Wolves vs Sheffield United - The verdict

[Contrarian]

And this is exactly the kind of **** that needs to stop from both sides.

I think you'll have a struggle! It's part of being a fan. Since I can remember, we've argued about who are the heroes and who are the zeroes. And a part of us wants to be correct and wants the zeroes to fail. Human nature.

You can hear it all the time when at a match, supporters who clearly hate one or two players and yell abuse at them from the start. Then when that player scores "he was just lucky..he'll mess up next time".

 

[Deleted member 11332]

I think an even bigger problem is their lack of a goal scorer.
Sharp can’t do it any more,McGoldrick is an honest trier but not much else ,McBurnie isn’t good enough ,Brewster couldn’t score in a brothel and Mousset has been injured much of the time .

I was amazed when I checked and McGoldrick has 6 league goals this year. More than anyone in our team.

 

[Frank Lincoln]

TBH I doubt it's that many. But it is a factor and I understand it. There are always fans who don't take a new manager and look for any sign to knock him and praise the previous manager. Solbakken, for example, plenty never took to him and seemed happier when we lost. Even McCarthy had those who never wanted him here, grudgingly accepted the promotion, then started the criticism again with the decline.

It's just one of those facts of life. Some managers you don't really like... and then they wind up at your club! Puts you in 2 minds.

For me, I'd have been devastated if Nuno had left, at any point until recent months. Now, I want him to stay, but if he did leave in the summer, it would not be heart breaking as it would have been last summer, for example. It would be more huge thanks for what was achieved..now lets see what new inspiration Fosun can come up with.

To put it into perspective, I didn't want Saunders as manager, and he turned out to be even worse than I thought. Clueless is putting it kindly, but despite that I still wanted Wolves to win. Not that we had much chance under Saunders...

 

[Leamwolf]

To put it into perspective, I didn't want Saunders as manager, and he turned out to be even worse than I thought. Clueless is putting it kindly, but despite that I still wanted Wolves to win. Not that we had much chance under Saunders...

Clownders by name and clownders by nature hahaha

 

[Leamwolf]

Likewise I believe they have had major injuries to their usual back 3 from last season

Egan will stay in the prem i recon.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

Agree that "these kind of performances have kept us out the relegation battle". Ultra defensive for virtually all the match against relegation-bound teams, who themselves create nothing match after match. Relying on one or two quick breaks to score. Yes, that kind of dour performance is putting the points on the board.

Thankfully there were 3 teams even worse than us this season, including 2 of the worst the division has ever seen. We are performing in the next bracket up to that - Newcastle/Burnley/Brighton level. And before the "injuries" excuse is rolled out - after Newcastles win yesterday, they were saying that Newcastle have been without their 2 or 3 best players for most of the season and their win showed that they are a much better team when fully fit. So, it's not just us with injury sob-stories.

Nuno is challenging Tony Pulis and Big Sam as the presenter of the masterclass in "Dull football, but effective in scraping survival points" football. All little clubs keen to compete with the big boys will be attending that class.

We weren't ultra defensive. Have a word with yourself. We created the clearer chances. They threw men forward towards the end, almost like they had to score to stay up. And we had by far the better chances. Their best chance was the one semedo blocked.
A fit podence and Raul up front and we would have battered them. I'm sick of the moaning. This is clearly the way for us to go now. Footballwise we aren't anything like pulis or allardyce sides. I just don't see the comparison. We just lump it up to the big man now? Is that what you are trying to say?
This is just giving our team a hard time for the sake of giving them a hard time. Given the players we had out, and some clearly not fit we created more than the opposition, and never looked like conceding.

 

[Silly Billy]

Egan will stay in the prem i recon.

All though he hasn't had the best of seasons I reckon Sander Berge will as well

 

[Frank Lincoln]

People are saying Sheffield United didn't spend much money in the short pre season, but how much did they spend on Brewster alone? Altogether I think they spent about £50 million. I think the clubs owners could have expected the team to have done better given the outlay.

