The myth of our top squad

[northnorfolkwolf]

We all keep saying this is the best squad since whenever, but is it? Neves and possibly Nunes are top players - who else? I think Kilman and Collins can be a top partnership. Sa, very disappointing this season. We ask if Jimenez is finished, I'd ask the same of Jonny who is playing on his reputation only now. Semedo - who knows, nothing much so far. RAN, still too raw. Moutinho well past it. Of the forwards Neto, if he can get back to his best, will be a top player but the signs are he's struggling and now he's injured again. Tbh if we sold all our other forwards in January I'd not be concerned. There is no area/ position where we have any strength in depth. More injuries/suspensions will kill us. There you have it. I have more faith and hope in our kids - Hodge, Campbell and Cundle, Bueno that most of our 1st X1 right now.

 

[Flea]

We get 6 points from 9 matches via a fairly decent fixture list.
In those 9 matches..we score 3 goals.
Where is the talent in that?
Maybe I´m gone startk raving crazy..but I fail to see it.
When looking at us playing,we play the game to a standard of horsemanure.We look lazy,we look like we do not care,we never look like scoring.We look like a dead team void of any type of vitality.
We look tired and bored..that is exactly what we look like when playing the game.
We are the worst watch in the country.I wouldn´t favour us against Bradford for the moment.
Is this a top squad?
I didn´t know George Orwell wrote a follow up on 1984 or The Animal Farm.

 

[DJLWolf]

I think it's a squad with a fair amount of quality, but absolutely no bottle, character or personality.

I was one of those that argued Saiss and Ruddy should have been given new contracts and Coady should have been given his chance in a back 4.

People say to me - 'that's not our problem, our problem is a lack of goals'.I understand that, but sometimes those players can drive the team forward and get you across the line in certain games when the chips are down.

I will use villa away last season as an example.That game was won by sheer guts and determination when we had our backs to the wall.It wasn't about silky play or quality.The goals were ugly as sin.

Who scored?Coady, Saiss and Neves - 3 of our biggest characters/leaders.It is no coincidence.

 

[Flea]

I mean..Guedes?
WTF is that?

 

[Leigh72]

No spine and no guts, bad combination

 

[Flea]

I think it's a squad with a fair amount of quality, but absolutely no bottle, character or personality.

I was one of those that argued Saiss and Ruddy should have been given new contracts and Coady should have been given his chance in a back 4.

People say to me - 'that's not our problem, our problem is a lack of goals'.I understand that, but sometimes those players can drive the team forward and get you across the line in certain games when the chips are down.

I will use villa away last season as an example.That game was won by sheer guts and determination when we had our backs to the wall.It wasn't about silky play or quality.The goals were ugly as sin.

Who scored?Coady, Saiss and Neves - 3 of our biggest characters/leaders.It is no coincidence.

I agree..we lack a rocket up the teams behinds badly..and Conor was the guy that could bring it.
Surprised at Moutinho.No way he is a leader.
Closest we have is Neves.I hope he has enough of a nasty streak in him to make it count.
Don´t anticipate it though.
Diego Costa maybe?
Needs to be fully fit for the task.Let it rip,we will go down otherwise.

 

[Darvo]

I’ve been thinking this for a while now. I don’t think many of our players are as good as some say.

Podence is a great example. Delivers on occasions but is guilty way too often of giving the ball away far too cheaply.

We lack players with end product.

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

It’s so important that we’re in touch of safety come the January window as currently we need a major influx to stand a chance of staying up.

 

[SA Wolf]

I’ve been thinking this for a while now. I don’t think many of our players are as good as some say.

Podence is a great example. Delivers on occasions but is guilty way too often of giving the ball away far too cheaply.

We lack players with end product.

I've been saying this for a while, also. If most of our team were at other clubs, we wouldn't rate them as highly as we do. We also lack players with character and leadership.

 

[djmikeydickens]

What's worrying is how slow and unfit they all look. No chance they worked hard during pre season or are busting a gut.

 

[AndyY]

I’ve been thinking this for a while now. I don’t think many of our players are as good as some say.

Podence is a great example. Delivers on occasions but is guilty way too often of giving the ball away far too cheaply.

We lack players with end product.

Must admit that I have never really rated Podence; squad player only, and I only put him in my “team to play….” Because Neto, Hwang, Raul etc are injured and Adama was either on loan or injured. Just way too inconsistent.
TBH, I would play Campbell, Harkin or Roberts alongside Costa and Adama against Forest.
TBH, I would play Bueno at LB and a midfield of Hodge orRonan, Nunes and B Traore as well, and leave Moutinho and Guedes at Compton.

