Newcastle did to us what we were supposed to do to them.
Two first half counter attacks, two goals. Wham bam, howay the lads.
There was a hefty dollop of good fortune to the first with the ball deflecting into the path of Isak but as all good strikers do, he was right there sniffing a chance. We don’t have that luxury.
The second was a disaster with Kilman getting in the way and Sa fumbling the ball into Gordon’s path. He’s either got to hold onto it or push it away properly.
Hopefully the injuries that saw both our number one and Neto depart at the interval aren’t serious with Gary already raiding the academy for reinforcements.
But credit to Nathan Fraser, who I thought did plenty of good things in that second half, in particular forcing a good save from Dubravka with a solid low drive from outside the box.
That was one of a few chances Wolves had to half the deficit and make a proper game of it in the latter stages, but the finishes were never quite decisive enough to reward decent build up play.
We enjoyed plenty of good possession throughout but that combination of not being able to strike at the heart of their defence and being too open on the turnover meant it was always going away from us.
The third goal put a slightly unjust slant on the scoreline on the overall balance of play but you can’t defend like that in the Premier League and expect to get away with it. It was another really poor one to giveaway.
On a more positive note, I thought our general play between the boxes was tidy and even with things going south, there was good energy and commitment right to the end. That’s always a good sign.
Learn from the mistakes and move on quickly I reckon. We don’t want one bad outing to become a slump and Fulham at home next weekend is a good test of the squad’s resolve.
Gomez was missed big time for his battling midfield abilities, and we were so sloppy in defence.
Newcastle did ‘a Wolves’ on us.
Let the opponents have possession and hit on the break.
A game to forget.
Never mind, I’ve just bought our Coventry cup tickets.
A trip to Wembley will make us all feel better.
After watching suspect Sheff and Brighton wins this result was always on the cards and puts things into perspective.
The squad is threadbare and inhuries have now come to bite us.
This season is mid- table safety and a cup run no more. A few genuine additions in the summer especially a real CF and we will have a team capable of Europr.
GO’N has performed miracles with what he has available.
We can’t win every game else we’d be top , Newcastle had the luck today crap weather played a part in the second goal and it is what it is.
A lot of talk about getting into Europe but I really don’t think we are equipped without a spend up, rather give some of the young lads a run out without pressure for the rest of the season
Realistically the FA cup is the aim. Let’s throw our resources at that. We aren’t going down. Credit Gary for that. I looked at the stats and Toon hadn’t won in 4 at St James. We had won 3 on the bounce away. One of those. Got my Coventry tkt today. Let’s go. Fuckin Wolves Ay We.
I used to love watching Bruce Forsyth. A consummate entertainer. “Nice to see you. To see you……. nice!!
The Generation Game was a staple of Saturday night tv. The Price Is Right another.
“What do points make?!”.
Well, with 38, all but safe for another season, where we can look forward to some investment to add to our squad this Summer.
Anything more than that is, yes, a Brucie Bonus.
I’m of a generation where I’ve experienced many highs and probably more lows in our beloved club’s fortunes. There’s no doubt that our current situation is a high. One we should all enjoy and hopefully look back on in years to come very fondly. There have been many times this season where we were able to say “Good game, good game”.
The fact is that we are still in the top half, just, of the toughest league on the planet. We are sat with a big buffer between us and the teams nervously looking over their shoulder.
However, the relatively thin squad was understandably exposed today. The gaffer made it clear we needed reinforcements in attack in January, but we simply couldn’t afford it. The price was not right.
To Wolves’ credit, reports today show we have avoided the spectre of penalties for breaching Sustainability rules. Just. We simply had no wiggle room to recruit and the player we had lined up was let down by his agent’s last minute greed and demand for a higher fee.
We move on.
To Gary O’Neil’s credit, he has done incredibly well with the cards he was dealt. It’s a remarkable job he’s done for the last 6 months.
Today was just a game too far in a short turnaround with a threadbare squad. 3 games in 6 days!
We have to hope that Neto’s injury isn’t serious and that Cunha is fit to return after the International break. Channy will be out until Mid April at least.
