Missing Football Already.... and 2022/23 Season End Verdict

[The Wolf In The North]

Sa- Too erratic. Don’t feel confident with him in goal, whereas I did last year.
Bentley- For £30k can’t ask much more. He’s not a PL first choice though. Happy to keep him as back up.

Semedo- Same as Sa, does some good stuff but also some terrible stuff. Offers nothing in attack.
Jonny- Loved the guy, for two years he was our best left back and our best right back. But injuries and our poor medical team have finished him as a top level player, in my opinion.

Collins- Shows potential but isn’t ready yet. In hindsight we’d have been better off spending the £20m on a ready made centre half. Wouldn’t discard him yet but he’s been a disappointment.
Kilman- Really torn on Max. At times he makes defending look easy, then you get games like yesterday where he’s one of the oppositions best attackers! If someone was offering more than £30m I’d probably take it.
Dawson- Great signing. Experienced professional and the kind of defender you need in a scrap.
Toti- Not the best footballer but you can’t fault his passion and effort. Looks like he gives a ****.

Bueno- Even as a regular watcher of the U23s/U21s I’m surprised how quickly and effortlessly he took to senior football. Tough afternoon yesterday but Saka is an unreal player.
Ait-Nouri- Yesterdays performance summed him up, some lovely touches and great runs but does so many basic things wrong, stands on the ball, miscontrols. Like Kilman if we’re getting a decent bid I’m probably taking it.

Neves- A modern day Wolves great, we’re holding him back. Run free Ruben, and thanks for everything.
Nunes- Admire his honesty saying he’s had a poor season but he’s gotta back it up next year on the pitch.
Lemina- Another player like Dawson I really like, gets stuck in and is a decent footballer too. A good way to spend £9m.
Gomes- Watch this space, think he’ll be a star. Has everything you need to be a very good PL midfielder.
Moutinho- Thanks for everything Joao. Wonderful to watch on his day but now is the time to say goodbye.
Bouba- I like him. Good energy and can actually run with the ball at his feet. With injuries probably too early to value him but could improve next year.

Podence- Not having him really. Came up with some important goals let’s not forget, but can be frustrating and petulant.
Neto- Another one I don’t think our medical team have done any favours. Had two serious injuries in two years, anyone buying him is doing it based on previous form.
Hwang- Pre World Cup awful. Post World Cup better. Never going to be a great player but pops up with useful goals, and presses well. Unless we got a great offer I’d have him stick around.
Adama- Unplayable on his day, but his day is only about once every three months. A shame to lose him for nothing but there we go.
Sarabia- Strange signing. Great on paper and showed little flashes but not done enough. Might be one who moves on.

Cunha- I like what I’ve seen but it does look like we’ve overpaid massively. Won’t solve our lack of goals but could be part of the solution with a good striker for him to support:
Raul- Really sad watching him yesterday. He was genuinely a world class striker until the accident. I hope whatever he does next in his career and life it can make him happy he deserves it.
Costa- As a panic, desperate signing he hasn’t been terrible. Just not really good enough if we want to do any better. Thanks for some lovely ****housing.
Sasa- Not a clue. Looked tall and wore a lovely leather jacket last week.

Spot on, really.

 

[Contrarian]

Agree with a lot of this.


On your point about why the current setup is unable to change things. I'm wondering if it's a similar situation to Leeds. Whereby Nuno and Bielsa's style is so ingrained within a club that it's going to take a while to move on from. And of course without the actual referenced individuals themselves, all the positive aspects of the approach are harder to materialize.

Yes, I wonder that too. I have a Leeds supporting friend and when chatting, we notice there are a lot of similarities in the Leeds/Bielsa, Wolves/Nuno comparison.

It does seem odd, now that we are fielding hardly anybody from the Nuno era. AFAIK all the medical, coaching and recruitment staff are different, too.

