I said to Paul Lambert back in November that we should adopt Jurgen Klopp’s ‘entertainment first’ philosophy.
Serve up something exciting and win, lose or draw the fans will come back desperate for more.
Given the nature of this unspeakably grim affair, it will take a seismic effort for even the most optimistic to summon the strength to reconvene on Tuesday.
Nobody expected total football but I’m sorry Paul, it should never have been this bad.
Sure, Blackburn played three at the back, swamped the midfield and tried to eek out an ugly win to preserve their Championship status.
But their situation is understandable.
Wolves in contrast should have been able to play with freedom and adventure having escaped the shackles of responsibility.
Instead they were leaden footed and lacking ideas throughout in one of the most inept outings of the season to date – and that’s saying something.
The team selection set the tone.
Sure you can argue it’s the same eleven that saw off Leeds, but going to Elland Road and setting up camp is a much different proposition to breaking down a side on the cusp of relegation – at home.
George Saville playing left midfield at Molineux should be forbidden. I feel genuine sympathy for him being deployed in a position to which he patently isn’t suited.
And when Matt Doherty limped off with a hamstring injury in the first half, good old George was shunted into the back four.
That meant no width being offered on either flank with neither Coady or Saville comfortable getting forward to expose Blackburn’s defensive shape.
In a repeat of that desperately poor showing against Rotherham, it was then left to everyone else to flap about hoping that something would magically happen.
Saiss lashed cross field balls out of play, Edwards ran around in no particular direction and Cavaleiro repeatedly fell over.
A total shambles.
It would be unfair not to mention back-to-back cleansheets, which is a grain of comfort. I thought Conor Coady in particular put in some wonderful tackles and clearances.
But we needed grit and effort two months ago when things were going south.
With nothing left to play for there is only value in entertainment.
And we are not entertained.
The ground staff had clearly gone to a lot of trouble in preparing the pitch, cutting it in a chequer board style. The verdant sward positively glowed in the spring sunlight. I could have happily spent 90 minutes watching the grass grow. Unfortunately, the field was invaded by twenty two young men who trampled the innocent verdure like directionless Wildebeest. As an audition for a Samuel Beckett play about the futility of human existence, in which nothing happens twice, it was excellent but as a football game it was duller than watching dishwater dry. Player of the season, I’d share the award among the home supporters.
A message to our overpaid bunch of losers.
” When you run onto the pitch you may notice odd constructions at each end. Two vertical poles [ which we call posts ] a horizontal pole across the top [ the cross bar ] with a sort of mesh hanging out behind [ the net ] The idea is that you try to put this round thing, which we call the ball, and which occasionally and inconveniently sometimes comes near your feet, into the net. This is called scoring a goal. When you have done this, you run across to the corner flag and sink to your knees in readiness for your mates to fling themselves on top of you to show their absolute amazement at what you have just done. Meanwhile the crowd, equally amazed, will roar approval, and may even make up a new song in your honor.
The best thing of all about this, is that you can repeat it as many times as you like. You may even get to like it “
I like Danny Veliski’s Samuel Beckett analogy but I thought the match was possibly more Pinteresque than Beckett like.
Almost no action and full of prolonged silences.
I’m so glad that me and the PMDG’er didn’t make the effort to come along and be subjected to that load of old codswallop.
Even the thought of meeting up with some mates, a meal and a few jars at the APV afterwards would barely have made the trip worthwhile.
It sounds like the lads brought their buckets and spades rather than their boots.
As far as the future is concerned however, people who are demanding wholesale changes and the influx of up to ten players next season are talking nonsense.
We’ve tried that already and it patently doesn’t work.
The way to build a good team is to introduce two, or maybe three players maximum, and let them integrate into the side. This is often enough to turn a club that’s going nowhere into a team that’s challenging near the top of the table.
Players that look ordinary can suddenly up their performances to match the new talent.
The important thing is to choose the right two or three players.
Most people agree that a top class defender, a creative midfielder and a twenty goal a season striker are what we need. Let’s face it it’s what every club needs but we should have the funds to get them now.
Unfortunately these types of players don’t grow on trees. But money talks and we should have the clout to pick up some talent either permanently or on loan from a Premier League team.
I’ve said before that PL’s future depends on this Summer’s recruitment. He has to be given the chance to build HIS team.
Let’s hope he’s up to the task.
Graham and Zyro deserves a start now, after working so hard.