So today was disappointing. We had a go, but it was too little, too late. We ended up with a cuddly toy and a fondue set, but little else.
However, in the context of the season we are having under Gary O, this is still going to be one, that come May, we will be able to say “Didn’t he do well “.
UTW
Nice one Mutts. The dreaded fondue set, what times those were. Not forgetting the lovely Anthea on the conveyor belt of course. 1 lv
Nice one , nice one muttleigh.
Let’s hope it’s not a ,,
Let’s see what you could have won !
Utw
So many terrible management decisions on player recruitment to name has led to the financial crisis that has made the club unable to invest in players .
No fault at all to GON who has done wonders but this was a reality check .We do not have the squad to cope with pushing on from here but it has still been a far more enjoyable season than the last few .
We can have no grumbles about the loss, though the scoreline was out of proportion to the game as whole. Three tough games in just six game was just too many for such a paper thin squad to cope with.
Tonight I think we should just look back and appreciate just how far we `ve come with GON at the helm. None of us could have imagined that we could achieve so much with a novice coach operating with inadequate resources.
So the omens are good. We have the basis of a very good side, and with sensible additions in the summer we should be able to look forward to a successful campaign next season.
I would hope that for the remainderer of this season we take the opportunity to selectively introduce and assess younger players who are on the verge of the team, whilst directing our main efforts to achieving success in the Cup
Fully agree Mike.
Gary has exceeded all my expectations despite very thin resources. Can’t deny i was a bit underwhelmed in August.
Don’t forget the many good management decisions on player recruitment just to add a bit of balance
We were nowhere near as bad as that scoreline suggests.
They were nowhere near as good as they think they are.
Given the understandable paucity of our squad, my disappointment is fairly mild this evening.
Thanks for your post Hertford, you put the game in context and I share your mild disappointment. There was more than a touch of luck about all three of their goals.
Dawsons block could have sent the ball anywhere from a throw in on their left side to flying well out of reach over the scorer’s head rather than dropping so neatly for him that he hardly had to adjust his position for his header.
They only had a chance for the second because, after the initial clash the ball ended up in the one place where Sa could neither see it or reach it. Again, when it could have gone anywhere, it ended up in the only place which gave them a tap in.
The third was down to the last fortuitous touch of the ball by a player who’d already stumbled and was on his way down – giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming he was still in control makes this the least lucky of the three but it was very late on and not a lot to do with the rest of the game.
I’ve seen a lot of games over the years where you just knew it wasn’t to be our day and they are more than offset by the ones where we hardly seem to be able to put a foot wrong. Given the existing and new injuries a goalless draw was probably all we could hope for. So let’s enjoy the good ones and not mourn too deeply over days like this one.
Watched the whole game and never noticed Bentley had entered the game.
In totally unrelated news, I’m turning 50 in a few months ?
Forget the result it was probably expected. We’re not going to get into Europe and we should be safe even if the PL try to “do an Everton on us” and impose a points deduction.
Because today I read that despite realising £100 million+ from players sales last summer and making no signings of importance in Jan. we are still in danger of transgressing FFP regs. or whatever new fancy title the EPL have now dreamed up so presumably no major signings in the close season even if we sell Neto which we may have to.
Forget VAR, This sham is now a shameless and transparent attack on the probably 20 odd clubs who rightly have justified aspirations to break the “big 6” cartel while the EPL clearly intends to support the status quo by whatever means they can muster.
Basically we are facing restrictive practices on a massive scale. Any commercial entity has the right to raise capital and invest accordingly to fulfil their strategies as long it’s not fraudulent and the business is not insolvent.
So this scandalous breach of fair trade, if it’s allowed to continue, will destroy the football pyramid in England and effectively wipe out 130 years of history including that of most of the 12 founder members of The Football League.
Is this really what most football supporters outside Manchester, Liverpool and London want – don’t think so.
And it’s not hard to understand why the PL was in early days nicknamed The Greed League. Never has there been a more blatant and systematic institutional attempt to ensure that the rich prosper against the interests of the majority.
