Match Report - Fulham Away.

[Whirligig Wolf]

We were solid. We worked hard. The ref was a bit harsh on us.

I just wonder whether the club's decision to only take 1400 tickets affected us. I'd guess that we had 3000 fans there as a minimum but we were scattered and never really got going.

In other news I thought Henry had his best game for us today.

Hahn - 6 no chance with the goals. 2 poo goals to give away incidentally.
Ward - 6 - not awful.
Foley - 7 really good. Such a shame we have him and Zubar on the right and Ward and Big George on the left!
Craddock and Berra - battled hard and won most balls. Both 7. Berra may have deserved 2 yellows or it may have been unjust. I have no clue as I had a pony seat for the 2nd year in a row. My initial thought was that he made a decision on the 2nd knowing he was stopping a goal. Ho blinking hum.

Henry 9. Ace. I absolutely lost it when Zamora stayed down as I actually had a good view of the tackle and it wasn't a foul. I still need convincing he's really broken his leg. Show me the x rays. And about Zamora - it is a shame but on the positive side, I'm fine and I think you can agree that that's the main thing.

Mancienne - good, tigerish but distribution not ace 7.

Jarvis - 6. Not in the game enough. Terrified them with one marv run though. Better than swp. Should have scored.

JVD - 7. Good finish (I think), won lots of headers. He's never going to play for Barcelona but I like him. There are too few grey haired players.

Doyle - 8 ace. Works hard. Class. Less effective on the wing. Another assist. I love him. Maybe even a little bit in a gay way.

SEB. Blinking Nora he worked hard. 7.

Subs Fletch 6 - good touches but we weren't really on the front foot in the 2nd half so he didn't see much of the ball.

Jones - I'm not a massive fan and he didn't get to the pace of the game when he came on. 5

Guedioura. - didn't do much

We were playing 4-2-4 for a chunk of the game. Hats off to MM for giving it a go.

Finally(I promise),
We're not a dirty side. I love our passion.
Fulham have none, none in their team, none in their useless fans. Even their vile Welsh, thicko ( is "thicko"superfluous after "Welsh"?) Manager doesn't want to be there.
Wolves make me proud.

 

[Guildford wolf]

So frustrating to not be coming away with a point, which I think we deserved.

We started slowly but came into it after the first 15 minutes. Was a fairly even game over all though. I'm not sure Henry and Mancienne in the centre worked, Mancienne had a tendency to just hoof the ball forward when he could have played it to another shirt or passed it out to the wings.

Another pants ref who kept given fouls against us for no real reason, although they did have one good penalty shout in the first half which he waved away. Gave them a couple of corners which should have been goal kicks as well

Here are my player ratings:

Hannehman - Didn't have much to do other than pick the ball out the back of the net and deal with a couple of corners - 6

Ward - Solid enough, better than Elokobi - 7

Berra - Some may be saying it was only a matter of time before he got a red card. The second yellow may have been warranted, the first was for a foul in their half. Seemed a tad unfair, pretty good other than that - 6

Craddock - Usually self - 7

Foley - Played well, not the attacking threat that Zubar is but I don't think that is a problem - 7

Van Damme - Well taken goal and it's nice to have someone with height and power on the wing - 7

Henry - Solid as always - 8

Mancienne - Thought he had an average game, played too many hoof balls, ring rusty perhaps? Will prob start next game at CB - 6

Jarvis - one of our best attacking outlets although he had quite a quiet game by his standards. Nearly scored with a cheeky chip - 7

Doyle - Not many chances for our strikers today but Doyle is a class act, had a header saved off the line shortly before being subbed - 7

SEB - ran his socks off although looked lethargic early in the second half, not many chances - 6

Subs

Fletcher - looks quality but not at his peak since getting injured - 6

Jones - didn't really get into the game but didn't do much wrong - 6

Guedioura - not really on enough to rate

 

[wolvo_boi]

We were solid. We worked hard. The ref was a bit harsh on us.

I just wonder whether the club's decision to only take 1400 tickets affected us. I'd guess that we had 3000 fans there as a minimum but we were scattered and never really got going.

In other news I thought Henry had his best game for us today.

Hahn - 6 no chance with the goals. 2 poo goals to give away incidentally.
Ward - 6 - not awful.
Foley - 7 really good. Such a shame we have him and Zubar on the right and Ward and Big George on the left!
Craddock and Berra - battled hard and won most balls. Both 7. Berra may have deserved 2 yellows or it may have been unjust. I have no clue as I had a pony seat for the 2nd year in a row. My initial thought was that he made a decision on the 2nd knowing he was stopping a goal. Ho blinking hum.

Henry 9. Ace. I absolutely lost it when Zamora stayed down as I actually had a good view of the tackle and it wasn't a foul. I still need convincing he's really broken his leg. Show me the x rays. And about Zamora - it is a shame but on the positive side, I'm fine and I think you can agree that that's the main thing.

