Always Wolves
Always Wolves
BEN WHITEHOUSE TAKES A LOOK AT KEY LESSONS FROM WOLVES 2-0 DEFEAT TO CITY
1. Unbeaten Record Ended
After a run of 5 games unbeaten, Wolves’ run came to an end against a vastly superior Manchester City side, in a game which demonstrated the wealth of quality lacking from this Wolves team when competing against one of the best in Europe.
Whilst it is a lacklustre result and a little discouraging, it must be perceived in the context we find ourselves in: despite an improved run of form, positive results against excellent oppositions and even more positive performances, we are still rock bottom and inevitably staring down the barrel of relegation potentially on the lowest points total in Premier League history.
Rather than being upset with the result because of hopes of an upwards trajectory, we as fans have to remember how incredibly unrealistic getting anything out of playing City at the Etihad is, especially for a side in our position. That being said, there were some spiriting performances and moments, and definitely aspects worth taking pride in moving forwards.
2. Compared to last time…
At the start of the season, my Dad and I made the trip up to Molineux on the opening matchday of the season against Manchester City, mainly in order to pay our respects to the incredible and sorely missed Diogo Jota on an incredibly emotional day for all involved. Whilst the tributes and manner both teams conducted themselves with was admirable and was proud to be part of the crowd that day, on the pitch Wolves were severely lacking ambition and creativity – symptomatic of a side having lost key players in the summer window and geared towards relegation. Offensively, we were poor and defensively even worse, constantly being exposed by the likes of Haaland, Cherki and Reijnders (obviously very high quality opposition but irrespective it was far too easy).
However, this time around we were facing them with their freshly signed reinforcements of Guehi and Semenyo (because of course they can spend that much money every single window…), away from home and under new management. With the odds arguably stacked even further against us, Wolves offered a far more positive, defensively solid outing than they had prior, evidently playing with a newfound freedom and looking more coherently structured defensively.
Obviously City were still operating at a much higher level than we were and a lack of attacking initiative ultimately killed the game for Wolves who never looked like scoring particularly and struggled to beat the relentless press from Pep’s well-drilled side, they were capable of restricting City to few clear cut chances and forcing them to have two moments of sheer quality to overpower the defence. To contrast it to the previous meeting, City were carving out openings at will – it could have ended up as double digits!
3. Gomes and Andre
This game evidenced to me how absolutely crucial the midfield of Joao Gomes and Andre are to the success of this Wolves side, sadly meaning that we probably won’t get to see much more of them as Wolves players as they are clearly far too good to be playing in the Championship next season. The pair of them compliment each other excellently – Gomes is tough tackling, eager to press and silky on the ball to beat the press whilst Andre is composed on the ball, keeps it ticking over and is constantly an option for all on the pitch.
Between the pair of them, even in games like today against a midfield comprised of £60 million signings and Ballon D’or winners where they should be overrun at ease, they still put in an absolute shift and made the opposition work for it more than they ought to have against a bottom of the table side.
Andre was quality today at overcrowding players and coming out with the ball and Gomes broke up the play expertly which was pivotal in not allowing Manchester City to properly assert a foothold over the game and get into a comfortable rhythm – typically City would be popping it around, you would rarely see the ball and they would stick 4 or 5 past you, but it is testament to their play today that they were frustrated and reliant on some moments of pure quality at either end of the half to score.
4. Offensive shortcomings
Whilst at the back, Edwards has been a revelation in making consistent team selections so players get used to playing alongside one another and has made the side more solid, there is only so much coaching you can do with attacking players who need to find creativity and unlock defences.
Obviously, the impetus of this has been placed on the young shoulders of Mateus Mane who has been thriving of late, and an upturn in form for Hwang has been refreshing to see, but the overall output and inspiration has still been underwhelming to say the least.
There is a real lack of matchwinners in the squad; Strand-Larsen and Arokadore are heavily reliant on service from other players which is simply not there with a lack of two key characteristics being most prescient to me; end product and pace. It was apparent in a game like todays where you are aware you will be counter-attacking and seldom seeing the ball, but where we previously would have been breaking away at speed with the likes of Neto and Adama who could create issues, that element of our game seems to have completely diminished away from taking the opportunities to accelerate away and create chances, to being contented with having possession in our own half.
I would not attribute this to a systematic problem (especially because the line-up not including a target man tells me that Edwards knew that breaking at speed was going to be the way to potentially get something out of the game) but simply that we do not have the personnel to achieve such a playstyle which is so necessary for a struggling side, making it what I see as the most severe priority for recruitment.
5. Where from here?
Upcoming back to back home fixtures against Bournemouth and Chelsea are going to be challenging games for this side as every match is at this moment in time, but they also pose opportunities for the fans to truly try and galvanise the side and urge some results.
Whilst we would be foolish not to acknowledge that relegation is more of a formality at this point in the season, that does not mean that supporting the club and desiring positive results should be abandoned as after all, at what point does a side need their support more than when they are struggling?
We have seen an increase in positive signs in recent weeks, more solid structure and quality which can give some reassurances that we would be able to hold our own next season, hoping that recruitment is good and signs players who will provide a strong, experienced basis to build a team from. The transfer window must be used to cash in for players before their market value plummets and prepare for next season, which we can go into with new hope, and approach it as an opportunity to start over with a new manager who knows the club and what it means, and a new chairman of the club who seems more in touch with the fans already than Jeff Shi ever was – but for now, we must continue to go on game by game and support the club we all love so dearly. COYW!
I’ve been a fan of Wolves all my life, based in the South-East, making for some fairly awkward school football conversations trying to argue that Kevin McDonald was better than Bruno Fernandes with the endless supply of Big 6 fans around here, just for the fun of it! Hoping to offer a insightful view into the performances, transfers, decisions and everything else our beloved Wanderers throw at us, good, bad and ugly (but preferably good!)
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