Judging by the way I was pacing up and down my living room in stoppage time – those three points were huge.
It wasn’t pretty and I didn’t particularly enjoy Bruno taking a leaf out of Nuno’s negative tactics playbook, but a win’s a win.
The undoubted positive was the return of the Raul we all know and love with that sublimely taken goal. Surely, he’s now going to kick onto another level?
And Hwang continues to impress. With limited service, he still managed to have an impact with a direct and physical approach.
As for the back three, while it was criminal not to sign Bruno a centre half for his preferred back four system, at least they stood firm against a one-dimensional Saints attack. However, a left side of Boly and Ait-Nouri is much more appealing than Saiss and Marcal.
Regarding the win-at-all-costs approach Bruno took on the South Coast, I hope it was a one-off rather than a sign of things to come.
Against better teams than Southampton, who were poor, we can’t afford to continually sit back in defence and endlessly give the ball away in attack.
The lack of pressing and movement was alarming. It invites pressure onto us and when we do have the ball, it’s hoofed away. Wolves are a much better team when they’re on the front foot and moving the ball around at pace.
Marcal and Podence were the guiltiest parties when it came to losing possession, and I fail to see how Ait-Nouri and Traore/Trincao don’t replace them for Newcastle.
Frankly, the whole XI was guilty of surrounding possession all too easily, but the sight of Donk and Moutinho chasing shadows and failing to get a foothold in the game was an ugly sight.
Unfortunately, the midfield conundrum won’t be solved until we a sign a physical midfielder in the Sanches mould to partner Neves, who should be starting every game. It just doesn’t sit right seeing Ruben on the bench while Moutinho and Donk are hopelessly manning the engine room.
I’m ecstatic that we won and I hope we now have lift-off under Bruno. But we’re going to have to produce a consistent run of improved performances if that’s to be the case, which is that much harder to achieve when Bruno hasn’t been given the tools to deliver.
You see Raul?
That’s how easy it is to score a goal.
What a superb strike!
So pleased for the lad, let’s hope the floodgates will open now.
Plaudits too to Sa. He kept us in the match with some great saves, but could do with cutting out his attempts at dribbling in the box.
Not a good idea Jose.
And Marcal has certainly added something to his game.
We all knew that he can’t cross a ball to save his life. Now he can’t even pass to a team mate either.
I’m being a bit harsh here, but he was awful today.
But this was a fantastic, and much needed, three points born out of a pretty ordinary display.
It’s often said that attackers are remembered for the goals they score, not the ones they miss.
That will certainly be true of Raul.
But equally, defenders are mainly remembered for their bad performances rather than their games when they produce consummate defensive displays.
I have never been a Conor Coady knocker.
OK, he’s not the quickest in the World but neither was Bobby Moore.
I just hope that his critics will give him the credit he deserves for his performance today.
And their gratitude for leading our club so well for so many years.
With you on Coady – a mighty fine footballer, a superb leader and a great servant to WWFC.
(Also share your views on Sa).
Fantastic goal by Raul, brilliant to see him back to his old self. Let’s hope this is the platform for him to kick on now. Well done.
Marcal and Podence both had games to forget. I really want to see more form our fullbacks. I hate to be overly critical but I just think Marcal/Semedo are so negative. They rarely drive forward with the ball and when they do get it they slow down the pace and come inside or backwards. I do think Ait Nouri needs to come into the starting XI when available as he gives us more thrust down the left and his delivery is better than Marcal’s.
A wins a win and if we can beat the toon at Molineux next weekend the seasons really up and running then.
Great post again. Thank you.
Raul’s Relief !
By Jimenez, Raul needed that. We needed that.
Surely, no one can begrudge our talismanic No 9 scoring his first goal since that fateful night over 10 months ago.
And what a goal ! That was one of the best strikers in the Premier League, showing why he is so highly regarded. Strength, persistence, calmness, skill.
The confidence that should give him and the whole squad could be just the shot in the arm we needed 6 games in.
Ok, it wasn’t the footballing spectacle that we would have hoped for, but who cares ? We’ve played expansive and attacking football and been rewarded with what ? Zero. Nothing. Zip.
A 1-0 ugly win is fine. If you had to pick one player you wanted to score a memorable goal, it would be him. I’m so pleased for him and his family.
