The advantage of having a squad is that you can adapt to any situation. You can also right the wrongs of your initial team selection.
And I do think Julen Lopetegui got it wrong today by choosing Moutinho to fill the void left by Hwang’s hamstring injury.
Wolves were too slow, too passive, too lacking in any sort of attacking adventure.
Southampton probably couldn’t believe their luck, especially after getting ahead and seeing Lemina sent off for apparently running too aggressively towards the referee.
It was a bizarre decision but Mario has to be smarter having already been booked for a clumsy tackle minutes earlier.
Credit to the Lopetegui for acting swiftly and making the changes at half time that gave his team a chance of salvaging a result. All of the substitutes were an improvement on the players they replaced.
Bueno was a clear upgrade on Ait-Nouri in both directions and setup the equaliser with a penetrating cross. Predictably none of our strikers could put the ball in the net so Jan Bednarek’s impression of a giraffe in roller skates was just what the doctor ordered.
Cunha looks a talented player but seems more eager to link the play than be the headline act.
Diego Costa did a better job of occupying the Southampton defenders which allowed others to profit and drive Wolves forward.
Fellow substitute Adama Traore enjoyed one of his more effective cameos, most notably getting in the middle to help bundle in the equaliser, but he was a constant thorn in their side throughout the second half.
That set the stage for João Gomes to take the headlines with a composed finish after seeing his initial effort blocked.
I was impressed with the Brazilian even before he’d won the game and felt he added a bite and intensity to the midfield we’d been sorely lacking.
Nunes, for all his quality, doesn’t look like he enjoys the grittier aspects of the game and it proved a masterstroke from Lopetegui to haul him off in favour of Gomes with the game in the balance.
By the end the , this result, much like last week owes to work done in January. New faces and competition for places are driving the team towards safety.
There’s still a lot of work to do, but the signs are promising.
Agree with the write up.
Plus we have now scored 17 goals of which 5 have come in the last two games, what a turnaround from being bottom.
We can start looking up the league rather than down and
MIND THE GAP ASTON VILLA.
At this stage of the season it doesn’t really matter about anything apart from getting points on the board. Today the record shows we won 2-1. We are on 23 points. Four more wins from 16 games and a couple of draws should do it. J Lo record reads W 4 D 1 L 2. That is 13 points from 7 games. And well done the team. From being 1-0 down and 1 team mate down against the 12 of Saints to come back and get the win in the last 20 mins was sensational. Enjoy MOTD tonight. Even if the Wolves game does come on at 2.15am.
That’s around a 70 pt per season clip.
Well summed up!
Knew it was going to be a scrap and it was a tough game to watch!
Onwards and upwards!
Also on a side note, I predicted a 2-0 win against Liverpool and I feel like I should be applauded for this correct result as the third goal didn’t count…according to Klopp
Massive, massive result and once again well done to JL, his staff and the team. JL is keeping us bang on track to avoid the drop. Probably a further summer of rebuilding lies ahead but that can wait for now.JL is delivering exactly what is needed, and so he deserves all the credit that will come his way. Win against Bournemouth and we can start looking upwards.
3 points and 3 points.
1. Under Lopetegui we have real spirit.
2. His substitutions are inspired.
3. I don’t want to hear anyone knocking Adama Traore.
UTW
Great result (again).
Great tactical awareness and use of subs by JL (again).
Great goal by Gomez. (Again please!).
Great performance by Ruben(again).
Not bad considering it was 10 men against 12.
What was that ref on? Another planet I think.
I wonder if Fosun, together with all the Wolves bloggers and fans Worldwide, could come up with enough money, and the promise of a statue outside the newly named Ruben Neves stand, to persuade possibly our greatest midfielder ever to stick around for the rest of his playing career?
I’d be more than prepared to unlock the, rarely opened, DOOGooder wallet for that possibility.