 

[Rhoswolf]

all keep saying this is the best squad since whenever, but is it? Neves and possibly Nunes are top players - who else? I think Kilman and Collins can be a top partnership. Sa, very disappointing this season. We ask if Jimenez is finished, I'd ask the same of Jonny who is playing on his reputation only now. Semedo - who knows, nothing much so far. RAN, still too raw. Moutinho well past it. Of the forwards Neto, if he can get back to his best, will be a top player but the signs are he's struggling and now he's injured again. Tbh if we sold all our other forwards in January I'd not be concerned. There is no area/ position where we have any strength in depth. More injuries/suspensions will kill us. There you have it. I have more faith and hope in our kids - Hodge, Campbell and Cundle, Bueno that most of our 1st X1 right now.

Says the poster who led a vociverous campaign to get rid of our best manager for 40 years for not breaking into the top4/6. laughable!

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

Says the poster who led a vociverous campaign to get rid of our best manager for 40 years for not breaking into the top4/6. laughable!

Wish careful be what for you.
Hoy Rodgson

 

[Perton Wolf]

A number of players are severely overrated on here, no doubt about that.

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

Says the poster who led a vociverous campaign to get rid of our best manager for 40 years for not breaking into the top4/6. laughable!

Rhos, I didn't get rid of Nuno, Fosun did. I'm absolutely sure Guo (or whatever his name is) took no notice of me, has never heard of me or the Mix for that matter. I'm not too sure what your post has to do with this thread tbh?

 

[North West Wanderer]

I think it's a squad with a fair amount of quality, but absolutely no bottle, character or personality.

I was one of those that argued Saiss and Ruddy should have been given new contracts and Coady should have been given his chance in a back 4.

People say to me - 'that's not our problem, our problem is a lack of goals'.I understand that, but sometimes those players can drive the team forward and get you across the line in certain games when the chips are down.

I will use villa away last season as an example.That game was won by sheer guts and determination when we had our backs to the wall.It wasn't about silky play or quality.The goals were ugly as sin.

Who scored?Coady, Saiss and Neves - 3 of our biggest characters/leaders.It is no coincidence.

couldn’t agree more

 

[Tipton Wolves]

They aren't good enough. It is that simple.

 

[North West Wanderer]

A number of players are severely overrated on here, no doubt about that.

i think we underestimate in equal measure

 

[Big Saft Kid]

No bottle, no guts, no steel, no backbone, no fight, no spine...and ultimately no character.

They are a bunch of lightweight, powderpuff pushovers.

There may be a bit of skill, but that on its own IS NOT ENOUGH

This is Wolverhampton, not the ****ing Algarve

 

[Rhoswolf]

Rhos, I didn't get rid of Nuno, Fosun did. I'm absolutely sure Guo (or whatever his name is) took no notice of me, has never heard of me or the Mix for that matter. I'm not too sure what your post has to do with this thread tbh?

Just demonstrating the point that you vilified Nuno for not getting the squad into the top4/6 that you are now questioning, but the fact I have to point it out to you means probably best to just leave it.

 

[reanswolf]

I'll say it again, of all the Portuguese players we should have got, Palhinha was the one who most resembles English type midfielders - he has a bit of steel and aggression about him.

Too late now though of course, it's not helped us Neto not regaining form, Jimenez seeming finished, the new striker getting such a serious injury, and Podence flatters to deceive.

Very worrying that the defence has been decimated by sales though, ok they didn't foresee Collins getting a 3-game ban, but they felt the youngsters were ready to step up.

 

[Willywolf]

I'll say it again, of all the Portuguese players we should have got, Palhinha was the one who most resembles English type midfielders - he has a bit of steel and aggression about him.

Too late now though of course, it's not helped us Neto not regaining form, Jimenez seeming finished, the new striker getting such a serious injury, and Podence flatters to deceive.

Very worrying that the defence has been decimated by sales though.

He certainly wouldn’t have allowed Gallagher and Mason, I think I’m world class, Mount the freedom to walk around with the ball at their feet.

 

[Willywolf]

I'll say it again, of all the Portuguese players we should have got, Palhinha was the one who most resembles English type midfielders - he has a bit of steel and aggression about him.

Too late now though of course, it's not helped us Neto not regaining form, Jimenez seeming finished, the new striker getting such a serious injury, and Podence flatters to deceive.

Very worrying that the defence has been decimated by sales though, ok they didn't foresee Collins getting a 3-game ban, but they felt the youngsters were ready to step up.

Oh, and no offence intended, but Podence doesn’t flatter to deceive for me, he’s just ****.

 

[Tring Wolf]

If available, our back seven pick themselves and are all good players (with Neves and Nunes being excellent):

Sa
Semedo, Collins, Kilman, RAN
Nunes, Neves

The problem comes from the four which play ahead of them (and the huge drop-off in quality if any of those back seven are unavailable).