And the bonus – no injuries !
The performance of other players – we can talk about another day. With the exception of Sa, who played a blinder. He saved our bacon on more than one occasion and provided an assist ! Almost caught with his shorts around his ankles, playing out, but otherwise our MOTM if it weren’t for our very own Mexican Marauder.
So, Newcastle up next at home.
Now wouldn’t 9 points by October 2nd feel awesome, banishing the banal Brentford result.
Funny old game, football.
UTW !
– The toughest Moutinho version I’ve ever seen, played against Soton.
For me just all about Raul so pleased for him and you could see at the end just how much it meant
Have to honest, I was beginning to fear we may never see our legendary Raul back to his best.
A wonderful moment for the club, for us and most importantly for the man himself.
Plus two great defensive headed clearances late on.
Things starting to look up.
Just for now let`s forget the abject duplicity of Mr Shi and the apparent serious limitations of Bruno. That`s for another day. Let`s just appreciate and glory in the miracle that is RAUL JIMINEZ.
Years ago the late and great Bill Skankly of Liverpool, made the following memorable statement. ” Form is temporary. But class is permanent. ” If ever there was one player who justifies this assessment, it must be Raul.
Not only true class as a footballer. But far more importantly, real class as a man. Simply stated, he is truly inspirational. From all of us ‘ thank you Raul for everything you have given to our football Club ‘
Agreed Mike, let’s live in the moment at least for the next few days.
Limitations of Bruno? I like him and the attacking style he brings to our
You can’t remind us of your often repeated views Mike and then say let’s forget them!
No deviation from my of expressed opinion Pennroad. What I meant to imply in my opening statement was that the duplicity of Shi and his failure to support his new coach, is imposing serious limitations upon Bruno.
Bruno may well prove to be a very capable coach. I hope so, and I fully stand by my support of his attempts to impose a more attacking style of play. This is much needed. But we`ll never know how good he is for as long as Shi fails to provide him with the necessary tools to do his job.
You just did it again!
Yes Marney he did. Don’t think he knows he’s doing it.
So happy for Raul and the win but some of these players need to learn how to pass a ball. Podence was guilty more than any one every time went straight to a Southhampton player. We need better from him and others we have a talented squad yes short on numbers but we have to improve alot .
Totally agree with your summary. How the Birmingham Mail gave Dendoncker an 8 is beyond me. Neves should always play. We need the early season line up but with Boly on the right and Kilman back where he should be on the left. Sorry, I’m not convinced by Hwang and certainly not alongside Raul. Hoever is worth another game. Defensively he better than Semedo.
Could it be that the early years of Nuno at the Mol represent the pinnacle of his coaching career ?
His last one and a half years with us saw nothing but increasingly boring teams unable to defend efficiently and having very limited attacking capability. Other teams had him well and truly sussed.
Fast forward to today. His Spurs sidea is similarly negative and boring in the extreme, can`t defend and offers nothing up front. Spurs were dire against Arsenal today. Three league drubbings on the reel. Dare I say it, but maybe relegation fodder ?
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it could just be that his exit was right for us. But whether we improved by recruting Bruno is another matter entirely !!
What’s today got to do with Nuno? So what if Nuno fails at Spurs, it doesn’t negate what he did at Wolves.
But I think it`s very relevant in the overall scheme of things.
Without question, Nuno was iniatially great for us, but by the end of his tenure his fundamental tactics had been well and truly sussed. We had become a very boring and predictable side easy to counter — and Nuno had no Plan B.
My point is that, with hindsight, it was probably the right time for us to make a change if we want to move forward. The fact that Nuno appears to be encountering similar problems at Spurs gives weight to this conclusion.
So, Well done shi then ?
That’ll be the season we sold Jota and Doherty and lost Jiminez to injury early on. Our three top scorers combining to score 28 of our 51 goals in the league 19/20. Our answer to the sale of Jota was to blow the warchest on the wonderkid Silva and you know the rest.
We still finished comfortably mid table despite this.
Perfect summary of a disastrous and typical piece transfer chicanery al a Shi/Mendes and the subsequent Jiminez incident leaving us with zero back up
– Nope. It was Raul’s absence. Neto disappeared too. Before that we were positioned 7th or 8th place on the table, if I’m not remembering wrong. We started the campaign brightly.
