Brentford Verdict

[Big Saft Kid]

Well well well. I predicted a drab, tired 0-0. Perhaps I should predict such results a bit more often. When was the last time we scored four away in the PL. Brilliant result.

Never.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

where was the ****ing ipad you mean!!

When is the Gary & Sean iPad documentary coming out

 

[Andywolf74]

Pretty sure I noticed Thomas Franck struggling to walk down the tunnel with his pants round his ankles after having them well and truly pulled down signing Collins!!!
Great win, sublime finishing from Hwang but would like to see a defender or two come in over the next two transfer windows, as we do look vulnerable when teams press.
Players are clearly playing for the manager, who’s doing brilliantly since the Ipswich defeat.

 

[maws]

We’ve played better abd lost! But I’ll take 4 goals, but let’s not forget they easily could’ve had 3 at ht too. Love the fact we try to carry on scoring second half, albeit on the break. Everton won’t gift us goals like that, let’s stay calm, we’re not going to Europe, but we’re not going down (as I predicted incorrectly) but West Ham made us look mugs just over a week ago. We are consistently inconsistent

RAN is probably a good a left back as in the whole prem, he’s marked Salah out of 2 games and is such a threat going forward

 

[AndyY]

Whisper it but we’re only 6 points off the top 6

And we would be 6th if it wasn’t for………

 

[Willenhall Wolf]

Didn't expect anything tonight so chuffed at the result.

Its crazy to think that the stick Hwang got last season (myself included at times) he's now on pace to score more PL goals this season than even Rauls phenomenal 2019/20 season.

Gomes the MOTM though. Remember saying in the to a taxi driver who was a Spurs fan who thought we'd go down that we had the next Kante on our hands, he laughed at me, nobody's laughing now.

 

[Contrarian]

Yes, but can't help feeling sorry for the lad. He didn't want to leave but unfortunately demonstrated exactly why we decided he had to.

In hindsight, wondering if our players had been prepared for the Collins mistake? He often did exactly the same for us in a match, lazy passes when not under pressure.

Glad we moved him on. Seems more of an old school centre half who can head crosses away all day, but is a liability when the ball is at his feet and that isn't good enough these days. To that once or twice is forgivable, but he does it so regularly, it's not accident and is going to take a lot of work to clear from his game.

 

[Beeches wolf]

Always nice to beat the Chinos, but genuinely felt sorry for Collins. As someone else said, Lage absolutely ruined him.

Gomes MOTM, followed closely by Lemina. Thought RAN was decent and Sarabia showed some real class. Not convinced at all with that back 3 but we survived.

Main criticism from me is how often we lost the ball so quickly after winning it back. Lack of composure and poor decision-making. We did the hard stuff and messed-up the easy bit.

Agreed, Lemina and Gomes master class.

 

[IOMWolf]

Well... i dont think we played all that well, but much like Chelsea we came up against a team in really poor form and had luck on our side. We were gifted two goals and Bretford gave us a bit of an assist for another. Aside from that i dont think we created all that much really after the first 20 minutes or so, and we could easily have conceded two or three more than the one we did. Our defence is shaky as a unit at the best of times and it was no better today. Santi did okay and got better as the game went on but Semedo was not great and Doherty much worse in my opinion, Toti also quite erratic. Like Bueno, Kilman eventually started to impose himself as the game wore on but took a good while to get to grips with things.
This is a bit dispappointing when you consider how well Gomes and Lemina are playing in front of them, both superb again and some lovely passes from Gomes in the first half in particular. Ait Nouri also very good. Cunha looked tired and quite frustrated at times. Hee Chan scores if you get the ball to him in the box I dont think there is any doubt about that. Another promising cameo from Bellgarde, I would like to see more of him.

So job done I suppose, but if we play like this against Everton I think we will lose. We can play better than we are for sure, but I suppose on the plus side its a good sign if poor or mediocre performances can still get you a win.

Well I enjoyed it

 

[Sussex Wolf]

Well I enjoyed it

Yep, me too. Entertaining game, scored four goals and came away deserved winners. What more do people want from an away game, two days after we beat Chelsea at home?

