It’s not often I leave Molineux before the final whistle.
But one of the advantages of being part of the North Bank contingent is the on-site pub that provides perfect respite when events on the pitch take a turn for the worse.
When we were mercilessly drubbed by Brighton last season, we skulked away for a conciliatory pint of Guinness and did the same the other week when Leeds netted their third.
I never like to throw the towel in on the old gold, but it’s becoming increasingly easy.
And that’s because our current crop of players, while nowhere near as derisory as the dark days of the Johnson and O’Hara, are completely devoid of character.
With the exception of Ruben Neves, Hugo Bueno, and some of our January recruits, the collective efforts of the team just haven’t been up to scratch.
How often have you agonised over Jose Sa’s desperate attempts to play out from the back? Or sighed at Nelson Semedo trying and failing to grasp the basics of his role?
Similarly, I’ve lost count of the number of aimless passes I’ve seen our midfield conjure up, or the amount of times I’ve seen our wingers collect the ball, turn onto their other foot, and send the ball backwards.
That’s before I attempt to summarise the ludicrously dismal efforts of our attackers, who are perhaps best characterised by Daniel Podence’s infuriating propensity for amateur dramatics. Or the frequency with which the laughably pedestrian Diego Costa bundles opposition players over, before picking them up and giving them an apologetic hug.
No manager in this league, with the exception of perhaps those belonging to Everton, Bournemouth, and Southampton, would envy the hand dealt to Julen Lopetegui. The fact we are currently outside of the bottom three is undoubtedly down to the capability of both he and his coaching team and little else.
Put simply, these players are just a big bundle of nothingness. They can’t defend especially well, they’re clueless in possession, and they most certainly cannot score goals.
I’m tired of players with lovely hair and well curated Instagram profiles. I want to see a Wolves team that warrants the unflinching support its fanbase offers to them, one that is prepared to fight for the shirt and have a little pride while doing so.
If we could start to see that at Forest on Saturday, that would be great, but I’d gladly take an ugly, desperate slog to the finishing line if it’s then followed by a summer revamp.
Heck, I’d sooner see us get relegated and have to undergo a complete rebuild if it stopped us from shopping at Jorge Mendes’ seemingly never-ending carousel of ordinariness.
Whatever the outcome of this miserable season’s final act, I sincerely hope that Lopetegui and co are given an opportunity to oversee a much-needed cultural reset at Molineux.
The Spaniard has shown enough nous in the early days of his tenure to suggest he can bring the good times back to the golden palace, but I’m certain he won’t get far trying to do so with his current charges.
Couldn’t agree more. I don’t think they have the ‘bottle’ for a fight, on the field that is! This squad is built on a ‘pretty game’ of football. When points are needed to stave off potential relegation, then the ‘pretty game’ will be mercilessly exploited by other clubs in an equally disadvantaged position. This is where we have a massive problem, and which I fear may cost us, quite literally, very dearly in the upcoming run in.
A pretty damning account on the state of the team!
I do agree that some players refuse to fight for the team or themselves and it is a disgrace to the shirt. If and when we lose, it is far more palatable when they put up a fight and cut out silly mistakes. While we are far from a wonderful team, we are certainly better than 4 points from the bottom! On paper!
Nunes, Guedes when he was here, and a couple of others are so underperforming it is pathetic! And while Semendo’s performances have improved a bit in recent times, I find he just huffs and puffs down the right and them passes back and the defence then gets back in position. What happened to simple one-twos like Doherty used to do.
The lack of chances and the very painful lack of goals is a hard watch at times. Unacceptable. I might even accept relegation with optimism if it would mean more regular goals.
To be honest, had VAR had done its job, maybe we would be a few points higher and just out of the relegation fight!
Jeff has to take a LOT of the blame. Buying young potential from Mendes is not a sustainable model, and young player transfers often end in financial failure.
But we are the Wolves! And we never give up. And while we cuss the team every week, we don’t hate them, like wayward son, we still wish them well.
Time will tell!
In a way, it was always predictable we’d arrive at this point because of the profile of players we’ve consistently added in recent years – technically sound individuals that lack leadership, strength and aggression.