 

[Deleted member 11332]

We weren't ultra defensive. Have a word with yourself. We created the clearer chances. They threw men forward towards the end, almost like they had to score to stay up. And we had by far the better chances. Their best chance was the one semedo blocked.
A fit podence and Raul up front and we would have battered them. I'm sick of the moaning. This is clearly the way for us to go now. Footballwise we aren't anything like pulis or allardyce sides. I just don't see the comparison. We just lump it up to the big man now? Is that what you are trying to say?
This is just giving our team a hard time for the sake of giving them a hard time. Given the players we had out, and some clearly not fit we created more than the opposition, and never looked like conceding.

We are more like Newcastle under Bruce in style this season I think than a Stoke.

 

[astraltrader]

Despite being another forward light we deservedly beat the blades and secured three more points.
OK it was not the most entertaining of games but job done!!

 

[Halesowen wwfc]

nuno has us 6th on current form - since when are we a club that sacks a manager who doesn't have us in the top 5 ?

Premier League - Form table

This statistics show the form table of the Premier League between match day 24 and match day 32 in the season 20/21.

www.transfermarkt.co.uk

Are we top 5 in the league? And if based on form table, look at it after christmas when we were last but one

 

[crocos]

Not pretty and dire to watch - any neutral who sat thru that deserves a medal- but we blunted a desperate-to-win team and got the job done.

The sooner this wretched season comes to an end and we can get a rest and go again, the better. Semedo looked good. Defence were tight. WJ got his goal and was actually quite mobile for once.

 

[Kingswood Wolf]

Sorry but I cannot understand the phrase 'Nuno-lovers'.

Nuno is the man who has brought us two successive 7th place finishes, an FA cup semi final and a Europa league quarter final. That to me represents three very good seasons. Yes, this season has fell below expectations, but given what he has done for this football club, Nuno deserves our support and respect.

You clearly want Nuno out, which is a view you are entitled to, but you didn't say who you would replace him with.

Actually Franky, I would LOVE Nuno to turn things around and get us playing again. That is absolutely my preferred option.

However. Week after week after month (etc.) the same mistakes. The same turgid football. The same same first halves. Continually going behind. There has been absolutely zero progress in addressing these issues, for over a year now - before Raul's injury too.

And it's worth bearing in mind that once a manager hits the slippery slopes, they rarely ever get things going again. But maybe Moyes and West Ham and even Villa give us hope for next season. Equally, let us not ignore what happened to Stoke and WBA after they were 'established' Premier League clubs. Or do we aspire to be... Crystal ****ing Palace? **** that, I'd rather be Norwich.

I WILL want him out if nothing has changed by November, absolutely. But that won't detract from his previous achievements either.

 

[Poztin]

Bolys back heel off the bar.
Jose’s goal.
Saiss point blank attempt well saved.
Traore and Silva 1-on-1 breaks towards the end.

What 5 chances did Sheffield have better than those to earn the Don Goodman “better side” award?

 

[Contrarian]

We weren't ultra defensive. Have a word with yourself. We created the clearer chances. They threw men forward towards the end, almost like they had to score to stay up. And we had by far the better chances. Their best chance was the one semedo blocked.
A fit podence and Raul up front and we would have battered them. I'm sick of the moaning. This is clearly the way for us to go now. Footballwise we aren't anything like pulis or allardyce sides. I just don't see the comparison. We just lump it up to the big man now? Is that what you are trying to say?
This is just giving our team a hard time for the sake of giving them a hard time. Given the players we had out, and some clearly not fit we created more than the opposition, and never looked like conceding.

We were ultra-defensive against both Fulham and Sheff Utd. It's not just me. It's what the media says too. The commentators, too.

It's a forum, not a pro-Nuno propaganda platform, I call it like I see it. Check my posts if you wan, there are plenty of positives in there , when I see something positive to say. And this is even in recent days and weeks.

How on earth is this "giving the team a hard time"? I think you have it the wrong way round. It's the team giving us a hard time! Even very pro-Nuno people are saying yesterday (and many recent matches) was "a difficult watch".

