Statistics rarely tell the whole story.
63% possession and 20 shots on goal suggest Wolves should have recorded another maximum but having watched the game I’m content to get out of dodge with a share of the spoils.
Millwall were excellent. With so many teams putting men behind ball in their quest to deny our best and brightest Neil Harris’ men played with carefree abandon.
I’m surprised they haven’t managed any away wins yet given how effective they are on the break.
Wolves got a repeated dose of their own medicine with the home side pouncing on stray passes to launch raid after raid downfield.
It’s how they got ahead and nearly doubled their lead before the league leaders calmed things down.
They won’t always get the first goal, so it was pleasing that when Wolves fell behind for the first time in forever, their response was to fight back to a winning position.
In a pleasing turn of events, Helder Costa now looks like Helder Costa and when he breezed away from a tackle to give Jota a tap in there was a feeling that order had been restored.
We need him to be brilliant again, particularly if Cavaleiro is out for any period of time. Both he and Boly limped off in what could be far more damaging than surrendering two points.
Even after Saiss netted a wonderful second from distance it never felt like that was that.
Set pieces were a profitable route to goal for the Lions and even more so once Boly wasn’t back there heading them away.
It was a scruffy old equaliser to surrender but one you couldn’t begrudge.
Both teams could have won it in the remainder but both should feel content with the draw.
That’s now 10 unbeaten for Wolves with 8 victories to go with it.
Even if we fall to defeat at a red hot Ashton Gate our worst case scenario is being 5 points clear at the top as the curtain falls on 2017.
But with this team flexing muscle to go with the magic and fighting in every moment, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be a very happy new year.
Thanks Thomas for your very succinct summary for those of us that couldn’t get to the New Den.
Very pleasing to get back into the game after falling behind if not disappointing to concede 2 points.
Still, onwards and upwards to Ashton Gate.
COMBs!
Thomas,
Very true and accurate report mate,
Millwall played excedingly well and at times made one wonder how they sit where they are in the table. This was a great end to end game, the stats do reflect the way in which we were dominant in possession and shots but Millwall fought tooth and nail to make the 5 &1/2 hour journey back home only just bearable.
The Police told our female coach driver to turn right on to the main road to avoid the naughty Millwall fans and so she did, all the other coaches chose to ignore this and got home in a reasonable time. We circled the South London back streets, ended up rejoining the original road 300 metres from where the police had told us not to turn and headed straight into a closed motorway because of an accident. So off we headed up the A1 to Peterborough, now I’m no genius, but Peterborough FFS. So after leaving the ground at 1515 we walked back in the house at 2105.
But, no complaints on the footy, Millwall gave a great account of themselves and made it a good ol game, I’m happy with that, yes we missed sitters, but so did they, Jed Wallace ran his legs off and caused us problems he couldn’t replicate for us st Wolves.
Anyone reading Southbank resistance today will get a feel for the way I am reading this team at the moment. Nuno is a shrewd manager, these players aren’t losing form or their skill levels aren’t dropping, like the author of SBR, I believe Nuno is telling our guys to do just enough to beat these recent teams. There are teams out there willing to kick chunks out of teams, so controlling the games, taking breathers in a match and conserving energy is not a bad thing. This is not me being arrogant or claiming we are not trying enough, but I do think it has happened in a couple of games. Just my views, I’m not looking for an argument or drawn out debate. But, I am 100% certain, Saturdays game will be a bobby dazzler.
Santa is a Wolves fan……………..Santa is a Wolves fan la……..la…..la……….la
Great summary Stu. Well said mate. The PL (promised land) here we come!
A could point gained I’d have taken 3 against Ipswich 1 against Millwall and. Point at Ashton Gate against a very good Bristol City team.
We stil have a comfortable cushion and with Cardiff finally dropping points 5 points from these 3 games is not a bad return of course if we can beat City even better.
I went there last season and we just didn’t turn up in the lovely spring sunshine I don’t think Nuno will allow that to happen again.
Sounds like a belter of a game.