Those that concern me most…
Kilman – Poor body language on the pitch, lack of aggression.
Jonny – Weak.
Semedo – Weak. No end product in advanced positions.
Ait-Nouri – Weak. No aggression. No end product in advanced positions.
Nunes – Weak. No aggression. No end product in advanced positions.
Podence – Weak. Gives the ball away cheaply.
Raul – Weak. Doesn’t hold the ball up.
Cunha/Sarabia – Jury still out on both. Good mentalities but both weak at times.
All of the above have many good qualities and aren’t bad players. The problem is that if 4, 5 or even 6 of these players are all in the same team and all with similar deficiencies (weak, no aggression, no end product, etc) you get the kind of flimsy, low-scoring performances that have become the norm.
Go back to the glory days of Nuno and the players we’ve dispensed with in recent years:
Doherty – Good in the air. Strong. Scores and makes goals.
Boly – Aggressive. Strong. Scores goals.
Coady – Leader. Aggressive. Dictates play.
Saiss – Aggressive. Strong. Scores goals.
Jota – Aggressive. Scores goals. Creates chances.
Dendoncker – Strong. Scores goals.
When you’ve got this spine you can add more decorative players because you’ve got a consistent base. The mixture of attributes is what makes a great team.
I think the recruitment in January showed the club are at least aware. Lemina, Dawson and Gomes are more combative. But we’re three or four reliable bodies short of being a consistently good side.
We have the technical quality to survive and do better in the summer, but I worry we’ll keep going under in the difficult moments and that could spell disaster.
Thomas, I think you have absolutely nailed it. Our largely Iberian squad profile just isn’t built for a relegation scrap in the toughest league there is. Other teams with Iberian imports (Utd, City, Liverpool, etc) ensure these talents are blended with more aggressive progressive-playing individuals. Not only are so many of our players weak and flimsy in their play, but we seem to have developed an absolutely ingrained mentality of passing the ball sideways or backwards. I’m not sure if this is a Lage legacy, or symptomatic of a complete lack of confidence within the team, but if Lopetegui can’t change this mentality we will be relegated. Somehow, we have to rediscover this attacking self-belief and fast. Just like Leeds and Bournemouth, Forest will give it their all to overcome their technical limitations. If we can’t at least match this aggression and willingness to take risks in the final third, there is no hope.
I really don’t want us to be relegated as I do believe Lopetegui is the man to build a new vision for a successful Wolves and he probably won’t do that if we slip out of the Premier League. I will be really sad to see Neves leave but, if we survive, it is clear that a radically revamped Wolves squad built around a small core set of current players who actually want to be here and have the talent, needs to evolve from the ashes of recent disastrous seasons.
I agree with a lot of this, though not with your assessment of Kilman. I don’t think he has poor body language, but rather just a calm collected demeanor. His play has generally been strong and consistent and tough as nails. How many times has he broken his nose this season and played on?
Compare him to Collins, who has much more enthusiastic body language but is also far more mistake-prone.
But overall, I agree the Wolves have a real problem with a lack of physicality. They have far too many players that are undersized or underweight and simply get physically dominated by bigger teams.
Kilman is half the player without the instinctive nous of Coady alongside.
Yeah, I get what you’re saying mate and you’re right – ‘calm collected’ is a better description for Max than ‘poor body language’.
I just feel that when we’re under the kosh and you’re playing a back four, both centre halves have got to die for the cause. I think he’s found wanting positionally at times and when crosses are coming over he doesn’t dominate attackers in the way I think he should.
It’s no coincidence that Dawson has come in and looks like a magnet to every cross. He’s usually in the right place and he wants those battles. It’s also no surprise that after he went off at halftime against Leeds we immediately conceded from a corner that’s just drifted across the six-yard box with nobody attacking the ball. I don’t think that happens if he’s out there.
As others have said, when he had Coady barking orders behind him and the maniac that’s Saiss throwing his body at every cross, he could just get on with his business, but without those players I think he needs to evolve to become more outwardly commanding. It’s a dog-eat-dog environment at this level and any sign of weakness will be seized upon.
