What's the plan?

[SouthWestWolf]

Well it's Saturday night and I'm a bit drunk but honestly, where do we go from here? Do we change formation? Change personnel? Or loan in some players? Do we give KJ the whole season to try and get it right or if we're bottom half in 6 games do we get anxious about him leaving? Let's discuss without any arguments/bitch fights.

 

[sycophantia]

We just need to pick a system and stick to it and preferably one that fits our best players. Also, although Ikeme dropped a right ricket today we should stick with him, we know what he's capable of, while Martinez is a bit of an unknown. TBF to Ikeme, after he made the mistake it didn't seem to give him the jitters.

 

[machin05]

Well, we've got a choice between two flaky keepers, we have a shaky defence, an impotent strike force being (not) supplied by a midfield where Edwards is first choice and playing 90 mins a match.

What can possibly go wrong....

 

[Alan]

I was pissing my pants earlier but it's still only the fourth game in. Don't forget about Reading's miracle run a few years back.

There is a lot of football to be played.

 

[Lycan]

I've got to be honest. Today is the first time I've seriously doubted Kenny Jackett as Wolves manager. Today was about as bad as I think that extremely talented group of footballers can possibly perform.

I think we've made a cunts ear of this transfer window and I'm seriously worried about some of his decision making.

 

[Alan]

I've got to be honest. Today is the first time I've seriously doubted Kenny Jackett as Wolves manager. Today was about as bad as I think that extremely talent group of footballers can possibly perform.

I think we've made a $#@!s ear of this transfer window and I'm seriously worried about some of his decision making.

Get in Bob Bradley!

 

[Lycan]

Get in Bob Bradley!

I'm going to have nightmares now.

 

[Alan]

I'm going to have nightmares now.

Partly tongue-in-cheek; he's taken Tippeligaen by storm though.

 

[SouthWestWolf]

ROJO back to shore up defence anyone? Hehehehee

 

[Lycan]

A few weeks ago we had the best strike force in the league, one of the best defences and a solid midfield with strength in depth in central midfield. Very little has changed in terms of personnel but we're playing like we've never seen a full sized football pitch in our lives. This needs to change soon or KJ needs to be held accountable.

 

[SouthWestWolf]

A few weeks ago we had the best strike force in the league, one of the best defences and a solid midfield with strength in depth in central midfield. Very little has changed in terms of personnel but we're playing like we've never seen a full sized football pitch in our lives. This needs to change soon or KJ needs to be held accountable.

We had two centre backs that were being targeted by the premier league and Hause who was being apparently targeted by everton. We had a centre mid being targeted by a team pushing for promotion and we've had two premier league teams looking at our strikers... If we aren't winning games with this team then it's on the manager imo unfortunately.

 

[Johnny75]

I've got to be honest. Today is the first time I've seriously doubted Kenny Jackett as Wolves manager. Today was about as bad as I think that extremely talented group of footballers can possibly perform.

I think we've made a $#@!s ear of this transfer window and I'm seriously worried about some of his decision making.

I think you're right here Lycan. However you have to question Thelwell at some point not just Jackett who will be the one to pay with his job first. Our CEO saying shite like 'we'll replace Sako whatever the cost' is going to be his undoing too.

I'm sure given a proper Sako replacement we wouldn't be having this thread.

 

[slink]

A few weeks ago we had the best strike force in the league, one of the best defences and a solid midfield with strength in depth in central midfield. Very little has changed in terms of personnel but we're playing like we've never seen a full sized football pitch in our lives. This needs to change soon or KJ needs to be held accountable.

Do you not still think we have? I think the last 55 minutes on Wednesday have caused big knee jerk reactions. I'll keep repeating myself but look at how well that narrow formation worked for the first 35 minutes against QPR, i don't think the formation cost us but complacency and basic errors did. I think the formation we played today could work as well but not with the personnel that we had today and not the tactics that we seemed to have.

 

[Premier Quality]

This is where kj earns his wages. The players are better than they've shown so far.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Formation wise - we broadly played 4-4-2 after Afobe arrived last season, 41 goals in 21 games, 1.8PPG or something. Which is a good base. You sign Coady to upgrade on Price and stop yourselves getting played through quite so easily by the better sides as Boro/Norwich did to us away from home. You have the best front two in the league. Surely you only need to replace the bloke on the left who is leaving (which you knew would be the case months, even over a year in advance if we didn't go up) and you're in a strong position for top six minimum? Why this dicking around with weird diamond bullshit and then dropping one of your main players who you handed a lucrative new deal in the summer?

 

[slink]

Formation wise - we broadly played 4-4-2 after Afobe arrived last season, 41 goals in 21 games, 1.8PPG or something. Which is a good base. You sign Coady to upgrade on Price and stop yourselves getting played through quite so easily by the better sides as Boro/Norwich did to us away from home. You have the best front two in the league. Surely you only need to replace the bloke on the left who is leaving (which you knew would be the case months, even over a year in advance if we didn't go up) and you're in a strong position for top six minimum? Why this dicking around with weird diamond bullshit and then dropping one of your main players who you handed a lucrative new deal in the summer?

