Spurs (H) Verdict

[rincewind]

My thoughts are that maybe we need 4 at the back to have the extra player in and around their area.
Generally some lovely play but a little concerning how many good situations didn't become good chances.
As for the penalty, behind the goal it looked clear but replays suggest it was one of those manufactured ones that the authorities are trying to stop. But Stockley Park is not our friend.

 

[Wolf616]

How anyone can watch that game and think Adama is essential is beyond me. Yes he's exciting, can beat anyone etc. but he cannot score and he can barely pass. I for one am fed up of watching him do amazing things only to spunk it wide. The phrase all fart and no poo springs to mind... Really hoping the £40m to Spurs rumours are true, because we could very easily upgrade on him (in terms of OUTPUT - you know, assists and goals?) with that kinda money (and less!). It's clear Neves is far, far more important and a far better player, so keeping him would be ideal.

Lots of positives to take from the game though. Wolves are exciting to watch again????

 

[fleck1]

My first real look at what Bruno is going to give us and if its more of that we won't go far wrong, a couple of additions in the right areas this week and the returning players could set us up for an exciting season. 20 yards higher up the pitch, higher tempo and movement ahead of Neves/Moutinho for them to pick out forward passes. Not the result but the performance promised much, lack of goals is a worry but if you are creating 20 plus chances a game they will come, less of a concern than under Nuno when we got to the point we were creating nothing. Come on Jeff the platform is there.....

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

We was the better team but silly mistakes are letting us down

We lack the killer instinct. Raul doesn’t look anywhere near the levels yet.

Positive performance but we need to pick up points soon

 

[Polish Wolf]

First of all, although I could only watch it on TV, with the full stadium, this looked so much more like the game we fell in love with! Brilliant.

Then a couple of points on the game itself:

• It had been ages since I saw us so dominant, so proactive, so aggressive and creating so many chances. Early days and of course 0 points to show for it, but if this is the style of play we'd like to progress to, I'm all for it and fingers crossed for Bruno. He needs results but they will come if we continue to play this way.
• Nuno, as much as I still like him, resorted back to his usual tactics. I don't know how much patience Spurs fans will have for that style. They have been known as a ball playing team and this is their DNA (or at least they believe so). However, so far, the league results are very good and that should do.
• I really liked Sa. Yes, he conceded the penalty, but other than that I thought he was brilliant. Better shot stopper than I expected him to be. Commanded his box and distributed the ball beautifully. He may as well turn out to be an upgrade on Rui.
• Max Kilman. Has he ever done anything wrong in Wolves shirt? Yes, that harsh handball against Leicester last year and maybe one more goal conceded where he could have done better. Otherwise he's been brilliant and is getting better. Yesterday he did not put his foot wrong all game. Loved his forward runs too.
• It is so much better to see Ruben Neves further up field. He played those balls right, left and centre like he used to do in the Championship. We must not sell him.
• The other one not for sale is Traore. Yes, he is frustrating at times and he has just missed his 2nd one-on-one this season. But generally this guy is unplayable. Even on TV you could see that the whole Spurs backline were terrified whenever he got to the ball. That tactics with him playing on the shoulder of the defender is brilliant and will get us many goals eventually.
• Great to see Raul back. He was a little bit rusty in front of the goal but his link up play and his presence alone created a focal point for our attacks.

Now over to you Jeff. Bruno needs backing. Keep Neves and Traore and get us those 3-4 quality players and we will easily be a top 10 side!

 

[Jack Russell]

We was the better team but silly mistakes are letting us down

We lack the killer instinct. Raul doesn’t look anywhere near the levels yet.

Positive performance but we need to pick up points soon

Our opening three fixtures were close on as hard as it gets. I didn't expect anything from them. I suspect that we could get something from United, but after that we have some fixtures that could be really rewarding if we continue to play as in our first two games. The unknown at the beginning of the season was how well we would play and we can play well. We just need the goals now.

