Just one point outside the European places with the second-worst goalscoring record in the league
Bruno Lage’s men currently sit eighth in the Premier League table, just one point behind Spurs in the final European place and only two points adrift of Europa League qualification. They have the best defensive record outside of the top four, with only Chelsea and leaders Man City having conceded fewer goals. Title contenders Man City and Liverpool have only managed to get away with hard-fought 1-0 wins against Wolves.
Lage has put together a team that is very hard to beat and which teams simply don’t want to play against. It would be difficult to describe the first half of this season as anything but a stellar job by the new man in the dugout. However, with the Portuguese supposedly brought in to bring more excitement and goals to Molineux, why is he struggling to make good on that promise?
Right now they are not a team that makes neutral fans clamour for the live streams in order to see them play, but why is that?
Well, only bottom side Norwich City have scored fewer than Wolves’ 13 goals from 18 Premier League games. While that doesn’t seem to matter in terms of results, because the defence is so solid, it doesn’t make for the most entertaining product.
Nuno famously had trouble getting goals out of this squad, and switched to four at the back last season for a short period to try and solve the problem. They conceded too many and he had to revert back to the usual three.
Bruno Lage has been consistent with three at the back but he did try playing a higher line at the beginning of the season in an attempt to introduce a more goal-friendly approach. In the first three games of the season, they outshot Leicester, Spurs and Man United, while enjoying a healthy amount of possession in each game, but chances weren’t taken, and they ultimately lost all three matches 1-0. The Portuguese realised he’d be lucky to get one goal a game from his attacking players and thus pragmatically decided to play a more deep-lying, compact style. It yielded results, with Wolves losing only four of the following thirteen matches.
Sitting a little deeper has clearly paid dividends for the Wanderers but how long can the side rely on its defence to be consistently solid without the attacking players chipping in with a few more goals at the other end? With a congested festive period upcoming, and injuries likely on the horizon, probably not that long. So why aren’t they scoring?
One key problem is that most of their attacks start from deep, and it’s much more difficult to create good chances against a team that is set with everyone behind the ball. This is something which teams like Man City have become experts at, but without the players they have, and the depth of their squad, it’s difficult for a team like Wolves to emulate that.
They start from deep because, according to Fbref, they are second in the Premier League for pressures in their own defensive third, but the bottom of the league for pressures in the opponents defensive third. More often than not they win the ball back on the edge of their own box and then build their attacks from there, as opposed to a team like Liverpool who wins the ball high up the pitch and then only need two or three quality passes to be in a strong goal scoring position.
Lage has said he wants to play a higher line and win the ball higher up the pitch but it’s not easy and he’s right. Doing so would leave his defence exposed. To press high, he’d probably want to switch to four at the back in order to have that extra body in a forward position in the press. The obvious problem is that Wolves would be more likely to get caught out. There are some clamouring for a new centre back in January, one with immense pace and positional understanding. While it’s difficult to fault Coady, Kilman or Saiss, as they’ve all been sublime this year in this system, it’s probably true that to play a higher line they’d benefit from new blood in that area.
However, they may want to think about investing in the real problem area, up front. While Wolves still aren’t creating an abundance of chances when compared with their rivals, they’ve actually improved in this area compared to last season, but aren’t reaping the rewards. Their overall xG of 17.7 isn’t great and puts them 14th in the Premier League by that metric but it’s an improvement on last season. The biggest issue for them is that their attacking players just aren’t taking enough chances. They don’t have deadly forward players on whom they can rely on to get on the scoresheet, and that is the major concern for Lage.
Hwang Hee Chan has chipped in with four goals, Raul Jimenez with three, and the others have been scored by defenders or holding midfielders. Wing backs Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait-Nouri, as well as other attacking players like Adama Traore and Joao Moutinho have failed to put the ball in the net.
So whether it’s bringing in a world class centre back to give the team the confidence needed to push up onto the half way line, or signing one or two potent attacking players, January is sure to be a pivotal time for the club. Without those new investments, it’s difficult to see how long Bruno Lage can keep up this balancing act. For now, they’re compact and solid and getting results, but to be consistent across the season they really need to score more goals.
A major problem is that we have no midfield player breaking forward into the box to support the strikers. For far too long Raul has had to play almost alone up front, single handedly carrying the load of both creating opportunities and scoring goals. For how long can he be expected to continue in this way ?
