Spurs (H) Verdict

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

Playing well and losing games isn't a good sign.

We are so desperate for goals in this team and bar Raul I don't see where they come from , without new signing we are in trouble.

Cheer up mate. If this is happening in the second half of the season then repost this.

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Why can’t moutinho shoot? It’s enexcusable

 

[Ned]

Watched the replay of the penalty, we've been shafted again by VAR. At match speed I can see why the ref gave it from his angle but the cameras show the truth, that Alli left his foot like Sterling does to gain advantage. Alli should have been booked for ungentlemanly conduct if that still exists in our modern game.

Standard VAR.

If the ref doesn’t give it then VAR doesn’t overrule. If the ref gives ours then VAR doesn’t overrule.

Whole thing isn’t fit for purpose.

 

[Wolf 82]

Let's back this guy, he certainly knows how to set up a team. Such a shame he doesn't have a fully firing Jiminez, Jota, Neto. Imagine Jota in this pressing formation.

Yes.. I think Bruno would love working with Jota. But, he’s gone.

Hopefully we can find someone with similar talents to add spark to our front line.

 

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

So, were there any potential new signings in the crowd today???

Jeff Shi !!!

 

[Contrarian]

Playing well and losing games isn't a good sign.

We are so desperate for goals in this team and bar Raul I don't see where they come from , without new signing we are in trouble.

Unless you need a win to avoid relegation or keep the title challenge on, playing well is always better than playing badly. It's only 2 matches in, we aren't desperate for points and several teams are already beneath us. The significant difference is that we are playing well, they are playing badly. We won't be in trouble as long as Norwich keep being Norwichy and Brentford, Palace, Newcastle, Burnley and even Arsenal continue playing the dirge they have served up so far. And we continue playing as we have.

 

[BrierleyHillWolves]

We were hopeless in the opponents penalty area, shots flying in but not controlled, didn't look like beating their keeper even when Adama managed to fail with a perfect chance that a Danny Ings would have buried or Raul at his sharpest. Hopeful crosses sent in without a target mostly. One paced defense looked suspect when attacked although we competed well and had a lot of energy. The spurs GK though had little to do while their defense for the most part was never pulled out of shape. We don't possess anybody to come off the bench either to give it all a lift when it.
We need 3 quality players that can come into our team to give us a calmer controlled approach in either box and also allow Neto, Podence and Boly to get upto speed. Our new set up needs time and hoped for investment to flourish now.

Have a day off

 

[SuziQ]

Really enjoyed that. Two games in and Bruno's change of style is having a big impact on the entertainment front. Just need to actually score some goals now.

Kilman was fantastic in defence, especially considering he's not playing on his preferred side. Got Coady out of trouble on a couple of occasions at least.

Marcal evidently has toughened up a bit over the summer, thought he was going to have to come off with that knock to the head and then the other challenge just before half time.

Still think we need at least 1 more defender, midfielder and attacker before the end of the window and if we can get 2 out of the 3 I'd be happy with that.

 

[Ned]

I really want us to become ruthless otherwise I remember all those PL games under Mick where we played well for the first 15/20mins and then went a goal down and lost.

We need more goals in the side from all areas. The CB’s don’t look like chipping in, neither do the wing backs. Neves and Moutinho/Donk won’t contribute many either so it leaves us with 3 starting players to get the goals.

 

[JOSWolf]

Let's back this guy, he certainly knows how to set up a team. Such a shame he doesn't have a fully firing Jiminez, Jota, Neto. Imagine Jota in this pressing formation.

Agree. Please back Bruno, Shi. You have 8 days.

 

[DPE]

Not concerned at all after that. I would be very worried if we were creating very little but we are creating a lot.

Was a very good game that we deserved to win. The only reason we didn’t was a bad refereeing decision.

 

[Fifty Niner]

I really want us to become ruthless otherwise I remember all those PL games under Mick where we played well for the first 15/20mins and then went a goal down and lost.

We need more goals in the side from all areas. The CB’s don’t look like chipping in, neither do the wing backs. Neves and Moutinho/Donk won’t contribute many either so it leaves us with 3 starting players to get the goals.

I’m sure Bruno recognises this. Again, in his post match, he said we deserved more from the game. Very true but two games in against ‘top six’ sides, in both we have overall been the better team but we have zero goals in over 180mins of football. As games go by belief will drain if we keep playing well but can’t score.

Last season we averaged barely a goal a game so it’s going to be a tough challenge to not only get the team playing attacking football but also a free scoring one.

 

[S G Wolves]

Watched the pen decision again.

All I will say if Ali's was a pen so should have been Semedo's.