Neither did Pulis and Allardyce "lump it to the big man". That is lazy stereotyping. They were working with far less finances than we have and did the best they could given that. Starting with a well organised defence (like us) with few committed forward (like us). A goal a game was about the average Stoke scored for several seasons, during which they finished around mid-table. Just like us.

And I'm getting a bit sick of the same tired excuses for yet another poor performance against a Championship level team. Excuses such as injuries and covid that apply to every single club in the league.

Could it be that we really are a mid-table at best team, and can only achieve that through stifling the opposition through negative football and waiting for a break our way? Like Pulis and Allardyce teams

 

[thommo1984]

I think my biggest worry in regards to Nuno is that he actually agrees with all of the things people are complaining about here. In his post game interview last night he said we started too slowly, we didn't create enough, and we dropped far too deep when we got ahead and invited Sheffield to get at us. He said sometimes there aren't answers for why those things happen.

All of that is true, the problem is it's getting on for 18 months now with those exact same problems recurring, game after game, and there doesn't appear to be any thought into how we change things. Nothing happens. We play the same players and watch the same scenarios play out.

The commentators can trot out the "adapting a more possession based style" soundbite all they like but we aren't doing that. Our ball retention is abysmal. There is barely any movement or breaking between lines across the whole team so we pass backwards at all costs, dropping deeper and deeper, until there is no other option but to smack a 50 yard diagonal and hope something comes from the scraps.

I hope Nuno is given the time to fix the issues from this season but he has to be far more proactive in finding solutions rather than hoping things just finally fall into place, despite repeated evidence that they won't.

 

[Deleted member 11332]

Bolys back heel off the bar.
Jose’s goal.
Saiss point blank attempt well saved.
Traore and Silva 1-on-1 breaks towards the end.

What 5 chances did Sheffield have better than those to earn the Don Goodman “better side” award?

Bolys wasn't a chance surely? It was a superb effort but I class a chance as somewhere there's a good chance of a goal. Back to goal with 2 defenders on you certainly doesn't meet that criteria.

We did create more chances which should be expected given the gulf in quality. I think it was a pretty even game where the fact we have better players meant we made the most of the times we got in good positions. They didn't, that's why they are bottom.

 

[sillytuna]

I thought there as a huge absence of midfield (no surprise there you will say), but I'm sorry it was shocking the total lack of drive from there. Sheff Utd had the freedom of Wolverhampton to wander around trying to create, we surely need to be creating so much more in midfield. Donk didn't play badly in fairness, and laid on the ball nicely for Traore to assist Jose for a very nice goal. But he and Mouts did very little in terms of controlling the middle of the pitch, but maybe they were just outnumbered. The way Stevens easily nipped around Donk to shoot highlights my concerns about Donk. Without Neves we were substandard and the commentators were perfectly right to question our insipid performance stemming from there.

I actually feel sorry for Wolves defenders and attackers who must be thinking WTF? Defenders must feel that it just comes back again and again, attackers must realise its purely breakaways and no sustained pressure whatsover. Concerned especially about Podence tonight.

But it has been a tough follow on season and remarkably we are safe and reasonably well positioned give the performances. Happy to see us safe and we need some serious work over the summer. Whether we do that without key sales remains to be seen.

Nailed it reans. Most of our problems stem from midfield, a mix of players and tactics. Doncks is a player with an engine but that's all for me. He adds energy but he is turned just so easily and poor finisher. Good squad player but should never be starting games.

Moutinho won't be a regular starter next year I'd suspect, neves may be on his way, and so we need to rebuild here. Vitanha and mgw need a run of starts now for me. Look to next season.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

We were ultra-defensive against both Fulham and Sheff Utd. It's not just me. It's what the media says too. The commentators, too.

It's a forum, not a pro-Nuno propaganda platform, I call it like I see it. Check my posts if you wan, there are plenty of positives in there , when I see something positive to say. And this is even in recent days and weeks.

