Wolves Blog

It's a blog. About the Wolves.

Ben Rasmin

Wolves 0 Burnley 4

Blog, Burnley

How do you even assess that?

In an already hapless season, Wolves managed to reach a new low.

Forger about the capitulations at Anfield, the London Stadium and in the Black Country Derby – this was the worst of them all.

Making Wood look like Lewandowski

Burnley are a better side than most give them credit for, and will always make for tough opposition.

But Nuno’s clueless charges made them look like champions-in-waiting today, with the visitors enjoying the freedom of Molineux as they sauntered to an unassailable lead.

One thing is for sure, no amount of injuries can excuse a performance this porous.

Wolves were rotten from beginning to last, completely lacking in application, invention or passion. 

It was the epitome of an ‘on the beach’ performance from a team that has performed as if in flip-flops for much of the season.

If Nuno is going to be the man to lead us into next term (and, rightly or wrongly, I believe he should be) then he needs to get tough with this team.
Sure, they have given him two stellar seasons. But they have barely turned up this campaign, with far too many treading water for my liking.

It’s churlish to single any one player out for criticism when they were as collectively bad as they were today, but there are a great many who will be lucky to make it to next season on today’s evidence.

Quite simply, it just wasn’t good enough and you can only hope that they buck their ideas up before we resume hostilities with the Albion next weekend.

Stay or go

Blog

After three stellar campaigns, this season has felt like anything but progress.

There’s a huge summer ahead, so it’s appropriate to cast an evaluative eye over the current squad and consider who is likely to feature next season and where improvements must be made.

A season of frustration

Goalkeepers

Rui Patricio – Keep

Statistics suggest that this has been Patricio’s poorest campaign in a Wolves shirt, but that doesn’t tell the full story. The Portuguese stopper has regularly bailed out a defence that has been a shadow of its former self and remains a key player.

John Ruddy – Keep

Not quite the safe pair of hands he used to be if his mistakes against Stoke and Southampton are anything to go by. One of the Academy keepers will need to start challenging him soon.

Defenders

Conor Coady – Keep

A season that started so well for our Scouse skipper has regressed quite dramatically. But there’s been a big improvement from February onwards, with Coady beginning to look a threat from set pieces. If we’re abandoning the back four experiment, he’s still a crucial player.

Willy Boly – Keep

Nowhere near his usual high standards. Wolves are much more solid with Boly in the side, but his influence hasn’t been as profound as last season. He’s also now 30, meaning we might need to start planning for life without him.

Romain Saiss – Keep

Not a bad campaign for the dependable Moroccan, who has remarkably picked up only one yellow card so far. He’s also been a big contributor at the other end of the pitch, sitting joint third in the goalscoring charts. That being said, finding an upgrade should be a priority in the summer.

Max Kilman – Move

Always dependable when called upon, and yet Kilman hasn’t managed to nail down a spot in the starting eleven. Bearing that in mind, you suspect he could be one that is moved on to raise funds.

Jonny Otto – Keep

Has shown everyone just how good he is since his return from injury. The Spaniard is a classy operator and it was great to see him sign a new long-term contract with the club.

Nelson Semedo – Keep

Despite looking a total car crash of a signing in his early outings, Semedo has grown in stature as the season has progressed and has some impressive stats under his belt. Will need to start contributing more in terms of goals and assists though if he’s to justify his hefty price tag.

Ki-Jana Hoever – Keep

Opportunities have seldom been forthcoming for the young Dutchman but, when he has played, he’s looked a decent prospect.

Rayan Ait-Nouri – Move

Despite enjoying a stellar debut against Palace, Ait-Nouri has done little to suggest he’s a better backup to Jonny than Vinagre was. With his buyout clause allegedly standing at a princely £20m, it’s hard to see his Molineux stay extending beyond this season.

Fernando Marcal – Keep

Almost impossible to assess due to his rotten luck with injuries. Marcal was a relatively low risk purchase at £2m but you still have to question the wisdom of signing a player who had made just 42 appearances in three years at Lyon.

Midfielders

Ruben Neves – Keep

A hit-and-miss season for Molineux’s resident maestro. With five goals to his name already, Neves could equal or better his best tally in old gold. But there have equally been plenty of games that have passed him by. Recruiting a midfield partner that gets the best out of him should be a priority.

Joao Moutinho – Keep

Undoubtedly one of the best players to ever don old gold, but sadly nowhere near as influential as he’s been in previous years. With just 12-months to go on his deal, you suspect that next season will be his swansong.