Defenders always find it difficult to defend against an unexpected late arrival in the box, and in dealing with this, it inevitably it gives greater opportunities for strikers. Raul and Hwang would surely benefit enormously form such an addition.
The real question is just how serious is Mr. Shi in supporting Bruno ?
With regard to your final sentence, Mike, you might be interested to read my last post on the post- Chelsea review.
– If Hwang played upfront centrally with Raul, I believe Lage would get more end product from him. He don’t get into positions in front of goal often enough to score consistently.
It’s not just Jeff Shi Mike. He’s an employee in the end. I think the problem of inadequate funding for players stems from the real ownership back in China.
I think there is truth in this Pete Robbo. It could be that Mr Chi is a puppet CEO who has to comply with what his spreadsheet bosses tell him.
Fosun are not football fans and cannot be expected to feel about Wolves as we do. The days of local fervent patronage are long gone. We are owned by
a global company who see only profit and loss.
It seems Mr Chi appears to being instructed to sell before he can buy. ( see my message in the post Chelsea review). This is especially following the Silva purchase. There are about eight first team players who are mentioned in the press as desirable purchases. We cannot afford to lose any of them given the current resources available to Bruno.
I have just read Kieran Mcguire’s Article in This Is Futbal.
It goes some way to explaining WWFC’s woeful financial situation.
It appears that Chi’s and Fosun’s hands are tied for the present.
However, the “ big six” seem to spend freely…….or is that just me!
https://thisisfutbol.com/2021/12/blogs/premier-league/wolves/wolves-kieran-maguire-discusses-clubs-financial-fair-play-situation/
Interesting article Kendal
With respect Kendalwolf, the status of Fosun as a highly successful operator on the world`s stage with little direct interest in the day to day results of our team, may well prove to be less disadvantageous than you imply.
For Fosun, Wolves are an asset in which they have invested substantially. As you say they will view this investment from a different perspective, but they will fully understand that to maintain the value of its value they cannot sit back and and allow a situation to develop which is financially threatening.
A team which labors in mid table, and cannot score goals is not attractive and will not generate longer term support. This will be particularly damaging to Fosun`s general image in their homeland. The reality is that Fosun will fully understand the importance of maintaining sufficient ongoing investment in the Club to sustain its growth and thereby to enhance its value.
I would be very surprised if decent funding is not made available to upgrade the team. A bigger issue is surely the fact that Mr Shi has thus far proven unable to spend available monies wisely — eg the Fabio Silva fiasco. I suggest that the Fosun top brass will be watching his ongoing performance very carefully. Chinese Companies are renowned for their complete intolerance of underperforming key employees.
Thanks Mike. I understand and agree with most of your observations. (You might wish to look back to my comments on the post Chelsea page.
However, having read Kieran Mcguire’s Article, I understand that
WWFC are at present being penalised and unable to spend.
If this is true, it is obviously a major frustration for fans, but also, presumably for Fosun, who as you say, wish to be seen owning a club
in the upper reaches of the Premier League.
Was buying Neves a fiasco? How about Jimenez?
Both were excellent purchases and for modest amounts too. We all hope that in time, Silva will achieve the potential expected of him. This may take some time. Let us hope it is worth it. Perhaps my use of “fiasco” was too hard John, but I suspect Fosun were hoping for an earlier return.
Agree with much of what you say but would add
They have no midfielders or wing backs who score goals .Demonstrated classically by Donk missing a sitter on Sunday .
They wasted far far too much money on Silva .There are several cheaper players who were available would have added a goal threat like Watkins or Ings .I am sure others could be added .
Until they add to the goal threat from midfield ,wingback or forwards they will surely end up mid table .Neto will help we hope but on his own not enough and might take the rest of the season toget back to his best if he ever does .I fear Jiminez may not .
Just read that the powers that be have decided not to postpone any of the Christmas fixtures, and quite rightly so.
Immediately, Kloppie is on his high horse, bemoaning the fixture congestion, which has been like this since time began.
The so called top six have the financial clout to employ big squads, vastly superior, supposedly, to ours, and yet they are the ones who moan loudest.
When a club is sucessful, the fixture list gets longer, inevitably, and big squads are needed.
So, Jeff, if, as stated over six years ago, you want Wolves to be up there, winning leagues and European trophies, and having a moaning manager, you gotta put your money where your mouth is, and get the players who can do it for us.