The euphoria of that victory shows that WWFC are a true premiership team when managed by a proper manager. He has picked up the reins of a poorly run club and showed his expertise in whipping it into shape after securing just 6 of his choice of players and there doesn’t look a bad one amongst them and all at bargain prices
When interviewed by the media he comes over with authority and confidence
Whatever mistakes Fosun made in the past they have certainly done us proud in securing JLs services. We must now hang on to him whoever comes knocking and I would say we do the same with Ruben because if they can see us doing the right things moving up the league heading towards the top 6 then the future would be bright for JL and Ruben and WWFC. COYW. Look upwards from now please
After an apparently grotty start, it was about time something went our way for a change. I didn’t see any of the game though, so I can’t comment on that.
I don’t care how we get the points just as long as we do!
And… that we no longer play from the back!
Bring on Bournemouth and let’s score some more goals!
Well that made getting up at 4am very pleasant indeed… the Blog report is out (amazing Thomas) and I’m having my breakfast..
Just an amazing turnaround.. Jared Gillet has been having lessons off Stuart Atwell..!! Another useless ref wearing the FIFA badge.
Please can Jeff (Shi) just give Ruben the cheque book and say ..’fill in the numbers yourself’.. this man is just incredible.
Lopetegui too is class and given the right tools can takes further than Nuno…. everyone on the pitch played a part including Adama, (in support of Muttleigh) but the headlines stealer will be Joao Gomes … wonder kid Mark 2 … cool and clinical and happy in his work …
I suspect Nathan Jones will be down the job centre any time soon.
Indeed … “WOLVES AYE WE” … here comes the sun.
Well poor Nathan has had the bullet..
I’m not surprised really .. plenty of bluster too when he went to Stoke and lasted ‘5 minutes..’
Still working for two months out of a 42 months contract is good money in my estimation..
R mate. The blow is somewhat softened by a million quid payout for 3 months work. Lucky him. At least he won’t give a shit about putting the central heating on .
Again, I did my part. I put on my rally cap, metaphorically speaking, by turning off the game in frustration and within 5 minutes, saw on Twitter that we had scored.
This has happened once or twice before this season.
Maybe it is just a coincidence and maybe I have found a glitch in the simulation.
If nothing else, this season will be very exciting.
What a manager!
Games…what can I say?
That boy is someone special for sure.
Onwards and upwards.
Let`s be absolutely clear. This win was no fluke. We won the game fair and square because we were the better team. That we did so despite being robbed of a player after twenty seven minutes by a clueless and utterly biased referee, simply makes the victory more sweet.
But the underlying reason for our sustained improvement is that our coach has got the team playing with huge self belief and confidence. After conceding first and then going down to ten men, there was no panic. We just kept playing our football, in the knowledge that our superior quality would prevail.
The turn around at our beloved club since the arrival of the new coach is of a magnitude difficult to believe . Bruno`s chaotic tenure of the job has been put in a true perspective, and is rapidly becoming nothing more than a distant unpleasant memory
We are going to do a repeat of the feat that Leicester achieved a few years back with Pearson as manager – bottom at Christmas then champions next season.
COYW
Can’t see the big 6 letting that happen again there will be a private security outfit surrounding the var building,heard there’s a planning application in for a moat and gun towers
OODCL
Yeay!
Great fightback 10 v 11 + apparently the referee yet again.
13 points from 7 games since JL moved in.
A bench completely populated by professionals rather than littered with schoolboys.
Money spent wisely in Jan. window.
Lage, Sellars and co. finally out of he door.
What a transformation. We look like a proper Premier League club again.
It seems Jeff you may have belatedly rediscovered the plot. Have to admit, in your defence though Lopetegui was the original first choice from way back when.
Looking forward to a new golden age.
But above all well done to the guys on the pitch. Seismic result today.
Almost as seismic as a contented PJB quietly munching some humble pie, top job. 1 lv.
And where have you seen me criticising the new regime?
And can you honestly say that Shi is not seriously culpable of a string of bad calls and delaying regime change for too long.
Sorry Rasta I would say the apologists for the last 3 years regression should be eating humble pie; everything in the garden has not been as lovely as many on this blog have claimed until Jeff Shi’s U turns over the last few months.
No humble pie here, as events have completely vindicated my critical posts. We were heading for guaranteed relegation.
He was Rasta, until you rattled his cage.
I’ll take it on the chin, in the spirit of CFH. 1 lv.
Can’t really win can I Ww.
I tell it as I see it.
