I don’t know if I’d bet the house on all these players in the Premier League just yet, but this was mightily promising.
There were 9 changes from Nuno as our illustrious leader finally flexed the muscle of his senior squad to give the breadwinners a breather.
And that squad seems infinitely beefier having now seen what some of those understudies have in the locker.
Patrick Cutrone seems like £20 million well spent with the touch and intelligence to suggest he’ll fit in nicely.
His precision control and cross for Pedro Neto was the game-changing moment as Wolves finally went through the gears.
Neto could be the bonus ball of the summer shopping spree if this outing was anything to go by. Pace, trickery and intelligent use of possession mark him out as another great find.
Nuno is obviously a fan having integrated the 20-year old into his plans from the outset.
Vallejo should be a slam dunk hit, but he can count his lucky stars to have made it through the 90 after scything down an attacker when already on a yellow.
That’s a definite sending off in the Premier League and I’m surprised the referee showed such clemency.
The Spaniard was largely untroubled outside of that and seemed to ease into things the longer the game went on.
Max Kilman was similarly comfortable for the most part aside from a few jittery defensive moments early doors while Pyunik were still committing bodies forward.
Hard to find too much fault though and given that this was his proper competitive debut he can feel satisfied with his evening’s work.
Man of the Match for me was Traore, despite a trademark shank into the Billy Wright when teeing off from inside the penalty area.
There’s so much expectancy every time he gets the ball but tonight he set up one goal and constantly disrupted their backline with driving runs and crosses. You can’t ask for much more.
Vinagre was just as dangerous on the opposite side and looks physically stronger and more assured than he’s ever done. What a luxury to have in reserve.
A word too for Gibbs-White who finally got that elusive first competitive goal for Wolves. His confidence ballooned after finding the net in what had been an uneven performance up to that point. We still need more from him, which is a compliment to a guy who doesn’t turn 20 until the end of January.
It was slightly surprising to see Jota and Jimenez stripping off for the final 20, but I suppose Nuno wanted to sharpen the knives ready for Monday night.
If that was the aim consider it mission accomplished after that sublime Jota scissor kick to round off the scoring from a smart Jimenez scoop.
Comfortable, serene progress then as the good times keep on rolling.
It’s off to Turin next week for a proper European cup tie. Whoever Nuno picks, I won’t be betting against them.
Wolves are defo going places, we are the business. Bring on the Mancs.
I still have to pinch myself . It all seems surreal at times. Well Ole is back at the wheel. Seem to remember we blew him off course twice in a couple of weeks last season. We just seem to keep finding bloody good football players. Is it a dream? Yes. I am happily stuck with it. FWAW.
It seemed like hard work in the first half as Wolves newbies got into the groove.
But 2nd half was a different story. Don’t think Traore’s position is ideally right wing back. Certainly in the Prem, his defending could get punished. But when he’s on one of those stop start Duracell battery powered runs he’s a joy to watch. Part of that joy comes with not quite knowing what’s going to happen next. It could be an x rated sliced shot that goes out for a throw or a perfect cross ball for a tap in for Vinagre.
Well chuffed good evenings entertainment & boy what a long way Wolves have come. Looking forward to the extra spice & edge of the Man Utd game on Monday night. Could be a belter.
Vinagre my MOM, all the new guys slotted in well. Jesus Vallejo will have to mellow down his tackling somewhat. Neto & Cutrone look as if they can add some sparkle from the bench for now. Thought MGW worked well with Neto. Dearly hope his goal gives him more confidence & we start to see more signs of his evolution into a top player for us.
Onwards & upwards towards Gdansk.
Good all round performance, and a comprehensive victory. Seems like we have more depth than some us may have thought.
This Neto guy arrived under the radar. But what a find he could turn out to be as he develops and begins to gain a better understanding of Nuno`s methods
That second half was deeply impressive from our B team even before our twin strikers came on .I was worried about the depth of squad but a lot less concerned now .Loved the MGW / Neto link up play and think Kilman looks like he could develop in to a proper ball carrying defender .Much tougher opponents to come but a great run out .Bring in Man U .We are ready .
I enjoyed that. The 2nd half much better than the 1st. Was a tad frustrated with Traore in the first half as his final decisions were not clear, not even to himself. He certainly had a worthy 2nd half though.
Overall, I enjoyed that.
As soon as the team sheet was announced, it just reaffirmed to me what a window we had. Yes, we didn’t get that £30m CB we all wanted, but the strength in depth we now have is quite scary. Boly and Doc weren’t in the squad last night, yet I was still licking my lips at the weapons Nuno had at his disposal.
The first-half was a non event. Yes, Pyunik knocked it around nicely, but they didn’t have a clue as to how to break us down.
Second half much more entertaining. We really are a delight to watch when in full flow. Cutrone MOTM. Paddy’s workrate was phenomenal, providing us with some great link up play, which isn’t his natural game. Impressed.
Vinagre and Traore were menaces in the second half, while Neto showed flashes of brilliance. Very composed on the ball.
A satisfying evening. Now on to Monday.
We had a much better transfer window than many fans realised. If Nuno brings in a couple of young players we’ve never heard for £20 mil, he knows what he’s doing. It’s so easy to dismiss signings as ‘one for the future’. Nuno has more immediate plans for these youngsters obviously..
