Verdict vs Leicester

[ProudWolf]

The blame lies with Hoddle. Simple. What a clueless manager we have.


4-4-2 today but with the midfield we had on show its hardly surprising we failed to take grasp of the game. He changed to 3-4-1-2 in sheer desperation but nothing changed.


Postma - decent 1st half, at fault for goal but couldn't really see from the away end. Kicking was shocking.


Edwards, Gyepes, Lescott, Naylor - defended quite well but shocking distribution. Not helped by the inept midfield that Hoddle decided to play.


Ricketts, Miller - wide right and wide left respectively. Odd flashes of quality but no end product. Both bottle challenges too regularly. Miller must be a good left sided midfielder in training.


Ince - usual comitment but left to do far too much work for a man of his age. Give him the job now for the rest of the season.


Kennedy - shocking. Again. Dismal passing, offered nothing going forward and is not a central midfielder. He's got something on Hoddle, he must have!


Cort - Poor. Out-muscled too often. Subbed.


Frankowski - small, light-weight but had no service. Has an excellent first touch but its too early to tell if he'll be a success.


Rosa - came on for Cort and played in the hole in the 3-4-1-2 formation. Did nothing.


Ganea - came on very late for Miller.

[Hatch End Wolf]

Bl**dy hell, now I'm even more depressed!

[Ashley]

it just makes me what to punch Hoddle very very hard! smileys/smiley7.gif

[28th March 1965]

Rosa at least drove forward more then any of the other midfielders today and tried to link play........can't keep relying on Ince to work the magic he's past it....

[ProudWolf]

Bl**dy hell, now I'm even more depressed!





It's all true though and its all down to Mr Hoddle. He's taken his time but finally he's showing what a s!$* manager he is. Game by game i'd say its getting worse.

[The Punisher]

$$$$$$$ off Hoddle!smileys/smiley7.gif

[OldWolvesfart]

The blame lies with Hoddle. Simple. What a
clueless manager we have.


4-4-2 today but with the midfield we had on show its hardly surprising
we failed to take grasp of the game. He changed to 3-4-1-2 in sheer
desperation but nothing changed.


Postma - decent 1st half, at fault for goal but couldn't really see from
the away end. Kicking was shocking.


Edwards, Gyepes, Lescott, Naylor - defended quite well but shocking
distribution. Not helped by the inept midfield that Hoddle decided to
play.


Ricketts, Miller - wide right and wide left respectively. Odd flashes of
quality but no end product. Both bottle challenges too regularly. Miller
must be a good left sided midfielder in training.


Ince - usual comitment but left to do far too much work for a man of
his age. Give him the job now for the rest of the season.


Kennedy - shocking. Again. Dismal passing, offered nothing going
forward and is not a central midfielder. He's got something on Hoddle, he
must have!


Cort - Poor. Out-muscled too often. Subbed.


Frankowski - small, light-weight but had no service. Has an excellent
first touch but its too early to tell if he'll be a success.


Rosa - came on for Cort and played in the hole in the 3-4-1-2
formation. Did nothing.


Ganea - came on very late for Miller.

I respect and appreciate what you are saying proudwolf but what midfield
would you have played apart from the obvious choice of us all Cameron.
Davies out with strained ankle, Anderton no one would play after Utd.,
in case anyone has missed it we do not have any midfield cover and we
are telling one of the most committed midfield players we have to take a
hike. So Kennedy we agree has lost the plot, Ince needs support, ricketts
is not up to it, so name your 4.

[ProudWolf]

I respect and appreciate what you are saying proudwolf but what midfield
would you have played apart from the obvious choice of us all Cameron.
Davies out with strained ankle, Anderton no one would play after Utd.,
in case anyone has missed it we do not have any midfield cover and we
are telling one of the most committed midfield players we have to take a
hike. So Kennedy we agree has lost the plot, Ince needs support, ricketts
is not up to it, so name your 4.


I agree we don't have the midfield at all. I'd love to see us play 4-4-2 but we don't have the personnel.


If having to pick a four today though i would've gone for:


Seol.....Ince...Cameron.....Ricketts.


At least its balanced and has two hard grafters in the centre of the park like we used to have. Just a shame there both a bit old now and that Hoddle hasnt seen that we have badly needed to replace them ever since he joined us.

[OldWolvesfart]

I respect and appreciate
what you are saying proudwolf but what midfield would you have played
apart from the obvious choice of us all Cameron. Davies out with strained
ankle, Anderton no one would play after Utd., in case anyone has missed
it we do not have any midfield cover and we are telling one of the most
committed midfield players we have to take a hike. So Kennedy we agree
has lost the plot, Ince needs support, ricketts is not up to it, so name
your 4.