We broadly played 442 and yes we scored lots of goals but we still conceded too many and were too open in some games. I think Coady is a better player than Price but he doesn't give us the protection that Price did as he tends to wonder a bit more leaving more gaps.

We have the best pairing in the league and it works for me as long as Afobe drops in to that middle position sometimes which is why i'm not bothered that he drops so deep as it gives us extra protection if we lose it. The problem i have with people saying ohh why haven't we just replaced Sako is even with him we didn't make the play-offs last year(although i think we should have done) and i don't think it's possible for us to replace Sako with anyone as good.

I know you hate the narrow formation but i think it gives us that bit more protection in the middle as long as we don't switch off and stop doing the basics, you see the first 35 minutes on Wednesday as QPR being shit but i don't think they improved or adapted to us, we came down to below their level because of failure to carry those basics on. Complacency set in even in the crowd who were ole'in passes after half an hour.

 

[YoungWolf]

What annoys me is that Moxey came out and said a while back, that they accept that they have to spend money on a replacement for Sako. Thus, giving the impression that is what KJ or the recruitment team wanted. So either we haven't been able to identify one, Moxey was lying or he didn't know what we were looking for, which is just crap PR.

I actually think, and this is even with Edwards/Henry as attacking midfielders, the football with the more narrow system has been very attractive and we looked like a good team. Particularly against Hull, I was impressed. QPR may have been bad in that opening spell but we also blew them away for half an hour. It's ridiculous to suggest that it was all QPR's doing that we were two nil up, seems more like to fit your argument, Dan. It equally frustrates me that this was all possibly just a half baked idea from the coaching staff that has been binned at the first sign of failure.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

We broadly played 442 and yes we scored lots of goals but we still conceded too many and were too open in some games. I think Coady is a better player than Price but he doesn't give us the protection that Price did as he tends to wonder a bit more leaving more gaps.

We have the best pairing in the league and it works for me as long as Afobe drops in to that middle position sometimes which is why i'm not bothered that he drops so deep as it gives us extra protection if we lose it. The problem i have with people saying ohh why haven't we just replaced Sako is even with him we didn't make the play-offs last year(although i think we should have done) and i don't think it's possible for us to replace Sako with anyone as good.

I know you hate the narrow formation but i think it gives us that bit more protection in the middle as long as we don't switch off and stop doing the basics, you see the first 35 minutes on Wednesday as QPR being shit but i don't think they improved or adapted to us, we came down to below their level because of failure to carry those basics on. Complacency set in even in the crowd who were ole'in passes after half an hour.

I just don't think we have the players to play it; admittedly Wallace might slot in where Edwards was and look brilliant but you're still parking a right winger in a sort of infield berth and asking full backs who can't cross the ball to offer loads/all of your width going forward. This needn't be a complicated league, Mick got Ipswich top six last season playing his nuts and bolts football on a tiny budget and he'll probably do the same this year as well. We know it isn't sustainable any higher than that but that's by the by for now. If we could go and sign four technically accomplished midfield players (Coady may be one of them, he's started well apart from today) who fit the system perfectly then great, but I don't think it's anything like suitable for the squad we have.

You're quite right, we can't directly replace Sako because no-one that good will come to play in this league, unless we get lucky on a gamble from abroad as we did with the man himself. However just a steady but consistent presence out there would do, we have Afobe's goals for a full year to offset the loss of Sako's output. It cannot be beyond the wit of our recruitment team to sign a decent left sided player, there are loads out there.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I actually think, and this is even with Edwards/Henry as attacking midfielders, the football with the more narrow system has been very attractive and we looked like a good team. Particularly against Hull, I was impressed. QPR may have been bad in that opening spell but we also blew them away for half an hour. It's ridiculous to suggest that it was all QPR's doing that we were two nil up, seems more like to fit your argument, Dan.

I genuinely wasn't that impressed, we kept the ball quite nicely but it never looked that threatening to me and it is by definition lopsided and has players in spots where they look ill at ease at times. Most of the chances vs Hull came from their errors rather than our incisive play and while we were 2-0 up and miles on top vs QPR, I wouldn't say we were blowing them away, we weren't creating much, Green didn't have much work to do. It was lots of pretty play in nothing areas. They were authentically terrible as well.

The defensive issues the system causes were there for all to see.

 

[YoungWolf]

My issue with the narrow formation is the personnel being used. I just don't think Edwards can be use as the left sided player as it he just doesn't do discipline defensively, which is what caused us quite a few problems. I thought we looked pretty threatening and pulled Hull and QPR's defences all over the place when we were playing with a good tempo and attacking intent. Once we slowed the play down and relaxed, was when I felt we struggled.

What I also worry about now is also our 'identity'. When Thelwell started his job, his remit was obviously to ensure continuity and he also talked a lot of the Wolves way. Since promotion, we have gone through various different ways of playing and systems of play. I think that is as a result of poor recruitment and decision making but I don't think it helps anyone that we keep changing the way we play every time something goes wrong or we have an incoming/outgoing player.