There was something about yesterday’s FA Cup final that irked me.
At full-time, minutes after bagging one of potentially four trophies, Liverpool’s players started bouncing up and down to the sound of Dua Lipa.
Now, I’ve got nothing against Dua. She’s released some pretty catchy tunes.
But is this what football has become? Just another vapid pop culture experience for us to post on our Instagram or TikTok feeds?
It used to mean so much more. The working man’s game. A form of escapism after a long and dreary week at work. An opportunity to have a laugh with people that you otherwise wouldn’t see.
I suppose it still is all of those things, but something is definitely missing.
When we were all confined to our homes at the height of the pandemic, we were desperate to have the match day experience back.
But cast your eyes to today’s game and you wonder if it was ever worth missing.
Yet again, Wolves went through the motions.
All of the pre-match talk was of this being a chance to right the wrongs of recent weeks and end the season on a high.
Spare me. We never got going and managed to make one of the most ordinary sides to ever grace the league look half decent.
It was another sorry performance from a group of players that are dining out on the goodwill of a loyal support base.
If some of this lot played in front of more fickle fans, they’d be hounded out.
I’ve seen some bad tribute acts in my time but this Willy Boly one tops the pile. What on Earth has happened to him? Cart horse doesn’t cut it.
Coady wasn’t much better and his hooking at half-time suggests that he may not be as bulletproof as he previously has been.
I’d like to see Moutinho get a new deal but one cannot argue that a more ambitious club would have upgraded some time ago.
Up top, it was another anonymous showing from Hwang (who is well and truly pulling an O’Hara on us) and Raul, who continues to look a shadow of the majestic player he once was.
If I was going to find a positive, it’d be in the performances of Toti, Ait Nouri and Chiquinho. You’d only expect them to improve with further exposure to first-team football.
But there can be no doubt that the time has come for this team to have a serious face-lift. The question is – will Fosun sanction it?
It’s hard to imagine them doing so without cashing in on our crown jewel, whose face was adorned with tears at full-time as the adoring Molineux crowd serenaded him.
The thought of this current team without Neves is enough to make you shudder, but that may be the future we’ve all got to prepare ourselves for.
But, with the beautiful game increasingly dominated by a handful of super-rich clubs, maybe we just have to accept that it is after all just a game.
I think the neves pictures show someone who is thankful to the fans for cheering his name and begging for him not to be sold he is a man who can do majestic things with a football but is still a man and that adulation can make someone emotional.
Whatever happens in close season I will still be supporting the wolves next season
Not sure about the sentiments of your final paragraph. Being a Wolves supporter should be in the blood, not something that you can switch off and on.
Excellent post Ben.
And now, the end is near
And so I face that final curtain
Not the barnstorming last hurrah performance the Molineux masses desired or deserved. Instead, relegated Norwich looked the more threatening side for long periods. It was sad to see Mr Wolves himself, Captain Coady, being targeted successfully by the much quicker Pukki, resulting in their opening goal. The Captain didn’t reappear for the second half.
Such has been the fall off in performance levels and results in the last 2 months or so, it would not be surprising if the coach’s position was being considered. It’s a ruthless business.
That said, in mitigation, there have been a considerable number of injuries and illnesses. Also this is a squad Bruno has inherited. It is not his own. So has Bruno bitten off more than he can chew ? Are Fosun culpable for not backing the new coach adequately in his first 2 transfer windows ( they were under FFP restrictions ). Or is this just an inevitability given that a number of players have reached their sell by date at a similar time.
Not unlike a supermarket on approaching closing time on Christmas Eve, there will undoubtedly be some bargains for other clubs to snatch up. Wolves will need to sell in order to buy and build. But will it be Bruno in charge ?
Regrets – if the Wolves hierarchy have a few, loaning out Traore without an obligation to buy might be high on that list. All that’s done for us is removed him from our wage bill for several months, slashed his minutes playing in the shop window and run his contract down to the last 12 months. That cost millions and we have a player who wants to play elsewhere.
Another maybe spending so much on a 17 year old Portuguese youngster. I’ve been relentlessly defensive of the popular Fabio Silva, but that is because he has obvious talent and works hard for the team. A teenager still, in a new country. He didn’t set his fee. We should all continue to support him 100%. That is different to questioning the wisdom of those who made the decision to spend £35m on him.
Perhaps another regret that is less recent and obvious but may in some way be impacting us now was the loss of Director of Football, Kevin Thelwell. He had been the Academy Manager then Head of Football Development and Recruitment at Wolves until inexplicably leaving in 2019.
He spent exactly 2 years in the U.S. as Head of Sport for the New York Red Bulls. Returning to the UK in February this year he now holds the same position at Everton that he did with us. His departure meant Jeff Shi assumed more responsibility and Wolves lost some of the checks and balances that were in place that might question decisions and direction. Having one person in charge of everything is not necessarily a good thing. Good leaders know to surround themselves with good people.
And Bruno’s questionable substitutions or even starting line ups. Why not start Chiquinho today ? And why leave substitutions so late in the game, giving too little time for the fresh legs to make an impact, Chelsea aside. Bruno – he did it his way.
