Sheff Utd verdict

[Big Saft Kid]

Lovely afternoon in the sunshine. We played some excellent football and were well worth the three goal win in my opinion. Silva came of age football-wise today, he has begun to look the part. I'd be tempted to pick him over Raul after that performance. Podence, if he can play like that regularly, will be a Wolves legend up there with Peter Knowles and King Kenny Hibbitt . Semedo superb, RAN a lot better once Marcal went off and the defence was rearranged. Kilman a rock, Ruddy still a very good keeper. Trincao a puzzle -- obviously a good player, but such a lightweight. Adama seemed to me to have mentally already left the club.

We should absolutely beat Norwich, who will have their minds on PL survival. I think the Facup is on, lads, lump on Wolves now!

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

He kept saying it, facup, even after the interviewers said it correctly several times F--A-- cup

Now I'm not one to talk having only a passable but rudimentary grasp of French and to an even lesser grasp of Spanish, I did enjoy this linguistic misstep. More so as he continued it.

Well done Bruno, from this point forward I am determined to refer to the oldest football competition as:

The facup

Reminds me of this...

 

[Leominster_Wolf]

We won, 3 good goals - pod, fab, ran, max, semedo

 

[Jd132]

I think Sheff Utd's two up top (McGoldrick and Sharp) looked like a poor-man's Toney and Mbeumo- similarly industrious but lacking PL quality. They could and should have had us a couple of times though.

Took a mate who doesn't watch us often and told him it was going to be 0-0 and penalties, unless Podence delivered some magic. And Daniel rewarded us with a magnificent showing- some of his touches were majestic. He is the key to improving our goal record if no additional help is forthcoming.

On that note, I was in the Steve Bull and from what was being said about Adama (loudly), I actually think things are already farcical and could get ugly. He needs to go now for me- he is becoming a joke, a parody of himself and is stinking the place out. Fabio and Podence were not only better, they worked infinitely harder off the ball too. Sad end but his days should be numbered.

 

[thetwistedsock]

Thought Marcal had a good game, come on here and he was not so good.

 

[dewolfman]

Theres loads of love for Silva and Podence and rightly so, but my happiest moment of the day was watching Nelson round off another excellent performance by tucking away his goal. Absolute quality player.

This, he has improved so much.

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

The second goal today reminded me of the clip I watched when Lage was appointed of his Benfica side, quick one touch passing and direct running with players getting into the box!

Good team goal!

 

[Andywolf74]

Similar to Forest away in the Carabao Cup, it’s a real positive to get a few goals and win what was potentially a banana skin. Pretty favourable draw in the 4th round too. Podence is looking more and more like he can fill the void left by the Jota sale.

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

Watching that second goal again, you can’t underestimate the brilliance of that turn by Podence.

It sent the Sheffield United team chasing the wrong way across the field and completely opened up the other side of the pitch to allow the ball over the top.

Class.

Some goals are just orgasmic - and that was one of them. Podence's spin and turn, his pass, RAN's assist and Semedo running half the pitch to score. What made it so special for me was where Semedo put the ball; placing it top left, with the camera right behind it, was a thing of beauty. For some unexplained reason where a shot enters the goal can add to the enjoyment; had Semedo smashed it under the keeper or low right it would just not have been so beautiful. That top left placement, after a stunning move, was just out of this world. It's why we all love football. Nothing comes close.

 

[JonahWolf]

Thought we were sloppy for much of the game, starting with RAN almost gifting Sheffield a goal after about 10 seconds. Not nearly as proficient as against Yernited, but with the rejigged back 3 and 5 new faces, why should we be! We scored 3 goals for the first time since the war against a limited Sheffield side and one or two of the fringe players got a run-out as well as Cundle making his debut and Jordao his comeback. They say a sign of a good side is winning when not playing well and this we did as well as progressing in th'cup.
All-in-all, a job well done, even though we can play better.

Ratings;

Ruddy - 7- Not a tremendous work load, but did what he had to reasonably well.
Kilman - 7 - Did fine, even allowing for the change from right to left at HT.
Coady - 7 - Never really tested.
Marcal - 7 - Unlike some of the comments I've seen, I thought he did OK, playing out of his usual position and having to cover for RAN.
RAN - 6 - Awful first half, better second culminating in a fantastic run to set up Semedo.
Semedo - 7 - Scored his first of the season when he made a Dohertyesque run and finish.
Neves - 7 - Passing was askew for most of the game. Worked as hard as ever, though.
Dendoncker - 7 - Did his job, both in midfield and when called upon to help the back 3 after Marcal went off.
Traore - 5 - Not at the races and his match will be remembered for another miss when played through by Silva.
Silva - 7.5 - Good first half when he assisted Pod, set-up Traore and might/should have scored with only the keeper to beat. Faded after HT.
Podence - 8 - Never stopped running, scored a couple and was a handful all afternoon, even if he did try too many fancy flicks.