I agree we don't have the midfield at all. I'd love to see us play 4-4-2
but we don't have the personnel.


If having to pick a four today though i would've gone for:


Seol.....Ince...Cameron.....Ricketts.


At least its balanced and has two hard grafters in the centre of the park
like we used to have. Just a shame there both a bit old now and that
Hoddle hasnt seen that we have badly needed to replace them ever since
he joined us.

Fair enough, if only Hoddle had only seen it our way, and seen the need
for at least one more grinder in midfield,

[Bevan]

Team ratings first:


Postma - Made some good saves most of the game, but his kicking was poor when pressured by the Leicester attackers. Goal was an absolute howler and he should indeed shoulder the blame. Time for Oakes to be recalled?


Naylor - Got forward well. Defended okay.


Lescott - Won countless headers. covered well when Leicester got in behind.


Gyepes - Solid. Very calm under pressure, although muscled out of it by Fryatt on a couple of occassions. Will be an asset next season when we embark upon yet another CCC campaign.


Edwards - Average. Never got forward. On the one occassion he did he fluffed a pretty good chance when he really should have worked the goalkeeper.


Ince - Committed as ever and it seems he's getting fed up at his teamate's inability to perform. Poor set pieces though. Why is he taking any corners is a wonder.


Kennedy - I think he played okay. Sat back in midfield when required, and covered for Naylor when he got forward. Spread the ball well. Not an effective force going forward, but still doesn't deserve some of the stick he got.


Ricketts - Willing, but no ability, or possibly no confidence. Provided an outlet and tried to beat his man but just couldn't. I still prefer him over Anderton or Seol though.


Miller - forward cum left winger. Odd. Ran and tried and beat the right back on a couple of occassions but he needs to be getting in the box more.


Cort - Should have done better with a header in the first half. As others said, got muscled out of things on numerous occassions by Paddy McCarthy, and considering Cort's size, he really shouldn't be. Not the player he was before his injury. Although, when he was taken off we completely lost it. Continued to play the long ball with nobody large enough to make any use of it.


Frankowski - Dissappointing debut for me. Looked rusty and lightwight. Got into a bit more as the game wore on, but not given any service whatsoever. Wasted in this formation.


Subs:


Rosa - Looked handy and actually turned and ran at the Leicester defence. Cultured player. When he's settled he'll be an important player for us next year (if he is kept on)


Ganea - did nothing.


Leicester were solid but nothing special with the exception of their front two of Hume and Fryatt (who we should have signed). They are in a false position and are by no means as bad as Crewe or Millwall. Next season they will be in playoff contention as they have a good young squad. Still, no defending our perfomace. First half was very even. Not much separating the two sides. But then in the second half we failed to turn up. 10-15mins of dirge ensued, but then Leicester believed they could actually win and turned the screw. A fair bit of pressure from them led to the goal which was 100% Postma's fault. A tame header down off the turf should have been claimed but he somehow dropped it at the feet of Fryatt who slammed it into the net. After that point we didn't press, didn't have a chance, and that's with 20mins left, which is disappointing. I don't like to give up so when they scored I thought we might equalise but we offered nothing from that point.


Bad result. Had we won, we would have been 7th, 5 points behidn Preston, with a bit of hope. Instead, we're 9th and 8 points behind.


Bad decision not to play Aliadiere, which is looking like it has/will backfire.


We CAN still do it, but form suggests not. If ever there was a game to show the fans you've still got it, or indeed if you've thrown in the towel, then it's Crewe at home. A big win would keep the faint glimmer alive. Anything less than 3 points would be the end.


And for the record, I think Hoddle has until we are mathematically sure of not making the playoffs and then he should be sacked. Not now and not until then.

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

[


I respect and appreciate what you are saying proudwolf but what midfield

would you have played apart from the obvious choice of us all Cameron.

Davies out with strained ankle, Anderton no one would play after Utd.,

in case anyone has missed it we do not have any midfield cover and we

are telling one of the most committed midfield players we have to take a

hike. So Kennedy we agree has lost the plot, Ince needs support, ricketts

is not up to it, so name your 4.
The point is that Hoddle has been here long enough to identify the problem and have brought in players that may have shored up the midfield. He has not brought in one player capable of doing this. In the present circumstances though I would tend to go for three CBs and play Naylor and Ross to put a bit of life into the side.

[EasternWolf]

How many more chances will Cort miss? What is the point of playing Miller in that position if he is not going to come inside? Even if the ineffective midfield does create a chance, it is odds on Cort or Miller will not score. It was like that at the beginning of the season and still is. Nothing has changed.


