Since April 3, Wolves have scored four Premier League goals at Molineux, compared to Manchester City’s eight.
In other words, as soon as Jack Grealish bundled in the opener before we’d finished contemplating Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, the game was done and dusted.
Thoughts now turn to King Charles III’s tenure, and how many weeks into it before we see another goal again. With this front-three in particular, I wouldn’t bet against it being Christmas.
Ok, so Nathan Collins will rightly receive the wrath of many for a braindead challenge on the City player we like to hate most, but in truth we’d been playing with 10 men up until that point anyway, as the hopeless Pedro Neto was being carried for another week, as he keeps up his woeful impersonation of his former self.
Unfashionable as it is to say this no doubt, but if Adama Traore was pulling the stunts – or lack of – that Neto has all season, he’d have been hounded out the starting XI by the baying masses long before now. Alongside Neto, Podence still does nothing to disprove that he’s a quirky, novelty player, while Guedes looks like the pair of them put together…
…All fur coat and no knickers.
Opting for one luxury player against arguably the best team in the western world right now is asking for trouble, but three across the front line is only going to end one way, as it has every game bar Leeds, Newcastle and Southampton…
…Goalless, clueless and quite honestly, hopeless.
And more proof, were it needed, that without Man City’s 2019 tormentor in the team we look infinitely less likely to score than we do when he’s out injured, as he was today in a big blow before kick off.
While many fans are claiming this squad to be the most talented in their lifetime (with a fair degree of validity), I’d wager that it’s also the most toothless side that I’ve seen in the final third, give or take those Le Fondre days of woe. So whilst defeats like this one against Man City are never going to define our season, the shocking ‘goals for’ column is, as is a meagre 6 points from 7 games and a potential drop to the Premier League relegation zone by the time those below have played their game in hand.
The two claims must be mutually exclusive, as it’s inconceivable that this vaunted squad we’re all so quick to laud can be so pathetic when approaching an opposition penalty box? Even in the dying embers of this fixture with the game done and dusted, we refused to load any players in the box. I.E We were (in)actively looking not to score, which can only be an instruction from the coach.
A churlish definition? Perhaps, but players are literally refusing to shoot at goal or even make a run into the box to receive the ball to shoot in the first place. It is beyond maddening now and one paltry shot today was another damning indictment, irrespective of the opposition or the fact we had a man less for an hour when playing them.
That we kept the score down to three with 10 men was a minor moral victory to cling on to, while Boubacar Traore gave a promising cameo off the bench late on.
Yet despite the glaringly obvious, we did play some good stuff in spells, as typified in the 15mins between City’s two goals, while some of the play after we went a man down was pleasant enough, albeit lacking in any sort of cutting edge that would get you off your seat. Only Her Majesty did that in the 70th minute, in a doubly sobering moment.
But before I join the growing cat-calls towards Bruno, I’ll keep my powder dry for now as I sense (without any evidence, granted!) that he is aware of our side’s glaring deficiency and needs longer to put it right.
Signing Boubacar Traore and Diego Costa would suggest this to be the case, with the former here to drive us up the pitch and the latter given the diktat to cause mayhem in the box.
Firing blanks thereafter will be a sackable offence though, irrespective of who we’re up against.
? How long do we perservere with this ineffectual rubbish. No passion, no drive ….treading water . Excellent blog Ben .
A harsh assessment I believe.
Our season is never going to be defined by matches against City, especially after going a goal down immediately and then down to 10 men, and above all playing without a recognised striker
Hopefully one of the back up defenders will come good, and Raul + Costa get back match fit
If we get nothing from the likes of the Forest or Leicester fixtures then is the time to start worrying.
Very harsh, I thought some of Wolves passing when going forward was excellent, only the final pass let them down.
Citeh pushed tight to the Wolves and Wolves just played around them in most cases, that shows the understanding between Sa and the defenders it starting to gel really well.
Hopefully the final pass will improve when Costa or Raul returns.
Thanks Dealwolf. Very kind. I do see signs of positivity in amongst all of this, but you’d expect that as a minimum with the players at our disposal?! Definitely more substance needed in the final third. We’ve assembled a group of ‘bells and whistles’ forwards and at best, they’re flattering to deceive right now.
Hopefully Diego shakes them up a bit!
At the start of the season I thought we would be in a relegation battle and I continue to see little to change my mind. I really want Bruno to succeed for his sake and that of our club but I can see no effective football being played by this team. We may have some good individual players but there is little passion and intensity. Neto’s decision making is woeful and he is either not being coached or is not listening. Has anyone seen a scintilla of a reason as to why we have spent £28m on Guedes? I hope it all comes together but Bruno is sounding increasingly deluded post match. We can’t score and even with Costa coming in at some point, no one could confidently say we have a solution to this problem. Watch back the warm up before the game and witness ait nouri immediately prior to kick off, it is clear he is not focussed and a minute later he is skinned and city are 1 up. We are in a mess.
Lamentable. 1 shot on target again.
We seem to have a collection of decent players, but we don’t have a team. And I’m still not sure we have enough really good players; how many are really journeymen from a weak Portuguese league who rely on the likes of Ronaldo, Neves, Moutinho in his prime and a few others to carry them; Fernadez at MUFC looks no better. Maybe the current Fosun / Mendez model needs a review Jeff.
Toothless is flattering them Ben. But it’s been bloody obvious since the day Jiminez was felled by David Luiz. And yes I’ve said it before. And I make no apology for repeating it ad finitum. Because with 3 goals from 7 PL matches and 38 from 38 last season this IS a crisis. Anyone saying otherwise is in denial.
Tough run of fixtures coming up but when you can’t score goals they’re all going to be tough.
I just hope that Diego Costa still walks on water and can get fit quickly enough to show some of these wimps how it should be done, but maybe a bit more subtly than Collins.
And it’s your team now Bruno and sadly having been sold short for a whole season you may be now running out of time,
And please no excuses about injuries, the squad is and has been for a long time way too short on numbers of PL quality.
This rant isn’t about today, it’s about the last 2 years.
And a final short term thought. Could Leo Bonatini have been any worse than our powder puff attack today? Why is he in exile while still at the club?
Agree 1oo% PJB- the paucity of the defensive cover reflected by Bruno’s reluctance to introduce a rookie CH following Collins’ dismissal. I thought Neves had another monumental game and would keep him as part of the back 4- Collins is too inconsistent at this level. Whilst I’m normally optimistic, I can only see us falling into the relegation zone- relying on the return to ‘fitness’ of two veteran CF’s to provide the goals is dreamland, I’m afraid.
I can buy some of what you’re saying. But, your commentary on the Portuguese team couldn’t be further off. Man City has three Portuguese starters. Bruno Fernandes (with an “s”) has dropped off a little. But, he’s still a world class player. They certainly don’t rely on Neves – who isn’t even a regular starter. Moutinho has been a solid and effective player for Portugal – but certainly not a focal point or star.
The Portuguese league is top heavy – everyone know s that. But, sporting just played Tottenham off the field. Benfica beat Juve this week.
The Portuguese roster is stacked. Rafael Leão just one Série A player of the year.
England probably has their best team in a long time. And, Portugal will beat them six out of ten.
Point taken Lou, perhaps we’re being fobbed off with the B cast, but I do rate Nunes and Sa.
Sorry mate. Both parents born in northern portugal. Probably over-reacted.
Also, as an American, I just called someone “mate” for the first time. Felt good.
No apology needed. And certainly, we have had wonderful service from Neves and Moutinho and more recently Sa, while Jota was a star who left us too soon, for both parties imo.
Lage could be gone by November if there is a decent enough manager available.
I agree about Bonatini he is a bonafide striker and where was Adama can anyone say ?
Is Lage keen on his personal early destruction by not playing him ?
Thanks to QEII, Anfield called off, things could have been worse, 8 matches 720 mins and 3 goals scored.
Fans should remember Costa is an ageing footballer not a miracle worker.
Wanderers midfield is boasted about but over rated, against many other teams in the PL who have equally good midfielders and results show that..
Be bold, bring Nuno back. It had synergy, it worked!
Your point about Bonatini is a good one. The reality is that our front three are so pathetic he could do no worse– and probably a lot better ! Or as an alternative, why not take a look at a Sunday league pub fixture ? At least those guys understand that to win games you have to shoot at goal
Lage’s team. Lage picks it therefore his football decision not to play the Bona, Adama or that superb young attacking midfielder Ronan, to supporters frustration.
Bonatini, I’ve heard it all now. I know we’re desperate for goals but he’s not the answer, he never was. His goals dried up five years ago. The fact this is even being discussed shows what a ridiculous situation we’ve gotten ourselves into.