Bruno appears to know what he’s doing, and the last thing we need is another catastrophic injury as per last season.
He wants at least two good interchangeable players for every position, and that includes subs.
Much as we love what has happened to transform our beloved club, we are now at best treading water, and need the cash infusion to kick on.
Let’s see the greenbacks, Jeff, and prove you are listening.
There are thousands of “ managers” out there, wearing Old Gold and Black, and if we can all see the problem, then so can you.
And an excellent article above, by the way.
And I would also suggest a good Christmas read for all you lot out there in blog land.
Bitten by Wolves
Stories from the Soul of Molineux
By Johnny Phillips.
My good mate Newark Wolf sent me a copy, excellent read.
Thanks, Ian
Oh Clive how times have changed.
12 months you had myself and Paul AD67 marked up as public enemies 1 & 2 for saying exactly what you are now saying about investment.
Who moi?
Never!
Perish the thought.
Merry Christmas.
You both still owe me a pint.
At least you apparently no longer think we’re the same person!
Merry Christmas to you too.
Coz if I did, I would only get one pint.
Good writing Craig…but I agree with Mike that the issue could be better addressed via a scoring midfielder who arrives late in the box and shoots straight or can pick the killer pass.
I read a great article recently where Mr Lage explained the detail that he employs in coaching our defence and we can all see that they have become almost watertight as a result. So he knows what he’s doing, So look at some of the potential midfield resources he has available in coaching a better scoring team:-
Neves Semedo Podence Traore (yes keep him) Neto MGW
Meantime the deadball performance is a woeful waste of positional opportunities…how few of our corners or freekicks present danger….its a scandal, yet surely coachable?
I’m of the view that there won’t be a late Santa so we will need to improve our goalscoring with the squad we already have ….. some of our players could be deployed and coached to deliver more “goals on a plate” * for Raul and Hwang…over to you gaffer
* thats how Jota and Sterling score a lot
– The lack of goals may have to do with the player types also: Traore, Podence, Semedo, Trincao aren’t goals scorers. To change that is proabably difficult. Good luck to Lage :=)))
I think Craig makes some astute points here about the lack of goals.
That is particularly shrewd about us only winning the ball in our own defensive third, rather than in the opposition’s half. We won it on halfway against Chelsea yesterday and Moutinho set in motion that attack that saw Podence’s goal ruled out. That shows that these players can do it. Too often we win it in our own half and then still have to get all the way down the pitch to even get in a position to score e.g. Traore/Trincao breaks at Brighton.
We’ve done better at pressing higher up, particularly against the non-elite teams that don’t come with the mindset to just attack. Our best football came in spells against Everton, Newcastle and Spurs because they sat deeper and that allowed us to get up the pitch ourselves and pressure them in better areas. The only way we can do that more consistently is with the extra man further forward, which means sacrificing the back three. Or, we get midfielders that cover more ground. Chelsea have shown you can dominate with a three at the back if you’ve got the likes of Kante and Kovacic eating up the ground. So basically, a good centre mid to enhance the current setup or a good centre half to change the setup. Or both.
Then the obvious one – better finishing. I suspect if we created more chances through disruption than breaks some of our non-scoring attackers might give better returns. But there’s no doubt that the wide players must improve their output. That’s not just the wingers either – it’s also the wingbacks. Doc/Jonny were good for about 10/12 goal involvements a season and Nelson is good enough on the ball to offer a lot more than he has to date. Ait-Nouri/Marcal/Hoever too.
I’ll also lob on our horrible deterioration in shooting at goal from free-kicks. Ruben seems to have completely lost the skill to the extent he wasn’t even over the ball at Brighton before Podence’s tame effort. That was a source of 3-4 goals a season a few years back. The centre-halves have all scored from dead-ball deliveries and we haven’t conceded any from set pieces either. That swing in our favour from last season’s shambles shouldn’t be underestimated.
Funnily enough, when you add all the above together – winning the ball in better areas, scoring more of the chances we create and getting more players to chip-in, you basically arrive at what we had in the glory years under Nuno. So it will be interesting to see if Bruno sticks with a 3 and tries to become a better version of what we are now or eventually goes revolutionary with something more adventurous.