It’s been really poor for 2/3 years so I’m “being negative” when I say so.
It’s being turned round so I’m being positive which apparently means I’m “eating humble pie”.
Damned if I do damned if I don’t. But unlike many who have been hounded off this site I shall continue to try to be objective regardless. Seeing everything purely through gold tinted spectacles doesn’t get us anywhere.
A sense of humour goes a long way PJB….
Fair comment.
Maybe we can afford to have one now, I’m all for that HC.
Just watched the Lemina sending off on MOTD. Can any one seriously tell me had that been a Big 6 player like KDB running back he would have been sent off. ? Fuck off. And the Wham defender does a last ditch Gordon Banks save with his hand. No fucking VAR. This shit is what can send teams down at the end of the season. Wham get a point. Ridiculous.
VAR is always there Cheese but as Potter said, when you have human beings operating it you are always going to get inconsistency when there’s a subjective decision to be made. However, they can’t get objective decisions right either now it seems- check out the Brentford equaliser where there’s a clear offside . If the VAR team were managers they’d all be sacked by now.
Excellent performance by the lads today; Sa back to his best but Nunes still needs a rocket up his backside for his sloppy play. Thankfully he was hooked by Lopetegui and that proved to be the turning point with the introduction of Gomes.
Yeah mate. Agree.
Cheesy, you are absolutely right. There is an inherent bias to the big six and London teams, and there is no doubt about it!
It is so very very obvious! I
Some people refer to it as “mistakes” or ” errors” or “oversights” etc., but I prefer to call a spade a spade —– They bloody well cheat! Plain and very obvious, they cheat!!
Generally agree St Kitts but Arsenal were shafted yesterday. Must be something to do with that obnoxious little ferret continually ranting and raving on the touchline.
And have you noticed how the commentators are in on it as well, in NZ sky highlights almost totally focused on Southampton and ignored the Lamina sending off
A fantastic result today. Again we saw the fight and passion coming through. As for the referee – dreadful decisions. The Lemina sending off could have cost us that game, yet the blatant diving from Soton players goes unpunished. The standard of refereeing is not at the standard we deserve in the premier league.
Shocker of a red card.
But the golden wave keeps on surfing.
Somehow J Lo managed to find the formula to get our 10 men playing better than our previous 11 and the Sinners 11. Well played that manager, el capitan and the team.
Super attitude, result and 3 points.
Dawson looking good to take over until Coady gets back, but perhaps that ship has sailed?
We can’t afford any drop off in intensity, lets get this safety shit nailed up.
1 lv & COYW.
Well that’s how to win the hard way. Does that ref harbour a secret desire to appear in the 6 nations? He might be better suited or maybe jest quit the game and leave it to those who understand football.
But for all that JLo and the squad have turned a miserable 2022 into a 2023 with some promise and growing expectations
It’s hard to believe that referees can be so obviously inept without something more sinister going on but tin foil hat aside we could be forgiven for being paranoid with some of the abysmal decisions we have had to endure. Despite these clowns best attempts to spoil the party the J.Lo train keeps on rolling and we look like a class outfit with our new additions. Bostin. Up the Wolves!
Very pleasant Sunday afternoon watching Vile get tanked at Citeh. And the sight of Greasy diving in front of incensed Vile fans for the ‘penalty’ is even better. Come on Citeh. We want five !
Annoying isn’t it?
We smash Liverpool and it’s all about how poor they are.
We win with 10 men after conceding first and it’s all about another manager being out of his depth (and now out of a job)
So we have to take the patronising reports which give 90% of the column inches and pundit time to the opposition.
Well at least the blog gives credit where it’s due, superb against Liverpool , not as good against Saints but a great show of character by the players, inspired by a manager who got the tactics and substitutions absolutely spot on.
I witnessed an abysmal display by Mr. Gillett, booking anyone making a tackle, making the cardinal sin of refereeing of turning his back on the play and not using common sense to manage the players- from both sides. He was frankly more out of his depth than Nathan Jones.