Yes but the season is a 38 game marathon not a 10 game sprint. Injuries are an inevitable part of the game. That bright start possibly kept us in the league.
No strength in depth.
For those who think Brino is a novice today proves he is learning……and learning fast he took a pragmatic approach to the game he ditched his high pressing attack game to dogged wear them down and frustrate them game even taking a leaf out of Brenford book regarding gamesmanship.
It was pretty far from it but I think Bruno knows that there is a time and an opponent to play his favoured style……also who in the squad is up to it or not don’t forget it’s all new to him too.
Raul has finally got that monkey off his back and what a goal he sat to defenders on there arse and then the keeper so pleased for him….the talk of will he be the same has evaporated if anything judging on today’s goal he might be even better.
We have won today and didn’t play that well but I’d rather that than play well and loose. The more time Bruno has to get over his style and tactics the better the team will get.
Very sad Paul, I’m beginning to like wot you write!!
Yes Paul… have to agree with you.
A great feeling and on to the next stripey lot.
Winning was all that mattered today. We’d taken plaudits in the first few games for playing well but took zero points. So it was ugly at times and not pretty to watch. In fact it was downright frustrating to see attacks fizzle out with a lack of bodies getting forward. The lack of options in central midfield is concerning and it’s criminal this wasn’t addressed in the summer. But points were crucial in this one to ease the pressure slightly and hopefully next week we will see us take the game to Newcastle in a manner Bruno has promised.
Fantastic moment for Raul. What a goal and a reminder of the quality he possesses, if some had just begun to doubt. Brilliant.
The problem with gung-ho, up and at ’em footie is that it forces the opposition to defend deep and there’s little space to actually score. Nuno’s Wolves defended deep and hit ’em on the break and it’s no coincidence that today’s wonderful goal from Raul came from a quick, devastatingly accurate ball from Sa while their defence was all dishevelled.
No coincidence either that despite some exhilarating performances early in the season, our points have come from a far more pragmatic approach.
We, and the owners, wanted a more expansive style, but until we get it right, this could well lead to some disappointing results. I take reassurance from the fact that, when we need to, we can still grind out a boring 1-0.
So pleased for Raul.
Some classy comments about Raul from Ralph Hassenhuttl post-match. He has always seemed like a nice guy…
Sad for Nuno but something is wrong there…. as it was here.
Hope he can turn it around….but not too much.
1 swallow doesn’t a summer make, I think the quote is…. But, heck the sun is shining on Raul tonight.
Game to forget in many ways, but Raul, the away support and 56 minutes from Manhull, what’s not to like.
Live in the moment.
That is 6 points from Watford Saints and Brentford. Two away one at home. I would probably have taken 5 so a bonus point thrown in. Not particularly vintage football but in the premier league it is dog eat dog. Saints would have seen this as a ‘3 pointer’. The fact we took them instead is a good indicator that we can mix it at least with teams of a similar ilk. It was not a classic encounter and Sa made some good saves but I ay gonna complain because there have been loads of times this season where we haven’t got what we deserved. So fuck off to all that. Take the the 3 points. And a point or 3 v Newcastle would be good. WOLVES AY WE . FOWB. !
Yes, we’re climbing upwards the table, and it’s not the biggest gap up to the top. Up the Wolves
Yes, Cheesy it’s funny how the table already illustrates the fine divide between success and failure in the PL. Beat Newcastle and we will have had a decent start to the season. Lose and we are in the relegation pack going into the international break. I get the feeling that this year is going to be one of the tightest leagues for a while.
I didn’t get chance to see the game today, but what I can gather it was a turgid a encounter, that said it’s all about the points on the board that count especially when you are in the position we are in..
Three points are great to get away from home, but like everyone has posted Raul is getting back to his best.?that’s must make him feel ecstatic.
Onwards and hopefully upwards.
A poor performance but a great result courtesy of the one and only Si Senor and alert Jose Sa. No wonder the saints fans had no confidence going into the game, they are in big trouble. As for us we have played well at times this season and got nothing so I guess it evens out. Lets hope our luck runs into the next 3 while we are sorting this crap out on the training ground.
That was a bloody tough watch but an invaluable 3 points.
We’ll play a lot better and lose this season but right now who cares!