 

[bennymacca]

Sky Sports-
What the managers said
Wolves manager Bruno Lage: "The way we played the game, the chances we created, we had 25 chances to score one goal. We've created 42 in the last two games - I'm unhappy about the result but confident about the work we are doing and with the way we play, the future will be good.

"The first penalty is the right decision but after one or two minutes, the same foul in midfield was given. It was a question of experience, he goes against our goalkeeper and goes down. I think it was a penalty for us too, but I don't want to talk about referees.

"We have a lot of people to see the game, we have VAR to analyse these questions, so it was more important the way we played and the way we created a lot of chances, but unfortunately didn't score.

"I'm confident with our process. When I arrived, I challenged our players to play in this way, they accepted and are training hard to play like this. We've been training for four to five weeks altogether so that's the challenge - to change, to play how we are playing and create these chances we created in these games, against good teams in Leicester and Tottenham."

 

[Ned]

I’m sure Bruno recognises this. Two games in against ‘top six’ sides and in both we have overall been the better team but we have zero goals in over 180mins of football. As games go by belief will drain if we keep playing well but can’t score.

Last season we averaged barely a goal a game so it’s going to be a tough challenge to not only get the team playing attacking football but also a free scoring one.

I’m really impressed with Bruno so far. The players have bought in to what he’s trying to do and it’s going to pay dividends. He can harness Nuno’s defensive coaching correctly and get the best of both worlds i reckon.

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Watched the pen decision again.

All I will say if Ali's was a pen so should have been Semedo's.

This all day long . It’s actually a joke how inconsistent the two decisions are . Absurd

 

[Fifty Niner]

I’m really impressed with Bruno so far. The players have bought in to what he’s trying to do and it’s going to pay dividends. He can harness Nuno’s defensive coaching correctly and get the best of both worlds i reckon.

Just needs to sort our poor record in scoring goals. That’s two points dropped so far, minimum.

 

[Ned Stark]

Like most on here it's a case of looking at the positives from this game and trying to cope with the frustration (and concern) of the negatives.

I chatted to some Spurs fans walking away from the ground and they said that is a case of the best side lost, they were very clear that we were the better team as of course you would have to be if you had just watched that game. We had Spurs exactly where we wanted them for practically the whole game but of course the glaring omission from our performance was scoring goals. We could have played the whole thing again and still not scored which given the way last season went has to be a cause for some quite serious concern in my view.

There were many good performances across the pitch but Adama was completely unplayable, Spurs had no idea how to handle him other than the usual last resort of fouling him constantly but yes of course once again his end-product was just not there; his first shot went out almost for a throw-in after he had done so much good work to get himself into a brilliant position.

Kilman is brilliant, it's now official. He is so strong and confident in playing out of defence, he has really brought that into his game from when he first arrived when he would just, very understandably, look to keep things as simple as possible. He's a real star in the making for us.

I was impressed with Marcal and Semedo although I note others were less so and yes they both need to put a better ball into the box; Trincao likewise in that that I generally liked his play, he has a lot of skill and close ball control but again I suppose it's looking at what comes from that.

The Harry Kane songs made my day though, yes I'm as shallow as that!


Have to say I'm slightly worried that we're already assessing which three sides might be weaker than us over the season, we have to score some goals or we are in for a struggle however well we play across the rest of the park.

 

[wwbug]

Great game could not ask for more from Bruno and his men. Loved watching it - hated the result

From Fosun we need some goalscorers. Only one of our squad has a history of goal scoring.

 

[JOSWolf]

Thought Sa was very good today as well.

 

[Ercall Wolves]

No chance, too much beer Gary mate, remind me how many saves the Leicester and Spurs goalies have made?

More than our keeper in each game

 

[Ned]

Just needs to sort our poor record in scoring goals. That’s two points dropped so far, minimum.

Absolutely. A draw against Leicester would have been fair but we deserved a win today based on everything outside the final 3rd.

 

[Ned]

Thought Sa was very good today as well.

His distribution looks like it’s going to be a massive positive for us. Wouldn’t mind betting he gets a few assists via Traore this season.

 

[Rhoswolf]

More than our keeper

Need to re-watch today Sa far more saves to make, also conveniently forgetting the 2 goals conceded.

 

[Nige]

Not sure how you can have watched that and still compare it to last season!

We Lost..
Football is a simple game.
its doesn't matter how well you play
The only Stat that matters is Goals Scored against Goals against.
Has nobody noticed we cannot score
Lets Hope the goals do come and come quick.
Many teams in this league have Played Great front foot football and ended up in the Championship.