Subs;

Moutinho - 7 - Came on at HT in a re-jugged side and helped restore order to the middle.
Trincao - 5 - For Traore but was equally ineffective.
Jimenez - 6 - For Silva and harassed the Utd keeper into a mistake setting up Pod for his second.
Jordao - N/A - Great to see him back after injury
Cundle - N/A - Debut match. My wife thinks he has a funny shaped head!!!

Bruno - said he would take the cup seriously and put out a strong side and he lived-up to his words. Rewarded with a good win and a home draw to hopefully proceed further.

Jaysus you’re never happy are you?
Definitely sloppy for the first 15 mins, but generally far less so thereafter.
Podence gets an 8 for scoring 2, starting the move for the other sublimely, and he tries too many flicks?!?! If he didn’t try flicks so often, he doesn’t send a defender to Asda then ping a perfect ball over the top with very little room to work in.

It’s all about differing opinions and all, but I find it very hard to find much wrong with that barring first few minutes. Just personally think those ratings might be a bit stingy. RAN gets less than Marcal? Semedo gets same as Marcal despite no defensive screw ups I saw, constantly available and bagged his chance.
7.5 very harsh on Fabio too.

 

[FJRWolf]

No one is talking about Raul staying onside this time then following up with a brilliant assist.

Me and my lads were certain he was miles offside, but after seeing replays, he times his run perfectly and a terrific pass to him, showed good strength and put it on a plate for Pod

 

[Hot Fuss]

RAN needs to sort his socks out.

 

[The Clock]

And the BBC in their infinite wisdom choose the first match on MOD to be the one that’s just finished on ITV.
Pathetic

 

[Sephiroth]

And the BBC in their infinite wisdom choose the first match on MOD to be the one that’s just finished on ITV.
Pathetic

Is it? Which game would you have put first other than the only cup shock of the day with one of the big 6 being sent packing?

 

[AndyY]

RAN needs to sort his socks out.

And his tiny, loose, shin pads

 

[Wagstaffe Was Magic]

‘Scapegoat of the Week’

It looks like we have a runaway winner this week !!!

While there were challenges from a first half Marcal and a first half Donck…. The winner this week…..

(Drum Roll …..)

ADAMA TRAORE !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Oliwolf44]

Happy to say i got it horribly wrong about semedo, looks absolutely class. Brilliant on the ball and defensively. He shows great desire in his runs back and forward. Sprints into the space/tracking back. Great performance. If silva plays every week like he did today might have to eat those words aswell. Good job i picked Kilman to be a real player for us otherwise i might never end up being wolves manager

 

[Sussex Wolf]

And the BBC in their infinite wisdom choose the first match on MOD to be the one that’s just finished on ITV.
Pathetic

To be fair, their highlights and discussion on our game was decent tonight.

 

[Mark Rankines Lovechild]

‘Scapegoat of the Week’

It looks like we have a runaway winner this week !!!

While there were challenges from a first half Marcal and a first half Donck…. The winner this week…..

(Drum Roll …..)

ADAMA TRAORE !!!!!!!!!!!

What exactly is he being made a scapegoat for when we won 3-0?
If it was a “Didnt play well” competition then hes a definite contender.

 

[JonahWolf]

What exactly is he being made a scapegoat for when we won 3-0?
If it was a “Didnt play well” competition then hes a definite contender.

Pretty much everybody else played well. Adama could and probably should have scored 2. So he didn’t play well. Seems fair to me.

 

[Jayjaywolves]

I’ve seen a couple of posts and comments on Twitter from Benfica fans talking about this looking like prime Bruno ball. More specifically the second goal being compared to the quick countering Championship winning Benfica team Lage managed.

Following in Nuno’s footsteps was always going to be difficult, that being said, I can’t help but feel once again we are building something special.

Just a feeling.

