West Ham

Tony Harrington, hang your head in shame. 

What a howler. 

I’m not against VAR, but the Premier League’s iteration of it is atrocious. 

Technology should be used to correct clear and obvious errors, not laughably marginal offside calls. 

I do wonder whether these sort of incidents happening each and every week will eventually lead to people falling out of love with the game. 

That aside, the players should shoulder their fair share of the blame for this defeat.

What was that second half showing all about?

We were great in the first 45. Fluid off the ball and clever in possession. West Ham must have been grateful that we didn’t have a centre forward on the field. 

Undoubtedly, our lack of senior bodies on the bench played its part in the outcome. Whereas the Hammers could call upon Antonio, Cresswell, and Johnson (and afford to leave Aguerd, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna, and Phillips on the bench), the only genuine gamechanger we could turn to was a half-fit Cunha.

O’Neil has made his thoughts on that situation clear, but he’ll be left to rue an uncanny absence of game management from his charges, who ceded the initiative to the opposition and paid the price.

The winner pretty much summed it up. Ingenious from Ward-Prowse, careless from us. 

It’s a result that leaves our European hopes looking even fainter, but the real worry will be that this promising season could end with a whimper.

Let’s hope that’s not the case, because this group have proven they can do so much better.  

On the whole, I’ve been impressed with our home form this season.

We’ve generally turned up in matches or at least hung in there and pushed teams right to the end when the performances haven’t been up to scratch.

That’s a sign of a good team.

Five of our eight remaining fixtures are at Molineux and I suspect they represent our best chance of picking up points.

This will be a tough one but we’re capable of getting a result.

West Ham

I’ll be keeping one eye on what happens at West Ham in the summer, partially fretting about the domino effect.

David Moyes reckons he’s been offered a contract extension and it’s up to him whether or not he signs it.

Should be leave, you do have to wonder if Gary O’Neil might be high up on their potential list of successors. Given his burgeoning reputation as one of the league’s top young coaches and his association with the club, I’d be concerned if they started sniffing around.

Nestled in seventh with a Europa League quarter final on the horizon, their season could still end in glory or turn sour depending on how the next month or so unfolds.

They’ve got a lot of talent in that team so I think it’s fair to expect they should be pushing the top six, which they are just about doing, coming into this one three points behind Man Utd.

I couldn’t believe how they folded at Newcastle last weekend to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but a more solid display against Spurs on Tuesday was a reminder they’re not to be taken lightly.

Wolves

How many minutes can we get out of Cunha?

That’s got to be the thought ping ponging around Gary’s head. With his name on the team sheet, we look a credible top half outfit. Without him, you just see a gaping chasm.

I suspect it will be Fraser or Chiwome again, at least for the first half, and in fairness, we did enjoy some good spells at Villa and Burnley with the latter leading the line, so I shouldn’t be too critical.

Gary will give his injury update later I’m sure so hopefully we get some good news about Dawson, Bellegarde and Hwang. Getting those three back would be very handy indeed, although I suspect tomorrow is still too soon for all of them.

Predictions

Well done to silverwolf, Cheeseburger of Death, Aquilador, West Parksian, Aussiewolf and Winchcomb Wolf who all correctly predicted the 1-1 at Turf Moor.

I’m going to join them again, sitting on the fence with a 1-1 prediction. I feel equal doses of confidence and pessimism both about our prospects and what West Ham might produce. If they play to their maximum against our depleted team I struggle to see us keeping pace, but there’s still enough in this Wolves team to have hope and if we can stay in the game and get something out of Cunha, it could yet be our day.

As always, if you’d like to join in with the Prediction League this season, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.

Up The Wolves!

That was the worst performance of the Gary O’Neil era.

It was also Groundhog Day having been taken apart on the counter in this fixture last season.

West Ham knew what they were trying to execute and Kudus and Bowen made the right runs and finished superbly. Great, from their perspective.

I applaud Gary for being bold, going to a back four and trying to inject some impetus into the attack, but it proved disastrous with the space in defence costing us dearly and the meagre output at the other end resulting in only the second blank of the season.