A draw is a pretty decent result from a Millwall team that played us at our own game.
Football!
Good to see Cardiff drop more points. It seems that Bristol City will be the only side that can stop me from picking up a wad of cash for ending up top of the table.
Unless we suffer an implosion on an epic scale.
Or a load of bad injuries. Fingers crossed for big Willy and Cav.
Here’s to finding the crock of Old Gold at the end of the rainbow.
?????
Listened to the commentary on the radio and really enjoyed what was an excellent game of football. Either side could have won but neither deserved to lose so I’m very happy with that point.
Good to see Costa slowly getting back to his old self and hopefully nothing serious for Cav and Boly.
Thanks for that summary Thomas. Also StuWolf for amplifying it. Before the match I went with my heart to forecast a tight 1-0 to us but my head was telling me a draw. I’ve been impressed enough with Millwall on several occasions this season to not write them off against us. I think Nuno is digging deep for a long winter so that we don’t run out of ammunition. He’s playing the long game nicely.
Satisfying to see Cardiff drop serious points. Bristol City look the true opposition for te title.
While the injuries to Boly and Cav are worrying, Nuno is the man with the plan. Behind him is the man with the money. And behind him is the man with the biggest football agency in the world. The January window is almost open. On top of this we have a squad with depth of quality. It may be that Boly and Cav were hooked to save them for the Bristol. City game, but time will tell.
Thomas, once again a great write up as the press will only give a Wolves Lost bias with little interest in the actual game.
I reckon we can get 7 points from Brizzle, Brent & Barsley & average 2 points plus per game gets us to 99 plus points.
Fingers crossed for Wily & Cav & a shout out for the back room staff that have kept our team fit for the 1st half of this season.
If my daughter was marking us at the end of term it’d be – 10/10 – A * plus, a pleasure to teach & will achieve the necessary result to go to PL Uni with no bursary necessary.
COYW
FOwb
Some parts of the press get it right sometimes Rick. Quote from the Times:
“For a team that has danced its way to the summit of the Championship with fluent flights of football fancy, Wolverhampton Wanderers showed they are prepared to scrap their way to the Premiership with a battling draw at The Den.” Which judging by your and other comments above would seem fair.
Agreed mate, but the tabloid normally can’t even be bothered to spell NES correctly & will say “one of wheels av come off”
To be truthful thou I’m happy that we stay under the radar. Most of our peers now know what we’re capable of & was great to read that Millwall didn’t park the bus & actually played football.
Generally we are overlooked Rick and as you say that’s OK. Still odd given our 2nd XI was able to hold all conquering Man City to a goalless draw and could easily have won. I maybe wrong but my understanding is that the Championship is the second best attended league in Europe but poorly covered by the media in general. But hey f*** em, won’t be a problem for us next season.
My goodness, I actually predicted this score! Though I would forego the fame & glory, :-), for a full 3 points.
From what I heard on the radio It sound like a belter – both teams playing attacking/on the break football.
So pleased to see Costa getting back to his best, another couple of games and he will be on fire.
Concerned over Cav & Willy, though we do have people who can slot into their positions. How good is it to have a such a squad?
Onwards we march
From the commentary, it sounded like a Christmas cracker and the comments on here serve to emphasize that. Millwall have had good results against several of the top teams on their own patch so a draw is quite good. We are, after all, the team everyone now wants to beat.
I heard Nuno say he didn’t think Cav and Willy’s injuries were too serious so hopefully they’ll be OK for Brizzle. We’ll need them, for sure.
8 points clear at Christmas. Only the greediest amongst us could complain at that, and with the window about to open along with Fosuns checkbook, our New Year looks bright indeed.
COYW
Time for some serious thoughts.
We are all one big football family, the rest is just banter. Our thoughts are with the WBA mascot Richard Eades who tragically dropped down dead prior to yesterdays game. Our hearts and sympathy go out to his family at this terrible time. #wolvesdsa
It takes true dedication from genuine fans to dress up in a silly suit to entertain the crowds, so losing one of these guys so tragically is always sad.
RIP Richard Eades.
