Paddy Day

With the Europa League qualifiers a little over three weeks away, there’s been talk from Jeff Shi concerning the importance of the U23s.

With that mind, here I assess both the state of the current squad and what positions the U23s might be called upon to fill.

Goalkeepers

Nothing doing here. Rui Patricio is our undoubted no.1, while John Ruddy and Will Norris are more than capable back-ups.

But a mention for highly-rated Andreas Søndergaard, who was handed a new deal in January until 2021. Head of Academy Scott Sellars rates the Dane’s distribution skills highly, so he could become our no.3 if Ruddy or Norris depart.

Defence

Willy Boly, Conor Coady and Ryan Bennett all had a full summer off, and a further centre back is being targeted for Bennett’s position, so this is another area that could be tough for the U23s to crack.

However, the versatility of Romain Saiss is currently being used at the African Cup of Nations, so Max Kilman could feature on the bench at least, especially if another centre half hasn’t joined by the end of July (let’s hope this isn’t the case).

Regarding Kilman, Nuno sees the former England futsal international as a full member of the first-team squad, so the 22-year-old should have no problem dealing with Crusaders or B36 Tórshavn.

P.S. almost forgot that Rodders Miranda is still at the club after an unsuccessful loan spell with Olympiacos last season. Could he have a role to play in the qualifiers? Can we even get rid of him? I, for one, still appreciate his quality on the ball, after enduring Danny Batth hoofs for years. Anyhow, I digress.

In the wing back positions, Jonny and Ruben Vinagre on the left mean Ryan Giles will more than likely seal a mooted loan move to Shrewsbury Town, but things are a little unclear as for back-up to Doc. 

I think we all agree that we’d like cover brought in for Doc, but I struggle to see it happening. Adama Traore could certainly cause havoc from deep in the second qualifying round, but if Nuno wanted to call upon an U23, what about Oskar Buur Rasmussen? Unfortunately, I doubt it, especially as he’s not been seen since stepping up as the unlikely hero in that crucial 2-2 draw at home to Hull City in April 2018.

Midfield

I wonder if one of Elliot Watt or Pedro Goncalves will have a chance of featuring in the qualifiers, especially in the second and (hopefully) third rounds, when we play weaker opposition?

Both sound on the ball, could one of them step in for Joao Moutinho in the second leg v Crusaders or B36 Tórshavn when we hopefully have a healthy lead from the first tie? Despite being in fantastic condition last season, Joao, nearly 33, may still find the Thursday-Sunday schedule tough going.

You’d imagine Morgan Gibbs-White would be the one to step in for the Portuguese maestro, but I could see Watt or Goncalves on the bench, especially with Saiss possibly still to return after his international exertions. 

Forwards

He doesn’t count as an U23 in the strictest sense of the word (despite the face he’s still only 21), but Bright Enobakhare has been thrown a lifeline.

Mexico are likely to reach the Gold Cup final on Monday (8 July), so that’s Raúl definitely out of the first leg. Diogo should be fit and firing but a back-up to the Portuguese doesn’t appear a priority, which quite frankly should be, as the 22-year-old is just as crucial as Raul to our unique style of play. 

Noises from the club suggest Bright will get his chance in the qualifiers. Whilst it’s hard to see him cut out for where we’re heading as a club, he discovered a clinical edge in his stint at Coventry. Hopefully, he can take his chance against limited opposition.

In an ideal world, we’ll have signed a Raúl type to partner Diogo come 25 July, with Bright coming off the bench in the first leg, and possibly starting the second if we have a sizeable advantage. It shouldn’t matter too much against inferior opposition, but I don’t believe we’ll see the best of Bright alongside Diogo, as the front two struggle to function when we’re lacking that focal point in Raúl.

Niall Ennis may make the bench for the second leg if Ivan Cavaleiro and Helder Costa have departed by that time, and Raúl isn’t risked.

Final thoughts

Jeff’s recent remarks sound positive for the U23s and our initial foray into Europe, but it’s hard to say how much of a chance they’ll be given. 