Not read the other posts yet but will after writing this…
With such a small squad, although energy has gone into defence and that includes the midfield. I’ve said many times that we need a powerful, explosive midfield to take the pressure off the back eleven..
I’m absolutely amazed at the job that Bruno has done with the same players that Nuno found hard to mould.
We need two midfielders; one creative and one defensive and another proven striker
Imho
The goals will come but it will take more time.
One way to improve our attack is to buy new players. We probably need 4 or 5 new players to advance the team, but Jeff has already implied that funds are short, we have to sell to buy, we must be self-financing etc., so a major influx of players is not going to happen!
So we will have to be more productive with the players we have. The first three games of the season which we lost 0-1 was absolutely awesome to watch, so now that we are relatively safe and stable, a revisit of those methods and tactics should be undertaken.
The long and short of the problem is that we hardly get any goals from midfield or from the wing backs and the forwards don’t get much service! How we solve that, I will leave to Bruno and his team!
Really good article Craig. Thanks.
I feel Nuno’s plan was to draw teams on and hit them on the break. Hence so much pace up front.
Winning the ball high up the pitch lessons the value of pure pace so before we see true Brunoball,we’ll see at least two transfer windows. Bruno will need time to install his own players and playing style in the squad.
This is a conundrum to which there are not too many easy answers.
More striking options is obvious. Since Jota and Doc left only Jiminez, Neto and Hwang have even looked like getting near double figures. Traore and Podence don’t score enough and sadly neither do Moutinho or even Neves these days. Saiss seems the best threat from the back.
But it lies deeper. We are slow to convert defence to attack. Only the wing backs move it quickly. If recalled I think MGW could help this aspect of our game. And I’ve said before I believe Semedo could be utilised in a box to box midfield role as we have plenty of wing backs when fit. But more craft needed as well. We so miss Jota’s ability to carry and score.
The other obvious point is we need more quality players, end of. We have a nucleus of excellent players but they all get stale at times and we also need to be much better equipped to change games off the bench. Only Traore can currently do this, Dendoncker certainly can’t other than in a shoring up role.
So sorry folks I think it’s get Neto fit, sign Hwang plus a.n other and maybe a creative midfielder different to (and younger than) Moutinho; or could it be Jordao – here’s hoping.
And getting in new players to fit Bruno’s preferred back 4 would probably be good but likely at the cost of Coady.
But without investment we’ll still struggle to score.
Thank god for a great keeper and a very solid defence.
It’s now becoming a catch phrase on this blog and not just from me. Over to you Jeff (or whoever has the cheque book).
Afraid I can’t offer anything more revolutionary as I think we’re mostly on the same page already.
On a slightly different angle, one way to increase goals for us is to pressure officials after an awful decision— after the game. Newcastle are questioning the PL about why they were not given a very obvious penalty against Man C. Why aren’t Wolves doing the same for that non-penalty which was given to Man C when the ball hit Moutinuo’s chest? Why should we just accept it? No, time to fight back! Time to call a spade a spade! A lot of betting is done on PL results, and where there is sports gambling, corruption is usually not far behind.
We have been robbed of quite a few goals by VAR over the past 3 years. I know this is a bit of a stretch between our lack of goals but they are indirectly related! VAR and PL officials to feel the heat! And I would bet my last dollar that most of the contentious decisions were in favour of the big six. We should accept nothing less than a high level of refereeing.
Well we ain’t gonna get it.
Agreed St. Kitts.
The “other 14” need to start being collectively far more vocal about what has now become transparent and institutionalised cheating.
I can accept being bottom of the VAR league for a season as it is usually ‘swings and rounabouts’. But we are bottom of the VAR league for the third season running. This cannot be a coincidence. Can it? If things ‘even themselves out’. Well obviously not so. We are continually being screwed over by VAR. Every week.
Agreed. Coincidence at that level is beyond credibility. I think in first 2 PL seasons we we were perceived to be a genuine threat to the status quo due Fosun’s potential financial clout.
An interesting and well thought out article Craig.
As you quite rightly said, the first three games we pressed high, outshot our opponents and lost them all.
It seems to me that mostly we fall down on shooting accuracy (obviously), and getting early telling crosses into the penalty box.
Neither Semedo nor Marcal are good crossers of the moving ball, Adama is mostly awful and Ait-Nouri is no Alexander-Arnold either.
