That was the worst performance of the Gary O’Neil era.
It was also Groundhog Day having been taken apart on the counter in this fixture last season.
West Ham knew what they were trying to execute and Kudus and Bowen made the right runs and finished superbly. Great, from their perspective.
I applaud Gary for being bold, going to a back four and trying to inject some impetus into the attack, but it proved disastrous with the space in defence costing us dearly and the meagre output at the other end resulting in only the second blank of the season.
There were no clangers from Dan Bentley but he didn’t bail us out either and the first goal felt avoidable with the ball arriving within reach of the keeper’s body. I think Sa might have saved it.
I assume the goal of getting Sarabia and Bellegarde into the same XI was to try and extract more from Cunha and Hwang across the front line, but again, it didn’t work out.
Cunha can feel good enough about his typically industrious efforts with and without the ball, but Hwang might as well not have been on the pitch. I felt similar with Lemina who I didn’t even realise was playing for the first half an hour.
Speaking of players who might not have been on the pitch, Coufal was lucky having smashed Bellegarde in both halves. We’ve seen players walk for less.
We also had the customary VAR intervention to rule out Sarabia’s goal from our only incisive move of the entire game. It looked like the right decision just about but I don’t know why it took them so long to reach that conclusion.
Had we managed to force that one in legally, the final twenty might have been very different but because we didn’t and then faded away moments later, you have to call it what it was – a pretty pathetic effort all round.
We’re too papery, particularly at the top end of the pitch (he could have given Sasa a run out today though), to consistently make a fist of things away from Molineux and that’s something that I suspect requires attention in January and next summer as opposed to being solved by Gary O’Neil on the training ground.
But for the moment, that’s all we have.
Onto Chelsea.
Still think we should have gad a penalty when their pjayer looked to falk into the path of ours.
Nice use of Sasa, Gary.
Let’s set the ridiculous VAR fiasco aside but on;y after asking how does it take 6 minutes to ratify a “clear and obvious error” – it doesn’t. Would it have made a difference? Doubt it.
Because today we were nowhere near good enough in any department.
Defence was shambolic and Bentley is simply not a PL goalkeeper.
Midfield looked lethargic and ineffective.
And up front we lacked any cutting edge.
Too many times this season we simply haven’t turned up at away matches.
This is a team / squad which to it’s credit has been punching above it’s weight because it’s packed with journeymen and to compound those shortcomings lacks depth even of that quality. And to add to our woes we shall be deprived of Ait-Nouri, Hwang and Lemina for African and Asian Cups in Jan/Feb. Hope the recruitment team are working hard or we have some serious young talent at Compton because our paper thin squad will be stretched to the limit in the New Year.
Back to today, despite the VAR rubbish it’s hard to say that 3-0 flattered West Ham. We didn’t really compete.
I don’t think Gabon qualified so Lemina should be ok
Wrong set up from the start and too many poor individual performances all over the pitch.
O’Neill obviously doesn’t trust his bench, Sasa and Fabio obviously need moving on for their sakes as well as the clubs.
O’Neill needs to get a grip to be honest. We were set up wrong, everyone can see Toti isn’t a LB and Kudus and Bowen had the freedom of the pitch in behind us. So much space for them to exploit. We should only be playing a back 5 from now on and that’s 5 poor performances in a row. No real positives to take really? The move for the disallowed goal was really slick but again, VAR sucking any joy out of the game. I know it was the right decision but Jesus. Is that what football is now?
Onto Chelsea and i’m expecting a much improved performance.
Stand corrected Manx, a bit of good news!
I can’t remember the last time we played consistently well for the entire 90 minutes of a game and we were well short all over the pitch today. Wrong personnel and tactics were employed from the start
Neto’s absence has underlined our lack of pace and penetration. Talking of lack of pace and while Jaoa Gomes is a tenacious tackler, he must be our slowest player since Gary Bellamy!
Another inexcusably abysmal performance on our travels.
GON`s post game summary that the result did not reflect the game is just plain rubbish. We were outplayed by a much superior team who were by no means flattered by the size of their victory.
And GON must shoulder much of the blame for this performance. It`s been very clear for a long time that we cannot defend adequately with four at the back. So why change from what we know to be our best set up ? As a result we were hugely exposed and West Ham unsurprisingly took full advantage.
Our squad is not only paper thin, but it includes far too many very average journeymen. If some quality is not added in key positions in January, we could well be facing an uncomfortable time as the season progresses.
Not sure I 100% agree Mike. Their fast break aways led to 3 preventable goals. What we need to learn, is the same. Fast attacking football, wins games. Stats show we were in the game. Reality is the side to side, passing back slow pedastrian football, don’t win games.
