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04 Mar 2021 11:52:53
One thing I've been thinking about recently and not seen mentioned here is in previous seasons when performances and results have dropped off, Nuno has taken the team away on warm weather training. Afterwards things seemed to improve, maybe down to the different environment / team bonding. That hasn't been an option available this season and I wonder if it's another possible variable along with lack of crowds etc. as to why this seasons performances have been different.
1.) 04 Mar 2021 13:09:09
Possibly Alexwolf could be.
I have also been thinking about the lack of goals, apart from a very poor midfield and injuries.
Traorie ( Especially) and Neto tend to do their own thing with the ball and the poor guy in the middle gets no service whoever you put there. Traorie is selfish and dribbles his way around without providing an assist.
I have kittens at present at every opposition corner/ free kick, and all our players are in the box so it comes straight back at us, instead we should be playing the ball out to a teammate.
2.) 04 Mar 2021 13:39:53
Yes the pack are surely missing their “Trip to Spain†for warm weather training.
3.) 04 Mar 2021 14:40:33
Yellowstone, I have to admit I've never understood why we don't have at least one quick player around the half way line when defending a set piece. It gives the opposition a decision to make about how many players they commit forwards, and us a chance to get the ball up the pitch and possibly counter.
There are a lot of times Traore and Neto seem to make the wrong decision when we do attack. With Neto I put it down to experience as he's still young and has a big future in football.
Traore for me is both the most exciting and frustrating player at the same time, as he can make something from nothing and can be the difference in a game, but also he can be very wasteful. I'm always nervous when he dribbles it in our own half though as quite often when he does lose the ball, doesn't get given a foul (rightly or wrongly) and we're caught out. I'd like to see Traore play off the shoulder of the last defender more and look to run in behind more centrally with our midfield trying to put in a through ball. Most of the time he gets the ball it's a stand still and I wonder what he could do by running on to a through ball as well.
4.) 04 Mar 2021 15:56:48
I completely agree with your post Alex, I've never understood why the fashion seems to be that teams no longer leave a man up top on set plays. Like most of these things these days I suspect this is led by some match analysis, but like you I've ALWAYS seen the value of the oppo having to keep an extra man back if nothing else. I also agree on Adama, I love the guy at times but he's hit a brick wall in his development sadly. He's built to power on through it but sadly this wall is more mental. In terms of productivity I suspect he was actually 'assisting' more all round last season. I think Nuno has a decision to make there, we've worked wonders with him from when he came in but come the end of the season it might be time for another coach to try and find a new way to make the man look up when's he's running! ðŸ‘.
5.) 04 Mar 2021 16:31:30
Trying to remember, as a club, the last time we had a quality, goal- scoring midfielder? Probably not since Sir Kenneth of Hibbitt! CRAZY! Come on Everton! FWAW.
6.) 04 Mar 2021 17:18:09
Agreed Preston. Also this questions needs answering. Why has it take all this time for Coady to get a nose bleed and venture into an opposition's penalty area? -look what happened-okay didn't matter in the end-but he got on the end of stuff for England, and got on the end of the only decent free kick from Moutinho all season. Is this the manager's tactics again?
7.) 04 Mar 2021 17:31:34
Completely agree AlexWolf, if Traore was hanging around the half way line at corners, there'd likely be 3 players back to defend because of his pace. Its something that has irked me for a while.
8.) 05 Mar 2021 07:12:22
Yes think the same,
When we had Jota Patricio would release the ball rapid for Jota.
This season Patricio hangs on to the ball too long.
The change in rules where you don't have the ball outside the box before another player can touch it on goal. kicks I prefer how it was.
2 of our defenders either side of Patricio in the 6 yard box on goal kicks I do not like.
But I am just nick picking, our season not the best and from players sold not replaced our injuries no crowds our points tally at present could of been a lot worse.
Next season hopefully the crowds back and we will kick on I'm sure of it.
9.) 05 Mar 2021 09:40:03
Completely agree Phil. For me this season is a bit of a free hit as long as PL status remains in tact and I think we're safe from the drop unless we lose every remaining game and I can't see that happening. Clubs without PL money for the next few years could be in for a real struggle.
If we hadn't had the finishes to the two previous seasons, where if we're being honest we've probably over achieved, I don't think we'd be viewing this season quite as negatively. Yes there are issues that need addressing and room for big improvements in some areas, but things could be a lot worse.
I think there are a few clubs in the PL who would happily trade places with our position. Breaking into the top 6 will always be difficult but if we can get to a level to be able to dictate a few games and create and score more, then the future can carry on being exciting. The past few years have been brilliant, but sometimes with progress there can be stagnation or a bit of regression before moving forwards again. We just need to keep our faith in the club and become the 12th man again once fans can get back into the grounds.
10.) 05 Mar 2021 10:46:06
Nice reading your post Alex,
Assuming Jimenez gets back to how he was before his head injury,
A pre season,
Our injuried players Boly the prime one, fit,
New signings in the summer,
The crowds hopefully back.
Next season for us wolves fans there plenty to be optimistic about if you wanted to be.