Consequently, we do not crowd the area when our wingers or wing backs get on the front foot, and as a result of that they tend to stop and pass the ball short rather than getting to the byline.
It’s a vicious circle.
Hopefully when Neto and Johnny get back we will have solved one of the problems.
The other is down to finishing. And I reckon with better service, Raul and Hwang will do their jobs.
I think that our defence and midfield have proven themselves against most of our opponents.
And our ‘keeper is a shot stopper par excellence. Although I do worry about his footwork when facing attackers and some of his kicking recently has come straight from the Rui Patricio school of clearances.
I agree we need recruits to build up squad numbers. And ones of proven ability, not potential.
But, we ain’t too far from a team that will compete… and compete well.
Are you sure it is the Rui Patricio School of Clearance, and not Earl’s Goalkeeping Classes!!
But I feel Sa is a vast improvement on Rui.
It’s a fair cop!
But you’re right. Sa is a step up from Rui.
I met him you know. Did I ever tell you?.
Well, Mr. name dropper, I shared an elevator with both Rui and Adama, in the Novotel, and they both wanted to shake my hand.
So there.
And I had a pee next to Jackie Stewart, before he was a Sir, in Austria, in 1970.
And I’m sure you know I met John Richards.
Which one is you Doog?
That’s Doog with Rui?
I thought it was Ronnie Biggs!
No, it’s certainly Rui!
If I’m not mistaken… it’s Buster Edwards….
Maybe Bruce Reynolds…
I think I’m mistaken…
Crisis? What crisis? In fact no problem at all with our current league position and points tally. Bruno has a reputation for an attacking style of play. He’s currently working wonders with Nuno’s defence plus Jose Sa (what a revelation this man is!) I firmly believe that in the next two windows he will bring in maybe 4/5 players to impose his own style of play. It has been said that all great teams start with building from the back! Must admit. I’m unsure about Trincao and to an extent Hwang but that’s for Bruno to decide.
Forgot to mention that it was good to see our Number 4 Bruno Jordao on the bench on Sunday and fingers crossed he can still be a solution to some of our attacking mid field problems. Time will tell and I wish the lad well after a very difficult time.
Jordao looked good before his injuries and might solve the creativity problem we have at the moment. We keep harking back to the Nuno era where deep lying defence became lightning fast counter attack in seconds. The crucial first goal would come from a variety of sources which always changes the game.
That era has gone and our goal threat is diminished . I’m not holding my breath in anticipation of Sanchez or Botman arriving in January or even at all, I just hope Bruno gets what he needs (because he deserves it and must have received assurances when he was appointed) and this team continues to improve and evolve into a consistent top half Premier League team. “Over to you, Jeff”.
An excellent thread with some good follow-up posts which thanks to Covid for once I’ve got time to read in full.
It’s no accident that with their financial clout the top three are pulling away and at the other end three or four clubs bar Newcastle, who might/should have the resources to break away from that little cabal are where they are, with the rest of us floating somewhere in the middle.
The fully grown oak tree we all dream about in defence just isn’t going to come to Wolves but as we’ve seen in the past we are able to attract the saplings.
Same in midfield and upfront. We’re not going to get the type of player that make the immediate impact to the extent some of City’s, Chelsea or Liverpools signings have made. Players in their prime know that their prime is finite and they need to win things now.
We’ll always have a chance of picking up a Moutinho later in their career which is great, but a Mane or De Bruyne? Nope, they’re just going to play musical chairs around Europes 6 or 7 elite sides and the rest of us are left picking up the scraps.
It’s sad but it’s the truth and not likely to change any time soon whilst some teams are run as businesses and some as advertisements or Laundromats.
Fosun are in the business business and will invest when their is potential for a return.
I totally agree with what Mike said and I’ve no doubt Wolves will be well run and will remain a decent premiership side but a lot of things need to fall into place before we’re challenging for the title on a consistent basis.
But if we keep unearthing gems the likes of Neves, Jota, Neto, Jimines and Kilman, as a wise man once said, ‘DREAMING IS FOR FREE”
I saw an article this morning on social media. SW London NHS reporting 97% of current covid patients taking up their hospital beds not vaccinated. I will make a polite request for anyone not vaccinated to get the vaccine immediately. The impact of not being vaccinated is having a massive effect on hospitality, sporting fixtures in Wales and Scotland and business in general through cancellations. I saw a chart which is showing hospitalizations amongst vaccinated people remains steady. For the unvaccinated it is going through the roof. If you truly value ‘freedom’ you will get vaccinated now.