All true, but so sad.
One guy who has served the club very well in happier days but I now find infuriating is Jiminez .After the support of the club and fans for so long after his terrible injury he is no longer focused on the job in hand .We had the pirate period ,then the yellow and red card period ,then the sulking period around the World Cup and now he does not care a jot .More interested in waving at the start ,at the interval and at the end to the family than applying himself .He will be gone this summer so I guess does not care despite the exceptional support in his troubled times .
I understand that Jiminez and two others were booed by Mexican fans this week,
probably on account of their World Cup performances. So, Raul’s confidence could be lessened even more.
It is obvious that he will be gone following the Arsenal game, and as the closed season progresses, most of the Algarvian contingent will trickle away, further lining the pocket of Mendes.
I agree with others here that there are too many players who lack the stomach and resolve for a battle. Dyche would not permit such weakness and lack of
team spirit. Several of this team are looking forward to their next pay deal and are already being touted around clubs, using us a stepping stone. Such players simply have no idea, or do not care , what the club means to the fans.
The immediate future of the club is now in the hands of the coach and his team who need to calm down on on the touch line. It is not a good look.
We need their aggression on the field, not the touchline.
Kendal
I feel very sorry for Raul and the predicament he is in. It became clear very quickly after his “comeback” from the David Luiz hatchet job that he was a shadow of his former self and the protective headgear was a bit of a giveaway too for a traditional buccaneering centre forward.
But in the ensuing two and a half years has shown a level of ineptitude and lack of competence at Wolves in their ongoing failure to replace him and fill the gap created by the obvious loss of a key man in Nuno’s revival.
And cruel though it may be I can understand the frustration of the Mexicans. It might well have been kinder for the man himself for the medics and the club to tell him as it really was and is because it’s been pitiful watching him struggle.
Good luck for the future Raul but the king is dead and we still need to find his successor.
PJB
I agree. Raul should now be in his prime if it were not for that horrendous
injury and no one wants to see a career cut short in that way.
I was watching a video of his goals, so slick, so sharp, so lethal.
A proper striker. Good luck indeed.
Quite simply too many footballers in the squad.
Not enough soldiers
And sadly many of our “footballers” are incapable of breaching enemy lines when they get past “no man’s land”.
What’s the highest level of football you have played at, Ben?
Not very high at all John, but I’ve watched a lot of Wolves games over the years and know a team that is up for a relegation fight and one that isn’t! That is of course just my opinion though, and you are entitled to your own.
Probably higher than you’ll ever get in the Debating Society John. That comment renders 99.9% of football supporters opinions invalid. Lets all pack up and go home bloggers.
Wow
What a damning summary of our plight by the headline writer and most that have already posted.
And sadly it’s not only difficult to disagree it’s impossible.
With one or two exceptions – only Neves and the recent Lopetengui inspired arrivals Sarabia Lemina look as if they are up for it all of the time.
Jiminez, Jonny and Moutinho would probably like to be but their best days are a long time gone.
But at the root of this malaise is the incestuous link to Mendes and his camp. Semedo, Podence, Nunes, Guedes and Traore make no attempt to even pretend they want to be here. Jury still out on the ambitious Neto plus Ait-Nouri. And having supported the enigma that is Siva I’m very disappointed to hear all the wrong messages he is now sending out from PSV,
No one expects total loyalty from the modern footballer. But the efforts and attitude of Ruben Neves and those who were unceremoniously shipped out by Lage like Coady, Boly, Saiss and Ruddy plus most of their latter day team mates from Nuno’s days showed great respect and affection for our football club.
In total contrast the many mega mercenaries in this current crop aren’t worthy of the honour of wearing it’s famous colours.
Whatever happens come the end of this dreadful season a huge rethink and rebuild is needed from top to bottom.
If we’re relegated I can’t see JL staying and I’m sure he’ll have a get out clause – not that he shares any culpability for this shambles.
So if we do go down is Jeff Shi capable of overseeing such a task? Doubt it.
