Staying up or going down ! What is your best guess with this new squad ?

[wwbug]

Have we done enough to survive ? It’s survival for me . The worst is behind us.

 

[WolfLing]

I don't like that there's a majority of people thinking we will be fine. It makes me uncomfortable.

Most other seasons when loads of people say we will be relegated, it's all been fine, so I'd much prefer the naysayers to carry on!!

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

Staying up, unless we're relying on marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar.

 

[wwbug]

Staying up, unless we're relying on marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Ok . I have changed the title .

 

[Wolvesfcneil]

I don't like that there's a majority of people thinking we will be fine. It makes me uncomfortable.

Most other seasons when loads of people say we will be relegated, it's all been fine, so I'd much prefer the naysayers to carry on!!

Last couple of times I got the feeling we were down even in the Championship, this time I haven't got it but it could change.

 

[wolvesaywe]

Survival at an absolute canter. Top 4 manager. Top 8 squad.

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

Survival at an absolute canter. Top 4 manager. Top 8 squad.

...mid to bottom 3 strike force.

 

[Bacon Sandwich]

Survival at an absolute canter. Top 4 manager. Top 8 squad.

By and large this is my feeling. Maybe not quite a top 8 squad without an effective CF but more than enough.

BUT - with the exception of Everton, fans of Forest, Bournemouth, Leeds etc etc will think their signings in January mean they stay up. Three teams WILL go down, and we are a very long way from being out of the woods. A win on Saturday against the Dippers/VAR Combined XI would be huge...

 

[jrpb-3]

do we have manager, team and squad good enough to stay up YES
Will they all work together and produce performances good enough to stay up, should do but no guarantees
We need to start finding the back of the net

 

[Severnup]

We have to feel more positive about survival with the signings that we've made and add to this the fact that we haven't let too many players go. I'm optimistic and looking forward to seeing these players perform.

 

[Sketchead]

Too close to call.

Our squad is definitely much better than it was before the transfer window opened. It should be too good, especially with a competent manager now in charge. We've taken 7 points from 15 in his league games so far, so if we continue on a similar rate we should be alright.

However I would say certainly Leeds, and probably Southampton and Forest think they've had good windows too. Bournemouth might as well but I think they're my only certs to go.

Going to be really tight. I think we'll just do it, but this little upcoming run of Southampton, Bournemouth, Fulham will be really telling, regardless of how we get on against Liverpool on Saturday.

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

I don't like that there's a majority of people thinking we will be fine. It makes me uncomfortable.

Most other seasons when loads of people say we will be relegated, it's all been fine, so I'd much prefer the naysayers to carry on!!

It was only a guess. I'm happy to guess we'll stay up. I'm not putting my house on it though.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

Seriously the way I look at it is a bit like playing Risk. You can have the bigger army (better squad) or a better strategy (top manager), but if the buggers keep rolling 6's you can still lose. No way we're one of the worst 3 teams now (Bournemouth, Saints, Everton would be my picks), but that doesn't mean we can't go down.

 

[oldgoldheart]

before the season started i couldnt pick three teams playing worse than we were. the last year has been dreadful but there are signs of improvement. we may stay up but this is wolves. the 2nd highest total to get relegated to league one and the highest total to miss out on the play offs. anything can happen

 

[Banks's Mild]

I think too close to call at the minute, which for me is an improvement from a couple of months ago when I was pretty much resigned to relegation.
The positive in me thinks we have the right manager with a better squad and increased fitness and work rate. The negative in me looks at the table to see us only 2 points off bottom and only out of the bottom 3 on goal difference and still worried about whether we can start finding the goals required to keep us up and I also think the other teams down there have mostly either improved their squads or manager which will help them, which coupled with the element of luck that can decide games sometimes means anything could happen.
I think we are in for a very interesting end to the season and we could finish anywhere between 12th and 20th imo so I am hoping rather than convinced that it's 17th or upwards but not confident yet.

 

[Ironfistedmonk]

Too close to call, unless we start to find where the goal is it's gonna be a bit squeeky bum time

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

...mid to bottom 3 strike force.

I’m impressed you’ve seen enough of Cunha and Sabrabia to decide that. Kudos that’s a very keen eye to judge a player.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

I think we'll stay up but we need to crack on.