OK so Postma was to blame for the goal but any goalie will do that now and again. We should be able to come back from that


IMPORTANT QUESTION: WHEN DID WE LAST HAVE A PENALTY? The answer will tell you how effective our strikers are.

[sillytuna]

It'll also tell you how often we get either ball or players into the box.

[Tomasz]

We do have a midfielder that's able to play a forward ball to the
strikers... Olofinjana! Laugh away, but I'd rather have him than
Kennedy!

[Slip On Shoes]

It was another dismal performance. I've seen the about half a dozen managers sacked by the club in my time as a fan and that was the sort of performance that culminates in the manager going. It wasn't quite as bas as Gillingham away last season which saw the end of Jones but it was very, very close.


The most galling thing about it was when we went behind. We were awful for 65 minutes but we were just as bad as them. Once we went behind the wheels fell off, they looked more likely to get a 2nd than we did equalise. I think Hoddle has lost the players, either they dont believe in him or they are in too much of a comfort zone.


Hoddle has to go, if not now I'd give him 5 more games and set a minimum criteria of 10 points. If that gap between us and the play-offs gets any bigger than it is now it's all over and seeing as he wont be here next season lets get someone else in sooner rather than later.

[Essex Wolf]

Verdict, okay here goes.


Total and utter $$$$$$$ing s!$* from the first to last whistle.


With the exception of Ince and Franky, who it is far too early to judge, the rest of the team were a digrace with no small thanks going to the rediculous GH tactics.smileys/smiley7.gif

[jaspa888]

Hoddle has to go, if not now I'd give him 5
more games and set a minimum criteria of 10 points. If that gap
between us and the play-offs gets any bigger than it is now it's all
over and seeing as he wont be here next season lets get someone else in
sooner rather than later.



It has to be either now or the end of the season.



Giving him another 5 games could result in the end of our season.
Then, we would not be able to get the best replacement in if our season
is already dead.



Alternatively, we could decide to stick with GH until the end of the
season, with playoffs the only way he keeps his job next season.

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

So yesterday we prove we could play as badly without Seol and Anderton. That's consistency.

[The Bear]

4-4 $$$$$$$ing 3!! Was all I thought when I saw the team.

It ended up though being some kind of weird 4-4-2, 4-3-3 hybrid, where Miller and Cort dropped deep or wide and generally didn't know what the hell was going on.

We JUST about matched Leicester in the first half, but they had by far the better chances getting in behind our defence, with the offside flag saving us a few times.

2nd half was utter utter garbage. Even changing to 3-5-2 when Rosa came on didn't make the slightest bit of difference to how ineffective our midfield was. Frankowski often had to come deep to try and get any sort of service.

Ratings:

Postma - s!$*e kicking. Was supposedly at fault for the goal but couldn't see from up the other end - 4

Edwards - Played RB, and did nothing of note that I could remember. Very rarely got forward - 4

Lescott - Had the job of winning most of the stuff in the air which he did ok, and also marked Hume very well. Got no covering assistance from the other two when Hume wandered free though - 5

Gyepes - All-rounder, decent in the air and on the ground. Should be a good partner for Lescott in time, but need to help each other out more - 5

Naylor - Our only useful outlet in the first half. Tried but mostly failed. Crossing was a bit inconsistent. Ran past his defender once in the first half but failed to cross first time and then failed to cross at all - 5

Ricketts - Not too bad, but struggled out on the wing. At least beat his man a few times when cutting in but never got any telling crosses in. The only one who tried to play in our strikers along the ground however - 6

Miller - Absolutely pointless playing where he did. Often got the ball but his first touch was awful and lost the ball a few times because of it. Beat his man occasionally but was met with no options up front. Had a good shot in the second half after someone stepped over a balled played across the box. Shouldn't have been subbed after he finally got moved up front - 6

Kennedy - I'm not usually one to knock him, but he was $$$$$$$ing diabolical!! The amount of times he gave the ball away needlessly or put it out of play trying to hit a crossfield pass was embarrasing. Shirked challenges, and had no idea going forward. Epitomised the team performance in that he was utter garbage - 3

Ince - The only one who could walk away with his head held high. Tried and got around the pitch better than any of his colleagues. The ref seemed to want to give fouls against him for nothing challenges which didn't help his temper. The most telling thing was after the final whistle, Kennedy came over to clap the fans and got roundly booed. Ince came over and got a big cheer - 7