But whichever division we kick off 23/24 in it’s likely to be without Neves (surely with all our best wishes) the apparently transient Nunes, Moutinho, Traore, Guedes, Jiminez and probably others on the Mendes merry/money go round.
Many of them don’t want to be here and we we shouldn’t want them here where that’s the case. But it’s a daunting task for JL or whoever with shades of the early eighties haunting me.
Agree with almost all of the above and won’t repeat it.
What I would say is that despite all of Lopetegui’s qualities, he is doing the club no favours by constantly haranguing the officials. He sets a very poor example followed by his staff, the bench are getting involved and the FA, quite rightly in my view, are cracking down. The officials clearly make mistakes and are at times incompetent but we only worsen our position by continually whinging both on and off the pitch. There is probably a biased view against Wolves by refs and this may well see us relegated.
Attitudes come from the top- I would far rather see JLop sat in the stands where he can better judge the game as they do in rugby- where there is no bullying of the officials because a team is immediately penalised if they do.
I find it embarrassing to watch the dying swan antics on the pitch and borderline abuse off the pitch- all stoked up by management. Get a grip lads before it’s too late. Rant over.
Hi Thomas.
I had a message from Clive’s wife Marla in Houston and his daughter Vicky who lives in Stoke last night, asking, “if when they receive his ashes, could we get them scattered at Molineux”?
I told her I would put it out there for you guys to see if anyone has any clout up at Molineux, I can talk to the people I know, but I feel others may they want to do this.
If no one has any contacts and we are all unsuccessful, then there is the end of the season when the players come round the pitch where we can do it colditz castle tunnel building style. They thought that was a wonderful idea knowing the stickler for authority that Clive was.
But if any bloggers want to take a hand in getting him to the Golden Palace on last time properly, I welcome any input from you guys.
StuWolf
Hi Stu, in Lisbon this week, will get in touch when I get back.
Hope you and Jen are all good.
In Gran Canaria me.
?
Hi Stu and fellow bloggers …
I’ve just emailed the club via fan services… outlining what a truly wonderful man Clive was and how dedicated he was to Wolves.
He has a large fan/friendship base himself, which hopefully impressed upon them that there are a lot of us supporting his final destination choice and resting place so as soon as I get a response I’ll let you know ..
Well done mate.
I think Stu’s idea of us all doing a ‘Wooden Horse’ type secret scattering is lovely, but it would have to be on the terraces in the stands… which will all be swept immediately after the match.
Clive would not have liked that.
Doog,
That’s the last resort. If the club say no, we can get behind the goals of Clive’s North bank and let the wind do the job.
But last resort, only
Had a reply from Wolves FC … but not really what I’d hoped …
They don’t permit ashes being scattered for various reasons.. interference with the playing surface.. concerns that the ashes would be dispersed by ‘traffic/footfall’ if they were placed around the pitch .. blah blah ..
There’s a book of remembrance etc but unfortunately no outlet for the placing or dispersal of the ashes ..
So .. it might have to be a Stuwolf plan B .. a “disguised” ashes placement or scattering ..
Any suggestions..
Thanks Stu for the heads up and others for taking the lead.
It’s a shame the club won’t work with us.
What about using our plane guy to scatter his ashes from the sky with a sign reading:
‘FOwB – Love Clive’
…or similar?
That would be a fitting testament and something I think he’d have found funny. Just a thought.
Funnily enough, Sue and I were discussing the same thing last night Thomas.
The chances of any of them finding their way in to Molineux are pretty remote though, and, if they did, the club would not be happy and it could set a dangerous precedent.
I wonder whether they might allow the container to be somewhere on the touchline during the final home game and then taken away afterwards.
At least he would have been there.
I’ve spoken just to Scooped (John Smallman) who along with Big Mark were Clive’s long-standing best mates…
John’s thoughts were ..(and mine) that we could (collectively) find a grassy area/spot near to the ground perimeter, dig up the turf and put the ashes in, and replace the turf .. at least he would be within the ground locality… no plaque btw…
Alternatively and along the same lines … place his ashes in the ring road area/walkway from Sainsbury’s to the ground … a pathway that the 3 of them often trod on their way to the Molineux.
