Considering the respective narratives surrounding the two clubs, I was pleased with that performance.
In a stop start tactical affair, Wolves had their say and at times looked the more likely winners.
There was a nice period at 1-1 when it seemed to be gold shirts hoovering up all the second balls and recycling attacks. Boubacar Traore was at the heart of a lot of that in an energetic cameo that bodes well now Lemina is suspended.
The only time it had the appearance of a team towards the top exerting their authority over a team towards the bottom was when they had the numerical advantage in stoppage time.
Emery went with a back three to match our own setup which set the tone of the game to cautious with very little attacking penetration from either team in the first half.
Sa did well to keep out a Cash effort and Ait-Nouri swiped at a cross but two organised defences dominated.
Cunha barely got a kick all game but did manage to swing the ball out wide for Pedro to put it across for Hwang to score. The front three do suddenly look like they’ve got the cut through to hurt defences. It was a smart goal.
The immediate equaliser felt preventable but it was a nice cross from Watkins on the angle that took out our entire defence.
Villa’s star man nearly won it with the final kick (or head) but on the balance of play I would say a point each was the fairest outcome.
Gary O’Neil should feel good that the defence seems more robust and the attack sharper than it has been for a while.
It’s disappointing that Lemina and Semedo (I think) are suspended for Bournemouth because the team is developing some consistency. Still, there are players to fill those gaps and belief is growing.
It’s been a good couple of weeks.
Fair result, onwards and upwards, wolves are we
You can say that again. 1 lv.
Fair result, onwards and upwards, wolves ai we
You can say that again.
Cheers Thomas,
Missed the match and preview, so good to catch up.
Having demolished the Seagulls at home you could be forgiven in thinking the Vanilla had just won the European Cup, in old money, and were fancying their awayday up the A45.
Posh Mugs.
Then again we are the Best Team in the World having somehow managed to beat the current League & European Champions only last week at the Mol, and could have hoped for a nifty 3-1 victory to enforce our new found title credentials.
Dreaming costs money.
1 lv & COYW.
Fair result thought the ref was going to do fergie time,and nearly did,and is Mcginn a thug in football boots
Fair play to Sa. We complained a lot last year. But, only fair to give Jose an Atta Boy. Making multiple big saves every game
Wolves are improving game by game
We would have lost that game a few weeks ago
Well done GON and team …that was Probably the best Villa team in years
Happy Wolves fans
Only able to listen to the Mikey Burrows commentary but we seemed to do pretty well.
Either way, who of us would have turned down 4points from these last two games before playing them.
Definitely signs of improvement in our play and our results.
Thomas – my predictions score is wrong
It’s been 50 years since a Wolves player scored in 5 or more consecutive home matches. John Richards (1973).
Hwang Hee Chan. That Korean guy.
He is beginning to demonstrate the attribute that every single Wolves supporter has been screaming out for over the last 3 years.
A goal scorer.
UTW
A fair result and would’ve taken that before a ball was kicked,4 points from city and the Vile, can’t complain,but the referee wanted the limelight and was determined to punish us for the slightest touch on any of the Vile players.
A bit of a nail biter at the end especially with the sending off, happy with the point.
By the way it was it nice to see and have a word with the great Graham Turner in the north bank before kick off, a true gentleman and loop well.
Looking well.
Well said that man!
Sorry – reply to Muttleigh.
Let`s take the overall view. To beat Man City and then to take a point from high flying Villa in consecutive weeks is no mean achievement. There can be no doubt that as unit we have improved considerably in the past few weeks
To move to a back three has made all the difference, giving us solidity at the back on which to build. Also we have real pace going forward, sufficient to cause issues for the best defenses
Neto is proving real class, but apart from him, another couple of worthy mentions.
Hwang has somehow transformed himself. He`s consistently getting into very dangerous positions and now has the confidence to take the limited opportunities which arise.
Sasa is a forward who`s height will always cause havoc to any defense, But it`s not just his size which impresses — he can actually play a bit on the ground!! The cross which he made today for Neto was an outstanding piece of work. As the season develops he could well become a very important part of our team
Totally agree Mike – and as for the ‘ headless chicken ‘ Silva – the sooner the better he’s shifted this Winter the better – he just blurs and gets in the way of team selection.
