Matt Doherty

[woop woop barmy army]

Doubt he will get the nickname gloves over there.

 

[thommo1984]

Silenced 48k Geordies with a last minute winner. Forever my hero

Loved that moment. Diogo in full flow.

 

[Contrarian]

Find me fullbacks who contribute 6 or 7 goals per season

You're getting me confused with a multi-millionaire football agent.

But Doherty managed it:
2018/19: 4 goals, 5 assists
2019/20: 4 goals, 3 assists
2021/22: 2 goals, 4 assists (in just 9 matches for Spurs, easily beating Semedo's total of 1 goal and 3 assists in his 70+ matches with us. He's a dud and time will prove it).

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

Fantastic wing back, below average full back. Discussion over.

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

Fantastic wing back, below average full back. Discussion over.

The fact Mourinho signed him as a fullback is baffling.

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

The fact Mourinho signed him as a fullback is baffling.

I think Mourinho was doing a favour for Mendes tbh who had just become Docs agent

 

[SoCal_Wolf]

I think Mourinho was doing a favour for Mendes tbh who had just become Docs agent

Which points to the fact that Doc wanted to leave Wolves. People have it in their heads that Wolves moved him on, when the opposite is true. I strongly suspect the same is true of Coady. But, some wail, "we shouldn't have ever let them go..." The club respected their wishes after many years of outstanding service to the club. Time to move on...

I loved Doc when he was with us and I'm glad he's gotten another big move. Best of luck to him! (same with Coady)

 

[AndyWolves]

You're getting me confused with a multi-millionaire football agent.

But Doherty managed it:
2018/19: 4 goals, 5 assists
2019/20: 4 goals, 3 assists
2021/22: 2 goals, 4 assists (in just 9 matches for Spurs, easily beating Semedo's total of 1 goal and 3 assists in his 70+ matches with us. He's a dud and time will prove it).

Doc ain't a full back chief

 

[Contrarian]

Doc ain't a full back chief

If a team does well with a wing back system and rubbish with full backs, it is insanity to insist that it uses full backs. Why not shoot all our players in the feet too? The sort of poor decision making that leads to teams dropping from 7th to relegation battlers.

Every other expensive signing gets let off the hook because "he's being played out position/the system doesn't suit him". Same applies to Doherty. He had the perfect system, but we decided we had to move on to "possession based - front foot football" - get this - because it is more exciting, positive and entertining to watch! Bring back 3-5-2, sit deep and counter as it was, it's 100 times better to watch than the past 3 seasons.

And Semedo is not much of a fullback either.

 

[AndyWolves]

If a team does well with a wing back system and rubbish with full backs, it is insanity to insist that it uses full backs. Why not shoot all our players in the feet too? The sort of poor decision making that leads to teams dropping from 7th to relegation battlers.

My point was that relying on a system which is very hard to find players to fit is not a good idea. If you can suggest players who can do what Doc did in terms of goals & assists from the position he played then I'm all ears.

 

[WickedWolfie]

If a team does well with a wing back system and rubbish with full backs, it is insanity to insist that it uses full backs. Why not shoot all our players in the feet too? The sort of poor decision making that leads to teams dropping from 7th to relegation battlers.

Every other expensive signing gets let off the hook because "he's being played out position/the system doesn't suit him". Same applies to Doherty. He had the perfect system, but we decided we had to move on to "possession based - front foot football" - get this - because it is more exciting, positive and entertining to watch! Bring back 3-5-2, sit deep and counter as it was, it's 100 times better to watch than the past 3 seasons.

And Semedo is not much of a fullback either.

In many ways l agree with you. When did playing to your strengths fall out of favour?

 

[DJLWolf]

My point was that relying on a system which is very hard to find players to fit is not a good idea. If you can suggest players who can do what Doc did in terms of goals & assists from the position he played then I'm all ears.

Not sure I agree with this at all, in fact I think it's very much the other way round these days, or at the very least it's not as cut and dry as you're making out.

I would say it's now harder to find high quality, traditional full backs who make it their priority to defend, rather than modern day wing backs who like to get forward more.

Likewise, playing a flat back 4 now - your centre backs have to be very high quality because whether you use a flat back 4 or a wing back system, your fullbacks/wing backs will need to get forward to some extent.That is just the way the game has gone.

 

[Contrarian]

In many ways l agree with you. When did playing to your strengths fall out of favour?

After Sevilla defeat? Nuno said then about changing the way we play. I think a fair few of us did thing we needed to evolve and that we should be moving beyond playing underdog, counter-attack, rope-a-dope, whatever it's called. I thought it at the time! "Be careful what you wish for". Though I didn't imagine it would mean getting rid of our countering threat, shoehorning what was left into some indefinable system that was neither one thing nor the other (something that existed till JL arrived, maybe) and repeated signing of players that were just not of the quality required to improve us and lead the way in some wondrous new system. And that is where the Doc v Semedo argument comes in as just one example. We needed a much better actual full back than Nelson, to move to that system.