 

[Pengwern]

Wonderful from the live commentary but we need fewer transitions we give opponents

 

[Bondi Wolf]

Well... i dont think we played all that well, but much like Chelsea we came up against a team in really poor form and had luck on our side. We were gifted two goals and Bretford gave us a bit of an assist for another. Aside from that i dont think we created all that much really after the first 20 minutes or so, and we could easily have conceded two or three more than the one we did. Our defence is shaky as a unit at the best of times and it was no better today. Santi did okay and got better as the game went on but Semedo was not great and Doherty much worse in my opinion, Toti also quite erratic. Like Bueno, Kilman eventually started to impose himself as the game wore on but took a good while to get to grips with things.
This is a bit dispappointing when you consider how well Gomes and Lemina are playing in front of them, both superb again and some lovely passes from Gomes in the first half in particular. Ait Nouri also very good. Cunha looked tired and quite frustrated at times. Hee Chan scores if you get the ball to him in the box I dont think there is any doubt about that. Another promising cameo from Bellgarde, I would like to see more of him.

So job done I suppose, but if we play like this against Everton I think we will lose. We can play better than we are for sure, but I suppose on the plus side its a good sign if poor or mediocre performances can still get you a win.

It takes superhuman effort and dedication to be this miserable after winning 4-1 away.

 

[thommo1984]

Never.

Think you’ll find we scored 4 away at Swansea under the clipboard!

(Drew 4-4 after being 4-1 down and already relegated)

 

[wolvesaywe]

Well... i dont think we played all that well, but much like Chelsea we came up against a team in really poor form and had luck on our side. We were gifted two goals and Bretford gave us a bit of an assist for another. Aside from that i dont think we created all that much really after the first 20 minutes or so, and we could easily have conceded two or three more than the one we did. Our defence is shaky as a unit at the best of times and it was no better today. Santi did okay and got better as the game went on but Semedo was not great and Doherty much worse in my opinion, Toti also quite erratic. Like Bueno, Kilman eventually started to impose himself as the game wore on but took a good while to get to grips with things.
This is a bit dispappointing when you consider how well Gomes and Lemina are playing in front of them, both superb again and some lovely passes from Gomes in the first half in particular. Ait Nouri also very good. Cunha looked tired and quite frustrated at times. Hee Chan scores if you get the ball to him in the box I dont think there is any doubt about that. Another promising cameo from Bellgarde, I would like to see more of him.

So job done I suppose, but if we play like this against Everton I think we will lose. We can play better than we are for sure, but I suppose on the plus side its a good sign if poor or mediocre performances can still get you a win.

The only other person I know who is this relentlessly negative...

Are we married?

 

[Southdownswolf]

 

[Stourport wolf]

First team to score 4 goals against Brentford at their home stadium, in the Premier League.

 

[nomadwolf]

 

[SmiffyWolf]

Gutted missed this due to Christmas commitments but great to get a fantastic win away from home .

 

[Hot Fuss]

Just got in, loved it. Cheers Gaz, cheers lads.

 

[VancouverWolf]

Always nice to beat the Chinos, but genuinely felt sorry for Collins. As someone else said, Lage absolutely ruined him.

Gomes MOTM, followed closely by Lemina. Thought RAN was decent and Sarabia showed some real class. Not convinced at all with that back 3 but we survived.

Main criticism from me is how often we lost the ball so quickly after winning it back. Lack of composure and poor decision-making. We did the hard stuff and messed-up the easy bit.

Re your last paragraph……bang on.

 

[VancouverWolf]

To be fair, people were creaming over Lage when we were actually in with a genuine chance of finishing in European places despite Lage clearly being the luckiest bloke on the planet. O'Neil has been far better than Lage was, but there are still aspects where he can be better. It's a great win tonight but we could easily have still scored four and not won, so still work to do before he looks the real deal, but so far, he's doing alright (which is better than I thought he would)

Let’s remember that at one point Lage had one of the best defensive records in the Pl.

The defense today was dire. It was similar to when West Ham found huge gaps in our defence as did Chelsea, ( but they blew their chances).
And who didn’t think that Brentwood, in the second, was going to score and make it 3-2 …..then what?

 

[VancouverWolf]

In hindsight, wondering if our players had been prepared for the Collins mistake? He often did exactly the same for us in a match, lazy passes when not under pressure.

Glad we moved him on. Seems more of an old school centre half who can head crosses away all day, but is a liability when the ball is at his feet and that isn't good enough these days. To that once or twice is forgivable, but he does it so regularly, it's not accident and is going to take a lot of work to clear from his game.

Your comment about the lads maybe watching for Collins to make a mistake……good question…..hadn’t thought of that.

 

[Mugwump]

Great to see us actually give it to a side who were decimated by injury and suspension. We usually dont do that sort of thing so thats a big positive.

 

[VancouverWolf]

It takes superhuman effort and dedication to be this miserable after winning 4-1 away.

Hardly miserable……just factual. There was a lot of pros and cons today.

 

[Mugwump]

I also suspected we wouldn't miss Neves as much as others feared. Our midfield had definitely started to stagnate.

