Wolves 0-0 Fulham: Verdict Thread

[AndyWolves]

Won't make a difference if we keep playing the same way.

If players are showing in the half spaces then I reckon moutinho has a much better chance of finding them than Donk. Likewise, mouts has a better chance of finding runs in behind than donk.

 

[Johnny75]

At least Moutinho makes himself available constantly and moves the ball forward. He's probably our best progressive passer by some distance, that was a big part of the issue yesterday for me. If we can get the ball into the front 4 behind the opposition midfield then we'll create a lot more.

My problem with that yesterday was Pod and MGW would often receive the ball with their back to goal which is not what you want from them at all.

Maybe Moutinho changes that and get more balls into them where they can receive on the half turn/ angle.

But yesterday it seemed tactical and that's not going to work.

 

[Johnny75]

If players are showing in the half spaces then I reckon moutinho has a much better chance of finding them than Donk. Likewise, mouts has a better chance of finding runs in behind than donk.

The players in the half spaces were receiving the ball from Collins rather than Neves.

Far too often we went back to front rather than through the thirds.

 

[prawnking]

In terms of our attacking play, I still watch us and think we lack the confidence/ability/plan to really make concrete scoring chances.

Our forwards look much of a muchness and our attacking plan seems to be to fanny around just outside the box and hope it comes off

 

[MARKakaJIM]

The key bit here is a “just give it to a dribbler and hope”. It sums up Lage’s approach perfectly. We create next to nothing, the horseshoe of doom is alive and well. Nothing much has changed other than an extra headless chicken up front and when one of them plays like Podence did yesterday it’s like playing with three anyway.

We could spend a lot more money on new players but if we want to progress the best investment would be a new manager.

The horseshoe of doom, aka the constant evacuation of central midfield, has happened under different managers and different tactical systems. There is however one constant, the men who constantly vacate their central midfield positions, they make it impossible to play through the middle as a result.

 

[prawnking]

The players in the half spaces were receiving the ball from Collins rather than Neves.

Far too often we went back to front rather than through the thirds.

As you say, Collins seemed to have more of the ball than Neves at times (in the way Coady used to). Maybe the result of risk-averse play rather than anything tactical

We still have that frustrating habit of taking our foot off opposition necks when we're on top by passing conservatively rather than exploiting a numerical or positional advantage we may have

 

[Lycan]

The players in the half spaces were receiving the ball from Collins rather than Neves.

Far too often we went back to front rather than through the thirds.

That's because one half of our double pivot was always in a Fulham players cover shadow. It's why the calls for Dendoncker to play deeper are wrong, he wasn't being played out of position, he's just not a very good footballer.

 

[sycophantia]

All that from not seeing a minute of any of the games.

I mean it's as ridiculous as not eating prawns because your mate didn't like them once on a pizza in 1986.

You don't say a film is shit if you haven't seen it, so why comment on something you have zero knowledge of?

You've plainly just read the first line of my first (which you are well within your rights to do) but I didn't really comment on the game at all, just a general whinge about how we've gone about things in recent seasons regarding strikers which of course probably impacted on yesterday's result.
I take what PK said about posting that kind of thing on a different thread but tbf this forum doesn't usually worry too much about actual thread subjects.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

I would agree, donk just isn't effective as a box-to-box midfielder and gets less effective the nearer the opposition goal he gets.

I would have thought letting Donk sit and allowing Neves to break would be way more effective.

Might work if Neves could manage more than a dad run.

In terms of our attacking play, I still watch us and think we lack the confidence/ability/plan to really make concrete scoring chances.

Our forwards look much of a muchness and our attacking plan seems to be to fanny around just outside the box and hope it comes off

Said it at the time but you look at Leeds' winner last week and as simple as it is Wolves couldn't replicate that. You wouldn't get the movement, somewhere along the line at least one player would want an extra touch and you probably wouldn't have any attacking the 6 yard box anyway.

Almost everything they do is safe for them and usually even safer for the opposition, people rarely gift you goals at this level, if you don't make the effort you aren't going to get many.

 

[prawnking]

Almost everything they do is safe for them and usually even safer for the opposition, people rarely gift you goals at this level, if you don't make the effort you aren't going to get many.

Bruno needs to excise this mentality (if he's capable of doing that).

Moving away from 5 at the back and Coady is a start, new blood in the XI needed too. Guedes, Collins and MGW is a start, if they can avoid replicating previous bad habits

 

[SSB]

Off the train? Thought there wasn't any yesterday. Good to see his family came to support the lad though.

Good point. Their previous photo was next to the train station. They must have popped to the Great Western first.

 

[redvictor]

Good point. Their previous photo was next to the train station. They must have popped to the Great Western first.

Good call on the Western! Decent grub and pint in there...

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Bruno needs to excise this mentality (if he's capable of doing that).

Moving away from 5 at the back and Coady is a start, new blood in the XI needed too. Guedes, Collins and MGW is a start, if they can avoid replicating previous bad habits

I'm not sure it's really within his powers, or any other coaches for that matter. That sort of risk aversion is part of someone's own mentality, a fundamental part of their personality to some extent, it's a hell of an ask to change that considerably.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Good call on the Western! Decent grub and pint in there...

It's ace, but you can't move in there on match day

 

[redvictor]

It's ace, but you can't move in there on match day

Agree on the latter. Makes it a good place for pre match banter though.

 

[GLASGOWOLF]

I prefer the Wheatsheaf

Agree on the latter. Makes it a good place for pre match banter though.

 

[Jinky]

I managed to catch the last half hour from a campsite in the Cotswolds and I thought during that period of the game we were hugely disjointed and barely strung 3-4 passes together. Fulham excelled at breaking the game up, frustrating us - they seemed to play on the referees inexperience and I guess the ref wanting to try and play safe, just blew for everything. It was a pretty dire spectacle, if I’m honest.

Like others have said, I was really excited by the prospect of Podence, MGW, Neto & any of Guedes, Hwang, Adama etc linking up fluidly & playing some exciting, attacking football; but they looked like they’d never met each other. We didn’t have a clue going forward. At one point, Collins had the ball at walking pace on the half way line (I understand it was very hot!) and he was crying out for some movement ahead of him. No one made a run so we ended up punting it straight through to their keeper. Really disappointing stuff considering the players we have.

I’m (probably stupidly) cautiously optimistic by the presence of Mendes & Guo in the stands. Surely they must see what the rest of us see when it comes to the size of our squad and what is needed. Could they maybe surprise us with a couple of decent additions over the next week? If we do, Lage gets 10 games to show if he can get a tune from them and if we’re lingering around the bottom 4-5 after that, he needs to go; because although we’re short on numbers, we have a lot of talented players in this squad and they should be able to perform to a higher standard.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

End of the window takes us to 5 games. Southampton is a couple of days later so 6.

Lage is not getting 10 after that if results are still shit. 4 or 5 perhaps.

 

[Jinky]

End of the window takes us to 5 games. Southampton is a couple of days later so 6.

Lage is not getting 10 after that if results are still shit. 4 or 5 perhaps.

“Lage gets 10 games” as in total. Sorry, read it back and wasn’t clear.

I’m far from convinced. If they back him over the next week, he’ll have to show an upturn in performances & results pretty sharpish.

 

[Deano]

I'll be interested to see if we stick with a back 4 next weekend. You'd think he's nailed his colours to the mast with that one now Coady has gone but he has talked about switching between both systems.