I would far prefer to see a lot more of Sasa and young Fraser as the CF alternative – I would also like to see a bit more of Doyle with his presicion crosses and corners- a perfect foil for Sasa to nod in – he’s a terrific header unlike the hapless Silva – though likeable character – just useless in the box – and better off elsewhere ..
Good new Chris.
I see that our maestro of an inept chairman is making big noises that it will take a huge sum if we are to be persuaded that our young Portuguese flyer is to be transferred any time soon, with 60 million being mentioned. But there is clear indication that we could be persuaded, [ Any player in our squad will likely be made available for sale by Shi at some price or other if he has two legs !]
But I never thought Shi`s blue eyed boy, better known as our clown, would fetch more than a few hundred quid from the likes of Accrington Stanley. Now it seems that Arsenal and Liverpool will be competing for his signature. Our chairman must be a genius after all !!
Oh but wait a minute ! Could it be that I`m all mixed up and he`s referring to Neto ? Massive celebrations cancelled. Time to look again at Accrington Stanley
I’d have taken a draw before the game and I am happy we achieved the, well deserved, draw at the end.
It was generally a bad tempered and messy match – a typical local derby in fact – but entertaining and both sides had chances to win. Especially Villa in the last THIRTEEN minutes of added on time. What was all that about?
Four points from the last two games reflect the improved performances that Gary O’Neil has managed to get from the squad that JLO didn’t think could hack it this season.
Sa deserves special praise for several outstanding saves and, although he didn’t feature quite as much as against City, I like to think that Pedro Neto’s run and cross for Chan’s goal has put another £10k on any asking price when the Vultures start circling.
All in all, positive vibes are emanating from theDOOGooder camp.
Doogooder think you mean 10 million,I would say 20 and still rising after every performance that Pedro set up or scores each match
Another good performance today in a scrappy match and GON seems to be gradually getting it together , now 3pts at Bournemouth will be nice.
Cheers Scruffy. Yes I did mean £1o million.
A slip of the hand after a long drive home and rather too many units.
Happy with the point. With our second half chances we could have won it but a draw was a fair result on overall balance of play. Good to see that GON and the team were able to build on the Man City win. If we can get a win at Bournemouth, we will be in a decent mid table position for the next clutch of difficult fixtures which immediately follow.
A point is a point is a point… and Hwang is starting to find that elusive net more often.
I’ll take that all day if it means we can stay in the Premier.
Is it over yet…? OK, I can breathe again. How many extra minutes?
4 points from 2 fixtures that many people said would see O’Neil getting his P45. I predicted a win for us against Villa, and it almost came off. I reckon we were also a bit tired after the monumental effort against City.
I watched the Arsenal v City match. At no point did Arsenal slice through the City defence like Neto and Wolves did, and yet they’re lauded like they’ve won the PL. Without the deflection it would have been 0-0 yesterday.
Even without the benefit of a preseason, O’Neil is clearly capable and is growing into the job. Again I make the comparison that he saved Bournemouth from relegation, but I don’t believe Lopetegui could have done that. It was an easier job to save an underperforming but seriously talented Wolves from the drop. O’Neil I think is our best signing since Nuno. He will have his work cut out to make something of Fabio Silva though, once said by Tim Nash to be ‘the new Cristiano Ronaldo’. Jeff, please check the receipt. Does it mention that he is the new anybody? Can we get our money back for misrepresentation?
Good to see I can once again access Wolves Blog after 2 days of trying ! Not many will believe me now but I was actually predicting a 1-1 draw. I thought we gave as good as we got. HHC is knocking in tge goals (6 in 9). We seem to be hitting on a good line up and some consistency. We have now played 6 of the top 10 in our 8 games. So to be on 8 points from 8 is a good effort (if not for VAR would have been 11). Incidentally anyone see the VVD hanball penalty against Liverpool not given when the ball bounces off his leg on to his hand? Where have we seen that before. Given. As a penalty ? Still cannot complain with 4 points off Citeh and Vile. We are already 4 points above the bottom 3 and on current ppg ration it would take 9 games for any of them to get above us (with us losing all 9) !