So well done also to my fellow travelling Wolves fans, a constant wall of noise even when it wasn’t going well easily out voicing the home sections (who’ve only got one song). Sadly I hope I never hear Molineux crowd turn on a manager as St.Mary’s did on Saturday, that was unpleasant, we need to keep J-Lo for the forseeable future, he is clearly only taking us in one direction
Yes , BJ, it is annoying and predictable. I was not surprised by the focus of post match reports . Journos obviously feel compelled , at the expense of the opposition, to amplify the strengths of top six teams in victory and their problems in defeat. For me, I am happy for the present for the Wolves to be under the radar.
I also baulk at those journos and pundits who write about which Wolves players
should be bought by big six clubs. The arrogance of it .
Sorry. BG.
This win should not be understated. At 1-0 and with 10 men it was looking bleak. Wolves before the World Cup would have wilted. I like to think myself an optimist but even I was thinking it was game over.
But no, we showed guts and plenty of quality in the second half after what was admittedly a slow start. Maybe we were spurred on by the injustice. This felt almost bigger than Liverpool. Forget the fact they’re bottom of the league, they’re still a Premier League team and coming from behind with 10 men away from home rarely happens at this level.
But no, it was us pushing for the winner and Saints looking desperate. The big thing for us is we now have a proper squad. Costa and Traore came on and made a positive impact and Gomes, well, what an introduction.
On the red card. It’s one of the most ludicrous things I’ve ever seen. I’m not one for refereeing conspiracies, never have been. But a Premier League referee choosing to send someone off for nothing is criminal. He knew the impact it could have on the game and, as this was relegation six pointer, potentially the whole season.
I cannot fathom what went through his mind but he should not be allowed to referee at this level for a long time.
To end on a positive note, we’re pulling away from danger and we’ve surely shown we’ve got enough quality to be fine. A win in another big game next week, then we really can start looking upwards rather than down.
Heroes in Old Gold all over the pitch in this coming back from the dead classic. But the real MOTM played for the Saints.
He was unreal in the first half, almost single-handedly nullifying our desperate attempts to get into the game. Using his power to great effect to try to get the win for his team. His performance levels dropped off a little in the second period as, perhaps, he realised he couldn’t win the game for Saints on his own and his teammates weren’t able to help enough.
Oh yes, his name. Jared Gillet of course. More often known by his pseudonym, the wanker in the black.
We are getting used to it. I was thinking today about how many times Brentford (for example) have benefited from soft penalties offsides etc as compared to Wolves. Think away I did and couldn’t come up with anything. We are just on the end of one disgraceful pile of smouldering excrement after another. A picture on social media of literally the entire Man Utd team surrounding the referee in protest at some sort of decision or other. Result. No bookings. No red cards. Conspiracy ? Or just paranoid.
CONSPIRACY..
You could name loads of teams … oh sorry .. top 6 and London teams in referees faces…
Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, Man city, … well the list is endless…
Lemina did what literally all players do … harangue the ref… only Leminas mistake was to be 3rd in the queue… refs make up the rules as they go along …
I would have thought Wolves would challenge the card and so avoid a 1 match ban …
apparently it is actually a rule
Player 1 cannot be booked for running at the ref, but player 2 or 3 can. It happened in citys game aswell.
Not that it makes it ok – or that its not utter bullshit. But he could of just booked Moutiniho.
Anyway we move 😀
Unfortunately Lord Twix I don’t think you can appeal a red card if it shown due to two yellows
You can’t Bilbrook.
2 Managers Sacked after 2 comebacks in 2 seasons.
Things you love to see.
Wolves Aye We!
I love Moutinho and regard him as a world class player, who is still capable of great play. But, sadly, he no longer has the athletic ability to play effectively against young, fit, physical world class midfielders such as he comes up against in many Premier League sides. He can, in my opinion, still be effective for a half against the lesser teams, but his legs appear, to me, to go after forty minutes. His attitude and knowledge still demand respect and younger players must pick up on his and other leaders application to the game. Unfortunately, I believe our lack of competitiveness in the first half was partly due to his inclusion ahead of others in what was a physical encounter.
VAR and the officials is becoming a never ending point of contention and, all things being fair and above board, It ought to work sensibly. Constant changes and mid term tweeks to rules and interpretation just add to the confusion and incompetence. The rules do appear to be made and worded by people who have never played the game and need a complete overhaul and changes made by intelligent , experienced players of the game alongside the officials.