The decision to loan out Coady, who may not have started the season in a four but should have been kept as competition and to give us the option of switching to a three looks worse by the week.

Still think Fabio was ready to lead the line for us this year as well. Have to call him back in the next Window. He has a bit about him character wise as well.

 

[Rhoswolf]

I'll say it again, of all the Portuguese players we should have got, Palhinha was the one who most resembles English type midfielders - he has a bit of steel and aggression about him.

Too late now though of course, it's not helped us Neto not regaining form, Jimenez seeming finished, the new striker getting such a serious injury, and Podence flatters to deceive.

Very worrying that the defence has been decimated by sales though, ok they didn't foresee Collins getting a 3-game ban, but they felt the youngsters were ready to step up.

Think Nunes is a class above Palhinha and Hodge will be a star, main issue is letting Coady, Saiss and Boly go without any incoming and not signing a striker except one with an horrendous injury record.

 

[chignalwolf]

We all keep saying this is the best squad since whenever, but is it? Neves and possibly Nunes are top players - who else? I think Kilman and Collins can be a top partnership. Sa, very disappointing this season. We ask if Jimenez is finished, I'd ask the same of Jonny who is playing on his reputation only now. Semedo - who knows, nothing much so far. RAN, still too raw. Moutinho well past it. Of the forwards Neto, if he can get back to his best, will be a top player but the signs are he's struggling and now he's injured again. Tbh if we sold all our other forwards in January I'd not be concerned. There is no area/ position where we have any strength in depth. More injuries/suspensions will kill us. There you have it. I have more faith and hope in our kids - Hodge, Campbell and Cundle, Bueno that most of our 1st X1 right now.

I think it's a fantastic squad, take out the injury's which nobody can foresee, get in a manager who can inspire his players, (like Nuno did)
and we are top 8 all day long,
Bruno put a wedge between him and the players, Coady, Boly, Saiss,Traore, Marçal, I think would confirm that, along with young Ki-Jana Hoever who he should have been sacked for how he treated that lad,
thats 4 quality players we lost and 1 he destroyed, at all at a time when we were short on numbers.
The futures bright, the future is OURS, COYW

 

[Darvo]

If available, our back seven pick themselves and are all good players (with Neves and Nunes being excellent):

Sa
Semedo, Collins, Kilman, RAN
Nunes, Neves

The problem comes from the four which play ahead of them (and the huge drop-off in quality if any of those back seven are unavailable).

The decision to loan out Coady, who may not have started the season in a four but should have been kept as competition and to give us the option of switching to a three looks worse by the week.

Still think Fabio was ready to lead the line for us this year as well. Have to call him back in the next Window. He has a bit about him character wise as well.

Can we call Fabio back in January?

 

[Super Ted]

I think it's a squad with a fair amount of quality, but absolutely no bottle, character or personality.

Absolutely spot on.

I fear for us. I really do.

With Coady gone and Neves out I cannot think of any natural leaders.

Our next manager needs to be a strong character. Lage wasn’t.

 

[Tring Wolf]

Can we call Fabio back in January?

Think I read we can but would cost us a penalty fee.

Bloody hope so anyway!

 

[JohnB]

It is a top squad in terms of expense - most expensive we’ve had.

Forwards have not gelled - Guedes and Neto have been poor for their abilities, Raul injured and not recovered pre-injury form, Hwang technically poor. Big roles for Adama, Costa and Podence over the coming weeks and Guedes needs to start fitting within whatever system we play.

Midfield is quality.

Defence young with potential - which is risky and I don’t see the same Jonny yet.

Are players bothered? I hope so.
Are players good enough? Technically yes for me.
Are the players wise and strong enough to win games? Don’t know.

Worried - not yet. Keep the faith.

 

[Andywolf74]

Assuming we appoint Lopetegui, I think he will be ruthless and will ditch some potentially big name players who for whatever reason can’t hack it in the Premier League.
I don’t know what our stats are for kilometres covered this season but I suspect they’re not up there with teams in the top half.

 

[Ned]

The squad had the potential to be very strong compared to our previous efforts but the board seemed to allow a certain amount of senior players and no more. We let too much experience leave in the summer and needlessly sold Donk at the last knockings. None of the players we sold/released would have been guaranteed starts but it’s a squad game and that bench, again, was pretty abject today.

 

[Wolf in Kenilworth]

We have good individual players we aren’t gelling as a squad and we are struggling to find an identity.

The ‘horseshoe of doom’ style of play and a midfield and forward line that do not gel
is IMO the root cause of our problems.
It can’t be any clearer.