Well said Stu. Local rivalries should be pout to one side at moments such as these
That’s just terrible.
This Wolves fan and his wife send love and sympathy to a fellow fan and his family at what should be a happy time of year – and now, because of this, will never be again.
Our thoughts and sympathies go to Richard’s closest family.
Love and deepest condolences from Lilian and Mike …..
RIP Richard Eades.
My thoughts are with the family at this time.
Disappointing that we were in a position to get all three points and then allowed a goal but I will defer to the people who were at the game and assume it is a point well earned.
Just don’t let this become a habit 🙂
Copy of a post I put in another article…..
Some of the moaners on several articles really need to take a deep breath and a reality check. One which had Wolves fans ‘fuming’ need to realise that NO team wins every game. We have come such a long way as a club in such a short time that the arrogance of some is breathtaking. The disrespect also shown to teams such as Millwall who incidentally have a great record at the Den this season and the fact that a draw was probably a fair result still seems to be missed by the half empty brigade. Why the negative whining after one result that didn’t go our way. The clue is in the word ‘supporters’ we support the team and don’t club them for an off day at the office, I imagine the knockers are all in high pressure jobs and don’t relax themselves over the festive season until they are sure that the delivery of paper clips arrived on time. Well done to Wolves and all at the club your efforts this season have been hugely appreciated by most and for the first time in a long time there are smiles on most Wolves fans faces. A team of stars that will not only go up but will hold their own at the next level….for the whingers you can catch the Boggies on the way down and go for a ride with them. Proud of the new Wolves and the manager….not bothered one bit about the result yesterday just worried about the big man being out…
I take your point Norsk, but to be honest, I ain’t seen too much ‘negative whining’ in the comments above.
Not on this forum Wolfstroker as for me this is the best Wolves site most on here add good value to the Wolves community but on some of the others it was massive over reaction which can start putting a chink in the armour of a team that have obviously given their all so far this season
Are people really moaning? 8 points clear at the top, 10 unbeaten, playing lovely football and looking unbeatable. There’s nothing to complain about. Like Stu I get the impression Nuno is setting us up to save energy and prevent injuries to get us through this Xmas period and still ticking the points over. Can’t wait for the Bristol game.
Well said, Norsk.
We all want our team to win every game, but that nagging voice of reason is always there, telling us it aint gonna happen.
Would any of you out there want to be a Cardiff fan this past weekend?
Warnockian their way over everyone, and then losing to Notlob and Foolham?
After initial teething troubles, I watched the game yesterday, and to be brutally honest, we were lucky to get a draw.
Yes, we had most of the possession, and squandered a lot of it, miss timed or miss placed passes were rife, and we played on auto pilot when we should have been racing up through the gears.
It was obvious that they were going to be up for beating the team at the top, as the rest of the opposition will be for the remainder of the season, especially Wallace and Saville, who by the way is STILL crap!
Having said that, we are unbeaten in 10 games, and are eight points clear at the top.
Eight fuckin’ points!!
Who’d a thunk that in August?
If that had been suggested back then, it would have been scoffed at, and off to the funny farm with him!
Loving every minute of being a Wolves fan, although not too much notice being taken in Houston, as they have a crap throwball team!
Really looking forward to Saturday, fancy another six goal thriller, but with them only getting one!
See Poolis has ended up at Boro, and is spouting off about promotion!
Talk about taking someone to the funny farm, he is a prime candidate!
And why do all these club owners hire all these failed dinosaurs, like Pardew, Allardice, Moyes and Poolis?
Perennial failures, yet they still get rehired, stay a year or so, fail again, and get mega payouts.
Unfuckinbelievable.
FOwb
I was told in August I was mad for backing the Stripey fekers to be relegated & that PooLess “has never been relegated”
That’s cus he leaves, gets sacked or gets very very lucky.
Just fekin chuffed that PooLess wasn’t on Gestifutes books last year!!!!!!!