Nuno is a fan of involving the youth in training and in cup competitions such as the Carabao, but the squad might have been greatly strengthened by 25 July, and we know Nuno is using the qualifiers as pre-season friendlies, so will the U23s even feature if we’re 6-0 up after the first leg?

I feel they won’t get extensive minutes, apart from Bright, but the odd substitute appearance and being around the squad in China and the qualifiers will be a great learning experience.

Saturday 11 March 2017, Wolves 1 Rotherham 0. One point above the Championship relegation zone, the players booed off. Paul Lambert serving up some of the worse dross Molineux had seen in many a year.

Two years later and we’re in the midst of Nuno’s beautiful dream. Wolves are the seventh best team in the land, a Wembley FA Cup semi-final trip is just around the corner and we have two potential routes into Europe.

Understandably, FA Cup fever has gripped us, but I thought this would also be a good time to take stock of Wolves’ remaining eight Premier League fixtures, and assess our chances of finishing as ‘the best of the rest’.

Burnley (A) – 30 March

Nuno is understandably keeping his fingers crossed that our 10 international players return to Compton injury-free on Wednesday.

This is a fixture we should be taking three points from. Burnley have lost their last four and we demolished them at Molineux in September, despite only winning 1-0. But they’re fighting for their lives and I’m worried about what shape our international contingent will return in.

Verdict: Wolves by the odd goal

Manchester United (H) – 2 April

Nuno loathes to make wholesale changes but surely the trip to Wembley five days later takes priority? Would the boss be wise to risk the likes of Neves, Moutinho, Jota and Jimenez against Burnley, then give them a full eight days to recover?

It’s hard to call this one due to the uncertainty regarding the line-up.

Verdict: Draw at best

Southampton (A) – 13 April

Will we be celebrating a place in the FA Cup final come our trip to the south coast?

Either way, you’d expect our strongest possible XI turning out at St Mary’s.

Like Burnley, Southampton are battling the drop, and recently picked up a vital win at home to Spurs. Hopefully we go into this one full of confidence and don’t give the Saints a sniff. Could be a tricky trip.

Verdict: Wolves by the odd goal

Brighton (H) – 20 April

You’d like to think this is a home banker. How we didn’t beat Brighton at the AMEX in October I’ll never know.

Their form has picked up of late, having won their last two league matches and advancing to the last four of the cup.

I still expect us to win this one, though, as we pin Brighton back in their own half for most of the afternoon (think Burnley, West Ham and Cardiff). The Seagulls are hardly renowned for their scoring either, possessing the fourth worst record in the league.

Verdict: Comfortable Wolves win

Arsenal (H) – 24 April

The games are coming thick and fast and I wonder if Nuno will make changes for this one, with a tough trip to Watford coming just three days later.

Arsenal are really hitting some form under Unai Emery, picking up 13 points from a possible 15 and sitting just a point behind third placed Spurs.

This is going to be a hell of test, especially if we rest a few, but at least it’s at the Mol.

Verdict: Draw at best

Watford (A) – 27 April

This is a tough one to call and could have a big say on who finishes seventh.

A win at Vicarage Road could secure a potential Europa League qualifying place, but I’m going to say two evenly matched, full-strength teams will play out a draw.

The battle for seventh goes on…

Verdict: Score draw

Fulham (H) – 4 May

Another home banker and seventh secured. A long since relegated Fulham are comfortably swatted aside as the Molineux faithfully hopefully waves the lads off to Wembley for the FA Cup final.

Verdict: 3-0 Wolves

Liverpool (A) – 12 May

This is the only match I have down as definite defeat, especially if we’re resting many of the lads ahead of the trip to Wembley on 18 May.

Liverpool could conceivably be challenging for the title still and they’ll evidently have more to play for.

Verdict: Liverpool 2-0

Final points projection: 59 points

If my predictions are correct then we should finish in seventh, with 56 points good enough for Burnley last term.