On the broader point of repeatedly signing players with hope, but then them going backwards, I could be putting too much on it. But not heard anyone else say it and it does seem too many players to be just the usual luck. I remember how sharp and bright RAN looked when he signed and then wonder if he has improved at all, regressed, more likely. Then Collins, Kilman. Add in those signings like Nunes, Hwang even Guedes, Sarabia who I definitely saw play well for other clubs, but appear shadows of those players since signing for us.

 

[Beach Umbrella]

Anyone else missing the footy already?
Left a huge hole now as I'm missing the relegation battle now it is resolved.

As for the season, we had a few high points such as the Liverpool game but overall, extremely disappointing.

Squad Assessment:
Sa ... Very average season. Playing with a couple of injuries and when you have an unstable defence in front of you, you simply aren't going to be sure of things as you might be.
Bentley ... did OK over two games. Good first game, mediocre second. To be expected.
Semedo - JL thinks he's an important player next season but I have my doubts. His first job is to defend and he's shown he isn't very good at it. Attacking wise, he gets into some good positions but rarely does anything positive.
Ait-Nouri - Started the season pretty well, then when JL came in, he seemed to get a new lease of life.... and then, something happened and he was out of favour.
Collins - Poor season overall. Positionally a nightmare. Not commanding, too many mistakes and very unreliable.
Dawson - Superb acquisition and I have no doubts he made a huge difference in our results. Solid.
Kilman - This season he was asked to step up and become a leader. Something he's not and sadly the last quarter of the season saw him out of the form we had come to expect.
Jonny - Very disappointing season. One amazing goal and really nothing else.
Toti - Break through season and at times played very well. As usual with young talent, needs to be used carefully in order to develop properly.
Bueno - At times looked very good but not being played over the last few weeks put huge pressure on him to perform when called up. He'll learn. He's a good player but the roasting he got at Arsenal will play on his mind for a while.
Lemina - Gave us some life in midfield but in truth, he huffs and puffs but his overall quality is a little lacking. Would be a terrific sub to use if we had better first choice midfielders.
B. Traore - Talented and showed some promise. Has a lot to learn about the Prem. though.
Neves - Sorry to say, but just not the season we needed from him. Sure he was our best player most of the time but we needed more from him in terms of attacking play and it wasn't there.
Podence - Scored a few goals but otherwise his influence on games was poor. We all know what he is about now and so do our opponents. Needs to find some new tricks and really think about what sort of player he wants to be.
Sarabia - Early promise faded into insignificance.
Nunes - We all know there is a player in there but he needs far too much time on the ball to be effective and you just don't get it at this level.
Moutinho - A strange end to the season but we badly missed his influence in the games v Everton and Arsenal. Has been a fantastic player for us and you know there is something going on when he doesn't want to play.
Gomes - Some good games, some poor ones. Usual from one learning how to play at Prem. level.
Hodge - In favor for a short while but usually outclassed and then not used.
Neto - Injuries played a huge part in his season and he only played a bit part at times.
Raul - Sadly a shadow of the player he once was. Out of respect I'll say no more.
Hwang - A times he was decent. At other times, woeful.
Cunha - Shows promise but we've yet to work out how to use him.
Costa - Started being well out of touch and form, finished better and his influence helped us survive. Hope others can learn from him.
A. Traore - A total enigma. Could be one of the best players in the world but just doesn't have a footballing brain. Several coaches have tried, none have got through to him. But such an entertainer no matter where he has the ball. If he leaves, he's the one player I'll miss the most.

Overall, this group of players should be disappointed with their season. They've had some tough decisions go against them but the reaction wasn't good enough. We have many skillful players but they need the right mentality to go with it. When it really mattered they got us wins. Other times, they simply let themselves down.

Onto next season.

Agree mostly

Thought Hodge had a great cameo yesterday and deserves a mention. He’s good enough to command a place in the team next season.

 

[Contrarian]

Agree mostly

Thought Hodge had a great cameo yesterday and deserves a mention. He’s good enough to command a place in the team next season.

Can't see him being good enough to pull a team up to mid table though. A stop gap in a team of strugglers, yes.