What a great start to our first European campaign in forty years. I would prefer to face the likes of Torino in the group stages as we we’re both strong teams, but that’s the luck of the drawer. Whatever happens in Turin (my bet is 1-1) we are set up for a rousing finale in Molineux on 29th August. Let the good times roll.
Top or bottom drawer, Dances?
Oops. Draw.
But we’re rapidly becoming a top drawer team, and we will draw big crowds everywhere!
I think we must have been watching different matches if you think Traore was man of the match Thomas.
But I think he learned a valuable lesson from Cutrone (who looked a snip at £20m).
Get to the byline, look up, look up again, and then deliver a killer cross which is AIMED AT SOMEONE IN A GOLD SHIRT.
Up until then, all Adama’s approach work came to a predictable nothing, because he does NOT look up and he dinks in crosses to ABSOLUTELY NOBODY.
After witnessing Cutrone’s assist, the next time he got in the same position, he replicated it almost perfectly.
I really hope he does fulfill his potential, but there’s a long way to go yet.
Great to see MGW on the scoresheet as well. He played like a proper first teamer after the weight of not scoring had been lifted from his shoulders.
A pretty satisfactory performance in the end and a bloody brilliant result.
The new boys looked good (eventually) and will only get better.
Bring on United!
PS. Vinagre was my MOM.
PPS. Not my Mum.
PPPS. That Jota goal, build up and execution, was an absolute stonker!!!
I agree with your Traore views. See my post above. See you tomorrow. Am too pissed from the session in the golden lion with my bro to comment further.
Firstly,
Mr & Mrs Lowves and Jen de Wolf and I picked up our Torino away tickets as soon as the ticket office opened today. So Tuesday 7:10 am, we’re Turin bound for four days. My first proper trip into Europe with the Wolves for 47 years, (Tottenham Hotspurms being the last, well they do talk a different language down there)
As the transfer window closed last Thursday I felt a tad despondent, but WTF do I know I’m just a pleb in these matters. Cue the Wolves recruitment team, then bish, bash, bosh, we have four potentially fantastic newbies.
As many on here know I’m a fan of the Vinagre, but that Neto he was sublime, Christ sake, he’s still only 18.
We have cemented a partnership like Bull and Mutch in the form of Jimenez and Jota, but in true Nuno style we now have Vinagre and Neto.
Three subs allowed each game, can teams cope with Vinagre, Neto and Cutrone for 45 minutes running the legs off some of these PL teams, then at the stroke of 60 minutes, on comes Jota, Otto and Jimenez to kill teams off.
Also we have an option for Ryan now, who although he is superb at times, is if I’m right the oldest player we have. (Unless Moutinho is older) so another option for Nuno is Vallejo, when he got into his stride had that quality that I have always thought Bennett lacks, that ability to run at players and make forward passes of the quality Vallejo was producing last night.
With Coady now firing long range passes to Traore with more accuracy, maybe Nuno has sorted out that Missing CB we just could not get over the line.
So all in all not too shabby Wolves, another great recruitment phase for our great club, the only way is up.
Those were the days my friend,
I hope they never end.
I’ll sing and dance, forever and a day.
We’ll live a life we choose,
We have an Emlyn Hughes,
His name is Coady, and he’ll fight all the way.
Yes I agree that Traore has a way to go before he can demand a starting place. Too often he didn’t take on the full back when there was space to run into. He waited until there was cover and less space. Amazingly , he burst past both , got to the byline but couldn’t find the target …a gold shirt.
Better in the second half and much better than last season so there’s hope yet.
I like Vallejo. Despite the rash tackle, you could tell he knew the position. If Bennett was injured or suspended, I’d have no qualms putting him in.
Neto and Cutrone will cause havoc and I’ll let Nuno decide when to unleash them on an unsuspecting defence.
Well done Nuno, you nailed it at half time and got the result we all wanted.
Really enjoyed the match and credit to Pyunik who tried to play their football all night, forced JR into a smart save at the death and never resorted to kicking us. Conor played a real captains role shepherding his two new partners who were very nervous for the opening quarter. Thereafter a pleasure to watch our relentless attacking- Jota goal was up there with Neves’Derby effort for technique. Is Neto only 18? He looked like a young David Silva and could be the bargain of the year. Roll on Man U who will be a lot tougher than some think.
It seemed that our wingbacks were under instructions to stay deep first half to make sure the opposition didn`t score and maybe unsettle a home team with so many changes, and having got to half time ok the shackles came off.
Hope Traore can play like that against better opposition, only time will tell. I thought all the debutants were excellent, and maybe we didn’t get a buy to option clause on that young Spanish defender, good player though, because we have the centre back Nuno wants coming next season.
Fantastic crowd to watch our reserves, really enjoyed the performance and game, onwards and upwards. Next small issue of Man Utd.
Traore and Vinagre could now be the secret to unlocking those 11 at the back teams which proved our undoing last season.
Traore especially still has some way to go until he’s the finished article but he he still scares the bejesus out of any defence .
I think and hope we’ll see a more Horses for Courses approach this season given the quality of our squad. All in all I can’t bloody wait for Monday.