Watford, West Ham, Leicester and Everton are breathing down our necks but they all face similarly tough run-ins, with fixtures against each other and the top six.

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It’s hard to predict our possible points total, as fixture congestion and an important Wembley date looms; I could see draws with United and Arsenal yielding nothing, and trips to Burnley and Southampton failing to result in wins.

In the nicest possible way, I hope my musings prove irrelevant come the season’s end, as we win the FA Cup and advance straight into the Europa League group stages!

Calls on social media to solve our goalscoring woes by ‘simply’ axing Raul Jimenez and replacing him with a fox in the box has certainly left me baffled.

We should all know by now that Nuno expects his number nine to lead the line and link the play, a fox in the box will never suit our 3-4-3 system.

Besides, Raul’s three goals and five assists (if you count the penalty he won versus Spurs) suggests the lack of clinical edge and creativity in the final third can’t be blamed on the Mexican.

In a system where the striker’s primary job isn’t to score goals, it’s pivotal the inside forwards chip in. Ivan Cavaleiro, Helder Costa and Diogo Jota provided an impressive 31 league goals and 23 assists between them last season.

It’s not helped that Cav was injured until the end of September, while Adama Traore appears to be a very effective super sub; I’m not sure £18million was quite intended for that purpose.

This brings me to Costa and Jota. They’ve largely had the inside forward positions pinned down this term, so let’s take a look at how the two compare (the statistics are based on per game).

Costa

The former Benfica and Monaco man actually shows up well, if not a little frustrating in a couple of areas.

For shooting, Costa is averaging more shots compared to last season, up from 1.2 to 1.5. His numbers are better for both shooting outside of the box and in the penalty area.

The Portugal international is also dribbling more, up from 3.2 to 3.3, although there’s far more unsuccessful dribbles in 2018/19.

Possession loss leaves a lot to be desired, with unsuccessful touches and being dispossessed increasing by roughly 33% from last season.

For passing, the 24-year-old is averaging nearly six more a match, while the success rate is up from 81.9% to 83.4%, however key passes are down by 40%.

Verdict: No goals or assists is obviously not good enough, but it’s pleasing to see that Costa isn’t shying away and is willing to get on the ball and take on his man, spot a pass or have a shot.

After a slow start to the campaign, you sense Costa is improving week on week. Since Crystal Palace away at the start of October, Costa’s shooting, key passing and dribbling numbers have all steadily increased.

His inability to keep hold of possession is frustrating, especially when under the cosh, like at Arsenal, but I feel it’s only a matter of time until he bursts into life.

Jota

Hide behind the sofas, the numbers are as horrific as Jota’s performances (I take no pleasure in saying that).

Shooting has decreased from 2.7 to 1.5, with penalty area efforts down by 50%.

Dribbling isn’t much better, 2.7 up against last season’s 3.7, while you’d think unsuccessful touch and possession loss, combined, decreasing from 5.3 to 3.4 would hint at some encouragement. Don’t be fooled. Jota is simply not getting involved – and that is the most worrying aspect.

This is further heightened by the passing statistics – down by a massive 10 a game. Key passes have also fallen by 33%.

Verdict: Jota is bereft of confidence and we can only hope a spell on the bench will do him good.

Looking at the numbers, they confirm what I suspected. Too often we’re seeing Jota failing to run at his man, play one of those delightful little through balls (think Reading away for Cav’s goal) or show a calmness and clinical edge in front of goal.

It’s sad to see, as when in full flow, the little maestro reminds me a lot of Eden Hazard, and has the potential to play at the highest level.

But for now, I would bring on Traore as first sub and give Jota the last 10 minutes at best.

Final thoughts

Nuno went with a front three of Cav, Raul and Costa against Spurs and Arsenal and this is the way to go for now.

Cav has made a fine return, scoring against Southampton and the Gunners. I genuinely believe Cav is the full package; pace, power, goals, assists and composure, which Costa doesn’t always have and Jota certainly doesn’t at the moment.