There were no clangers from Dan Bentley but he didn’t bail us out either and the first goal felt avoidable with the ball arriving within reach of the keeper’s body. I think Sa might have saved it.

I assume the goal of getting Sarabia and Bellegarde into the same XI was to try and extract more from Cunha and Hwang across the front line, but again, it didn’t work out.

Cunha can feel good enough about his typically industrious efforts with and without the ball, but Hwang might as well not have been on the pitch. I felt similar with Lemina who I didn’t even realise was playing for the first half an hour.

Speaking of players who might not have been on the pitch, Coufal was lucky having smashed Bellegarde in both halves. We’ve seen players walk for less.

We also had the customary VAR intervention to rule out Sarabia’s goal from our only incisive move of the entire game. It looked like the right decision just about but I don’t know why it took them so long to reach that conclusion.

Had we managed to force that one in legally, the final twenty might have been very different but because we didn’t and then faded away moments later, you have to call it what it was – a pretty pathetic effort all round.

We’re too papery, particularly at the top end of the pitch (he could have given Sasa a run out today though), to consistently make a fist of things away from Molineux and that’s something that I suspect requires attention in January and next summer as opposed to being solved by Gary O’Neil on the training ground.

But for the moment, that’s all we have.

Onto Chelsea.

If you’d said to me on the day Gary O’Neil was appointed we’d be 10 points above the relegation zone after 16 games I’d have been surprised and delighted in equal measure.

That’s why I can’t be too critical about some of the more agricultural aspects of the last two performances, particularly having yielded another four precious points in this cut throat competition.

Yes, I think we could have done more to force the issue, particularly in the second half against Forest, but both sides came with a high level of motivation, determined to close the spaces and make playing through difficult. When that’s the primary game plan of the opposition, it’s not easy.

The next two games should make for better spectacles but will be just as tough for different reasons.

West Ham

Victory and progress in Europe last night will have done the bubble blowers good after the chastening experience at Craven Cottage last weekend.

Fulham have been on the up but that pummeling still raised a few eyebrows. In times gone by that’s the type of flakey away performance you might have expected from them, but they come across as a more solid, reliable outfit these days, so the shock around that lop-sided result is a testament to the good work David Moyes has done.

It always seems like a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ Moyes will be moved on (they were even linked with Gary O’Neil in one potentially spurious story this week) but I can see him carrying on there for years if they remain stable.

Their owners had their hands burned with Pellegrini the last time they looked to make a more progressive appointment, so I think they’d need a hefty old shove to make the change.

When they put it all together, they can beat anyone and despite their last result they’re just three points off the top six so when you factor in their success in Europe, it’s been another tidy first half to the campaign.

I like Bowen, Ward-Prowse was an excellent addition and Paqueta must be quality because City wanted him – so plenty to think about on Sunday. Michail Antonio is the only injury they have and if he is still out that’s a bonus because he can be a handful.

Wolves

Still no Pedro Neto but hopefully he can play some part in the remaining three games of 2023. Rayan Ait-Nouri could return and he’d be a handy option. I’m not sure about that Bueno/Toti axis down the left.

I’m surprised how little game time Bellegarde was given in the last two, but maybe that’s a nudge from the manager that he needs to do a little more. Offensively I think he’s a big weapon but we have seen players run off him in the build-up to goals so there might be something there holding him back.

Sarabia had a hand in the goals we scored against Burnley and Forest so there’s definitely an argument for keeping him in. Elsewhere, I don’t foresee any changes.

Predictions

Well done to AussieWolf, t’OM, Positively Negative, PeteRobbo and Ash K who all got the scoreline correct last time out.

I don’t get any predictions correct these days so you might as well keep it moving, but I’ll go for another 1-1. We’re usually good for at least one but remain charitable at the back at times. A hard-fought point would be a good result. If we had Pedro I’d be feeling more upbeat about our prospects but without him I think teams came step onto us more, particularly away.

As always, if you’d like to join in with the Prediction League this season, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.

Up The Wolves!

With Bournemouth’s game not kicking off until later, we know that a victory will take us out of the bottom three.

Even if it’s only temporary, that would breed confidence in players and supporters about our survival prospects.