I read somewhere that Hwang is the most clinical striker in the PL based on goals scored ratio from number of chances so far. OK, early days, only fifth of the season gone, and therefore not much data to go on, but he could be heading for 20+ PL goals this season. And it’s not as though he’s been fluky, he is scoring typical goals for him. The big assist this season is Neto of course. Good strikers have partners, like Kane and Son for so many years at Spurs.
Same problem Cheesy.
I thought I’d been cancelled from the blog for some unintended misdemeanour!
I was gonna put my Villa prediction on but couldn’t access the site. Never mind. I blame Henrietta the psychic slug. But to be fair she advised a 1-1 draw
The server was down Cheesey ..
I’ve asked Thomas for a VAR ruling because my prediction would have been 1-1 .. but I’m not holding my breath..
Most of us would have settled for 4 points from the last 2 games and the level of effort and commitment has been there for all to see. Well done to all on that front.
But our chronic inability to score goals or even hit the target remains and shows no sign of improvement. Where we would be without Hwang doesn’t bear thinking about. If we continue to mosey along at around a goal a game we shall at best spend the season looking over our shoulders at the bottom 3 and at worst be down amongst them. We’ve had over 3 seasons to address this issue and failed miserably to do so – gross incompetence at the top. Stuck record I know but it will remain so until corrective action is forthcoming.
Yes, PJB, but you`re forgetting that the clown is about to burst into into glorious fruit — but that might not be until AFTER he`s been give away to Accrington Stanley
I dont think even accrington stanley would want him unless he can cook burgers in the snap wagon !
The burger vans at my local club Chelsea serve very upmarket food. I’ve heard of restaurants having 2-3 Michelin stars. Well, the Chelsea burger vans have 4 Michelin tyres.
PJB, after 8 PL games we have scored 9 goals. After 8 PL games last season we had scored only 3 goals. Quite an improvement this season, then, although you say there is no sign of improvement? Not bad considering ‘our chronic inability to score goals or even hit the target’.
You’re ridiculous PJB, enjoy the ride while the sun’s shining cos it’ll be raining soon enough.
A proper spit and sawdust local derby with a bit of a skill thrown in here and there for good measure.
I particularly enjoyed the no quarter given battle between Dawson and McGinn and extra time proved how important Lemina is to us.
On a separate note that’s been mostly overlooked, how lucky were we that the standard of premiership refereeing is so poor? A decent official would have handed Villa a nailed on penalty. I’m putting that one into the “It all levels out over the season” folder
Prawny .. regards Doc’s “nudge” …
Personally I don’t think there was anything in it to warrant a pen or even a review…
How many times does nudging go on in the box .. from corners, feee kicks coming in etc etc … many times .. it’s what defenders do .. even attackers nudging goalkeepers .. which Tarkowski is a master …
So .. in summary.. I would have been ranting at refs had that been given …
Mind you .. if it had been Man U .. that’s different .. lol
I think M’Lud if it had been the other way round you might not be so calm about it 😉
OK so neto being smashed between two defenders in their box which wasnt given as a penalty on your theory it should have been so thats one each.
Stalemate, which the game was, and our improvement has been huge over the last few weeks , villa’s hasnt, in fact i have a feeling there usual collapse which occurs after playing us will hopefully happen and we can reel the deluded brummies in and the prince of wales can stick his bestest team in the country up his royal jacksie !
Neto was doing his best Tom Daly impression. I try to be honest with myself about these things and we definitely dodged a bullet.
True .. but I’m a Wolces fan aye I…
Are you suggesting Prawny, that M’lud is perhaps an unwitting victim of bias?
Job in the VAR booth for him then.
Sign him up.
And Spikey as his assistant.
I accept the position of assistant biased var official to lord twix .
I shall order the chardonay to be delivered for after the international break.
How many cases my lord ?
Bloody hell Spikeyboy …
Howard Webb would have to make a pre-recording for all the CAR cock ups we’d make .. especially having sone Chardonnay sherbets whilst “at work” … .. can’t see the PGMOL accepting our services mate …
I’m ten quid better off after suckering my Villa mate with 2-1 odds for a win but giving me the draw
He says we were lucky and I have to say that he’s right… that post saved us from a desperately sad end.