 

[KildareWolf]

Thought Dendoncker was excellent today at center back should be able to cover for Saiss while away! Really enjoyed the game today excellent all round

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

To be fair, their highlights and discussion on our game was decent tonight.

I was surprised they were surprised by Sharp's 'goal', being disallowed, his foot was actually higher than Coady's head, which considering he must be pushing 70 is a good effort.

 

[Mugwump]

‘Scapegoat of the Week’

It looks like we have a runaway winner this week !!!

While there were challenges from a first half Marcal and a first half Donck…. The winner this week…..

(Drum Roll …..)

ADAMA TRAORE !!!!!!!!!!!

He was pretty rubbish. And that effort at goal was pretty lame for a supposed top line attacking player.

 

[QB Wolf]

Yep Traore was poor today and he rightly got subbed, it happens didn’t work out for him but another day, like 6 days ago he’ll be one of the heroes again, that’s football for you.

The rest all had good games, thought Ruddy was excellent, as was RAN, Silva and Podence.

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

RAN needs to sort his socks out.

And his tiny, loose, shin pads

Oh I don't know, with his socks like that, his legs looked like the road runner, almost a blurr.

 

[SA Wolf]

Jaysus you’re never happy are you?
Definitely sloppy for the first 15 mins, but generally far less so thereafter.
Podence gets an 8 for scoring 2, starting the move for the other sublimely, and he tries too many flicks?!?! If he didn’t try flicks so often, he doesn’t send a defender to Asda then ping a perfect ball over the top with very little room to work in.

It’s all about differing opinions and all, but I find it very hard to find much wrong with that barring first few minutes. Just personally think those ratings might be a bit stingy. RAN gets less than Marcal? Semedo gets same as Marcal despite no defensive screw ups I saw, constantly available and bagged his chance.
7.5 very harsh on Fabio too.

Never happy! Do you read what is written or what you think is written? I said all in all a job well done. Does that sound like I'm not happy?
I said that there was sloppiness and it wasn't just in the first few minutes, passes were going astray throughout and the ball was lost.
Podence gets an 8 from me. What should he get an 9. FFS, are we arguing about 1 point!!! Fabio gets a 7.5 - should he get an 8? He was withdrawn and was definitely showing signs of tiredness, so are we arguing about 0.5 point!!!
Jaysus, talk about nit-picking!

 

[Big Saft Kid]

And the BBC in their infinite wisdom choose the first match on MOD to be the one that’s just finished on ITV.
Pathetic

FFS. Think of something else to moan about. I'm sure you can if you try.

 

[wwbug]

Great performances by Ruddy, Silva , Podence and Semedo. Very happy with the result.
But I noticed we still had no offensive penetration in the middle of the park.
So for me that is a strong pointer that we just are not capable of offensive midfield play even against a mid Championship team.
Blocking, backward passing , passing out wide, and shooting from distance continues to rule In the centre.
It works .

 

[Stafford]

Great performances by Ruddy, Silva , Podence and Semedo. Very happy with the result.
But I noticed we still had no offensive penetration in the middle of the park.
So for me that is a strong pointer that we just are not capable of offensive midfield play even against a mid Championship team.
Blocking, backward passing , passing out wide, and shooting from distance continues to rule In the centre.
It works .

3 up top and 2 attacking full backs should be enough.

Centre mids have always been used for controlling games both under Bruno and Nuno.

 

[wwbug]

3 up top and 2 attacking full backs should be enough.

Centre mids have always been used for controlling games both under Bruno and Nuno.

Agreed, it’s been effective and used for 5 years. I am just stating yesterdays match made it obvious that it’s not done out of necessity to win, but a lack of options.

 

[JonahWolf]

Great performances by Ruddy, Silva , Podence and Semedo. Very happy with the result.
But I noticed we still had no offensive penetration in the middle of the park.
So for me that is a strong pointer that we just are not capable of offensive midfield play even against a mid Championship team.
Blocking, backward passing , passing out wide, and shooting from distance continues to rule In the centre.

? Maybe because it’s not their primary job?
Retain, recycle, control are the priority roles for 2 deep midfielders in a 3-4-3 or 4-2-3-1.
What we did get yesterday was a WB to WB goal, which IS what you want/need from our setup.
First half had Donk in midfield, that’s hardly conducive to attacking polar through the middle, Neves found himself in shooting and crossing positions on occasion…but we attacked relatively through the middle quite often, because the WBs held width so forwards could be more narrow and take risks with that solid base behind them.