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

After Sevilla defeat? Nuno said then about changing the way we play. I think a fair few of us did thing we needed to evolve and that we should be moving beyond playing underdog, counter-attack, rope-a-dope, whatever it's called. I thought it at the time! "Be careful what you wish for". Though I didn't imagine it would mean getting rid of our countering threat, shoehorning what was left into some indefinable system that was neither one thing nor the other (something that existed till JL arrived, maybe) and repeated signing of players that were just not of the quality required to improve us and lead the way in some wondrous new system. And that is where the Doc v Semedo argument comes in as just one example. We needed a much better actual full back than Nelson, to move to that system.

I loved our system, and think we should have tried to refine it rather than change things up. I said it at the time and I've seen nothing to suggest I was wrong.

Reverting to a back four in order to have more bodies going forward was pie in the sky. We needed better players than what we had in order to progress, not a new system.

The new system if you can call it that, has made us just another run of the mill "vanilla" PL team who are a bit meh. We've been boring since ditching our counter attacking style, we've lost all identity.

 

[Contrarian]

I loved our system, and think we should have tried to refine it rather than change things up. I said it at the time and I've seen nothing to suggest I was wrong.

Reverting to a back four in order to have more bodies going forward was pie in the sky. We needed better players than what we had in order to progress, not a new system.

The new system if you can call it that, has made us just another run of the mill "vanilla" PL team who are a bit meh. We've been boring since ditching our counter attacking style, we've lost all identity.

Yeah, agreed. Taking the way we played in the Championship up a level would have been perfect for me. It seemed we started to do that, but for whatever reason, it faded out. Perhaps the quality of player needed is just too expensive? Dominating the Championship with a team a level above is one thing (and still cost way more than most teams there could afford), but doing it in the Premier League? Well, that's for the likes of Man City.

Thing is, that team back then, the system could excel with players overlooked in standard roles at other teams. Doc, prime example. Coady another. Raul was also mostly bench warming and was far from a big name when he joined. Can't help wondering if all over Europe, even globally, those players are out there who would have done the Jota role (Jota also not a first teamer (at Athletico?) when he joined). Players who could have been a level up from Cav and Costa etc. and wouldn't have cost the earth.

After a couple of years of amazing success, our scouting has been unimpressive since. More misses (some big money ones, too) than hits.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

I loved our system, and think we should have tried to refine it rather than change things up. I said it at the time and I've seen nothing to suggest I was wrong.

Reverting to a back four in order to have more bodies going forward was pie in the sky. We needed better players than what we had in order to progress, not a new system.

The new system if you can call it that, has made us just another run of the mill "vanilla" PL team who are a bit meh. We've been boring since ditching our counter attacking style, we've lost all identity.

We haven't gone to a back 4 to have more bodies going forward at the moment. I've not seen that. I've seen us have an extra man fairly deep in the middle of the park. I don't see what that has given us ta tactically.
After seville I think reans had it right that all we really needed was an another profile of midfielder. That was where we were getting done in Europe. 8nstead we changed everything round the edges and I don't know whether we have the players to play with a back 3 and wing-backs.
It is really sad to see how bad we have become.
Hopefully J-Lo will get us going properly but even then it feels like the best we will get is about 9th-10th after spending 100s of millions on improvements and keeping hold of players we could have sold.
It has been an absolute disaster.
But at least we press now.

 

[glorybox]

How the hell is this guy getting picked ahead of Hugo? He literally brings nothing to the table apart from a bit of height defending.

 

[SA Wolf]

How the hell is this guy getting picked ahead of Hugo? He literally brings nothing to the table apart from a bit of height defending.

Difficult to answer, without knowing what is happening behind the scenes. How was Santi or Kilman getting picked ahead of Dawson. Answer, Dawson needs an operation, so nowhere near fully fit. Could be a similar situation with Hugo. Although, when he came on yesterday, he looked decent and I agree; if fully fit, is a better option than Doc.

 

[A3wolf]

How the hell is this guy getting picked ahead of Hugo? He literally brings nothing to the table apart from a bit of height defending.

Seems to be a player who divides opinion but I still like him even so.
Think he generally picks the right pass, reads the game well and makes intelligent runs that provide an extra attacking threat and is one of our best with his aerial ability. Struggles with tracking back or one on one with a fast winger though.

 

[Golden_Wolf]

Seems to be a player who divides opinion but I still like him even so.
Think he generally picks the right pass, reads the game well and makes intelligent runs that provide an extra attacking threat and is one of our best with his aerial ability. Struggles with tracking back or one on one with a fast winger though.

If you're talking about Doc, some of his passing yesterday was awful.

Not a viable option, at this level, at LWB for me.

 

[Ned]

He’s a safe pair of hands but on the left it’s a struggle to see how he gets picked ahead of Bueno unless it’s simply a defensive trust issue on GON’s part.