So Liverpool to go. Let’s assume that we get nothing from that game. We have managed a top half finish with a relatively inexperienced coach in his first Premier league season with an inherited team. A team where a number of senior players have just played for the last time at the Golden Palace. The predicted grade back in March was A minus. Regrettably that has slipped to B minus.
I guess the biggest concern is the current performance levels. Were that to continue into next season, it is relegation form. 1 point from a possible 15, which will likely become 1 from 18 next weekend. That’s more than a blip.
On a positive note, Chiquinho and Toti are really impressing. We still have the bargain buy of the season in Jose Sa, and the impressive Kilman to come back. Neto is getting valuable minutes under his belt and Podence is back playing. Jonny’s rehabilitation seems complete and Ait Nourhi is a bright prospect.
We’re going to need a lot more of that to compete for a top 6 place next season. So the timing of this slump may be fortuitous. If it serves to focus the minds of our owners with the importance and urgency of what needs to happen this Summer it may well work to our benefit.
Of course, quite rightly many supporters will point to this being a golden age for the Old Gold. A fourth consecutive season in the top flight. It’s just that I want that to continue. I want the owners to stay true to their word and continue to develop the club to compete with the best. And you can do that by standing still. Standing still means going backwards.
From Old Gold supporters to Ol’ Blue Eyes. Let’s pray this time next season we can sing
“we ate it up and spat it out
we faced it all and we stood tall and did it our way”.
UTW
Well so much for a glorious send off more like a damp squid can not beat the worst team in the league. This team needs ripped apart big style and 4 or 5 new faces brought in read an article by Jonny Philips who has said Wolves are going big this summer. 1 or 2 new CD 2 MF and at least 1 striker witch would be great but need to off load at least some of the hangers on.
Did not see the game, but seems like I missed nothing!
Neves will be greatly missed but I for one think he has put in his time with us– 5 years and who are we to hold him back from Champions league football. Ruben was one of the greatest midfielders to put on the gold shirt, yes Ruben I salute you! I will respect your decision and will never forget the joy you brought to all of us. We wish you all the best in the future. Farewell my friend!
Just two things, you can go anywhere but not Arsenal! And if your partner, the mother of you children says she likes Wolverhampton, we will will see you next year, with a new contract!
Heard the team was booed at halftime! I have mixed feelings about that, but nonetheless I hope Jeff was listening. A clear out is required and a number of fresh faces is a must. And not those for the future, those for now. I fear the Fosun model for football success is showing serious signs of crumbling. The concept of buying young talent, developing them and selling them on for a profit will work for one or two players (like Neves and Jota) but cannot sustain growth, progress and profits.
So that is 5 points out of a possible 24 or something, with Liverpool left to play so yes Fosun, put your hands deep into your pockets over the summer or we will likely be in the middle of a relegation scrap next season.
Fully endorse your comments on Neves and Fosun St.K.
Ruben Neves is in the pantheon of Wolves’ all time greats – a master of his craft who has given us his all for 5 years. I think he genuinely loves Wolves as was shown by his emotional finale yesterday. Would love you to stay Ruben but good luck wherever your next challenge takes you; I hope it’s not in the PL though because it would be painful watching you grace Molineux playing for the opposition once or twice a season but you deserve better than the lukewarm level of ambition which Fosun now seem to have for Wolves.
Boly looked bad. Long COVID?
Connor made foolish mistakes. Very sloppy.
Nobody got in the box for crosses. Is that Bruno’s instructions?
Maybe this new style just doesn’t suit Raul.
Some great tackles from Toti.
Chiquino looks like a less muscular Traore.
Where is Barcelona getting all of this money from? They are dumping players due to financial pressures and yet are rumored to be after that BM striker and Neves. Are they just crying poor for negotiating purposes? I hears they will buy Traore but for much less. Tell them to F.O. We can sell him to a lot of clubs.
Just got back home to London after the match and a few pints in The Stile, the latter being sadly the highlight of the day. Woefully tedious performance again. However I don’t think we can continue to blame individual players and/or lack of effort from the team. To me the problem is the motivation, tactics, style of play, the team selection and the substitutions, and these things are down to the manager. Throwing money at the problem won’t necessarily sort it. I hope Neves stays, Adama and Gibbs-White come home and we start playing some of the very promising younger players, but it’s a team game and at the moment they’re playing as individuals. Good managers meld a team that performs in a way that is greater than the sum of its parts. Lage seems to me to be doing the opposite
Really good post, agree with every word pretty much.
A poor display against a poor team. Apart from the start of the second half when we got the equaliser , there was not much to applaud. Some ok individual performances from Neto, chiquinho and toti but this is not a group of players playing for each other. We must bring in some experienced players to support our youngsters and unfortunately that means saying goodbye to players who got us to where we are. I pray that Neves will stay but why would he if he gets the chance of champions league football next year. He must look at his mate Jota and think why am I still here? Anyway a top 10 finish is better than I thought we would get this year.
Until Fosun face up to the fact that they must provide the money for new blood if we’re going to progress then nothing will change and we’ll be a relegation in waiting I’m afraid David.