How on earth is this "giving the team a hard time"? I think you have it the wrong way round. It's the team giving us a hard time! Even very pro-Nuno people are saying yesterday (and many recent matches) was "a difficult watch".

Neither did Pulis and Allardyce "lump it to the big man". That is lazy stereotyping. They were working with far less finances than we have and did the best they could given that. Starting with a well organised defence (like us) with few committed forward (like us). A goal a game was about the average Stoke scored for several seasons, during which they finished around mid-table. Just like us.

And I'm getting a bit sick of the same tired excuses for yet another poor performance against a Championship level team. Excuses such as injuries and covid that apply to every single club in the league.

Could it be that we really are a mid-table at best team, and can only achieve that through stifling the opposition through negative football and waiting for a break our way? Like Pulis and Allardyce teams

That isn't anything like allardyce and pulis. Pulis weren't particularly counter attacking at all. It was hoof it up to the big man, win the second ball and then get in the box for a cross. Nothing like Nuno at all.
Which teams do you think are more attacking than us? Brighton, with their 1 million half chances that? Saints? At least they matched us for goals last season. The mighty villa? They couldn't beat Sheffield United too.
Sheffield United incidentally were unofficially the medias lovechild last season with their "attacking football". They got 39 goals.
Let's see how this lasts with Leeds, with Brighton, with whatever other team we decide arbitrarily plays better football than us.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

This.

Bolys back heel off the bar.
Jose’s goal.
Saiss point blank attempt well saved.
Traore and Silva 1-on-1 breaks towards the end.

What 5 chances did Sheffield have better than those to earn the Don Goodman “better side” award?

This. Add podence being through one on one on goal and the commentary not really mentioning it.

 

[Black Coffee]

I don't know why so many are crying about Goodman for he was right about last night with his criticism of us.

Sheffield United actually moved the ball with a bit of urgency on the other hand we was just pedestrian and not enjoyable to watch.

I do hope Nuno shows a bit of more intent against Burnley next Sunday but I imagine we will get the same uninspiring showing of last night sadly

 

[Contrarian]

That isn't anything like allardyce and pulis. Pulis weren't particularly counter attacking at all. It was hoof it up to the big man, win the second ball and then get in the box for a cross. Nothing like Nuno at all.
Which teams do you think are more attacking than us? Brighton, with their 1 million half chances that? Saints? At least they matched us for goals last season. The mighty villa? They couldn't beat Sheffield United too.
Sheffield United incidentally were unofficially the medias lovechild last season with their "attacking football". They got 39 goals.
Let's see how this lasts with Leeds, with Brighton, with whatever other team we decide arbitrarily plays better football than us.

Whatever they did, it was as dull to watch as us this season. Villa are way more attacking than us. Scored 3 goals in 10 minutes v Fulham. Because they got 4 players into the opponents Penatly Area. At the same time! Not 2 at a time every 10 minutes, like us. Now, please note, I'm not saying any of these teams are BETTER than us, just that most of the league is more attacking than us.

It's easier to list the teams less attacking than us: Sheff Utd, Burnley, Fulham. With Palace and Newcastle about the same as us. That's about it. All neutrals see it, I get that your pro-Wolves bias clouds your judgement. I was the same, it's one of those things that once you see it, can't be unseen.

 

[Poztin]

Bolys wasn't a chance surely? It was a superb effort but I class a chance as somewhere there's a good chance of a goal. Back to goal with 2 defenders on you certainly doesn't meet that criteria.

We did create more chances which should be expected given the gulf in quality. I think it was a pretty even game where the fact we have better players meant we made the most of the times we got in good positions. They didn't, that's why they are bottom.

The defender scrambled to head the ball off the line onto the bar and ricoched back to the keeper. Bar the actual goal it’s the closest the ball came to going in either goal.

Not sure how that doesn’t meet the criteria of a chance.

 

[Deleted member 11332]

The defender scrambled to head the ball off the line onto the bar and ricoched back to the keeper. Bar the actual goal it’s the closest the ball came to going in either goal.

