Isn’t it an exaggeration to say we’ve struggled in attack against the lesser sides at Molineux this season?
For starters, we haven’t actually played half of them yet.
We dismantled Everton, beat Burnley and scored a great goal to come back against Forest. Yes, we did labour for long periods in two of those games, but I think it’s fanciful to just expect constant liquid football.
Blanking against Brentford seems to have reignited the conversation, but given that we completed the holy trinity in that game – world class save from the keeper, fractional VAR ruling out a goal and hitting the post – I felt we were unlucky.
Of course we’re better on the counter or in transition or however you want to put it, but I think this group is capable of breaking a low block.
I’m more concerned about us not gifting the opposition the ball in bad areas and conceding those soft goals that make that mountain harder to climb.
Sheff Utd
The Blades are going down. I think that’s a fairly safe assumption now. Even if Everton got slapped for another 10 and Forest suffered a deduction, I’d still back those clubs in a race to the finish.
I didn’t understand the logic behind reappointing Chris Wilder and I’d be surprised if Utd fans still considered him a significant upgrade.
Once the magic had dissipated from the great side he built a few years back there never looked like being a second coming and short spells at Watford and Middlesbrough did little to sustain his reputation.
They have secured a couple of wins since he took over, edging out Brentford and winning well at Luton in their last away game.
But they still can’t keep the door shut at the back and 65 conceded is a record at this stage of a Premier League season.
In their most recent walloping from Brighton they weren’t helped by Mason Holgate’s kamikaze tackle that meant they had to play with 10 for most of the game. He’s suspended for this one as a consequence and they’ve had a couple of other influential players on the sidelines like Basham, Baldock, Egan and Lowe that would have almost certainly helped them stem the flow.
Wolves
I’d play a back four tomorrow and put Bellegarde central ahead of Lemina and Gomes with a front three of Hwang, Neto and Sarabia ahead of that. But I suspect Gary might be more pragmatic.
It might be wise to see if we can just break them down with our usual shape, but with nothing to lose and an opportunity to advance into the top half of the table, why not go all out from the start?
Having watched a decent amount of Sheff Utd this season I think they do struggle just defending the width of their 18 yard box so it makes sense to get another body in the final third and try to overwhelm them.
Predictions
Well done to Graham from Horsham, Dek, Dandy Wolf and Happy Claptrap, who all correctly predicted the 2-1 win for Wolves at Spurs.
If we do end up blanking again that’s going to reflect poorly on my analysis, so please don’t let me down lads. These guys concede more than two a game but I won’t be greedy – 2-0.
As always, if you’d like to join in with the Prediction League this season, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.
Up The Wolves!
After a few weeks of negativity and getting slapped down, I’m going for a decent win this week.
what?
My predictions were on the negative side. NOT the results.
Quite happy to have egg on my face!
Well, here we go again. For G’s sake don’t let them do the double on us lads.
We know we’re going to have to break them down and slice open their barricades; for that reason I’d put Doyle in at the start.
Utd are used to having 5 put in against them; can we do it?
Let’s reintroduce a ‘Clive”.
I Fancy us to put Sheff U to the sword they just can’t defend has to be at least 3-0.
We should win this. Me my new Bulgarian Wolves friends watch in Plovdiv.
3-1 Gold Men
We will win. Ugly. Go us!
Absolutely essential high scoring win…front foot from the off..
Hwang needs to score and the team needs at least 3.
Doyle needs to play and will have a pop at goal no doubt..
Gomez on the corners..
A must win..
COYW
4-1
I’m torn; every time I predict a loss we win and the reverse is often true.
I would expect a 3-1 win and I would like Doyle in there somewhere forward of Lemina and Gomes, please.
I’m with you on predicting but do you find when you’ve said it out loud the formula fails ho ho ho
GON was likened to ‘ Winston Wolf’ from the Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction by a journalist from the The Mail online in midweek in reaction to his brief tenure at WV1 …..however the less than convincing performances thus far in the league seemed to have manifested in the team playing the same formation that works against a front foot opponent and not really benefiting
If the Blades are as poor as everyone thinks and we don’t break them down on Sunday maybe it will down in part to not tweaking that formation to achieve the maximum number of opportunities
Arm chair managers aren’t we all on most football forums, and for me I would play a back 4 , move Toti to the bench for a game and bring in Doyle to play the old ‘Neves’ role and push Gomes and Lemina forward to support a front 3 …… might work?
