When Kenny Jackett had amassed 15 points from the opening 13 games of last season on a shoestring budget, the natives were restless.
Yet after an extraordinary summer of shenanigans and a storyline of Sky Dream Team proportions, here we sit, a solitary point better off under Walter Zenga, with two paltry wins since August 20.
While money can’t buy success, it’s about time it purchased a bit of accountability before this season – so full of promise – lurches into the laughing stock.
For 11 of our 13 results (Reading home, Newcastle away), Wolves haven’t bothered showing up for the first 45 minutes, in a maddening trend exploited this time by Brighton.
And of the 13 hastily assembled summer signings, only three were on the pitch when we kicked off (Costa, Saiss and Oniangue) to suggest there are more problems behind the scenes that many fans want to give credit for.
What became of Ola John, a wide player whose stating berth is filled by central midfielder Prince? Or Paul Gladon, who can’t even make our goal shy squad which only has two recognised strikers to its name?
Rather than heads being scratched and questions being asked, a devil-may-care attitude seems to pervade, with Fosun’s megabucks cushioning any questions that would otherwise be asked in any other given season.
Mine, were a chance to ever be offered to Walter Zenga, would be along the lines of:
· What do your teamtalks consist of in content and delivery? And at what point will you adopt a different tack to ensure we actually participate in games of football for the first 45 minutes?
· Why do you play a 4-3-3 formation, with players out of position, when it patently doesn’t work?
· Do you not rate Texeira or Caveleiro when neither can command a regular place in your side? (The latter a supposed match-winner worth £7 million who looks inferior to James Henry.)
· Come to think of it, did you have a single say on any of our summer signings when you are so reticent to play any of them? IE Do Ola John and Paul Gladon exist?
· Should we send Stearman back?
Thomas commented last night that he wasn’t surprised at this start, given the type of players we’ve accrued and the head coach in charge of them. Personally, I am staggered. I thought the days of Steven Mouyokolo and Tomasz Frankowski were a thing of the past, not to mention the penniless Birmingham City outperforming us once more.
After last night’s no-show, give or take a final few frantic pushes, we are what we are…
…Low on inspiration, high on squad numbers and two points above Aston Villa.
I like WZ so how much he is at fault (did he sign these players etc) is questionable but I can’t help, forgive me, thinking that a Big Sam or Steve Bruce would do better.
Just like players make a difference, so do managers. A good manager who knows how to get promotion from the championship would be doing better with these resources but is the problem that they (like WZ) would also have their hands tied?
What’s for sure is that our form is poor and we don’t look like putting together a run of results.
Only Costa, Saiss and Dadi have so far improved us, the rest look half arsed.
We look devoid of ideas on an attacking level and our inability to not conceded in the first half is pathetic.
Yes it’s early days sort of and we’re a new team etc but results speak for themselves.
The fact I could pick several teams and formations out of our squad of 25 is a hindrance in my opinion.
What’s for sure is we need to start winning games soon. The next four fixtures on paper are winnable. If we don’t pick up at least 8 points I think Fosun will be tempted to change manager during the next transfer window. Unless it’s a proven manager who has achieved promotion before, it’s probably pointless.
For what it’s worth I’d drop Iorfa, Edwards and Oniengue for Sat:
Ikeme
Silvio Batth Hause Doc
Coady Saiss
Dicko Tex Costa
Dadi
UTW
John, briliant team selection, I would stick with that with Cavalerio on for Texeira when he tires.
There just didn’t seem to be much exceptional quality in the final third, but generally throughout. I thought we reeked of a mid-table side, which is probably a fair summation of what we are at the moment. There were too many heart-in-mouth moments in defence. I’m not saying players like Golbourne would have the quality to get us up and keep us there, but I had more confidence in him than someone like Iorfa who all too often seems to get tangled up in his own legs (admittedly on a different flank) in between the all-too fleeting rangy runs.
Things certainly livened up once Bodvarsson came on and he put himself about as you’d expect, but even then he didn’t look like someone you’d put money on to bang in a guaranteed 15+ goals a season. He certainly looks like he needs a proven goalscorer alongside him. Hopefully Nouha is that man, as I’m guessing that Gladon isn’t. I wonder what he was up to last night? I have an image of him wandering around Asda doing his ‘big shop’, completely unaware that there was even a game on because nobody had told him.
Well said Ben.
I’m usually a glass half full kind of guy but think WZ needs to get six points out of the next nine if he’s to stay in charge.
