Tony Harrington, hang your head in shame.
What a howler.
I’m not against VAR, but the Premier League’s iteration of it is atrocious.
Technology should be used to correct clear and obvious errors, not laughably marginal offside calls.
I do wonder whether these sort of incidents happening each and every week will eventually lead to people falling out of love with the game.
That aside, the players should shoulder their fair share of the blame for this defeat.
What was that second half showing all about?
We were great in the first 45. Fluid off the ball and clever in possession. West Ham must have been grateful that we didn’t have a centre forward on the field.
Undoubtedly, our lack of senior bodies on the bench played its part in the outcome. Whereas the Hammers could call upon Antonio, Cresswell, and Johnson (and afford to leave Aguerd, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna, and Phillips on the bench), the only genuine gamechanger we could turn to was a half-fit Cunha.
O’Neil has made his thoughts on that situation clear, but he’ll be left to rue an uncanny absence of game management from his charges, who ceded the initiative to the opposition and paid the price.
The winner pretty much summed it up. Ingenious from Ward-Prowse, careless from us.
It’s a result that leaves our European hopes looking even fainter, but the real worry will be that this promising season could end with a whimper.
Let’s hope that’s not the case, because this group have proven they can do so much better.
Here we go again… that should have been a point in the bag, if it wasn’t for the ridiculous VAR interpretation.
Oh well, what can you do apart from put Harrington’s picture on the wall and throw darts at it?
Missed the Wolves equaliser due to leaving 5 mins into extra time to catch one of the last trains.
10 minutes extra due to var what a shambles.
However the wham second goal should have been disallowed as TWO wham players were impeding Sa on the goal line and prevented him from catching the ball.
You’re allowed to stand close to the goalkeeper provided that you don’t foul him and you’re not offside. You cannot be offside directly from a corner and the goalkeeper was not fouled.
But he was deemed to have blocked the goalkeepers view and he became offside the instant it touched Max’s head.
Whilst most of the comments will rightly be about the injustices of VAR – it should be remembered that we were terrorised in the second half by a rampaging forward who is clearly past his best. Simply not physical enough defensively!
Absolutely correct Stu. Without Dawson we continue to look very fragile at the back. Kilman seems to need leadership /direction, and Bueno is not Premiership quality.
Unbelievable contrast between the two halves .I thought we were very good first half with crisp accurate passing and movement .How the same players managed to go so totally off the boil in the second half is very difficult to comprehend .
European hopes were slim but now surely gone completely .I can only hope for a few more decent games and an indication that GON will stay and be backed .Sadly the season has turned MEH .Not as bad as in Bruno’s season but still such a shame after all the hard work that got us here .
West Ham brought Antonio and Cresswell on at half time. Antonio went centre forward allowed Bowen to move right is his natural position. Kudus went left and Paqueta central where they are both more effective too. Cresswell went left of a Mavropanos Zouma Cresswell three and that allowed Emerson to be more attacking on the left. West Ham were far more balanced in the second half was the reason for their great improvement.
No question that Chirewa was offside, to be excused that he needed to be not interfering with play. It’s actually difficult to imagine where he could have been standing that would be interpreted as interfering with play more than directly in front of the goalkeeper. That’s it, that’s as far as the rule goes, where he was standing. Whether he blocked vision or ability to reach the ball is not part of the rule so it’s irrelevant to raise it. A disallowed goal for offside every time as you need to be clearly not interfering with play to be excused offside.
Gary Lineker, Ian Wright and Dion Dublin, who are not usually seen as Wolves supporters have all said that the goal should have stood. Ian Wright even apologised to Wolves for the miscarriage of justice.
But you, Antony, as a West Ham fan with no experience of playing Premier League football, know better.
Best of luck for the rest of the season mate.
But being so knowledgeable, you won’t need it.
Doesn’t matter how many times they explain it, you just don’t get it.
I guess all former players know the rules better than current players.
This referee was in charge at Man City v Fulham when the exact same thing happened and City were awarded a goal. Today he decided it wasn’t. I rest my case.