Well it could have been worse, considering Collin’s dreadful tackle and deserving sending off, but I’m still sticking up for the lads, hoping that they can still turn things round.
There were some good bits, I thought, but the team still needs an abundance of shooting practice… I just wish they wouldn’t faff about knocking dodgy back passes, tempting obvious fate.
I don’t know… I just feel incredibly sad, as I’ve often done in my 63 years of sticking with WWFC through thick and thin… 🙁
We’re exactly the same vintage, I wonder if we attended the same first match, Leics. City Dec. 59 for me. Top v bottom and we lost 0-3.
It’s been tough hasn’t it, but even the bad times are good.
I started to enjoy football at 9yrs old and my Wolverhampton born father and grandfather before me followed WWFC. My first match that I can remember seeing on TV was indeed the FA Cup Final against Blackburn Rovers in 1960.
I’ve always lived in the south, but used to go to my granny’s in Wolverhampton in the mid fifties, desperate to go to the midweek floodlit Molineux matches.
I was, unfortunately, much too young of course.
I’ve been to so many ‘away’ matches in London, often resulting in defeats, but, yes, even the bad times are good… every minute of supporting the club has been good. Especially, delivering Billy Wright’s morning paper and him opening the door one day to take it from me.
My first game was on the South Bank bank in 1947 — and I recall my uncle and I got there two hours before the kick off just before the gates were closed with well over 70,000 inside. Now those were the real days !! I got to see first hand the never to be forgotten glory years of the 1950`s.
Talking of which. Back then if we didnt` score at least three in any home game it was a disaster of monumental proportions. We scored so frequently because old Stan Cullis relied on the proven philosophy that the surest way to get goals is to get the ball to you strikers inside the box as rapidly as possible. Johnny Hancocks and Jimmy Mullen provided the ammunition, and Roy Swinbourne and Denis Wilshaw –adored by all as ‘Gladis’ — did the business week after wonderful week.
Bruno, you could do far worse than trying to copy Stan Cullis !! It might well save you job !!
You lucky man Mike, you certainly witnessed the golden era of the old gold and black. You could have had some great conversations with my much-missed Dad.
I remember watching Jimmy on the left wing. And, of course, Johnny and Denis. Jimmy Mullen had a sports shop in Wolverhampton in retirement. I remember buying a snooker cue from him and he sent me off with four to try out!
In Whitmore Reans , I often saw Ron Flowers , kitbag in hand, waiting for the trolly bus in Leicester Square .
How times have changed.
It sounds as though you did not live far from the Whitmore Reans area where I lived in the early 50s. I used to see Billy in the grocers, chatting up the girls at Masons. In those days I used to get passed down to the touch line on the Waterloo Stand. I attended St Jude’s JS.
If you have a Sky subscription look at the documentary on Wolves in China.
A happy, committed bunch of players working hard under Nuno.
Would Nuno still be here if Raul had not got injured ?
Did Nuno play negative football because he had no alternative strikers with Fabio being inexperienced and Cutrone an unexpected failure ?
I always thought we had a chance with our defensive resilience but now I fear a loss every time we step on to the pitch.
Yes, change was needed and anyone watching Forest last night would appreciate that Willy needed to go, but does this formation suit our players ? Is Bruno deluded in constantly seeing positives ?
If it was left to me I’d be on the phone to Nuno to get him back here asap.
Failing that I’d have Graham Turner, Mick Mc Carthy or Kenny Jackett as all of them gave me immense pleasure during my 57 years as a Wolves supporter !
It was good to be at molineux today to pay respects to the Queen, but My 50+ years watching Wolves should have told me that we would get nothing out of this game, so why did I predict a 2-2 draw? But when you give two goals away so early then have a player sent off, it’s no wonder so many left before the end. Again our lack of attempts on goal is most worrying. I have some sympathy (still) for Bruno and what does he do when he has no out and out strikers available, but the clock is ticking. We were fortunate City took their foot off the gas. This could have been a cricket score.
I thought this was a blog only about football? Obviously only when it suits. I’m off. Adios.
Don’t be soft Cheesey.
(Did you see what I did there?).
Get back to talking about the neighbour’s cat.
Is it a Tom or a Queen?
(Did you see what I did THERE?).
i am not supposed to comment before ten games but my missus can and god bless her she knows nothing or is not even the slightest bit interested in football but sits through it with me more often than not playing candy crush totally disinterested but today she came up with a golden comment after secretly watching the game through one eye .
” THIS IS LIKE THE SIXTH FORM PLAYING THE FIRST YEARS AT SCHOOL ”
AND THAT JUST ABOUT ABOUT SUMMED IT UP !
The reality is that we have individuals at our Club who`s combined ability should be sufficient to see us in the top half of the table. That we `re struggling near the bottom, having not the slightest clue as to how to score goals, has to be down to the way we play.
We might play approach football which intermittently is pleasing to the eye , but at no time do we attempt to have bodies into the box to pressurize defenders into errors. We posed almost not threat in our opponents penalty box. This has to be down to the way we are being coached to play. So surely questions need to be asked as to competency Bruno ?
If Diego Costa plays up front and is an isolated figure working on scraps, — as Raoul has to been made to to for the past year — why should we expect results to improve ?
Our atrocious performance record goes back over a period of many months. And despite the millions of pounds made available by Fosun, there is ZERO sign of improvement. It has become very clear that issue is not about the signing of players, it is how they are coached to play when they are here !!
Given his appalling results, that Bruno has survived for so long must be a miracle in itself. But surely we must now be at the point where a change of leadership is essential. In my view, failure to act decisively now could well have disastrous long term consequences
I’m getting to your way of thinking Mike… But I am willing to give Bruno another few games. Enough credit in the bank from me for now. But I am on board with lots of what you say here!
Why does he have credit in the bank ?
We have now won once in 14 games .
They cannot score and this the entertainment is dire .
The owners will probably wait the 9 games until the WC break .
I can only hope we are not in the bottom 3 at that point .
Ben, the problem with keep on giving any failing manager more time– in any faltering business not just football — is that when patience finally runs out, its FAR MORE difficult to make up lost ground.
In our case, Bruno has been failing consistently for far too long. There is ZERO indication of improvement despite the influx of several new players. Our Club now has a losing mentality. The sooner we bite the bullet and make a change of coaching direction, the better chance we`ll have of avoiding the dreaded relegation scrap.
What credit ,he’s done nothing.
I’m sorry but ‘enough credit in the bank’ from doing what?
Not improved one player.
Agreed to loan out our captain and best motivator and now is asking for a centre half.
Started our new number 9 when he had not trained and was clearly unfit.
Tried and failed to change the system and failed to score more goals and play more attacking football last season and now this season.
He needs replacing with better quality now!
Didn’t we have injuries at the end of last season?
Doesn’t everyone? It helps if your bench consists of players who are not still at school.
The trouble is,Mike that we have too many players of similar ilk and,unfortunately, Bruno persists on playing Neto on the right where he’s become so predictable and food and drink to a half decent full back. Ben is spot on with his assessment. The other forwards also massively flatter to deceive and, of all our problems, that’s the biggest and most fundamental. Something we’ve all known for ages but has nowhere near been effectively addressed in the transfer market.
I think the problem is playing three up front without a dominating centre forward, which we haven’t had since Rauls injury. We are effectively playing with 10 men and are so easy to defend against. Unless we get Raul or Costa up to fitness we should go with a diamond with 2 up front and Podence behind.
Once again we apparently had ‘good moments’ and there were ‘positive signs’ according to he who must be obeyed. Well unless that all gets turned into some goals and points pretty soon we’ll be in the mire. No, seasons aren’t defined by losses to City, but we’ve had arguably the easiest sequence of the season up to now and look what we have to show for it. I’ll be thrilled to be proved wrong, but the thin cv Lage had to justify his appointment looks horribly like delivering the inevitable.
I thought it was an entertaining game and I don’t think we lacked passion, or skill in certain areas of the pitch.
However.
I’ve said before that Collins is a mistake waiting to happen, and today he was two mistakes that happened all too quickly.
One misplaced pass under no real pressure, which we got away with, and one ridiculous tackle on ‘The man who falls over for a living’.
I haven’t yet seen the replay but, it looked like an awful attempt at a tackle and with that referee and Jack Grealish doing his thing, it was always going to end up as a red card.
After that, I thought we put up a brave performance but were never likely to score with Guedes and Neto wasting good chances and everybody else in a gold shirt treating the City penalty area and six yard box as a ‘No fly zone’.
