Wolves 0-1 Villa: Verdict Thread

[Tony Towner]

We played well. Any other day the Silva and Dendoncker chances go in.

I don't agree with the second sentence, because they don't. Any other day we miss those chances in the way we did today. Donck does it pretty much every game

 

[Loki]

The amount of goal opportunities should not mask the fact that we were not good enough today. I don`t think our players are good enough to play 442. I don`t think local rivalry plays a big part nowadays but they came into this match with more intent to get something out of this game than we seemed to. It is going to be interesting to see where Nuno goes from here. We have a big problem looming in midfield. Mouthino had a good game today, creativity and set pieces aside, but I can`t see him playing much more beyond this season. Nevez isn`t the player he was in the lower leagues and Dendonker is no more than a fringe player. I see us becoming a bottom half premier league team, I really do, unless there is massive investment. The ref had a tough game today (ducks).

 

[jd1981]

No doubt about it we’re struggling at the moment. With a fixture list I’m scratching my head wandering where the next win is going to come.

 

[Nando]

Semedo might have been saved criticism without that incident but its fair to say he doesn’t look solid.

Hes about as accomplished defensively as Traore (hyperbole before you lynch me). You can have all the technical and physical attributes in the world but as a RB if you lack anticipation, positioning and awareness then you’ll struggle to make any top level career. At the moment the twitter hate us looking accurate and I hosesntly don’t know how you can have such a long CL career for someone who looks Sunday league at times.

Can't say I'd seen lots of him beforehand, but I do wonder whether the experience up against Alphonso Davies has left his mark and really dented his confidence. That was absolutely brutal and he just seems hesitant when he's isolated now.

 

[YoungWolf]

I’m confused by those who think we were shit today. I thought we had to grow into each half but when we took control we were the team who created the best chances, and that unfortunately is what was our problem today. We need to create chances where it isn’t Donck, for all his great running, to be the one on the end of it. Thought Fabio was very unlucky with his effort.

just before the penalty I honestly was thinking to myself that Semedo had done pretty well against Grealish, with some support of Dendoncker and Coady. But it’s a terrible thing to do at that stage of the game. I don’t agree with those saying he is Sunday league etc but we do need some more consistency from him. In possession he allows us to stay on the ball for longer as he is good under pressure from opponents, and he combines wel with others. We just haven’t had a 90 minute performance from him, which is why I understand concerns around him.

 

[AndyWolves]

If there was a season to be in transition it's this one

 

[Del Woppio]

If there was a season to be in transition it's this one

I could get on board with that if we weren't playing the likes of Marcal, Saiss/Boly, Moutinho and Dendonker. If we're going to say to ourselves 'you know what, we aren't finishing 6th so let's just change the style, play RAN, Vitinha, Silva, Kilman et Al, and write it off as an experimental midtable transition season, I'd be quite happy tbh.

 

[prawnking]

If there was a season to be in transition it's this one

It's also a season where realistically an outsider could come top 4 or 5

 

[Premier Quality]

Agree with a lot of that YW - semedo did ok in my view (except the pen obvs), but is so isolated that he’s always going to find it hard. Obviously Traore doesn’t get back to help, and one of the centre mids should be getting over that side also, but didn’t enough today.

my biggest issue was that I thought we were slow in lots of situations today - we see the pass to their player and don’t move until he has it under control, by which time he’s picked a pass or a cross - happens all over the pitch from pod and silva closing down their defence to the full backs looking at the wingers - our pressing is pretty shit.

and we don’t link the play in midfield - it’s basically up to the front 4 to do it all themselves, because Joao is too deep and Donk doesn’t have the technical ability.

the same is true of scoring goals - the only people who get close to goal are the front three.

we didn’t deserve to lose today, but we didn’t play well - we had no control, our passing wasn’t fluent, our movement was poor, our pressing was poor - but we had some good individual moments to create opportunities.

I think what I’ve liked in the last few years is that we’ve always looked more than the sum of our parts - but we don’t at the moment, we look less. That’s what bothers me.