The offside rule with the stupid lack of decisions being made by ‘linespersons’ when obvious is a particular bugbear of mine along with the inclusion of various parts of the body having to be taken into account; time wasting and confusingly technical. For goodness sake base it on where the feet are positioned and recognise that mm differences in timing and movement, and the striking of passes cannot be accurately synchronised.
Finally, is it now the rule that after a contentious decision the third person jogging towards a referee has to be carded; must have missed that one, By all means, only allow the captain to approach the referee (it also allows the ref time to reflect on his decision, not a bad thing), with the ref explaining to the captain how he saw the event and being available after the game to speak his part unless VAR allows him to alter his views to form a less contentious decision. People will still disagree on the more subjective variants involved, which is part of the joy of the game, but the decisions making the headlines at the moment tend to be clear cut mistakes allowed to unfairly and needlessly stand. With the enormous amounts of money now involved in the game and the temptation for corruption to become involved with the inclusion of the betting industry concerning goals ,carding, results, etc we need to have faith in the veracity of the game…
Couldn’t have put it better myself mate.
Agreed 100%
Dissent and unsporting behaviour have always been yellow card offences so nothing has changed in that regard. I think the referee’s explanation about being the third player to approach him is a strange one, but I have read over the weekend that the FA are looking to clamp down on players surrounding officials and a Man City player was also yellow carded this weekend for the same offence.
In the whole I totally agree with it, I hate seeing players swarm around the ref but firstly this new clamp down should be communicated to clubs so they know what is going to happen and the players can’t be surprised by it, and then it needs to be consistently applied to all players on all teams every week.
Luckily it didn’t effect the result!
I take issue with just your final sentence Newt. Maybe it did as the players were fired up because of the injustice of it all.
Fair point, although I think Lopetegui’s excellent use of substitutions to take the game to Southampton instead of just sitting back also helped. This manager is so good!
Should also add we are also going to lose Lemina for at least one game. Straight reds for dissent carry a two game ban – not sure if that also applies to two yellows – are there any bloggers who referee??
I’m not a referee but your question took me back to when a work colleague was. I don’t think he ever got on the league list, but wasn’t all that far below it. He came in one day after running the line at a pre-season friendly between Wolves and Stafford Rangers. He said that he’d had to flag Derek Dougan offside a number of times to the extent that DD, flagged for the umpteenth time stuck two fingers up at him. And what did you do we asked him. Stuck two up back at him of course he said. Those were of course very much simpler times!!!
Yes, the Doog had something of an issue with linesmen. Allegedly he questioned the parentage of a linesman in a 1969 encounter with Everton (can’t confirm as I was in the North Bank). The ref, Keith Walker sent him off and almost caused a riot. Walker had to have a police encounter to get away from Molineux after the game Those were the days!
escort!!
I watched that from the enclosure.
He ran up to the linesman in a VERY aggressive manner.
No wonder he was sent off.
Were there two other players in front of him though?
Shall we bring Conor Coady back ? And Jota. Maybe Boly?
Well said COD
Yes, yes, yes and throw in the the Moroccan World Cup captain for good measure. Of course we can’t live in the past and we do seem to be regrouping but what a classic case of making a sow’s ear out of a silk purse mssrs. Shi, Sellars and Lage managed between them.
Clueless!
It will be interesting how the option to buy unravels when Everton get relegated. That won’t do much for his England career.
If Everton get relegated, would they exercise the option, against Conor’s wishes? One main reason he left Wolves was the likelihood of being benched by Bruno, with the obvious effect on his England career. Playing in the championship would be worse. So, lets say Everton don’t exercise the option and he comes back to Wolves. Would he be guaranteed a place? Lopetegui doesn’t guarantee ANYBODY a place…
Can’t see Conor’s wishes would come into it from Everton’s perspective if money’s to be made on a potential resale . Similar to the Adobe deal we did a few years ago. If he did return it’s clear that he wouldn’t be a shoe in but he’d be a valuable squad member.