There have been plenty of games we have missed him as well. At times we have lacked his composure, creativity, passing ability and guile.

 

[Mugwump]

To be fair, people were creaming over Lage when we were actually in with a genuine chance of finishing in European places despite Lage clearly being the luckiest bloke on the planet. O'Neil has been far better than Lage was, but there are still aspects where he can be better. It's a great win tonight but we could easily have still scored four and not won, so still work to do before he looks the real deal, but so far, he's doing alright (which is better than I thought he would)

Message boards are usually polar opposites in terms of views. Win and the manager and team are chasing europe. Lose and its the end of the world. Putting it into perspective, we beat a team with 10 players missing. GON, while doing better than i thought, has got the team playing to its level. Lage for a time was exceeding that when we were on the cusp of a top 4 spot. What we have right now is some decent foundations to build on and thats all we can ask.

 

[Fenrir_]

Let’s remember that at one point Lage had one of the best defensive records in the Pl.

The defense today was dire. It was similar to when West Ham found huge gaps in our defence as did Chelsea, ( but they blew their chances).
And who didn’t think that Brentwood, in the second, was going to score and make it 3-2 …..then what?

We had a great defensive record under Lage on the back of a keeper performing way beyond his level. It's not as if we didn't concede chances under Lage, because we did, but for half a season Sa could have been mistaken for Superman. And it's not as if Lage's Wolves scored many goals either!

In saying that, our current defence is definitely more porous - partly because we take more risks and commit more players forward (which is leading to us scoring more goals), but we just lack that efficiency at the back. We had games under Nuno where Patricio could have had the day off, we were so well organised. O'Neil (and he'll know it) just needs to tighten up the back, whether that be by altering personnel or system, or both. If he tightens that up and can maintain the goal output we've produced so far under him, then things could be very good indeed

 

[Rednal Wolf]

View attachment 39322

Not fat Indian B just full of the festive spirit and humble pie( taken onboard re GON ) over the Christmas period with two magical wins .

Black Country cowboys 4
Brentford slim pickings chino wearing Indians 1 .

Nuff said .

 

[sillytuna]

View attachment 39322

It was after all had eaten christmas turkey!!!

 

[CelebrityWolf]

I honestly think by the time Wolves sell Gomes he could be a 50m+ player.

To be fair there was talk of that when we signed him. It was a coup at the time.

 

[sillytuna]

Message boards are usually polar opposites in terms of views. Win and the manager and team are chasing europe. Lose and its the end of the world. Putting it into perspective, we beat a team with 10 players missing. GON, while doing better than i thought, has got the team playing to its level. Lage for a time was exceeding that when we were on the cusp of a top 4 spot. What we have right now is some decent foundations to build on and thats all we can ask.

This. Midtable squad in mid table and playing inconsistently. Gon isn't working magic but he is performing as good as we can expect so fair play after his horrendous start.

I'm as surprised as anyone but this forum was talking relegation just 3 days ago. Chelsea and brentford could easily have hammered us but didn't. Both games were open and entertaining (and we won) and that's good enough for me.

However, we need to sort that defence out and need another goalscorer with pace. Silva and sasa just don't suit us (tho I'd definitely like to see more of sasa as a plan b - he's a good player).

 

[oldgolded]

I think one of the best aspects is that GON has actually got us scoring again. It was very recently that we seemed incapable of getting more than one goal a game if we were lucky. The players seem to be a lot more confident in front of goal recently. The midfield pairing of Lemina and Gomes is really solid. The defence looks a bit vulnerable, especially without Dawson, but we managed to keep them out for the entire second half. The football at times looks a bit disjointed, and we do give the ball away too often, but the players seem to be playing with more freedom. The main thing is that we seem to be acquiring the knack of winning games even when we are not playing our best free flowing game. A brilliant result last night.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

I think for 10-14 teams in this league you just give your all and take the points if the chances come your way.

This wasn’t a masterclass, we capitalised on some huge mistakes. As a game, it was pretty even.

But, if you look at it properly, so was West Ham. Kudus should never score from where he did for the first, and Bowen the third. If we had Sa in goal it would’ve been different. In between we have a goal rules out by centimetres.

The score line influences a lot but most games for all clubs are tight, competitive and are decided on moments.

It’s why having a goalscorer and a good keeper is vital. They have the biggest say on those moments.

Brentford are probably the best example. No Toney and a clear downgrade in goal = looking over their shoulder.

Hwang has come good for us this season and let’s see how it goes, but when next season starts it counts for nothing. We’ll still be one of the 12 that is desperate to get to 35-40pts ASAP.

It’s also why we should enjoy tonight. Winning 4-1 away in the Premier League may not happen again full stop.