Not sure how that doesn’t meet the criteria of a chance.

Because it wasn't a chance. I've seen seedorf score from the halfway line but that wasn't from a chance either.

 

[Poztin]

I don't know why so many are crying about Goodman for he was right about last night with his criticism of us.

Sheffield United actually moved the ball with a bit of urgency on the other hand we was just pedestrian and not enjoyable to watch.

I do hope Nuno shows a bit of more intent against Burnley next Sunday but I imagine we will get the same uninspiring showing of last night sadly

They played some interplay out on the wings and did a grand total of **** all with it.

 

[Poztin]

Because it wasn't a chance. I've seen seedorf score from the halfway line but that wasn't from a chance either.

“I class a chance as somewhere there's a good chance of a goal”

There was a pretty good chance of it going in the goal.

 

[Big Nosed Wolf]

Another PL performance. Not a PL winning performance but the kind of performance demonstrating we are a PL club.

Games in FEB, MAR. APRIL.


W 5 D3 L3. The three losses were against Man City. Liverpool and West Ham. The first are running away with the league. The second last year's champions and sit in 6th spot and the third are currently sitting in 4th spot.

Since Feb played 11 and 18 points. That's 1.6 points per game. Much improved on the immediate spell after Jimenez injury.

We are comfortably mid table after two seasons of 7th place and a decent European run.

Without exactly getting things right once again we see the current set up's ability to 'compete' and improve after some dodgy results. It isn't the first time and won't be the last. This time the dodgy spell has been a bit 'dodgier' than previous 'dodginess' so should be viewed as more impressive.

We wanted a PL club. We have one.

 

[Leamwolf]

I think my biggest worry in regards to Nuno is that he actually agrees with all of the things people are complaining about here. In his post game interview last night he said we started too slowly, we didn't create enough, and we dropped far too deep when we got ahead and invited Sheffield to get at us. He said sometimes there aren't answers for why those things happen.

All of that is true, the problem is it's getting on for 18 months now with those exact same problems recurring, game after game, and there doesn't appear to be any thought into how we change things. Nothing happens. We play the same players and watch the same scenarios play out.

The commentators can trot out the "adapting a more possession based style" soundbite all they like but we aren't doing that. Our ball retention is abysmal. There is barely any movement or breaking between lines across the whole team so we pass backwards at all costs, dropping deeper and deeper, until there is no other option but to smack a 50 yard diagonal and hope something comes from the scraps.

I hope Nuno is given the time to fix the issues from this season but he has to be far more proactive in finding solutions rather than hoping things just finally fall into place, despite repeated evidence that they won't.

Seeing as nuno said exactly what a lot of what a lot of people said last night and got slagged off for, does that mean nuno is now anti-nuno and needs to support the team and get behind the lads? He even said nuno has no ideas why things are happening like they are.... does nuno not realise nuno is a tactical genius and he knows how to fix the problems....

How dare nuno criticise the nuno’s tactics and the lads performance...... hahaha

 

[Deleted member 11332]

“I class a chance as somewhere there's a good chance of a goal”

There was a pretty good chance of it going in the goal.

I mean from the position the player is in not what actually happens. It's semantics anyway but the fact boly got that on target is a minor miracle never mind the fact it nearly went in, as I say it was genius play but when the ball dropped to him I didn't think it was remotely likely that was going anywhere but back out the box.

 

[Jonzy54]

To put it into perspective, I didn't want Saunders as manager, and he turned out to be even worse than I thought. Clueless is putting it kindly, but despite that I still wanted Wolves to win. Not that we had much chance under Saunders...

Talking of Saunders we used to go in The Bell (Ham and Eggery) on the A5 .One night we walked in and saw Steve Morgan eating alongside Ian Rush and Dean Saunders .I kept looking up at them but had no inkling of what was to come the next day when it was announced that Clownders was our new Manager-apparently they had been playing golf together nearby .