On the way out of the North Bank, a bloke said, ” They’ve had our money, they don’t give a Fuck”
Nuff said……
As Doogooder said, “ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
I wasn’t too excited when pl got the job tbh but was happy to give him the backing of any new manager of the best football club in the world, his negativity and cautious approach was always a concern to me but let’s give him a full pre season and a dozen games next year and see where we are !
In the meantime time it’s a full English breakfast for me today on this very English day , god bless our queen, our armed forces and the cross of Saint George
Utmw
The strength is in the pack
Fans on this site and other social media posts have been saying that 4 players would make us a side to challenge for promotion next season. The words cloud, cuckoo and land spring to mind. All of our squad are capable of playing well in ONE game but the club has lacked consistency for quite a number of years now, both on and off the field. A proper Director of football should have been appointed some while ago, preferably an ex pro player, someone like Kenny Hibbit, who through his job of assessing referees is still in touch with and attending games. whoever it would be should have more foresight than Mr Thewell, is record is grim to say the least, when you have a big squad but fans and pundits alike do not think that 95% of them will not help us achieve our goal. The trick will be to persuade quality players to join us and our wage structure, and fir the Manager to provide a team that is consistent in its performances, has passion, drive and enthusiasm over the whole season not like our cup run this season and then poor oerformances infront of home fans. PL certainly has his work cut out to achieve anything like a top 6 finish, particularly with three more Prem teams joining the fight next season along with the usual culprits who will, no doubt, have healthy transfer budgets.
Totally agree 3 or 4 quality players wont work any better than bringing in 10…
we need a team of players capable of promotion and we are a billion miles away…
PL wont be the answer… Bringing in 10 players this year didn’t work because they were the wrong players… with Costa already sold we are back to were we were this time last year.
So that’s entertainment! We missed getting a Prem challenging side together when the Morgan/Moxey duo failed to hang onto Adobe, Dicko, Sako. That was exciting times.
But it’s start again time, & if Costa goes it’s going to be harder. Yesterday was par for the course this season at home.
Missing Tuesday as I’m away, but I hope Costa is back for the final days game v Preston.
Here’s to next season. Hope is something you should never lose, it even applies to us Wolves fans.
Oh forgot to say again why doesn’t Lambert give Dicko & Jon Dadi a full game? It’s inexplicable.
He said that he’d freshen it up Tuesday. Players are running on empty. Well go for an attacking line Mr L. Saiss & Price centre midfield, Costa or Weimann on the left or right. Marshall on the other flank, Jon Dadi & Dicko upfront, same defence as they seemed more assured with Williamson & Steers than the alternative.
Hope we can get the 58 plus points to better last year, & that getting to the Prem is a serious ambition for the new owners come the Summer.
Oh to be in England now that April’s there.
Oh to be in Wolverhampton once the season’s over – so that the clear out of dross can happen.
P.S. English football 2017 : FA Cup semi-finals involving 4 of the top ‘English’ teams and just 6 English players out of the 44 starters. 86% foreign players and 100% foreign managers.
Even the English flag is made in Romania, boxed in Macedonia and sold by a Bulgarian company. You couldn’t make it up.
As we used to say in the 80’s ” Bly Blitish”
This summer I am starting an Open University course in advanced quantum physics. I think that would be easier to explain than how the exact same starting XI that played so well against Leeds played so abysmally against Blackburn.
So far Professors Jackett and Zenga have failed to solve the conundrum. Let’s hope that Professor Lambert is up to the task.
The more you know about the team’s position in the football league the less you know about the team’s goal scoring momentum.
Search for Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
Well folks, that is mine and Sue’s final game of the season at Molineux. I am going to Derby on my own as Sue has something else on. And what a way to end our season. We were shit. Sorry, but this weekend cost us near on £200, don’t get me wrong, we choose to stay in a hotel and eat out but we really have had second thoughts about next year. The highlights of the day were meeting Dave, Stu and Jen pre match in the North Bank Bar. We have had some great days meeting you bloggers – Forest, Sheff Weds, Stoke and Norwich away. I won’t name people as I have missed people in the past. Can’t make the bloggers ball unfortunately but I would just like to say that we all have our opinions regarding Wolves. We all agree to disagree but at the end of the day – we are Wolves. See you next season.
Yeah, hope to see you both next season too mate.