On Boxing Day we were four points behind 17th and trailing in the game at Everton, so things have certainly picked up.

I’d argue we played better at Villa and in both cup games without recording a win and the consistency in the performances is encouraging.

But with the Liverpool Man City combo on the horizon, we really do need a maximum here.

West Ham

Is David Moyes on the edge? He’s banked a lot of equity in recent seasons so they probably need to think long and hard about a potential replacement if they are considering pulling the trigger.

From the outside it doesn’t appear that there’s been any significant change to personnel since the days they were pushing for Europe, so it’s strange they’ve suffered so badly of late.

Perhaps in trying to evolve the team with new additions, they’ve simply upset the balance? Or are key individuals just not performing?

Big money was spent on Paqueta and Scamacca but neither have really lifted the team, even if the latter has netted a few important goals.

He scored in their victory over us at the London Stadium, which spelt the end for Bruno Lage. Even though they ended up getting the win with a degree of comfort, I didn’t think they were brilliant.

Wolves

The big positive in recent weeks is that more players have come into contention meaning the squad seems significantly beefier, but now Lopetegui has to work out the best combination for an important match.

The above represents what I’d consider the boldest XI he could deploy based on recent form with the intent to attack from the start. It’s probably too bold.

Hwang and Jimenez set each other up for missed opportunities the other night, but it was a reminder that they link up well together. Cunha has looked useful in all his cameos and I wonder if he could start from the right.

Podence has been our most consistent attacking outlet and Ait-Nouri has similarly impressed enough to warrant a place somewhere in the side.

Toti is erratic but I wonder if the team benefits overall from his more physically imposing stature? Collins and Kilman are tidy but neither are killers. It might be worth persisting with a different combination.

Predictions

Well done to Woodend wolf, Wokingham Welsh Wolf, Ryan, Sutton Coldfield wolf, Sea Pigeon, DebenhamWolf, Portuguese men of Wolves, CHEESEBURGER OF DEATH, Marin Wolf, Sandwich Wolf, Prawny, Rich, DeptfordWolf, Ben Rasmin, DancesWithWolves, BigNachos, wishfart, Scruffysid and Chesterwolf who all correctly predicted the 1-1 draw against Villa.

Rich extends his lead at the top of the overall table to 4 points at the end of Gameweek 18.

As always, if you’d like to join in with the Prediction League this season, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.

You can read my prediction for the game in the comment section below.

Up The Wolves!

Audacious would be one word to describe Bruno’s team selection.

Stupid would be another.

The problem is a lack of goals and I can’t fathom why anybody would think the solution is picking three full backs.

Moreover, why would you move your best long range shooter, who has scored a third of your Premier League goals (1) into a position where he can no longer shoot?

West Ham did nothing to win this game, knowing they could sit deep to nullify our meagre attack and wait for counter attacking opportunities.

When those moments arrived they had players ready to take advantage.

Scamacca was terrible but did his job by punishing us from a position that Traore fluffed (twice) in the second half.

Jarrod Bowen then killed the game with the type of snap finish none of our wide players can produce.

Only when Diego Costa was finally introduced did Wolves carry any sort of legitimate threat.

His cameo was a morsel of comfort in an otherwise miserable evening. He might have headed wide with the goal gaping but the simple joy of seeing him in there to connect with a cross underlines just how far we’ve fallen.

Daniel Podence worked Fabianski in both halves and can feel good about his overall efforts. He remains the only player, other than Neves, to produce any meaningful output and deserves his place in the team.

Kilman and Neves made the best of a bad situation at the back but the midfield didn’t offer sufficient protection.

Moutinho is one I think isn’t offering enough in either direction to warrant a starting role in this new shape.

Guedes might need time to adjust but considering the grief Trincao endured last season, I know which player I prefer from what I’ve seen so far. There must be more to come from the former Valencia man.

With Neves now suspended and Neto hobbling off it really couldn’t have been much worse.

The calls for Bruno’s head are valid and after this kamikaze team selection my sympathies have rapidly dried up, but I’d give him the next two.

Whether or not Fosun are that generous remains to be seen.