 

[Jack Russell]

First of all, although I could only watch it on TV, with the full stadium, this looked so much more like the game we fell in love with! Brilliant.

Then a couple of points on the game itself:

• It had been ages since I saw us so dominant, so proactive, so aggressive and creating so many chances. Early days and of course 0 points to show for it, but if this is the style of play we'd like to progress to, I'm all for it and fingers crossed for Bruno. He needs results but they will come if we continue to play this way.
• Nuno, as much as I still like him, resorted back to his usual tactics. I don't know how much patience Spurs fans will have for that style. They have been known as a ball playing team and this is their DNA (or at least they believe so). However, so far, the league results are very good and that should do.
• I really liked Sa. Yes, he conceded the penalty, but other than that I thought he was brilliant. Better shot stopper than I expected him to be. Commanded his box and distributed the ball beautifully. He may as well turn out to be an upgrade on Rui.
• Max Kilman. Has he ever done anything wrong in Wolves shirt? Yes, that harsh handball against Leicester last year and maybe one more goal conceded where he could have done better. Otherwise he's been brilliant and is getting better. Yesterday he did not put his foot wrong all game. Loved his forward runs too.
• It is so much better to see Ruben Neves further up field. He played those balls right, left and centre like he used to do in the Championship. We must not sell him.
• The other one not for sale is Traore. Yes, he is frustrating at times and he has just missed his 2nd one-on-one this season. But generally this guy is unplayable. Even on TV you could see that the whole Spurs backline were terrified whenever he got to the ball. That tactics with him playing on the shoulder of the defender is brilliant and will get us many goals eventually.
• Great to see Raul back. He was a little bit rusty in front of the goal but his link up play and his presence alone created a focal point for our attacks.

Now over to you Jeff. Bruno needs backing. Keep Neves and Traore and get us those 3-4 quality players and we will easily be a top 10 side!

One of the best and most constructive posts that I have ever read on this site. Many thanks Polish Wolf!

 

[BlahBlah]

One pass taking our whole defence out is something that better be addressed PDQ

surely that is just the point of football and the kind of thing you want to see, except for the dive at the end ?
We played an equally good pass to set Traore free and he missed the chance.

 

[wolvesaywe]

Our opening three fixtures were close on as hard as it gets. I didn't expect anything from them. I suspect that we could get something from United, but after that we have some fixtures that could be really rewarding if we continue to play as in our first two games. The unknown at the beginning of the season was how well we would play and we can play well. We just need the goals now.

I remember that glorious, but very brief, moment in 11/12 under Mick when we sat top of the table after winning our first two games (think it lasted about three hours if memory serves me right)

Two years to the day later we were playing in League One

The opening two games really do mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. As you say the real alarm bells would be if we'd lost and played abysmally.

That said I'd ****ing love a goal!

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

You will have no doubt also noticed Raul running behind the goal and giving Loris the ball after missing, and Moutinho sprinting off when substituted. There is definitely an urgency and intensity about us in everything we're doing, whether that's sustainable we will have to wait and see

This is a very good point. Intensity is great, but it’s hard to sustain with a small squad due to fatigue, and surely has a far higher risk of injury.

You really need to get points early as you will often find high intensity teams tend to drop off points wise towards the end of the season.

 

[WickedWolfie]

surely that is just the point of football and the kind of thing you want to see, except for the dive at the end ?
We played an equally good pass to set Traore free and he missed the chance.

I appreciate good football but would really rather see us play it rather than it be against us.

 

[quirky_birky]

Garth Crooks has Dele Alli in his team of the week.

Can’t really add much to that.

"The difference between the two sides was simple. Alli can finish and Adama Traore can't".

That's interesting justification for a place in his Team of the Week, considering it was scored from a penalty, but it's classic Crooks.

 

[kinyo298]

Have to be honest and say, win or lose please give us more of the same.The closing down and attacking intent was great to watch.First game for a long time that ive actually enjoyed watching us.Keep it up Bruno.