Well i watched it all this time without going to netflix and it was err… total (apart from 10 second half minutes) crap !
Its all been said above nothing much to add apart from the way some of these players have been performing they must know they are on their way out and have done for some time.
At least we enjoyed the bloggers meal last night that was my good end to the season.
We watch with baited breath the developments ahead.
They need to get a move on theres a lot to do .
This game showed everyone just who we are.
A very average bunch who, for good few weeks, somehow played well above themselves, and by so doing gave us a cushion to avoid being involved in a relegation battle. But it is now evident that we were well and truly flattered, only to to be deceived.
Today we were playing Norwich. If there`s been a poorer team in this division I can`t remember seeing it. Yet for a good part of the game they deservedly led. We were that bad. Dreadful individual performances. No motivation. A complete absence of the positive tactics required to test such abject opposition
But what about our Coach ? Team selection, tactics employed, and the timing of substitutes were yet again, diabolical. The only positive from the Man City drubbing was the form of Chiquinho, who was rewarded by being left to warm the bench with the totally inept Hwan replacing him. [ Surely we` re not going to sign this guy at the end of the season are we? ]
In summary, there can now be no doubt that the core of this team very urgently needs to be strengthened if we are to avoid a major relegation struggle next season. There must also be a serious question as to whether Bruno is the right man to take us forward. Dare I suggest that it might be in our best interest that we hire a new Coach who moves us on from the dire style of play that dominated the thinking of both Nuno and Bruno? More of the same will not hack it.
After the last three years of being barely able to see a goal, how good it would be to enjoy positive attacking football. Is this too much to hope for ?
Seeing the Celta Vigo pre season game showed how dependent on Neves we were going to be.
Top goalscorer with six.
We’re lucky not to be nearer bottom six.
Bruno was given an ageing team and no proven Premier League players in his two transfer windows. Yes he’s made mistakes yet we over exceeded for most of the season with the above in mind.
End of an era today. Or should be.
First half we were all at sea. It was like a mid-championship game. I couldn’t work out why Raul was playing out where Traore used to be found. Is he pining for him?
Second half was an improvement but it still looked like the end of an era and it probably is.
It just wasn’t fun and fair play to those who stuck around to applaud at the end.
I’ve no idea what next season will bring but I suspect it will play out with a very different cast to this one.
Fosun have proven themselves pretty ruthless with managers. I won’t be at all surprised to see Lage sacked at the end of the season. Our recent results aren’t a blip we are now in an extended run of woeful form. 14 points from our last sixteen games is virtually half a season of relegation form since Traore’s mind boggling loan decision. If fosun rebuild it will be financed from the sale of neves, possibly Jimenez and wages freed up from the ending of contracts elsewhere such as Saiss and moutinho. Either way we are in for a summer of significant change and if there isn’t I fear for us next season. Fosun need to start walking the talk otherwise they will soon be in for a very uncomfortable. We all know how toxic molineux can become and I sense that patience will be wafer thin if the summer is one of dither, delay and excuses
Let’s be honest about it, this was an embarrassing result. Norwich have been literally battered everywhere they go, but surprise surprise they turn up at Molineux and get a result.
It’s been a disappointing end to the season, which has fizzled out in alarming fashion. Naysayers will point to the 8th place we hold (for now) but for the last 10 games we have been in relegation form and that is undeniable. From August we all start on nought and if we’re playing anything like this then you really have to worry.
Despite dominating the ball we were unable to fashion clear chances against a terrible side which has shipped goals for fun. How often did Pukki get in behind? Time and time again as we failed to see their bleeding obvious route to goal.
We’re a side which doesn’t score many goals, the keeper has just been named player of the year, which says it all. Neves, one of few bright sparks, may be on his bike. We’ve mustered six more points than last season’s dross. We’re at a crossroads.
Fk it and take a point. Even if it is rammed down your throat with lumpy custard by a sprightly Fin who’s had too many Reindeer mushrooms.
That point ensures we finish above Vanilla and make it trickier for the chasing pack after our beloved 8th spot. In the ‘most competitive league in tha world’ whatever.
The boys looked all beat up following the KDB incident, a sorry bunch of has – beens ready for the knackers yard. Mind it’s hard to have faith in your footballing ability when you’ve just been dismantled by a Belgian. Even the sight of a football must make you turn a whiter shade of pale.
Don’t know what Bruno’s been up to since we went 1-0 up at Arsenal. Other than the 4-0 v Hornets. The Desmond at Chelsea. But 2 points outta 18 pretty chilly. Someone better get a grip. No i don’t think we’ll get a point at Anfield.
1 lv & COYW
What a feeling of deflation. The recent dire run of form feels so inexplicable. Just what has happened? Has something gone on between players and Lage? Is the fact that some know they are leaving impacted their game and rippled through to other players? Is it player uncertainty over the Fosun plan? Or something else?
We all know a rebuild and reboot if this squad is obviously required and there are some big decisions to be made. Hope Fosun will continue their commitment to the club but, as Mike and others have hinted, will Fosun back Bruno as the manager after this damaging month or so? I’d feel more confident if somebody could help us better understand just what has gone on recently.
