Lack of goals still an issue

[northnorfolkwolf]

How realistic is it to buy a "guaranteed" 15 a season scorer? From memory there were about 8 in the PL last season.

More realistic to look for a central striker who will potentially score 8 - 10 and look to the other forwards.

15 is just a number! I think we'd all dream of a player who could get us more than 6!

 

[wwbug]

No offence but isn’t this thread nearly identical to the ‘Lage and goal prediction’ thread ?

And Guedes, MGW, Hwang, Neto , Podence and Traore almost play in nearly identical positions.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

Looking back, it was Podence who created the two early chances to Neto/Hwang. Neto in particular should have done better imo, took an extra touch and should have gone across the keeper. He had a poor game but still put two good balls through. Not sure I remember Neto doing much more of note.

Hwang as well but on his weaker foot.

 

[WolfLing]

Hwang as well but on his weaker foot.

Hwang absolutely has to cut back onto his right for that chance. It takes out the covering defender and opens up the whole goal to the keeper's left.

I think if he wasn't on such a barren run he probably would have. But he just hit it and hoped for the best.

 

[Mark Rankines Lovechild]

Why is everyone so surprised that there hasn't been an instant fix in the 12 weeks since last season ended?

We have signed a centre half and a forward last week - hardly going to/had chance to make a massive impact in the goal scoring stats
I appreciate we have some of our better players coming back but they are returning from injuries where they don't hit the ground running.
We are changing the system but it takes time. I was encouraged that, against Fulham, we had attacks where we had three or four attackers in the box when last year it was one - I think it will take a few games to lose the safety first mindset of the last several seasons.

I hope Guedes comes in for Podence. I said not longer after Podence arrived that the jury was still out for me on him. Undoubtedly talented but he's one great game in 5 player and pretty abject in the other four - that's not good enough to keep him in the team for me. MGW's flicks dont come off sometimes but damn he worked hard to tackle back etc Saturday - Podence needs to take heed.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

Why is everyone so surprised that there hasn't been an instant fix in the 12 weeks since last season ended?

We have signed a centre half and a forward last week - hardly going to/had chance to make a massive impact in the goal scoring stats
I appreciate we have some of our better players coming back but they are returning from injuries where they don't hit the ground running.
We are changing the system but it takes time. I was encouraged that, against Fulham, we had attacks where we had three or four attackers in the box when last year it was one - I think it will take a few games to lose the safety first mindset of the last several seasons.

I hope Guedes comes in for Podence. I said not longer after Podence arrived that the jury was still out for me on him. Undoubtedly talented but he's one great game in 5 player and pretty abject in the other four - that's not good enough to keep him in the team for me. MGW's flicks dont come off sometimes but damn he worked hard to tackle back etc Saturday - Podence needs to take heed.

If we can get a CM in before Spurs I'd swap Podence for him and go

Sa

Semedo
Collins
Kilman
RAN

Donk
New
Neves

MGW
Guedes
Neto

 

[Tezla]

They won't! Neto, MGW, Hwang, Podence - 15 goals between them if we're lucky. None of them are natural goal scorers; they're in the team to make goals, only they don't do that either at the moment. I think if we had that goal scorer hanging around the 18yd/6 yd box our game would come alive. How Wolves can't see that is beyond me. I only hope they are not waiting for Jimenez to return and putting all their faith in him.

Let's hope they get one in before the end of the window mate

 

[Fenrir_]

Who creates the chances for Lewandoski and Haaland? I don't know about them, but recall that when Liverpool score for fun, the forwards create a lot of chances for each other. Also Alexander-Arnold chips in with loads of assists from wingback. Son often assists for Kane. Looking at the list, Vardy has 9 assists last season. Fernandes and DeBruyne also get loads of assists (and goals) as attacking midfielders.

OK, DeBruyne is unique, but we have not had anybody in that attacking midfield role since promotion. So that's one source of goals gone. The current wing-backs are not creative enough. Another source gone. And forwards themselves are also creating goals at higher rates than ours do. They can't be let off the hook that easily, because while midfield does contribute to creating chances, a significant amount are also created by other forwards. And our forwards have been neither creating nor scoring. So there you go, we don't have the 3 main sources of goals. And our set pieces have been below average for this league for ages, so that's gone, too.