 

[the 15th Wanderer]

I thought that was moutinho who I thought was caught a few times by the pace of the game. Shows what I know because it was neves!

Neves was excellent overall tho. Don't quite understand your report. We were great today except where it mattered.

I agree. Moutinho did some good stuff but he was poor at times. Got caught in possession a few times which never used to happen and a yard slower. He still has a part to play but help needed in midfield.
Poor finishing cost us the game.

 

[Contrarian]

This is a very good point. Intensity is great, but it’s hard to sustain with a small squad due to fatigue, and surely has a far higher risk of injury.

You really need to get points early as you will often find high intensity teams tend to drop off points wise towards the end of the season.

I think the defending deep, allowing the opponent to control 2/3 of the pitch for most of the match is also draining on the players eventually. It's not good to watch, I would imagine it's a nightmare to play, week in, week out. The concentration levels required to maintain organisation without the ball for long periods (and we played like this against everyone from Champions to Chorley) seemed to taek it's toll on the players in the end.

Intensity hasn't broken Leeds yet, though plenty say it will, eventually.

 

[Wenlock Wolf]

I think we've all become so used to watching 'safe' football from Nuno. Cautious & containing.

Bruno's wanderers are very much a different proposition. The high press is really apparent when you see it live. High risk strategy, certainly compared with the Nuno brand. If we can sort out the goal drought I'm sure we'll be off and running, but expect to be counter attacked often.

Fair play to the existing players for being able to adapt to the point at which they are at now. The key additions to be added and more time on the training ground for the squad ... there will be goals and entertainment for sure!

 

[Big Saft Kid]

Look, we ain't gonna finish 7th this season. I'd say, given the immense changes in how we are going to be playing, that finishing 13th as we did last season will OK if we have evolved in the way that I think we will by the end of the season. Next season will then be the season when we really kick on. This season 13th and a thrilling Cup-run would be fine.

 

[Wall heath Wanderer]

Does anyone have that tackle on video?

Probably locked away in the BBC vaults never to be exposed.

 

[Big Saft Kid]

"The difference between the two sides was simple. Alli can finish and Adama Traore can't".

That's interesting justification for a place in his Team of the Week, considering it was scored from a penalty, but it's classic Crooks.

Dele Ali played a blinder, forget the penalty. Ran the Spurs midfield.

 

[Tarcisio Mifsud]

Our performance very encouriging, although I wish we scored at least once.
Have great doubts over the penalty.
Spurs deserved to be reduced to 10 men in the first half, but Attwell went for a yellow instead of a red card, over a tackle on Marcal.
Sa - 8
Kilman - 7
Coady - 7.5
Saiss- 6.5
Semedo - 6
Neves - 7
Joah - 6.5
Trincao - 6
Raul - 7
Adama - 8. would have given him 10 had he took his 1 on 1 chance.

Still feel that the sale of Jota last season was a very very big mistake. Look what he is doing at Liverpool.

 

[Big Saft Kid]

I remember that glorious, but very brief, moment in 11/12 under Mick when we sat top of the table after winning our first two games (think it lasted about three hours if memory serves me right)

Two years to the day later we were playing in League One

The opening two games really do mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. As you say the real alarm bells would be if we'd lost and played abysmally.

That said I'd ****ing love a goal!

Yep. We beat Blackburn 2-1, Fulham 2-0 and drew 0-0 with Villa, 7 points from the first 3 games and equal top. That night I went to a school reunion and all the Wolves fans were crowing and taking the **** out of the Albion fans, who got precisely 0 points from their first three games. That didn't end well... We went down and I seem to remember they beat us 5-1 on our own muck-heap.

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

I think the defending deep, allowing the opponent to control 2/3 of the pitch for most of the match is also draining on the players eventually. It's not good to watch, I would imagine it's a nightmare to play, week in, week out. The concentration levels required to maintain organisation without the ball for long periods (and we played like this against everyone from Champions to Chorley) seemed to taek it's toll on the players in the end.