Just my thoughts.
KTF
I see you point Marnhull. But with the players we`ve got in the squad we simply don`t have sufficient pace at the back to combat the type of threat that West Ham posed today. We were always going to be carved open far too easily. Furthermore neither Semedo nor Toti are natural full backs, -Semedo comes into his own when played as a wingback, and Toto is a [ very good ] central defender.
But I fully agree with you, that whatever system you adopt at the back you simply have to attack at pace. This sideways / backwards passing that we now endlessly seem to favor is never going to hack it at this level. This is surely something that GON needs to tackle with the utmost urgency
Can’t argue with that Mike. Think we both agree, fast paced footbal, not tippy happy wins games.
KTF
Mike/ Marnhull
We need to cut to the chase.
We can all talk about what we should be doing, but the elephant in the room is that we don’t have the players to attain the levels to which (as supporters) we aspire;
Going back isn’t necessarily going to help but I’m afraid this current crop of rag tag and bobtails doesn’t have anywhere the class of Nuno’s team of only 3 years ago. And we must have spent way more money than then in net terms.
Fosun have failed to live up to signing the likes of Neves, Boly, Moutinho, Patricio, Jiminez, Jonny (in his prime), Costa & Cav, Jota, Neto and even the nous to bring on the likes of Coady, Doc, Ruddy, Saiss et al.
Not sure whether they have lost interest or it’s down to incompetence of the current autocracy of management under Shi or maybe a mixture of both.
And before we get into FFP we seem to be the only club in the PL who seem to almost as bad as managing it as Everton.
But for sure as in the song by Talking Heads “We’re on the Road to Nowhere” until there is a rethink in Shanghai. And still looking forward to the shiny new 50.000 capacity Molineux.
PJB I fully accept the logic of your arguments. But the reality is that GON has to manage the players we have to maximum effect.
To get any result in this highly competitive league you cannot afford the luxury of giving the opposition a couple of goals start, as we did today. This means that given the paucity of our squad, and with a known lack of pace in central defense, we must surely rely on five at the back and try to build from there.
Then, irrespective of systems and personnel, the only way we can hope to win games is to attack at pace. Sideways and backwards, which has become our norm, will never suffice.
Having regard to Fousn`s ambitions, or lack of, I think you`re being far too nice. The grandiose schemes which were originally presented are surely long gone.
In my view the wholesale disposal of key players has as much to do with the accumulation of as much cash as possible as it has to do with Fair Play considerations. I believe that Fosun`s sole intent now is to ensure survival as a premier league club while they attempt to sell the club and maximize profits from what for them has been a failed venture.
A cynical view perhaps. But very probably correct. We`ve just got to live with it.
T
Can’t argue with your points PJB. But, Mike is also spot on, GON has got what he has and its his job to get the best out of them. They’re all professional sports people earning more than we do,should accept they are in lucky position and give it their all.
Happy Christmas everyone on the blog and let’s keep the faith in 2024.
Agreed MW and your point makes performances like yesterday’s all the more unacceptable.
Well… the Hammers caught us on the break in exactly the same way that we catch the other teams out when we score. Twice.
Today was very disappointing.
Our passing skills in most of the first half was embarrassingly bad.
No complaints about the goal that wasn’t, it ‘was’ offside, but VAR wasting six minutes faffing around was dreadful.
Yes, we were well and truly put to bed this afternoon.
Onwards and upwards…
Kudos to Kudus.
He burst our bubble.
And Paqueta helped send us packing.
It’s hard to pull many positives from today.
The stats show an even game, but the reality is the only stat that matters is that we lost 3-0.
We’ve now lost the last 4 games away from home.
Sa’s shoulder injury provided an opportunity for Bentley, who’d done well against Burnley last week. It’s hard to say for sure, but perhaps one of those goals could have been saved.
Changing to a back 4 didn’t work and there were below par performances across the pitch.
Yet again our lack of cutting edge proved costly. While Sarabia’s goal was unfortunately chalked off after an inexplicably long VAR review, it was, for once, the right decision. Tight. But correct.
Cunha was busy as usual, but I cannot understand why Kalajdzic wasn’t given a chance to mix things up.
I still think we will be fine this season. We are a work in progress and GON will benefit from time and both January and the Summer transfer windows.
But in the meantime we must tighten up the defence and improve going forward. Conceding 2 goals within the first 32 minutes of any game makes the task of winning practically impossible.
I always believe things are rarely as bad (or as good) as they seem, and this is no different. We’re 10 points above the relegation zone and all know we have been hard done by with earlier results thanks to VAR.