The timing of JL arriving was a massive plus. Getting the bulk of our January business done early was positive.

And I know some will argue, but getting knocked out the cup has given us extra days at Compton. I'd rather be in our position than trying to bed in new managers and last minute panic buys.

 

[manchesterwolf17]

I've always thought we'll stay up, but inevitably due to the lack of goals it's hard not to have some concerns. I'm not convinced (yet) we'll be comfortable at any point of the season but ultimately the new signings may allay those doubts.

It's also dissimilar to last season in the sense that there were 3 dreadful sides destined for relegation. Other than Bournemouth, I can make a pretty good case for any of the others getting their act together and finishing above us. I actually think Wolves, Everton and Southampton will all avoid relegation.

The signing of Lemina has given me more optimism because he's exactly the type of midfielder we've massively lacked for far too long. I think he'll prove to be a significantly more important addition than perhaps first thought by some.

So yes, I do believe we'll stay up because we'll take points from those around us on the basis of having a better manager. My prediction is that Bournemouth, Leeds and Forest will go down, and we'll be 16th/17th.

 

[TheTwoPigeons]

It's hard as a pessimist to be positive about our chances. I was always worried about relegation under Nuno's tenure even when we were competing for European spots.

All the signs are looking positive so I'm hopeful, but it only takes a couple of severe injuries and unlucky results to relgate us in the situation we're in so it has to be too early to say.

 

[Wolf in Kenilworth]

We’ve got a top 6 midfield
We’ve got a mid table defence
We have a bottom 6 attack.
We have an elite manager.

We need to start creating and scoring. Do that and we’ll be comfortably safe.

Massive Feb coming up.

 

[Ebbo]

From the moment JL was confirmed I've been totally confident we'd stay up. We've now strengthened the squad significantly in the Jan window. JL had already made big improvements, now he has more to work with in the squad. We'll be comfortably safe. Some folk just don't seem to want to be optimistic.

 

[Matt]

I think our lack of goals will make it very difficult for us to stay up.

 

[rubyloo]

50/50

Fasten your seatbelts

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

It's going to be so close.

It's purely a numbers game. We aren't going to score enough goals. It's crazy to think Costa or Raul will just start firing and Cunha has featured in about 6 games for us and barely had a chance of note, even if he looks a good player.

It doesn't matter who you are, if you're scoring 1 goal a game max, which we're likely to do at best, then you're going to struggle.

Thankfully we have a decent defence so I don't think we need to be free-scoring but we're still not going to get enough to stay up comfortably.

Also, whilst we had a good window, so did most of our rivals. Southampton improved considerably, Bournemouth did and Forest have improved.
Everton haven't but swapping Lampard for Dyche is massive and the XI he will put out every week will be better than the one he had at Burnley and kept up with relative ease for most of his time there. So, they can't be written off at all.

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

I’m impressed you’ve seen enough of Cunha and Sabrabia to decide that. Kudos that’s a very keen eye to judge a player.

True, I haven't seen much of Sarabia. His record at Sporting was very good. I have seen Cunha now, and what is clear is that neither of them are a no.9. We will have to play either Costa or Jimenez, who are past their best, or Hwang who struggles in this league .

Podence is our main goal threat, so, I stand by what I said, we have a good team but can't score, and we haven't addressed that problem.

 

[Zico]

True, I haven't seen much of Sarabia. His record at Sporting was very good. I have seen Cunha now, and what is clear is that neither of them are a no.9. We will have to play either Costa or Jimenez, who are past their best, or Hwang who struggles in this league .

Podence is our main goal threat, so, I stand by what I said, we have a good team but can't score, and we haven't addressed that problem.

I think his favoured front three will be Podence, Cunha and Sarabia.

 

[bigwolf]

JLO's mantra is be.hard to beat and stay in games. We've seen enough of that so far to justify optimism.

I don't t think we will score substantially more in the second half of this season but probably 20% -30% better on the goals front.

All of which means we stay up and end around 14th.

 

[Skrilla]

At this point, I really don't know. Massively worried about where the goals are going to come from, as Cunha and Sarabia are far from guaranteed to start scoring every week, and my confidence in Raul and Costa is extremely low. I think we'll just about have enough to get over the line as our general play should continue to improve under Julen.