Intensity hasn't broken Leeds yet, though plenty say it will, eventually.

No but it did do once in the championship if we’re using Leeds as an example.

I’d wager intensity playing the way we do now is more physically draining than concentrating as we did under Nuno, that can’t be good for injury pile ups etc.

I’m not against this new Lage style it was great fun to watch, but have a few concerns about how long it can be maintained for, especially if we’re continuing to fail to score.

Undeniably a more positive approach to games which if that was the brief from Jeff when bringing in a new manager then he’s certainly moving us in the right direction.

 

[Sedgers]

Our final ball was poor yesterday. Even the most myopic Wolves fan would be hard pressed to list many top saves Loris had to make, Traore's chance aside. But we did play with menace which was good to see. As a club we are still in danger of being relegated though since we simply don't score enough goals. This has been an obvious problem since last November. The jury is still out on Raul. If he fails to fire or, God forbid, was injured, I can't see how the pattern would change without a new striker. I still think it's worrying times for Wolves.

 

[Jack Russell]

Our performance very encouriging, although I wish we scored at least once.
Have great doubts over the penalty.
Spurs deserved to be reduced to 10 men in the first half, but Attwell went for a yellow instead of a red card, over a tackle on Marcal.
Sa - 8
Kilman - 7
Coady - 7.5
Saiss- 6.5
Semedo - 6
Neves - 7
Joah - 6.5
Trincao - 6
Raul - 7
Adama - 8. would have given him 10 had he took his 1 on 1 chance.

Still feel that the sale of Jota last season was a very very big mistake. Look what he is doing at Liverpool.

It wasn't the sale of Jota that was the problem as he had very much gone 'off the boil', it was the injury to Neto that caused the problems!

 

[sillytuna]

It was the not replacing of jota and doherty's goals that was the problem. A year later and we still only have one player who can score and he is recovering from a career threatening injury. Well two, but neto is out for most of the season.

 

[Ned]

"The difference between the two sides was simple. Alli can finish and Adama Traore can't".

That's interesting justification for a place in his Team of the Week, considering it was scored from a penalty, but it's classic Crooks.

This was classic. I think even the BBC know it’s a joke as they sarcastically overplay the teams importance.

 

[reanswolf]

My scores on the doors: -

Sa - 8 - conned by Ali for the penalty but handled very securely making 2 or 3 excellent saves
Semedo - 7.5 - several excellent runs down the right and defended well
Marcal - 7.5 - really good and aggressive in the tackle but crossing was a bit flat but options were limited in the box
Coady - 7 - got skinned for pace once or twice and less reliance on the long ball meant not used as much
Kilman - 8 - excellent dominant display, brought the ball forward nicely too a few times to open things up.
Saiss - 7 - reasonably steady performance.
Moutinho - 7.5 - lovely passing and reading of the game, just a bit weak in the challenge
Neves - 9 - my MOTM, ok his pass led to the goal but he was back to his imperious best, orchestrating and conducting our play. Also broke up play superbly.
Trincao - 7.5 - I thought he played well, showed a lovely touch here and there, but would like to see him involved a little more. But settling in nicely.
Traore - 8.5 - bursts of speed no one can catch, excellent performance but a lack of options in the box repeatedly, at that was not his fault.
Jimenez - 6 - still finding his feet for me, looked a little off the pace, understandably. But without hi challenging aerially, it is a worry for us.