As long as Wolfie shows ’em whose boss again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez0gd78zkJk
As soon as Boly goes we loose a goal.. he’s now totally integral and perhaps a player of the year nomination
With Neves ..Courtney Hause instead of DB for me if Miranda is out of favour or drops (another) bollock..
We need another striker .Period. So let’s buy one.
If we get a result at Bristol then we are champions elect.
A defeat is a result…………………..
Happy new year coming up CH..you know what I mean even I would take a draw with Brizzie ..if the ticket allocation was open we would take 8000 there.
Trust your home is sorted now Clive…
Incidentally – good Q
Where will we end up?
Auto promo ?
Are we really good enough to be champions?
Will ‘you know who’ be relegated?
We will definitely get another striker & one with Premiership potential.
Also I think we are going to get this Carvalho on loan from Benfica, who like Neves is 20 and an apparent star in the making.
It was noticeable, as Stu said, how as a team we played within ourselves.
With the necessary January additions Jorge & Nuno have planned, in 10 games time, we could be uncatchable and could use the remainder of the season, as practice for the Premiership…
Possible.
Portugal Wanderers ..not particularly the best image
But I welcome Bonatini support and quite frankly we need at least 2 expensive strikers for the PL..
Ronaldo would be very appropriate…please..
A great game I thought. Was impressed by Millwall and their plan, which we quickly nullified in reality. As Thomas pointed out, they were always dangerous from set pieces.
Unfortunately the spectacle was ruined by the racist chanting from a small section of Millwall fans, and their fellow supporters who either refuse to believe it happened or are saying ‘so what’. Unbelievable.
Hopefully Boly is okay for Saturday if not, I’d bring Hause in. Bristol City have a lot of injury concerns themselves, but are in great form. I’ll be going to this one again and can not wait for what should br a great game.
Never one to disrespect or underestimate the opposition I truly thought we would have too much for Millwall…. but hey we got a point ..away from home and ….
….. 26 points from 30 …. well …should I be disappointed…nah.
I’ve always considered that ..to beat your nearest rival is more important …. and so on to Saturday and what I believe will be a defining moment in this division. …..
Avoid defeat and it’s good …. win and Epic comes to mind.
I’m truly happy with a point … we can’t win them all ..
Let’s get Wily back in to combat the aerial threat of Flint and wellbeing fine.
Happy days for me for the next three weeks as my daughter is back from NZ… family time …. although she insists on going to Brentford at home …
I only ever had 2 brain cells and I believe the Xmas period has reduced that to 1. But I still know a point away from home is good. There is a gap of 17 points to 7th place. There is a gap of 8 points to 3rd place. The team in 3rd place will will probably have to win 3 more games than us out of the final 22 to reach 90 points. Small heath need more points to stay up than we need to go up. FOSUN will sign some more quality in January. Neil Warnock is still a great steaming pile of puke. And his face looks like something peering from behind a door on Most Haunted. Alan Pardew, Steve Cotterill and Steve Bruce are to produce a remix of ‘wishing I was lucky’ by Wet Wet Wet. With Steve Bruce on the B side ‘in the bleak mid winter’. As the beer keeps flowing. Sandwell Vile and Blouse keep losing. Walking in a Nuno wonderland……… And all joking /banter aside RIP Baggie Bird and send my commiserations to the family. 42 is no time to leave us.
42 is no age to go we all support our team and just because he supported WBA shouldn’t mean it’s less of a tragedy.
Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends…..!
Definitely ‘a glass-half full ?’ sort of match. Yes, Millwall are strong at home, well-organised, motivated, hard-working and committed. And we came from behind to lead. So lots of positives. On the other hand, once in front a lot of our passing was unbelievably sloppy and we brought pressure onto ourselves because of it. And we conceded two. So some negatives too.
My main concern is that Jota is nowhere near as influential as he was earlier in the season. He needs a good rest; that plus the return to form of Costa should ease the pressure on him, if not the constant fouls.
In his E&S player rating article for the Millwall game Tim Spiers asked “Has there been a better passer of the ball at Wolves in the past 40, even 50 years?”