 

[Haggstone]

I could get on board with that if we weren't playing the likes of Marcal, Saiss/Boly, Moutinho and Dendonker. If we're going to say to ourselves 'you know what, we aren't finishing 6th so let's just change the style, play RAN, Vitinha, Silva, Kilman et Al, and write it off as an experimental midtable transition season, I'd be quite happy tbh.

Agreed. Prob need a few more points on the board first though I guess? Let’s face it, we are all just going through the motions this season anyway.

 

[Tony Towner]

I could get on board with that if we weren't playing the likes of Marcal, Saiss/Boly, Moutinho and Dendonker. If we're going to say to ourselves 'you know what, we aren't finishing 6th so let's just change the style, play RAN, Vitinha, Silva, Kilman et Al, and write it off as an experimental midtable transition season, I'd be quite happy tbh.

Something like

------------------Rui-------------
-----Boly-----Coady-----Kilman ---
Hoever-----Neves-----Donck-----RAN
------------------Vitinha-----------
--------------Silva-------Neto
I think you'd be walking a fine line between giving experience and killing confidence though

 

[Johnny75]

The system works but our ball retention was beyond atrocious for most of the first half and the first 15 minutes of the second.

For all the effort Donk gives his reading of the game and winning 2nd balls is abysmal right now. Moutinho shouldn’t be asked to win second balls in Donk territory. Saying that Neto and Adama were equally as poor at it.

Pod was the only one winning the ball back at points.

I thought Marcal was very poor bar one good cross, offered nothing going forward and lost the average Traore countless times. He was far worse than Semedo who I thought had a good game up until his error which has cost us the game.

Our link between midfield and attack wasn’t there consistently enough today and when Silva makes a good run he often doesn’t get found. But Silva isn’t strong enough and doesn’t get in front of defenders as an experienced striker would and doesn’t seem to have that natural finishing ability you would find in a poacher or finisher. Which is why Traore is a waste of a shirt at the moment. Not his fault but he nobody to link or aim at when putting crosses in or driving down the wing.

Nuno doesn’t have this right and it’s unusual for him as other have said.

Poor result against Bournemouth with added cuntery in Grealish.

 

[Dire Wolf]

Let's not pretend Emi got man of the match for a string of class saves - he got it because nobody else on the pitch was any more than a six out of ten. It was a horribly Championship performance from both sides, with only one genuinely decent chance carved out that unfortunately fell to an athlete who can't play football.

They were shit, we were less shit.

The trend is getting really fucking worrying now though. The performances we were putting in a year ago are a million miles away. If we don't have a moment of individual brilliance, we're not scoring a goal. Combinations and team football just aren't happening - it's just hope one of the talented individuals and conjure something up. Other than the odd half hour here and there, we've basically been shit since lockdown. But prior to that, even if we were shit, we could be dangerous. That's gone now.

Completely agree. We look a side lost for ideas. Combined with that we are more of a finesse and skilful side so look lightweight and physically weak so when we come up against strong, physical sides we get bullied. We are going to struggle to finish in the top half at this rate IMO.

 

[Norman Deeley]

Two things concern me. One is our recruitment: it is beginning to look like a bad summer - £83m on Semedo, Silva and KJH. Villa’s signing of Cash and Watkins from the Champ looks far better business. Is Mendes really doing us any favours long term? All this ‘Uncle Jorge’ bollocks is exactly that.

Free kicks and corners – will we ever score from one again? They’re just dire at the moment.

And one more. I wonder if the pandemic/not seeing his family has really affected Nuno. Right now he doesn’t look to have a clue what his best team is or his preferred formation. We’re not going down, but we’ve gone seriously backwards from last year.

 

[PuntsWolf]

I don’t know what our best XI or system is. Nuno doesn’t either. This is a problem

 

[Freddeno]

Play/release the ball faster, run more off the ball to create space and cause more havoc in their defensive tactics..attack more, football is about scoring more goals than the opposition..get an experienced striker in, in january

 

[Freddeno]

Huntelaar

 

[Tony Towner]

He's 37. There's experienced and way, way past it

 

[AndyWolves]

We used to be difficult to play against and hard to break down. Moving to 4 at the back has obviously changed that but it feels like we're easy to play against right now. Maybe it's intensity or something else but I feel we just look a bit sluggish.

 

[Johnny75]

Huntelaar

FFS.