 

[Deleted member 11332]

Talking of Saunders we used to go in The Bell (Ham and Eggery) on the A5 .One night we walked in and saw Steve Morgan eating alongside Ian Rush and Dean Saunders .I kept looking up at them but had no inkling of what was to come the next day when it was announced that Clownders was our new Manager-apparently they had been playing golf together nearby .

To think you could have single handedly stopped us getting relegated by suffocating him with whatever was on his plate.

 

[Jonzy54]

To think you could have single handedly stopped us getting relegated by suffocating him with whatever was on his plate.

They were on the puds when we entered

 

[Deleted member 11332]

They were on the puds when we entered

Drowned in a bowl of custard. What a way to go.

 

[Jonzy54]

Drowned in a bowl of custard. What a way to go.

I should have tipped it on his head .If I had done it to Morgan ,with his red face ,he would have looked like a bowl of rhubarb and custard .

 

[Deleted member LP 3925]

They were on the puds when we entered

Was it a Fool?

 

[Macman]

I should have tipped it on his head .If I had done it to Morgan ,with his red face ,he would have looked like a bowl of rhubarb and custard .

You would have been arrested Jonzy, and taken into 'custardy'.

 

[CelebrityWolf]

How many extra points did Albion get for spending 31% of the time in Saints final thir

We weren't ultra defensive. Have a word with yourself. We created the clearer chances. They threw men forward towards the end, almost like they had to score to stay up. And we had by far the better chances. Their best chance was the one semedo blocked.
A fit podence and Raul up front and we would have battered them. I'm sick of the moaning. This is clearly the way for us to go now. Footballwise we aren't anything like pulis or allardyce sides. I just don't see the comparison. We just lump it up to the big man now? Is that what you are trying to say?
This is just giving our team a hard time for the sake of giving them a hard time. Given the players we had out, and some clearly not fit we created more than the opposition, and never looked like conceding.

18% of the game was played in the Sheffield Utd final third. That is ultra defensive, that is less than the likes of Chorley against us.

 

[CelebrityWolf]

I don't understand the argument that it's all ok because we got three points? Presumably those defending the tactics don't actually rate us then because I still think we would get the three points against both by playing better football but it seems many think the only way we can get three points is to defend deep, even against the leagues worst.

 

[Jonzy54]

You would have been arrested Jonzy, and taken into 'custardy'.

Boom Boom

 

[Contrarian]

Seeing as nuno said exactly what a lot of what a lot of people said last night and got slagged off for, does that mean nuno is now anti-nuno and needs to support the team and get behind the lads? He even said nuno has no ideas why things are happening like they are.... does nuno not realise nuno is a tactical genius and he knows how to fix the problems....

How dare nuno criticise the nuno’s tactics and the lads performance...... hahaha

Funny! Same happened last season. In the restart, we got results against bottom placed clubs, but played really dour - just like now. There was some criticism by those saying we were negative, can't carry on like that, after 2 seasons needed to be developing our style etc. Of course those people were derided: "but look at the results". Then Nuno came out and said much the same thing after the Sevilla match

TBH I suppose it is a plus that Nuno sees it like it is. Bias is inevitable for fans. But not healthy for the manager. Making the correct decisions, it's vital he stays objective and sees the point blank reality unclouded by bias and inexperience. However, it is perplexing that he sees it, but I don't see any improvement yet. I suppose the 4 at the back is a genuine attempt to fix it. But I don't get how often we've used it against the better clubs and then switched to 5 at the back and sat back against the likes of Sheff U , who are, lets face it, a Championship club right now.

And that's really the only attempt I see - we go 4 at the back. Yet still sit back, defend and try and hit on the counter. Exactly the same as 5 at the back, only it doesn't work so well.

The slow starts, he keeps saying we have to change..but it never does change and based on last 2 matches against the poorest teams in the division (since Albions little burst), there isn't even an attempt to change it. Neither Fulham nor Sheff Utd "pinned us back". Neither is really capable of pinning back a side brim full of quality internationals. We sat back and must have chosen to play that way.