He’s certainly an amiable guy but tactically he seems more than a little naive and has already reverted into the worrying trend of bemoaning bad luck every time we fail to win a game, as under pressure managers so often do.
As I said to you guys last night, my main concern about the new regime is that they’ve left themselves open to being overly influenced by Jorge Mendes. To my knowledge, the guy has been almost solely responsible for our summer dealings and, given the underwhelming nature of the return thus far, the prospect of that being the status quo moving forward is worrying. We desperately need a bit of footballing nous in the boardroom if we’re going to make the most of Fosun’s riches.
If things haven’t improved by the international break I’d like to see the axe wielded and a proven Championship manager brought in. That may mean breaking the bank for an in-work manager but surely that shouldn’t be an issue given our financial clout nowadays? I’m not usually one to petition for managers to be sacked so hastily but I really do question whether WZ is the man to take us forward.
When does early days turn into the next step, or phase, or whatever its called?
25% of the season gone, and we are still “in transition.”
Zenga, a world famous goalie, i.e. a defender, apparently unable to see the glaring inefficiencies of the defense.
Fosun, with all their global billions, should be able to get FIFA to change the rules so that we kick off 15 minutes late, thus avoiding conceding a goal in the first quarter hour.
Best team in the Midlands?
We’re not even the best team in WV1!
We go on about being a big club with a glorious tradition and wonderful past, and in the same breath take the piss out of other “big” clubs like Newcastle, who haven’t won a trophy since Brompton Wolf was a lamb.
Newcastle, for all their faults, still regularly pack in nearly 50,000 every home game.
Admittedly our ground hasn’t got their capacity, but we still cant fill what we have got.
With the shit we are serving up on the pitch, we never will, either.
The results HAVE to improve, or those pulling Jeff’s strings are going to get pissed off or fed up with their new toy, and pull the financial plug.
Jeff is not a dummy, and will know this, so I feel things are going to change sooner rather than later.
Problem is, Jeff is being advised by people only in it for themselves, not for the best, long term interests of the club, the supporters and the city.
Until that basic fact is addressed, we are spinning our wheels.
And also, until drastic changes occur, we are very definitely in a relegation fight.
Hope all the new “stars” have the bottle for it.
Having said that, weem Wolves, at we, and this is our lot in life!!
FOwb, and AV and BC
Or even:
Weem Wolves ay we!!
Clive spoken from the heart and with a lot of facts we may all not like to hear but as the saying goes “lets keep it real”
As far as I’m concerned and this is just my opinion feel free to slag me off if you think different, but in the days since we were a very big club the world of football as we know it has changed beyond all recognition and we have just not kept up with the changes as they have happened. Therefore we have a lot of work to do so we can get back on a level playing field. If Big Jeff and the consortium are true to their words the financial side is sorted so now is the time to start on the playing side of things.
Walter and quite possibly some of the players what is required to get promoted from the Championship, either automatically or via the playoffs where the team finishing 3rd with a 20 point gap to fourth can be dumped out by the team who finished 6th some 30 points adrift.
We have just missed out on possibly the most experienced manager at doing this in Brucie, so the question is who will replace Walter?
A proven track record is a must because I will say this now, The Premiership might as well be played on Mars that’s how far away we are.
– We did beat Brighton in creating chances, in possesion, in corners. It means we played well but didn’t score. Zenga is under pressure, which means the board probably asseses the result and play. At the same time they are probably searching for options if Zenga don’t manages to convert play and chances into results. Di Matteo must be one of the hottest candidates. At least we are playing some good and entertaining football. Congratulations to Villa for their first victory in a long, long time :=) Bruce actually made it in his second attempt.
Good points Clive. Got to agree.
I can see big Jeff swinging the axe at xmas if we continue our consistent inconsistency. Also with this Chinese TV deal being signed, we’re hardly a big attraction to watch at the mo, which is a bit embarrassing for Fosun after spending the cash in the summer.
I’m still most disappointed about our lack of attack despite all the flair players we’ve bought in.
Even in the Villa game where everyone was raving about our performance, the last 5 mins+ 5 mins of injury time we hardly put them to the sword when they were there for the taking.
Stick with Z we will come good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LAiy_2LZAo
Just watched WZ’s post match interview, and the “highlights” from the match.
Gotta disagree, Walter, it wasn’t a “perfect cross”, the bloke ran towards it, and DB stood there doing his best impression of a Stephen Ward statue, totally unmoving.
Should have run towards the attacker, and put him under pressure.
He was running away from goal, and any pressure from DB would have put him off.
Bad, bad defending.
hes,s a bad defender,period.