The last 3 games have us a win, a draw and a loss.
We need Ait-Nourhi and Neto back fit and an inspirational win to get us back on track.
UTW
Pretty awful watch, poor passing, no creativity, crap defending , goalkeeper who isn’t premier league standard, and a forward line that couldn’t threaten a girls under 15 one legged team.
Don’t know what GON been teaching them in training but the last few games has been very poor with lack of enthusiasm and a hard watch
Spam had 4 shots, score 3 and hit the post ,and VAR again raise it’s ugly head to make sure we didn’t score but fail miserably to send Corful off twice.
We’re need more than Neto comeback to turn this team around the way it’s going
It’s really showing how much we miss the talents of Neves with his tackling and creative passing which non of this lot gets close to achieving
Totally unconnected with today’s fiasco, but has anyone watched “Hidden Assets”
on BBC One ? There is an assassin called Aubrey Cline .
I am certain he is played by Guadiola .
But those who live by the gun………
As for Wolves today. Totally inept in the first half. I have rarely seen so many wayward or easily intercepted passes. Neither have I seen so many 50/50 situations so weakly lost.
West Ham were slick, nimble , quick to take advantage of errors ,accurate with the ball and deserved their win.
Talk about lookalikes, I see that Fabio Silva is the face of Bleu de Chanel.
Don’t perfume ads at Christmas get right on your tits? They certainly do mine. All sweaty sailors, pouting females and French accents.
What’s wrong with a bit of ‘Enery Cooper or Barry Sheen?
As far as the game was concerned, I think I must have dozed off.
Who won?
We lost because we were pressurised in possessionby a team that played a midweek European game. We lost most of the 50/50 challenges and I could not see any pattern to our play with no plan inattack. It was a repeat of the games against Forest and Fulham. Best players today were Cunha, Sarabia and Ait Nouri; the rest did not turn up
I think the last 3 games accurately show where we are – just OK, but not very good.
Thinking about the 3 West Ham goals on the break, had they been Wolves players receiving the same attacking balls, what would we have done?
– Put them away?
– tried a weak centre of the ball?
– Held it up and eventually passed it back over halfway?
Playing at home, that is a decent West Ham side. Playing away with wrong tactics that is a poor Wolves side.
Four at the back weakens us defensively with no apparent benefit to attack. Surprisingly (sarcastic voice) West Ham fully appreciated the possible benefits of exposing the limited pace of Dawson.
Regardless of past glories, the contribution of Toti, Semedo, Joao Gomes and Hwang in the last 5 games has hardly registered anything positive.
The introduction of Doherty instead of Sasa when 3-0 down throws up even more questions.
People will point to our lack of a cutting edge out and out striker as a key difference. But this is one of the fixtures that such an argument doesn’t apply.
Knackered or not, they were up for it today. With one or two exceptions we weren’t. When we’re off boy do we stink – particularly passing and tackling. Let’s hope it’s a blip.
Morning , confused from aldridge here,
Am i wrong or did we cautiously play 5 at the back against burnley (bottom 3) and forest (bottom4) then go to west ham (top7) and play 4 at the back resulting in us being wide open and getting stuffed.
Perhaps it may have been more prudent for gaaaaaary to play the same tactics against a top 7 team away from home as he chose to do against two bottom clubs at home where we actually managed to get some points even though we were pretty average.
I can only assume he is tinkering but unfortunately learning nothing, is this the result of no pre season or is it because he thinks he is a clever tactician and using our ten point cushion to experiment.
Well if its the latter gary i think you ought to take a look at what happened to leicester last season when they thought they were doing ok enough to avoid relegation.
Oh well every cloud has a silver lining i suppose as this abysmal season for us and the vile having every bit of luck going is keeping me out of the pub (which is full of the brummie gobshites) as i feel much better in myself and surprisingly richer because of it.
A risky team selection/formation perhaps.
3 1/2 minutes for VAR to decide on something that isn’t supposed to be subjective. Maybe they were trying to even up some old scores by giving us one back ?
Either way, West Ham were mullered by Fulham a week ago and their world didn’t fall apart.
very true,
maybe thats the kick up the arse we need !
We’ve had more kicks up the arse than a donkey on Blackpool beach .. but do we ever change after a whooping… nah …
Love that M’ Lord. Happy Christmas to you and yours.
KTF
And the self same to you good friend ..
I was amazed to see us come back out as a back four for the second half. I don’t know how it looks in Training, but on match day it doesn’t appear our players are suited to it at all.