Perhaps even play Nathan Fraser as part of the 3 with Neto and Hwang
Irrespective of the formation we should surely win this one ?
Fraser is still a baby and nowhere near ready to start in the premier league.
Remember how we ruined Silva by playing him too much and too soon.
Like Debenham Wolf I’m getting really good at getting predictions wrong. Part of me feels like keeping the run going by predicting a Blades win. However, my run has to change some time so let’s hope Sunday is the day.
Have to agree with Thomas, if we can’t go back 4 and a bit more gung-ho against one of the worst PL teams ever than when can we? Would be slightly negative to see us line up with a back 5. Their confidence is bound to be fragile after the number of wallopings they’ve taken recently, notwithstanding a decent win at Luton.
I get the feeling we may have to be patient before finding a way through. The danger with these fixtures is the fans (probably rightly given the opposition) expect us to turn up and roll them over. Nightmares of Huddersfield and various other Molineux debacles spring to mind.
But, surely the quality will tell.
After embarrassing myself with my negativity against Spurs just because Cunha wasn’t playing, I’ve learnt my lesson and will back the boys for a good win this Sunday.
I know that we gave the Blades their first win since they came back into the Premiership and we have struggled a bit against the not so good sides, but I have a good feeling about this one.
We owe these big time.
Or rather we owe VAR big time.
On Sunday, it will be pay back (BIG) time.
GON will have worked out how to break down and run through teams that sit back.
He will have taught our defence how NOT to concede silly goals.
VAR will be on our side when called on.
And Clive and Brompton will be overseeing it all while supping a beer or two.
Enjoy it lads.
Still a chance to see Fraser methinks
meantime hope we go for early breakthrough then pick them off as they break formation
Simples
Its about time we did a good moment…or two
Sharpen up on the Blades ready for next week’s challenges
It will be interesting to see how we fare against 10 men behind the ball! GON will have his plan, and I am really curious to see what his strategy will be. If we beat them comfortably then we really will.have to take our hats off to him!
An early goal for us would do wonders to get us on our way!
The Blades will play a back 5 sit deep and frustrate. Great. Sit where you want. Wilder is a knob and had 2 good seasons. It ay gonna happen Sunday. The hapless Blades running around like headless chickens. The bloke out of Def Leopards head will come off as rampant WWFC run out 3-0 winners. A disconsolate Wilder said ” It’s terrible. I said to the Mrs “‘Pour some sugar on me” this morning in the hope Def Leopards would inspire us. To no avail”. GON said “My Mrs birthday was characterised by a Def Leppard tribute gig at the Horse and Jockey. Lucky enough for me they were shit. Just like Sheffield Utd”. WWFC 3 Blades 0.
Sunday’s game may be a much tighter affair than many expect.
The Blades have nothing to lose. Only their most optimistic supporters will think they stand any chance of avoiding relegation.
We, on the other hand, as most are aware, are more effective against teams that attack. Our counterattack is as formidable as it is rapid (think the winning goal against Spurs).
We do struggle breaking teams down when they sit back and park the bus. Our play becomes static and predictable.
I believe we will win, but I don’t think it will be a hat full of goals.
We need to be laser focused in defence, do everything we can to avoid giving away cheap free-kicks and no red cards.
A clean sheet and one or two goals would do very nicely.
Revenge would be sweet.
Very sweet.
UTW
They were saying Neto was a 60 million pound player. I’ve seen articles today saying he is an 80 million pound player.
If this continues, it is a good thing.
Sheff will shut up shop and be difficult to break down.
We need to get an early goal, if we do then I think it will be plain sailing.
If not it could well be a long, long afternoon….
just going through my T shirt drawer
fished out my old Wolves Blog T shirt that Brompton had made .