Stu Wolf says:
October 19, 2016 at 10:54 AM (Quote)
I posted this in answer to Paul from fearher stone on the previous thread, but it is how things are at this time.
Paul.
I do 100% agree with what you say mate, but like it or not (and I don’t like it) we are in transition, if we keep trying to find ourselves then Zenga will be gone sooner rather than later. But again that is transitional. I have been going on about our defence for years and years and they do not have a bloody clue, we had a fantastic run of clean sheets two seasons ago, where we broke record after record. That was in Div 1 FFS, that’s what is expected of a team that goes down to a lesser league. Again, there we were in transition, with KJ finding his feet, the next two seasons he was finding his best team, Christ almighty we feckin pick em don’t we.
I don’t want to accept this rubbish football that is served up, but I have no option, it is what it is. I stand on the terraces week in week out listening to oppposition fans taking the mickey out of us, but they are right, we are rubbish.
All I can do is keep some kind of faith. Why I ask myself?
We simply cannot play 90 minutes like other teams.
Last night stats:-
Goal Attempts.
10 to their 8
On target
4 to their 3
Corners
10 to their 9
% of play
52% to their 48%
Yet we cannot find that net, we cannot defend basic goal attempts, we cannot play from the off, when it goes pear shaped we drop straight back into hoofing the ball into the feckin stratosphere.
What is the problem? these players are certainly good enough, without a doubt they are good enough, but the set up, organisation the training is all Fecked up. People on this blog could pick better set ups, could organise a defence better and could find someone out there, out of contract who can score goals in this league and someone who can captain and motivate our team.
Frustrating as it is, that’s where we are until Fosun recognise what we see and you can bet your house in this, the game against Leeds will be another good one, why? Because it is being beamed live to China and whether we like it or not that will motivate because there’s money in it.
I like Walter as a bloke, but I also liked KJ as a bloke but I was not sorry to see him take his bland, boring, negative football away. Walter was not the first choice but again the footballing Gods played a part and here he is, now we are stuck in feckin transition again.
Sorry mate, it’s shit but it’s the shit we are put through by the money men.
God give us 90 minutes of effort before I expire…..
The Chinese are patient.
It’s not all doom and gloom.
If we are mid table by Xmas, we will buy what we need January.
If we are hovering just above relegation maybe WZ’s tenure will be under pressure.
Nevertheless Ben, the team we have now potentially, is far better than 12 months ago.
To equate Caveliero with James Henry after a couple of matches is unfair.
You are right about inconsistency but everything takes time and doubt doesn’t help….
… at least we are not conceding many goals. One goal away against Villa, one goal away from home against Brighton. We’re not scoring enough goals, that’s the real problem. I think Costa is playing better and better, but he don’t strike me as a natural finisher – yet. The same can be said of Cavaleiro. Young players. Perhaps all they need are confidence. Dicko is probably a bit rusty and needs a period to adjust his aim. With such a young team WZ deserve to get time to get it right.
Not many of us expected us to win there last night as it was always going to be a tough trip after Saturday’s game , removing Walter now would be a mistake in my opinion just as sacking kj after a dozen games last year would have been a mistake ,
Solbaken won the league and cup double last year ! Just sayin
Spot-on assessment, Ben, very clearly put. One more point than last year at the same stage….and what is the comparison with the Solbaken season?
As I’ve suggested here before, you don’t build a team by scooping cheap offers from the handiest shelves but look for the top of the range where you have already identified there are deficits. In other words, it should be an organic process fitting together the new with the old to make a tasty Wolf soup!
I can’t help thinking that poor old Jef has been incredibly naive linking up with dodgy Mendes and appointing the Jack-in-a-box.
We’ve gone from eating plain snouk to sitting down in front of bad octobus. A Wolf’s stomach has to be strong!
I don’t understand what you just said, but I think I agree with it!!!
I’m glad you said that, to quote Freddie Mercury, I thought I was going ‘slightly mad’.
The comparison with solbaken would be that he was given little time to get a group of players he wasn’t familiar with to play to a certain way , maybe he needs more time to coach these players or a few new players to a specific style and system ?
I don’t care what the stats say, last nights game was f-ing boring. No one was prepared to shoot and the ball went back and sideways constantly. The only player with any forward runs was knockaert and he got motm for Brighton. Our only clear chance Dadi blazed over from 9 yards out.
We never really threatened besides that. Iorfa looked knackered to me and Dicko was constantly stretching his calves. Boring boring boring…
The players ought to know they have to play on each others strength. They should try to exploit Dicko’s extreme pace as often as possible. The direct play they showed against Villa were fantastic.