It’s a difficult one .. and perhaps one that Marla and Vicky should make the final decision… given that Clive’s wish to be placed within Molineux isn’t really possible.
We’ve got a few options now .. could Stu kindly put them to Marla and Vicky for some guidance and finality agreement..
Just catching up on this thread
I’m surprised that the club has ruled out the option of Clive’s ashes being buried under the pitch
I recall sitting next to a lady at the top far corner of the Billy Wright
She told me her husbands ashes were right under the center spot
I think
He was or had been a Club employee
Maybe worth another try ? If we have to play you know who
Next season then I’d welcome the inspiration that CfH ‘s soul would provide
5-1 guaranteed
What about somewhere in West Park?
It’s the route that many of us (including Clive) have taken on the way to The Golden Palace on match days.
It’s a lovely setting.
The Molineux roar can be heard from there.
There are far worse places to be laid to rest.
Feckin brilliant idea Thomas????
Unfortunately this mess we are in has been on the cards since day one of FOSUN ownership of Wolves.
A over reliance on forgin players and managers bar Nuno and coupled with modest investment up until the last window and a super agent with all his fingers in our pie has brought us to where we are now.
But it could have been so different if Jeff or FOSUN or both had backed Nuno after the 2nd season if they had given him not just a say BUT all of the say in which players he wanted and backed him who knows what could have happened that’s not to say he would have been successful but on the two previous seasons showings there was a good chance he would of.
Instead Nuno got more and more frustrated until he was just a pale shadow of himself and so was the team.
We have a team who on paper should be in the top six but like paper it has no strength. The team is not a team it’s a collection of players brought for a hell of a lot of money from all over Europe so why would they know or understand what it means to wear the Gold and Black why would they care if Wolves go down they’ll get there move if and when relegation happens.
I’m not being anti forginier here but British players do have a better knowledge and understanding of what relegation means to a club and its fans and not least some of there employees who could lose there jobs if the worsted happened there for IMO rightly or wrongly I believe make more of an effort that might not be enough in the end but then again it just might.
Agree with a lot of what’s been said. For a company the size of FOSUN I’ve never as many of you know been convinced by there intentions from the off.
There grand entrance and promises which they haven’t kept. The slow but sure plans put on hold indefinitely it seems for the upgrade of Molineux. There diversion and distraction into fashion, gaming and a record label.
Where did these distractions come from who thought them up or were they part of the plan from the beginning.
It seems building a football team to compete is no longer the priority that the football club is now secondary to all other ventures and it has shown over the last 2 to 3 years. The state of Molineux is getting worse even basic maintanace is not being carried out paint peeling of the steel frame work of the Steve Bull stand, the South Bank and Billy Wright also the cladding is peeling and faded on all 3 the general up keep is shocking , hardly the signs of a proud and committed owner.
I bogged last year that I thought FOSUN will be gone within the next 3 years and I stick to that they only splashed the cash the last window in desperation to stave of relegation why was that cash not forth coming in the previous windows.
FOSUN know it would be very hard to sell a Championship club in the current economic environment so they realised they had to spent in January and there in lys the biggest issue over the last 3 years recruitment, it’s been shocking and indulgent by that I mean Jeff splashing £38 million on his wonder kid.
All the above are the reasons why we are where we are lack of direction on and off the field a chairman who dictates recruitment regarding manager and players lack of focus on the club due to distractions failure to build on success of first two seasons and lack of vision and commitment regarding the stadium.
If we do stay up I don’t think things will change either and that the most depressing thing of all.
Well written Ben and a view entirely based on you supporting Wolves both home and away for many years. Not sure why you were asked at what level you had played at…… totally irrelevant. Hope you stay up. See you on the 6th May !!
The question to Ben about what level he had played at, really made me chuckle.
I’ve got a question for all bloggers (me included) who have ever voiced an opinion on the management and ownership of the club…
At what level have any of us managed, or owned, a football club?
But we all know we could do it better.
Well, Doog, that should elicit a range of responses!