Wise words indeed.
I got it at the moment Cheesy. Triple vaxed and I can honestly say it’s no worse than a mild. Cold.
Of course I’ll never know how I would have been without the vax but logic says probably a lot worse.
I can only echo your words and urge anyone that hasn’t to go and get whichever one you’re due.
Why not? It’s free and it might just save your life.
I read in an interview with Klopp where he said Liverpool wouldn’t sign an unvaccinated players in January as they would pose a risk to the rest of the squad. Hopefully other clubs follow suit.
‘I saw an article on social media…..’ Uh Oh, the solid ground on which we form our modern opinions, not.
Weirdly 3% of covid peeps in SW London hospital beds have been fully vaccinated. Probs cos they have been running around like chimpanzees breathing unmasked on everyone.
Interestingly, 99% of Covid cases are meat and cheese (dairy) consumers.
You’re vaccinated? You are probably carryng live virus around with you, increasing the saturation in society. As the vaccine density increases, mutation increases, Omicron is just the most recent. I didn’t hear of anyone getting Covid 18 did you?
You’ve had 3 Jabs this year offa Tory government swilling Boly and Canapes while the ‘Business as Usual’ is shafting the underprivelidged and burning the planet down. I don’t trust them to sort my recycling let alone Jab me up with an unproven and largely untested vaccine. Hence why many countries won’t accept the Moderna / Astra jab certs as valid. Hence why you can look forward to another 3 vaccines per year to make you feel safe. They are free?? WTF if you’re not paying for them now (taxes) you soon will be.
To cap it all you now have vaccinated Jo’s telling people, who have a choice, that they are endangering the rest of society by not being vaccinated & ruining the NHS and economy to boot. Just the sort who will be turning up at your door and forcibly vaccinating you Tuesday week. FRO. If someone comes at me with a syringe (remember the AIDS spikings) it will be going straight back with interest.
Hope you feel better after your rant Rasta. I won’t try to point out the inaccuracies in your post because if you haven’t got it by now you’re not going to..
There are some things you just can’t fix.
Indeed Prawny, at the moment 90% of critical care beds are full of non vaccinated Covid patients expecting urgent treatment from medical staff. So if you have family or friends hoping to have things “fixed” eg new hips, new knees, cancer tumours, heart valves etc. they have to wait or die waiting.
Refusing to be vaccinated should be made as socially unacceptable as drink driving.
People on plant based diets have a much higher rate of less severe covid symptoms to people with meat and dairy in their diet, very similar to vaccinated and unvaccinated. Going by your yardstick, should eating meat and dairy be as socially unacceptable as drink driving?
‘Prof Pearse, an intensive care doctor in London and member of the Intensive Care Society, said it is vital that people get vaccinated.
There are currently around 757 people with Covid on ICU ventilators across England — 11 per cent of the 6,900 patients overall.’
From the SUN 21.12.21.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/17110691/unvaccinated-covid-intensive-care/
90% of those 11% are unvaccinated. = 680 peeps. Too many I agree.
Rasta, the Jo’s are the loonies are running around protesting about vaccinations. A bunch of them tried to serve ‘legal papers’ on Alan Shearer but went to his old address. No doubt, the anti-vacc activists are the usual suspects, the noisy rent-a-mob crowd in search of a cause to protest about. A surprising number of them are believers in QAnon. Google it if you need to.
Even Donald Trump saw the light and started praising vaccinations.
Not an anti Vaxxer miself. Its your choice. Didn’t google QAnon, but found this gem, ho ho ho. Wonder how the Catholic Bishops ‘ dodged that bullet.
Happy Vaxmas.
‘The manufacturing process for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine involves the production of a virus, the adenovirus, which carries the genetic material to the cells inside the body. To produce this virus in the laboratory, a “host” cell line is needed. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine uses a cell line called HEK-293 cells.
HEK-293 is the name given to a specific line of cells used in various scientific applications. The original cells were taken from the kidney of a legally aborted foetus in 1973. HEK-293 cells used nowadays are clones of those original cells, but are not themselves the cells of aborted babies.