It’s a fix again mate
Well we new it was to good to be true , no controversial VAR decision in a while so we were due one
At the end of the day we’re cream crackered
Cunha will take time to get up to speed as will any other of the returning players
Might as well carry on as we are it’s not worth getting players back for the few meaningless end of season games that are left and risk them being injured again,
See Mendes wants to force Ansu Fati on us, you can see how that’s going to end up
Onwards and upwards
Three points for consideration.
First the big negative. Let`s put aside the gross injustice / incompetence which deprived us of yet another point, since this is not just about our team The real concern must be the atrocious standard of refereeing which is dogging our beloved national game. Week in and out results are being tainted by ridiculous decisions with inadequate officials never being held to account. Officials who should be nowhere near refereeing games in the most prestigious league in world football. Throw in the farce that VAR has become and it can be seen that the sport itself is under dire threat.
Now the positives. In AIT we surely have a truly outstanding player, able to perform to huge effect in a variety of positions. The abject Shi should surely come of the basement where he`s been hiding and award the best possible contract to AIT, who could become the fulcrum of our team.
And finally a word about GON who, in my view, is proving to be a maestro. The innovative manner in which he is able to deploy players in alien positions to somehow conjure worthy performances from a crippled squad, is mind blowing.
Surely even the Shi can understand that the need to get GON tied down to a long term contract and to genuinely provide him with meaningful support is of paramount importance. But theragain, does a leopard ever change his spots ? I`m not holding my breath !!
Well the “abject “ Shi is responsible directly or indirectly for every one of the players on the pitch today being at Wolves including the manager.
Cut the man a bit of slack. He’s overseen our best half a decade or more in the last forty years.
Sorry to disagree Prawny but the man has proven to be commercially incompetent.
Any success we may have had is despite Shi, not because of him. That he he seems to have difficulty in understanding the need fo a chief executive to be consistently truthful and transparent does not help his cause
He was not there when GON was selected by Hobbs so he can hardly get credit for that
And who appointed Hobbs?
Mike. Sadly , I doubt that GON will sign a new contract unless there is a definite
assurance that money will be available to purchase players who will strengthen
the squad . That assurance will have to come from Fosun, not Shi.
We shall see their priorities at the end of the season when the transfer ins and outs are sorted.
It is true that the early Fosun days brought a special era but there is a different political landscape emerging.
Good point made on ‘official Wolves fans twitter ‘. Since VAR came in this is the ONLY time a ref has gone to a monitor for an offside. Probably won’t happen again. A bit like the Lemina ‘ 3 players running towards the referee ‘ sending off. Never before. Never seen since. Only Wolves.
Greetings,
We ran out of puff second half. Nightmare VARse special, We went from 8th t0 11th in 30 mins, but its tight mid table and we are low on resources. RAN is becoming a consistent top performer though.
This summer, Gazzbo’s continued loyalty? Rob Edwards would be on my list if Luton tumble.
A toothless end to the season never bodes well for this blog, uncertainty, mid table Molly’s, which player / manager wants away now? all that Jazz, And who’s to blame for all this?
That wind assisted corner from Tintin was a bit of a stunner.
1 lv & COYW
Breaking it all down…
One positive may be that we have an injury crisis that has forced us to blood teenagers ahead of schedule which may pay dividends next season.
In fairness to the ref, he gave the goal; t’was VAR that interfered.
To that end, the EPL may not be overtly corrupt. Only by stealth. Gone are the incorrect refereeing decisions that were the lucky breaks that lesser teams used to rely upon to get the occasional shock result.
VAR has album ensured that the bigger teams will win ALL OF THE TIME.
I blame Leicester City for bringing us VAR. The EPL needed to ensure that such events are never repeated.
*albeit (sigh……)
But while I’m back on here…..I would assume that a great portion of GON’s annoyance is because Chirewa’s positioning was quite likely a training ground manoeuvre whereby he was instructed precisely simply block but not impede the keeper physically.
The sort of tactic for which Arsenal are currently being lauded.
Ben, you said “I do wonder whether these sort of incidents happening each and every week will eventually lead to people falling out of love with the game.” I know I’m only a sample of one and so of dubious statistical significance, but the incidents in question are certainly having that effect on me.