 

[JOSWolf]

We Lost..
Football is a simple game.
its doesn't matter how well you play
The only Stat that matters is Goals Scored against Goals against.
Has nobody noticed we cannot score
Lets Hope the goals do come and come quick.
Many teams in this league have Played Great front foot football and ended up in the Championship.

Agree with some of these points. The goal scoring problem has to be addressed and fast or it will quickly become a massive issue.

 

[Ned]

Like most on here it's a case of looking at the positives from this game and trying to cope with the frustration (and concern) of the negatives.

I chatted to some Spurs fans walking away from the ground and they said that is a case of the best side lost, they were very clear that we were the better team as of course you would have to be if you had just watched that game. We had Spurs exactly where we wanted them for practically the whole game but of course the glaring omission from our performance was scoring goals. We could have played the whole thing again and still not scored which given the way last season went has to be a cause for some quite serious concern in my view.

There were many good performances across the pitch but Adama was completely unplayable, Spurs had no idea how to handle him other than the usual last resort of fouling him constantly but yes of course once again his end-product was just not there; his first shot went out almost for a throw-in after he had done so much good work to get himself into a brilliant position.

Kilman is brilliant, it's now official. He is so strong and confident in playing out of defence, he has really brought that into his game from when he first arrived when he would just, very understandably, look to keep things as simple as possible. He's a real star in the making for us.

I was impressed with Marcal and Semedo although I note others were less so and yes they both need to put a better ball into the box; Trincao likewise in that that I generally liked his play, he has a lot of skill and close ball control but again I suppose it's looking at what comes from that.

The Harry Kane songs made my day though, yes I'm as shallow as that!


Have to say I'm slightly worried that we're already assessing which three sides might be weaker than us over the season, we have to score some goals or we are in for a struggle however well we play across the rest of the park.

If we find the net regularly then we will be talking about how high up we can finish and even whether we can challenge for Europe… but if we don’t then we could we’ll be looking over our shoulders. Such a knife edge so far.

 

[SA Wolf]

Played well and was a pleasure to watch, but of course still disappointed that we end up with nothing. Some will blame the ref, VAR, Alli, Nuno, Shi and Uncle Tom Cobley as well, but if we don't put the ball in the net, we deserve nothing. 25 attempts and not 1 goal!
For all the plaudits that come Wolves' way for the performance, I'd much rather we had points on the board.

Ratings;

Sa - 7 - At fault for the goal, making a challenge to Alli as he went away from goal. Redeemed himself with some decent stops in the 2nd half.
Marcal - 8 - Best game yet in a Wolves' shirt. Clattered twice, but completed the match, putting his 'sicknote' reputation on the back-burner (for now).
Saiss - 7 - Did OK at the back and was a threat from corners.
Coady - 6 - Beaten in a foot race by Son and wayward with his distribution.
Kilman - 7.5 - Assured on the ball and made a great stop. Comfortable bringing the ball forwards.
Semedo - 6 - Poor distribution and always a liability at the back. OK on the ball, but those crosses!!!
Neves - 6 - Worked hard, but ineffective for the most part.
Moutinho - 7 - Worked hard and the better of the midfield two.
Traore - 9 - A constant menace and almost unplayable. If only he could finish!
Jimenez - 6 - Nowhere near his best. Kept looking for the ball and then no presence in the box.
Trincao - 6 -His best game yet for Wolves (including pre-season). Unfortunately his right foot is only for standing on which limits his effectiveness.

Subs;

Dendoncker - 6 - Fresh legs, but no fresh ideas!
Ait-Nouri - N/A - A couple of good runs.
Silva - N/A - A header.

Today showed that while we are a better watch than last season, we are no more effective. We need better quality, otherwise it's going to be an interesting, but ultimately disappointing season.

 

[Fifty Niner]

We Lost..
Football is a simple game.
its doesn't matter how well you play
The only Stat that matters is Goals Scored against Goals against.
Has nobody noticed we cannot score
Lets Hope the goals do come and come quick.
Many teams in this league have Played Great front foot football and ended up in the Championship.

Great to see us playing the way we are so far this season. But, as you write, it ultimately matters not if we can’t outscore the opposition. At least we are creating chances and are more aggressive in our play but, as objective observers have noted, we lack a cutting edge and will need it if we are to avoid a relegation battle.

 

[Oh When the Wolves]

Sa looks so much better than Patricio already . Ok he may not be as great at some things over time, but Jesus - a keeper that comes off his line and has awesome distribution like that

 

[Incognito]

Standard VAR.

If the ref doesn’t give it then VAR doesn’t overrule. If the ref gives ours then VAR doesn’t overrule.

Whole thing isn’t fit for purpose.

