Wolves 2 - 1 Chelsea: The Verdict.

[Parkins left foot]

Bang on. Moutinho could do with a rest too, he must've been knackered at the end of that.

He is, I think, the oldest of our outfield players, but noticeable that even in the last minutes he was rushing around the pitch closing down - have no problem in giving him a rest at some point in this run of games.

 

[t3ch]

He is, I think, the oldest of our outfield players

:icon_lol:

yeah it's a close one isn't it?

 

[Wolf Hunting]

watched with a foreign commentary, and part of that experience was nice to have my own view, rather than that of the commentators.

chelsea were really good I thought. very good quality. their passing was crisp and clean. also, massive respect to sarri, who when asked about the penalty replied stating his team had 5 excellent chances to score which they spurned, so he wasn't going to focus on a possible penalty shout. top man. I look forward to seeing how chelsea develop.

generally thought we played pretty well. We were simply waiting for counter attacking opportunities. Things felt ok early on, Jota breaking forward, Vinagre was giving width, and was always an option. The occasional move broke down, but we were trying, and positive. The formation tweak surprised me, but worked well.

The OG was unlucky I thought. I don't really blame coady, if blame is apportioned, possibly there are people who should've closed down loftus cheek when he got the ball, or whoever passed the ball to him.

whilst chelsea had opportunities, they didn't take them. On another day, we could've lost that 3-0. However, only 1 goal behind I always felt we were in the game, and would get a chance. Have to say everyone did something of note. Rui's save from the free kick was awesome. I'm not a GK, but for those more knowledgeable - does he sometimes go for saves with the wrong hand? Sure I've wondered that before this season.

I thought Doherty was superb, Bennett was simply phenomenal and has really cemented why he is first choice RCB. He was everywhere, and his long throw gives us an option too. Boly was great, though I do worry sometimes he risks overplaying it. Coady didn't let the OG get to him. Vinagre was full of running. Whilst raw, and he over-ran the ball a few times, he always made himself available, and there were a lot of good passes and link up play. I thought Saiss played really well. For me he was better than Moutinho who struggled to get into the game at times. Jota was superb - reacted well to running the ball out early on, and influenced a lot of play. Raul was everywhere, and I don't need to mention MGW really do I?

I thought Jota in particular was superb defensively, though it was also noticeable how far back Raul came to support the team.

For me, this was definitely a team victory.

Now I've got Sky Sports Lemon, I've seen a few games now and really have a problem with Costa.
Don't quite see what he gives us.
He's light, not pacy, blessed with average skills, crossing accurately must be below 50%, doesn't tackle and he's not very quick.
He is good at falling over too easily and has a remarkable range of grimmaces and pulled faces he frequently runs through. But I think his sell by date is visible.
I pointed this at you Lemon because I'm not on here much and I note that there are remarks that '... and this debate has already been had'! so to avoid any of that I'd have to read back 400+ posts.
Which isn't gonna happen. But I know you're a good man and won't take it personally.

 

[Wolf Hunting]

What did anyone think of Dendonker (at last)?

 

[Parkins left foot]

What did anyone think of Dendonker (at last)?

When he came on didn't really have enough time to make a real influence, but from what I saw looked tidy and of benefit - then again that was near the end of the game & the blood pressure was shooting up so not sure that my view is that accurate.

 

[Tredman]

He looked good, decent tackling and good turn of pace too. Odd looking body shape and surprised Coady had to tell him where to play at times though.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

He's big - towered over Hazard (admittedly not a high bar). He also seemed pretty quick and very neat and tidy. I would like to see more in future.

 

[Premier Quality]

It was his pace I noticed too - turned away from someone and got brought down, I (and the Chelsea guy!) didn’t expect that turn of pace!

 

[Tredman]

Yeah that surprised me, was right in front of me too. He was speeding away when he was brought down.