Mancienne - good, tigerish but distribution not ace 7.

Jarvis - 6. Not in the game enough. Terrified them with one marv run though. Better than swp. Should have scored.

JVD - 7. Good finish (I think), won lots of headers. He's never going to play for Barcelona but I like him. There are too few grey haired players.

Doyle - 8 ace. Works hard. Class. Less effective on the wing. Another assist. I love him. Maybe even a little bit in a gay way.

SEB. Blinking Nora he worked hard. 7.

Subs Fletch 6 - good touches but we weren't really on the front foot in the 2nd half so he didn't see much of the ball.

Jones - I'm not a massive fan and he didn't get to the pace of the game when he came on. 5

Guedioura. - didn't do much

We were playing 4-2-4 for a chunk of the game. Hats off to MM for giving it a go.

Finally(I promise),
We're not a dirty side. I love our passion.
Fulham have none, none in their team, none in their useless fans. Even their vile Welsh, thicko ( is "thicko"superfluous after "Welsh"?) Manager doesn't want to be there.
Wolves make me proud.

Get a grip you tool, he was in agony the second the tackle happened, he looked in a lot of pain and was taking on a lot of oxygen/gas whatever it is.

 

[Tarcisio Mifsud]

In my humble opinion, and though I am a great fan of MM, I have to put this defeat at his doorstep. He made a bad decision in substituting VD,(not read anywhere that he was injured), when he was playing very well, and above all he was substituted by a forward rather than by a midfielder or defender. I would have taken SEB at halftime, put G'ioura instead to play with 5 midfielders and left Doyle to play upfront on his own. Doyle was having the best game this season, taking a lot of balls from the defenders.

teams like Wolves, leading at half time, would normally take out a forward and put an extra midfielder to play 4-5-1, instead of 4-4-2 as we were playing in the first half, and cannot understand why we went 4-3-3 in the begining of the second half. To make matters more difficult for our defence, we went for this strategy when Ward was not having his best match. Still we gave 2 bad goals, one of which was unlucky for it hit our defender and was deflected into goal. Their winner was strange and I would have to put a good part of it on Hah, who did not make any sort of effort to save, as the shot was rather weak. Here are my grading of our players:-

Hah. apart from the second goal, I think he was very good. 7

Foley. He played his heart out. 7

Craddock. He had another good game. 7

Berra. He likes to pull the opponent too much. Surely he did not need to earn the first booking. The action took place in the middle of the park. there was only one forward against 4 Wolves defenders. Surely there was no need to block the forward. 5

Ward. Not his best match. 5

Jarvis. He was mostly quiet throughout the match, except for a short period in the second half when he should do better rather than shooting high when well placed. 6

Henry. Another Captain's display, and he was unlucky that was injured in his very clean tackle. 7

Mancienne. A mixed back. Some good tackles, some bad distribution. 6

Van Damme. He is still my MOM inspite he only played in the first half. 8

Doyle. Was having his best match in the first half, but when Fletcher was introduced, something happened, as if not knowing what was now expected of him. 7

SEB. Did not do many wrong things, but he was playing against a very tall defender, who only gave the ball away twice. 6

Substitutes:
Fletcher seems to be more of a homer, rather than playing in away fixtures. I pretender much more of him when he came in the second half. 5

Jones. Did not impress much today. 5

G'ioura. Was in for a very short period. I think he is an international midfielder and should have been introduced much earlier.

MM. It appears the goal we scored have caused him to lose his plan, and took wrong decisions.

Referee. Not that bad except he started giving yellow cards practically for nothing at all.

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

Hahn 7 - Solid
Foley 7 - Impressive
Craddock 7 - Strong
Berra 5 - Poor game
Ward 6 - Average
Mancienne 6 - Average
Henry 7 - Commanding
Jarvis 7 - A few probing runs
Van Damme 8 - Very effective in the air, great finish.
Doyle 7 - Good assist
SEB 6 - Not much service

---------

Fletcher 5 - Mistake for second goal
Jones 5 - Anonymous
Guedioura 6 - No time to impress

McCarthy 5 - Took a gamble that didn't pay off.

-------------

Dembele 10/10 Bloody fantastic.

Still very $$$$ed at the last minute winner

 

[Michellis]

Totally outplayed by them in midfield, were we looked pretty clueless, which was a real disappointment.
Jarvis is not only looking fast, but he's starting to deliver with his crossing.
Doyle is a delight to watch, so skillfull on the ball.
Blame it all on the substitutions/tactics if you like. The fact is we weren't very good and the better team rightly won.
And yeah, too many yellows mostly justified. We don't want the 'physical/dirty' tag thankyou very much.