The Department for Social Justice of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales released a statement addressing the use of HEK-293 cells in the COVID-19 vaccine. They say that “one may in good conscience and for a grave reason receive a vaccine sourced in this way”, and “that one does not sin by receiving the vaccine”.’
https://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/vaccine-ingredients#Human%20cell%20strains
Not making a lot a lot of sense tbh Rasta.
Surely if you truly valued ‘freedom’ then you would respect peoples right to choose.
On that theme its still shocking that 25% of pro players are still not fully vaccinated or even vaccinated at all.
When clubs call for their games to be postponed no matter who they are big or small if they have unvaccinated players in their squad they should be forced to play the game with what they have left .
I hope that solves our goal scoring problem.
Yes, Spikeyboy. You’re playing a team game. There’s no argument for not being vaxed as a player. But you can still test positive for Covid, without having symptoms, even if you have been vaxed. And if you test + you have to self isolate (down to 7 days for the vaxed.) and should not play.
If you havn’t been vaxed and test +, this should be counted as self inflicted and not stop the team playing. Teams are testing daily I reckon.
I think more to the truth rasta is that some or all of the top sides are using covid for a break surprise surprise
Just to put a spaniard in the works, ( thank you, Mr. Lennon) most of us are assuming the owner/powers that be of Fosun are not football fans.
What if the main reason Wolves were bought in the first place is precisely the opposite, and he/they are passionate about the sport, know English football history, and spent several years doing due diligence before buying the club.
What if they are biding their time, amassing lists of potential players to sign, and getting ready for when the fair play bullshit rules are relaxed.
(And if financial fair play, as related to football, is not the world’s biggest oxymoron, I don’t know what is, apart from Scottish goalkeepers)
How about that for thought food?
We might just be pleasantly surprised.
After all it is Christmas.
Happy Christmas Eve, Eve, Eve y’all!
As for goals.
Silva – even at £1mil / goal, he owes us 35.
Traore, just one little goal might open the floodgates if he can get on the pitch.
We struggle to get from defence to attack when playing under pressure, but Traore can do this starting from our own half. We scored 3 in 10mins v. vanilla. The goals are there. More importantly the points are there.
Seasons Greetings all ye bloggers.
1 lv & COYW.
Didn’t he score some last season?
We will not lose on Sunday!!
Should be 3 points & 3-0 home win credit for cancelling the fixture, if Spurts in Euro League is a precedent.
Watford game off. Watford club comment was, ” We couldn’t be arsed to get jabbed “!
With Elton John as life president there I’m sure they would be arsed………he is a big supporter of the vaccine you know.
Thats cos Elton heard ‘Jabbed in the arse’ and rushed the Queue. Senility hasn’t helped the old scrote. But he’s Dancing around like Raheem Sterling after winning a penalty now he’s got a Gingerbread boy to suck for Xmas.
Peace on Earth.
I was in conversation with Henrietta the Psychic Slug yesterday and she has produced an ALL STAR XMAS QUIZ. Feel free to participate. Prizes galore for the winners… So here goes …..
1. IF RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER DIDN’T HAVE A RED NOSE WHAT WOULD HIS NAME BE THEN ?
A] RUDOLPH THE GREEN NOSED REINDEER
B] ALAN THE BRIGHT RED STICK INSECT
C] SHARON THE RED NOSE REINDEER
2. IF SANTA HAD NO REINDEERS AT ALL – WOULD THIS DISPROPORTIONATLEY AFFECT HIS ABILITY TO FLY THROUGH THE AIR ON A SLEIGH ?
A] YES
B] NO
C] WELL. A BIT.
3. HOW MANY WISE MEN WERE THERE THAT BROUGHT PRESENTS TO THE INFANT JESUS ?
A] AT LEAST 29
B] SIX- BUT ONLY IF IT WAS TUESDAY
C] NONE OF THE ABOVE
4. SLADE SANG ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERBODY’ ON TOP OF THE POPS IN 1973. BUT WHAT WAS ERNEST STINGRAY-HIPPOPOTOMUS OF 67 RIVERSIDE DRIVE, HEREFORD DOING AT THE TIME SLADE WERE ON TOP OF THE POPS ?
