Villa Verdict

[Polish Wolf]

Cant really moan at any of them today, all very solid performances. Silva, Podence, Kilman, Moutinho, Jonny the standouts for me closely folllowed by the rest. Not a Donk fan but he was very decent today (ignoring the panicky thrashed shot wide that he really should have scored).

We really need to be scoring these very good chances we are creating, Trincao I am beginning to like more and more, very skilful, I don't think he is lightweight and is starting to settle and works hard. Marcal was ok but damn he gets caught in and concedes possession a lot.
Back three CH looked balanced, Boly was improved today though I did worry how many times we put ourselves under pressure trying to play from the back.

Please get Moutinho to sign another year extension!

He really is amazing. It's the 2nd time in a couple of weeks (also against Everton) when he strolls around the park and dictates the game. At times looking like he was a seasoned pro having a kick about for his local lower/non-league team, teaching his younger and more athletic colleagues what football is about.

Sing him up for another season.

 

[Sketchead]

Donck brilliant? FFS. Only passed sideways or backwards.

What on earth were you watching. You know it’s important when midfielders hunt down opposition and break up play, don’t you? Comments like this really suggest you should support a ‘top’ team that has 60%+ possession each week.

 

[JadeWolf]

No one had a bad game for us. That’s a proper team performance. Everyone stood up and made us proud.

 

[lostwolf]

Hwang should have killed the game off regardless. That's his role at the club. Come on and add some vital goals, hold things up, not shoot a clear chance past the post and lose the ball all the while. He looks another Cutrone so far.

Moutinho and Silva the standouts today, though none of the starting XI had a bad match.

Thought he did alright tbh. I think the difference today was that previously average players played out of their skins... Donk looked like an international player, Marcal did everything well, and Silva was superb (if this is his average level then we've got a player on our hands; I've doubted his potential but I'll be chuffed to bits if I'm wrong). Apart from Trincao, everyone played well, Moutinho was incredible, the way he manages to make an interception and at the same time retain possession is amazing. Villa were crap but we made the most of their defensive frailties. The atmosphere that first 15 mins was amazing as well, the Vile fans looked shellshocked. COMB SOTV.

 

[steve vena]

Couldn't be happier tonight OK not our best performance... but as a lad at school in the 90s Villa we're always perceived as the team. Wolves were belittled. Well .....you can have your Steven Gerrard your Coutinho and whoever else you've massively over paid for. You can pretend it doesn't hurt but for 85 mins we schooled you and I'm not shy in saying that doing the double over villa feels fantastic...bring on the run in....MIND THE GAP..

I thought it was an excellent performance attacking wise , same as Leeds, should've smashed them and smashed villa too.

 

[Hanbury_Wolf]

Jonny. Sensational player

Fabio. You can see he's got it. Such a clever player. Gave villa's defence a torrid time

Moutinho. Ran it

Podence. Excellent today. Involved everywhere. The ball sticks to him
He must be so hard to defend against

Trincao. I'm trying my best. He has great ability and touch bit it almost always ends in nothing. He either gets bullied off it or waits too long. Glimpses of greatness but very ineffective. Please spend money elsewhere.

 

[Ned Stark]

Go and track the decisions since Var was introduced, and the general refereeing patterns.

Wolves are the club that gets the most marginal calls against them, BY FAR. . We are a threat to the Cartel, simple as.

Only fools could think otherwise.

If you bring the evidence for this then I’ll accept your labelling me as a fool.

Otherwise you know what you can do.

 

[WolfLing]

What a great atmosphere today!

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

I’ve took a few screen shot after watching the video replay over and over again. Sa comes to collect the ball, Watkins goes for the ball misses it and clatters Sa, how the hell is that a penalty to them??

You're wrong. Watkins clearly gets to the ball first. Sa is running out and Watkins and him collide. I agree it is debateable but the fact Watkins nicked the ball gave the referee the decision to make. Similar scenario to Jimenez; if you put the referee on the spot it may not go your way.

 

[bilstonwolf]

Someone needs to have a word with Podence about his arm waving/ injury feigning bull****. Beyond embarrassing- I didn't even begrudge Watkins in his attempt to win the ball after that.

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

Go and track the decisions since Var was introduced, and the general refereeing patterns.

Wolves are the club that gets the most marginal calls against them, BY FAR. . We are a threat to the Cartel, simple as.

Only fools could think otherwise.

How can one track every VAR decision in every game played this season? On what factual basis do you say we've had the most marginal decisions go against us BY FAR? What unknown sinister organisation does Darren England work for that is able to ensure the top 6 stay the top 6? I'm sure every fans forum says the same thing as you about their team. Get real. I'm not the fool.

 

[northnorfolkwolf]

What should Sa do? Looks to me like he goes to get the ball and is wiped out by Watkins lunge.

I've looked at it a lot. They both collide in the penalty area and both get wiped out tbh. I think if Sa had pushed the ball away before Watkins and him collided the pen may not have been awarded. Watkins getting to it first gave the ref a decision to make and as the collision happened in the penalty area a pen is the likely outcome. Right or wrong. My gripe is not so much about the penalty but the constant thing on here about every decision always going against us. They don't always go against us but this conspiracy thing does my head in.

 

[Mark Rankines Lovechild]

Someone needs to have a word with Podence about his arm waving/ injury feigning bull****. Beyond embarrassing- I didn't even begrudge Watkins in his attempt to win the ball after that.

Ultimately it seems to add a lot of extra time to games too. I cant help thinking refs have marked his card and arent now giving fouls against him for anything…the boy who cried wolf if you will.