Neves – just love the man.
UTW
Didn’t you think that the disability competition between Wolves and Norwich was a complete bore and a waste of time?
But the game that broke out for a few minutes at half time was really entertaining and got the crowd going with the determination and no little skill of the players involved.
And we came out on top 2-0.
On a more serious note – At the Bloggers’ meal last night I made a bet with Spikeyboy; and I stand to lose a fiver if I’m wrong.
He reckons that Fosun are going to sell up in the close season.
I said “No way” but, thinking about it, I’m not entirely sure.
The PMDG’er was wielding her binoculars this afternoon and noted that neither Jeff Shi, or any other representative of our owners appeared to be in the Directors’ box.
Surely they should be present at the last home match of the season.
And the presentation of the season’s awards taking place in front of a Molineux barely a third full smacked of…. the end of something special.
The players’ lap of appreciation looked more like the ‘Elevator to the scaffold’ than an uplifting celebratory walk.
We are in need of some new blood, or a new direction.
Even if we keep Ruben, Raul et al we are going to be in a relegation battle next season playing this way.
And one more thing. Why, on the last home match of the season, when the upkeep of the turf is not really a priority, do we have to water the pitch, when in the first half, most of our players spent a fair amount of time losing their footing on the slippery surface?
I’m not at all bothered that this is the last match I shall see live this season.
Much more concerned that boozy, fun, convivial evenings with good mates are at an end for the Summer.
Thanks for your hospitality and friendship. We’ll miss you. You know who you are.
Love you all!
PS. Did you get the Miles Davis link Muttleigh?
I am sure I heard Spikeboy say he would not want you to tell anyone lol.
Sorry to have had to leave early and I hope to see you next season with or without Fosun at the helm.
Stay safe
No, that was something else we were discussing.
And I’m not telling you what it was.
Good man top secret .
Thanks DOOG, got it.
Guess we all feel Kind of Blue at the moment.
We play the mighty Liverpool next weekend ……… So What.
Lol
In my view Lage should be sacked after the Liverpool game .
His team selections ,substitutions and tactics have been wrong multiple times and it seems to me he cannot now even motivate the team .
We need to sell Ruben to finance new additions and anyway he deserves to play Champions League football and he is not going to do that at Wolves .He has given us huge joy in his five years and will be forever loved for those memories but he deserves to go now .
We also need to get what we can for the likes of Boly Traore and Cutrone .Lage cannot be trusted to guide the reinvestment of those funds .
All this must start at the end of this month first getting a new manager .
Lage was stuck in the unfortunate position of coaching a team without a fully fit, Premier League quality striker.
I’m not sure we will sell Neves – it might be his agent bluffing.
I think he is playing 8 games each season against Champions League teams and another 4 againt Europa League teams. That’s almost one-third of the season.
Does he think the games he plays against bottom-of-the-table teams in Spain will be anything like the games he plays against similar teams in the Premier League?
And is he guaranteed to play or will he be on the bench, like Adama is. Adama got four early assists when he moved to Barcelona and still has ended up on the bench.
Neves can always put his foot down and say he and his wife want to stay and get his agent to negotiate the best deal possible.
Dembele has been on fire though which is the main reason Traore isn’t starting.
So after surprisingly managing to stay 8th for the last 3 months or so, we look like doing the impossible and grabbing 10th on the last day!
How Wolves would it be to finish 10th on GD (but equal 8th on points).
Dire performance. No desire. No hunger. Depressing to watch and play against a poor side. Toti is the only bright spark. This team is broken and fix it we must.
Only Toti turned up for the first half – the rest seemed to be resting after a night on the booze! He can certainly replace Saiss at the back. Chiquinho has shown some raw talent and has certainly got the Get Up And Go attitude.
The start of the second half reminded me of the old Wolves under Nuno. We wonder what he said to them to get them going – and why didn’t he say it before the match started.
I was hoping for Man C to win handsomely and hopefully be spared a shellacking from Liverpool. Now I have to think of a number between 6 and 10 for my last prediction of the season if L’Pool are in with the faintest glimmer of a chance to be champions.
I can see a couple of players from our youngsters getting more 1st 11 games. Campbell, Bueno and Lembikisa have shown some rare talent.
All in all, a top half finish is good. The frustration is that we lost easy points against lower teams mainly due to Below Par performances and some really bad decisions (subs and refereeing). But heck – what’s new about that !!
Yes that was woeful. I enjoyed watching the FA Cup Final far more and the last 40 minutes or so of the Under 23’s v The Baggies. Although they lost on penalties the U23’s like our disabled team at half-time dominated the opposition. Bueno and Hodge, for me, were the pick of the bunch. The latter better, in this game, than Cundle and Campbell.
Our first team were hopeless not really worth watching. It was clear why Norwich are bottom, and if we carry on like this that’s what our position will be next season.
It’s hard to put a nail on where the problem is, but having a non-scoring attacking line-up is hard to sustain. We are woeful up top, Neto showed maybe a slither of his former potential but Hwang, Raul didn’t and haven’t seriously threatened goal for ages.