Does anyone out there know when the DVD for Saturdays game is available to buy. I can’t wait to add it to my collection of classic Wolves performances (Rotherham at home and Wigan at home), just think of the hours of pleasure I will get watching these back to back in the close season, hope it won’t make me miss my trips to the Golden Palace too much in the summer.
Never in a million years will we be promoted with PL as manager. Home tack ticks, one up front against bottom teams says it all, lump the ball towards their penalty area and hope something happens. Feel sorry for Dicko and Dadi they have no chance.Kane and Augero would struggle with our woeful midfield. (that player at Fulham Mac Donald looks useful) Roll on next season ,but it’s always next season when you are aWolves supporter
To many players arrived last season, no to many players arrived last summer with NO championship experience.
Just award regarding Fosun sacked Walt for going off to Dubai to see his family, Jeff’s back in China….my old man would have called that double standards.
Same old same old….the players and result and League.
Its not so much the players you bring in, say four or five, its the players you get rid of to accomodate them.
And although I was useless at Maths in my time at Brewood Grammar, I am positive four or five cannot replace fifteen!!!
Wholesale changes needed, possibly starting at the top!
The seeds are sown in theory for big changes with this display unless this was a shoot and miss for a covert move to place the blue noses in Div 1 by loosing.
DB’s absence interesting.. perhaps (and hopefully) the writing on the wall..
It can only be a travesty that we are not head to head this season with that lot in the top six particularly K-macs mob – Fulham who seem to be doing it..
Ironic that with all that dosh we are just onlookers..
This match virtually irrelevant..but PL soon will have the equivalent of the whole world on his shoulders..
Wonderful entertainment on Saturday (evening) with Mike dArbo ex Manfred Mann. The do started at 6.30 with a smashing 3 course evening meal accompanied by copious amounts of Italian vino so it was the perfect excuse not to drive to Wolverhampton for the game.
I only received 2 text messages as follows
“Fucking crap” and “waste of an afternoon. – whatever you do Mike I urge you not to waste your time and money on Tuesday”. That settles that then! We have grandchildren for tea on Tuesday and that is infinitely preferable than sitting on the infernal M1 and M6 trying to get to Wolverhampton from deepest Bedfordshire.
Just for the record d’Arbo belted out some absolute classics from the finest period of pop music – 61 to 79. Two hours or so of dancing about – brilliant.
I feel sorry for those who attended the match which was the worst performance this season by all accounts – and that is saying something. The club really ought to compensate those who bothered to turn up.
See you next season
Have a great summer bloggers
BOG.
See you on the 6th mate?
Yes Brompton really looking forward to the evening bud and meeting up with like minded supporters from the blog for the first time.
We should be at the Park View about 5 o’clock.
See you there and thanks for organising the do.
BOG
There is a town in Scotland called Dull and there is one in USA called Boring. Each year they come together to celebrate being Dull and Boring. This year they have a special tent where they are showing videos of the four 0-0 draws in sucession under KJ as a tribute to the excellent levels of dullness at Molineux. Following this is a special highlights package featuring this seasons new levels of excrutiating boredom against Wigan Rotherham and Blackburn. To top the day off there is a tribute to the genetic make up of a sprout and a study in to the lung function of frogs. Looking forward to the Huddersfield game and counting how many seagulls there are behind the south bank.
I feel sorry for all our long distance fans who travelled umpteen miles to watch the mind numbing performance on Saturday, and travel home feeling thoroughly depressed. I felt the same, but I can walk home in 30 mins, kick the s**t out of the cat, have a nice meal with a bottle of plonk, have a moan, ring my brother who worships the dark side, feel better, and look forward to the remainder of the season, and a new season in a few months. What’s not to be happy about we are Wolves!!!
Rotherham, Wigan & now Blackburn.
October, November & February.
Nuff said.
Disappointed from Wolverhampton
You lot slaughtered me the other day …crystal palace.. nailed on to go down , now twelfth and climbing
Come home big Sam
So some reckon we only need four players to turn this lots into promotion candidates next year.
That may be enough if we play players in the team who can pass and move with pace from defence and midfield to support the front two, from this match only Gibbs-White offered those qualities. Saiss had an opportunity to stamp his authority on the match but couldn`t do it, and you wonder if he could some other team would have signed him ages ago. Both left backs used, all the other midfielder except Marshall are past their sell by date, lets hope the ruthless clearout actually happens, though I doubt it.
The entertainment value was nil, so I vacated my seat at 4.30pm, and I was far from the first to decide todays trip to the golden palace was a complete waste of time.