 

[Adrian_Monk]

Totally outplayed by them in midfield, were we looked pretty clueless, which was a real disappointment.
Jarvis is not only looking fast, but he's starting to deliver with his crossing.
Doyle is a delight to watch, so skillfull on the ball.
Blame it all on the substitutions/tactics if you like. The fact is we weren't very good and the better team rightly won.
And yeah, too may yellows mostly justified. We don't want the 'physical/dirty' tag thankyou very much.

Couldn't agree more

 

[markb]

Sorry to disagree, but I though Hannehman's passing was poor - he might be able to take a back-pass and hoof it up field but to what end? I think he was the worst player today for giving away possession, for sure he made a couple of good saves but he he could do better on distribution

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Sorry to disagree, but I though Hannehman's passing was poor - he might be able to take a back-pass and hoof it up field but to what end? I think he was the worst player today for giving away possession, for sure he made a couple of good saves but he he could do better on distribution

Yep this season he has been poor!! Kicked it out numerous times per game. And why was he hoofing it to Blake on his own up front!? What he meant to do!!??

Don't know if he's told to hoof it or his own decision but every time he could just pass it to the defenders and we start playing footbal. Even this would make such a big difference on our style of play rather than hoofing it all too often.

 

[fboro65]

Woeful second half, especially after Doyler was taken off. The substitutions were quite awful. Jones - is he still playing for a contract? - made just one tackle and gave Murphy the freedom of the park. Get shot, he's worse than he was a season ago. Half time team talk was obviously "you're winning this easily, take your time".
Last minute free kick at our end - wall went AWOL even though Berra had carefully limped the length of the pitch to give them time to sort out the wall.
Even later FK on the half way line - Jones the FK expert is nowhere near the ball and Karl thumped it to the the GK
Ref Dowd obviously had a bonus on yellow cards for the away team.
ratings
Ref 4 started badly and got worse, but having booked too many WW players might have send more off.
Linos 6
Hahn 6 - ok, some good takes with poor kicking and release
Foley 7 - Impressive; got lost in last 20 mins
Craddock 7 - Strong
Berra 6 - did well untli later on then stupid tackles and nudges = Dowd coud have had him off earlier
Ward 5 - Average to quite poor at times
Mancienne 6 - Average - ok when we were on top; formation had him confused
Henry 8 - Commanding; needs to talk more with the refs
Jarvis 6 - A few probing runs bit only in the game for 15 minutes but looked exciting in flashes.
Van Damme 8 - Very effective in the air, great finish. And side to side
Doyle 7 - Good assist; forcing Fulham back into their area, in 2H. When he came off they moved 30 yards up the pitch
SEB 6 - Not much service; touch could be better
Fletcher 6 - a bit off the pace but some nice touches
Jones - 2 woeful gave Murphy the freedom of the borough
Guediuora 5 - should have been on for van Damme.
Mick 4 - first half set up worked better than we could expect; second half was very poor and subs very strange.
Not sure I want to see this again on Footy first.

 

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

Henry 8 - Commanding; needs to talk more with the refs
.

Not if it costs a yellow.

 

[TheBridgnorthWolf]

Hahneman's kicking seems to have gone way downhill this season, he booted it into touch near the halfway line a few times which was very disappointing!

Aside from the match itself, I was far from impressed by Fulham as a club/ground/day out - it's in a lovely location, but the club seems the perfect example of a Premier League 'franchise'. The home fans in the stand nearest us seemed bemused at a group of people standing up and singing at a football game, even when we hadn't scored yet! Frankly I'd rather go to Burnley!

 

[dr cool]

Hahneman's kicking seems to have gone way downhill this season, he booted it into touch near the halfway line a few times which was very disappointing!

Aside from the match itself, I was far from impressed by Fulham as a club/ground/day out - it's in a lovely location, but the club seems the perfect example of a Premier League 'franchise'. The home fans in the stand nearest us seemed bemused at a group of people standing up and singing at a football game, even when we hadn't scored yet! Frankly I'd rather go to Burnley!

theatregoers ....:willy:

 

[Burlton Wolf]

it seems we dont learn about giving away free kicks in dangerous areas, happened against the zebras and now fulham, sloppy play and indiscipline is something we do not need!!

 

[Onlywolf]

Fulham is one of the best if not THE best away fixture in the calendar so moving on from that stupid comment we lost because we were utter $$$$e, we lost because McCarthy took off the best player on the pitch (van damme), we lost because SEB is an embarrassing passenger and McCarthy can't see it !! To whine about Hahneman's kicks is pathetic when there were so many far more serious problems in front of him! We had no guile, no skill, no energy, no desire, no idea !!

From the start we looked like a side that had been out on the $$$$ the night before and were all hungover - throughout the entire game we were hideously slow at getting out of the box and based on the first 10 minutes we were heading for a stuffing. Why ? If Fulham scare us we have no chance ! Thank god Duff wasn't fit to underline their midfield dominance even more !