Interesting report Ben, you and Thomas are fast becoming a good cop / bad cop partnership on the Fosun and Zenga era.
Regarding the points total I would be more interested in seeing how this seasons points compare against the exact same fixtures from last year (swapping the relegated and promoted teams) to see if we are actually doing better or worse than last year. I know its an irrelevant point now but I think Jackett did a better job than some give him credit for. Time will tell if Zenga will be more or less successful than his predecessor.
As for the game Brighton have been a better team than us for four or five years now to be honest. We were deservedly beat by a better team last night so to hear Zenga’s post match comments about being unlucky and no difference between the two sides was a bit befuddling. I could almost close my eyes and hear Dean Saunders talking in an Italian accent…..
Tim Spiers did a good article in the E&S – five talking points from the game – which I think sum things up quite well.
Some “easier” games coming up now and a chance to push up the table.
Not sure I agree that Brighton have been a better team than us for 4 or 5 seasons…we took 4 points off them last season and finished over 10 places above them the season before that! Agree that they won deservedly last night though
Since we got relegated from the Premiership in 2012 they have finished in the play offs three seasons out of four while we have finished 23rd, been in League One, 7th (above them) and last year 14th.
In my books that’s being a better side than us! And I’ve nothing to back this up but I reckon they’ve probably managed to out perform us spending considerably less money than we have spent in the same period.
As I have been saying, Wolves have played an inordinate amount of games against in form teams and those who are now in a playoff position.
How much of this is responsible for our middling results?
I was bored and took the time to assemble this information to try to illustrate my first point.
Brighton 1-0 4th before game, now 3rd
Aston Villa 1-1 19th before game, now 17th
Norwich 1-0 2nd before game, now 2nd
Wigan 2-1 22nd before game, now 22nd
Brentford 1-3 6th before game, now 8th
Newcastle 0-2 2nd before game, now 1st
Barnsley 4-0 3rd before game, now 14th
Burton 1-1 6th before game, now 18th
Hudderfield 1-0 1st before game, now 4th
Birmingham 1-3 9th before game, now 5th
Ipswich 0-0 13th before game, now 12th
Reading 0-2 7th before game, now 10th
Rotherham 2-2 tied for first before game, now last
If the schedule was evenly distributed, we should have only played 1/4 of our games against playoff teams. It looks like we have played closer to 7 or 8 of 13 games against top 6 teams, depending on how you define that.
This has got to affect the points we have garnered.
That being said, Bodvarsson has to start finding the net. We would be in a playoff position right now if he could score a reasonable amount.
If the FA (or them bastards in London) had let us sign Talisca, we would clearly be in an automatic promotion position.
Be interesting to know how the schedulers could know who the playoff teams would be after 25% of the season, when concocting the schedule.
Statistics are bollocks.
Bottom line, we are currently shit.
And, IF my auntie had balls she would be my uncle.
Did I say it was intentional?
I agree with the “Need to score” bit. Steve Showcase says we would not have lost had we defended better as the goal was soft. I agree with him, that is fact. BUT, had we scored we also would not have lost, that is a fact too.
Losing 1-0 away to a top 6 side is not a problem for me. I just hope we start putting the ball away.
Yes disappointed by last night’s effort given the excellent 2nd half at Villa.
Thought we were physically weaker than Brighton, & they pressed us very hard not giving our guys space , & thus far we have not worked out how to counter that.
Good efforts made in the last 10 minutes or so when Batth nearly covered himself in glory with a great volley which their keeper brilliantly saved.
So Jekyl & Hyde team at the moment & it’s frustrating for fans.
Maybe we should play 4-4-2 I don’t know but you would hope Zenga would.
For me stability & allowing time for a Manager to build a team is key to success. So I’d like to see Zenga given at least a year.
But who knows what’s in store. 4 points off the play offs & 5 off the drop zone. That suggests we are underachieving.
Hoping for a turnaround on Saturday against Leeds.
Wolves are England in disguise
We have the players to perform but we seem to freeze in most games,
I can’t see things changing in the near future
We must start to pick up some points
Everyone goes on about dadi but he doesn’t score enough goals
Where,the fuck is o john has he got lost is he a black version of where’s wally!
I’ve had my rant cmon boys sort your,self out!
The troops are getting restless inc our editorial crew..as so we all should ..
This season promised so much..
So, I was going in the wrong direction trying to get home last night thinking about the club and I came up with a conclusion to our current position..