Summing up the game, the team and the present manager:-
Nuno produced a team that was greater than the sum of its, quite limited, parts.
Bruno has, on paper, even allowing for our striker situation, a side that should be challenging in the top half of the division.
But it patently isn’t.
This has to change, and change soon, or we could be in for a difficult season.
I wish I was this articulate! You should have written this blog Doog!
Thanks Ben, I appreciate that. mate.
But I think you’ve hit the nail pretty much on the head.
You are custodian of ‘The hammer’.
I agree 100 per cent. Previously we managed to stop teams from scoring but we got rid of the general in defence and swopped him for a accident waiting to happen in Collins. Now we still can’t score and we can’t stop the opposition from scoring. Not looking good. Fosun need to step in now before it gets worse
We had the least goals conceded before we played city who must average over 2 goals against any side in the world, never mind 10 men.
What is true is that Collins blew our game out the window yesterday but on other occasions has looked a fine acquisition.
Klopp ain’t doing so well, either. Nor Rogers.
People have been asking for years for Wolves to bring in 5 or 6 players.
Now you see the downside to that. The team loses its cohesion.
It’s all about bringing in the right players in the right positions,John, and a good performance of the contributors to this blog could possibly make a better fist of it than our ‘acquisitions team’ (if there is one).
Percentage not performance !!
Can anyone justify the decision (presumably taken by Bruno) to exile a CB currently a fixture in the England squad with the situation now facing us in the central defence. Oh, he couldn’t play in a back 4. Seems to be doing ok in a back 4 at Everton. And all to accommodate Neil, sorry £23 million Nathan, Collins.
Similar questions apply to The Donk and The Choirboy.
7 matches on none of them look like great decisions.
Spot on PJB
Yes, Coady asked to leave. Do you want him to be unhappy? Would you force him to stay if he said he wanted to leave to get regular game time?
Coady was marginalised early doors. Wolves dressing room has been cleansed of almost all Nuno’s stalwarts from Lage day 1, Anyone with an ounce of man management experience knows that evolution is better than revolution and most who don’t get that don’t last long whatever business you’re in so beware Bruno!
Good summary PJB. I fail to understand the euphoria which surrounds Collins. How our coach, for whom losing regularly appears to be the norm to be accepted, can justify his decision to virtually give away a proven international defender, –and an amazing captain devoted to our Club — and replace him with this novice, is beyond my understanding.
Yes, one explant would be Connor had a big mouth, couldn’t shut the bugger up. Sometimes there can only be one gaffer, hence goodnight Coady.
Or maybe Bruno just wanted bigger, faster and more mobile centre backs?
It’s a free hit – but Bruno out!
They got less goals against Wolves than they were averaging in the previous games this season.
Since when has Man City been a free hit for us. Nuno managed 2 wins and 3 draws, have we turned into Norwich over the last two seasons.
Free hit, my rear end. Didn’t you notice that Villa took a point off them despite their dire form, Newcastle were unfortunate not to beat them and so were Dortmund. We all expected a tough game but any thoughts of giving them a game ended after a minute! We expect better than that.
Agreed.
Nothing should be a free hit unless you are a club which has lost it’s way and is sleep walking it’s way towards a serious relegation battle, which having spent around £100 million is exactly what we are doing.
It’s not all Bruno’s fault this an accident which has been developing for around 3 years. Coincidentally since Laurie Dalrymple saw the light.
We kicked off without anything resembling a no. 9
No Adama either for a the essential counter attack option against City.
So we were beaten or at least goalless before we even started.
Yes Collins had a meltdown.
But Neves proved a worthy deputy and demonstrated a total commitment to the cause.
Please remember, we weren’t playing a club bit an oil rich Gulf state so comparisons are spurious.
We were toothless yes but we weren’t completely shite.
As opposed to a superpower Chinese company which has diverse global interests but of course has no ties whatsoever with Xi Jinping and the PRC.
If we’re going to be political, please don’t let’s be hypocritical. Ask the Uyghurs which regime they might prefer.
Imo this blog is best kept to football.
Where we do definitely agree – a proper no 9 to replace the old and much missed Raul is long overdue. Bring on Diego
You’re right PJB this is not the blog for politics and I wouldn’t be the best informed on that subject anyway.
I don’t think either regime are spotless on human rights; not by a long chalk. But I’m guessing (but couldn’t say for sure) that “ties” to the PRC wouldn’t be quite the same as being owned outright by Jinping and the boys, would it ?
But I stand to be corrected for the reason previously stated.
Agreed Hertford but there’s a but.
As you say, “two wrongs don’t make a right”.
And in reality, how “independent” is a Shanghai based company quoted on the HK Stock Exchange really free from Jinping and the CCP?
The inequalities of football are relevant to this blog and unfortunately fans who think politics and football don’t mix is exactly the reason why we have such huge inequalities. Politics is involved in all walks of life.
Yes, just look at how the World Cup Finals are awarded; pure politics with its attendant corruption. Big money always attracts both…
Be good if football applied the same rules.
Sadly that’s not the world we live in.
*but (oops)
It’s completely understandable.
The disappointment, frustration, bordering on anger, that many Wolves fans feel.
It’s not that we don’t appreciate that we are playing in the nation’s top league. That just happens to be the richest and most competitive in the world.
It’s not that we don’t appreciate having the chance to see some of the very best players and teams on the planet.
It’s not that we don’t appreciate that Fosun have invested heavily during this transfer window.
For these reasons we are, I think, very grateful.
However.
Neutral observers will tell you Wolves are an ambitious club, well managed. Working diligently and prudently behind the scenes to continue growing it from a good club to a great club. With patience and sustainably.
And yet, with the standard of our facilities, the money invested in the squad and the quality of players at our disposal, we can’t score for toffee.
And we don’t look like scoring.
This has been an issue, not for 3 or 4 games. Not even a couple of months. It has been glaringly obvious now for two full seasons.
And as good a transfer window as we had, how can one hugely unfortunate but perhaps unsurprising injury to one player, mean we have literally no senior striker to start out on the pitch ?
As much as we should credit Jeff Shi et al for reacting quickly to recruit Diego Costa, we should be asking WHY ?
WHY was a situation allowed to develop where we had to plunder the free transfer market, just after the window closed for a striker, when the embarrassing lack of goals is a problem that goes back to 2020 ?
Despite the headline grabbing, can we realistically expect a 34 year old who hasn’t played a competitive game in over 8 months to turn around our goal scoring fortunes ?
And WHY can’t the remainder of our talented squad muster more shots on target and even a goal a game ? For nearly 80 league games.
I didn’t expect us to win today. I hoped to see us finish with 11 players, scoring at least one goal, with the team battling for 90 minutes throwing everything at City. To try to get something out of the game. A performance that they could point to and say that’s what we are about and that’s a performance we can build on.
Incisive attacking play.
Threatening the City goal and giving them something to think about.
I hoped for a performance that had more than one shot on target in 90+ minutes, at home, to a team that had played just 60 hours earlier. A team that we have beaten more than once recently and drawn against immediately after our return to this league. 4 years ago on a sunny Saturday afternoon we had pushed the champions all the way and got a creditable 1-1 draw.
Dare I say, even allowing for our injury misfortune, we are going backwards ?
It’s just not good enough. We are underperforming to our expectations and more importantly, our capabilities.
We are collectively capable of so much better.
So, WHO is going to take action ?
And WHAT are they going to do to change the tune ?
UTW
Isn`t it time to stop meandering round the edges of this discussion and concentrate on the real facts.
Fact; Bruno has failed. Miserably. One win in 14 games says it all.
We are now a Club with a losing mentality. As avid fans we do NOT expect to win the game before us, no matter who is the opposition. Nor do we expect to score one single goal !! How can this be acceptable ?
In every single post match interview, Bruno talks about pride in our performance and promise for tomorrow etc etc. But endlessly he fails to acknowledge that we did not win and that yet again we failed to score. Nor did we ever look like scoring. !! Week on week! Every week the tale is the same. Nothing changes.
And, what is increasingly clear, is that the only reason that we can`t win is that we, as a team, are being badly coached and prepared.
Bruno has been given more than enough time. For us to have any chance of saving our season he needs to go. NOW.
Ait-Nouri and Neto have been found out. Neither likes to shoot or cross with their right foot so you just have to play them to their left because they will come back to that foot 9 times out of 10.
That’s, of course, why Rayan continually tries to dipsy doodle and fake out the defender.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Neto were playing on the left wing and Bruno may as well try it because it ain’t working for him on the right side.
Like many others I like to see 10 games or so before forming an opinion but there are significant issues to comment on.