Plus if there was only going to be one goal, the right man scored it.
Raul is indeed back.
‘We’ll play a lot better and lose this season …’
We have, 3 times, and we did.
A wonderful morning of sport, watching Sir Lewis win his 100th race, and me babbeez completing a hat trick of victories at St Mary’s Dell, or whatever name it is.
As always, FANtastic support all the way through from the twelfth man, and woman, even if it was not a classic game.
It would seem Coady took notice of his critics and pulled up his socks, pity Traore, Marcal and Saiss didn’t heed theirs.
No one has mentioned the sitter missed by Semedo in the first minute. What was that all about?
Anyroad, bollocks to all the negative things about the match, what a thing of beauty was Raul’s goal.
The way he bludgeoned his way past their defender, and then left two more on the deck, before picking his spot sublimely.
Welcome back, young man, that will now break the dam, open the floodgates, let loose the hounds, and any other phrase you wanna apply.
Excellent three points, and nice to see we did a Brentford at the end.
What pissed me off was the “colour” commentary of Chris Sutton who waxed lyrical about good fouls committed by Saints.
Pathetic.
Still, shit eating grin firmly in place!
I just think that if max kilnman played for anyone but wolves then he would already be considered for an England cap
That’s right, because as we’ve seen in recent years Southgate would never consider calling up a Wolves player, taking him to an international tournament or even dream of making him captain on occasion.
Kilman is a great young player and I’m sure he’s being looked at not just by England, but also Russia and Ukraine who he is eligible for through his parents.
Pleased for Raul. Superbly taken goal crafted entirely by his own persistence and ingenuity. When we were all moaning about Fabio’s inability to make his mark last season, this was exactly the type of forward play we were crying out for. It’s gold dust.
Pleased for Bruno. He proved he’s not afraid to make tough decisions and was rewarded with the result. An ugly win with an ugly performance is better than a handsome defeat and god knows we’ve had enough of the latter.
The only drawback is I’m not sure if the likes of Podence or Hwang really showed enough to suggest they should be keeping Traore or Trincao out of the side, so there are some tough decisions to be made for Newcastle. But better to have to come up with the right solution after a win than a loss.
I’ll enjoy this week.
Well done Jimi, these are the beautiful moments we watch football for, An ugly win, we were shite tbh, but a moment of beauty sealed it. Sa gets my MOTM. Some idiot said leave Jimi out in the preveiw comments, that man needs shooting…..
Sa my MOTM too. Good saves when needed, excellent anticipation plus an assist! Together with his good distribution definitely a step up from Rui.
Congratulations to Raul. Great love shown by all his team mates especially Sa and Coady’s man hug.
Is it me or does Don Goodman really not like Wolves?
It’s you, Pennroad.
OK if you say so Ped
I love that Sa can pick a player out in space in the other half, Rui did not possess that skill, Ruddy has that in his locker too.
All very well summed up in 3 sentences and TBF you did forecast a win, I predicted a draw, so don’t beat yourself up BH!
I was smuggled in as a guest alongside home supporters, being warned to behave myself and keep quiet. Well that wasn’t that difficult as there wasn’t much to shout about. I thought we were going to see a Carlos Alberto finish from Semedo in the first minute but alas no.
The Wolves fans were magnificent throughout, a colourful mass of gold who sang and chanted all through the game, absolutely brilliant. Saints fans have only got one song and needed a band to play the tune plus turning up the PA to make it louder. How rude was it not to announce our team before kick off.?
Southampton will struggle this season and winning today was significant, these are teams we need to beat to stay out of trouble.
Player wise, fabulous to see Raul knocking players out of the way and scoring, Sa and Coady outstanding today, Podence very disappointing. Bruno nailed it.
Fully agree with your contemporary context but “staying out of trouble” wasn’t included in The Great Fosun Proclamation of 2017.
Greetings in Victory,
Brilliant Jiminez and Sa, that’s looking like a good signing to replace the irreplaceable Rui Patricio. Ruddy stepped up midweek aswell. We defended well enough to keep the Saints out and they were worth a point. Tough.
Great to see Jimi celebrate with the fans, what a moment. Even MOTD lads were chuffed for him. Going full Mexican for the forseable.. Tequila worm baby. The magic formula is being brewed in Bruno’s shed.