We are stuck with a Portuguese influence through Mendes he’s the sort of guy who’s without doubt locked in contractually… Fosun took the bait as quite naturally they weren’t football savvy and needed advice..
After going for Lopetiguei it looked good that with the experience and the obvious ability available to recognise the current failings of the team.
Along comes our Walter instead but also the probability of a new Brazilian no 5 Who we much needed..- could be worse ..
But we are now faced still with the Portuguese influence, and a clutch of Benfica players with I’m assuming a continuous Mendes input without a decent no5 and a realization that the championship is very physical for the new guys…eg they get kicked and don’t play…
Therefor if we are to rely on their obvious skills we are at risk at them being taken out of the game by opposition managers tactics..
Throw in the very serious DB and defence problem, Zenga frantically swapping three players per second half with our inability to play well (and concede) in the first half and there you have it ..
..the prospect of playing a game home or away that can go either way with the result on a knife edge.
We are absolutely at risk every game.
Fosun must be worried ..I am totally convinced that things should happen in January but we are almost at chuck away stage re hopes of promotion and we are only in October.
It’s obvious to me we need to spend big and call in the £20-£30M of expenditure..we need a no 5, we def need to replace Iorfa,we need a (non Portuguese) midfield marquee midfield Captain.We need a marquee signed striker and unfortunately we could even need a new manager..and IMO you know who…
Throw in Sako ..pleeeeeesssseeee… play wingers with Graham eventually on the right side and we have a promotion team..
Zenga is brilliant, he’s passionate and goes down in history for us..he’s so likeable but we f****g can’t have shit first halfs and have a manager who excepts that our defence is ok..
We just have to face facts.
We were outplayed almost everywhere last night and for Bromptons sake bless him we conceded in the first 20mins YET AGAIN..
If there is proof of disappointment with the fans see how many turn up against Leeds..
Who’s listening!!!!!!????
And, you manage which football club?
I am not listening. It was the first 15 mins was it not – AGAIN.
You said earlier that we lost because we conceded – true. But I say we lost because we failed to score.
We had something like 75 minutes to concede another, but we didn’t. But in those 75 ish minutes we failed to score.
My priority is, once again, a Quality Striker in January followed by a No 5.
I will be there on Saturday where we will start scoring the goals. I will even be predicting a win this time.
I was hoping you were going to let us know how many times we had conceded in the first 15 minutes. I was never going to look it up myself.
We are still letting in the same silly, sloppy goals that we were last season under Kenny Jackett.
Certain bloggers put it down to ‘bad coaching’.
This, of course, is nonsense as I said at the time.
If a defender needs coaching to keep tight to his man or attempt to block a shot or header, then he just shouldn’t be on the pitch.
Is big Walt a ‘bad coach’?
Well, he hasn’t uprooted any trees yet with his tactical nous, he can’t seem to motivate the team for ninety five minutes and we are still struggling in the lower half of the table, so I would say that he is certainly not a ‘great coach’ and possibly not even a very good one.
But one thing is as plain as the nose on my face (pretty plain then).
We are nowhere near consistently good enough to even think about promotion at the moment.
Although it’s all ‘Walter’ under the bridge now I also think that KJ would have done just as good a job given the new regime and the influx of money.
I believe his brief was “You’re getting no money, don’t get us relegated”.
Not the best way of getting entertaining, attacking football out of a team.
The mantra now is “Here’s your money, get us promoted”.
No sign of it yet.
Historically it is the case that virtually all promotions from this division are won by teams able to boast an organized solid defense week on week. Clean sheets and the grinding out of results when playing poorly are essential features. We are pitiful in this key area. Almost every game we come out and don`t play. We then give away the early goal, so that playing catch up is the order of the day., and since we have little strike power, success is unlikely. What is very clear is that until we get a solid experienced central defender, able to organize and motivate our defensive unit, we will not improve. What we have is simply not good enough.
Our position is not helped by a coach who seems tactically naive, and then, following inevitable poor results endlessly makes excuses for failure, instead of facing up to the facts. Contrary to what he claims, we did not deserve to get a result against either Norwich or Brighton. They were both significantly better teams than us. Playing well in the odd game, such as Newcastle and Villa, is irrelevant if we cannot demonstrate any consistency. One point from the last 4 games is relegation form. Surely the coach urgently needs to acknowledge the seriousness of this situation, rather than to run away from it. It seem to me that if he is unable to reverse our fortunes quickly, he will find that our Chinese owners, in order to protect their investment, will have no alternative but to act to find someone who can.