Like many other bloggers I’m of the three score and ten+ vintage so have long and fond memories, none more so than listening to Foz Hendley holding forth in the North Bank in the seventies and being “booked” at nearly every home game by a funny bugger called Dougal who would flash his notebook at anyone who disagreed with him.
We have some very talented footballers at the club but also have some young players who are inexperienced at Premier level. We have other players who are not only inexperienced at Premier League level but who are also new to playing football in this country. We also have players coming back from long term injuries and who are currently mis-firing. Whilst some slack can be cut in all of this the major concerns are the lack of goals and a lack of chances created. Yes we need a goal scorer but we also need the spine of the team to contribute far more than at present in terms of creativity and goals.
Regarding those returning from injury, a Bristol City defender Nathan Baker has been forced to quit the game after two concussion events. It beggars belief that after a life threatening head injury and brain trauma Raul has not been advised to do the same. That sort of injury can clearly have long term effects and chronic fatigue could mask other issues.
We can only hope that chances and goals begin to flow!
Jimenez won’t kick a ball in anger again. Announcement next week.
An extremely disappointing afternoon…
Ok Man City are good but to take 55 seconds to breach our defence doesn’t prove there world beaters…
I thought Kilman looked so nervous today .. never showing any confidence.. Sa seems hell bent on playing those in front of him into the sh*t and under pressure…
Neto gets into good positions only to fluff his lines ..
Ait Nouri flatters to get through tackles, then into the opposition areas then tackles
himself.
Neves was masterclass yet again and Nunes was silky in most of his work ..
However… this is a results driven business.. it can be based on entertainment value, points accrued, league position etc etc … but the bottom line of the above is .. the criteria is close to be marked as failing….
Bullshit never fooled anyone and the next two games must be destined to be his judgement day … blind faith never does work … neither from Fosun or Lage in his vision.
Finally .. under Nuno and with Dr Matt Perry we had very few injuries… but our current coaching staff seems to have an induced plethora of bad luck .. or is it not a coincidence.
Great to meet some mates for an afternoon snifter chez Dougie and Barbara… and hope you’re better soon Babs…
Blogs are great but you do tend to repeat yourself over a run of form and this run of form has been going for a while now. For me Bruno’s shortcomings were exposed in the latter part of last season. I never bought into the ‘it’s Nuno’s team’ mantra. Nuno built a fantastic team that did fantastic things for a club that hadn’t done anything fantastic for many years. Good coaches need a couple of additions to hone their style of play, they coach the current players into that style. The clearout of the Nuno era this season would make sense if Bruno had pulled up a few trees beforehand but he didn’t and he hasn’t (quite probably won’t?). The clearout smacks of looking for external reasons as to why the system is failing rather than looking at where he is going wrong. Even when we were knocking at the upper echelons last season it was neither convincing or exciting.
He’s got a few more games and then he’s gone imo, the hierachy are more than likely looking at who’s available already cos they know that. That’s just the reality of it. Does anyone really see Costa and Jiminez turning this round. I hope i’m wrong.
You have to come with a gameplan against freescoring Man City, we just rocked up with the same system that failed to see off lesser teams previously, which one is it, blind faith, arrogance or stupidity. Why not go to a back three and try to hit them on the break as has been so successful in the past. Are we so rigid that that’s not an option anymore.
We play with 3 upfront but you’d never know it, when one of them does break, where are the others.
RAN was constantly holding on to the ball too long and getting dispossessed. This looks great in the 18yd box but in our own half it’s begging to be punished. How does he get the shout over Samedo.
Collins was not the architect of this defeat but a victim of a failing system that saw us 2-0 down in 16min. He deserved to go though.
I’ll forgive Nunes for the misplaced pass that led to the first goal as he’s still getting used to the speed of the PL but he was part of a side that lost 5-1 to City so he knows what they’re all about.
Goals should come from all over the pitch with the mainstay from the forwards, we have neither so out problem does not just rest with just the lack of a dedicated striker.
We play out from the back but they were pressing us so high that in the end Sa would hoof the ball upfield out of lack of options, how many times does that need to happen before you make the decision to just kick it upfield from the off instead of putting us under unecessary pressure.
Blah blah, it’s like groundhog day.
Under Bruno we’ve conceded 2 more goals at home to City in half as many games than Nuno did in all 4 of his.
Team looks reasonably good to me but imagine playing without a goalkeeper.
That’s effectively what we’re doing at the moment but at the other end.
As soon as we have someone to put the ball in the net the results WILL improve.
City are probably the best team in the world right now and we didn’t look like we didn’t belong.
There are definitely green shoots so let’s not be too despondent.
Predicable result, we are too nice laughing before kickoff with the opposition, neto hugging keeper omg, bruno is on borrowed time, a decent coach should do better with these players, 3 games to save his job, wolves aie we.
https://twitter.com/HandsomeTim5/status/1571226765405683713
I assume you meant one shot on target Ben, as I counted at least four or five in total. Can’t argue with much else, and am in agreement on Neto, who has been dire since his return, making the wrong decision time and again. Guedes too appears to be nothing special, just another forward option offering nothing different.
I felt Sa should’ve saved Haaland’s effort but apart from that there’s not much else to say. This was City and we had 10 men and no striker for the most part. Our real tests are to come.
City not a real test??
Time is the only bigger test and how long we can sustain an ineffectual forward line without being nailed on relegation candidates.
City are on another planet, that’s just a fact. Surely you didn’t expect us to get a result? Compete yes, of course, and we didn’t really do that enough. What I was saying is we, and Bruno, will be judged when we play the sides in the middle and bottom of the table.
You mean teams like Bournemouth, Leeds and Fulham. 2 points from a possible 9!
It’s about time we got ourselves a proven quality Manager. Sadly Bruno is neither.
Yeah you’re absolutely correct about that and I don’t dispute it. The point I was making is that there surely can’t be any judgement after a game against City. It’s as you were. If we didn’t sack him before, we won’t sack him now. It’s what happens from here what’s important.
City have always been that moneywise but since we go promoted we have had good results against them with Nuno who was an excellent tactician, 2 wins and 3 draws. Now we’re expexcted to lower our bar to accomadate Bruno’s feckless attempts of getting this team to produce.
Lower our bar? I’m sorry but if you expect to go into games beating City you’re on another planet. This is life in the Premier League these days, I’m afraid and we make up the numbers. Worth pointing out Huddersfield did the double over Nuno’s Wolves so it wasn’t always rosey.
True enough it wasn’t but we got highs and lows unlike now. I’m not pining for the Nuno days but he got sacked and replaced by Bruno who hasn’t come close to matching his achievements, beating city twice and drawing 3 times being some of those. On paper Bruno is shit. It’s all about the promise of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The reality is it’s just boring week in week out.
Too many ” its just the final ball” and ” our season won’t be defined by games against Man City” comments.
Well its Chelsea and West Ham next so strap yourself in.
Never mind the final ball what about the 1st ball? Kicking off after the goal was the 1st touch of the ball.
Get this bloke out now , I don’t want to leave a game after 30 minutes ever again
You left after 30 minutes, Frankly I hope you give up ‘supporting’ the Wolves and let someone else have a chance.
Where’s Cheese with his happy clapper, where were you when we played Chorley comments when you need him? Well said Slider.
Our season won’t be defined by games against City, that’s just a fact. Perhaps only Liverpool’s will. I don’t understand the point you’re making.
It is a fine line between sacking a manager too early and sacking a manager too late.
I’ve never been a person to push for sacking managers until I can see no other option but unfortunately , I’m seeing nothing in this manager that makes me think we should keep going with him. There is no plan B and, frankly, we appear to have no plan A when it reaches the final third.
The fact is, teams that don’t score get relegated. This team is hardly even managing to get shots on target let alone goals.
It is too easy to swot away this manager’s shortcomings by churlishly pointing out that this was Man City and we were down to 10 men whilst ignoring the previous 13 games which have been woeful. A scraped victory against Southampton should not serve to cover up this manager’s inadequacies.
I disagree that Lage has credit in the bank. I think he came in, managed to reinvigorate Nuno’s style for half a season and then the wheels fell off and he’s been unable to find any sort of answer since then. The spine of Nuno’s team has now been shipped out and I don’t disagree that this was needed. However with 3 goals in 7 games (the joint worst return in the league) he needs to find a formula and he needs to find it now.
No doubt the question will be “Who do you bring in?” to which my answer is I don’t know but we shouldn’t let fear of what could be stop us from making the changes which are so clearly needed.
Tettenhall Wolf.
Quote of the week is from your above post – you hit the nail on the head very succinctly.
