Paddy Day

Wolves 0 Brighton 3

The players and Fosun should hang their heads in shame.

I’ve spared Bruno. Yes, the three in midfield was too cautious and no fan would have selected a front line of Hwang and Silva, but I don’t think it would have mattered what system or personnel he selected.

It’s inexcusable how we played as 11 individuals that simply gave up from minute one in a game that still had so much riding on it for our European hopes. It felt more like a testimonial.

The squad should have been ripped up last summer to cater for Bruno’s attacking vision. The need to do so is even more urgent this off season but we all know Fosun won’t dare to dip too deep in their pockets.

Instead we’ll continue to bumble along with the same old faces with Bruno unable to implement his philosophy.

We made yet another team look like peak-Barcelona that knocked the ball around and through us at will, while we were content with sitting back and not being bothered to press.

And when it was our turn to have possession, the passing and movement was so chronically slow that we either knocked it aimlessly long or Brighton pressed us off the ball with ease.

The pioneers of the passing game like Cruyff and Guardiola would have laughed at our attempts at the style today – we resembled more of a kick and rush Sunday League team.

No wonder we don’t look like creating any chances let alone scoring when we can’t perform any of the basics.

What upsets me the most though is that it looked like none of the players cared and they were quite happy to capitulate and lose 3-0 to Brighton. Didn’t they realise that there were still realistic hopes of European football, something Bruno and the fans are all desperate for?

Every single player let themselves down today and I hope that we’ve seen the last of Saiss, Boly and Donk in old gold and black. Great servants but no longer to the required standard.

Hwang and Silva shouldn’t be anywhere near the side either but both rather sum up our woeful recruitment.

I really hope the lads take a long, hard look at themselves because no one did the shirt justice today.

Us fans who turn up week in, week out deserve a hell of a lot better.

Wolves 2 Leeds United 3

Blog, Leeds

I’m loathe to make the main talking point about the referee but what else are you supposed to do?

After being subjected to such woefully biased and unfit officiating I don’t blame those banding about the accusations of corruption.

How can Kevin Friend seriously think Raul’s challenge on Meslier was a bookable offence? It was a 50/50 challenge that both players had every right to go for, which resulted in an inevitable collision.

It seemed to me that Friend was desperate for Leeds to go unpunished with numerous first-half fouls, he then wanted to create a major talking point with Raul’s sending off, and the cherry on the cake was giving as much as possible to Leeds for the rest of the game.

And to see all their subs run across the pitch as the winner went in was frankly despicable. A night of chaos was always on the cards when you have a referee that is unable or unwilling to control a game of football. No wonder none of our refs are no longer fancied much by UEFA or FIFA.

I’m not excusing the woeful defending for all three goals – we rather lost our heads. And I’m normally the first one to call out the lads, but I actually don’t blame them for having their minds scrambled by a ref who was hell-bent on manipulating the outcome.

It was a mad-cap 106 minutes and I’m struggling to make sense of the actual intricacies of the match.

All I can say is that I thought Wolves followed the blueprint of the Watford performance in the first-half by starting off with plenty of intensity and that meant the chances and goals followed. To do so when proceedings were so stop-start and we lost Neves to injury made it even more impressive.

I’m just gutted, truly gutted. The three points were wrapped up until the sending off. 4 or 5-0 was on the cards.

Seventh and a Europa Conference League spot isn’t out of reach but tonight will take some getting over for all of us.

West Ham 1 Wolves 0

Blog, West Ham

I was right to fear the worst when I saw the line-up.

For all West Ham’s chances it was a scruffy goal that won it

Wolves were lethargic, disjointed, and barely laid a glove on West Ham. A lot of momentum has been lost in the last three days.

Bruno is of course privy to who need needs a rest and who doesn’t, but trying to stay in the game until the hour mark, to then unload your bench, felt like a risky and negative approach.

Wolves played at a snail’s pace which encouraged the West Ham press, resulting in us knocking it long and fending off endless waves of attack.

It was so frustrating to watch West Ham turn us and play through our midfield at will, while we struggled to get out of our own defensive third with painfully slow passing and movement.

Wolves never looked like scoring even when West Ham sat back after going ahead. It’s hardly a surprise when we were playing like strangers.

Marcal looked limited, Hoever was naïve both defensively and going forward, Trincao was completely anonymous, and while Silva has improved, he’s still lacking in strength, knowhow and confidence. Let’s hope today’s showing put to bed the ridiculous social media clamour for Silva to start instead of Raul.

And Donk’s days in the Wolves engine room must surely be numbered too. How is Neves meant to go about his business of dictating a game when his midfield partner continually gives the ball away or just passes it backwards? It’s plain to see that Wolves are lacking a physical yet technical midfielder to let Neves go about his work.

A top six place is still achievable but if Bruno sticks with trying to replicate the latter Nuno era – sitting back, offering little creativity and showing no sign of carving out clearcut chances or goals – then our hopes will soon be extinguished.