The performance was not only the worst I've seen for a very long time but a terrible terrible advert for premiership football, I would have been embarrassed to see that standard at an u-15 match down the rec. Mancienne was his normal nervous self and I can't see for the life of me why Chelsea don't cash in. His anticipation, or lack of it, is shocking !

Absolute $$$$ing rubbish and Hughes AND McCarthy should have been made to go round the ground giving back the admission fee. On that showing Blackpool won't be finishing bottom !

$$$$ poor football !!

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

I disagree, Fulham played some lovely football and Dembele was class.

 

[Onlywolf]

One goal was deflected, another the wall jumped over the ball - don't get carried away. No-one on that pitch was anywhere near approaching 'class' !

 

[The Bion]

Fulham is a good day out, but at the same time it is a bit of a different crowd. I've been in the neutral bit both times this year, and have heard some truly baffling comments. I'm not exaggerating when I say there was a guy about 3 seats down from me today who couldn't make out the words to 'Jarvis for England'!

Says a lot when they've won the 'nicest fans' award for like the 3rd straight year. I guess singing is frowned upon, lol.

 

[The Weasel]

Fulham is one of the best if not THE best away fixture in the calendar so moving on from that stupid comment we lost because we were utter $$$$e, we lost because McCarthy took off the best player on the pitch (van damme), we lost because SEB is an embarrassing passenger and McCarthy can't see it !! To whine about Hahneman's kicks is pathetic when there were so many far more serious problems in front of him! We had no guile, no skill, no energy, no desire, no idea !!

From the start we looked like a side that had been out on the $$$$ the night before and were all hungover - throughout the entire game we were hideously slow at getting out of the box and based on the first 10 minutes we were heading for a stuffing. Why ? If Fulham scare us we have no chance ! Thank god Duff wasn't fit to underline their midfield dominance even more !

The performance was not only the worst I've seen for a very long time but a terrible terrible advert for premiership football, I would have been embarrassed to see that standard at an u-15 match down the rec. Mancienne was his normal nervous self and I can't see for the life of me why Chelsea don't cash in. His anticipation, or lack of it, is shocking !

Absolute $$$$ing rubbish and Hughes AND McCarthy should have been made to go round the ground giving back the admission fee. On that showing Blackpool won't be finishing bottom !

$$$$ poor football !!

Jesus. Just Jesus. That's all.

 

[Veins Of Old Gold]

Onlywolf must still be $$$$ed - bless.

I don't particularly like Fulham and never have done as a football club. They are small fry and are filling the place of a big team like Leeds, Forest or the Sheffield teams who would bring more than 20 fans away.

They overall deserved to win the game although the way we lost it was harsh.

Tough place to go, we'll beat them at Molineux.

 

[astraltrader]

In my humble opinion, and though I am a great fan of MM, I have to put this defeat at his doorstep. He made a bad decision in substituting VD,(not read anywhere that he was injured), when he was playing very well, and above all he was substituted by a forward rather than by a midfielder or defender. I would have taken SEB at halftime, put G'ioura instead to play with 5 midfielders and left Doyle to play upfront on his own. Doyle was having the best game this season, taking a lot of balls from the defenders.

!00% agree with you my friend especially the first bit you wrote about Mick desrving at least some of the blame for his perplexing substitution of Van Damme for Fletcher at half time.

If you look I said as much in a different thread before I came on this one.

http://www.molineuxmix.co.uk/vb/showthread.php?t=52817

.

 

[Edgmond Wolf]

fulham is one of the best if not the best away fixture in the calendar so moving on from that stupid comment we lost because we were utter $$$$e, we lost because mccarthy took off the best player on the pitch (van damme), we lost because seb is an embarrassing passenger and mccarthy can't see it !! To whine about hahneman's kicks is pathetic when there were so many far more serious problems in front of him! We had no guile, no skill, no energy, no desire, no idea !!

From the start we looked like a side that had been out on the $$$$ the night before and were all hungover - throughout the entire game we were hideously slow at getting out of the box and based on the first 10 minutes we were heading for a stuffing. Why ? If fulham scare us we have no chance ! Thank god duff wasn't fit to underline their midfield dominance even more !

The performance was not only the worst i've seen for a very long time but a terrible terrible advert for premiership football, i would have been embarrassed to see that standard at an u-15 match down the rec. Mancienne was his normal nervous self and i can't see for the life of me why chelsea don't cash in. His anticipation, or lack of it, is shocking !

Absolute $$$$ing rubbish and hughes and mccarthy should have been made to go round the ground giving back the admission fee. On that showing blackpool won't be finishing bottom !

$$$$ poor football !!

wtf???

 

[The Weasel]

Ok, will give it a go now....have seen the MoTD highlights which helps as the perspective on all the goals wasn't great as all scored at the other end!

Cracking day out, couple of pints in the Crabtree which was jam packed with Wolves. Nice old school ground full of lacklustre home fans (til they scored).