I just hope we have been scouring every league to find a couple of strikers. Without some serious talent coming in up front next season it’s going to be a hard watch. If I was Fosun I’d try and get the disabled team to play at H-T every home game. And maybe play some Dia Lupa tunes before and at H-T, I vaguely know who she is but haven’t heard any of her songs as yet. I look forward to a rebooted team and rebooted entertainment next season. Let’s give brand “Wolves” a new lick of Golden paint.
2 or 3 coats required on current evidence.
At least we did the double over Villa.
I don’t think there has been a more obvious pointer this season to Bruno’s failings than the absence of Chiquinho in the starting 11. When he did come on he made a huge difference but you could have asked any Wolves fan before the game and they would have said he should start given his recent form and our general lack of creativity. He’s getting paid 2.5million to miss the obvious.
Toti eventually returns to the side, only after Saiss is injured and has been villified by the fanbase for his poor run of form and Jonny’s shitshow against Man City. Saiss should have been dropped ten games back, his form prior to that was part of the third best defence in the League.
Julen Lopetegui is available.
Julen Lopetegui is available? He was the original choice when Fosun bought Wolves. I remember being pretty excited when his name was rumoured all those years ago. The takeover dragged on and he took the Spain job I think. Then Marco Silva turned us down. Two failed coaches later, we hired Nuno, and I got excited again. That was quite a rollercoaster, as most of us would agree. I got excited again with Bruno, but the jury is out on him now. He seems to have lost the dressing room.
We’re at a crossroads. We haven’t got Europe next season as a draw to sign exceptional players. However, an exceptional coach could be that draw. The perception may be that Bruno does not fit that bill. It all depends if Fosun still have the same ambition. If not, it’s a good time to sell. The sale of Chelsea at £4bil odd shows that there is big money desperate for a stake in the Premier League. A failed Chelsea bidder could get a 90% discount by buying Wolves for £400mil. Jim Ratcliffe came in late for Chelsea, but he’s a Man U fan. S, what about it, Jim?
I think we should be careful what we wish as regards new owners, Fosun have done a decent job considering where we were when they took over and where we had been in the years before that.
Long gone are the days where coaches just look at the previous game and give all of the players who “put in a shift” a start.
I wasn’t saying that but once a player has had a couple of bad games surely his place is up for grabs, standard. That’s how teams evolve. Gardiola has no problem leaving Grealish out cos he’s not pulling up trees as does Tuchel with Lukaku, better players and better managers than we possess.
I took rumours of a dressing room bust up with Bruno with a pinch of salt until yesterday, but things don’t look right on the pitch. Senior longstanding stalwarts Jonny, Coady, Boly aren’t looking like themselves and the relative demise of the post David Luiz Jiminez is there for all to see.
Ruddy, Marcal and Saiss are clearly leaving us and it looks probable that Neves is also on the move. Moutinho? And on recent evidence Hwang isn’t good enough.
The match was awful and so were we.
So a big summer ahead? Or will they all be replaced with more “ones for the future”? Silva to Real Madrid – that would be interesting but as with Traore how much (little) are we likely to be paid.
A fond farewell to those above who do leave us and thanks in most cases for good memories. And a massive special mention for Ruben Neves who will always be a Wolves legend wherever he is playing.
But a final message Mssrs. Shi and Guangchang – if you want to maintain our status, never mind improve it, you can’t keep doing it on the cheap. You’ve done us proud on the whole so far but a net spend of around £200 million in 6 years is not a fortune in today’s market and you’ll need to up the ante significantly.
Now I’ve calmed down a bit and got over the theft of half a day of my life that I’ll never get back I’ve switched to a more moderate and reflective mode.
We’re finishing top half In the EFL. Too early to say how far above that but never the less top half. A position coveted by 82 other teams in the football league and many others too.
We’re owned by a solid international corporation that pretty much let the club get on with things without too much interference, they don’t (as far as we know) go around the world killing people they don’t like nor do they have working practices that endanger their employees (except maybe Raul)
They picked us up as a stagnating lower mid Championship side and after a sharp learning curve worked out what we needed and delivered it. When it all started to unravel last season they acted swiftly and replaced a hugely popular manager before his legacy was too tarnished.
Now we have a new guy that six weeks ago was the greatest thing since (add your own metaphor) now apparently he’s hopeless!
If this season had been played in reverse we would all have been more than happy.
My point is perhaps things aren’t so bad. Yes it’s time for a rebuild but other than moaning for moanings sake and more than a little 20/20 hindsight we’re in better shape than most of us can ever remember.
My point here is give the club a break. They’ve not let us down yet and take away the background noise and there’s no evidence to suggest they’re going to start now.
We didn’t even make the play offs 🙁
I think there’s a massive difference if a manager starts badly and gets better but if a manager starts well and gets found out then that’s far worse. If Bruno’s here next season we’ll all get behind him but at this juncture it’s standard to ask questions given our insipid performances of late.