“The fact is teams that don’t score get relegated. This team is hardly even managing to get shots on target let alone goals.”
41 in 45 under Bruno simply doesn’t cut it.
Again, how many Premier League games did Nuno win with Wolves in August? Zero. And how many seasons did he coach Wolves in the Premier League?
In September, Bruno has 3 points from 2 games, one of them against possibly the best team in the world.
So many fans say they want 4 or 5 new players in every window and now people are seeing that it takes time to integrate all of those new players and change the style of play where they are automatically understanding where they and their teammates should be and where to run to cover or where to pass to.
This is the Premier League, where that has to happen almost instinctively or the other team is past you.
Like I have said before – Benfica fans say he was their best coach in 20 years and they are a perennially good team.
But Benfica fired him in his second season because proved to be crap and the fans tuned against him – big time
And what about his jobs/experience before that time ? Zilch.. Endless nothings in minor assistant jobs. Sorry John, but the reality is that he`s way out of his depth now, and we are suffering the consequences
Annoyed, frustrated and completely confounded by the approach to not buy the most necessary cogs in an otherwise good squad.
For a number of seasons, pundits and fans have pointed out the out and out striker problem to absolutely no avail.
I put us down for a 3-1 loss.
This obsession with Hwang also does my head in; fine, he should play when on his game, but really! Ait Nouri is a fine player but we all know, for a game spent defending against the likes of Citeh, Semedo and Jonny are a safer bet. Podence down the middle; do me a favour; the centre backs must have been terrified at the thought of his physicality. And Bruno’s refusal to play Traore, imo, is damaging.
We have the makings of a fine team and our build up to the damp squids is both delightful and impressive mostly.
I can see great players moving on at Christmas under this approach as Diego can not change this on his own…
I can also see Bruno being replaced if a shoe in is available.
This could still go either way but the boo boys were already choosing a scapegoat who, luckily for him, upped his game later on. Get some; Some out and out goal scorers; they will pay for themselves!!!
Debenham
All valid comments. Behind this crisis, yes CRISIS, there are deep-seated factors which are now longer running than some soap operas.
The worst and most glaring lack of judgement has been the failure by virtually everyone at the club to recognise and act on the criminal atrocity perpetrated on Raul Jiminez nearly 2 years ago. We were already over reliant on him, but it didn’t take a genius at the time to work out that even if he did come back he was unlikely to be the same; 3 transfer windows have subsequently gone by and nothing has been done but try to paper over the cracks to the point where we have had to scour the freebie market and sign an albeit high quality but ageing striker who hasn’t played competitive football for nearly a year. Neglect, ignorance then desperation? Arguably all three.
Then there is Mr Lage himself. I have supported him so far but now have serious doubts.
He couldn’t be judged while he received no backing but that no longer applies.
Also since he arrived he has been hell bent on dispensing with anything or anyone associated with Nuno – looks like the new broom syndrome and change for it’s own sake shows stubbornness and lack of judgement. Evolution is much preferable to revolution.
Consequently the unceremonious dumping of Coady, The Donk and even Silva when our numbers were already so inadequate is now proving to be disastrous,
Next, having been given a decent shot at the transfer market this time the requirements have clearly been incorrectly prioritised. As above the screaming need to address the lack of strike power (41 goals in 45 matches) was completely overlooked with defenders and midfielders being brought in to replace departures most of whom still had plenty of shelf life left. Over £100 million spent and not a penny on a centre forward – sheer madness.
This mess is far from being solely attributable to Bruno. Shi, Sellars and probably Fosun themselves are all culpable. But failure to pick up a decent points haul before the World Cup will surely bring an end to what has been a pretty miserable post Nuno era to date. And rightly so failing a very quick turnaround starting NOW.
Silva could still be a Wolves scoring like he did last season. There is no guarantee that he would even have one goal in this league.
Many were saying Coady was too slow for a back 4 – not just Bruno. When they brought in Collins, then Coady was not going to play regularly and he wanted that to try to get selected again to be head cheerleader for England. A similar situation with Dendoncker who, under Nuno, also expressed his desire to play regularly or leave, if you’ll remember. It’s funny that half the fans think he is useless and wanted a new midfielder brought in but when it happens and his position as a regular gets questioned, then they make a big fuss about him going. Do you want internationals to be happy sitting on the bench and missing getting their call-up?
What are you on about, John? Study Villa’s team sheet from yesterday. Where can you spot Dendoncker? On the bench; exactly!
Traore was injured.
Also, anyone else notice how the legs of a great player, Moutiño, can no longer function as well after an hour’s play. He was struggling to cover the ground late on but Bruno kept him on… I love Moutiño but we need to look after him better against such high quality teams…
Good obs. He has the international break now, hope he doesn’t feature too heavily.
He wasn’t selected for Portugal.
I thought he struggled too and not for the first time this season. I don’t think we can expect him to play a full part in every game. I hope that Traore can give us that bit of physicality and late runs into the box that Dendonker used to give. Hopefully that will take some pressure off Mouthino and we can use him more sparingly and so prolong his effective career.
Traore may have a lot of attributes but physicality isn’t one of them, yet. He’s something of a beanpole but doubtless Adama will take him in hand.
Just watched Match of The Day and it seems that the BBC cameras must have broken down during the twenty plus minutes we really took the game to City with ten men to their eleven.
I know they are a better team than us but at least give us some credit for the fight we put up.
The ‘Highlights’ made it look like we never had a kick.
The pundits did give us plaudits at the end though about how City had to work for win and that we broke through their lines several times. It’s true, we play nice football in the middle of the park but it’s ineffectual, we’re easy on the eye as they say, meaningless if you can come up with goals. For this reason for the last 2 seasons we’ve been saying we’re gonna bury some team soon, never happened though (maybe Watford).
I wonder what Costa thought of it. Surely he must have admired by some of our incisive forward passing and our ability to recycle when nothing is on. But maybe he would question why there is never anyone over 5ft to pass to in the box, even with 10 men. I’m sure he has the answers and will help Bruno sort it out. If not he might be having another call with Jorge to line up Bruno’s replacement. Costa is, frankly, the main man, and only potential saviour now.
One other point – I really hope Adama is ok and can come back, we do need him in these games.
Can someone enlighten me as to the nature of Adamas injury ?
Don’t know how he got it as he’s only played a couple of mine this season .. unless he’s picked up a knock from his x box
He is one of the most excited attacking footballers that I have ever seen and he can’t get a game . It’s ridiculous .
When Bruno said he was injured it didn’t sound true to me .
I bet City were pleased that he wasn’t playing
Adama Traore and Wolves are now incompatible.
But then the same applied to him at Villa, Middlesbrough and Barcelona (twice).
Common thread?
Middlesbrough,PJB? That’s why he was their player of the season, I suppose. He only left because his excellent performances made a Premier league club come knocking at the door. He was young and raw at Barcelona (first time) and Villa. The fact Barcelona didn’t take up the option is no real indictment as, unfortunately, they are operating on a different level forward wise, to us. Traore, even with eyes closed, would produce more than any of our current forward line is. Check out when the rot really set in last season and what the common denominator was. Yes, Traore’s departure for Barcelona. For all his faults he has a go,is dangerous and takes a couple of the opposition players out of the game (because they double up on him). That in itself helps the team even if he doesn’t supply assists. By the way, have you noticed that every other player has a poor assist record too? That’s what happens when you don’t score.
Not having a go; I generally agree with a lot of your comments.
Don’t share your perception of the history Hind Sight.. He did exactly as he has done here. Played to establish his reputation and then downed tools until we met the escape clause price of £18 million. And it didn’t take long for him to be found out at Barca did it?.
Now he’s just waiting to walk for free. He’ll spend the rest of the season with “niggling injuries”.
Speaking of history PJB, he actually played pretty wel when picked at Barca.
For all sorts of reasons- not all of them football, he didn’t get much of a kick in the latter part of the season.
He wasn’t found but Dembele hit some serious form and kept him out the starting 11.
Someone said it was an abductor or muscle problem. Not too serious?
Adducter injury.
You do know they train all week LWL
I was fairly relaxed and felt it will all come good, but that’s now looking less likely. To be shopping in the late sales for goods no-one else wanted, for your striker and a spare centre back, strikes me, as the BBC website proclaims, that there are major structural issues with this Wolves squad.
Is it down to Fosun, or Lage’s man management shortcomings that Dendoncker, Coady, Silva and indeed Cutrone were let go?
We needed them, that is more than apparent now, after Collins’s dreadful misjudgement, and Jiminez’s absence. His form also has been poor since his injury. Why the hell did Silva go on loan?