Thought we were hard done by at the time but that was more of a reaction to conceding so late, in reality a draw would have been generous. They were all over us at the start and our midfield couldn't get a foot on the ball. We scored the first time we went up the other end and by then Fulham could easily have been a couple up. We settled after that and the long break while Zamora was treated seemed to fizzle out Fulham's early composure and dominance. Up to half time we gave them a game and played some decent football in spells, frankly though a 1-0 lead at HT flattered us.

The HT substitution bewildered us, sure Van Damme had taken a hefty knock but he'd seemed to have shaken it off and was a real nuisance. Bringing Fletcher on and pushing Doyle wide right made no sense when Guedioura was a ready-made straight swap out wide. Fair play to Doyle though, he made a decent fist of the wide right role until he was subbed (again strangely) but by then our shape was lost and we'd surrendered midfield once more. To concede so early to a wicked deflection didn't help and it certainly boosted their confidence. We just sat deeper and deeper and they seemed to cut through us at will. Jarvis created our only real chances with a Doyle header in particular being cleared off the line.

Fletcher had a goalbound header saved and looked good in spells but seriously not match fit yet. SEB ran himself ragged and after Doyle left the field he was our only combative forward player to track back and make crucial interceptions. He had pretty much zero service and was marked out of the game from an attacking perspective. I think some of the reviews of his game are harsh, given we'd sacrificed midfield and were either lumping it up to him (against Hangeland who must be a foot taller) or out wide to Jarvis who would cross it and SEB would be surrounded by 3 defenders.....I'm not sure what more he could have achieved.

Anyway, scores:

Hanheman - 6 - Not at fault for the first but surely given the lack of pace on the freekick for the second could've made a last ditch attempt to turn it round the post. Some wayward kicking put us back under pressure too.

Foley - 6 - Tidy but we look so much better with Zubar at RB

Craddock - 7 - Won most balls in the air, nearly gave away what looked like a stonewall penalty, but largely solid against waves of attack

Berra - 4 - Was regularly beaten in the air and was the chief culprit of the aimless hoof. The first yellow I can forgive (I'd rather give away a freekick for a professional foul on the halfway line) the second was just plain clumsy and its been coming...

Ward - 6 - Rarely beaten by his man but created little going forward

Jarvis - 8 - He is maturing into some player. Our most creative outlet and opposition teams know this.

Henry - 6 - Struggled in the formation, didn't seem to have an understanding with Mancienne at all. Tried hard but we lost the midfield battle so must shoulder some of the blame.

Mancienne - 4 - The early booking didn't help his game at all. Panicky performance and another chief culprit in the aimless hoofing which brought pressure right back on us.

Van Damme - 8 - Scored one, very nearly scored another, always a threat and a very good outlet. Took a hefty knock and I think (hope) subbed as a precaution.

Doyle - 8 - We are always a threat with Doyle in this kind of tenacious form, we looked a pale shadow after he'd left the field of play.

SEB - 7 - For sheer workrate alone SEB scores highly, a game where little actually came off for him, but he can't be faulted for effort.

Subs:
Fletcher - 5 - maybe even a 4. Some great touches but just not at all match fit yet.
Jones - 3 - Barely touched the ball and managed to get himself booked. 3 is kind.

Guedioura - 5 - Should have been introduced earlier, he has the kind of fight we needed so badly, but didn't have enough time to really get into the game.

Ref - dreadful, I'm getting fed up of crap refs now
Home crowd - lukewarm beyond belief
Away/neutral support - brilliant!
Mick - got the big decisions wrong today, I can see what he was trying to do but it just didn't come off.

 

[dolmanrj]

i disagree, fulham played some lovely football and dembele was class.

+1

 

[ManSolo]

I hope Fletcher got a good roasting from Mick after the match.

What's the point of being in the wall and defy its purpose by jumping?

2 sloppy goals for us today, not as sloppy as the 3 goals Everton conceded though.. :vollkommenauf:

 

[Metal Wolf89]

Van Damme has done good by winning the headers and flicking it to our strikers, nothing more. We need someone with a bit of speed who can take there man on and get a cross in, instead of relying on Jarvis. Hopefully Hunt will be raring to go when fit.

 

[blaenboy]

Not a lot to add-but some people were at a different match to me. Sat with Fulham fans, who were incensed that the ref and our linesman were so biased against them! I do think we were lucky not to conceded a couple of penalties- the ref was definitely kind to us. Berra was a disgrace-he spent most of the time hanging onto Fulham players' shirts to make up for his lack of pace, which was very obvious from our seats, close to the pitch. I worry about him. Some have praised Jody for winning everything in the air-fair enough, but only after Zamora was carried off. Up until then he was beaten pretty much every time.

Yes, MM's strategy was wrong after Van Damme went off (I presume for injury reasons). 4-5-1 would have been better, taking off SEB preferably, whose first touch (OK, He scored a great ball with an excellent 1st touch previously) just is not good enough. He was a forlorn figure, especially in the first half.