I, for one, hope that Moutinho’s time on the pitch is managed a lot better than it is right now. That’s all I’ll say on that matter.

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

I think it's a fantastic squad, take out the injury's which nobody can foresee, get in a manager who can inspire his players, (like Nuno did)
and we are top 8 all day long,
Bruno put a wedge between him and the players, Coady, Boly, Saiss,Traore, Marçal, I think would confirm that, along with young Ki-Jana Hoever who he should have been sacked for how he treated that lad,
thats 4 quality players we lost and 1 he destroyed, at all at a time when we were short on numbers.
The futures bright, the future is OURS, COYW

That's a good counter to my OP but I think Tring is pretty accurate (as always) in his post above. The back 7 almost pick themselves and there are good players there. The drop off in class, skill, whatever of the front 4 is massive. If I'm honest I don't see one player there who can make a difference consistently, which is extremely worrying and is why we don't score goals. I don't know the answer but I just pray Costa can get fully fit and we can give him some supply from somewhere. The more I think about it we have totally overrated this squad as a whole.

 

[Skrilla]

GK - Sa was elite last year, statistics backed that up. Apparently playing with a broken hand at the moment, has to play through it till WC break I’d imagine, somewhat explains his underperformance so far this year.
RB - Semedo is a top right back, hence why he was a regular starter at Barca for years.
CB - Collins/Kilman, a blossoming partnership, Collins still a little naive at times of course, but only 21.
LB - RAN’s potential is obvious, one of the best young LB’s in the world. No idea why Jonny continues to start over him, hopefully that changes.
CM - Neves and Nunes. No further comment.
Wingers - Neto, Guedes, Podence, Traore. All quality players at this level, just mismanaged and misfiring. Neto at one point looked a special talent, Guedes was prolific in La Liga last year, Podence was impressing in the Champions League before he came here, and Traore, although flashy, is special.
Strikers - Biggest question mark. It’s obviously not the Costa of old, and Jimenez will likely never get back to the levels he showed 2-3 years ago, and Sasa won’t play this season. Fabio TBD, but doesn’t factor into our plans this season anyway,

We don’t have the depth of a top squad. Only 4 central midfielders, 2 centre backs you’d be comfortable starting, only 3 full backs, and 1 semi-fit striker. Depth for me is a much bigger issue than the quality of the starting eleven. I’d probably like to see another centre midfielder come in to start with Nunes and Neves in a three in January if possible, which would solve depth issues there, an experienced centre back (Dawson?) and make a big splash for a striker scoring regularly in an elite league.

I think this January window will be different to others, in the sense that it will be much busier and easier to do business in. The World Cup break allows teams to reflect on their squads, make enquiries ahead of time, and top players will be in the shop window in an international tournament.

We play 6 games before the WC break, and 8 games until the January transfer window opens. Neto and Jimenez should be fully fit by then as well. That puts us at the 17 game mark. These next 6 games especially are going to be a real struggle. This squad is demotivated, frustrated and disillusioned with what went before. The unity that Nuno worked so hard to create has been destroyed, and whoever comes in (hopefully Lopetegui) needs to give this group something to fight for.

To salvage this season we really need a decent run of results, and this run of fixtures, perhaps Arsenal aside, has some very winnable games. Forest, Palace, Leicester, Brentford, Brighton (post-Potter) all games we should be aiming to get a result from. I’d like to see us get to at least 15 points before the WC break.

 

[SuperGran]

We have a core of quality players that haven’t gelled for whatever reason, another issue is the depth or lack of it same as last season we don’t have enough quality. The fact that we are reduced to relying on a 34 year old leading the line is criminal

 

[chignalwolf]

That's a good counter to my OP but I think Tring is pretty accurate (as always) in his post above. The back 7 almost pick themselves and there are good players there. The drop off in class, skill, whatever of the front 4 is massive. If I'm honest I don't see one player there who can make a difference consistently, which is extremely worrying and is why we don't score goals. I don't know the answer but I just pray Costa can get fully fit and we can give him some supply from somewhere. The more I think about it we have totally overrated this squad as a whole.

you like me mate can go back more years than we like to remember, and respect your take on it, but I really think this current squad are good enough to be in the top 8, (no higher) the whole good feeling factor at the club from top to bottom was destroyed by this manager, with the help of a couple of non-football folk,
we just need a manager in the Nuno mould,

 

[JOSWolf]

What's worrying is how slow and unfit they all look. No chance they worked hard during pre season or are busting a gut.

We look miles off the pace. What the heck do they do in training?

 

[Monketron]

We just need to keep in touch with the other teams until the World Cup break and hopefully bring in a Striker and we should be OK if the right manager is appointed.

 

[Ian C]

We need to stop trying to walk the ball into the net. That is all.