Got to be the Traore v St Maxima show next week. Classic.
Where was the lad? Just saying don’t hide your £35m under a bushel or the stray dog of asset revaluation may come along and piss on it. Or the parkie will pick it up and retire early. Good to have him in back up though, we will need him later.
1lv & COYW.
I’m much more comfortable with Sa in goal. As good a shot stopper as Rui was I can’t imagine him rushing out 40 yards to make a clearance.
There’s still work to be done on getting to grips with Bruno’s system but I really do think he’s going to prove an upgrade.
The dribbling in the box will have to stop. Couple of dodgy moments, otherwise distribution, an assist and saves top notch. We are going to need him to be on form judging by the leaky defence, but that will be measured in clean sheets.
– Yes. According to the footballinsider247 website, Traore tops the list over the footballers who’s created most shot-created actions: “According to FBRef, Traore’s 35 shot-creating actions is the highest in the Premier League along with Jack Grealish. However, Grealish has played more minutes than the Wolves star.”
The performance was dire but hey, 3 points is 3 points so at the end of the day who cares?
So pleased for Raul, he’s worked so hard to come back he really deserved his goal. And what a goal!!
I just hope the powers that be looked at our bench yesterday and have started putting things in place for January. But maybe I’m being too optimistic!!
With Marcal and more so Podence failing to accurately pass a ball I thought we would be in for a mauling, but was pleased to see us relax into the game as it went on. Not the finished article by far but I can see things improving. It could be argued that the majority of fans don’t like the long ball game, but Sa’ s vision and subsequent delivery was spot on. Raul had a lot of work to do still but I loved the way he put their defenders on their backsides before calmly slotting past the keeper. That will certainly have raised his confidence. I nearly had a lump in my throat.
We gained 3 points on Chelsea, Man U & Spurs, and 2 points in Liverpool! My glass is much more than half-full!!!
Let’s celebrate 3 points and Raul scoring a great goal. It’s been a long road back for him and just wonderful to see his celebration. Looking forward to Saturday but we will need to grind out another result against Newcastle.
Coady was great but can’t help thinking it was because we played the nuno way.
You may well have a point, But Coady was an integral part f the Nuno system and Lage expected additions to adjust the squad to his system. They never appeared.
How many have been notified that they have been successful in the Royal Caribbean cruise draw, apart from me. Sailing from Southampton on the Anthem of the Seas on 20th October.
How did you win that? No doubt used the same tactics you use to win the Prediction League.
Phew!
To borrow from Balsall H
“Ugly win and we were shite”
But so glad to get my gloomy prediction wrong
However we will get stomped on by teams as good as or better than Brentford unless Mr Lage gets the line up sorted and passing to the same colour shirt…oh and shooting away from the gk ( Nelson)
Maybe the lights coming …Raul will score more
Meantime no Caribbean cruise for me but …just as good …have tix for Dec 4 Liverpool game when we will knock them off the top of the league
Onwards and upwards
It’s s only 5 days round the British Isles, so probably won’t go tbh. Will go to Elland Road instead.
Will miss our mauling of Bruce’s Geordies this weekend too as I will be in Jockland. Will have to inform ticket office to sell my seat.
Hope all is well Marin
Ah!
There’s cruises and there’s cruises Senor Brompton
Sorry it’s not more glamorous
Hope Liverpool gig is a chance to meet up with you and fellow bloggers that weekend
How have you got a ticket? I live in Liverpool and travel to all the home games but want to try get a ticket for December 4th.,
I agree with Paddy. We played badly but we won and we still badly need quality reinforcements.
So pleased for Raul. When he threw his head protection away last week I knew he was back. His determination is incredible.
First half we pressed high but as soon as we scored we retreated and allowed Southampton to take control. A better team would have equalised. Bruno should look at how Arsenal responded when they scored – they continued pushing forward and scored two more !! . Then again we are short three quality players
I think it will be like this all season
Since the transfer window closed, Traore has been pretty much anonymous, none more so than Sunday.
He did zippo when he came on, and I get the feeling he only played well for the first three games coz there was still a chance he could be sold.
When that didn’t happen, his toys, in my opinion, have all been discarded from his pram.
A luxury we cannot afford to carry, possible impact sub only, and should be sold asap.