The main problem was that Fulham simply outplayed us in the midfield-for the Whole game. Mancienne had a dire game and could not find a man- we know he is better than that. The game just passed him by, whereas Henry got really stuck in.

Van Damme was good -Ok not that skilful, but a handful, and Jarvis was great-as was Doyle.

Foley had an excellent game, but Ward can do better-though there were no particularly serious lapses. Jones was invisible when he came-as he was last year in Craven Cottage. Fletcher has taken a bit of stick unfairly. I thought he did well and although he is similar in style to Doyle, I would like to see them play together upfront.

Overall we may have been unlucky to lose, but it was a fair result. We gave it lots of effort, so no blame-but you cannot give the ball away as much as we did (Berra, Hahnemann and Mancienne especially, but also most others-eg SEB) and hope to win. Fulham played good football-and Dembele was outstanding.

Back to 4-5-1, with Doyle up front on his own for away matches and top sides. 4-4-2- for home games and the lesser teams, I reckon.

 

[wolvo_boi]

Not a lot to add-but some people were at a different match to me. Sat with Fulham fans, who were incensed that the ref and our linesman were so biased against them! I do think we were lucky not to conceded a couple of penalties- the ref was definitely kind to us. Berra was a disgrace-he spent most of the time hanging onto Fulham players' shirts to make up for his lack of pace, which was very obvious from our seats, close to the pitch. I worry about him. Some have praised Jody for winning everything in the air-fair enough, but only after Zamora was carried off. Up until then he was beaten pretty much every time.

Yes, MM's strategy was wrong after Van Damme went off (I presume for injury reasons). 4-5-1 would have been better, taking off SEB preferably, whose first touch (OK, He scored a great ball with an excellent 1st touch previously) just is not good enough. He was a forlorn figure, especially in the first half.

The main problem was that Fulham simply outplayed us in the midfield-for the Whole game. Mancienne had a dire game and could not find a man- we know he is better than that. The game just passed him by, whereas Henry got really stuck in.

Van Damme was good -Ok not that skilful, but a handful, and Jarvis was great-as was Doyle.

Foley had an excellent game, but Ward can do better-though there were no particularly serious lapses. Jones was invisible when he came-as he was last year in Craven Cottage. Fletcher has taken a bit of stick unfairly. I thought he did well and although he is similar in style to Doyle, I would like to see them play together upfront.

Overall we may have been unlucky to lose, but it was a fair result. We gave it lots of effort, so no blame-but you cannot give the ball away as much as we did (Berra, Hahnemann and Mancienne especially, but also most others-eg SEB) and hope to win. Fulham played good football-and Dembele was outstanding.

Back to 4-5-1, with Doyle up front on his own for away matches and top sides. 4-4-2- for home games and the lesser teams, I reckon.

The same 4-5-1 that got us a point at Everton?

We lost a game away at a team who are notoriously good at home, we tried playing our game not changing it because of the opposition, we lost, we move on to the next game.

 

[A wanderer from Bristol]

Made a weekend of it in London so just back.

The first 15 minutes, Fulham just seemed able to carve us open at will, Danny Murphy had too much time and space and it all came through the centre. After the goal and the Zamora injury, I thought we were comfortable and competed until half time. Hahneman never had a shot to save in the first half. We seemed to defend deep but compressed the space between midfield and attack, making it more difficult for them to get it down and play. Doyle was our best player IMHO, and Fulham just couldn't handle him as he was winning all the 50 - 50 balls and holding things up.

Switching Doyle out to the right hand side in the second half changed the game and made things much easier for Fulham's defence. Doyle did well down the right (he's such a good player, he'd do well anywhere) but he was such a menace down the middle. SEB worked hard but he needs service and can't hold the ball up like Doyle or drop deep and link up the play like Fletcher. In games when we're under the cosh he can become peripheral. Without Doyle to deal with and with a goal just after half time, Fulham just kept coming and coming.

We struggled in midfield. Henry and Mancienne competed but the latter was a wasteful in possession (first game of the season so give him time). We couldn't really keep hold of the ball and we missed Jones's capacity to pick a pass, but when he came on, he struggled to get into the game.

I thought Berra played really well (as did Craddock) until his second yellow, and that ultimately cost us. Foley was Foley, utterly at home at this level and neat and tidy. I thought Ward worked hard but got caught out of position occasionally and didn't have a great game.

But there was a 20 minute period in the second half when it was end to end, and Jarvis scared the living daylights out of them when we broke. What a player he is!

But on the whole Fulham played the better football and Dembele (?) seemed to have the freedom of the park in the second half. He was the outstanding player in the game by a long chalk - I think he may go on to bigger and better things so it is no disgrace to be run ragged by him.

My sense is that Mick is still striving to find his best side and doesn't always know when to stick or twist. We have more quality and more depth than last year but we can still be too exposed playing 4-4-2 away from home.