Soap box over, let’s go and win the FA Cup whilst we still have a chance.
Good stuff PJB. The Wolves hierarchy should not be pilloried for the millions spent to support Lopetigui back in Jan 2023. The spending sailing close to the wind but ultimately providing the personnel to dig us out of catastrophic relegation back to division 2. We remain premier league as a result.
Good post
Don’t often agree with you PJB but you have nailed it. The EPL and UEFA are effectively operating a cartel which should be challenged at government level. No chance of that with the current lot nor with whoever succeeds them. No one inside the Westminster bubble understands or cares what concerns those football fans outside of the north-west and North London. Fans should come to together the way they did when threatened with a closed shop European League.
Feel free to rant as much as you like PJB!
Great post PJB.
Good post PJB.
The answer is the Euro Super League, let the greedy clubs go and we’ll get a level playing field back. No real football fans would or should care.
Is the ESL fair? No.
Is the EPL fair though? No.
So nothing to lose and everything to gain.
PJB .. good stuff …
This is the one single issue I have with this “Profit and Sustainability “ crap .. it’s unlawful..
There’s no legal law in the land to administer it ..
Sad though it may be … the Premier League tailors the rules to suit its own agenda of retaining the top 6 .. at the top …
Now that we’ve entered the ‘legal’ cartel impositions of the PL it’s time for the Govt to put and end to it ..
Football, as it was, is dead ..
With hindsight those Jan 23 signings have mostly worked at an amazing level
First … the rescue from bottom slot
Now …( with G’ON) we are mid table …and can beat ANY team on our day
Yep, a way to go before this is sustainable and means European adventure …. But it’s reachable next year, with more smart incomings and outgoings this summer .
The single focus must now be March 16th and whoever comes next…
Then…
Next!
As they say, we are ‘ in a good moment’.
Geordie’s not much cop
Hope they beat Citeh ? and we see them at Wemberlee
COYW
Sa in massive blunder and yhen goes off injured at half time. We have seen it before. Get some £££££s for him in the summer and use to increase squad quality.
We can put that game to bed and get on with the next.
I hope the injuries to Sa and Pedro are just niggles and that they’ll be back soon along with Cunha and Hwang.
Onwards and upwards… COYW!
Agree that their goals had an element of luck and that we had some chances which we didn’t take. Toti / Sarabia. I also felt we got some good crosses in, especially from the right but we just don’t have anyone getting on the end of them. I think Costa would have thrived more with the style we have played this season.
So the premier league is the best in the world,,,, my arse
It’s the most viewed and possibly the most lucrative but that’s where its credibility ends.
If we could have brought a striker in in January or paid Chelsea a king’s ransom to hire their guy for the remainder of the season, we may have got something today.
Not saying we should have won today , but we could have had a chance, but the profit and accountability ( changed their name because everyone got used to the financial Un fair play rules) have decided that we have spent enough.
I’ve been guilty of dissing pjb back in the day and questioning his blood type ( b negative) but it’s just good banter as far as I’m concerned.
I agree with everything pjb says on this though.
A few things that really piss me off
1- that performance isn’t good enough if you play for Man U ,,,,,, why
2 – Chelsea need to be winning trophies,,,, why
3- if you play man city, you know they will have the ball most of the match so just stay in the game ,,,, why
The answer is of course, there are 6 teams protected by the ffp , you can only spend a percentage of what you currently earn ( current biggest clubs earning the most) so if you can only pay 30 k a week but a bigger club can take your best players and pay 60 k a week , there’s a pretty decent chance that they can win more trophies- hence earning more money- hence being able to spend more money- hence ,,, you get the drift.
Closed shop
So, perhaps it’s folly to think we can add a couple of players and push on because knob heads like Sherwood , Hutchinson , Sutton etc have already decided that all our best players need to move on in order to win anything?
So glad I spent all my spare cash in the seventies on the Southbank watching proper football
Sorry for my soapbox moment guys
Utmw
Spot on!
Hi Marney
Yes, we have crossed swords in the past over detail as to what is happening at Molineux but no matter. We have now moved into bigger matters of genuine concern which should be a serious worry to all genuine football people.