Completely agree, Clive. I posted in the summer that it was time to cash in on him and use the money to refresh the squad, and got a huge amount of dislikes!
He’s turned down a new contract for a year now and I would imagine being dropped isn’t going to help him sign a new one.
Perhaps we could still sell for a decent amount in January, because next summer with only a year left on his contract he will be worth a lot less than the £30-35m we could have got from Spurs last month.
Absolutely no-one is indispensable ..even the best players.
Sometimes moving players on can improve the dynamics completely.
Allowing players on the fringes to step up a level.
Fantastic player … just may have had his time.
Doesn’t want to be at the club, hasn’t done since Klopp got at him.
Plays when he feels like it (usually when he thinks he’s in the shop window).
Get rid asap. We have Podence, Trianco plus Neto to come back.
Clive. You can’t have been watching. Ok yesterday he was pretty anonymous but otherwise he’s been phenomenal.
When you say phenomenal you mean he’s strong and fast and can bully defenders and cause chaos, I totally agree and I love watching him in full flow. But there is very little end product and other PL teams have kind of sussed this out now.
The Premier League website has his stats as 7 goals and 14 assists in almost 150 appearances with shooting accuracy of 28% – now that is hardly phenomenal.
Perhaps being dropped will be the jolt that turns him into the player we all hope he can be, he will sign a new long term contract and all will be good.
But I doubt it.
Couldn’t cross a road and find the other side, nor hit a barn door from 2 yards.
Rugby League would have suited him .
You will have to ask Steve Showcase first as he is in love with Traore.
Let Bruno offer Traore a gentleman’s agreement. Daniel Levy has the template, but the difference is Bruno will keep his promise. Traore to play out of his socks every time he is called upon, and we will sell him next summer if a decent offer about £XX comes in. Naturally Traore can choose NOT to leave if his efforts have catapulted us into Europe.
So much potential and boy have we seen that…
But..
Could have brought in two or three players we needed with the money- assuming that the money was reinvested properly.
Just hoping that he doesn’t end up going on a free
Yeah, yeah, yeah….but if Jimi had slid the pass across to him on the 92 min, Traore would have scored (possibly).
You could see Jimi weighing it up,.. Fk me Adama’s made it up here, sh*t the defenders in the way, check back….. pass, shoot??? Bollocks.
Anyway any success this season is having Jimi, Traore, Hwang and Silvaballs playing with confidence in each others ability, getting Neto back would help. Midfield / defence good enough for now.
Its team work boys that’s going to get this done. Jota was the cog we sold and its taking time to balance that terrible decision out. 2 seasons into the Prem we were playing as a team and looking like contenders. Then the big pants come knocking and terrible injuries mess it up.
Jota may have better prospects at Liverpool but I don’t think he’s as happy as when he was at Wolves. Mane can’t stand him and the rest seem luke. When he scores he doesn’t know who to celebrate with!
Traore shouldn’t want to leave WWFC, and getting him back on song with the strike force will see a big improvemnet in our prospects. Not letting this thread end with negs and ‘sell hims’ v. Traore. Time will tell.
COYW
Good post, Rasta, I thought just the same when Raul had the last minute chance- pass or shoot? Big game for Adama on Saturday, hope he starts. Saka showed what an intelligent player he is against Spurs last weekend, Neto cannot come back quick enough for us. Not sure about Jota, he had lost interest at Wolves and moving him on was good timing- the fact that we blew the transfer fee has been the cause of much debate ever since. Semedo needs to justify his fee too, I would give young Hoever more game time.
Absolutely Rasta. Good thinking.
That injury time moment had me shouting at Raul, nutmeg the keeper!
The keeper’s legs were wider than, well, I won’t mention a certain famous lady….
Just wait till Raul and Traore click again. There will be a deafening noise of words being munched!
I think he’s often his own worst enemy for trying to do too much bug god, I love watching defenders falling in his wake.
We all do, but when his wake is as powerful as a rowboat on the West Park pond, and his end product is as much use as a chocolate tea pot, what’s the point?
I doubt nuno will be signing traore for spurs as theres not much chance of him being the manager much longer .
The cockerknees dont like him cause hes come from wolvo.
My guess is we are stuck with him and i dont mind that situation so lets see what bruno can get out of him.