So How Good Are We?

[Norman Deeley]

More or less the half way point in the season, through to the KO stages of the Europa league. So how good are we? For me, there are no more free hits. We may not be Liverpool, but we’ve beaten City 5-2 on aggregate, and we’re competitive with Leicester, Chelsea and Spurs, and two teams I see as fading forces, United and Arsenal.

However you look at it, that is an astonishing achievement in 2½ seasons. Just astonishing, and Nuno is right up there with the best managers.

We need some reinforcements in January, and I worry that having started on 25th July we might run out of steam. But we are a serious, serious team.
Here’s to 2020…

 

[Jinky]

I think we have genuine top 4 aspirations. Before today, only Liverpool had lost more games than us. I see the likes of Souness etc saying the decisions will “even themselves out” with VAR - well, if that’s the case we are due a fantastic second half of the season.

The world seems against us and we are joint 6th in the league, in to the Europa League knock outs and we should be able to strengthen in the January window.

I do look forward to being considered an “established” top 6 club, because then we’ll start getting some of the bias decisions in our direction.

 

[Kenny]

I see the likes of Souness etc saying the decisions will “even themselves out” with VAR - well, if that’s the case we are due a fantastic second half of the season.

On this, Souness actually says the even it stuff is never over a season but over a career.

On us - best team we have had in 40 odd years and hopefully it will only get better. I hope in 10 years time I am not looking back remembering the golden years under Nuno as we get ready to play Luton

 

[Parkins left foot]

Some of the 'old timers' (me included) will normally mention the team of the 70's as being better - really not sure that they were now.

If we can keep the best & bring in improvements then this can become a Champions League team & even one that can challenge for the title (well if Leicester can do it so can we)

 

[Carrotdude]

I find myself weirdly frustrated that we’re having a great season but only 1 point ahead of Sheff Utd, 3 ahead of Palace and 5 ahead of Everton and Newcastle! The league feels incredibly close this season due to the failures of some of the ‘bigger’ teams.

The way we are playing atm I feel confident we can beat anyone, the trick will be building the consistent results to get into the top 6 at the end of the season. Oh and if we could stop getting fucked by VAR it would help

 

[The Bion]

At the moment, top 10. Which I think if most of us are honest about, we would've been more than happy with if you'd asked at the start of last season. There was a school of thought we overachieved last season (which I had thought myself) but it seems perhaps we did not and we really are at that level, already.

There's an argument to be made for top 6, but at the moment it remains to be seen how this season shakes out. I don't think we're top 4. It is possible but we would need to turn draws into wins - at the moment we're at exactly 1.5 points/game and I don't think we can definitively say we're on the level with teams like Chelsea, Spurs etc. We can compete with them, we can beat them, but we're not as consistent.

And that's the distinction between where we are and were we want to get to - finding results, or more specifically wins, consistently. We've shown signs of it over the last couple months (Norwich was a prime example) so that is encouraging....hopefully we have enough in the tank to make a proper run in the 2nd half of the season. It's why I think we have a chance in the Europa as in a knockout competition you don't quite need the same level game after game.

The team does still seem to be growing and improving which is a great credit to them and the staff. And they've demonstrated great heart and guts time after time, as well as being a technically gifted and entertaining side to watch...one without the other wouldn't be nearly as satisfying.

 

[Monstrum]

If VAR had not been implemented this season we would have an extra 7 points (today, Leicester, shampton), meaning 3rd (since leicester have had a lot of var decisions their way), so id say were pretty fucking good.

 

[Kenny]

If VAR had not been implemented this season we would have an extra 7 points

Not really. Games didn't end when the VAR calls went against us so no one can say we would have 7 points more. Its a nice arguement to throw out but in reality anything could have happened in the games.

 

[Kenny]

If VAR had not been implemented this season..