Leander Dendoncker – Keep

Three seasons into his Wolves career, Dendoncker remains something of an anomaly. Is he a nice-to-have handyman or a key player? Though you can never fault his application, he needs to do more to prove he’s the latter.

Morgan Gibbs-White – Loan

Fabled as the best player to come out of the Wolves Academy, Gibbs-White continues to flatter to deceive and is now firmly in make-or-break territory. Will hopefully get another opportunity to go out on loan and show people what he can do.

Vitinha – Move

His wonder strike against Chorley aside, it’s been a forgettable loan spell for Vitinha. Like Ait-Nouri, it’s difficult to imagine us stumping up the cash for a player that has featured so little.

Owen Otasowie – Loan

Already capped by his country, Otasowie certainly has the physical attributes to be a real star. But he’s been used sparingly and, like Gibbs-White, might be best served by a loan spell elsewhere.

Forwards

Pedro Neto – Keep

In a class of his own this season and a shoo-in for the Player of the Season trophy, Neto is the undoubted jewel in our crown. You would hope that Fosun will allow Nuno to build the team around him next season, but there’s sure to be interest from bigger clubs.

Daniel Podence – Keep

Another that is difficult to evaluate. On top form, Podence is an outrageous talent. But, like most of his teammates, he’s struggled for consistency and fitness this term. Will need to address that if he’s going to nail down a spot in the eleven.

Adama Traore – Move?

Though the much-discussed zero goal contribution is something of a red herring, it’s hard to view Adama’s season as anything other than a massive disappointment. The Spanish speedster has all the attributes to be a world-beater but so often fails to produce. If we need to sell to buy, it’d be tempting to cash in if a suitable offer is forthcoming.

Fabio Silva – Keep

Regardless of age, you have to say that Silva looks a poor investment at £35m. Though his potential is clear, he’s nowhere near ready to cope with the cut and thrust of English football. Will learn from this season though and hopefully benefit from a full pre-season.

Willian Jose – Move

Maligned on social media, Jose has struggled to make an impact in old gold and almost certainly won’t be bought. However, he has provided a much-needed focal point in Raul’s absence and taken some of the weight off Silva’s young shoulders.

Raul Jimenez – Keep

If we didn’t know how important our number nine was before his injury, we do now. Put simply, Wolves are a pale imitation of their usual selves without Jimenez. It’ll be a special day when we can serenade the Mexican with chants of ‘Si Senor’ once again.

Newcastle United 1 Wolves 1

Blog, Newcastle

Nights out in Newcastle are often unpredictable.

Not for Wolves.

Ruben has stepped up in big moments to score important goals

As the Sky Sports statisticians pointed out before kick-off, a draw was always the most likely outcome.

Given the Toon’s torrid run of form, it’d be fair to view the result as a missed opportunity to get another three points on the board.

But, in all fairness to Steve Bruce’s side, that wouldn’t tell the full story.

The hosts more than played their part, mostly dominating a first half in which Wolves were once again slow out of the blocks.

However, come the final throes, it was those donning black and white who were hanging on for dear life, with only Martin Dubravka’s heroics preventing Fabio Silva bagging a late winner.

Like most stalemates, there’s positives and negatives to reflect on.

Starting with the latter, it’s hugely frustrating that we conceded the first goal again. To do so on 17 occasions is frankly ridiculous and is something we really need to nip in the bud sharpish.

Unless somebody can tell me otherwise, there’s no good reason why we should be finishing games with more gusto than we start them.

Looking on the bright side, we ended the first half well and certainly responded strongly after going a goal down.

Semedo, Traore and Neves in particular were all instrumental in driving the team forward, with the latter’s headed equaliser ensuring we shared the spoils.  

It was a goal that capped a captain’s performance from a player who, despite enduring an indifferent season on the whole, has grown in stature this season.   

Every team needs leaders and, make no mistake about it, Neves is one of ours.

But, given our continued inability to impose ourselves on games from the off, there are unquestionably not enough in this current team and that’s something that will need to be remedied in the close season.

However, I’ve always been a glass-half-full kind of guy and five games unbeaten has made this a productive month.

Hopefully we can kick on and end the season strongly. 

Wolves 0 Leicester City 0

Blog, Leicester City

Albion aside, the defeat that disappointed me most was Palace.

The shellackings handed out by West Ham and Liverpool were bad days at the office, but the reverse at Selhurst was a spurned chance to build some much-needed momentum.

Much better defensively from Wolves

With that in mind, it was vital we didn’t undo our good work in midweek by losing today.

