and Director of football look at City it’s not just about the money it’s about the people behind the money.
Just look at the Adama balls up…..what more evidence do you need…!
It hasn’t really gone wrong at Leeds. Their championship squad over acheived and are now running out of steam
Neves? A shadow of himself. Clearly he is leaving.
Woke up to a beautiful sunny day in North Yorkshire and surprisingly the warmth did not dissipate, even after remembering that we got a bit of a slap yesterday. The reason being I thought that we played quite well. Man City however were quite magnificent.
Looking forward to dining with a few fellow bloggers on Saturday and watching us dismantle Norwich on Sunday.
Strange how opinions differ. I certainly didn’t think that we played quite well and I struggle to see how we are going to dismantle Norwich, never mind how poor they are. Hope you are right.
I probably won’t be right mate, but I certainly felt we played much better than we have in previous games, in hindsight (no pun intended)
I agree Brompton. A spirited performance . but outclassed by a magnificent City side. How Well these class players have been coached by Pep to form an incredibly efficient unit.
By contrast, Bruno increasingly disappoints, and confuses. Why experiment with Otto, a superb wing back as a central defender against quality opposition ? Why ignore Gomez, who had done well on the few occasions he has been given a chance ? Why play Chiquinho an attacker with seemingly huge potential as a wing back where clearly he has little experience? How did Bruno expect to cope with the best attack in the league with such a make-shift defense ?
Almost all of us are calling for major investment in the side. Failure to do so, could have have devastating results next term. But if such investment is forthcoming, is Bruno the right man to take us forward ? I have been a big supporter of his throughout this season, but now I`m having increasing doubts. Over the past ten games we have seen some weird team selections and tactics, resulting in little more than relegation form.
Key decisions await you Mr. Shi
There were some positives as you mention Thomas but the best positive is that after that thrashing and it being very obvious that Donk Moutinho Boly are no longer good enough to challenge the top 6 it may just may lead a Fosun to do some serious transfer business this summer .They surely realise we are going to be nowhere near the top 10 next season without it and could be more relegation candidates and that won’t be good for their investment .
Personally I would sell Boly ,Donk ,Neves .Trouble is will they buy sensibly !?
Transfer dealings have been very poor since the departures of Laurie Dalrymple and Kevin Thelwell.
Cuitrone, Silva, Semedo, Hoever in for nearly £100 million.
Jota sold for peanuts.
Doc sold prematurely.
Willian on an expensive loan.
Podence, Hwang not really impressing.
Vitinha???
Trincao???
Mosquera???
Why was Rafa Mir never given a proper chance?
The only standout successes have been Sa and Neto .
Jury still out on Ait-Nouri and Fabio.
And why do we seem to provide around half of the Grasshopper Zurich (Mrs. Guanchang’s ) team on loan with hardly ever seeing any of them tried at Molineux.
Where are Leo Campana, Corbeanu?
Is Gibbs-White in of our future plans?
Interesting stat – we currently gave 6 full internationals out on loan, total purchase value around £40 million but are struggling with a squad recognised by most to be too small. Logic? However you look at it that can’t be best use of resources.
Big summer coming up in the transfer market with Neves, Moutinho, Saiss all possible / likely outbound and the futures of Traore and Trincao highly uncertain. Big test for the skill of our transfer “team” and crunch time for the intent of Fosun.
Here’s hoping they get it right.
Good summary. But with respect, ho can the jury cannot still be out on Fabio? Surely the biggest waste of cash of all time. Nowhere near Premier league standard.
Lets get what pittance we can for him in the summer, and move on.
Sorry, I meant to say “how can the jury still be out on Fabio?’
I must admit it’s becoming rather a lengthy “apprenticeship”. If he doesn’t come good soon he’ll be able to follow Traore out through the door on a free. As I’ve said above our transfer market record post Dalrymple is pretty dire. It seems our loss is Harlequins gain.
Think Jorge might also have called in the historical favours.
Some players want to get first team game time. After years of not getting a lot of minutes, MGW is thriving with it.
Jordan needed to fully recover from his injury and that was the whole approach that was decided on. Corbeanu is getting first team experience, too.
Campania is in Miami and recently got a hat trick. More experience – although I don’t know if he wants to stay at Wolves.