I don’t see the point of this post, we haven’t even lost this week and we still get a moan off blog. It’s not like the moaning void needed filling cos of the international break and all the home nations are doing well. If you read the comments section after matches you’d realise that it’s last thing we need Ben.
We would be mid table on current form since Lop took over, given that we were bottom when he arrived saying that the players are not up for a fight doesn’t really stand up.
Lage put us in this mess and cleared out the spine of the team.
Everyone having a go at Jiminez need to take a good look at themselves, name one Premier team who’s talismanic striker has suffered an injury anywhere close to the skull fracture he suffered. Jonny too has suffered back to back injuries and has never returned to form but he was one of most consistent players and an integral part of the Nuno era. Their time has certainly come but they deserved their chance.
We are inconsistent but far from the team you describe since the restart, yes a couple of shitshows but some great games too, Spurs, Southampton, twice against Liverpool.
A couple of losses and everyones crying in their beer but we are in a far better place than before the break despite having no luck with injuries and some horrendous officiating that beggars belief.
As infuriating and frustrating as this season is becoming, on another level there’s never a dull moment. A bumpy ride is better than no ride at all imo.
I appreciate your point, but the timing of this post coincided with the Leeds game (which I didn’t report on) and reflects a feeling I have had about this particular group of players for some time (see reference to last season’s game at home against Brighton). You’re more than welcome to disagree, but to call it a ‘moan off blog’ is more than a little reductive, especially given that all of the contributors to this blog write our content in our spare time and free of charge. I hope I’m wrong about this group of players and they come good, but we shall see.
P.S. The blog makes reference to the impact Lopetegui has had since taking charge.
I’m not calling all contributions a moan off Ben but we have plenty of those when we do actually lose a game and rightly so but i don’t see the need to underline those gripes when there’s no game on, it only further entrenches the general mood of doom and gloom when we are far from either in reality. I pretty sure we all appreciate the writers who contribute to the blog without necessarily agreeing with them 100% of the time.
On current form we would be mid table……..but we are not and its no good Jonny and the rest turning up for the Liverpools and Spurs we need them to turn up and beat the teams around us…..the 6 pointers thats where we would gain points and do damaged to those teams chances of survival .
It’s all well and good blaming Large as well …….he is part responsible but you want to have a go at the man that hired him he was clearly not ready to manage a Premier League club……and that goes for Mr Shi.
Yeah Shi made the decision to hire him or more so to keep him on after we went off a cliff at the tail end of last season. Lage let the spine go though or indirectly pushed them out as with Coady. Shi is going nowhere though so hey ho.
Well…..if Shi is going no where that means Wolves aren’t either……well that’s if we don’t get relegated.
Haven’t seen anyone having a go at Jiminez on a personal level but I think almost anyone who has ever been to a football match could surely see that post injury Raul isn’t a shadow of the great payer he was and the headgear indicates that he may even be putting himself in harm’s way just by playing, which must affect his psychology on the pitch.
Greetings Blogmates,
All I’m taking from this extended online literary outpouring, handwringing, weeping and wailing is how much we, as a group of armchair managers, terrace regulars and mostly well informed commentators on the beloved Wolves FC
HATE LOSING TO FKN LEEDS. AT HOME. 4-2.
An archetypal and historical anathema that extends back centuries, maybe even Millenia, to the time they sold us a sheep with 3 legs and scrapy.
Similar to the poor and bad tempered reaction of the Spanish to losing in Scotland. I can only imagine the blogspace meltdown underway.
No doubt I would have spent my fantasy £150 mil differently since August, while Beverly Knight tests the upholstery in my Aston martin, but we now have J-Lo on board, an experienced international manager and no stranger to losing vital games in the top flight. The 2nd Division. Or being sacked. We still have Ruben Neves.
We are still ahead in NEWT’s restart bottom 9 mini league. (Jesus Christos). But we have NF away. How are you feeling about the MGW / Brendan Jonson pairing? shades of Jota / Jimi back in the day. So its hard hats on for trench warfare. And more incoming should we, unthinkably, mess it up.