Come the end of the season, I can see Cav and Raul notching up 15-20 goals between them – the same for assists.

If Costa can convert his promising numbers into goals and assists, we could be looking at a push for seventh and probable Europa League football. If not, we’ll have to settle for midtable (no bad thing of course) or hope for the unpredictable Traore to step up or Jota to rediscover last season’s form.

‘There is no game I recall that we changed. That tells a lot about what the players believe. If you change, it doesn’t make sense.’

‘Changes doesn’t mean anything for us; we keep the same style, we keep the same ideas and philosophy and game by game, it doesn’t matter what competition (it is).’

Those were the words of Sir Nuno prior to our Carabao Cup tie versus Leicester City last month, as journalists and pundits alike have queued up in recent weeks to praise the great man’s unwavering belief in sticking to our philosophy and identity.

To the eye, Wolves’ style of play has obviously not changed one bit since last season. In fact, Nuno’s ideas are even more evident on the pitch this term.

I was interested to see what the stats would reveal if we were to compare last season’s first eight games with this campaign’s.

Defence

To say the defence is as efficient and organised as ever would actually be doing them a massive disservice.

This time last season we were making on average 49 defensive actions a match (390 in total), whereas now it’s down to 39 (310). Quite remarkable really when you consider we’ve played both the Manchester clubs.

Breaking this down further, we’ve made 66 fewer clearances (down from 252 to 186), 27 less interceptions (down from 124 to 97) and blocked only 13 more shots (up from 14 to 27).

The improvements don’t stop there; Wolves have made a meagre 214 tackles (down from 277) and the success rate has increased from 40% to 64%. Fouls made has decreased too – 91 compared to 94.

In terms of goals conceded, Rui Patricio has conceded six compared to John Ruddy’s eight in the Championship.

A settled back three of Willy Boly, Conor Coady and Ryan Bennett certainly helps – we lost Boly for two months after five matches last term, while the calamitous Rodders Miranda and fish out of water Danny Batth exposed Coady and the entire defence to more attacks.

The return of Boly and an eager-to-impress Bennett, at Norwich City on Halloween, gave Coady the much-needed support to restore calm at the back.

Patricio and Jonny have of course come in for Ruddy and Barry Douglas, providing that extra bit of quality.

Whilst rare, there were occasions throughout last season when our goal was under siege, it was backs against the wall, and Ruddy was called into action. Thus far in 2018/19, I haven’t had that feeling, with the defence showing supreme organisation, meaning Patricio hasn’t needed to get his hands dirty too often. The decrease in average defensive actions back that up.

Passing

With Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho orchestrating proceedings in midfield, it’s no surprise that the passing stats are similar to last term’s first eight fixtures.

Total passes are marginally down from 3,525 to 3,488, or 4.6 a match, with short passes attempted remaining virtually the same (3060 in 2017/18 and 2996 in 2018/19), as well as long balls (465 in 2017/18 and 492 in 2018/19).

Perhaps the most important aspect is the average passing accuracy, which is down just 2% from last season to 79%.

Whilst average possession has slipped from 53% to 47%, which is to be expected when you have to face United and City, we’ve still managed to carry a threat through our passing game. Contrary to what many think, possession isn’t key to Nuno, it’s control, and we don’t need the lion’s share of play to hurt teams with our incisive passing – the trip to Old Trafford, where we enjoyed just 36% possession, a perfect example. We all know who played the better football that day.

Attack

For all our exciting play this term, we’re only too aware of our wastefulness in front of goal. At this stage in 2017/18, 13 goals had been scored from 82 shots, but 2018/19’s nine goals have been achieved from 110 efforts. With 81 actual chances last season comparing to 80 this, the lack of cutting edge is underlined.

Interestingly, only nine strikes were attempted in the penalty area in 2017/18, whereas this number soars to 57 for this campaign. But six-yard box shots are down from 27 to four.