Wolves 0 Norwich City 1

Blog, FA Cup, Norwich, Uncategorized

Judging by Bruno’s post-match comments about the shortcomings of our squad, he must feel like the golden tit after again being sold short by Fosun.

With the hierarchy continuing to weaken the squad, Bruno can’t be expected to turn water into wine forever.

A bang average Norwich side were there for the taking, but Bruno was inexplicably forced to deploy a negative 352 system with just one wide fit senior player to call upon.

Regardless of the contract situation, letting Adama go when Hwang and Neto are still a few weeks away from returning – and many more from getting back to up to speed – is unforgivable.

What makes it worse is a not-fit-for-purpose Donk chasing shadows between the lines. Expecting the Belgian to do the job of a technically gifted number 10 was excruciating to witness. Equally, playing balls over the top for Donk to chase seemed futile when he has no pace.

Neves and Moutinho were perfectly in control of the midfield for much of the afternoon. Bruno must be fuming that he had to stick an anonymous third man in there because of a lack of wide forward options.

However, there’s this nagging concern, that for all our possession, there’s a lack of clearcut chances being created. Is that down to the lack of quality movement in the final third? Silva, Raul, Podence and Trincao are probably all guilty in that department. It’s as if panic sets in of how to fashion a chance once the 18-yard box is in sight. Mind you, enough inviting balls were sent across the face of goal without being punished.

It’s performances like today and a depleted squad needing investment that makes me think we’re kidding ourselves about cup runs and any European aspirations.

Let’s face it, Bruno said as much post-match.

Wolves 3 Sheffield Utd 0

Blog, Sheffield United

It was a pleasant surprise to see Wolves follow the cup script for once and easily dispatch opposition from a lower division.

Star men – Podence and Fabio were integral to the victory

A professional performance in which second gear was barely engaged is exactly what I was looking for on a chilly Sunday afternoon.

Once we had overcome a sloppy start, where a better team than Sheffield United would have punished us, this was the first time under Bruno we’ve threatened to put a team to the sword, and then actually done so.

The doom-monger in me feared a host of changes, so I was relieved to see a strong teamsheet at 1pm.

I won’t go on another rant of Donk being a totally ineffective midfielder, but I was relieved to see the Belgian slot into a more comfortable role at right centre-back in second half.

I was also disappointed to see Raul not start and play his way into form, but young Fabio more than made up for it with his best performance in a Wolves shirt.

Maybe the penny is starting to drop with Silva. His assuredness pressing the Blades into mistakes and linking up with Podence is exactly what Bruno requires from his centre forward.

As for Podence, a more front-footed approach, where the midfield is dictating, suits him perfectly. He’s receiving ball into feet, causing havoc down the middle and between the lines, and showing a lethal touch in front of goal.

Unfortunately, Traore is the polar opposite. Adama’s touch is either woeful, or when he does gets into a dangerous position – lines are fluffed. That’s why he doesn’t warrant £100,000 a week. He might be a great impact sub to have (like at United), but £20m and putting that towards a new centre back or midfielder is far more appealing.

As the tie wore on, I was starting to get frustrated by our inability to kill yet another team off, but a gloriously fluid move from back to front put to bed any nerves, and illustrated the Bruno way perfectly. It was a cracking finish from Semedo, and whisper it quietly, we might be seeing the quality wing back we were promised.

Bar Fosun’s lack of ambition, there’s a lot to be excited about down the Molineux. Bruno is building an attractive playing style, we have an appealing fourth round home tie against bottom-of-the-table Norwich, and a run at the European spots could be brewing.

Wolves 0 Burnley 0

Blog, Burnley

That’s the most frustrated I’ve felt after a match under Bruno.

Burnley are well drilled by Dyche but Wolves’ slow build-up play, poor output from the wing backs and dearth of quality in the final third was excruciating to witness.

The inevitably of a goalless draw for much of the contest rather sums up why Wolves have only scored 12 goals in 14 league games. Two attempts on target tonight from 16 shots is a similarly painful stat.

We’re at our best under Bruno when the ball is moved quickly and Raul, Hwang, Podence and to a certain extent Trincao are operating between the lines and on the ‘inside’.

So, Bruno’s pre-match comments about this being the perfect match for Traore were baffling. There was no space for Traore to operate and even when he did move into dangerous positions he unsurprisingly fluffed his lines. Adama will never fit into the intricate style Bruno is building.

Traore’s inclusion also meant a heavy reliance on us playing it out wide. It just doesn’t work. Ait-Nouri and Semedo continually cut back on themselves, either giving it away or producing woeful deliveries.

Wolves looked at their best when Hwang was getting on the ball between the lines at times in the second half.

But Moutinho needed a major helping hand from Neves to ensure the endless amounts of possession resulted in a constant supply line of pinpoint passes into both feet and space. Poor Joao had a thankless task of running the midfield alongside a running-through-treacle Dendoncker.

We’ll be ok this season and more than likely finish midtable. It’s just a shame that Fosun don’t recognise what Bruno could achieve at this club if provided with the proper tools to form a top-quality squad.