As for the four players we need for a promotion campaign, Messi, Ronaldo, John Terry and Wayne Rooney might struggle to turn this lot into a side who can do the business week in, week out.
As often happens, I found myself, whilst listening to the match commentary, in the kitchen concocting my version of a culinary delight. As I gathered my ingredients around me I felt a little like Lambo must feel as the transfer window approaches.
It’s best if I can utilise as many of my ‘store cupboard’ ingredients as possible for the basic dish so I can lay out more for the bits that make it special. I know what these ingredients add to the dish and how to use them to their best effect. It usually works well but depends on keeping my store cupboard well stocked with quality products to start with. Lambo must be looking at his ‘store cupboard’ and thinking much of his stock seems to have gone off. Of course, he’s quite new to our kitchen and hasn’t yet checked out the stuff we’ve had in the freezer for a year which is now out and thawing rapidly(Graham and Zyro). Also, we have frequent deliveries of fresh ingredients which need time to ripen but could add zest to any dish.
So I believe that like my Kashmiri Masala, Lambo’s Wolves may look a little stale at present but the addition of some good quality fresh meat in the summer could turn it into a dish fit for the queen.
Extra chilli in mine Mr Lambert.
Still feel sorry for those who had to brave this dirge.
Wolfie – very good analogy young man. We may have to start calling you the Galloping Gourmet at this rate! Looking forward to lots of fresh meat in the Summer and hope that Mr L is sufficiently gastronomically motivated to shop at a good quality independent butchers for prime produce like fillet steak rather than going for the cheap cuts of scrag end on reduced offer at Lidl.
Nowt wrong with Lidl steak lol
Wolfstroker, I think there might be a TV series in this.
Although we’ve already had two fat ladies on a motorcycle combination and two hairy bikers so maybe ‘One Frustrated Wolves supporter on a Harley’ is overegging the culinary collection a bit.
As my hair seems to be disappearing at an ever greater rate of top knots since my problem and as I’ve got my trusty Triumph T Bird to get my leg over and as I can boil an egg with the best of them, perhaps we could combine the aforementioned televisual treats and become the ‘Two hairless Bikers who happen to be Wolves fans’.
We could travel to all our away games and knock up a local dish in every City or Town we visit.
Don’t tell the wives though.
Wolfstroker and the Doog – brilliant. Cracked me up completely. Luckily I managed to miss the game as well.
Wolfstroker
I hear that you may be cooking up a Iittle culinary delight again tomorrow around 7-45 pm.
The trainee chef PL will be looking round scratching his head and wondering what to spice his meal up with to make it palatable for his -8000 guests. Well I do believe that the U23’s Chef has misplaced one of his defrosting tit bits for their feast at Fulham tonight, so perhaps we may see the addition of a tasty morsal tomorrow in the shape of Jardan Garhamm massala.
Myself. I prefer fast food.
That particular spice would go well with many a dish Stu. Far tastier dishes than we can currently muster with our ‘store cupboard ingredients. Let’s hope he defrosts in time.
All this curry talk has given me the shits just like that lot did on saturday !!!!!!!!
Unfortunately, we have no idea what is going on behind the scenes.
For instance, do Cav and Saiss want to stay?
They played like they didn’t.
Is Lambert using our final games to make his final assessments?
We all know it is over till next season.
The addition of Marshall & Weimann, ( apparently we are signing him permanently), in January certainly helped us.
Many say that we need a certain type of player to get promoted out of the championship
They are not ‘flair’ players.
My feeling is that Lambert will go for those who know the league and let go of our ‘flair’ players.
If Costa goes and it looks as if he will, I wonder if Sako will return?
A flair player sitting on a bench, with Championship experience, and probably a soft spot for Wolves?
Snap him up….
Despite the boring, dull, games like Saturday, Lambert has had no option but to make do and assess what is at the club.
He will make big changes this summer I am sure.
The difference now is we have rich owners and a stability that last year did not exist.
Well, that explains what a bore-draw is. It’s also truly mystifying that we can beat the likes of Leeds and Fulham away and yet we’re crap against relegation zone teams at home. On away form we are top-six, on home form we are bottom-three.
If our home form was better than our away form, and assuming our away form held up, we might even be top-two. Go figure.
I have read that Lambert thought that Saville did realy well when playing at left back on Saturday.
Is he blind or just plain stupid.
It doesn’t bode well does it, when you consider he is the one to shape the team for next season.
UTW