Sport is sport only when it is conducted on a level field. Ever since the formation of the “Premier” League the “big 5” (subsequently supplemented by Moss Side Oil Rovers) have been subversively (initially) favoured by the breakaway PL .
With the inception of punitive financial restrictions imposed, initially subversive, but which have now evolved into blatant protectionism favouring the chosen few. We are moving towards a scenario where the game is being played out in the courts (Everton) and the floors of international stock exchanges by opportunists and faceless corporations plus even middle east governmental entities with the encouragement of a complicit media and plastic “supporters” in an increasingly hospitality dominant driven industry.
Like you I remember fondly the days of 50 odd years ago when football was actually played in the stadium for clubs owned’run by local entrepreneurs who were often far from perfect but in the main had a genuine affiliation with and loyalty to the club itself.
It doesn’t need me to highlight that those days have long gone and that major football is purely money driven.
But unless this big city only elite juggernaut can be stopped in it’s tracks football as it should be is dead. Closed shop as you say.
SOG – Save Our Game
I think Brian Clough warned us of the implications of sky
I go back even further than your ’50 odd’ years PJB and it’s interesting to look back and remember what a great place Molineux was in the 1950s. It was one of the few stadiums that wasn’t defaced by advertising – in contrast to, say, the Poorthorns with it’s declaration that “Loo Bloom” was “My Tailor”. Simpler days when unseemly grubbing after every last farthing – ask your grandad – wasn’t universal.
They were also the bad old days when players were paid a pittance, but at least every club were bound by the maximum they could pay the players so the field was, if not entirely level, the flattest it could be made!
The pendulum has surely swung too far to the other extreme and many now get amounts that are hard, if not impossible, to justify. Incidentally this seems to apply to all sports – does anyone remember the days when rugby union used to ban from their clubs anyone who went to the league variant to be paid for playing?
I’m not sure where it would be possible to go from here, but football certainly lost a lot of its soul once financiers and lawyers began to take over. The game has changed tremendously since the 1950s – everyone will have an opinion as to whether for the better or the worse – but one thing is quite certain – in those days we weren’t dogged by conspiracy theories or accusations of finance-driven bias on the part of the authorities. I might also add that, while we didn’t always have the highest opinion of some referees, it would have been inconceivable to suggest bias/corruption on the scale that has been levelled at PGMOL. The world of football in the fifties was far from perfect, but I remember it being much more pleasant than what we have to put up with today.
As you say SOG – although don’t ask me how – and, of course COYW
Let’s hope Sky goes ‘pop ‘
They are the biggest issue
PPG update. 7th place now at 59 points. Wolves predicted 53 points. So we will fall short. 11 games to go including Arsenal home. Villa. City. Liverpool away. Looking grim for Europa. Plus side we are on 38 points. Luton defeat yesterday means they are looking like getting just short of 30 points. So 30/31 points now the marker for the relegation line comes 38 games. Burnley and Sheff Utd looking doomed. Luton probably need 5 wins if they are to get out of it.
Wolves could have easily had a couple of goals so they weren’t outclassed.
One game does not a swallow make.
There will always be days like these so we lick our wounds and carry on enjoying the ride.
For me this week has been a warning to those dreaming of Europe.
Our little FA cup adventure is a strain on our small squad.
Adding regular midweek games even with two or three first team ready editions could in my view leave us in danger of getting sucked into another relegation scrap next season.
I’d hate to see all the good work and squad building go up in smoke for the sake of a few trips to ex soviet cities which I’d probably struggle to stick a pin in on a map..
* additions
I’ve decided to lift my gloom …
I’ve bought our cup tickets for the Coventry FA Cup game ..
There I feel so much better..
So , my guess is March 16 th depends on how close to our best 11 start that day.. even our best bench
If playing U12’s vs Fulham requires more protection for best 11/ Bench squad
Then so be it
Let’s go to Wemberlee
and Wemberlee
https://footballeconomyv2.blogspot.com/2024/03/wolves-avoid-fall.html
Makes interesting reading