A deserved draw against one of the league’s standout sides will hopefully provide a springboard from which we can revive our season.

We certainly looked a lot more like the Wolves we have come to know and love.

Disciplined at the back, uncomplicated in possession and occasionally daring in attack, we were certainly more than a match for Leicester.

And though the Foxes were the team asking more questions by the end of proceedings, they surely won’t feel aggrieved by the result.

Ricardo Pereira will certainly be counting his lucky stars that he doesn’t have to come up against Pedro Neto every week.

Our flying winger had his compatriot on strings for most of the afternoon, turning in another standout performance for the Sky cameras.

You sense that when he and Traore – who grew in stature as the game went on – hit full gear, so will the rest of the team.

However, it’s hard to see that being the case if Fabio Silva is leading the line.

Handed half an hour to impress, our record signing spawned a gilt-edged chance to bag the winner.

Call me harsh, but any half-decent forward should have put that away.

But, with four points from six on the board, now’s not the time to dwell on the negatives.

Whisper it quietly, Wolves may just be back in business.

Chelsea 0 Wolves 0

Blog, Chelsea

That’s more like it.

Views of the YouTube highlight reel are likely to be modest in number, but this was a much-needed return to basics for Wolves.

Fighting for everything

While I don’t believe that four at the back should be consigned to history, I doubt even the most ardent of purists would argue against our default setting being the best way forward for the time being.

Chelsea huffed and puffed while their new manager gesticulated furiously for the BT cameras, but the Blues couldn’t find a way past our resolute rearguard.

And who knows, on another night we might have pinched all three points. Neto certainly tried his best to ensure that was the case, turning in a performance that will do little to dispel rumours he could be next in line for a big money move out of Molineux.

But it’s far more sensible to focus on the positives of a second consecutive clean sheet (and the first in the league since late October) than dwell on that sobering prospect.

If we can get back into the habit of shutting opponents out, we’ll soon be able to dismiss any fears of us getting dragged into a relegation dogfight.

Performances like tonight may not be pretty but, as Frank Lampard will attest, football is a results business and our focus needs to be on climbing the table fast.

Willian Jose showed enough in his second-half cameo to suggest that might be easier to achieve with him leading the line.

Nuno was right to praise Fabio Silva’s work rate in his pre-match presser, but our new burly Brazilian looks like he can offer the sort of street smarts that the teenager understandably can’t at this stage of his development.

I’m excited to see how a front three of Jose, Neto and Adama/Podence develops, with the upcoming fixture against an inconsistent Palace offering a great stage for them to showcase what they can do.

Win there and I think we can start to feel a little more optimistic about our prospects for the second-half of the campaign.     

Wolves 1 Everton 2

Blog, Everton

Spitting Image’s return to the small screen has heralded very little fanfare, but there’s one sketch that tickled me.

The clip in question parodies the (until recently) boundless enthusiasm of Jürgen Klopp, even as he is violently abused by opposition fans. 

Losing out again in the big moments

Ending with Klopp looking on the bright side of life despite his head lying dismembered in his kitchen sink, it’s certainly not a gag one would expect to be able to easily empathise with.

But analysing Wolves’ performances this season has often been akin to clutching at straws, desperately seeking a needle of positivity as the haystack seemingly burns around you.

Tonight was no different.

On the whole, I thought we played well. As was the case against Palace, the return of Dendoncker allowed Moutinho and in particular Neves to orchestrate proceedings from midfield. 

Even when Everton profited from our slack defending with an early goal, you always sensed we would get back into the game. 

But that crucial knack of killing matches continues to evade us in the absence of key players, none more so than Raul. 

Fabio Silva may well end up fulfilling his potential, but I’m beginning to fear it won’t be at Wolves. 

The longer he is allowed to continue churning out toothless displays at the head of our attack, the more his inflated price tag will become an albatross around his neck. 

Surely he can’t start on Saturday? 

I’m far from convinced that Cutrone holds the answer to our problems, but the self-proclaimed pasta merchant must be given his chance against them lot down the road.

With Adama and Podence out, our only persistent attacking threat came from Neto and the on-song Neves.

Our inability to make the most of our possession meant the more experienced visitors always had a chance of nicking all three points, and that’s exactly what they did courtesy of Keane’s towering header. 

Assuming a miracle return for our felled Mexican starlet isn’t on the cards any time soon, it would surely be madness not to try and sign a forward this month. 

Though shelling out for a short-term solution goes against Fosun’s modus operandi, it could make all the difference in the months ahead.     

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