I count myself fortunate to have started to follow Wolves in their most successful period with three league titles and an FA Cup win in my first few years. Although they’ve never achieved anything comparable since then, they’ve normally been a good watch and, even at their lowest ebb have had some decent players. The Nuno era ushered in a period when we could enjoy top quality players in some great matches. If we’d managed to get hold of a second Steve Bull – or perhaps a second Raul Jimenez, I’d rate the current team as being well up there with the best I’ve seen since 1953/4.
The passage of time has seen a decline in my attendance at matches. In 1960 my Dad and I went to 42 matches – all of the cup except the original 3rd round match at Newcastle (We were at the replay at a snow-covered Molineux ) and 36 out of the 42 league games. These days my support is realised through TV or Mikey Burrows/Andy Thompson.
There have been a great number of changes to the game – not all of them for the better. The period of crowd violence didn’t help – I can remember making a dash for the Cannock Road while avoiding the half bricks being thrown by Millwall supporters. Some of the changes have been bad, but I’ve stuck to it. I’ll stick to it now even with VAR – but I’ve already fallen out of love with what the game has become and I suppose keep watching because I feel sympathy for the players who, like the supporters, are not getting a fair crack of the whip. We’re lucky enough to have a squad who seem to have a good deal of commitment to the club and I’d want to continue to respect that and certainly not abandon them. But as for the game itself, VAR has certainly drained my love for the game. Unlike the Goal Decision System which continues to get on quietly with doing a valuable job, VAR has so many downsides – most notably the delays in the game and the way, week after week, that its main purpose seems to be to demonstrate only too clearly the shortcomings of the officials involved – and has only lead to the conclusion that things weren’t so bad before it was introduced. The only people to benefit seem to be the manufacturers of the video and communications equipment it needs, and of course the people who are paid to run it – people who differ from most other working people by appearing to be unsackable no matter how many or how big are the cock-ups they make.
In short Ben, I’m hanging on largely for old times’ sake, but I have very definitely fallen out of love with the game itself and what it has become.
Complain all you want about the corrupt officiating but the 2nd half performance was shocking and we deserved nothing.
Apathy starting to set in right through this club from the very top to us the fans. Club needs a shake up before 24/25 and Fosun need to decide what they want to do with the club going forward.
I agree that the second half performance was shocking but I think that ‘apathy’ is a word that doesn’t describe Gary O’Neil, the players or the fans.
Wolves have some of the loudest fans in the League, the players obviously get on well and are hugely enthusiastic and the manager is a top tactician and coach who loves his work.
Apathetic? I don’t think so.
The introduction of VAR was supposed to improve the game.
How many fans, players, club employees or even officials would agree that it has?
In the rich leagues where it is applied, it is nothing short of scandalous that this Video system is so poorly applied, hand in hand with rules that simply cannot be fairly applied in the modern game.
I’ve said before, a different sport, with far, far less money, applies their Video system brilliantly, transparently, hand in glove with the rules of the game.
Yes, Rugby Union.
Puts football to shame.
Learnings from yesterday, aside from the technological travesty that is VAR.
Never ever question our coach’s and players passion for their club.
GON isn’t afraid to start speaking out, respectfully, about the need for financial support in readiness for the Summer.
Rayan Ait Nouri is a baller.
UTW
How many west ham players around Sa for the goal from a corner?
Interpretation of rules change from minute to minute!
What if no VAR. Just on appeal. Like cricket limited to one person match or half.
I picked up on that too Jim .. and Antonio Ave Sa a little arse nudge as the ball came in ..
I suppose now it’s part of the current game .. and Arsenal have learnt the art of if better than most .. what’s annoying is that more more or less the same set of circumstances.. we had two different decisions.. Man City .. goal … Wolves .. you must be joking ..
Since nobody touched the ball, none of them were offside.
I was open minded as to the off side decision.
Then when I arrived back in Suffolk and saw the replay I could not believe it.
Many goals from corners must be wrongly awarded according to this incompetent. Nearly every corner now involves players backing into and blocking the movement and vision of keeper. A lot include physical contact.