Very few sides can compete with a city side who played as well as they did last night. Their quick passing, running off the ball, tireless pressing was wonderful to watch, unfortunate that it was against us. Yes they have spent shed loads of money but look at the quality of their squad. Fosun have to decide their level of ambition and if they want a European place next season they will have to dig deep into their pockets. We need to build the side around our best players and bring in a few experienced pro’s.
Yes indeed m’colleague.
Agree with Nick. Not so much the case Wolves played badly more KDB was in unstoppable form and the referee was prepared to let Man City get away with their usual little niggles off the ball.
Apparently De Bruyne is still running around the Mol unchallenged.
No strategy to stop his freedom of Wolverhampton and a defence that had no idea what their brief was. Jonny completely lost out there. The times we did attack it showed their fraility at the back , but they were not tested enough.
Chiquinhio was the one positive.
And of course the usual incompetence from the officials which we all seem to accept nowadays.
I dispute the accusation that the officials are incompetent.
They are corrupt, and very good at it too.
But not yesterday. They didn’t have to be .
They were.
You watched a different game, then. To my eyes, and others around me, we made a lot of desperate ( even laughable)claims for non fouls. Understandable, maybe.
If Chiquinho’s penalty claim at 3-1 was laughable then I really should be heading for the optician.
I agree Steve, they were.
The challenge on Chiquino was a foul.,
And Atkinson got it wrong ..
The replays show that he was fouled/grappled BEFORE Zincheko got a foot to the ball…
For goodness sake.. I can accept defeat.. but. Certainly not corruption… which Atkinson possesses.. I’ve seen penalties given(for Man U) for taps on the foot.
100% a penalty .. but .. true to corruption form .. we didn’t get it…
I think it was the same with Neto. If not a penalty, certainly a yellow card.
I’m not quite old enough to remember the Honved game but last night I saw some of the best football I’ve ever seen at Mol – sadly apart from one scintillating move none came from the home side.
We threatened the City goal on three occasions – of those, one player had two shots, both on target , scored with one and that player was Leander Dendonker – says it all really!
Johnny had a shaky first half and Boly was at least 5 yards from where he should have been with every City attack. Perhaps the most worrying however was that Neves and Moutinho were totally anonymous throughout.
We clearly need to re-shape and strengthen the squad but as the Everton predicament has shown is that throwing millions at a squad just doesn’t work. Yes City have spent mega bucks but they have bought very few turkeys. We need to sell and buy effectively over the next few months and it doesn’t need highlighting that our sale and recruitment policy over the last 18 months has been pretty shambolic.
Are Messrs Shi and Sellars up for the challenge?
First of all – City were immense.
We played OK but OK is nowhere near good enough to compete with a team who can dominate possession, move the ball so quickly and finish so clinically as they did.
A pity that Sa chose last night to produce his worst performance for us, his distribution was poor and I think he could have done better with at least two of their goals, but he’d still get my player of the season vote.
Our defence switching from 5 at the back to 4 at the back (and sometimes who the hell IS at the back?) seemingly at random, also didn’t help when dealing with their attacking flair.
The tail end of the season has been a slow wake up call to Jeff and his dozing chums back at Fosun to put up or pipe down.
Although, to be honest, there’s been very little piping up going on recently.
I’ll be quite happy to have a bit of a rest from football.
Season tickets are up for renewal… Bearing in mind the cost of attending ‘home’ matches… should we or shouldn’t we?
I think I’ll give it one more go…
I’m still dreaming.
I may not renew mine Mark. We can discuss the pros and cons on Saturday if you want, but I am undecided just now.
Surely not Brompton…
I go for the crack with you lot…
The football comes second..
I pretty agree with much of Paddy’s summary. To me, KDB was the main factor in this defeat. And to think they wanted Harry Kane!
The thing I’ve observed about our games against Man City is this. As long as the score remains 0-0 (as it was at their place early in the season) they are more vulnerable. They get jittery about counter-attacks the longer it goes on. If they go a goal ahead it’s vital to get one back, as we did last night. Then you might end up with a 1-1 draw or an honourably tight 2-1 loss. But, if they go a couple of goals up, they will start hammering you, all over you like a rash, going for 4,5 or 6 goals. This may sound bleedin’ obvious I know, but it also applies when they are playing other teams outside the top four. If we had parked the bus at 1-1 last night, we would have been slagged off I know, but I think we might have had a better result. Last night we were a bit like Leeds under Biesla.
