The transformation of the Nunes thread into the Hwang thread got me thinking about scapegoats through the years. Had a go at a Scapegoat XI below. I've gone with our current 4-2-3-1 formation, partly cos the players seemed to fit.
I'm understanding scapegoat to refer to someone whose negative impact on the team is exaggerated. I'm sticking to players I've seen, so 1998 onwards.
GK: Oakes
Tricky one this: most of the keepers who've had real stick in my time (Postma, Hennessey, Jones) really were holding us back. Stowell was increasingly vilified before he was replaced by Oakes, but that didn't last too long. Oakes got constant stick for poor kicking and poor command of his area (fair), but his shot stopping was under-rated until he had that purple patch in the Prem, just before being dropped for Jones.
DL: Naylor
The easiest pick in the team. Local boy done good in problem position, England U21 international, linked with Liverpool, scorer of occasional wondergoals. And yet constantly vilified by our fans for what he couldn't do rather than what he could, especially in our first Prem season. He did have an unfortunate knack of switching off on occasion (Bolton away), but his failings were never as catastrophic for the team as people suggested (Irwin made a number of awful blunders in our Prem season but got very little stick).
CB: Neill Collins
If nothing else, he won me a load of cash cos he was always huge odds to be the first scorer despite averaging a goal every ten games for us. Limited defensively, but never as bad as lots made out.
CB: Richard Stearman
The proto John Stones wasn't the world's greatest, but got disproportionate flack. Probably because people felt him too pretty to be a Proper English Centre Half.
DR: Matt Doherty
Doherty is certainly limited, and can only play in certain systems. But the system we played under Nuno for the first three seasons was perfect for him. When Nuno wanted to change Doherty was exposed. He can't beat a man, he's a dodgy passer and he's not blessed with loads of pace. But his (very real) attributes were overlooked in all of that. Ironically I could also have put his replacement, Semedo, in here, as it was fashionable to pin our defensive woes on him when he first arrived.
CM: Simon Osborn
The crab, as he was nicknamed. Yeah, he slowed us down, but if we had mobile attackers ahead of him he could be really effective.
CM: Seyi Olofinjana
Suffered from the expectation that all tall sub-Saharan African midfielders should play like Viera, and constantly called a 'fairy' because he didn't. A rare box-to-box midfielder in a Wolves shirt and very, very good on his day (but very inconsistent!).
ACM: Seol Ki-Hyeon
Had a real purple patch when he first signed, then tailed off - largely cos he was stuck on the wing by Hoddle when he was clearly more effective as a narrow wide forward, or playing a sort of roving number 10 role. Grew to be really disliked as our football under Hoddle was dour, and was held up as the epitome of all wrong with us.
Wide forward: Carl Cort
"But he's a striker!", I hear you cry. Exactly. So why was he constantly vilified for being lazy when Hoddle stuck him out wide? (I could give you one reason.) A genuinely good goalscorer when played in the correct position. When played wide he was a symptom of a dysfunctional team and not the cause.
Striker: Andy Keogh
A player ahead of his time, maybe? Brilliant as a second striker, but never clinical enough to be the main man. Often unfairly lambasted.
Wide forward: Michael Gilkes
He was absolutely loathed, wasn't he? The cheers when he inevitably got subbed-off for Paul Simpson were deafening. He can't have been that bad, surely?
Bench: Stowell, Semedo, Ward, Berra, Andrews, Hwang, Doyle
I'm understanding scapegoat to refer to someone whose negative impact on the team is exaggerated. I'm sticking to players I've seen, so 1998 onwards.
GK: Oakes
Tricky one this: most of the keepers who've had real stick in my time (Postma, Hennessey, Jones) really were holding us back. Stowell was increasingly vilified before he was replaced by Oakes, but that didn't last too long. Oakes got constant stick for poor kicking and poor command of his area (fair), but his shot stopping was under-rated until he had that purple patch in the Prem, just before being dropped for Jones.
DL: Naylor
The easiest pick in the team. Local boy done good in problem position, England U21 international, linked with Liverpool, scorer of occasional wondergoals. And yet constantly vilified by our fans for what he couldn't do rather than what he could, especially in our first Prem season. He did have an unfortunate knack of switching off on occasion (Bolton away), but his failings were never as catastrophic for the team as people suggested (Irwin made a number of awful blunders in our Prem season but got very little stick).
CB: Neill Collins
If nothing else, he won me a load of cash cos he was always huge odds to be the first scorer despite averaging a goal every ten games for us. Limited defensively, but never as bad as lots made out.
CB: Richard Stearman
The proto John Stones wasn't the world's greatest, but got disproportionate flack. Probably because people felt him too pretty to be a Proper English Centre Half.
DR: Matt Doherty
Doherty is certainly limited, and can only play in certain systems. But the system we played under Nuno for the first three seasons was perfect for him. When Nuno wanted to change Doherty was exposed. He can't beat a man, he's a dodgy passer and he's not blessed with loads of pace. But his (very real) attributes were overlooked in all of that. Ironically I could also have put his replacement, Semedo, in here, as it was fashionable to pin our defensive woes on him when he first arrived.
CM: Simon Osborn
The crab, as he was nicknamed. Yeah, he slowed us down, but if we had mobile attackers ahead of him he could be really effective.
CM: Seyi Olofinjana
Suffered from the expectation that all tall sub-Saharan African midfielders should play like Viera, and constantly called a 'fairy' because he didn't. A rare box-to-box midfielder in a Wolves shirt and very, very good on his day (but very inconsistent!).
ACM: Seol Ki-Hyeon
Had a real purple patch when he first signed, then tailed off - largely cos he was stuck on the wing by Hoddle when he was clearly more effective as a narrow wide forward, or playing a sort of roving number 10 role. Grew to be really disliked as our football under Hoddle was dour, and was held up as the epitome of all wrong with us.
Wide forward: Carl Cort
"But he's a striker!", I hear you cry. Exactly. So why was he constantly vilified for being lazy when Hoddle stuck him out wide? (I could give you one reason.) A genuinely good goalscorer when played in the correct position. When played wide he was a symptom of a dysfunctional team and not the cause.
Striker: Andy Keogh
A player ahead of his time, maybe? Brilliant as a second striker, but never clinical enough to be the main man. Often unfairly lambasted.
Wide forward: Michael Gilkes
He was absolutely loathed, wasn't he? The cheers when he inevitably got subbed-off for Paul Simpson were deafening. He can't have been that bad, surely?
Bench: Stowell, Semedo, Ward, Berra, Andrews, Hwang, Doyle