As for the 'Wolves are dirty' allegations, we just have to ride it out and not panic. There is a bit of a campaign going on but I think we have to take it as a compliment. People see us as a threat and we frustrate the hell out of sides - Fulham were really wound up with us in the first half and that wasn't about us being dirty, it was because we were stopping them playing (most of the yellow cards came in the second half). Calling us dirty is coming from teams who are frustrated that we won't lay down and die. We are beginning to be taken seriously and this campaign by sections of the media is a sign of that. The last thing we must do is to retreat into our shells although we need to be a bit cuter and cut out the odd stupid tackle. It will all blow through eventually if we hold our nerve. We all know our players aren't dirty. Bloody hell, imagine if we still had Muscat!!!!!

Desperately disappointing to lose in the last minute cos let's face it, both of their goals were avoidable, but I still believe we are going places and with Jarvis, Doyle, Fletcher, Jones, Hunt, SEB, in the right combinations, we will be remembered for much, much better things by the season's end.

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

Bristol, can I just compliment you on a lucid, fair and accurate summary oy yesterday's game. In the end, beaten by the better team but they have been in the Prem 10 years. Like you I do think we are a serious Prem side now who will be taken very seriously by all those we come up against.

 

[A wanderer from Bristol]

Bristol, can I just compliment you on a lucid, fair and accurate summary oy yesterday's game. In the end, beaten by the better team but they have been in the Prem 10 years. Like you I do think we are a serious Prem side now who will be taken very seriously by all those we come up against.

Cheers norfolk. You're absolutely right. We are still new to this league and the learning curve is steep. We will make lots of mistakes along the way and be outplayed from time to time, but what a bloody great time to be a wolves fan. We have to be patient. It's two steps forward and one step back. We can't expect too much too soon.

But we know that, even if we are under par, like yesterday, our team will work their bloody socks off and will go down fighting. Last year we were either ignored, or, sentimentally welcomed back into the top flight because of our history.

For the moment this has shifted to 'dirty gold and black $$$$$$$s'. A step forward in the grand scheme of things. We're rattling a few cages.

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

Ignored to merely hated - progress indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Uncle Festa]

Lost to the better team. Completely outplayed in midfield with Murphy running the show. Thought tactically we got it wrong by not pressing on him earlier. We were happy to sit and let him collect the ball and start all their moves. If only we had a player of his ability who can run the game from the centre of the pitch - I guess Milijas was supposed to be this player, but he isn't and never will be. When Zamorra went off, we started to struggle at the back with Craddock and Berra not having a target man to mark they were lost against Dempsey and Gerra who were too deft/nippy/clever and linked with Murphy to pull us out of shape time and time again. This game just highlighted for me where we need to improve. We need a commanding centrehalf that can play football, a midfield play maker, and we need to stop $$$$ing about and get Doyle and Fletcher partnered together. This would be harsh on SEB as he really did work his nuts off yesterday but the brutal fact is there are two players who are better than him at the club who play in the same position. Its creating a problem for us rather than giving us options with McCarthy trying to keep all three happy. Yesterday he tried to keep all three on the pitch when Van Damme got subbed. He should have put Gued in to right midfield and Jarvis taken over to the left.

 

[A wanderer from Bristol]

Lost to the better team. Completely outplayed in midfield with Murphy running the show. Thought tactically we got it wrong by not pressing on him earlier. We were happy to sit and let him collect the ball and start all their moves. If only we had a player of his ability who can run the game from the centre of the pitch - I guess Milijas was supposed to be this player, but he isn't and never will be. When Zamorra went off, we started to struggle at the back with Craddock and Berra not having a target man to mark they were lost against Dempsey and Gerra who were too deft/nippy/clever and linked with Murphy to pull us out of shape time and time again. This game just highlighted for me where we need to improve. We need a commanding centrehalf that can play football, a midfield play maker, and we need to stop $$$$ing about and get Doyle and Fletcher partnered together. This would be harsh on SEB as he really did work his nuts off yesterday but the brutal fact is there are two players who are better than him at the club who play in the same position. Its creating a problem for us rather than giving us options with McCarthy trying to keep all three happy. Yesterday he tried to keep all three on the pitch when Van Damme got subbed. He should have put Gued in to right midfield and Jarvis taken over to the left.

Reluctantly Uncle, I have to agree with you. Doyle and Fletcher will be, I believe, our best option up front. I love SEB and he is probably the best goal scorer at the club. But he is too dependent on service from others. He would flourish if he was getting 3 or 4 chances per game, but we just can't offer him that (he didn't get a sniff against Fulham). Doyle and Fletcher can offer us more than just goalscoring and we need that.

SEB is a good bet to start at home or against equal or inferior opposition. But at the same time he is working really hard on the other parts of his game and this has improved dramatically on last season so watch this space. Thinking about it, he has probably scored 2 out of 3 decent chances this season (the third being that header against the post v Newcastle) and that is a bloody good ratio!