Nuno knows we need to be more clinical but he will be encouraged that we’re creating plenty of chances in the penalty area, and it’s only a matter of time until we click fully into gear. Besides, Burnley finished seventh, scoring only 36 goals last season, and sixth placed United in 2016/17 only weighed in with 54. I’m not one for making Premier League predictions in October, but that certainly bodes well.

A special mention should go to Raul Jimenez, two goals and three assists since the summer, he’s been involved in 56% of our goals. Raul’s link up play is a joy to behold, and is the perfect Nuno number nine.

Dribbling

Adama Traore has certainly made an impact with 19 successful dribbles, second only in the Premier League to Eden Hazard, and just seven unsuccessful. This has helped Wolves’ dribbles total 123 – it was 106 last year. However, the success rate was much higher (70% compared to this season’s 50%).

This is largely down to both Helder Costa and Diogo Jota committing over 50% unsuccessful dribbles. During the entire course of 2017/18, Costa was only 41% unsuccessful and Jota 36%.

The 2018/19 numbers don’t come as a surprise to me, as I’ve been frustrated by the duo’s reluctance to take on their man or when they do, a heavy touch or indecision has cost them. They’re so much better than that.

Despite the shots and dribbling stats throwing up a couple of curveballs, there’s no denying that the defensive and passing numbers prove Nuno is sticking to his beliefs. Wherever this journey with Fosun takes us – on the pitch Nuno is always going to do it his way.

Thanks to the brilliant WhoScored.com and Squawka for all the stats.

Demigod – a man who is greatly admired or respected.

It’s fair to say the above is representative of the Wolves faithful’s feelings towards Sir Nuno.

We worship the man’s ‘idea’ and ‘philosophy’ on how the beautiful game should be played, but what do we know about the man himself? I’m happy to say that a couple of enlightening hours surfing the net has thrown up some gems.

1. Born Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo, the 44-year-old’s last two names mean: ‘Holy Spirit’. I remember struggling through Wigan at home on Valentine’s Day with Lambert instructing Danny Batth, Dave Edwards, Lee Evans et al to thump the ball up field as far as they could. We needed a divine intervention to sort out the dross he was serving up – little did I know that fate would soon bring us the ‘Holy Spirit’ from Portugal.

2. Intriguingly, while Nuno is very much of Portuguese stock, he wasn’t actually born there. The African island of Sao Tomé can proudly call Nuno ‘one of their own’. Sounding like an idyllic and fascinating place to grow up, Sao Tomé (population, 196,000) is roughly the size of Anglesey and straddles the equator. Gaining independence from Portugal in 1975, Sao Tomé may not boast everyday luxuries like cinemas, buses or daily papers, but the York-sized island more than makes up for it with golden beaches as far as the eye can see. Why Nuno was born there and when he moved to Portugal is unknown, but in a rare in-depth interview with The Guardian in 2015, Nuno explained how his African grandfather arrived in Portugal and was the first black man the locals had ever seen. Perhaps that’s where his Sao Tomé connections originate from.

3. Nuno was born on 25 January 1974 and shares his birthday with the former Barcelona midfield maestro Xavi. Quite fitting really, as the guile and control of the diminutive playmaker would have been right up Nuno’s street.

4. This brings me nicely on to Ruben Neves – our very own playmaker, and someone who could one day take his place alongside Xavi and the other midfield greats. Nuno and Neves were destined to meet from the day the former was born, as Sao Tomé is home to a small town called Neves. There’s even an FC Neves – surely a 40-year-old Ruben could take his first steps in management there, with the wily old fox Nuno as his assistant?

5. A lot of us have read how Nuno and Uncle Jorge first met, it was love at first sight, but let’s hear it again anyway. Their paths crossed when Mendes owned a video shop and nightclub. In 1997, the young goalkeeper was desperate for a move to Spanish outfit Deportivo La Coruña. Nuno and Mendes, who was yet to embark on a career as the world’s greatest football agent, formed a plan to push the move through. Uncle Jorge wrecked Nuno’s flat, convinced the Vitória Guimarães president he was drunk, and the move was on. All Uncle Jorge had to do was to drive two-and-a-half hours for several days to convince the Depor president to stump up. $1m. The fact that the president would only give him a few seconds en route to his favourite restaurant was no bother for Mendes. So tight is the relationship between the pair, an emotional Nuno rang Mendes telling him how much he loved him, after leading Rio Ave to a second cup final in the 2014/15 season.