Just watched the so called highlights, mainly of the homeside unfortunately, our defence just couldn`t win a header when competing for the ball, out muscled and outpaced.
Golden rule in football – sort the defence out first, don`t concede. Then at least you are in the game. Its no good playing well just to get a draw or a close defeat. Winning matches is the only thing that matters. Mid table mediocrity is not what anybody expected or wants, but that’s where we are going….wish it wasn`t so.
………Winning matches is the only thing that matters……..
YEP. And you can’t do that if you don’t score. If you concede you don’t necessarily lose a game. If you do not score you definitely don’t win one.
Zenga should never have been appointed based on his dreadful track record. And now we’re seeing first-hand how inept he really is, after masterminding two wins in 10. The biggest disappointment for me is that we didn’t go for Steve Bruce when we had the chance.
Why does he have a dreadful track record? He has won some league titles, hasn’t he?
For me, the reason I am more optimistic than last season is because of the promise we have shown, such as Saturday. That was a fantastic performance and should not be forgotten. Of course, the bottomless pit of cash also points to rosier times ahead. It won’t happen overnight and as I have thought all along, unlikely to happen this season.
Very fair points made about the first half no shows and the likes of John and Gladon. But I don’t think anyone is under any illusions about whether Zenga has a say in what players we buy. He doesn’t.
We are already looking at 5 wins in every batch of 8 games for the rest of the season just to make the play offs. We get tantalising glimpses like Villa 2nd half, Blues, Newcastle etc and I think right we are surely going to click and push on. Then comes another huge let down. I am patient and will see where we are at half way ( as per Jeff Fosun). It will be interesting to see what happens if we are still wallowing in the lower half of the table. Can’t see many of our friends in Shanghai and Beijing forking out cash to watch a side drawing 0-0 at home to Wigan on Chinese TV. There are many factors to consider.
as someone on here asked the question
Solbakken had 21 points and wolves were eighth after 13 games.
He had 31 from 26 and wolves were 18th when he was sacked. He had however got 9 from the previous 7. Continuing that form would have kept wolves up.
Without Solbakken the team achieved 20 points in 20 games and went down.
And for those who don’t know – he is back at Copenhagen playing in the Champions league and was unlucky to lose to Leicester last night…… but he wasn’t good enough for Wolves.
But he still lost to Leicester…
Hi, by the way. How are Manure doing?
Just as i thought we had clicked we go backwards, snakes and ladders or what !
Walter.. please stop sending the players out to stand still for half an hour while you try and work out how the opposition are going to play against you.
Take the game by the throat from the start and make them worry about us.
Chuck the kitchen sink at filthy leeds from the off and worry about the second half when you get there.
Hopefully we will be 3 up by then .
If we are 3 down don’t blame me.
I thought we put in a decent performance in the first half v Brighton. WZ made too many changes at half time. The Iceman for Prince was enough. Losing both Coady and Prince meant the forwards got no service from centre midfield and the Iceman dropped into midfield to get the ball. Coady was our best player first half.
Absolutely.. tear them a new arsole for the fist 15 mins..
It’s hard to blame a manager when he has had no say in which players have been bought. This strange purchasing policy would also count against us when trying to entice an already successful manager to our hotseat. It’s takes a vivid imagination to see a Bruce/Pearson type taking the reins under those terms.
I feel the time is fast approaching when Fosun tell Mr Mendes to butt out and they begin to run their enterprise in the tried and tested fashion. They as owners choose a manager with the required track record. He picks the players he wants and Fosun foot the bill. Simple. Whatever happens on the pitch thereafter is down to one man, be it good,bad or indifferent.
Who knows where we will go from here. Our situation remains fascinating although currently, undeniably, disappointing.
Problem is, Wolffondler, the Chinese haven’t read the script, and seemingly being ill advised, don’t actually know how to run a club properly.
Hopefully Jeff reads this and other ( sensible ) blogs, and begins to understand that wool has well and truly been pulled over his eyes.
Ben, do you only do a report when we lose, so you can justify your rant? It feels like you are as frustrated now as you were with Morgan and Moxey. You do know better times are around the corner with or without our Italian friend? Chin up mate, it IS going to get better.
It is so frustrating being a Wolves fan at the moment. There are glimpses of a foundation to build on, but we can’t quite seem to hit some consistency and that has to start with the management. I don’t think we’re actually that far away and have some quality, it’s just a case of getting it to gel. Not sure Walter will get the time to make that happen though.
Why is Ola John not been given a chance? I’d at least like to see him come off the bench.