Clearly the tinier figure of our young lad made no contact and did not impede the GK’s sight of the ball. He had to do one of these to meet the criteria of the rules wording. VAR officials spent a lot of time finding ‘evidence’. The ref had the opportunity to see what we and the ex pros on MOTD saw and still managed to get it wrong, having previously allowed a similar case a short while ago.
I gave a 2-1 loss for this game if we did not put someone up front with some physical threat; my choice being Doc for a limited period. The WH defence must have thought their holidays had come early in the second half with our changes. There’s not a lot wrong with giving young, very promising youngsters experience when events allow, but expecting undeveloped lads, talented, yes, to hold up the ball and compete against big hairy mammoths is deludedly hopeful and downright silly in my opinion. I say this as a big GON fan.
The situation is far from Gary’s fault, but I really think he is missing a trick not playing the aforementioned there for a few games.
I was amazed to see someone have a go at Santi Bueno the Centre Back. I thought he was magnificent at times and have been very impressed, especially considering his previous lack of match time. Gawd help him if he makes a mistake!! ?
Done by a freak corner, a rare penalty and an injustice. I’d say we were unlucky but for the poor second half showing. Still plenty to be positive about.
All teams block the keeper at corners. If this rule is to be implemented consistently then headers from corners won’t count. Can’t wait to see the big clubs get called back for that eg Van Dyke at Anfield, last match, to get a point to win the League. No, me neither.
So VAR nonsense apart, I disagree that we were great in the first half, we were good at keeping the ball in areas that didn’t matter. The absence of a forward to pass to or an “out” ball over the top meant that at one point WHam had three redundant defenders on the half way line while we racked up triangle passes in front of them. David Moyes isn’t stupid and folk on here forget that other teams are involved in the game. He changed personnel and strategy and they took over. They looked the stronger and if Kilman had headed over the bar , we would have the same result and a different focus for the inquest.
Our players are tired and it shows, there are no solutions on the bench, Antonio might be past his best but he made a difference, how hard did we try to sign him?
Once again I conclude that despite the heroics of G’oN, his staff and the team , the culpability for this defeat lies in our boardroom not Stockley Park.
Folk on here, sounds like you are above us bloggers on here BG.
You need to give your view and leave us to ours.
“Some folk” would have been more accurate.
However, BG makes some very sound observations .
No offence intended Witley, just to make the point that any team coming to Molineux has a plan to win and half time is often when the coach makes changes to it if it’s not working, West Ham had the players to do it, unfortunately at the moment we don’t for all the reasons we know about. We all want Wolves to win every game but sometimes you have to look at what the opposition are doing.
No apologies required B G.
We are all Wolves fans on here.
I’m certainly no fan of Jeff Shi but well done to him for coming out and issuing his public statement about the absolutely ludicrous var decision yesterday. I’ve said many times on here that var has been designed to manipulate the outcome of games remotely and so well done Jeff for being the first high profile football person to effectively message that in his statement .
Wolves do seem to have new VAR rules invented that apply to no one else. The Lemina ‘you can’t t have a third person running towards the referee’ was a new one. Never seen before. Never seen since. What about the Vinicius ‘soft headbut’ on Max Kilman at Fulham.The ‘soft headbut’ rule only applies to Wolves. And yesterday we had the mysterious ‘spectacle of ‘subjective offside’ and the first and probably only time a ref goes to the monitor in such a case. On the BBC HYS at West Ham fan said he was pleased that his team had ‘one of those VAR decisions go his way for a change’. A Wolves fan replied ‘ still wondering what that’s like ‘.A reasonable estimate of 8 to 10 points robbed this season by weird and wonderful VAR. I wonder what ‘new rule’ will be lined up for us at Forest next week. Probably something like ‘ the Wolves player brushed the corner flag with his arm. Red card offence’…….for one week only.
And don’t forget the debacle at Liverpool when the ref who was nearer the center circle than the line of play signals to the linesman who had just given the goal for onside to raise his flag for offside ….. never seen that at any of the thousands of games that I’ve attended-
Absolutely corrupt.