As for Fosun we should all shut up till we see what they do in the Summer and even then see how we start. I believe the right manager could get a tune out of the squad we have as Bruno did mid season but couldn’t maintain. Unfortunately we won’t have a sizeable portion of the squad next season. It’ll all come down to recruitment and our track record is very poor in that dept.
I obviously meant EPL. Just checking you’re paying attention!
Fabulous weekend with some good friends, including the meal at Rocco’s on Saturday.
The Wolves match itself was a damp squib and not the final flourish we had all hoped for. I, foolishly, had predicted 4-1. Oh well, maybe next season.
I stayed on to applaud the players and watch the Wolves women and men do their respective lap of honour. This was mainly to have one last glimpse of the latter, as I imagine a fair few – possibly Bruno himself – will not be around come August.
I truly hope that Neves stays and Fosun build a team around him but that might be fanciful and, as others have already alluded, his talent deserves to be showcased at the highest level.
Bruno getting a lot of stick from some quarters. Rather unfairly imo.
You can only work with the tools you are given and at best he has been dealt a pretty mediocre hand for his first season.
Basically he was given Nuno’s squad initially and it was pretty stale to start with.
Despite crying out for incomers to strengthen quality and numbers he has been given virtually no support.
With Neto initially long term injured, a £35 million experiment and a previously world class striker felled by a near fatal “accident” who will never be the same again it’s not surprising we can’t score goals. And Hwang hasn’t really been the answer to anyone’s prayers, just a slight improvement on the hopeless Willian
Throw in a creative midfield of just the excellent Neves and the ageing Moutinho and what you see is what you get.
Even the defence has started to fall apart lately – maybe the sands of time are starting to catch up with our resolute centre backs all of whom go back to early Nuno or earlier.
His one lucky stroke was to be handed a Patricio upgrade on the cheap who has been an absolute revelation.
But come on folks. Unless he promised a top 6 finish with no real financial backing no one can justify sacking him can they? “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear”.
However I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see it happen
I do have an awful lot of sympathy for Bruno and agree he was dealt a poor hand. I’m just not sure which way Fosun will jump.
Sommats up at the mol.
Change is in the air..whether its owners, manager or players i sense that something is happening.
Since Fosun took over, I have never felt less interested in the games as I have this season.
Roll on next weekend ?
Sommats in the air but it ain’t love.
Sunday’s squib wasn’t so much damp as absolutely saturated. We seem to have displayed an astonishing level of ineptitude in these last few games which is difficult to explain. Bruno ‘losing’ the dressing room is a possibility but surely, if there are players looking to progress their careers elsewhere, performances like this are not the way to achieve it. Unless it’s onwards and downwards.
Still, I’m not one to believe anything I read in the press/interweb/etc so I wait with bated breath to see what the summer will bring. I do think that who stays and who goes will be our strongest indicator of the commitment of our owners. Ruben leaving would make me feel that he no longer believes the ‘project’ will take him to the top as soon as he hoped. If he does leave, what are the standard of replacements. Can Uncle Jorge still sell the ‘project’ to high-profile signings?
Will we spend over and above our reported ‘sell to buy’ limit?
So many questions. But the answers will be forthcoming in the next three months. I’ll wait until then before I get all depressed. Or ecstatic.
It should be an easier sell than it was at the arse end of the championship.
If Ruben leaves, I think it will be because Jorge wants him, and therefore him, to make more money.
Jeff should just stall and submit the papers 10 minutes late. I’m sure Ruben and his wife wouldn’t be too upset.
Call me naive if you wish, but I thought Wolves employ Ruben and Ruben employs Uncle Jorge. Therefore, if Ruben wants to stay then Uncle Jorge will do as he’s told. Or Ruben finds an agent who will.
Good comment.
Not sure Uncle Jorge is such a great friend to Wolves these days (see Jota, Traore etc.) but I have a feeling that he and Jeff are often on the same page.
Maybe we need to be a little less dependent – after all it is an open market, isn’t it?
I hate to keep banging on about this. It makes me sound like a Mendez apologist – which I’m not. But our business model depends on us giving exceptional young talent a pathway. The sale of Jota probably being the club’s roll out example of this.
Traore won’t sign for what we’re prepared to pay which is fair enough and god only knows how we’ve been lucky enough to hang on to Neves for so long.
So far when looked at in macro, the system has worked pretty well. The first big test of the method is about to begin.
Forgot to say, great to meet up with a few bloggers Saturday night to chew the fat. Especially good to meet Mr Spikeyboy who joined us for the first time. Now, if I can figure this thing out, I may be able to post a piccy.
Well done mate! Piccy posted.
You must tell me about when you met Peter Knowles one time.
I’m VERY jealous.
I’ve got the story .. and like Rebekah Vardy .. I want paying for it…lol
You’m taking the mick now, ain’t ya DG.
I thought I’d told you already.
What? You met Peter Knowles? You never said!
See you next season mats.
Well actually, he’s the one who recognised me, but yes,remind me to tell you the story again sometime.
Have a good summer buddy. ?
What a great weekend….