Had a note from Kenny Hibbitt.
‘Ey up Lads, got an offer of a month in Barbados from the birds at The Travel Show, or ‘Kenny’s Angels’ as I now call them. Sun, sand, Joanna Lumley, Angela Ripon and Julia Summerville. Now that’s quality. Trust nothing’s happened since I’ve been away? Back soon, wish you were here.’
He’s from Bradford.
1 lv & COYW.
Rasta
Take solace from this. Whilst I can’t go back all those centuries you refer to I can go back to 8th May 1972, the date which will forever haunt the minds of LUFC. I was at Molineux to watch us deservedly wipe the floor with them and deprive them of the double in one of the most notorious matches in the history of English football.
Despite arguably well founded allegations of attempted bribery and corruption made to Wolves players before and during the match goals from Frank Munro and Derek Dougan won the title for Brian Clough’s Derby with a 2-1 victory at Leeds’ expense in front of 53,0000 of us.
No Leeds supporter of that vintage has ever forgiven us.
It can be argued that “Those were the Days” indeed. And not a Portuguese player in sight.
But that was then and now is now so COYW and get the points we need to rebuild what little is left of Nuno’s dream in the PL not The Championship.
Cheers PJB, thanks for the memory. 1 lv.
By the lord Harry how do you geezers remember this stuff, I was there but for some reason thought it was a night match, thought o,Grady scored but definitely remember Bernard Shaw be tapped for the bribe
We remember this stuff because it was so long ago.
It’s the short term memory that goes when you reach our age.
And, the short term memory that goes when you reach our age.
It WAS a night match. The pitch was muddy. The South Bank was full of Leeds fans and me. Frankie Munro and The Doog scored for us.
And I think there were rather more than the official 53,000 gate in attendance.
It’s the short term memory that goes when you reach our age.
If I can just find my slippers…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArJjYAqxiHc
And because unlike recent performances it was worth remembering.`Also as we had with Nuno we had a group of players then who gave their all for the club and had a rapport with the supporters.
Wow that’s a great article Ben. You tell it like it is. For the money we’ve spent we should be purring not sighing over the talent on show. Only Adama and Neves are regularly worth the ST money and both it seems are leaving.
Maybe it’s a good thing if we go down. It will certainly teach Jeff a lesson. Frankly he knows not a lot and shouldn’t have sacked Nuno. Instead he should have backed him out the small squad syndrome. Then maybe we wouldn’t have been so shafted after Rauls unfortunate accident.
Ooh and Dawson, he’s worth a ticket. I’d love to know who picked him up. Whoever it is needs to be listened to in the summer. We can’t do many more dodgy signings
It wasno accident. It wasGBH by a player who knew exactly what he was doing!
I confess to being mildly surprised at the tone of this particular post Ben, however, having read it again I can’t say I disagree with too much except to say things are rarely as good, or as bad as they seem.
One or two wins and things would look and feel very different.
But …….
Rolling up our sleeves with strength, character, spirit and sheer bloody mindedness oozing from every pore as if we are fighting for our survival is not in evidence from many in Gold n Black.
Lacking leadership on the pitch, with one or two notable exceptions, is a situation we (the club) have created themselves.
Where we would be without JL and his team is anyone’s guess, but I’d bet it would far further down the table than where we are now.
It’s going to take every bit of his skill and experience to get the right sort of performances out of the squad at his disposal that will save our season before a Summer rebuild.
I say re-build. It could quite possibly be a fire sale.
Let’s hope not and keep the faith, as hard as they may feel right now.
UTW
I fully agree that Nuno should have been backed not sacked. After the subsequent bizarre period of self-harm, we appointed Fosun’s original choice of head coach. So I can’t complain about Lopetegui. But Lopetegui came in when we were almost down and out and bereft of confidence. He’s made a difference, but not enough, given the quality of the squad. Nuno on the other hand came in and could build from scratch with a blank canvas. I would never advocate for relegation, that would be nonsense. We must survive and rebuild in the summer. I see that BBC reckon our chances of going down at 20%: I reckon they are worse but we will survive.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64985188