Watching the spurs forest game ,Maddison clearly punches Yates in the stomach all can see it , VAR no evidence of violent conduct,
Yesterday for the second week running Arsenal players delaying the restart, no action
It’s like there saying we’re doing it ,you can see us doing it ,what you going to do about it, that’s right nothing !
I remember the Mo Salah goal in the FA cup at Anfield when the ball came off Toti’s head and Salah was massively offside. But goal awarded because Toti got his head on the ball. Next week against West Ham in the Prem a West Ham defender does the exact same thing and plays Raul through who scored. Disallowed. Offside. Hilarious.
Wonder if in years to come they discover that Stockley park was run and owned by betting cartels
Just a thought
Crazy.
Defenders only in 6 yard box.
Attackers outside penalty area.
Cross it and see what happens.
Actually is that hockey?
Just watched the villa brentford game with all the goal action from other games as they played out, the outrageous decision to disallow a Newcastle goal and guess what not a mention of kilmans goal ,just goes to prove we’re shit on their shoes
can someone please explain to a dumb ass like me how you can be offside from a corner?
Have i got this wrong ?
You can’t be offside from a corner mate. But as soon as the ball is touched again and propelled towards the goal, the off side rule cuts in….
…If you are interfering with play, or affecting the goalkeeper’s view of the ball.
Neither of which occurred here, so why the morons at Stockley Park poked their noses in, is anybody’s guess.
Thanks doog ….
https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/04/07032710/GettyImages-2143553283-scaled.jpg
we wuz robbed
It’s all been said – we wuz robbed but probably didn’t deserve point. So this post is a bit off piste but affects everyone of us who supports a non “big 6” club in the bent as a nine bob note Premier League.
No great admirer of Everton but the latest deduction against them is an outrage while Man C and Chelsea continue unpunished or even uncharged. And what about Man U losses of £1billion going under the radar due to the Glazers “legally” drawing massive dividends and taking the money overseas.
Everton, Forest, Leics City.
Who next?
What next?
Wolves to be deducted 30 points backdated to Sir Jack’s stadium rebuild ensuring Luton have a good chance of survival.
A proposal from the cartel that everyone not in the big 6 has to play uphill when playing against them (for the whole 90 minutes). Not much different to handicaps in horse racing!
This is no longer sport and the sooner this corrupt institution known as the English Premier League is brought under control or disbanded (super league) the sooner football will be restored. Whoever coined the phrase “the greed league” all those years ago was clearly using a crystal ball,
If nothing is done we are all wasting our time and money. Might as well watch the F1 motor racing circus.
Couldn’t agree more PJB. Well said.
Perhaps a similar person to Alan Bates is needed.
pjb,
the painting of “the scream ” comes to mind
Loads of us are screaming but no one is listening !
Subtle but total corruption.Very very clever.
We will walk away if this carries on and it will so in my opinion football as we have always known it is finished .
Money is god and those at the top are awash with it and are not going to let go ,ever.
They manipulate everything very cleverly to their own ends.
Their opinion of us is one of an irritating necessity, they put up with us because it makes it whole at the moment but the day will come when the ginormous cost of stadia interferes with profits and so teams in the future will play not to crowds but to tv cameras only and we will gather in pubs and other places to try to achieve some of what we have now .
The future is not bright and as i gave up going to games and contributing to this extortion a few years ago i dont feel so bad about whats going to happen as the avid supporter i do however feel sorry for the younger ones who like me many years ago were lured to the lights smell and excitement of match day.
This euro super league will just be the start of turning our beloved game into nothing more than a circus displayed across world wide tv screens to sit at home supoorters paying to watch.
NETFLIX READ NETFOOTBALL.
ITS COMING !
Can’t see us being allowed to gather in pubs as public gatherings will be illegal
Just a bit of sarcasm not political
They already road tested that one under the semi lockdown restrictions during covid.
I agree Spikey. Football is a working class game. Hijacked by the rich spivs who run the TV companies who can see their way to big bucks. Additionally we are already seeing extortionate season ticket prices in London and this may spread to other clubs soon. Nice try if they think it will happen in Wolverhampton . I was brought up in a tough working class Black Country area and we know better. We won’t be fleeced by anyone.