Cort - Utter donkey. Fell over more times than he managed to control/pass the ball. Looked like he was playing some strange gangly-legged game of keepy up most of the time. Missed the target with a free header in the first half, and was completely ineffective in the second. Rightly subbed - 4

Frankowski - Tried his best but was so starved of any kind of service. Came deep to get the ball but with Cort alongside him he was going to get nothing all game. Looked better when Miller moved up front but by then Leicester were in control. Almost got a one-on-one with the keeper, but the through ball was too heavy to reach in time - 6

Subs:

Rosa - Looked to get involved and tried his best to get forward. Got into space well but was often ignored. Played slightly in front of Ince and Kennedy but still had to drop back to get to see the ball. One good turn and run towards their defence, but when he looked up there was nothing to aim for in front of him. Bodes well if we can get him the ball in advanced positions more -

[Uncle Festa]

They ain't going to get rid of Hoddle when they can do it for free in The Summer, but I would agree that they need to start looking discreetly so that a change can be made if thats whats needed. I doubt it is even on Moxeys agenda - hesacked Jones without having a manager in place to take over, and the same will happen again. Forward planning is not a term Moxey learntdoing his degree. I like Hoddle as a manager, but his recent decisions in terms of team selection have been awful and his position must come under scrutiny. This is where we need a director of football who can head hunt the next manager and also control the infrastruture of the club such as retention of scouts etc when every two years we get rid of a manager. For me, its time weget a manager who can pick up some players from lower leagues. Looking at our current and past front line only highlights that spending big money doesn't work.

[jaspa888]

They ain't going to get rid of Hoddle when they can do it for free in The Summer,



Never going to be on a free.



He is on 12 month rolling contract, which means we have to pay him 12 months salary whenever we decide to sack him.



So the same cost now, or end of season.

[Uncle Festa]

Is that right? If so its another great bit of business by Moxey. We need to pay half a million just to get rid and thats before we lure some other muppet to the club.

[jaspa888]

Still better than the £1.4m will allegedly spent to get rid of DJ.



Its the system most businesses are moving to.



We now what our exposure is at any point, while also protecting our club if GH was ever poached. (yes, I know...smileys/smiley36.gif)

[Polak]

smileys/smiley3.gifsmileys/smiley36.gifWe do have a midfielder that's able to play a forward ball to the strikers... Olofinjana! Laugh away, but I'd rather have him than Kennedy!


smileys/smiley36.gifsmileys/smiley36.gif......Hang onsmileys/smiley3.gifsmileys/smiley32.gif

[Jim Bowen]

If Olofijana is fit, he should be given another chance in a 4-3-1-2 formation.


.....Cameron....Ince.....Davies

.............Olofinjana

.......Aliadiere......Franko

[Shergar]

Still better than the £1.4m will allegedly spent to get rid of DJ.




It was £300K with the proviso of the gagging order smileys/smiley2.gif

[The Bear]

I agree with Tomasz. Better than Kennedy with regards to balls to the strikers.

[Polak]

Agreed. Always looked handy when at the tip of the diamond.smileys/smiley1.gifGive him a go i say!! If fit

[OldWolvesfart]

Lets start the bring back Olofijana and while we are at it Cameron appeal.

[EasternWolf]

[QUOTE=The Bear]

Ganea - Anonymous. Erm... - 5


QUOTE]


He played for 4 minutes at the end of this game. We played with wantaway Miller and Cort who both gave their usual misses and you criticise Ganea? They are supposed to be our first choice strikers. They were useless on day 1 and still are.

[Polak]

Lets start the bring back Olofijana and while we are at it Cameron appeal.


Fantastic ideasmileys/smiley32.gif. I'm just hoping Hoddle buggers off in time for the new manager to offer Cameron a new deal. If he continues his current form and level of commitment that is(which IMHO could never be questioned)Edited by: polak

[The Bear]

Ganea - Anonymous. Erm... - 5


He played for 4 minutes at the end of this game.$ We played with wantaway Miller and Cort who both gave their usual misses and you criticise Ganea?$ They are supposed to be our first choice strikers.$ They were useless on day 1 and still are.$

Ratings are relative. I can't give Miller a 6 and then Ganea the same. He did get the ball a couple of times but did absolutely nothing with it. He was worse than the man he replaced. What rating do you want me to give him?Edited by: The Bear

[Jim Bowen]

I think Eastern only read your Ganea rating. The fact that you described Cort as an utter donkey proves that. smileys/smiley36.gif

[Pennpal]

For the third game running we showed far less desire than the opposition. It's not a matter of picking out individuals, it's more of a problem with the squad as an entity, or even the Club in general.