SUBS - 6 each

 

[Bankswolf The Third]

The most fun I have had watching us lose in a long time. The penalty was your classic football lack of concentration that they would try over and over but we were really positive out of that. Bruno in 4 weeks has turned subbeto football into freeflowing attacking and I am all for it. He needs support, you can't bring in a young forward thinking coach and not support him so this is the week it needs to happen because I believe we could have drawn that game if the bodies were in

Individally I can't single out anyone. Wait, yes I can. Ruben Neves. Why oh why anyone would think of selling that long haired beauty of a man I do not know. Was so good on the ball and is a different player now he isnt sat in our penalty spot. Loved his performance same for Marcal who is an underrated gem, Kilman though he loses marks for not slapping Son for his petulance when he made that block and Semedo who I will never hear a bad word said

Adama gave them problems from minute one, Trincao is season one Neto at the moment and Raul needs time.

I feel a lot more confident than I did two weeks ago that the goals and results will come. Also glad we don't have to see that bald fraud again at the molineux getting his round of applause. Bruno is my hero

 

[Wagstaffe Was Magic]

Some Spurs reactions

“Imagine if Wolves had Kane and Son”

“If only we had Moutinho and Neves in our midfield”

“They will never sustain that high energy game with such a small squad”

”They had lots of possession but apart from the 1v1 Lloris didn’t have many shots to save other than long range efforts”

Troare was the main subject of their match Comms thread, and views varied wildly from ‘would take him in a heartbeat’ to the usual ‘no end product’

 

[Sedgley Gold N Black]

Not sure how one is a penalty and the other on Semedo isn’t having seen them again particularly with the one angle of the Alli pen.

 

[StourWolves]

We were the much better team but for all the possession in dangerous areas and all the pressure we didn’t create a fact lot other than crosses into the box. Think we missed a trick not bringing in MGW and going 4 at the back. Raul looks like he needs someone to play closer to him.

 

[quirky_birky]

Dele Ali played a blinder, forget the penalty. Ran the Spurs midfield.

Perhaps GC should have mentioned that in his comments rather than highlighting Alli's superior finishing... from the penalty spot... (then going on to say that Alli hadn't scored a league goal since March 2020!!).

 

[Fifty Niner]

Surprised MGW didn’t get on the pitch. Was very good in pre-season in Bruno’s new set up and many hoped this would be his break through season.

 

[Horsham Wolf]

It was great to see us playing positively once again, I can’t remember anyone turning, killing the momentum and taking an easy option pass back even once. Last season it felt like we did that all the time.

I’m relaxed with what we’ve got, I believe that Bruno can make it work especially when injured players return. Fingers crossed though, we’re thin on the bench and we can’t afford any more injuries, we should still add strength in the last few days of this transfer window. (And no more outgoings).

Our 2 new additions were good. It was great to see Sa operate in the entire penalty area. I was encouraged by Trincao, thought he won the ball in every one of his 50/50s and don’t remember him being dispossessed either.

Moutinho and Neves weren’t bad when playing together!
Everyone seemed less enthusiastic to go “shooot” when Neves had a chance outside the penalty area because it used to either go into a defender or fly over the crossbar. It seems like he’s taking more time to for look for other options now.

Adama is fantastic entertainment, provides an outlet and makes things happen. People pay money to see that sort of thing.

Thats all I want to say about the game and individual performances. I’ll have a look at the Sky highlights after I post this and of course that ‘penalty’. In the moment, it felt like a 50/50, but knowing Nuneaton’s Finest and what he’s done for us in the past there was no doubt in my mind that he’d give it.

There was a lot of discussion beforehand about the reception we’d give Nuno, Bruno and Raul. They got that right too…little or fuss, plenty of Si Senor, Bruno’s name in all the old songs, and a respectful round applause for Nuno at the end. Someone behind me tried a “Bruno had a dream” but no one was having any of that. Nuno’s gone now and it was clear to see during the game that his heart is now at Spurs.

What really brought a tear to the eye was the half time tribute. So many happy faces in those photos, all gone. Terrible.

Yesterday was a memorable day, but one from which I get the feeling that we’re moving in the right direction.

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

It wasn't the sale of Jota that was the problem as he had very much gone 'off the boil', it was the injury to Neto that caused the problems!

Selling Jota has had a huge impact on our ability to score goals.