 

[BCWolf]

Re your last paragraph……bang on.

I concede that we mostly lost the ball looking for a forward pass, not the usual sideways or negative, so that is a positive.

Second half JG and Bellegarde both had moments where they had easier options that made more sense given the situation.

 

[MotorWoden]

It takes superhuman effort and dedication to be this miserable after winning 4-1 away.

I am not miserable, but I am realistic. You can see when you read through this thread the ones that see the game for what it is and the ones that see the result for what it is. For me the result and the performance are two separate things and one does not always follow from the other. I am happy to win, happy to celebrate some goals but as others have said we have played better and lost... We are not going to get handed two goals in most games. The penalty area ping pong isn't going to end up in Sa's hands every week. And top flight players don't keep missing one on ones like they did for Chelsea.

We need to defend much better than we are at the moment and be more composed at the back, we want a striker and a winger yet we are scoring regularly. We never keep a clean sheet though, even though we have two excellent defensive midfielders. Sort that out and we are in the top six.

 

[VancouverWolf]

We had a great defensive record under Lage on the back of a keeper performing way beyond his level. It's not as if we didn't concede chances under Lage, because we did, but for half a season Sa could have been mistaken for Superman. And it's not as if Lage's Wolves scored many goals either!

In saying that, our current defence is definitely more porous - partly because we take more risks and commit more players forward (which is leading to us scoring more goals), but we just lack that efficiency at the back. We had games under Nuno where Patricio could have had the day off, we were so well organised. O'Neil (and he'll know it) just needs to tighten up the back, whether that be by altering personnel or system, or both. If he tightens that up and can maintain the goal output we've produced so far under him, then things could be very good indeed

Allow me to disagree on one point, if I may?

Yes our defense is porous, ( and that’s putting it mildly). Where I differ from you is when you say that’s because we take more risks.
I think we are extremely porous but not because we take risks.
Apart from Dawson, maybe our defense is just not good enough or the tactics or coaching is not great in that dept. I don’t know why but we have a reoccurring problem.

Will it be addressed? Did Gary and the squad learn anything from the West Ham game?

 

[VancouverWolf]

I am not miserable, but I am realistic. You can see when you read through this thread the ones that see the game for what it is and the ones that see the result for what it is. For me the result and the performance are two separate things and one does not always follow from the other. I am happy to win, happy to celebrate some goals but as others have said we have played better and lost... We are not going to get handed two goals in most games. The penalty area ping pong isn't going to end up in Sa's hands every week. And top flight players don't keep missing one on ones like they did for Chelsea.

We need to defend much better than we are at the moment and be more composed at the back, we want a striker and a winger yet we are scoring regularly. We never keep a clean sheet though, even though we have two excellent defensive midfielders. Sort that out and we are in the top six.

Great post. We all loved the win, love Wolves but we don’t have to lose our objectivity or ignore the bad parts.

 

[Fenrir_]

Allow me to disagree on one point, if I may?

Yes our defense is porous, ( and that’s putting it mildly). Where I differ from you is when you say that’s because we take more risks.
I think we are extremely porous but not because we take risks.
Apart from Dawson, maybe our defense is just not good enough or the tactics or coaching is not great in that dept. I don’t know why but we have a reoccurring problem.

Will it be addressed? Did Gary and the squad learn anything from the West Ham game?

Personally I think Dawson has been mostly a car crash this season, a couple of good performances aside he's shown a significant drop off from the player we signed nearly a year ago - in my opinion

We do commit more players forward though, which to be fair we needed to. It's up to O'Neil to find the balance to make us as effective as possible

 

[VancouverWolf]

Personally I think Dawson has been mostly a car crash this season, a couple of good performances aside he's shown a significant drop off from the player we signed nearly a year ago - in my opinion

We do commit more players forward though, which to be fair we needed to. It's up to O'Neil to find the balance to make us as effective as possible

Interesting point about Dawson’s performance……imo , still seems to turn in a stellar performance.



Let me ask you, and everybody else btw……..and this may not be easy to answer. I myself have no idea .

Apart from our GA stats, are Wolves any more porous than any other team between, eg, 8th and 15th?

Other mid level clubs generally seem to be more disciplined…….opinions anyone.

 

[Fenrir_]

We are a better team with out neves

I think we're more of a team, but not a better one. Neves would improve this team, make no mistake. What we'd got to though is everyone in the team would take the easy pass to Neves and let him dictate, so people wouldn't take responsibility. Now, no Neves, no safe go-to, so take some responsibility yourself and some players have come out of their shells and are looking better for it. But Neves would still improve this team