Starting with Sat afternoon when meeting up with Dave and Sonia, Dougie and his entourage, Brompton and Wolfstroker… a few sherbets in the Slug and then onto Roccos where Marin wolf , Linda, Andrew, the DOOGooders and Frankski pitched up to keep the mood lively… and more sherbets… a really great day ..
Then somehow onto the Clarendon pub for yet more …sherbets.. Thanks ever so much to a super meet up…
Highlight of my weekend was a selfie with Ruben Neves… what a legend, humble and courteous young man..
Sundays game was interesting but unsurprising in the outcome, and I do agree with Coady getting the hook at halftime following a hapless first 45 minutes.
There were some average performances, nothing stand out apart from seeing Big John Ruddy and Neves getting ready to say goodbye at full time…
I do have one observation and that is seeing Bruno take a back seat to the goalkeeper coach (Tony Roberts) during the game and then walk down the tunnel straight after the final whistle….. maybe he’s going too… I can’t think Fosun will accept second best especially as Lopetegui will be leaving for pastures new..
Apologies if I got it wrong with Bruno heading down the tunnel at full time…
Better, lord twixter than saying ‘Bruno picked up his shovel and dug his way out ‘
Straight through a sprinkler ?
Still haven’t recovered my voice from Saturday night gigs at Rocco’s and Clarendon
Simply lovely to reconnect with all bloggers and meet new ones
Sunday such an anticlimax… well apart
from experiencing Dougie and Barbara’s hospitality
See you all next year
A question for debate.
According to the WW website we have 26 (yes TWENTY SIX) players out on loan. OK some are young and some are very fringe, but quite a few are reasonably experienced, 2 (MGW, Jordao) are established U21/23 internationals and 7 are full internationals only 2 of whom have ever started a first team match for us.
Given that most of us, including our coach, seem to recognise that our squad is short on both numbers and quality in depth what is the logic of this strange strategy and if several are not to be brought into the fold soon (most are imports) what was the point of signing them in the first place? If we don’t try them we’ll never know.
Our coach has said he wants a team of 23 or 24 players and that is how many are on the first team.
He is lamenting the number of injuries.
Please, can everyone stop saying he wants a bigger squad? He specifically said the squad he had at Benfica had 28 players and was too big.
Perhaps you could list 24 players who you would be happy to START a PL match on a regular basis. I can identify 19/20 at best if everyone is fit, before anyone leaves in the summer.
Which means a pretty major recruitment operation in prospect if we aren’t going to recall a serious number of loanees.
I didn’t say they shouldn’t improve the squad, I am just saying the coach doesn’t want it bigger.
The bigger the squad, the more players who never play and may have to be accommodated.
I’m all for getting rid of players who can be replaced with better or players who were bought with potential in mind who may have stagnated.
Also, we need players who can score so maybe an additional striker to compliment Raul and we can worry about Fabio in a couple seasons (or he can go out on loan). He may be getting like Gibbs-White who seemed all to happy to just be in the squad and get occasional game time. He finally realized this last summer that he needed to go out and get regular first-team action.
https://www.molineux.news/news/wolves-fans-react-to-lages-comments-on-the-size-of-the-squad/
“…Lage said he would rather be working with 21 outfield players than 18, but was optimistic about what he can do with the squad he has now…”
21 + 3 goalkeepers = 24.
26 out on loan? Who do we think we are? Bleedin’ Chelsea?
It’s not strange PJB. The majority of the loanees will never get near the firs team. They are an almost separate arm of the business there to make money for the club with one or two getting there or there abouts.
Whatever you think of the model it’s why so many teams run academies these days.
Thinking more of imports from Spain / Portugal, South America and the Far East plus the UK (Mathieson eg) many of whom come and go without ever making a mark. And the only only Academy graduates I can recall raising a decent fee in recent times have been Hause and Ottasowie.
But as I said a point for debate so thanks for the contribution.
The only good things about Sunday were 1. Beers before and after the match 2. The weather wor bad 3. The 1 point secured ensures the 1982’s cant finish above us this season. And we are West Midlands top dogs. Big big summer ahead. I have always argued Fosun, as a very successful global investment company will not want to see their investment diminished in WV1. I am expecting Jeff and co. to prove me right.
A bit disappointed that we never got to see you Saturday night mate.
Soz about that. I would have been about if it was just a few beers and stuff. Tell you what. First home match August. Just let me know where you are having a beer and i will come and have a few. Have a laugh. I live local and can get over Wolvo on the bus in 45/50 mins. It ain’t a problem.
We’re gonna hold you to that Cheesey.
No worries. I said yesterday if anyone was about id come and have a beer.
I hear that the Wagatha woman has scored more times away from home than her old man. I want paying for this, Thomas!
PS: got a great legal joke. What’s the difference between unlawful and illegal?
Unlawful is something contrary to law and illegal is a sick bird.
Talking about sick birds…
Trouble at mill… or should I say Stamford Bridge:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/05/16/whitehall-insiders-believe-roman-abramovich-could-let-chelsea/
If this comes true, Chelsea would be banished from all competitions. Arsenal would probably get a CL spot and Wolves (if we finish 8th) a Europa League Conference place.