6. Nuno was dubbed O Substituto, owing to an 18-year-career, in three different countries, producing just 199 appearances, including 102 in the Spanish second tier. But the likeable ex-Valencia boss was always valued by his team-mates, with his former Porto pal Benni McCarthy praising the stopper’s character. Nuno credited limited game time as the perfect opportunity to learn from his coaches. An inspired Jose Mourinho at Porto wasn’t a bad mentor to have.

7. Wembley cup finals were very much a tradition in the Santo household when Nuno was growing up. The former Dynamo Moscow stopper was a big fan of Liverpool and Bruce Grobbelaar, while the heroics from an unconventional Neville Southall resonated with Nuno.

I hope these nuggets of information have given you some extra insight into the great man. If you know of any other interesting facts about Sir Nuno, please do share below.

It’s hard to think of a better transfer, pound-for-pound, that Wolves have made in recent times than Ryan Bennett.

The 28-year-old has surpassed all expectations and the Molineux faithful have gradually come around to what he offers.

But let’s be honest, the announcement of his arrival on a free from Norwich City didn’t exactly set pulses racing.

As I was honeymooning by the pool last May in Portugal (where else?), with Sagres and Twitter on the go, waiting for Nuno to woo us with his vision for the club, you can forgive me for being nonplussed by the Bennett news.

The addition of the Essex-born lad hinted of Paul Lambert’s doing, before he was given his P45, as part of the Scot’s flawed obsession with a squad full of Championship experience (dross).

After Nuno’s arrival and a summer of stellar signings, Bennett’s face didn’t fit. Norwich fans also seemed relieved he was leaving, and minimal playing time in the first two months of the season suggested he wasn’t going to make a mark.

However, after watching a limited QPR team in late October stifle our passing out from the back, brutally exposing Danny Batth’s limitations, change was needed.

Replacing Batth with a fit-again Willy Boly for the Halloween trip to Norwich was a no brainer, but making a second alteration to the back three, with Bennett in for Roderick Miranda, left me miffed.

I’ll get this out in the open now, I was a big fan of Rodders. I thought he was improving all the time defensively and his distribution was excellent. Naively, I had a soft spot for the ex-Rio Ave man, due to years of painstaking hoofball out from the back – I wasn’t used to such a stylish centre half pulling on a Wolves shirt! (I acknowledge Rodders has since shown his true colours).

But having read positive things about Bennett in the 2-0 win in deepest, darkest Norfolk, I approached Fulham’s visit to Molineux three days later with an open mind and was soon eating humble pie.

Bennett’s positioning was excellent, he was a calm presence alongside Boly and Connor Coady, and was surprisingly unflustered on the ball. This was a player thriving from Nuno’s coaching methods and determined to take his chance.

I only fully appreciated Bennett’s importance to the team when Nuno replaced him with Batth at Bristol City though.

I’ve nothing against Danny but he looked a fish out of water at Ashton Gate until rightly being sent off, and it was Bennett who saved the day with his finest hour to date in a gold shirt.

It’s beyond me why he was dropped again for Danny after the Fulham defeat in February and we all know what happened at Villa Park.

More recently, what about Bennett’s performance against Everton on the opening day?

Many doubted the ex-England U21 international could make the step up to the Premier League, but he was the pick of the defence, standing strong as a nervous Boly and Coady struggled with the pace and intensity of the Toffees at times.

With Saiss and Dendoncker likely to compete for the shirt, I’m not saying Bennett will be a starter throughout the season, but based on recent history it would be foolish to write him off anytime soon.

Oh, and Ryan, I have a lot of time for your shirt-tucked-in look. A tough, but let’s face it, naff, style to pull off.