Put it all together and you can see why we have this chronic goal scoring problem. Whether the current players are capable of changing if a new manager arrived and overhauled the tactics and training? Who knows? They've been like it for 2 consecutive managers.

Except the numbers have dropped off and they get less chances under this manager than previously which suggests system

If they're so inept we shouldn't have to worry about losing them to top clubs should we? Football is incredibly regimental now, players do what they're told to. If a player keeps getting into a good position out wide and constantly comes back and plays a safe ball it's not because they can't cross, it's because that's what they've been told to do

When we appointed Lage I did make the point, when you have arguably the strongest squad in the league and the best players like he had at Benfica you can take your time more when sides are sitting in, and you can wait and wait and wait for an opening, when you're against sides that are stronger in relative terms (like what we play against), sometimes you can't take your time, you have to try and take your chance and risk losing the ball

How often do we see it when we get in a good position and rather than the early ball a player will check back and play a safe pass? We're often guilty of trying to 'walk it in', that final pass has to be a near certainty before we play it, if we take more risks in the final third we'll create more chances

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

If we can get a CM in before Spurs I'd swap Podence for him and go

Sa

Semedo
Collins
Kilman
RAN

Donk
New
Neves

MGW
Guedes
Neto

Is MGW not a mf? I wonder if he could do the attacking mf role alongside Neves and Moutinho? Also seeing as no one wants Traore how about him in a front 3 with Guedes and Neto? We might as well use him and I'd say he's every bit as useful as Podence and Hwang?

 

[Contrarian]

Except the numbers have dropped off and they get less chances under this manager than previously which suggests system

If they're so inept we shouldn't have to worry about losing them to top clubs should we? Football is incredibly regimental now, players do what they're told to. If a player keeps getting into a good position out wide and constantly comes back and plays a safe ball it's not because they can't cross, it's because that's what they've been told to do

When we appointed Lage I did make the point, when you have arguably the strongest squad in the league and the best players like he had at Benfica you can take your time more when sides are sitting in, and you can wait and wait and wait for an opening, when you're against sides that are stronger in relative terms (like what we play against), sometimes you can't take your time, you have to try and take your chance and risk losing the ball

How often do we see it when we get in a good position and rather than the early ball a player will check back and play a safe pass? We're often guilty of trying to 'walk it in', that final pass has to be a near certainty before we play it, if we take more risks in the final third we'll create more chances

Agree with all that. Where we may differ is that I think the single biggest change in how we play in the past 5 years, didn't happen with the change of managers. It happened the summer we lost Jota and Doc. The stopping and playing the safe pass was taking over then as both of those were players keen on driving the team forward, taking risks.

Related, or maybe not, there's a Youtube of all of Raul's goals. Better than anything on telly! Anyway, watching it the other day, it's amazing how many of the goals he scored in open play, start with us deep in our half. Sometimes not even in possession, but breaking fast after winning it. We were always a counter attacking side. Counter attacking the way we did it was down to the individuals. Usually 2 or 3 breaking. The goal at Chelsea in the 1-1 , where we'd not had one shot in the first half, had barely been out of our half, Raul and Jota break, interchange passes and do it all themselves. Or the brilliant Raul header v Liverpool, courtesy of Adama & Raul. Spurs away. Southampton..goal after goal, rapid counter attacks by individuals.

I don't think you can coach that. It seems players form these partnerships over time - Jota struggled badly in the PL at first, it was the partnerhsip with Raul that allowed him to arrive and it takes time. Neto was starting to get there, when unfortunately injured.

As you say about Benfica, the difference in having the best players in the league between a non-Sky 6 club is big. Probably makes what Bruno did there totally irrelevant here.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

Is MGW not a mf? I wonder if he could do the attacking mf role alongside Neves and Moutinho? Also seeing as no one wants Traore how about him in a front 3 with Guedes and Neto? We might as well use him and I'd say he's every bit as useful as Podence and Hwang?

Neves Moutinho can't start anymore. Don't protect the back 4 and move ball to slowly imom