We all want attacking Bruno-ball I know but when you’re up against KDB at his season’s best, it might be better to have tanks on the lawn.
The smugness on the city fans faces was enough to make me turn off after de Bruyne scored his third on 24 mins so i went to netflix and watched the formula one saga which is excellent but also all about how money buys success .
Its a simple enough formula you just dont put any limit on the spending and you only buy the best ..not what everton did.
The best manager the best players and the the best Lawyers to get you out the shite when you’ve cheated.
The chinese record of owning football clubs is to say the least terrible and it would seem wolves are about the only semi successful club a chinese owner has managed to put together.
The yanks know what it costs to run a sports franchise and the arabs just chuck loads of money at it until it works but the chinese think they are clever and can change the way it all works …..well fosun you got your answer last night …you cant change the way it all works so either join in or sell us on and walk away with your profit.
Unless you shed this crazy theory you have of making millions out of transfers and put some huge investment into wolverhampton wanderers to move them on your investment will disappear as quick as it started.
My grapes are extremely sour this morning if you hadnt noticed but the promise of the champions league and top 4 at the molineux is evaporating before our very eyes or already has but after last night and what may also be to come at liverpool it really is time for Fosun to put up or move on.
Watch and suffer like the rest of us. You could have watched that Netflix thing anytime.
Every word true and an excellent evaluation of Fosun’s psychology.
You can’t reinvent the wheel so either put up or shut up and ship out, because it’s going in to reverse rapidly at the moment.
Spikeyboy… we’re having a few beers and an Italian (meal) on Sat ..,
Fancy saying hello to a few crackpots…(Dougie and Wolfstroker is who I have in mind)
Let me know mate ., ve good to say hello … you might even get a few clues to this years ‘Which Blogger’ quiz .. lol
I will see you there Mike, but I am teetotal now so will have a cuppa or two.
Thanks for that i will ask she who must be obeyed …..dont hold your breath
wow got the thumbs up my e mail is dave@karparts.co.uk please give me the details as we wont be at the game .
Shouldn’t we be able to dis- like the authors piece?
I did once and if I remember correctly I got lambasted.
Ha, I remember brompton, I only had a quick peek earlier and probably shouldn’t have thrown that out Willy nilly but I was going out for dinner.
What’s this about possibly not Renewing your season ticket! Can’t you buy a new one with your prediction league winnings!
Wolves to beat Norwich
Liverpool to beat wolves
Simple,
Still undecided. It depends on Wolves reaction to my email. Will discuss later.
Drubbing aside, can anyone explain what’s been happening with recent substitutions?
How can Hwang and Trincao provide something that Raul and Neto couldn’t?
Did Trincao even touch the ball?
Can you sell on a player who is on loan, like Hwang?
Surely Silva would have been a sterner test for 37 year old Fernandinho and an injured Laporte?
And bringing Cundle on in the 85th minute?
Last night was not the first time of late that we’ve had odd inexplicable and illogical substitutions.
Answers on a postcard please…..
The answer is simple .
Lage is way out of his depth and needs sacking
Possibly but its even more difficult to manage and get instructions across when you aren’t even at the ground.
A demoralising end of season mullering by the Citeh billions which has done serious damage to our goal difference.
We were in it for 15 minutes and the toe to toe strategy gave us a bit of a laugh until KDB took over. Iron eyes Coady even passed the ball to the cocky Belgian for his 2nd goal, which will not have gone down well in Kloppsville. We might expect a follow up spanking at Anfield. Even Delia may feel optimistic for a feel good pre relegation booster.
Any thoughts that this game is about anything but the money have fully gone out the window. And the truth is you could sell the whole of Wolverhampton to the Chinese and still not have a top 6 team.
Chiquinho looks a prospect. Donk scored. Any other positives on a postcard please. In the world of ‘Also Rans’ we are back peddaling fast. We are now relegation form. Though our absent West Yorkshire support group (from a much bigger club -??) are actually getting relegated.
Howzat.
FFP strangle hold lifted this summer, so we will find out what the future has in store. And I’m not guessing at that. We have another season in the Prem to look forward to, though a season of getting battered by all and sundry does nothing for the personal profile. At least drugs provide an affordable alternative.