 

[Burlton Wolf]

saw the goals this morning on motd.......dear god what happened to the wall on the free kick? they jumped and turned around when the shot was a daisy cutter.......if they had all stood the ground and faced the shot then we wouldnt be discussing losing the game.....hope mick drills them this week on how to defend set pieces and not give away silly free kicks!!!!

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

How refreshing to see Uncle Festa's fair, unbaised and reasoned reflections on yesterday's game, following on from Bristol's equally well thought out piece. I really enjoy it on here when we get quality, sensible and lucid views. Thanks

 

[stever]

Finally managed to write some comments on the game (Mix was down here yesterday). I actually thought we showed a toughness to our game.
Pretty footballing teams dont like our tough tackling approach. I think this was most evident when both Etuhu and Murphy dived in recklessly on two of our players.

What we really lack is a creative spark in the middle of the park. The amount of times we knocked around 10 passes side to side then hoofed it forwarded was unbelievable at times. It really showed our limitations. Our best outlet was Jarvis who was brilliant, but you could see he was spent in the last 5 mins.
VD had a great game and in the first half (and from where I was sat) we constantly knocked the right to left diagonal ball and he won everything. Thought he looked composed and can only assume he got a knock as no way she he of come off.

The Doyle substitution was a mystery to me as he was coming into his own and looking quite threatening when he was pulled off. Very strange. When we did create chances we did look like scoring.

And for all those Fulham fans, Henry did win the ball cleanly, it was right in front of me and no way was it a dirty tackle.

I think we need to discover a playmaker quickly or we will limit our chances as all our chances come from the wings. Henry and Mancienne are not defence splitting passers and to be honest I thought Mancienne was shocking. Shouldnt start against Spurs.

Some improvement needed in the middle of the park for me - thats the priority.

 

[Big Saft Kid]

Lost to the better team. Completely outplayed in midfield with Murphy running the show. Thought tactically we got it wrong by not pressing on him earlier. We were happy to sit and let him collect the ball and start all their moves. If only we had a player of his ability who can run the game from the centre of the pitch - I guess Milijas was supposed to be this player, but he isn't and never will be. When Zamorra went off, we started to struggle at the back with Craddock and Berra not having a target man to mark they were lost against Dempsey and Gerra who were too deft/nippy/clever and linked with Murphy to pull us out of shape time and time again. This game just highlighted for me where we need to improve. We need a commanding centrehalf that can play football, a midfield play maker, and we need to stop $$$$ing about and get Doyle and Fletcher partnered together. This would be harsh on SEB as he really did work his nuts off yesterday but the brutal fact is there are two players who are better than him at the club who play in the same position. Its creating a problem for us rather than giving us options with McCarthy trying to keep all three happy. Yesterday he tried to keep all three on the pitch when Van Damme got subbed. He should have put Gued in to right midfield and Jarvis taken over to the left.

Couldn't agree more, and said pretty much this on another thread. McCarthy's achilles heel is trying to keep everybody (at least, the ones he rates) happy, which led to three front players on at a point in the game when we needed a midfielder with energy (Guedioura for me). Taking Doyle off was also barmy.

 

[wanderer24]

Cheers norfolk. You're absolutely right. We are still new to this league and the learning curve is steep. We will make lots of mistakes along the way and be outplayed from time to time, but what a bloody great time to be a wolves fan. We have to be patient. It's two steps forward and one step back. We can't expect too much too soon.

But we know that, even if we are under par, like yesterday, our team will work their bloody socks off and will go down fighting. Last year we were either ignored, or, sentimentally welcomed back into the top flight because of our history.

For the moment this has shifted to 'dirty gold and black $$$$$$$s'. A step forward in the grand scheme of things. We're rattling a few cages.

That's the way I'm looking at it at the moment, it should be taken as a compliment. Lots of teams have been labelled dirty when they are nothing of the sort, look at Viera when at Arsenal, Keane at Man Utd, during these periods their teams were often labelled dirty because of strong competitors in the middle of the park.
Even Albion fans acknowledge that it's media $$$$$$$$ and understand the London/top team bias.

 

[Sedgley Wolf]

Couldn't agree more, and said pretty much this on another thread. McCarthy's achilles heel is trying to keep everybody (at least, the ones he rates) happy, which led to three front players on at a point in the game when we needed a midfielder with energy (Guedioura for me). Taking Doyle off was also barmy.

Barmy or knowing (as the guy that sees him every day in training) that he's blowing out of his $$$$ after two 90 minute matches in the space of a week?

I agree with other opinions though regarding bringing Fletch on for JVD. Guedioura was the blindingly obvious choice to go on the right with Jarvis switching to the left. This would then have left us with a straight swap for Doyle if he was indeed knackered. Much less disruption.