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

I think his favoured front three will be Podence, Cunha and Sarabia.

I think the way we press we will swap out 2 or 3 of the starting front line. So, I agree, they are our best, but we will mix it up.

 

[wolvesjoe]

At this point, I really don't know. Massively worried about where the goals are going to come from, as Cunha and Sarabia are far from guaranteed to start scoring every week, and my confidence in Raul and Costa is extremely low. I think we'll just about have enough to get over the line as our general play should continue to improve under Julen.

I was impressed with some of Southampton's football last night, (second half), and they have a few goals in the team as well.

For me, it is Everton, Bournemouth and one other. And there is precious little to choose from in that one other. My view is that the final place will go down to the wire, with 5 or 6 clubs in the mix.

 

[Skrilla]

I was impressed with some of Southampton's football last night, (second half), and they have a few goals in the team as well.

For me, it is Everton, Bournemouth and one other. And there is precious little to choose from in that one other. My view is that the final place will go down to the wire, with 5 or 6 clubs in the mix.

Everton you just never know because of the Dyche factor, he'll grind out a few results even with their **** squad. Bournemouth getting in Hamed Traore and Dango Outtara who will give them some flair going forward as well, neither will go down without a fight I feel. I just don't see any concrete candidates for relegation at this moment, which could change over the next month.

February is a very important month for us. All four games feel winnable, including Liverpool, so it's a good test to see where this group is at.

 

[FJRWolf]

I've voted survival but tbf Im hovering somewhere between survival and too close to call. Think we'll have a better idea after this month.

 

[RosehillWolf]

To stay up we need to score. To score we need to compliment our midfield with someone to convert the chances. I don’t think Cunha is that guy. Sadly neither are Raul , Costa and Hwang.
We’ve made a massive mistake in not signing a striker. I was hoping we signed the Coventry lad
We have to hope Sarabia and Gomes fulfil the hype and that Neves stays fit and doesn’t get suspended
Too many concerns for me , it will be close , but I think we are doomed

 

[Ned]

I'm leaning towards the survival end of too close to call. My gut is telling me we will be fine but our goals for column is worse than terrible and should be a real worry. We aren't in this battle because we are a good team with a "top 8 squad" as some people say, we are in this battle because we are a poor side. But I'm betting on J-Lo to get this sorted and get the players resembling some form of decent football team. It will be close though.

 

[Zico]

To stay up we need to score. To score we need to compliment our midfield with someone to convert the chances. I don’t think Cunha is that guy. Sadly neither are Raul , Costa and Hwang.
We’ve made a massive mistake in not signing a striker. I was hoping we signed the Coventry lad
We have to hope Sarabia and Gomes fulfil the hype and that Neves stays fit and doesn’t get suspended
Too many concerns for me , it will be close , but I think we are doomed

I'm glad you've sorted out your account hacker who posted the positive stuff earlier.

 

[Dan G WWFC]

Down to the wire for me

 

[Wagstaffe Was Magic]

We are going to struggle to stay up and have a huge fight on our hands!

Lack of goals remains the elephant in the room!!!!

We’re not finding the net often enough and any team is going to struggle to stay up in those circumstances !!

It could go either way, but either way it’s going down to the last game

 

[Corporate Wolf]

One thing is for certain is that 1 team will have a great run and pull themselves out of the mire - I hope that will be us.

Leicester will be pulled more into the relegation mess if they continue on current form. Even more cause for concern are their next 5 games where IMHO I think they will be lucky to get 3 points. West Ham have got a couple of tough fixtures coming up as well.

I think the next 5 fixtures may shape up to be more defining for all concerned.

 

[Fifty Niner]

We’ve got a top 6 midfield
We’ve got a mid table defence
We have a bottom 6 attack.
We have an elite manager.

We need to start creating and scoring. Do that and we’ll be comfortably safe.

Massive Feb coming up.

'nuff said although I would say we have a bottom of the table attack, given we have the least goals scored in all four top tier leagues so far. This could prove to be our achilles heel if not solved pretty quickly. We are on for 23 goals at our current rate.