1 lv & COYW.
Some of the best football seen at Molinuex last night. Probably the best team in the world so hopefully Forsun were watching.
But yet again, VAR raises its ugly head. That foul on Chiquinho was as clear a penalty shout as you will see, but no joy. That would have made it 2-3 and probably would have not changed the overall result, but would have scared them, if only a little bit. Wolves are around the bottom of the VAR league and that decision shows why!
Must win against Norwich. Only 1 point out of last 15, and we don’t want the season to end with 1 point out 21.
This was Man City’s best win away from home in the League all season. KDB was brilliant because an inept defence allowed him to be. Moving Jonny to right back just stank of fear and a lack of faith when we have two defenders sitting on the bench. Playing one of your best players out of position is something you do when there are no other options available to you. Everyone knows what City are, they will dominate but you have to find a way to compete and Lage failed to do that. We have been in relegation form for the last 12 games and out of form players have been allowed to continue playing whilst we have other options on the bench, younger inexperienced players yes but surely the whole point of a squad is that when they get their chance they can take it. Gomes came in for one game, did well, Cundle came in for one game, did well, we won both games but neither has seen a start since despite our poor form and the team lacking in their respective positions. We all moan about Fosun’s lack of investment but how do we even know what we have if the manager never utilises the squad he has. Chiquinho is a prime example, he has been sitting on the bench for months whilst the team has fell off a cliff, yet he’s looked good every time he’s been used but before last night he’d played a total of 71 minutes. Iv said before that i’m not convinced by Lage and doubly so now, i think he lacks ideas and courage when he needs them and on current form he would not keep us in this division. Giving him a war chest in the Summer (which is very unlikely) will not guarantee that either. Saying that i am not calling for his head but lets not tiptoe round his failings. I’m not sure Fosun will cut him as much slack given the unexpected Nuno exit.
I think it was petty and very small minded, considering how much money they have, for City to only bring one ball.
At least our lot could have had a kick around with an extra ball or two, while we got a spanking.
And where are the congratulations, fellow bloggers?
SuperClive got the score right, it was the teams who had their positions wrong !
I think KDB was on a mission last night, to put right the result from two years ago.
Now, let’s see if we can score a goal or two on Sunday against a team outside the top three!
And I agree, we should have a dislike icon for authors.
Nice to see a more balanced and nuanced lead article, but unfortunately we were utter garbage last night. Outclassed completely, abysmal.
To end up in the top ten will be a good end. But the elephant in the room is the team’s and the coaches inability to switch tactics. To be incapable of playing a back four set up is bemusing.
Onto bottom of the league Norwich. Most will be forgiven if we batter them.
You know what i would like to see – a commentator mute button. They were getting right on my nerves with their flippant and snarky little words. “Just the sound of the crowd”. That needs to be an option on days like that.
At one point towards the end of the game , wolves fans were singing and the useless commentator said something like, “ city fans making all the noise now”
Joke
Utw
Yes CanadaWolf…I was thinking the very same about the commentators. I’m sure they’re really only happy if the ‘right’ team wins and that tends to be the top 4….their little pets. All others are ‘cattle fodder’ as I remember a radio 5 commentator saying a few years back.
If we were a top team it would have been much closer. But that is because we would have got 2 or 3 penalties.
Must be frustrating when VAR takes 5 minutes looking for a reason to give a penalty against you but refuses to spend any time trying to see if you deserve one.
One possible issue with doing a complete overhaul is if it doesn’t work, that could spell disaster. One change at a time will not.
Were you watching the right match?
We might have had A penalty but City could easily have scored at least 3 more.
The author says the season had great promise but many on here said they expected us to be in a relegation battle.
He also moans about a lack of investment , then moans about spending money on Silva .
I didn’t
Ah, but you’re psychic Brompto ‘.
I was talking about not thinking we were going to be in a relegation battle. We were never looking over our shoulders.
Isn’t there supposed to be a double secret investigation into City’s alleged FFP violations. We may get the three points after all.
The dislike button would make no difference as it just subtracts from the likes and visa versa. So if you dont give the author a thumbs up then he will know by the low number of likes how unpopular his post is.
There isn’t a like button either balsall, just a ‘thank’ the author.