Hoddle correctly identified this in his post match comments. It's a long standing, fundamental situation and not something that can be solved in the short term. Whether Hoddle possesses the ability or long term commitment to deal with it is a moot point, but anyone who thinksthe solution is to simply pay him off and appoint the next unfortunate is kidding himself on.


To try and find a positive from yesterday is no easy task, but the best I can offer is to say that while I'm no admirer of Ricketts (too lightweight and rarely influences games), he did look our best attacking player by running at defenders rather than taking the easier option of the safe sideways/back pass.

[The Punisher]

People laugh at Olofinjana but if he was actually played behind 2 strikers in the hole he would be a good player.


Anyone remember Reading away last season? It's the only time Hoddle played him as an attacking midfielder and he was the best player on the pitch and outshone both Harper and Sidwell.

[EasternWolf]

I think Eastern only read your Ganea rating. The fact that you described Cort as an utter donkey proves that. smileys/smiley36.gif


No that is not true. I read all of it but it is perhaps unfair to make any comment when a player only comes on gor the dying minutes. Whoever he is, you cannotreally include him in the general criticism of the team. It devalues the very valid criticisms that were made of those who played all or the majority of the game. I have been critical of Cort all season and many people have said "he is our leading scorer" ..but he is also our leading misser.

[Jamboon]

I must have been watching a different game cause i thought Ince was s!$* along with the rest of the team no one in my opinion could hold there head high.


But Paul Ince can do nothing wrong so even if he has a s!$* game we'll still boo everybody else and sing his name at the final whistle.


smileys/smiley5.gifsmileys/smiley7.gif


As for Frankowski it may be a little early to Judge but I can see why Jez is trying to distance himself from Hoddle on this one. I thought he was crap! ok didn't have a great deal of service but didn't show for the ball once everytime the ball did come under his possesion he was shrugged aside with relative ease. Poor first touch lightweight not very quick. Ganea came on for last 5/10 minutes and looked more comfortable on the ball in that time than Frankowski did at any time in the match. I hope im wrong but i feel this is another 1million + wasted by Wolves.

[EasternWolf]

I must have been watching a different game cause i thought Ince was s!$* along with the rest of the team no one in my opinion could hold there head high.


But Paul Ince can do nothing wrong so even if he has a s!$* game we'll still boo everybody else and sing his name at the final whistle.


smileys/smiley5.gifsmileys/smiley7.gif


As for Frankowski it may be a little early to Judge but I can see why Jez is trying to distance himself from Hoddle on this one. I thought he was crap! ok didn't have a great deal of service but didn't show for the ball once everytime the ball did come under his possesion he was shrugged aside with relative ease. Poor first touch lightweight not very quick. Ganea came on for last 5/10 minutes and looked more comfortable on the ball in that time than Frankowski did at any time in the match. I hope im wrong but i feel this is another 1million + wasted by Wolves.





Hence my criticism above.


For the last god knows how many years we have criticised first this player and then that one ... each time they are "crap" ... then a few weeks later when they have a goodish game, they are "superb" again. Then we sign a few more players and treat them the same way. That is the way of football. I have said somewhere else ..these are all good players. The problems we have at Wolves are not simply about so and so being a crap player, manager, ceo, etc. If it was that simple we would have turned it round by now. What is wrong then? Maybe we need to take our feet off the panic button and go for a period of stability with lower expectations, less pressure. We need to become a club again and this includes all of us.

[Mick Tranter]

I must have been watching a different game cause i thought Ince was s!$* along with the rest of the team no one in my opinion could hold there head high.


But Paul Ince can do nothing wrong so even if he has a s!$* game we'll still boo everybody else and sing his name at the final whistle.


smileys/smiley5.gifsmileys/smiley7.gif





The reason for this is at least hew tries, perhaps the legs aren't quite as able anymore but you can't fault his commitment. If everyone gives 100% I willapplaud them.

[FetishWolf]

Postma -Dropped the ball to give away a point we desperately needed.


Naylor - unfortunatelyjust does not havethe ability to play for a club like Wolves. Sell him to Sc*!$!horpe.


Kennedy -a $$$$$$ awful performance. Obviously thinks hes above those he plays against but just comes across looking like a pro footballer who can't pass.


Frankpowski - Looks like another corica to me....


Miller - does not care. Shouldn't wear the shirt again. Will look like an idiot in green hoops


Cort - bambi on ice. Is he scared of the physical side of the game?


Ince - poor performance but every play needs its heros and vilains


Ricketts - yet another player to fall under the 'sign for wolves and lose every ounce of ability I possess curse'