He was such a lovely bloke and i miss him
Remembering you Brommo . you are still missed !
UTW
You must be psychic mate.
I did the same thing. I was going to wear mine to the match on Sunday.
And if the picture uploading facility was in operation, I’d show you.
I’m not entirely sure if it was a Brompton or Clive T shirt, between them they made quite a few .
And they are both missed!
Well shiver me timbers, knock me over with a feather. I came across mine in my ‘t-shirt drawer this week too. Must be Brompto sending us psychic messages through the ether.
love to have a few whiskey s some time and raise a glass or two to fallen comrades
Always up for that Matt. At season’s end perhaps.
yes mate .
It was Brompton trying to emulate Trotters Independant Traders.. he had the idea and knew a friend who purchased the tee shirt and did the embroidery… it’s tge common thread but mine came to the surface of the tee-shirt drawer … as you say .. it’s an omen .. unless he’s chasing payment ..
we hear you Steve but we’re not sure what you’re trying to say ….. if you’re vp with Clive … reckon it’s 5 one and …. F O WB .. and maybe something to do with a tent .
Great Wolves boys .. the fucking pair of em !
Spot on saying that London .. spot on..
Greetings,
The sit deep with 30% possession and bang in a couple of goals on the counter has worked well for less fancied teams away from home, not least our own good selves.
Time to show some quality teeth and make Clive happy.
Especially at The Mol. That was a bit lacklustre against The Sandcastles and Solanke.
An early goal sounds good.
1 lv & COYW
Of course Tommy Doyle will be itching to play and I can see the sense in that. But he didn’t really impress in the first game against them so I am a little wary.
Switching to a four also seems like a plan but the way our wing backs get forward, I feel the three can be more attacking rather than less.
So same line up as Spuds for me and a handsome 3-0 win.
COYW
I expect this one will be harder and more nervy than it should be, because wolves.
Don’t let them score first, otherwise I can see them doing a Huddersfield over us and that could leave us trying to breakdown a 10 man wall for rest of the game
So if we get the first we should go on and make it safe with maybe one or two more
Don’t mind me, I’m always wrong this year.
Hopefully this is the week for a Clive
All this Neto leaving talk hopefully is chip paper rubbish
Want to see us keep this team together push for as high as we can this year then with the team spirit we have and GON having a full year without the 8 pts we lost due to VAR decisions we can really push on next year
Some more Hobbs cheap buys and in my mind we can really push on
Still have an FA cup run to look forward to this year as well
fa cup 8th fav on b’fair 28/1
I’ve had a shocking run with these predictions. You see, I keep expecting us to beat lower teams than us, and lose against higher teams than us. That makes sense right ?? It would be so easy to predict !! So now we are playing the bottom team. I would expect a Clive at least … but thereagain ….
Sod it, a tight win because we don’t always do well against such opposition – but thereagain, it is the blades 🙂
The suggestion of going to a back 4 is insane imo… Semedo and Ait Nouri spent a fair bit of time in Spurs final third .. as did Toti .. so we won’t have any wastage leaving Kilman and Dawson to thwart their lone striker ..
What will be different to the Spurs game will be they’ll be in our face, including the niggly stuff and , of course, the dark arts of shirt pulling and professional fouling .. oh sorry .. take one for the team.
The first meeting showed me how far off the Blades are in this league.. and but for VAR and some poor finishing then .. but that’s gone now.
Galactic Gary has transformed this team into tacticians who know when to press and when to drop off ..
I’d stick with the same start as last week … we should have enough to get over the line…
I’m going for 2-1 … Neto and Hwang.
.
Surely we can tonk this lot?
A physical game that I don’t expect to be as one-sided as might be expected. Wolves gotta win.
A (narrow – because that’s what we do in such games) win and a clean sheet is my wish for Sunday. I share the hope that GO has his tactics sorted for teams that sit back AND that the team understand them. Maintain concentration and discipline to avoid silly goals and silly yellow cards. And, please please start fast.
There’s a case for Doyle playing cos they’ll sit deep. I think it’ll be tougher than it looks on paper but we will prevail narrowly.