If Carlsberg did sanctions, we could be in Europe. They don’t, but we might!
Frustrated is an understatement not with the manager not even with the players but with our owner.
Hayward said it and Morgan after him when they lost ambition and pulled the plug on investing in the team, the club need to be self financing which is basicaly saying we are not puting in any more money into the club, we will have to sell our best players to fund new players which as everyone knows is total folly as has been proved in the past under Hayward and Morgan.
There is not a football club on this planet or any other planet that is totally self financing Guo, Jeff or whoever came out with such bull shit.
My energy know wil be directed at calling our owners out if as expected the ” self sufficant ” bull shit statements are rolled out again this summer when they fail again to strengthen the squad and sell our best player, dont come that bull shit he wanted to go, perhaps he did but if our owner showed some ambition then he might be convinced to stay.
I suggest to all Wolves fans that they do the same because we are going only one way its seens under Fosun and thats backwards.
If they sack Bruno who they have also failed who in there right mind is going to take the job under the conditions He’s had to work under, it really is laughable.
The promises have faded the project has not just stalled but it appears to have been scrapped altogether., if that is the case then I would ask Fosun to do the decent thing and try and find someone who has deep pockets and willing to put there hand in them and invest in my team Wolverhampton Wanderers.
And yet they piled in the money to Nuno 2018 to get us up. And kept us up for 5 seasons. Have a bit of faith.
Makes me laugh they are all throwing their toys out the pram. Suddenly Thelwell is great when he was shit. Jota is brilliant when everyone thought he was shit. MGW is the saviour now. When everyone thought he was shit. Fuckin hell. Fuck off.
I sense your frustration Cheesie, but it’s not all black and white. I was so fed up with MGW at times that I called him Morgan Gives Shite. But Jota? Never, he was always an exceptional player, even when hacked to death in the championship. The biggest mistake in the Fosun era was being scammed by Liverpool into selling Jota cheaply on the never-never with a bloody PX thrown in. Liverpool must be full of Del Boys. I know Nuno had issues with him, but a way should have been found to keep Jota on board. At the end of the day most us us recognise that Fosun rescued us from championship mediocrity. The fact that we will soon have our fifth consecutive season in the greatest league in the world is testament to Fosun’s largely successful stewardship. In my view, the best is yet to come.
While I’m on Liverpool’s skulduggery, they put smokescreens out about interest in Traore to disguise their real target of Jota. Traore unplayable, etc. We ramped Traore’s price up to £70mil as a result. Unplayable? They were never gonna play Traore as they were never gonna sign him!
I hope we stuff them on Sunday.
Thank dog we aint in Russia!
Everyone associated with the club would be up against a wall and shot!
I’m with ya Cheesy, fuck ‘em all!
Yeah. There are a lot of entitled fans who never went before 2018 and now they are all crying because all they have known is Europa league etc.Get real. We are Wolves. We do 4th division. And all that shit. Get used to it.
Well said cheese
Were were they all in the wilderness years?
Probably in the nursery ?
Man City have endured worse.
Watched the end of a game where the new lot were crying because they didn’t win the league.
Us lot will be in the Billy shh Wright soon enough.
I’ll bet the regulars before us said the same
Hope you are not dissing the Billy Wright regulars? The stand is full of longstanding, long suffering fans who do make a lot of noise. Mainly false teeth clicking I grant you! Looking forward to the turkey shoot on Sunday, can the Black Country two upset a few applecarts?
The “Black Country two”?
As far as I’m aware, there’s just the “Black Country One”, Wolves.
I think it will be a while before Walsall or Bilston Town join us on the Premiership.
Or West Brom…
I didn’t think they were worth mentioning.
West Brom ain’t Black Country.
Baggies fans used to say Wolverhampton wasn’t in the Black Country! Must be the in-breeding confusing them!
Sorry chaps. Had a few bevvies when i posted that. It’s only what my died in the wool mates say anyway. I can only be honest.
No problem cheesey. We all love you mate…… and your NDNC. Wolves ay We.
I always said that receiving a dislike never bothered me, but why I got a dislike for that is beyond me, Guess it’s time to go.
Pathetic.
Didn’t you say that you were having problems with the Wolves ticket office people? Maybe they are stalking you.
From the Daily Mail today:
“REVEALED: Integrity concerns emerge over title-chasing Liverpool’s crucial clash against Wolves – because Reds will pay Sunday’s opponents a multi-million pound bonus as part of the Diogo Jota transfer deal IF they win the Premier League”
Lets imagine we’re 1-0 up in injury time. Sa does a great impression of Bruce Grobbelaar and bicycle-kicks into his own net. Then after conceding a penalty, Conor Coady does a great impression of Paolo di Canio and pushes the referee over in the penalty area for good measure. We lose 2-1 at full time and cop several millions more from Liverpool next week. Daily Mail would be on the case! Is this what they think?
In reality, we would love to win on Sunday and by doing so we can’t be overtaken by Leicester for 8th place. If we finish 8th we earn £28.6mil. If we lose to Liverpool we will probably finish 11th and only earn £22mil. We obviously have a clear financial incentive to beat Liverpool.