Yup, Everton could do an Afobe, exercise the option at £4mil or so and then try to sell him to a PL club at a profit. The appalling error here was Wolves loaning him out with the option to buy. Everton would have taken him without the option. The days of appalling transfer blunders are hopefully behind us, with Lopetegui able to call the shots now.
Excellent weekend really. Out of those 7 teams down there no team apart from Wolves won. Tonight’s defeat for Everton means their PPG projection is now 32 points. So as it stands 33 points will keep you up. All of the 7 teams have played 22 games. Good news for us is 23 points from 22 means we are on target for 40 points. This doesn’t take account of the J LO effect . 13 points from 7 games. If that ratio is repeated over the final 16 games we are looking at 52 points for the season. So my guess is we finish on somewhere between 40 and 52 points. I’ll go halfway and say 46 !!
We’ll have to start calling you ‘Statto’ Cheesey.
Well. I did get “o” level maths ! I still remember my exam paper. One question gave you the distance between a cliff top and the ground, the distance between the cliff top and a boat at sea. You had to work out the distance between the bottom of the cliff and the boat. Using cosines or something. All in the dim and distant past!!
It’s quite simple Cheesey.
The Squaw on the hippopotamus is equal to the sum of the Squaws on the other two hides.
fivethirtyeight has us finishing on 41 pts in 15th Place:
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/premier-league/
Everton’s loss last night decreased our chances of relegation by 1%.
At the beginning of the season, without a ball being kicked, they predicted we’d finish 14th on 46 pts.
In November we had a 56% chance of being relegated, finishing 19th, but since the appointment of J-Lo we’ve always been more likely to survive.
As far as Wolves are concerned, they seem to be getting things right but Fulham were odds on to be relegated and Newcastle, according to them, should have struggled.
Statistically, I think a win against Fulham (we’re predicted to lose) will make us safe.
BUT, as they say, it’s funny old game!
Yeah but this also says west ham will finish above us….
also has arsenal winning the league/////
About as good as VAR operators then.
As results come in, it updates all the time.
And, after tonight’s result, it has Man City winning the league by 2pts.
“Past performance is not indicative of future results” etc etc etc, but they can, with reservations, suggest possible outcomes.
If we win our remaining 16 matches, we will qualify for the Champions League. Although it is a possibilty, with a less than a 1% chance of it happening, I doubt anyone will be betting their house on it.
It may have it’s faults but the the tools fivethirtyeight uses are the best we have of predicting a very uncertain future. And, if I were a gambling man I would look at fivethirtyeight before asking Paul the Octopus.
Post World Cup mini league:
(1) Wolves P7 13pts (2 gd)
(2) Forest P7 11pts (-1 gd)
(3) Leicester P7 7pts (-2 gd)
(4) West Ham P7 6pts (-3 gd)
(5) Leeds P8 4pts (-6 gd)
(6) Everton P7 4pts (-8 gd)
(7) Southampton P7 3pts (-8 gd)
(8) Bournemouth P7 2pts (-10 gd)
Looking good Newt.
Current form over recent games is the most accurate indicator .
Lovely bit of statistics Newt. The feel good factor has drawn me into extrapolating a season outcome of 13 points per 7 games. It gives c71 (70.57) points. Last season that would have put us 5th.
That’s a Beach Boys prediction Bilbrook……”Wouldn’t it be great…..”
I’m with you. Why not!
The post match throwaway comment by Klippity , with regard to Neves’ excellent goal, whilst dismissive , was disingenuous.
I wonder if Salah’s very similar recent goal following a breakaway was any different.
It was Kendal because Liverpool were about 1mm from going 1-0 down. Did klippity mention that ?
Arsenal v Man City.
Seven City players surrounding the referee following penalty decision.
No player yellow carded.
Exactly! I was just about to post the same point! No consistency in ref’s decisions in the PL. Can assure you that if Man C were not big six, out would come the card!
What is good for one is good for all. We just want consistency! Both the refs and VAR have been very inconsistant!
Bias is quite apparent!
Grealish was booked for running up to the referee and shouting so I’d say it was inconsistant rather than biased.
Personally, I’d prefer it if he were booked for diving insted of being awarded 9.9 by the VAR judges, and given a penalty, as he was against Villa.