Never since we arrived in the Premier League have we looked comfortable as a four
Although VAR screwed us over with another fingernail offside going against us and the obvious none red card for the Wham bloke. We can have few complaints about our display overall. Couldn’t defend for toffee. Nothing incisive in attack. We have looked insipid for 3 or 4 games in a row. Lightweight. Slow.Ponderous. Good job we have the bottom 3 below us. I reckon 4 more wins will see us safe and a couple of draws. That is all I am looking forward to . I can’t see this side being anything other than bottom 8. Perhaps a couple of decent additions in January might make a difference.
COD
In many other seasons we would already be in a relegation scrap and though we look relatively safe on paper we are so below par recently that we could yet be THAT TEAM which so often drops into the mire and we won’t be helped by African/Asian Cup call ups.
Your regular ppg updates have been pretty reliable over the last couple of seasons but with the playing resources we have at the moment I fear our current one and a bit ppg will be seriously threatened without some very shrewd recruitment in Jan.
Yes PJB. This time last season PPG was showing 32 points as the safety line. This season it is showing 24 points same stage. As it turned out last season 35 points was enough. So a 3 point upswing in results from PPG which usually happens as teams lower down find some form in the desperation to stay up. Plus the Jan window in the mix. The differential last season to now shows the poor quality of the current bottom 3. And to you Twix . You know my glass is usually half full and optimism. Watching that yesterday was no fun and gave even me little to get excited about.
I applaud you Cheesey for seeing the shite that was served up yesterday mate ..
and that you acknowledge the three shittier teams below us .. but that it only the now ..
I honestly can’t see any improvement on the horizon and with Luton making a decent fist of it .. I’m mythered that we’ll think we’re good whereas we’re actually abysmal …
According to The Times report on the game this morning Wolves were better than the scoreline suggests and were the equal of West Ham. They are wrong. Wolves were out classed. Not one Wolves player was the equal of his West Ham opposite number. We were beaten by a much better team.
Some very valid points above about attacking at pace. West Ham did it. We didn’t. It’s not that we can’t, as we did it spectacularly well against Spurs, but that was at home. We seem to lose our marbles and speed away from home these days.
We certainly didn’t get the rub of the green either. When a defender ‘fell over’ in front of Cunha in the box, that was a penalty not given. He literally dived in front of Cunha! The elbow to face was a red card, and many commentators said so. Therefore, two bad VAR calls. The Wolves offside goal was the narrowest of margins and I immediately feared 3-0 when that happened. At 2-1, I think we might have gone on to get a point. Against ten men, three points. Again, VAR favours either a) the bigger team, or b) the home team.
Balanced post DWW.
We are also clearly missing Neto’s early season sensational form and let’s hope he recovers this quickly. We also needed heroics from Bentley although we should not look for scapegoats when the going gets tough. Would anyone take that diva, Martinez back?
Time to resort to the pack mentality and our support from the terraces is key. We can beat Chelsea and get a point at Brentford with the right set- up and some consistency from their officials.
Spot on DWW. When we attack and a fast pace we are dangerous, it’s exciting and will result in a goal, corner or at the very least in the opposition half. Unfortunately, we go side to side, backwards with very little movement up front. I don’t advocate the gung ho football of Blackpool, when they were in the top flight (though it was exciting) but, a bit more pace & flair, would help.
Come back Pedro.
KTF
Well another hammering from the Wiley old irons with alien head at the controls.
Looked like he had Gazzbo’s number.
Bentley had a ‘mare, but only by inches.
VARse up to it’s usual tricks.
I guess the Jimi red card v Newcastle is the new gold standard.
Our offside job took the last biscuit out of the tin, to ensure a thoroughly joyless afternoon in the capitol.
Yoho ho.
1 lv & COYW
Maybe I was spared the despair of others here because my telly recording failed to work so all I’ve seenuntil now is the so called “highlights” from The Wolves website
yikes….that’s under 12’s goalkeeping and I should know as I let in 18 in my first game ( then 12 the next but only 5 in the third…after which I got moved out as left half)…but every shot went in when I had the green jersey on
Meantime ….arrgh we need to get out act together and fast and ….points off Chelsea and Bees are becoming vital…Come back Jose!
Come on lads give us a Christmas present or two…not the opposing team
OODCL
As I said at the end of the last article, a back four did, in fact, leave a lot of space for their players to exploit. They were too quick for many of our defenders and, after the first goal, it doesn’t take a genius to see we should have reverted to a back five.
I also thought our keeper could have done better and I’m sure he feels similarly.
Let’s hope we can do better against Chelsea and that Hwang turns up for the game.
I thought Cunha really worked his butt off and the oft assaulted Belleguarde was not intimidated by the gbh. COYW.
Completely off piste.
Would like to say all the best to Nuno with the Forest job.