Yes they were unlucky with the Kaladjicz injury. But with five subs allowed it’s plain madness to do as Wolves have done in this window. It spells big trouble and what at this moment looks like a tough fight to stay in the league.
It could turn around, but the weaknesses in the squad are there for all to see. 3 goals from 7 games? Inexplicable!
Another criticism is Lage seems to be unable to change his system from a 4 to a 5 at the back. We should be able to play both with comfort. His caution not blooding youngsters like Cundle and Ronan also rankles.
But a brace of wins v West Ham & Chelsea and all will be rosy once more. The half empty glass will again be brimming over.
It could happen, I have less optimism that it will by the week! But you’ve got to have Hope.
No one wanted Nunes?
Ridiculous argument. John. Would you use that point against every player we sign?
No one wanted Guedes?
You don’t sign players like you are buying a burger at McDonalds. You have to convince them you are the best option and negotiate the amount to pay their team and their wages and length of the contract.
Everyone said that the window was good and upgraded many positions but you are saying that was all done by bringing in players that no one else wanted.
I doubt it.
Sorry John when I posted my last comment I couldn’t have had my glasses on and missed the question mark!!!
Cutrone finally scored for Como yesterday but they are sitting 2nd from bottom of the Italian 2nd division. I think we’d all seen enough (as had Fiorentina,Valencia and Empoli) to know that we don’t need him. He’s like Hwang but a poorer version. Runs around a lot but never quite gets there.
Why bother to have two centre backs, Mosquera and Toti, on the bench if you don’t have the confidence to use them?
Why sell Boly and Dendonker and loan Coady if you won’t use Mosquera or Toti?
Who will play as a centre back in the next game?
This game was already out of reach and putting on one of those two in against one of the best teams in the world could have had negative consequences on
their confidence. What he did turned out to be an acceptable decision.
True Steppenwolfe, whats the point i having a bench if you’ve got no faith in the players. Bruno’s methods are baffling and frustrating. What’s the point of a youth system if none of them ever come through the ranks. Arteta put on a 15yr old today (admittedly only for 3min), Bruno seems full of fear to try something else. Nuno was a bit like that too but he did give chances to youth, not too many though and they would have to fail before he stopped using them.
Neves was brilliant. He managed to pretty well cover two positions and we hardly looked like we were a man down.
Mainly because City never got out of second gear though, why would they, 2 nil up against ten men with a toothless forward line.
You should work for MOTD. Never give Wolves credit – always say it was because of the other team.
They’ve been in touch John, i’m mulling their offer over. Not sure i want a career change at this stage in my life though.
Just for a change from the almost constant theme in posts following the loss to Man City.
OK Collins unfortunate tackle on Greasy probably warranted a red. But I don’t believe it was malicious and Greasy ran full on towards an already raised leg. Possibly a yellow might have been given in view of recent cards given against “top six” teams offenders . Just my guess but would Dr Bruyne have been given a red in similar circumstances; I don’t think so.
Man City are the best there is when it comes to preventing teams mounting forward pressure. Often going unpunished as in Rodri wrestling Moutinho to the ground. This sort of tactical fouling is a blot on the game that those in charge should deal with. Nearly as bad for these tactics are Arsenal and of course Arteta learnt at the feet of Guardiola.
I do agree with you point about the red card …
I’ve seen Virgin Van Dyke tackle someone shin high with studs showing.. and only received a yellow…
It’s the principle.. Red if you’re not a top 6 team and Yellow if you are….
Yesterday was a Red card… so why is there a different interpretation for the officials… they’re the same rules .. allegedly…
Thank you my Lord. It can be labelled paranoid but many suspect “top six” clubs get a free pass regarding red cards, tactical fouling and VAR. Tactical fouling has become so common place its been given its own phrase: “taking one for the team” and thus acceptable or even commendable. Needs stamping out.
It doesn’t excuse the Collins lunge at Grealish which was a red card every day of every week imo. Not convinced by Collins yet.
But you are absolutely right.
If there is one thing that VAR has taught us which most of us already knew anyway it’s that (maybe covertly) there is a leaning towards “the big 6” in on field decision making week in week out.
I’m not saying there is corruption involved but the stats. indicate anomalies and we all see ourselves what happens on PL grounds on a regular basis.
It’s so bloody obvious there should be a comprehensive enquiry with legal / police backing that doesn’t rule anything out. PL, FA et al bring it on urgently please.
Because there is a definite stench that for whatever reasons by whoever double standards are being applied far too often.
Collins didn’t ‘tackle’ Greasely, he was going for the ball, a bit wildly but no intention of even encountering Greasy, who did indeed run across into Collins’ up and outstretched boot.
Feel a bit sorry for Neves, gone up a level and is trying to drive this team on but they don’t seem able to go with him. Admirable response to his situation because he would be entitled to be really pissed off — especially if he finds himself at centre-back now. We’re all stuck here but he shouldn’t be.
Bruno sacked please. It’s so obvious he will never turn this around, we have lost our inspirational leader because of him, and other leaders, men of character. He can’t motivate/inspire them and the squad is not balanced, his decision. , I’m sorry but can we do this soon…As long as we have a quality replacement lined up, I trust we have , due to our Mendes connection! UTW
Bruno came through Mendes
Although always a little sceptical about Lage, I had hoped recently to see an improvement in performances. It hasn’t happened and I don’t believe there’s much chance it will. Purging the team of Coady, Saiss and Dendonker robbed it of much of its muscle and grit. And don’t even get me started on the decision to give away our England playing charismatic and loyal Captain to a rival for peanuts. The transfer window has seen some pretty decent additions, but this technically skilled Iberian team currently looks lost and devoid of ideas. Running blindly into channels then passing backwards and sideways, with a shocking shot conversion stat of just 4%, substitutes seemingly made randomly, great players like Neto looking totally out of sorts, Adama mismanaged and a lack of trust shown in players on the bench (even in dire circumstances), much of this mess has to be laid at Bruno’s door. We’ve ended-up with a team Bruno may be satisfied with and transport it to the Portuguese league they’d probably thrive, but I’m not sure the balance in the team profile (and the managers tactics) are entirely right for the Premier league. Listening to his post-match interviews, I’m just sick of hearing the same excuses. He is so tactic obsessed, I’m not sure players are able to play their natural game and I don’t think he can turn it round. Would love to think that their will be some change in the next few games, but realistically Bruno is on borrowed time and Fosun must surely be thinking about making the change many of us think is now needed.
Great post Silverwolf and very well scripted.
But to be more blunt and less polite it’s not fit for purpose and it’s just crap.
A delicate turn of phrase. Good to see that such olde world charm continues to exist.
At elite level, conceding a goal in the first minute when nine of the team haven’t touched the ball is naive and amateurish. It reflects poorly on the manager and on the warm up period on and off the pitch.
I watched Man City warming up and it was impressive, at least a dozen were not even starting but were completely “at it”. The starters did a drill involving one touch with either side of both feet, Bernardo Silva was wonderful to watch. Yes they are world class players but they work so hard and that started at midday, by kick off time they were flying.
I also watched Pep during the game, he applauded good play then for his own reasons became animated at a player not moving into the correct place. They soon complied and it worked better.
So yes again the best coach on the planet with the best players . I say this to bring some perspective to the doubters, it’s not going to define our season , Man City are almost invincible and will win the League comfortably by Easter but they can be stopped , the problem was not just our naivte before the game and for the first 30 minutes but the deployment of personnel which is the coach’s responsibility.
Playing 4 -3 -3 with a tiny false nine and two lightweight wingers on the wrong flank
is not going to fool, scare or threaten international defenders. In his defence, Bruno has brought in good players, I like Nunes especially, and hasn’t got a lot of options but his reactions during the game did not inspire much confidence, it was naive of him to think that formation and team selection was going to trouble Man City.
I can’t think of a game where Bruno has affected a game with a tactical switch or key substitution. I gather his daily coaching is well planned and meticulous but results of matches are the gold standard and it’s not happening. The next month is important and without a number 9 and obvious replacement for Collins, things might get worse before they get better and the coach of Sporting Lisbon might be getting a call.
Burnley’s ex manager might be getting a call who I never thought I would say it looks like a great manager compared to our Bruno.
Bruno talks a good game but surely everybody can see he has a job that is clearly several levels above his ability
Sack now please
We have now had 3 Fosun / Mendez coaches (Walter Zenga, Nuno and Bruno) plus a couple of serious flirtations with Lopetegui
Only Nuno has succeeded. Maybe either bring him back or try a different approach.