Brompton you’ll notice I’m not the only one here who ridicules our defence see MJG above ..if we have one of the worst defensive giveaways in the league (say top 10 clubs) why don’t you see it’s a true major problem..?
It’s Ostrich mentality and we can’t afford that..
It is PRIORITIES. My priority is a striker so that we can WIN games. After that my priority is a defender to stop us conceding.
YOU say we lose because we concede I say we lose because we don’t score. Just a matter of opinion my friend.
Four teams above us have a worse GD than us, as do ALL the teams below us. I aint panicking yet.
You come across as being somewhat annoyed that I am not in your “let us stop conceding” camp. I suggest you just chill Steve – this aint personal.
As for suggesting I have my head in the sand – pmsl.
Anyone that feels aggrieved should put themselves in the Man City fans shoes tonight. Poor buggers were 1-0 down but looked to be cruising and certain to get a goal back. A misplaced short shot comes near the area, goalie comes out and tries to pass to a City player. F’s it up completely Suarez squares up a chip shot and the goaile saves it 2 metres outside the area.
He’s duly sent off and it all goes pear shaped from there. Barcelona were playing really poorly till then and suddenly get their act together Messi gets his 45th hat trick and Neymar rounds it off.
The life of a football fan.
Lorf I nearly bought a round.
Just watching it now. Fourth goal just gone in lol.
See you for a beer on Saturday Stu?
I agree with you Ben. It’s about time the playters and management got their finger out and earned some of the money their getting. There are countless less fortunate footballers out there who would give their eye teeth to play for Wolves and showw off their talents on a big stage
Ken
I’m winding you up Brompton..I agree we need more goals too ..in fact we can’t score at the moment .. COYW
Yeah mate, me too. We obviously aint getting anywhere. I will buy you a beer when we are both at the Mol at the same time.
Definitely need to sort out the problems we all see, both scoring and conceding. Hopefully we bag a few on Saturday and win as I am bringing two Leeds fans down with me and will hate having to leave them in Wolverhampton if we don’t lol.
Totally changing the subject,
I would like to wish a very happy 166th birthday to the best mate in the whole wide world,
Big Mark G Davies.
We have known each other for 50 years, and I could never have wished for a better mate,…… only coz it would do no good!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOU REALLY OLD FART !!
This can only mean one thing MARCUS BRUTUS OCTAVIUS SIXTY SIXUS……
Mines a Cup of Tea on Saturday…..
Mines a Shipyard mate. Happy birthday mate.
Here’s a simple way of looking at it: about two months ago we beat B’ham away 3-1, and we all thought we were on the up (with all the investment), and they were going nowhere (for lack of it). Since then, they’re sitting pretty and happy in 5th place, and we’re trying to figure out how to change the tires in 16th. It’s not really gone as expected, has it.
I agree with most of you that the “we need time to gel as a team” explanation is beginning to wear thin now. For the alleged caliber of these players, they should be doing better by now. And if gelling was the issue, then they wouldn’t play like they did vs Newcastle one day (where clearly gelling was not an issue), and like I hear they played vs. Brighton on another. It would be consistent, improving each time. Wolves’ performance is too erratic, which to me indicates other (or additional) issues, such as fitness, tactics, fatigue, skill, …
I don’t know whether Zenga is the right guy. I kind of like him … wears his heart on his sleeve, shows passion and urgency, and is ambitious. But his is the guy at the helm right now, so the way I see it, it’s down to him to prove himself. I’d love to see him use some of his Italian connections and unearth a couple of Italian defender gems (the next Cannavaro or Maldini will do nicely thank you!) and build around them. Seriously, Italy is famous for some of the best defenders in the world over time (although my all time favorite defender has always been Argentina’s Daniel Passarella, but that’s another story :-)) and if Fosun are prepared to invest, which they have shown they are, then I’d like to see him shore up our defence with some of his chosen players. And if he can find the next Roberto Baggio while he’s at it to help with the goal scoring problem, that will work too 🙂
Come on Walter, time to step up and lead. The passion is great and the tenacity admirable. But you have an owner who’s backing the team for success, and it’s time to tell him what needs to happen to get that. Use your connections and build *your* team.
Go Walter!
Go Wolves!
Echoing Clive here
Happy birthday Big Mark Davies.
Me and the PMDG’er will raise a metaphorical glass of Lemoncello to you.
Here’s to you BMD ..and to sort out our defensive problem lol
The wise life begins at 65..so you are +1 ask Stu..
Big Mark,
A very happy Birthday to a true Gold & Black Wolves fan. A great friend of Clive’s?