You make some very valid points, Cheese. I think the problem is that sky (who started all this) and the PL don’t want us working class local football supporters. It’s aimed at people who don’t go, over analysis of each blade of grass, how it moves, and overseas money talks. Saudi cash and franchising of football clubs aka the US model would be loved by the tosspots in charge. They can sell the game to more armchair supporters .
I’ve been going for over 57 years, sat in the “new stand” since it opened and I’m a ‘number’ not a fan or a person.
Work dragged from the Midlands and now do a 6 hour round trip, to be treated with utter contempt by the PL Muppet and sometimes the club.
Still, if there is an upside, after the 3 hour drive back my anger, frustration and bewilderment has subsided. Plus I can play all my favourite Northern Soul tunes on the drive.
We will always love our club. But, I for one am falling out of love with football. Rant over.
KTF.
we wont be able to afford the beer !
The aftermath of the events of Saturday has shown the extent to which opinion is divided on whether the outcome was correct or not. This very clearly demonstrates that the underlying cause of the matter is a lack of clarity in the rules.
Some of the rules of the game are precise – for example the ten yard rule at free kicks or the laws governing the size of the playing area. Others have become matters of opinion. At one time the offside law was essentially very simple – there had to be two opponents between a player and the goal line when a member of his own side played the ball. This was later modified to favour attackers (and provide more goals) by reducing the number to one – so that if you were level with the last defender you would be onside. Then came the “not interfering with play” variation which changed the law from being something factual to becoming a matter of opinion. [I’d love to have heard Stan Cullis’s reaction if he heard that a member of his team had not been interfering with play”].
The problem with the ‘matter of opinion’ approach is demonstrated when refs choose to ignore the brawling which seems to take place at every corner kick. They routinely ignore acts which, anywhere else on the pitch, would result in a free kick if not a booking. That is until one of them chooses not to ignore it this time and all hell breaks loose. If they would consistently penalise offenders the infringements would very quickly stop.
So let’s take the opinion out of things – let’s go back to the old rule – either level=on or level=off, it doesn’t matter so long as you pick which one is to be used. Let’s also put the responsibility back on the linesman. The players aren’t trying to judge things to 4 or 5 millimetres, the linesman can’t, so why do we need VAR with it’s spurious accuracy. Use VAR only where the linesman is clearly not up with the play and not in position to see – he could even call for it himself, equivalent to “I have no opinion” in fencing,
Doing this would stop attackers standing in an offside position because they would always be penalised once a team member played the ball. They would soon adapt to the new requirements.
There will always be situations where the ref has to make a decision, dangerous play for example. VAR could still be useful here (and in penalty decisions) BUT slow motion replays should not be used – they can make the most innocent of tackles look horrific. But do let’s keep, as far as possible, ‘matters of opinion’ out of our game.
Totally agree Jazz, excellent ideas which most people who have played football would agree with. What’s the chance of our football rule makers agreeing with something so logical though.
Totally fallen out of love with football since VAR was brought in. Don’t go any more as you can never celebrate a goal properly like you used to. And it is being used so badly it’s making the game unwatchable. Also this season we have lost 8 points due to clearly terrible decisions, which will probably mean that we miss out on European football. It’s killing the game I’ve loved for 50 years.
I didn’t even bother to watch the match on MOTD to avoid adding the latest Wolves VAR controversy to the showreel from hell that starts to autoplay when I’m trying to get to sleep.
It’s all very depressing.
Now then ,,, having said what i said in doom and gloom for the future of our beloved game as we know it, i witnessed ( on tv ) one the most extrodinary and probably the very best game of football i have ever seen .
It had everything that makes our game great, unbelivable skill, great goals,nonstop end to end play, but the one thing that stood out more than anything else for me was fantastic refereeing .
Take a bow man city, real madrid and Francois letexier
That brought the smile back to my ugly mush
I see the Premier League are introducing ‘semi automated offside technology’next season. Odds on Wolves become the first club to be screwed over by it.