Or would the latter option not fit in with the incestuous Fosun / Gestitute relationship? Because basically we seem to be reluctant to compete in the open transfer market and rely very heavily on the machinations of Jorge. It could almost be claimed that he has more influence at Molineux than anyone employed by the club.
Quote other Gestitute connections – “what Jorge giveth, Jorge taketh away”. Shades of Jota, Patricio and potentially Neves, Neto and Nunes. And then there’s the Grasshoppers linkage. Almost as many Wolves players in Zurich as at Molineux in recent times!
Wheels within wheels within even more wheels. On balance it has worked in our favour so far, but I suspect at a very high cost in commissions and agency / management fees. And it’s a fine line we tread – too many eggs etc.?
I will start by saying that my comments will not reflect the team’s performance against, arguably, the best team on Earth (at the moment). However our problems have been there for some time now. I have mentioned them, time and time again. And I do not consider myself an expert of the game. However I know when I am swearing at, at what is happening on the field. So let’s start.
1. Set pieces – We have zilch chance of getting anything out of them. Corners never seem to land anywhere near where they should be and no one capable of a decent, hard shot from a free kick. (All can be sorted in training).
2. This passing between CB’s and goalkeeper from goal kicks etc, seems not only pointless, but dangerous. (that’s when my bad language is at its worst). What is there to gain by Sa passing to Collins, back to Sa, pass to Kilman, back to Sa, then pressure on goalie as opposing CF bears down on him.
3. Has there been a ban on shooting from outside the penalty area? Looking at highlights from other games, most teams seem to do it well. From vids I have seen of our players in previous lifetimes, indicate the likes of Neves, Traore, Guedes and Matheus can hit the ball on the run at a great rate of knots! (Bloody well DO IT ).
4. I am not convinced that a back 4 is going to provide a more attacking formation than a back 3. In fact, our results so far kinda prove me right.
So is it time to sack a manager? Well if he is not addressing the glaring drawbacks in the team, what else is there? The players in our squad are lauded as some of the best there is (on paper). Shame football is played on grass – not on paper !
One final comment, Raul has been missing for a few weeks with Chronic Fatigue (supposedly). We are into game 7 of the season. What’s he going to be like at game 30 ??
Does Bruno not realise how much he has screwed up all the Happy Clappers’ predictions?
Vicsmith, your first four observations regarding current tactics resonate strongly for me. Corners do not seem to be any advantage to us. Most seem to be short corners resulting in nothing. And, as for fannying about at the back between Sa and his defenders , that is heart attack territory.
Arfur Lager seems to be very confident and unflustered by the current unimpressive situation. Perhaps these are qualities needed by a coach in troublesome times. I don’t know. This , apart from a few, is very much his squad.
However the calamitous striker situation should have been resolved long ago.
The failure to do that is inconsistent with Fosun’s much heralded ambition to become a top Premier Club. It is difficult to imagine any such clubs allowing the situation to continue. I understand the bad luck of the terrible injuries to Jiminez and then
the new Austrian striker, but there was never another striker at the club who was deemed appropriate.
I agree about the corners, we’ve got more chance of scoring from a goal kick!!!
I’m still mostly in my my first 10 game bubble
I’ll admit that signs aren’t promising and I get the general level of angst being expressed by all and sundry but I remain hopeful that the leadership team isn’t totally incompetent …
Including Mr Lage
Now I’ll take a risk here and ask as politely as I can for PJB to turn it down just a bit however
This Blog doesn’t ( in my opinion) need a chair or moderator
I enjoy it’s diversity of opinions and it’s occasional predictability (from a few contributors ) but I don’t want to read PJB’s reaction to all of the main write ups …. Just give it a bit of a rest my friend …(or start a Blog of your own)
I get that you’re invested and angry and emotional
You’re not alone
Just saying….
I’m not an apologist for PJB or indeed anyone else on this blog but everyone has a right to express an opinion on wolves and football as long as it is not offensive to individuals or bullying, harassing etc.. Whether the volume is turned up or down on any particular viewpoint, I guess we have to take the rough with the smooth that’s part of the deal with a blog. In my humble opinion this is one of the best and most balanced blogs out there and everyone plays a part in that.
It used to be. But I agree with Marin.
And I agree with you Steve …
And Marin..,
Equally politely I would respond that I write what I feel and I’m very sad that it has come to the point where there is little or nothing to shout about that is positive. I don’t criticise you for being only 70% into your 10 game bubble or for any of your other opinions, so perhaps you could show the respect to reciprocate without being personal.
And I don’t tot up votes normally but having reviewed the current blog it’s fair to say that a good many readers agree with my views.
If you don’t like what I have to say you don’t have to read my posts.
Well said Marin.
20 posts from one contributor on this thread alone says it all, I’m afraid. We seem to be losing some of our most erudite bloggers too.
I agree 1 million % Woodend …
The blog has become the PJB show …
20 plus posts from one person … PJB …
PJB You need to rain it in .. you must go through folks’ comments time after time after time in case you missed something.
I’ve got nothing personal against you .., truly .. but whatever someone writes and you disagree with it .. off you go .. but it’s the same old same old …
Fancy challenging Marin because he wanted to reserve judgement until after 10 games … ??? What’s there to challenge about that .?
He asked you to go easy on the comments .. you got the hump … come on buddy .
I stand by my opinions but to all above posters I plead guilty to (as per the Motorhead classic) Overkill, at least on this occasion.
Apparently post no 21 – so over(kill) and out.
But “I’ll be back”.
PJB Out
I agree PJB is relentless and repeats himself oft but surely the comment section is a free for all after someone has posted, nobody is forced to engage with PJB. Personally i just scroll on by to the next comment cos i know he’ll have said the same thing 5 or 6 times before on this match thread and every other one since the dawn of time. I don’t think anyone should be telling anybody to stop blogging for bad or for worse.
Everything in moderation I say … Thomas often says he’s not going to moderate it .. but there’s been an obvious drop out from some really good Wolves diehard bloggers because of this overkill…
I’m ok with PJB because to his credit he’s just acknowledged his critiques…
So we’ll done to him for that …
Let’s make the works a happy place to live eh ..
World
For sure Twix. Personally differing opinions are what make a good blog imo, if we all just agree and backslap each other it would be a dull place with nowt to talk about.
I’m with you on the 10 game judgement idea, which I always follow. It’s somewhat enigmatic at the moment due to the appalling results but, imo, mainly good play until we reach the opposition’s penalty area…
Three games to go…
To be honest I was expecting Bruno to be gone after the game.
So he has a few more matches to sort it out.. To be fair the ‘luck’ seems to be going against him regarding injuries to key players, which I and others were worried about, thus wanting to really sign more proven goal scorers. But then I am not splashing out such amounts of money. However if we wish to compete and hold on to exceptional players we will need to splash the cash even more but judiciously…
Right. I have taken a back seat for a couple of days to have a think about things. I take on board what Sutton Coldfield said earlier. Sometimes I go over the top with stuff. I am a bit of a Lefty and my view of the world is sometimes at odds with the prevailing orthodoxy on this blog. Sometimes I see bloggers posting anti-woke comments. It gets my back up. I know it shouldn’t. We have just had 11 days of mourning for the Monarchy with a narrative being forced upon us from the elite. This too gets my back up. I know it shouldn’t. Recently we had the Tories attacking workers for going on strike. This gets my back up. I know it shouldn’t. I fully accept this is a football blog. Sometimes the things that happen in society affect how football goes on. I am just trying to explain why I react like I do. I don’t expect anything from anyone. If I have upset anyone I sincerely apologise. Ar the end of the day we are all Wolves fans and a big family with different opinions. And i fully accept that too.c
Off with their heads!
Come the Revolution ! (In jest)…
We’ll sort them out a council flat, they’ll be looked after…..
Who is ‘they’ ? Where as the monarchy are subsidised by obscene amounts of tax payers money . And the Crown estate is worth £18 billion quid. Anyway i’m off because I will get about 27 dislikes Fly the flag .
I was specifically joking about the royal family cheese, throughout this whole thread. Just clear that up for ya 🙂
Cheese. I may have different views to you perhaps. But, we share one common goal, the love of our club.
Don’t change chap, most of the time you make me laugh.
I do enjoy your Wolfie Smith outbursts 🙂
I’ve also taken a step back these past few days, for various reasons. Work and the Queen’s funeral and where am I going to watch it, and can I get back into London this evening by car, for example. Happily all was well, only after a massive diversion.
OK, it was a shit result on Saturday for Bruno, but I’d like you all to ponder on the following defeats:
West Ham 4, Wolves 0.