Unfortunately, it is fit for purpose in league football, because it's purpose is to ensure the big teams continue to prosper.

 

[clivewolves]

Disappointing result.

Two games in and we have seen 3-4-3 can be attacking and entertaining.

Neves is more than just a defensive midfielder who sits on Coady's shoulder, as some of us have been saying.

Traore needs a solid day in training just shooting.

Trincao is showing what he has to offer.

Lage said he would make us entertaining and he delivered today. It's up to the players on the pitch to convert the chances. We're going to be okay this season. We just need to improve the squad.

 

[Contrarian]

We Lost..
Football is a simple game.
its doesn't matter how well you play
The only Stat that matters is Goals Scored against Goals against.
Has nobody noticed we cannot score
Lets Hope the goals do come and come quick.
Many teams in this league have Played Great front foot football and ended up in the Championship.

Remember 2 seasons ago, Norwich beat Man City 3-2 at this early stage while at the same time, I believe we were bottom, seeking our first win. What did those results mean? Nothing. We finished 7th and they finished 20th. Because despite any specific sequence of results, they were rubbish and we were quite good.

In the end results are a product of performance. "Points always match performance in the end" as I've heard several managers say. The key thing being "in the end". There's a lot of fortune within one 90 minute match. Many teams have also played turgid anti-football and ended up in the Championship.

I do agree we need to be dealing with our "Goal scored" problem. At the moment, I would devote all our funds to that and just stay with the defenders we have. Because "Goals against" just isn't our problem.

 

[JohnMatrix]

If anyone wants a good laugh read the below. It's like they watched a complete different match. My personal highlight "spurs should have killed the game off sooner". They weren't even in it lol.

Wolves 0-1 Tottenham - as it happened!

Wolves vs Tottenham - LIVE!

www.standard.co.uk

 

[DPE]

Know it’s a little raw for some still but would not trade Nuno for Bruno. The old style of football was awful and it shows how well our players can play. Not playing Kilman was also a silly decision based on today.

 

[KBWWFC]

After serving up that performance from what is essentially the same squad as the last couple of seasons it's over to FOSUN to back Bruno.
We were all over a very good spurs side and unlucky not to get anything out of the game.

They should have smacked us, those were Nunos players, he would have known their strengths and weaknesses inside out, it was really tactically poor on their side (ie not putting a player on the shoulder and playing in behind).

Over to you Jeff, don't waste this, our best players won't stick around if we're "also rans"

 

[The Wolf In The North]

Haven't read through the rest of this thread yet, so I'm not sure if I'm going against the grain here, but...

Even though we lost, that was the most pleasure I've had from watching a Wolves game in well over a year. We were excellent.

We played high, we played fast, we got the ball forward at every opportunity, we pressed, we created chances. We didn't do that backwards-sideways-backwards passing crap that has blighted us for so very long. We threaded balls through static lines instead of playing aimlessly in front of them. We got players up in support. Most wonderfully, we won the ball high up the park the way the more progressive teams like Leicester and Man Utd do instead of camping around our penalty box, and then we were sharp and direct. Every time the ball came into midfield there were one or two gold shirts there to press and win it, and there were options ahead to pass to. That's how football is supposed to be played.

I loved seeing through balls into space for Traore to run onto, as so many of us have been screaming for for so long, and loved seeing Neves playing beyond the halfway line. Sa was stupid and clumsy for the penalty, despite how Alli bought it, but he redeemed himself with some good saves and by playing high off his line with quick, clever distribution. Just like last week, if Adama takes his one-on-one, we get a point, but apart from that he was our gem, always wriggling free and being direct, and so much good came through him. Isn't it noticeable how he's so much more forward thinking now and spends less time on his backside?

Negatives, only that Trincao is ridiculously left-footed and that halves our danger potential on the right, and that Marcal - who was strong in defence - can't cross a football to save his life, so I'd prefer Ait Nouri there. And, obviously, that we didn't score. But otherwise we did everything right, and the goals will come, sooner rather than later.

A word on Nuno. Spurs were truly insipid and they played EXACTLY like we did when we were at our worst, slow and compact and no guile. They won, but winning isn't everything. Spurs fans won't have that. As soon as they stop winning and get turned over by a Watford or a Palace or a Newcastle with sub-40% possession (which will happen) then they'll revolt. I know which team I was happy and proud to watch today, and it wasn't the one that stole the points. Vive la Lage.

 

[wallace]

Have a day off

Would you share how you thought the game went today

 

[SuperGran]

Thought Sa was very good today as well.

he’s been excellent

 

[Wolf in Kenilworth]

he’s been excellent

He is a very very good modern keeper.