 

[Willywolf]

He’s a frustrating player - does some things really well, but is often caught out (especially at lb). I can see both sides of an argument for him playing, but not ahead of a talented, genuine lb if fit.

 

[thommo1984]

He’s a safe pair of hands

Ehhhhhhhhh….

 

[Ned]

Ehhhhhhhhh….

It’s not like he gets ripped apart every game and goals consistently come down his side and are down to him non-stop. He doesn’t offer much going forward anymore but, to use a cricket term, he holds up his end.

 

[Mark Rankines Lovechild]

Maybe on my own here but I dont think Bueno is very good defensively and players breeze past him. Decent going forward though, which is why he gets on when chasing games.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

My biggest moan yesterday was simply the fact that he seemed to be way too far up the pitch when we were out of possession. There was one point where Toti had gone on one of his missions into midfield and Doc was stood on the left wing, literally the LB quarter of the pitch had no Wolves player in it. He's trying to play like RAN when he doesn't have any of the attributes, whether that's his fault I have no idea! As a FB in a 4 maybe could do a job, anywhere else is just highlights how short we are. I'd rather have Hugo at LWB but he was awful at Burnley.

 

[WickedWolfie]

My biggest moan yesterday was simply the fact that he seemed to be way too far up the pitch when we were out of possession. There was one point where Toti had gone on one of his missions into midfield and Doc was stood on the left wing, literally the LB quarter of the pitch had no Wolves player in it. He's trying to play like RAN when he doesn't have any of the attributes, whether that's his fault I have no idea! As a FB in a 4 maybe could do a job, anywhere else is just highlights how short we are. I'd rather have Hugo at LWB but he was awful at Burnley.

Anyone who saw Doc's efforts as a FB in a 4 in the Chump knew that he wasn't good enough even at that level. Seeing him at Spuds absolutely confirmed that.

 

[Ned]

People moaning about Doc shouldn’t be bemoaning our lack of attacking cover as well. We’d have all given our left arm for a Doc version forward around the squad these last few months.

He’s good cover and good around the squad.

 

[WickedWolfie]

People moaning about Doc shouldn’t be bemoaning our lack of attacking cover as well. We’d have all given our left arm for a Doc version forward around the squad these last few months.

He’s good cover and good around the squad.

A slightly faster Doc or forward counterpart and l'd wholeheartedly agree.

 

[Bradstonian]

Wonder how many seasons we've had from him now.

 

[Tojo the grass]

If Semedo is unavailable then he slots straight back in but I would rather see Hugo on the left,

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

People moaning about Doc shouldn’t be bemoaning our lack of attacking cover as well. We’d have all given our left arm for a Doc version forward around the squad these last few months.

He’s good cover and good around the squad.

That's it for me. He was bought in as cover, and he's had to cover.

I can't see why he's getting the nod over Hugo on the left though, but as others have pointed out, we don't know the full story.

 

[Black Country Wanderer]

Doc is not a left sided anything
Hes way past his best, maybe a useful 30 minute player to bring on to shore things up, but not a starter in any way
We are struggling with injuries so i can understand him being picked, but it shows our absolute dirge of squad depth

 

[Minimalist]

Doc is not a left sided anything
Hes way past his best, maybe a useful 30 minute player to bring on to shore things up, but not a starter in any way
We are struggling with injuries so i can understand him being picked, but it shows our absolute dirge of squad depth

I don’t think we have a dirge of depth in the fullback position. Hugo should be given the opportunity.

 

[Ned]

I don’t think we have a dirge of depth in the fullback position. Hugo should be given the opportunity.

I’d say the wing backs are well stocked. Yea we’ve been relatively lucky with injuries in these positions but 4 players for 2 positions is more than good enough for this area.

 

[S G Wolves]

One thing we do is, when we play the ball slowly across the back and there is a semi press our full backs get penned in and have nowhere to go. Semedo has the quality sometimes to get out but Doc usually loses the ball.

Not entirely Doc's fault but it does make him look worse. Having said that he was poor yesterday especially when we were being pressed.

 

[dewolfman]

I think the level that RAN is at now has really showed Matty up, but that said how can he be worse, fatter, slower than be was when he was here for his first spell. Should really be in his prime, we’re stuck with him for 2 more seasons.

 

[Ned]

One thing we do is, when we play the ball slowly across the back and there is a semi press our full backs get penned in and have nowhere to go. Semedo has the quality sometimes to get out but Doc usually loses the ball.

Not entirely Doc's fault but it does make him look worse. Having said that he was poor yesterday especially when we were being pressed.

Yep, Semedo in close quarters is absolutely fantastic at maintaining possession. Doc doesn’t possess those qualities which, as you say, isn’t his fault at all but makes him look clumsy.

 

[glorybox]

Some people still living in 19/20 judging by some of the comments. He’s shot at this level.

 

[Starsky]

I'm amazed that GON - given his obvious professional standards - tolerates a player who is so badly out of shape. A disgrace for a PL player to be such a porker.