 

[Tony Towner]

Now I've got Sky Sports Lemon, I've seen a few games now and really have a problem with Costa.
Don't quite see what he gives us.
He's light, not pacy, blessed with average skills, crossing accurately must be below 50%, doesn't tackle and he's not very quick.
He is good at falling over too easily and has a remarkable range of grimmaces and pulled faces he frequently runs through. But I think his sell by date is visible.
I pointed this at you Lemon because I'm not on here much and I note that there are remarks that '... and this debate has already been had'! so to avoid any of that I'd have to read back 400+ posts.
Which isn't gonna happen. But I know you're a good man and won't take it personally.

Costa is lighting quick, but his confidence is so shot that he doesn't have the balls to use it. For the job he needed to do yesterday I'd have brought Cav or Traore on instead.

 

[Pablowolf]

He looked good, decent tackling and good turn of pace too. Odd looking body shape and surprised Coady had to tell him where to play at times though.

Did you notice that as well? Coady had to move him a few times when we were defending set pieces.

 

[Tony Towner]

What did anyone think of Dendonker (at last)?

What everyone else has said really, big and strong, but kind of top heavy, similar build to Margrietter. Surprisingly quick and equally surprisingly needed Coady to wet nurse him through.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Well I assume he has lined up in training as a CB. So his set piece instructions as a CM are completely different.

I’d also say he doesn’t know the system that well as a CM as he’s 1) not played there for us and 2) probably played as a CB in training

 

[Kenny]

He took over Moutinho's position at corners/free kicks so Coady was directing him on where to be. It was quite precise as on his 1st corner he was standing about 3 ft out of position until Coady spoke to him

 

[Deleted Cyber]

He took over Moutinho's position at corners/free kicks so Coady was directing him on where to be. It was quite precise as on his 1st corner he was standing about 3 ft out of position until Coady spoke to him

In 20 years Coady is going to be England manager.

 

[Johnny75]

I bloody loved that game. What a joy to be there last night.

As an aside I got into the ground little early and got to watch the warm-ups. Chelsea's was fluid and a little old fashioned which I was surprised at whereas ours was more functional and controlled. What stood out was there was a function practice going on in 3 separate places on the pitch. Crossing and finishing with MGW, Doc, Raul, Jota and Patricio. Finishing with Ruddy in goal and some intricate ball work with all the midfielders and Vinagre.

It clearly worked.

 

[machin05]

Would that be Cathro behind all that, do we think?

 

[Johnny75]

Would that be Cathro behind all that, do we think?

Do NOT poke the Lycan...

(Not sure tbh)

 

[Alan]

From a write-up on ESPN...

In the first half, Wolves showed exactly why they had collected only a point from the previous six games. Their passing was off, their decision-making tentative but more importantly, they were much more cautious than they had been in the early stages of the season.
Back then, they looked sensational, and while suggestions they were the best team ever promoted to the Premier League were fanciful, they looked on for a top 10 finish at least.

But they looked spooked and cowed by their recent run. It's a little chicken-egg, so it's difficult to tell if they were cautious because they've been losing or they've been losing because they were cautious, but one thing is for sure, they looked a different side.
Then in the second half, a switch flicked. The first goal seemed to spark something, and suddenly the old Wolves were back: dynamic, strong on the counter, Matt Doherty raiding down the right and their midfield -- shorn of the suspended Ruben Neves -- hunting Chelsea's down.
They were helped out by a profoundly complacent Chelsea performance, particularly in defence, but it was an illustration of why a successful side should, under most circumstances, not allow a blip to change their approach.

Positivity is one of the reasons Wolves have excelled over the last 18 months. It's why they remain the only team other than Liverpool to take points off Manchester City this season, and was the reason they won this game. Long may it continue.

 

[Tredman]

Would that be Cathro behind all that, do we think?

Do NOT poke the Lycan...

(Not sure tbh)

No, we've been like that since Nuno took over. Sadly I get in early most games.