A] WASHING JASON HIS PET SQUIRREL
B] EATING A KFC BARGAIN BUCKET
C] RUNNING DOWN THE ROAD PRETENDING TO BE TERRENCE TRENT -DARBY
5. ON XMAS DAY 1577 AN ALIEN SPACE SHIP LANDED ON DUDLEY CASTLE. TRUE OR FALSE ?
A] TRUE
B] FALSE
A] NEITHER OF THE ABOVE
6. IF YOU ANSWERED ‘NEITHER OF THE ABOVE’ – PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY
A] BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY LANDED IN TIPTON AND THE ALIEN SPACE SHIP GOT BRICKED AND WAS FORCED TO FLEE BACK TO PLANET ZOG
B] BECAUSE THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ALIENS
C] BECAUSE IT LANDED ON XMAS DAY 1578 INSTEAD
7. A TRADITIONAL XMAS DINNER USUALLY FEATURES TURKEY. BUT WHAT DO ZEBRA’S EAT FOR THEIR XMAS DINNER?
A] CHEESE ON TOAST
B] AN APPLE
C] A HUGE PILE OF MASHED POTATO WITH GRAVY FOLLOWED BY A PACKET OF SMOKY BACON CRISPS
8. SANTA CLAUS LIVES WHERE ?
A] 657B PATTERNOSTER CRESCENT, SOME NICE TREES, THE NORTH POLE
B] IN A FLAT RENTED OFF RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER, NEXT TO A NICE LAKE
C] WOLVERHAMPTON
9. AND IF SANTA DOES HAPPEN TO LIVE IN WOLVERHAMPTON-WHAT DOES HE LIKE BEST ABOUT IT ?
A] MOLINEUX STADIUM
B] MOLINEUX STADIUM
C] MOLINEUX STADIUM
10. DOES SANTA LIKE WEST BROMWICH ALBION?
A] NO
B] ABSOLUTELY NOT
C] **** OFF WEST BROM
SO. IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY A THEN YOU ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE THE SORT OF PERSON WHO PUTS A DUSTBIN ON YOUR HEAD AND GOES AROUND SHOUTING ” PING BONG DONG DONG PONG PING”.
IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY B YOU ARE PROBALY AN ACCOUNTANT CALLED TREVOR.
IF YOU ANSWERED MOSTLY C THEN YOU WIN 4 PENCE.
Happy xmas and new year to all you bloggers. Enjoy and stay safe !!! Oh and WOLVES AY WE………..
Cheesey.. there’s a WICH BLOGGER..? Quiz coming along… you better be participating…
Henrietta is …!!!!
Excellent Twix.
How do you know all this stuff Cheesey???
Coz he knows me, and The Doogle, and Lord Twix.
Four cleverer folk you could not wish to meet!!
Merry Christmas, y’all, from this side of the Pond.
Im just a clever chap Wolfie. Ive got o level maths and everything.
Happy Christmas fellow bloggers. And may we fill the onion bag much more frequently in 2022.
Arsenal game postponed now. Gives some of our injured players chance to recover, I guess. Looking on the bright side.
https://www-fourfourtwo-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.fourfourtwo.com/amp/features/ranked-the-100-best-football-stadiums-grounds-britain-uk-england-scotland-wales?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a6&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16405944597713&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fourfourtwo.com%2Ffeatures%2Franked-the-100-best-football-stadiums-grounds-britain-uk-england-scotland-wales. FourFourTwo reckon that The Hawthorns is a marvelous stadium!!!
Shocking. Well done Stears today for Derby v the s**t. MOTM awarded by Sky. Once a wolf always a wolf.
Born and bred in The Alex, Chapel Ash
Traore has only one goal less than Messi.
When are we free of FFP restrictions?
This was discussed some time ago and I believe it was concluded that the restrictions had ended before last summer’s transfer window.
Is there any news on Neto’s return to fulll fitness?
Will we see him before Easter? Or, indeed, this season?
To answer my own question ( from Aug 2020)
“The FFP rules are designed to stop clubs spending more than they earn, but were revised this year to allow clubs to carry greater losses in the 2019-20 season because of the effect of Covid-19 on their finances.
In the settlement, however, Wolves have agreed to limit their losses to €30m in the financial year ending 2020. By the end of the 2021-22 season the club will also be expected to have reached an “aggregate break-even” result for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. Uefa rules allow for a buffer of a €30m aggregate loss over three years within this definition.”
So the answer is January or end of this season. Assuming we have met the agreed limit.