Personally, I’d like to thank every author because I know how precious peoples time is and I appreciate each and every blog that is posted, without them, we don’t have the blog.
I just think it’s a tad Wierd that all posts are open for , like or dislike, except the authors.
Maybe it’s just me that’s weird, mind you, paddy doing this one after a 5-1 spanking was never going to be pretty.
Utw
Just answering a couple of queries on here, not my opinion. Im not bothered one way or another. We are all sounding off about our team, all footy fans love to do that, good or bad. No thanks needed really.
I had a grudging admiration last night for Man City – or, rather, KDB – and the majesty and pomp before me. This is something we can only dream of but maybe Wolves will make a few steps in that direction in the summer window.
Fair play to our guys. They tried hard but it was never going to be enough. Still, our equaliser was a great move, involving Jimenez and Neto and finished off by Dendoncker. A parting shot by the latter?
The shining light from our perspective was one Francisco Jorge Tavares Oliveira – Chiquinho to us. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do next season.
Looking forward to catching up with some bloggers on Saturday and on Sunday, ahead of the Norwich match.
Finally, congrats to Wolves Women in winning the FAWNL Northern Premier Division title. Last night they added to that by beating the Baggies 4-1 to lift the Birmingham County Cup. Their goals from that, all decent efforts, were shown at half time. Well worth watching.
Sometimes you just have to accept you are well beaten. No lack of effort from our chaps but just not good enough. You can argue about formations, line ups, investment and all that but during 90 minutes last night on a football field none of that is going to make a massive difference. Look at the premier league table. Basically 2 stand out teams way out in front of the rest. City scoring, on average, 13 goals per 5 games. KDB having an absolute stormer. For us. Wrong time to play them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn West Ham over as well. But turning to my pet hate VAR. We had 3 legitimate looking penalty shouts last night. No 5 minute analysis or looking at monitors though. Still 1 penalty all season. 10 given against. That said if we had got 3 penalties City would have upped the gears and scored 8 !!
In my opinion the team selection and substitutions again were very questionable. I’ve been calling for Chiquinho to start but why put him at wingback? Why put Jonny in the middle three and why switch Boly to the right whilst you’ve got two very solid defenders on the bench?! Why play Dendoncker at all and for crying out loud why bother bringing Cundle on with 5 minutes left? I’m afraid I doubt Lage is someone who’ll get Wolves out of trouble and I fear that next season is going to be a real struggle. Of course City are exceptional but De Bruyne would not have had those opportunities against any other team in this division apart from Leeds – and we know where they are heading! Very, very disillusioned right now.
No criticism of the boys last night. They gave it a go and it made for a very entertaining match.
There is a but.
Although City put on the best showing I’ve seen at Molineux for many years it did also highlight our shortcomings and show how far off our aspirations are if we really want to compete wit the best.
Our defence is clearly not unbreachable and our attacking capabilities lack invention and are far too laboured – lots of triangles and sideways passing in the approach and toothless in the final quarter. Our team is still built on Nuno methodology and it all looks very stale.
Interesting summer ahead but we have to get it right and Fosun have to show the intent, because over the last 2/3 years we we have slowly regressed.
Firstly. that was an absolute masterclass by Citeh as a whole and KDB in particular. I don’t think our stand-in coach could have done much better. Yes we can all say that Chiquino is a forward not a wing back. And all the other things suggested by us, the fans who can see where we went wrong. The only problem is, did you think that, when you saw the formation or if you knew the coach’s instructions BEFORE the game ? You see, hindsight is a wonderful thing. It can make us sound really good.
Maybe some can leave their opinion of what the coach should do against Liverpool before the game starts, as I fear the outcome might not be much different from last night.
Personally, I think we should field a 5-4-3 formation against Liverpool and pray like hell nobody notices 🙂
Raul up for grabs at £15m?
A Notorious post Roger!
“Are You Not Entertained? Are You Not Entertained? Is This Not Why You Are Here?”
Kevin De Bruyne could have been forgiven had he grabbed a microphone and shouted that to the 30,000 souls fortunate to have witnessed the beautiful game played at the highest level, on a mild May evening at Molineux.
Wolves, at the wrong end of a lesson in football excellence, unceremoniously put to the sword. Sometimes you have to doff your cap and acknowledge genius, such was the standard of football last night.