One of the biggest mistakes we ever made getting rid, another classic from Jeff.
I echo your sentiments entirely regarding Nuno at Forest and wish him well.
However, I do think he had run his course at Molineux but will always receive a rapturous welcome when he returns in whatever guise.
He looked a broken man at the end.
Dubious defensive formation decisions aside, the most infuriating aspect of our play was the sloppy passing, lack of movement, poor throw-ins, etc – in other words, some of the basic stuff that you’d hope Gary ought to be ensuring is sorted out in training and is second nature. Get the basics right and couple with more forward driving attack-minded play and the performances will be better. Also, I make no judgment about Sasa and Fabio but it looks pretty obvious that they are not seen as go-to options. If that is the case, for the sake of both players and club, I would hope that the club acts decisively both with outgoings and carefully considered recruitment to join the front line. With current budget constraints, nobody is expecting a miracle signing, but it is absolutely time to ensure that if somebody is recruited in January to join the first team that they have pace, intent and above all some genuine goal threat.
I predicted much earlier in the season that Sasa would leave in January for the sake of his international career.
Gary wants the team to play his way. I just want them to win.
Sasa probably gas the most goals per 90 minutes on the team.
On the subject of Forest and Nuno being in the frame for the job:- He doesn’t half pick ’em doesn’t he.
He went to Spurs and none of the fans wanted him so it was pretty obvious that he wasn’t going to stay long.
Forest fans worship the ground that Stevie Cooper walks on so, if Nuno does go there, he’s going to be in the same situation.
Mind you, it will only be a short journey back to Molineux…
….I’m joking of course.
Forest sounds like the classic poisoned chalice for Nuno. That is, if the Forest job is good enough to be likened to a chalice… Mind you, Nuno was also linked to the Stoke job, which is definitely not a chalice but more like a tin mug.
He’s picking them pretty well actually. Have you seen how much he’s picked up from terminated contracts?
Just ditched sky over here which coincidentally coincided with are dip in form,nothing to do with Neto and Ran being out
What’s the best alternative to getting totally depressed at 2 in the morning
Must be an easy use site somewhere
If it is 2am matches, are you in Aus?
Optus sport has great coverage of every EPL game (plus EU and women’s leagues too).
$20 a month and all games and highlights on demand.
So if you can’t do a 2am live, watch when you wake up in am
I’m one league down in nz hohoho
Sympathies to +/-. I’m in Queenstown NZ now, I used to be in Brisbane. Additional 3 hour time difference. So I’m up for most games at 4am Sunday. With KO time chaos in EPL we’re sometimes up at godawful hours. Left my son in charge of TV and he doesn’t use Sky so it’s Firestick, no Optus here (Aussie only) and must watch live, no recording. My dog keeps us awake, barks anytime he sees Toti.
How’s the Ledge bungee going Wishfart .. you feel like you’re in heaven up there ..
My daughter lives in Christchurch and when we come to NZ … Queenstown is a place we visit .. and a FERG Burger is a must ..
By the lord Harry I was working in Cromwell last week
Wow! Small world. I keep away from bungees. I’m more of a luge or balloon ride man now. Ate at Mrs Ferg’s on 17th but prefer Madam Woo’s chicken and onion rings burger. Cromwell is always bypassed when going north to Kaiapoi (N of Christchurch) to see my folks. That road has to be one one the greatest roads to drive. Second only maybe to the A41 Bilston to the Mol.
Wow again Wishfart ..
my daughter lives in Pegasus ..
Kaiapoi is where the grandchildren are at school.. maybe have time for a beer at some point ..
Prostituted myself back to sky, I’m taking one for the team
Their performance dipped when I left sky
MGW must be thrilled that Nuno will be his manager again.
Oh no Nuno. Your new owner is notoriously eccentric. Buys players without consulting coaches then complains if not immediately successful. Only surprise about Cooper sacking is that it took so long: 5 managers in 14 months at his other club, Olimpiacos.
Good luck with the man child MGW.
You gave me my best years as a Wolves fan. Really hope it goes well for you but I fear the worst.
They seem to be spending a lot of money at Forest . Nuno is going to need his type of players too . I wish Nuno well but I can’t see this working out too well for some reason
I always think Conor Coady will end up as his (Nuno’s) Assistant Manager one day, maybe years down the line in a Wolves return, Merry Christmas all!
yipee!
The euro super league is back on !
And now ladies and gents we will see the true reason why a some very rich yanks have bought premier clubs .
Good riddance to the lot of them lets get back to proper footy .
When that happens i may even make a return.
Do we still have a punch up after the game ?
( only joking of course )