...most people wouldn't be going insane and football would be the same with the odd moan about the ref/lino's being shit/blind

 

[Deleted Cyber]

I can’t think of a better team in my lifetime. For the first time in forever we are half way through the season and not lost to anyone outside the top 10. Real progress. We are difficult to beat and resilient. Absolutely no one fancies playing us. And I will take that tvm

 

[WolfmanOz]

Like Parkin I can remember the Wolves team of the 70s of which the early 70s was the best Wolves team I saw - this team is now probably better which is a big call from my perspective.

The one thing the early 70s Wolves team was better than now is scoring goals - especially from their midfield players (Hibbitt and McCalliog in particular) - you'd be looking at 15 goals per season (approx.).

But today's team is far better defensively and tactically, Nuno is in another world.

The key difference in today's game is the amount of money and concentration of the best players with a handful of clubs (UK and Europe) which gives them a huge advantage over the rest (plus implied bias in referee calls and fixturing); and for Wolves to now seriously compete (and beat) against the best is simply incredible.

Yes Wolves have serious money behind them, but again the FFP rules are simply bulltish in the way they actually favour the established top teams; it's going to take a couple of seasons before we can really spend the money etc.

But again, it's more the way Nuno has set up the club with the players actually being a team rather than a collection of skilled individuals; backed up by an outstanding fitness team which is simply gobsmacking in their ability to have the players perform so well for so many matches. Against Liverpool we finished stronger despite the heavier games workload this season and less time between the last games. Our ability to never give up is something to be so proud of.

The only weakness we have is our ability to put away the lesser teams (9 draws this season) - hopefully the Norwich result will be an omen for the rest of the season, but the next game against Watford is going to be important to put behind the disappointment of today's game. Lack on consistency (winning) as The Bion has said.

I think we can finish in the top 6, top 4 might be a stretch (this season).

 

[Dinowolf]

Analysis by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher:

"I think Wolves have been one of the stories of the season. They started really poorly and everyone was blaming the Europa League, saying they have to dismiss it, get out of it, which we hear so often, but they've actually stayed in it, qualified and are back in the middle of the table.

"We talk about Sheffield United a lot this season because they are new to the Premier League, but what Wolves have done with European commitments, the small squad that they've had - I think they've only used 19 players in the Premier League - I think the manager has done some job."

When other people say how good we are, then we are good.

VVD said after the match, that we were a really good side.

 

[sycophantia]

We are fucking brilliant and getting better, we've just played 2 games in 2 days, against the 2 best teams in the league, beat 1, really unlucky not to get anything in the other, especially as we've made 4 changes today against a pretty much full strength Liverpool.....too fucking right we're good enough for 4th

 

[t3ch]

pretty fuckin good I wager

 

[GLASGOWOLF]

We have lost 4 games all season 2 of those were daylight robbery by 2 of last seasons top 3.

We completely dominated a game against last seasons Champions League finalists.
We were the first English team to win a European match in Turkey.

We can count ourselves unlucky to have lost against a team that very unfortunately will win the league this season good how I would love to see them blow up.

Pep, Jose, and Jurgen all count us as rivals for a top 4 position, I agree with them we are 2 or 3 players short of real go at 2nd.
My opinion is we are a top 4 team however still 3 or 4 players short of the top 2.

 

[Premier Quality]

We’re very good - and we’ll finish somewhere between 4th and 7th.

This is only our second season in the premier league, so we’re still a work in progress (though ahead of where we should be realistically). Our main issues are lack of depth on the bench, and that we aren’t clinical enough at taking our chances.

 

[Dire Wolf]

Stephen Warnock (I know, I know) on sky sports news this morning said we are genuine top 4 contenders with a top manager who anyone would want to play for. He said signings getting a call from Wolves would jump at the opportunity to play for a club you can see is on the rise and with owners richer than Man City's. He thinks we can crack the top 4 if we increase the size of the squad just a bit.

 

[Johnny75]

What happens when we get worked out?

 

[The Bear]

We did to an extent. Nuno changed back to 3-4-3.

And that's not including when we got worked out last season and switched to 3-5-2.

 

[Johnny75]

We did to an extent. Nuno changed back to 3-4-3.

And that's not including when we got worked out last season and switched to 3-5-2.

'Twas a joke Bear.