If there’s any consolation in that humbling experience, it’s that we are playing in the same league as Manchester City. Like that well known beer, they are probably the best team in the world at the moment, although Liverpool and Real Madrid might beg to differ.
However, although we both play in the Premier League, we are not in the same league. And so there is no shame in that score. We didn’t play poorly. Having the temerity to score an equaliser was like covering ourselves in honey and poking a very hungry grizzly bear with a pointy stick. We were going to get mauled.
They are much further into their resurrectional journey than we are and frankly, have far more financial backing than we do. Three players on their bench, Grealish, Mahrez and Jesus (Gabriel not the carpenter), worth/cost £220m.
Money talks. It doesn’t guarantee instant success. It won’t make you invincible. But spent wisely, with a solid foundation, a good infrastructure with good people in key positions in the club and eventually success will come. Without money, long term continued progression until you are one of the best teams in the league, the country, the continent – well, it won’t happen.
One of our most memorable victories in recent years was the 2-0 win at the Etihad. Both goals scored by Adama Traore; counter attacking knock out blows. from a relatively recently promoted team, very much on the up. Man City are beatable. They have off days. But not when they’re still hurting from that remarkable loss to Ancelotti’s Real. Not when the League title is on the line. Not when Pep has them pumped for what he called a “Cup Final”. And not when the opposition is a team that is overdue a rebuild, in dire need of fresh blood, with several players coming to the end of their time at Wolves.
Two more games. Two more opportunities for players to seize a chance to impress, or underline what many think they already know; their time is up. Chiquinho seems to be making the most of his chances. That’s a big plus from the last couple of games.
This has to be Fosun’s biggest transfer window to date. Whether we subscribe to the view that they just won’t dig deep into their pockets, or we believe their ambitions match those of the supporters, if they don’t splash the cash this Summer, it may well prove to be a turning point in the relationship between the owners and the fan base, which has been pretty good to date. It’s been said many times since they took over the reins, but never has it been so critical that they demonstrate intent. Intent to compete. Ambition to not just tread water, but to kick on.
It was encouraging to hear Jeff Shi speak out recently. He said his priority was investing in the first team, not the stadium. Money and sharp business acumen will be required in equal measure this Summer. Some of the cash required to rebuild the team may well have to come from sales. Neves seems a distinct possibility for moving on, as does Raul, Saiss, Marcal ( apparently he’s already bought his house ), Traore ( if we can find a buyer ) and Boly to name six. A question mark over Moutinho also. He can’t go on indefinitely at this level and maintain the incredible standards he’s set himself.
That’s the spine of the team. There’s little or no room for sentimentality in this business. These guys have all been great servants of our club in what has been a brilliant period for Wolves, but nothing lasts for ever, and I suspect many will be playing their last game for us this month.
A significant reason for Fosun’s purchase of Wolves was the potential of our brand. Wolves. The Wolves. It’s a name purpose made for today’s global market. In the US they make up names to sell the brand of their sports teams. The Philadelphia Eagles, the Chicago Bulls. Do you remember Hull City – their owner wanted to rename them the Hull Tigers. The closest association Hull has with tigers is the ESSO on Stoneferry Road. Our brand is built in, baby. There’s only one Wolves and we aren’t PROBABLY the best team in the world. We ARE the best team in the world. It’s just the other teams don’t realise it yet.
Norwich next up. What we’d all give for a Russell Crowe Maximus performance where we put a team to the sword for a change. As for challenging the top six; Rome wasn’t built in a day.
UTW
As Neil Diamond would say: Money talks
But it don’t sing and dance and it don’t walk
As you say, it doesn’t guarantee instant success. We may never be able to match the spending power of a Man City, but pro rata, we may be able to get a better return on expenditure. Let’s say they can spend ten times as much as we are able to, but no reason why we can’t stay in the same league as them, and occasionally, beat them. Their money won’t make them ten times better than us. So it’s not a lost cause when looking at the vast financial chasm between us. Fosun have enough incentive and budget to make us a top six club and they will. They are in it for the long haul.
There is far too little ambition for our football club on this blog.
I don’t understand why so many people think we should feel privileged just to be in the Premier League.
Whilst no one has a right to be there Wolverhampton Wanderers FC has the history, the infrastructure and the crowd pulling capability to match any club outside the self appointed “big 6” with a huge geographical catchment area and is also a one city club, so plenty of economic clout. .