Sure he had gone ‘off the boil’ somewhat, however, firstly on their day his partnership with Raul was superb and tore teams apart. But most significantly was the speed at which Jota got us up field hasn’t been replaced. Sure, Traore is quick, but his choice more often than not is to stand his man up then beat him, all well and good but allows teams to reset whilst this happens. Whereas Jota used to just run at his man and harass his way through, this left teams exposed and lead to far more chances.

Plus he’s a goalscorer too. Neto is a great player but is only going to return you around 5 goals per season.

 

[kennyB]

My scores on the doors: -

Sa - 8 - conned by Ali for the penalty but handled very securely making 2 or 3 excellent saves
Semedo - 7.5 - several excellent runs down the right and defended well
Marcal - 7.5 - really good and aggressive in the tackle but crossing was a bit flat but options were limited in the box
Coady - 7 - got skinned for pace once or twice and less reliance on the long ball meant not used as much
Kilman - 8 - excellent dominant display, brought the ball forward nicely too a few times to open things up.
Saiss - 7 - reasonably steady performance.
Moutinho - 7.5 - lovely passing and reading of the game, just a bit weak in the challenge
Neves - 9 - my MOTM, ok his pass led to the goal but he was back to his imperious best, orchestrating and conducting our play. Also broke up play superbly.
Trincao - 7.5 - I thought he played well, showed a lovely touch here and there, but would like to see him involved a little more. But settling in nicely.
Traore - 8.5 - bursts of speed no one can catch, excellent performance but a lack of options in the box repeatedly, at that was not his fault.
Jimenez - 6 - still finding his feet for me, looked a little off the pace, understandably. But without hi challenging aerially, it is a worry for us.

SUBS - 6 each

Regarding Jimenez, I think he should be given time to get back to his normal game and unfair that we have been left in the position of only having him as a striker. He should be coming off the bench for half an hour at present but because we have still (after all this time) failed to get another half decent striker in he has been put in the position of having to play the whole game when he clearly isn't ready yet.
I know it's been continually repeated but £35 million wasted, ugh!

 

[JohnB]

Some Spurs reactions

“Imagine if Wolves had Kane and Son”

“If only we had Moutinho and Neves in our midfield”

“They will never sustain that high energy game with such a small squad”

”They had lots of possession but apart from the 1v1 Lloris didn’t have many shots to save other than long range efforts”

Troare was the main subject of their match Comms thread, and views varied wildly from ‘would take him in a heartbeat’ to the usual ‘no end product’

Yes I read that for a “balanced” view! Actually always good to read oppositions sites to get a flavour - particularly through a game. Similar to my old man telling me to watch the opposition for 5 mins…puts your side into context.

 

[John de Wolf's hairdryer]

Surprised MGW didn’t get on the pitch. Was very good in pre-season in Bruno’s new set up and many hoped this would be his break through season.

Being 'saved' to be a key player against Forest tomorrow?

 

[Contrarian]

No but it did do once in the championship if we’re using Leeds as an example.

I’d wager intensity playing the way we do now is more physically draining than concentrating as we did under Nuno, that can’t be good for injury pile ups etc.

I’m not against this new Lage style it was great fun to watch, but have a few concerns about how long it can be maintained for, especially if we’re continuing to fail to score.

Undeniably a more positive approach to games which if that was the brief from Jeff when bringing in a new manager then he’s certainly moving us in the right direction.

Yes, maybe squad rotation is the key to making it work without burning them out? The problem being we still have quite a small squad.

 

[Peszkywolf]

Not seen a Wolves team this exciting since McCarthy promotion side. A performance that makes you want to leave the pub and make it in for kick off!!

You can see how Benfica scored 100,000 goals in a season. Lage is the antithesis to Nuno. Just want us to get some points on board (maybe not sunday) just to keep this attacking football going with confidence, players could lose that if we're still having 25 half chances a game.

Need a CB next to Kilman for a back 4.