Our midfielders seem a bit clumsy in their tackling … too many free kicks conceded for my liking.
The revelation was Sasa… what a first time cross to Neto! Starting to see more light coming.
Bring on the seaside town… they need to go back to lower leagues
UTW
Very true Marin. Fabulous pass by Sasa to Pedro. If Kevin the Brown had done that they’d have been raving about that being what makes him world class.
Sasa has much in his locker that hasn’t seen the light of day yet.
‘Pedro and the Beanpole’ could make an interesting and lethal combination. Very catchy too. Did it against Everton I think. But it’s not all about crosses from the wing to the big guy in the middle. As you say, it’s much more sophisticated than that.
Up Wolvo in The Royal London downing a couple of jars. Off to KKs Steel Mill next. Joy Division/New Order legend Peter Hook and his band The Light on stage. Saw New Order loads of times. Probably best ever 1986 in Birmingham with Happy Mondays as support. Doe mek em like that no more . I know he is Man Utd. But being from Salford he should be forgiven !
Two great bands cheese
Seen them both a few times
Used to follow the Mondays about before they were so well known
Smaller gigs like the Kilburn National etc . I
Think they were great nights but I can’t remember
Lived not far from the Kilburn National, great venue
At the very moment I am reading these posts guess what tune comes on the radio…….Step On…..Happy Mondays and it’s not Haloween yet !! But yeah. New Order/M9ndays great LWL.
Happy Mondays, seen them many times. Great band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLX2HHdFd0g
Yesterday, Friday, in Lagos, Algarve, I caught sight of a venerable looking gent wearing a new Wolves top. I have since wondered if he is a contributor to this blog.
Now we are all wondering. Perhaps we’ll never know.
Interesting stuff:https://eplindex.com/98024/man-citys-massive-statement-leaves-club-after-6-weeks.html
Its obvious
Fosun are about to build a new 80,000 seater stadium down the stafford road and spend 2 billion on players tell the FA to stick ffp up their jacksy and win everything in sight .
Couldnt be clearer to me ,
happy days !
80000 stadium ? I couldn’t get to the Man City game and put my ticket up for resale on the Wolves resale scheme. I put it back on 12th September. It didn’t sell. Seems the glory hunters have lost their appetite.
Due to the train strikes I couldn’t attend Citeh.
Put mine on two days before the match, Wolves sent me a confirmation email 30 minutes after I put it on sale to say it had been sold.
At the villa match the people around me said it had been bought by a chinese chap who was celebrating wildly and hugging everybody.
I said that the normal miserable service has returned.
Perhaps timing is everything
Should have put on here cheese
I see that The Korean Guy scored one and assisted with one against Vietnam, and played the full match. Unfortunately, The New Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t stay long on the pitch for Portugal Under 21s…
If GON can’t get a tune out of the Boy Wonder, maybe we should send him on loan to Europe in January and get another striker in. We can’t rely on keeping Neto for long.
Interesting collection of training photos released by WWFC …..
https://www.wolves.co.uk/news/mens-first-team/20231019-gallery-squad-reunited-after-the-international-break/
The most interesting picture shows Jonny stretching to reach a ball before Neto can collect it. . His body position looks almost exactly the same as that for Gomez in the penalty incident against Luton. Guess where his left arm is – up in the air as a natural balance aid to compensate for the long stretch with his right leg. The Howard Webb etc comments on why a penalty was the correct decision kept going back to the ‘unnatural arm position’ and suggested the no-one in their right mind would have their arm so high.
Don’t these idiots understand anything. There’s often talk about using the opinion of former footballers – it should perhaps be suggested that they obtain the advice from qualified physios or sports medics who actually understand how the body works – balance e.g. – and stop basing decisions on their own ideas of how things work. A referee is not normally called to stretch out his leg in the way players often need to.
Net result – we wuz, yet again, robbed – releasing the audio of the aftermath of decision such as this only convince fans of how pathetic the system is.
In a moment of whimsy, I imagined something like the Dam Busters raid being made with radio communications of the same standard as seems prevalent on VAR. They’d have probably ended up bombing Derwentwater or even Loch Ness!!!