I am clearly optimistic about fosun nuno and the 10 year plan.
Living the wolves dream I am ha ha.
11.) 05 Mar 2021 19:29:52
Picking up on a few of the comments above re: Traore. I don't think he's selfish as such, more like he's desperate to do on the field what he knows he's capable of. He's bursting with energy when he gets the ball and desperate to do something, but he only sees 2 or 3 metres around him and just can't see the bigger picture. There's no give and go, no running onto balls, no playing off the last man, no composure when he sees sight of goal. He's probably one of the most gifted footballers of his type but definitely the least intelligent. And there is the problem. Can any coach improve his intelligence. Probably not.
12.) 05 Mar 2021 20:27:35
To be fair Dave edwards was a goal scoring midfielder obviously not in the Prem but the other leagues he chipped in with a fair few.
27 Jul 2023 17:18:35
Is Grasshoppers actually owned by Fosun? Or just the Fosun chairman's wife?
{Ed002's Note - It is financially and legally separate.}
17 Dec 2022 09:28:02
We'll be linked to so many players over the next 5-6 weeks. It'll be silly season on steroids. Just have to wait and see who turns up at Compton in a Wolves shirt. Most importantly whoever comes in needs to hit the ground running to help produce the results to climb out the bottom three.
15 Nov 2022 14:04:57
Possibly Steve. It's a sad thing to say but if he left Wolves, what club would want him as a first team regular now he's in his early 30's after such a horrific injury? If he doesn't retire from international football then he needs to be playing at club level to keep getting selected. None of us really know the true mental impact things have had on him. He did well to survive, never mind play again.
15 Nov 2022 10:43:58
I don't expect Raul to play for Wolves again. I think he fell out with Bruno last season after the Leeds game. His unhappiness at Wolves has probably been added to by the departures of Coady, Saiss, Dendonker, Ruddy and Boly. Plus he probably has never felt right mentally on the pitch since his injury.
Raul may even retire from professional football after the World cup. He'll always be a legend at wolves and it would be a big shame if his time here ends on a sour note.
19 Oct 2022 15:07:34
It's a difficult one. Potter had been a manager in Sweden for a long time and done a season at Swansea before moving to Brighton.
Beale has only been a manager for 14 games. In the position Wolves are in it's a huge risk. I know clubs aren't loyal to managers nowadays, but a manager walking after 14 games into a new job doesn't bode well on their character.
If he's appointed I'll back him and every good manager has to start out some how, I just feel with the timing and the situation at Wolves a steady pair of hands at least until the end of the season would be a better bet.
27 Jul 2023 18:12:35
If that note was aimed at me Ed002 it seems a little harsh and completely uncalled for and it wasn't from a position of complete ignorance.
{Ed002's Note - Actually it was embarrassingly ignorant.}
27 Jul 2023 17:17:50
LongmyndWolf fair point. My Hindsight comment was more me holding my hands up at backing Lage. I openly admit I backed him right up until he played Neves as a centre back against West Ham.
I think a lot of football clubs get owners who don't know the game and/or get taken advantage of parties that claim to know. The club has needed a proper director of football for a long time.
27 Jul 2023 17:13:50
Newcastle will face their own issues with FFP. It's already got them a bit this summer despite qualifying for Champions League. Newcastle have more commercial revenue than Wolves do which helps with covering their expenses.
{Ed002's Note - You should start your post with , “Speaking from a position of complete ignorance…”
27 Jul 2023 08:58:28
I think a lot of the blame has to lie at the doors of Lage and Sellars, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
There was a time not long ago fans called for big money to be spent. When it was it wasn't spent wisely and what's happening now is the consequence.
FFP is a handbrake to a lot of clubs and the only way to kick on is to invest in infrastructure and improve revenues otherwise there is a glass ceiling that is hard to break through.
26 Jul 2023 10:02:39
It's hard to say. JL's comments yesterday were interesting. Is it smoke and mirrors? Are the finances as bad as we're being told? Are expectations from the fan base trying to be reigned in?
I can see one or two players coming in for modest fees, but not to the level of recent windows.
The issue is the club has to generate more revenues to compete with transfers and wages in the Premier League. It seems now clubs even in the bottom half are expected to outlay over £100 million each year on players to remain competitive and this simply isn't sustainable for a club the size of Wolves. Especially if the transfers don't work out.
The owners can't magically put money into the squad as it isn't allowed with FFP but they can invest in infrastructure. This is where the board have to make a call. Are they going to invest beyond the other ventures they're trying to grow revenues or not? If not then our time in the PL will become more difficult in the future. If they are then great, but it won't happen over night.
I can understand why they held off the ground expansion over the last few years, but it is becoming a problem now. It would be good to hear an update from the club on this. Do they still feel the costs are not feasible? Is the local council or university causing a problem with land ownership and planning permission? Are Fosun simply not in a position to invest in it?
Fosun have been good custodians for the club and other owners still couldn't immediately address the FFP issues. I think we do need to hear something from the owners about the long term plans for the club based on how the landscape within the club and globally has changed in the past few years.