God , youv’e suffered as a Wolves fan all your life and having Olive from Texas as yer mate. Lucky fella?
I play a game it does not matter what the game is as and individual or as a team member. I have a weakness in my game, so I say to myself practice that weakness until it becomes a strength. I could quote hundreds of these but the old Gary Player one always comes to mind. “The more I practice the luckier I get”
Do you really think all those David Beckham goals direct from corners were luck?
And while were on the subject of letting the cat out of the bag, Clive.
On the 25th of October 2016 a certain Albion hating, Semi English Texan Clive Hill aka Olive, is 65 years Young, another one of our illustrious group of blogites gets to Pensionable age, (I bet he claims his Pension and his Winter fuel allowance even though he claims the temperature is 95* at 6am every morning)
So all you wonderful bloggers that have been on the recieving end of his American sense of humour ???? (Is there such a thing) lets bombard him on Tuesday with a few select chouce expletives to wish him a very Happy Albion day.
Morning Clive, I shall phone you at 2am as you did me to wish you a Happy Albion day. ……
Your Ex mate Stu
I know that’s a lie, ya bastid, you would never spend money for a long distance phone call.
Collect call to Marla, like I normally do……..
KJ favourite to get the Rotherham job, bad planning that, we don’t play them till March. He will have to wait Months for an easy 3 points.
That’s a banker then..
Just eaten a slice of the biggest chocolate cake I`ve ever seen, thank goodness it only had 3 candles on and not the full 66.
Some say getting older brings greater maturity, what do they know. I still get pissed when we lose, and still get a feeling of immense pride everytime I get to the golden palace. The eternal optimism of all wolves fans is incredible, me included, so I salute you fellow bloggers whose enthusiasm for all things black and gold is so transparent on this wonderful blog of Thomas & Ben.
I`m sure no-one listening will be surprised that my dear friend Clive had written in capitals
F*** Off W**t B*** across the full inside of my birthday card, with a lovely polite message form Mrs Hill bottom inside right. I wouldn`t have it any other way off course, I`d just like to arrange, if possible a phone call every 30 minutes after Stuwolf at 2pm on the 25th, put me down for the 2.30am call. Everyone to reverse the charges.
I`m humbled by those kind birthday greetings. Thankyou.
The reason there weren’t 66 candles on the choccy cake is that Derbyshire fire brigade wouldn’t issue a safety certificate.
Best wishes for your birthday Mark…..
Not a problem mate. I hope you had a great day. I feel like a kid now as I aint 60 until next year.
If zenga is responsible for signings and that is a big if then he can be judged as a failure. Jackett could be faulted for many things but his penchant for good value signings when given money to spend was second to none; dicko, afobe, k mac, even coady all look good value. The problem was Morgan wouldn’t give him the funds to buy quality when we needed it. Had jackett been given the funds that have been spent in the last window we would have a solid top championship side by now, my guess his sacking was based more on his unwillingness to put up with someone above his head buying players without his say so.
The common denominator in all this is WHO is responsible for recruitment is it Walt or is it Mendez or the director of football I suspect Walt is consulted but only out of curtisey and that he doesn’t have the final say.
If this is the case then he cannot be made accountable if they don’t work out. I’m not convinced Walt is the man but just as Jackett was if he isn’t been given the tools to do the job then don’t expect success……Jeff.
It’s plain to all….and I hope Jeff is included in this the manage/coach needs to recruit the players because he’s the one that is responsible for the team, not Mendez not the football director the manager is the one who lives or dies by results.
Saying that Walt does seem out of his depth tacticly. He seems to be going the way Jackett did putting up a argument that just doesn’t hold water and if Walt new all this when he took the job then…..as the saying goes and is a line from a famous The Jam song Going Under Ground. ” you made your bed you’d better ly in it “
There’s a question for the next fans Parlament who has the final say on players…?
” and I’m so happy and I’m sad, I’m going under ground……..where the brass bands play!……….I’m going under………ground………lal……la…lal…….la “
Paul,
The real song which mentions brass bands goes something like this:
“Oh I do like to be besides the seaside,
Oh I do like to be beside the sea,
Oh I do like to stroll along the prom, prom, prom,
Where the brass band plays,
FUCK OFF WEST BROM”
And, I see that there is a doubt over Vincent Kompany’s future at Citeh, and Aguero not happy.
I think those two, together with Bastian Schweinsteiger at the Mol could do a job for us, and show a bit of intent on behalf of our owners.
If wages aint an issue………………………..