It rook me back to a Radio 5 commentary on a Wolves game from the days of Paul Cook. I forget who the commentator was – it might have been Alan Green – but at one point he was full of praises for PC’s insight and passing ability while passing scathing comments about his team mate who had failed to anticipate the brilliant pass and ended up nowhere near the potential action. The summariser was Jimmy Armfield and he came up with what to me was a very wise thought. He said that if PC was as brilliant as the commentator claimed, he wouldn’t have played a pass which its target was most unlikely to spot – a long shot in fact – but instead kept it simple enough for his – less brilliant – teammates to understand.
It struck me that what we’re seeing in Ruben Neves is a brilliant passer of the ball who doesn’t have the same problem PC had. He’s surrounded by players who, each in their own way, match his ability both individually and as a very well coached team.
Some of the passing we’ve seen has been out of this world, a memorable one from the Millwall game was a curling diagonal ball from close to the touchline ten yards in the Millwall half. It dropped between the two defenders closing from opposite sides on (I think) Jota giving him a great opportunity on goal.
In the best regulated teams there’s the odd ball that goes astray or someone doesn’t pick up, but, while giving full recognition to RN’s abilities in making the pass, we have to recognise the contribution made by the rest of the team to keeping up the completion rate.
Enjoy it folks ….. and – as Al Jolson famously said “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”
COYW – onwards and upwards
Jazz,
I guess Dim Steers was hoping for responses across the ode goal demographic.
Having seen but struggling to remember all centre mids over the past 40 yrs I’m happy to nail my colours to this mast!
No – simples – No there hasn’t been!
And for me one of the most memorable passes of all time is his pass into the back of the net against Sheffield Wednesday – that was class & I doubt many others could have performed that in the Prem let alone the Chump
Agreed Rick – judged to the inch, a wonderful moment of sheer class.
I believe that was BTO who said that 🙂
Quite right Tim, my mistake.
The Jolson quote should be “You ain’t heard nothing yet!”.
As it’s from the film that marked the death of silent pictures and the new era of talkies I suppose it has some relevance – given that RN is very much part of the new era at Wolves….
but I guess that’s pushing things a bit far!
Thanks for the correction and Happy Wandering. 🙂
That’s OK. I was just being a prick. Go with your strengths, that’s what I always say.
That’s a good point. I always remember when Willie Carr came to Molineux; he was putting through balls into the channels while our lads just looked around scratching their heads wondering what was going on!
They were quick to cotton on though, thank goodness. We had a damn good team then, I’d like to have watched em on the Molineux carpet they play on these days
Really looking forward to Saturday evenings encounter against Bristol City. Should be a cracker between two good football playing teams. If he plays, fella below could be the hero.
A face that would not look out of place after a punch up in a Glasgow pub. Any observations Stu?
For sure the first leg at the Mol was a cracker, and City remain the best team I’ve seen us play all season. Not that I’ve seen them all, of course.
I know this is totally off subject but came across this last night which I hadn’t seen before
3 true Wolves Legends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL3qz4zY3t0
Wolves fan and his dog spotted on their way to Bristol…
That is excellent! Lol
Hope the baggies stay up so we can show them what we are about now.
Bit over the top Brompto’.
Wanting the shite to stay up.
Did you see that old film Deliverance?
Had a few shadow dwellers in it.
“He got a real pretty mouth, ain’t he?”
“You’re gonna do some prayin’ for me, boy. And you better pray good!”
Brilliant film. I only want them to stay up so we can give them a slap.
Southbank Resistance. We sing on our own.
Mikes latest offering is nothing short of pure genious.
Just read that article, absolutely brilliant and spot on
Absolutely feckin brilliant !!!!!!
We just don’t know when we are beaten. When we went down to 10 men I would have settled for a point but the way we responded was superb and all credit to Nuno for his inspired substitutions. The only disappointment was the performance of Helder Costa who looked completely uninterested for the hour that he was on the pitch but the late winner from Bennett was superb and my hangover has finally disappeared !!!!
10 points clear at the top – C’mon me babbies.
OODCL