In fact it can be argued that currently our “natural place” in the pecking order is very much as part of the best of the rest and we should certainly not settle for being relegation fodder but build on where we are.
So to the apologists I say stand up for your club and stop undervaluing what we have. We BELONG in the Premier League and we need to bury the inferiority complex which seems to have developed amongst many. Banish the small town mentality.
Over to you Fosun – back up the grand designs you blazed into Wolverhampton with. and put in the investment to substantiate your so called 5 year plan. Now is the time to demonstrate real intent because you have made a decent job of laying the foundations – but no more or no less than that.
It’s time time to seriously up the ante.
I really do understand why Stuwolf, Bedford Wolf, Lowves, Newarks and others no longer regularly post on here, I really do.
Don’t forget BOG, Brompto. I miss them one and all.
Moaning and griping only creates a lot of negative posts..then it can be a rather unhappy place.
We do have very short memories regarding wherever have been for decades.
I’ll forever be old gold and will never understand negativity regarding the wolves.
This is entertainment…no more than that.
Most of the enjoyment should come from blogs and the pub and a pint.
Between 1984 and 2018 (34 years) our great club spent four seasons in the top flight. Two of those ended in relegation. Since 2018 we have had four consecutive years of top flight stability (even success). Two 7th place finishes. A 13th place finish and a probable 8th place finish. An FA cup semi final. A Europa league quarter final. An unprecedented fifth consecutive top flight season coming up. One could argue Fosun have delivered. An article by Johnny Phillips (Sky sports and Wolves fan) at the weekend hinted at new impetus from Fosun in the summer. To a degree we have more or less the same first team taking the pitch as back in 2018. The odd addition here and there excepted. If someone like Johnny Phillips comes out with a public article like that I think we should take note.
Let’s hope Mr Phillips has his ear to the ground and is picking up the right signals, because whether we like it or not “change is a comin’ “.
My little bird, of whom I told you last week, confirmed the spine analogy.
I think Fosun will be as ruthless with Bruno as they were with Nuno.
Back him to the hilt financially in the summer.
Give him until Christmas to get an exciting, winning team going.
If not, off with his head, metaphorically.
And I also suspect they have an alternative manager lined up already.
As stated above, this is a business, and there aint no room for sentiment.
If there was, Bully would still be playing!
Personally, I am really looking forward to a summer of few blogs, lots of comings and goings, and no football, until Wolves come to Houston!
And Sandwell Town are also looking to 2022/23 and ‘no football’ under Mr S Bruce ! I’ve just noticed that Stockport County are 1 point away from promotion back to the football league after 11 years away. And we think we have got it bad. Who can forget Tony Dinning and his regular 20 yard thunderbolts in to our net back in the 90’s.
Who? Lol.
A not-quite-at-it Raul is still levels above Fabio, who is a fish out of water. Who sanctioned that dreadful transfer? Come on Paddy leave it out. He a young player who’s come on a lot this season
I might have some of my stats wrong, but here goes. I’m glad we didn’t make the Europa League, might that have been interpreted the squad were good enough and big enough, and there was no need to invest majorly? I couldn’t believe how much West Ham and Man U slipped up. With out 7 losses in 10, we shouldn’t still have been anywhere close to being in contention still.
Be interesting to see what the Hammers do closed season. We know Man U are due a clear out, and with a new manager who knows. The big 6, or more like the big 5, are still streets ahead. We are not in their league, and never be same as some, but we should be going for the Europa positions.
Wasn’t there rumblings a few weeks ago about a new manager possibly lined up? Can’t even remember his name, but it’s obviously on Fosun’s agenda. If we finish 5 points ahead than before, is that really progress? Not when you think how many points were dropped in the bad spell after a Bruno having the Manager of the Month. I think it is stagnation. And I’m not 100% sure about Bruno. Certainly didn’t endear himself the way Nuno did.
I could imagine Neves not wanting to get stuck in fir a 50-50 tackle. Why go for anything where you might pick an injury up and it affect your value?
Against Brighton, it was said some were already on the beach. And the possible bust up with Bruno. All pointing to discontent. Would it have happened under Nuno? Possibly not I think. Am I being cynical in thinking Bruno hasn’t really got covid?
Going to be an interesting summer…….