 

[Vtrpres]

I have criticised Bruno in the past but look forward to him getting the best out of our squad especially when the injuries resolve themselves. The best incentive for Raul will be to see he is no longer the main man.
Rumours of Traore to Spurs and Neves to Manure may colour the fact we need to sign. But who. Every fan on here will have his own ideas on that. Leave it to Bruno but remember the old Black Country maxim.
You have to learn to **** with the **** you’ve got.

 

[92WWFC]

I'd like to see more of Podence and Silva. Silva seems to be the one who gets on Podence's wavelength with the quick attacking play. Maybe a Jimenez and Silva front two with Podence behind them.

I think Trincao will also be on that wavelength given time, clever player with a lot of skill.

Basically I hope Podence stays fit...

 

[Black Coffee]

Comfortable performance Sheffield has a couple of good chances but rarely threated us, There were some weird comments I have seen saying the scoreline flattered us and we're poor.

Podence clearly the standout player Silva looked very lively and shown some great movement as well as link up play. Marcal looked very shaky at the back but Dendoncker looked very assured when he dropped in to defence.

 

[wwbug]

? Maybe because it’s not their primary job?
Retain, recycle, control are the priority roles for 2 deep midfielders in a 3-4-3 or 4-2-3-1.
What we did get yesterday was a WB to WB goal, which IS what you want/need from our setup.
First half had Donk in midfield, that’s hardly conducive to attacking polar through the middle, Neves found himself in shooting and crossing positions on occasion…but we attacked relatively through the middle quite often, because the WBs held width so forwards could be more narrow and take risks with that solid base behind them.

I did see that . But to me that is the way we have played for 5 years. Avoiding midfield, as a direct means to goal,
There is no significant attacking options . Thats fine for results, and doesnt require change but not great for entertainment or enjoyment.
Its a bit negative and slow to watch.

 

[JonahWolf]

Comfortable performance Sheffield has a couple of good chances but rarely threated us, There were some weird comments I have seen saying the scoreline flattered us and we're poor.

Podence clearly the standout player Silva looked very lively and shown some great movement as well as link up play. Marcal looked very shaky at the back but Dendoncker looked very assured when he dropped in to defence.

The nil bit of 3-0 flattered us, considering the chances gifted them early on and the soft disallowed goal, but realistically we could have scored a few more, so not really. Just a bit of standard mix pessimism methinks.

Same as some (only mildly, granted) knocking Silva and claiming he should have scored that 1v1. He was running onto a bouncing ball at speed, the keeper did his job and came out to make life difficult, then get the slightest of touches to keep out what could have been a worldie. Glass half empty or full view on things I guess, but in that situation I don’t *expect* the striker to score, whoever they are. Adama’s free shot that he skied was an infinitely easier chance, ball on the deck, at his feet, keeper on line.

 

[JonahWolf]

I did see that . But to me that is the way we have played for 5 years. Avoiding midfield, as a direct means to goal,
There is no significant attacking options . Thats fine for results, and doesnt require change but not great for entertainment or enjoyment.
Its a bit negative and slow to watch.

Yes, it’s the way we’ve played for years to an extent, but to an extent it’s the way it should be played. It’s a product and expectation of the system, exacerbated by personnel.
The only reason you see Chelsea move through the middle more is they usually have Kante in there, who does the work, and running with and without the ball of 2.

Neves crept forward on occasions we had sustained possession, more regularly second half when he had a partner with more ambition on the ball. That’s what he should be doing.
Can’t look at one player or even unit in isolation.
If you (or indeed Bruno) want more dynamic play through the centre, then the wingbacks would be more cautious. That in turn either reduces width, and makes the forward players more isolated and having to cover more ground.
If I’m going to choose a pair of players to be more dynamic, cover more ground and attack more often, then out of our midfield 2 or the WBs, it would be RAN and Semedo over Neves-Mouts every time.

 

[wulfie88]

 

[Black Country Wanderer]

I was surprised they were surprised by Sharp's 'goal', being disallowed, his foot was actually higher than Coady's head, which considering he must be pushing 70 is a good effort.

I wasnt,i said at the time it was a perfectly good goal
I think it was Donk not Coady ducked down to head it, and Sharp was perfectly right to try to hook it in
We would have been fuming if that was us that had it disallowed,but whatever ill take it lol
If we are stopping players going for a ball not much above waist height we are going down a rocky road imo