Liverpool 4, Wolves 0.
Man City 4, Wolves 0.
OK, you might have sussed it, but for good measure I will add two more:
Wolves 2, West Brom 3.
Wolves 0, Burnley 4.
Yes, the results are from season 2021/2021 under Nuno, and captain Coady. Coady also undistinguished himself with a massive un-captainly dive against Liverpool. It was embarrassing.
Given the 50 second sucker punch by City on Saturday and the almost Eric Cantona-ish drop kick by Collins on Grealish, I think we did well to hold the finest-ever Man City side to 0-3 with ten men. I’m not making excuses for Bruno but Nuno had his share and more of bad results. Nuno suffered from a lack of backing, and so did Bruno until now. But, as we can see from Nottm Forest, singings maketh not a team. It takes time.
You’re right, signings maketh not a team, managers though do and on paper ours does not cut the mustard at this level. Nuno had plenty of credit in the bank and there were tangible reasons as to our poor form in 20/21, Bruno has no credit whatsoever.
For the record, I would not have sacked Nuno, I would have backed him with the necessary signings instead. Sadly Fosun did not agree.
Now that we have backed Bruno with signings, we have to give him more time. Steve Cooper at Nottm Forest may have credit in the credit in the bank for promotion but has no credit for PL success. That’s the only credit that matters. Arguably, Bruno was successful last season until injuries and lack of transfer backing caught up with him. With about two-thirds of last season played, we still had the real possibility of 5th to 7th place. That is credit. I would give him a third of the season, so 12 matches, as long as we are picking up points and improving. It must have been Bruno’s idea to bring Costa in, so we have to see how that helps.
Look at at boringmouth since they got rid of parker it would seem a manager does maketh a team
Oh and god save the king !
Careful !
Careful Happy Claptrap, that’s 19 posts. You’ll be asked to leave soon!
Iv got covid, i can’t go out and i’m bored. 20 now…..
Covid’s no excuse, I was stuck at home too.
Anyway you’re safe, this still leaves me 2 up.
You must have long covid PJB 🙂 Iv pulled one back. It’s a race to the bottom
My theory regarding Neves replacing Collins at centre half.
If Collins had been injured, no doubt Toti or Mosquera would have replaced him. But he was sent off so to bring on a centre back replacement would have meant weakening the midfield/forward line. This, in turn, would have bought even more pressure on our defence.
The effectiveness of this strategy can be seen by conceding 2 goals in 15 minutes with 11 men and 1 goal in an hour with 10.
I was perplexed at the time but, on reflection, it was a master stroke from Bruno.
So there.
It’s debateable whether it’s a masterstroke by Bruno or whether an enormous shout by Ruben and Joao to do it that way.
I stand by my earlier comment which you allude to, in the first 15 /30 minutes we were not “at it”, the warm up on the pitch was casual and any manager worth his salt at any level when winding the team up in the dressing room will make it very clear about what should happen in the first 15 minutes. Focus, concentration, communication etc, especially against the strongest team in the league. Not gifting them a two goal lead and reducing the team number and capability.
So, is it that you think Ruben and Joao call the shots now,and Bruno just goes along with it?
I agree with you Wolfstroker, but when the team are losing the coach gets no praise for the decisions he gets right, he is the natural scapegoat. It was always thus.
It’s in the difficult times when everyone involved with Wolves, in whatever capacity, should be pulling in the same direction giving full support to coaches and players. Continual whining and blame culture will only bring us further down imho. Molineux was as quiet as I have ever known it on Saturday, surely we should have given them our vocal support, the City fans royally rubbed our noses in it .
If Bruno is a good manager, he will trust his senior players to make decisions on the pitch, I’m not suggesting insurrection by Ruben and Joao , merely that we don’t know who made the call , letting the new captain take that responsibility isn’t necessarily weakness by the manager.
Secondly, and let’s be frank, Ruben did well but City went through the motions after Collins went , it was a training game for them with three points in the bag so it hardly counts as a triumphant strategy that we only conceded one goal during our ten man period.
I support Bruno, these new players would not have come to Wolverhampton if they didn’t trust or respect the manager, Fosun have also supported him with funds which we were all clamouring for so yes, give him time to knit them together and credit when it works but constructive in our criticism when it doesn’t.
I agree with much that you say BG, but calls on subs are surely made in the dugout, pitchside, and on a tactical basis, not by players on the pitch. Although I’m sure Bruno and Ruben would have discussed the situation at half time.
Dead man walking comes to mind.
I won’t even begin to think about letting Bruno go until mid-way through the season. If we are anywhere near the relegation battle by then, I would consider it, taking into account other circumstances like injuries.
I do think he should put Neto on the left to let him regain his confidence. He may be having trouble with that. Coming back from injury and adding to that the change to the right side probably doesn’t help him get back in his groove.
I hope Bruno does turn it around but I doubt he will get until the mid point of the season for practical reasons. The 19th game is in mid January. If he was to be dismissed then a new manager would have no chance to assess the squad and remedy any issues in the transfer window. If Bruno is to be sacked it should be done prior to the World Cup break to allow a new manager to come in and make full use of the window. At most Bruno has another 8 games before the World Cup break. In reality unless results improve, he probably won’t get that many. Let’s hope he turns it around.
how the f##k can we replace Ruben Neves ?
I’ve just had the misfortune to witness the latest England match.
We’ve seen some pretty dire games at Molineux recently but this takes the meaning of dire to a new low.
Anybody got any drying paint that needs watching?
I am with CfH on certain England players.
Sterling and Walker should have been retired about three years ago.
Southgate’s post match comments was like listening to Arfur Lager following a Wolves’ defeat.
When the German coach was announced against England I thought allo, allo!!
Yes I watched it but was so bored I put ‘Ghost Adventures ‘ on instead. Luckily there was loads of excitement as an unseen entity proceeded to throw a stone at the investigator. The investigator was jolly startled and took evasive action.
You must have been ‘Ouiga bored’.
Never mind. Keep your spirits up mate.
Excellent stuff Doog. It’s the way you tell em !!
Finally … a Wolves supporter that’s actually seen ghouls this season !
F**kin love it!
I went to the Doctors today . I said “I think i’ve got Tom Jones syndrome. Is it serious?” He said “It’s not unusual”
I went to the Doctors today. I said “I think I have got Oasis syndrome. Is it catching. He said “Maybe”
I went to the Doctors today I said “I’ve only got 59 seconds to live” He said “Hang on a minute”.
You were lucky. At least you got to see a doctor.
I dare not say anything.
Did anyone see yesterday’s terrific match between Plymouth and Ipswich on Sky Sports?
Local interest for me, of course, but also good to see a couple of our academy graduates in action.
Niall Ennis now plays permanently down yer and is a regular starter for the ‘Gyle. Of more interest was to see the progress of loanee Nigel Lonwijk. The centre half is now the first name on the teamsheet and his performance in this showed levels of skill and composure rarely seen in one so youthful.
Fantastic prospect.
Regarding replacing Bruno i think we should take the EX wife and monkey mantra
” Never let go of one branch until you have got hold of another “
Speaking of possible replacements for Bruno (should Fosun pull the trigger; I hope not) how about Dave Edwards? Judged not good enough by Watford (almost a recommendation) he did great work at Forest Green Rovers and is a Wolves old boy. Thought by many to be one of the best young managers but probably not on Gestifute ‘s books.
You mean Rob Edwards. That’s sentiment gone mad. Just no.
Agree, a retrograde step.
Fosun have made a significant statement of intent this window and whilst Bruno will be given longer to integrate the additions, I think Bruno’s replacement will definitely be an experienced operator from the Portuguese or Spanish leagues. Let’s hope Fosun don’t see a need to change – if Jimenez and Neto regain some form and Costa clicks with Traore then we will all feel a lot happier.
If push comes to shove and Bruno gets fired, I’d prefer a replacement with good PL experience. My money would be on Poch. However it’s surely important that we get a ‘big’ name. I might even look at Solskjær. He was undone by a Man U team in turmoil, but he did well enough considering what he was up against. His successors have proved that the Old Trafford poisoned chalice was well and truly poisoned.
Traore awe blimey i dream about that bloke finally getting his brain together and deciding to make a wholehearted real effort to make what could be a huge impression on the best league in the world in a wolves shirt no ifs no buts total concentration total commitment to the cause and a massive impact which he is more than capable of god give me strength if i had a millionth of what he has cooped up in that body i would consider myself blessed .
Cant we hypnotise him ? i would
Just been in touch with Stu Wolf. He has not heard anything about Clive’s funeral. Is anyone up to speed?