Not a single person has predicted a Wolves loss (so far). So Kim going to do it to buck the trend. Bloody well hope I am wrong though!
Not sure who Kim is. I meant “I’m”…
The body language when they played Brighton last time says they know it’s all over. It must be difficult for them to keep pushing and I think they will come to simply settle the ship. They do score a few though, so my only doubt is whether or not we can unlock them as they sit back.
Something gratifying about a 3-0 shoreline. Clean sheet and no doubt about the winner. Like on that beautiful day in May, 2023, when we played this lot in Cardiff. Time for a repeat.
2003
Ooops, that’s what I meant! Typo! Ha ha.
I hope there’s enough room in the penalty area for a coach, as a bloody big one from Sheffield will be parked tomorrow. Gary has shown genius against the top six clubs. Imagine, the double over Chelsea and Spurs, and beating Citeh. We’d all have taken that at the start of the season as Mission Impossible. A win tomorrow could take us up to 8th but by rights we should be 6th if VAR hadn’t stolen points from us.
OK, in my eyes Gary is a proven genius against the top six. It’s the bottom six that he will now have to work his magic on in general. The Blades will be desperate and there is such a thing as a dead-cat-bounce. I’d love to see us turning on the style but it’s hard to do this when only one team will be trying. It takes two to tango. I’ll be happy with a gritty 2-0 win.
A few worried comments above about losing our best assets. Neto and Cunha will be targets in summer. If they hadn’t been playing out of their skins, they wouldn’t be targets! And we have other players getting noticed as well. Personally I believe that we’re now at least equal to Nuno’s team at its peak. Who would have thought that the recent loss of Ruben Neves would have so seamlessly been dealt with. Ruben who? Nuno was my personal hero but Gary is more than making up for that loss. The top target this summer for other teams will be Gary.
So it’s thought that we struggle against the lower teams in the league and that could well be true. Nevertheless, surely we should have enough to sneak away with the three points?
This might be a bit of a grind, but I still back us to beat them, however many buses they park. Predict a tough first half, being 1-0 up with 20 mins to go, and then finally winning 3-0. Gotta be right once a season, right?
utw.
Reading through the posts about the Wolves Blog tee shirts brought a glint to my eye. Steve is still much missed – as is Clive.
Onto tomorrow. Just need to find a way around the parked buses. Master Blaster Neto to the fore.
Well,on current form, we should win easily but we are Wolves! Hope we don’t do a Huddersfield.
We will find a way to win this surely, only complacency or horric refereeing can stop us. If we fight and keep concentration we win.
Hoping that GON is the genius that can solve our issues against packed defences.
Suspect that this will be a grind.
Got to be positive. I was so wrong about the Spurs outcome. Need to keep faith.
Still have a soft spot for Sheffield Utd having lived there and gone to a few games. There’s just something about a city centre stadium in an industrial city! But Wilder was more of a who can come in and get a boost out of the squad, they knew relegation was on the cards from the start, probably more so than Luton to be fair. The finances of the club are a mess. The fact that the money from a season of premier league football was be welcome but that it still didn’t enable them to spend was very telling.
I’ve been predicting negatively and we’ve kept getting results so I’m going to stick with that out of superstition. But I’m also superstitious that there is a glass ceiling for wolves this season and we’re destined to stay 11th. United for all their failings are capable of a result archer looks like a decent premier league striker in the making. I suspect it will be tight with both defences capable of a nightmare. Maybe a draw, but that’s perhaps my soft spot talking? Please prove me wrong boys
I wouldn’t be against some rotation for this game as for me the Brighton game is season defining for me. I would bring in Santi and Doyle for starters and maybe even a change of shape. We get the first goal and it should be a relatively straight forward afternoon
.
Keep the back door shut in first twenty minutes, then take the lead. After that we have nothing to fear except the odd moment of concentration. Go Wolves! Lets get above the Geordies!
Why oh why was that so nervy. Kilman almost lost his head too. 3 points anyhow.
Ugly win. Who gives a fuck.