 

[WISAW]

The joke that is the bbc must have received a directive to not discuss atrocious penalty decisions on motd unless it involves the big boys.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

I've looked at it a lot. They both collide in the penalty area and both get wiped out tbh. I think if Sa had pushed the ball away before Watkins and him collided the pen may not have been awarded. Watkins getting to it first gave the ref a decision to make and as the collision happened in the penalty area a pen is the likely outcome. Right or wrong. My gripe is not so much about the penalty but the constant thing on here about every decision always going against us. They don't always go against us but this conspiracy thing does my head in.

Serious question. How many controversial decisions go in our favour?

 

[Oldgoldilox]

Having just seen the highlights on motd, that penalty decision ought to be the definition of a clear and obvious error.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

You're wrong. Watkins clearly gets to the ball first. Sa is running out and Watkins and him collide. I agree it is debateable but the fact Watkins nicked the ball gave the referee the decision to make. Similar scenario to Jimenez; if you put the referee on the spot it may not go your way.

Question is, what causes Watkins to go to ground? It really doesn’t matter if he gets the ball first, what’s important is why did Watkins go to ground? Is it Sa taking him out, or is it Watkins running into Sa? It’s not obstruction by Sa, as Sa is clearly going for the ball - his arms are outstretched almost touching it. So the question is, did Sa take out Watkins through his movement? The replays are clear. No, Sa didn’t take out Watkins. It’s a coming together. Watkins runs into Sa. No foul, game continues. At least that’s how it should have been. But no, Watkins rolls around on the ground and forces the referee to make a decision. VAR had all these angles available, and apparently didn’t see a clear and obvious error.

 

[lostwolf]

Jonny. Sensational player

Fabio. You can see he's got it. Such a clever player. Gave villa's defence a torrid time

Moutinho. Ran it

Podence. Excellent today. Involved everywhere. The ball sticks to him
He must be so hard to defend against

Trincao. I'm trying my best. He has great ability and touch bit it almost always ends in nothing. He either gets bullied off it or waits too long. Glimpses of greatness but very ineffective. Please spend money elsewhere.

Trincao was woeful AGAIN today. He had a bright first 10 mins then after that was awful: bottling challenges, making poor decisions, just everything. If we sign him I'll be gutted, he's bottom half PL class at a massive push; more likely he's a Championship level player.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

Trincao was woeful AGAIN today. He had a bright first 10 mins then after that was awful: bottling challenges, making poor decisions, just everything. If we sign him I'll be gutted, he's bottom half PL class at a massive push; more likely he's a Championship level player.

Sorry but I disagree. I am not his biggest fan, and I’ve been pretty critical of him for most of the season, but he was not woeful today. He doesn’t have 90 mins in him yet, and that’s something he needs to work on. However today, I think he was the right call to start, and he worked hard for perhaps an hour or so, before he ran out of stream. He’s still lacking confidence, which is why he’s taking the extra touch that you really can’t afford in the PL. But he is working hard, gets into great positions, and links up play. Our second goal owes a lot to his pressure, and as it turns out, that was the winning goal.

 

[Cookyssweetleftfoot]

You're wrong. Watkins clearly gets to the ball first. Sa is running out and Watkins and him collide. I agree it is debateable but the fact Watkins nicked the ball gave the referee the decision to make. Similar scenario to Jimenez; if you put the referee on the spot it may not go your way.

Sorry, but are you suggesting we stay 5 feet away from the opposition at all times?
Jimenez pulls out of any challenge and it’s the keeper’s momentum after he makes the clearance that causes the collision.
All the pundits I heard said the yellow was a joke.
Today Sa goes to collect the ball, Watkins collides with him and somehow it’s a penalty. Are you seriously suggesting Sa shouldn’t go for that?

 

[Oh Robbie Robie]

Apart from Trincao, everyone played well

I agree that he turned up blind alleys and gave the ball away too much but there was one moment in the first 10 mins around the half way line that showed his real quality. A really high ball was played from out wide to around the centre circle and he pulled that ball down and killed it in one swoop while under pressure. It was breathtaking.

There is a player in there and he is learning about the Prem. and feeling his way. It was like this for Jota and Neto when they first came into the Prem and they developed. I totally understand why some people don't feel he's up to play at Prem level but he is showing glimpses and signs of real quality.

Once he has more experience, beefed himself up a bit and got the confidence he actually can play at this level, then I'm sure he will be a good asset. Whether he's worth a straight swap for Traore is open to question and it also comes down to how much money he wants to stay. I'm far more prepared to give him more time than I was Vitinha as I see things in him that give our team better balance than with Traore in it.

 

[FJRWolf]

Ok, the penalty was right in front of me, at the time I thought the ref had given a foul on Sa, was amazed when it was a penalty. On the way home was ranting about it but wondered if it was my old gold tinted specs. Having watched it multiple times now, I can't believe some think it was a pen. Sa was virtually at a standstill and if anything was moving away from the Villa player and was completely cleaned out. Thank f### it didn't matter in the end.

 

[Cookyssweetleftfoot]

I've looked at it a lot. They both collide in the penalty area and both get wiped out tbh. I think if Sa had pushed the ball away before Watkins and him collided the pen may not have been awarded. Watkins getting to it first gave the ref a decision to make and as the collision happened in the penalty area a pen is the likely outcome. Right or wrong. My gripe is not so much about the penalty but the constant thing on here about every decision always going against us. They don't always go against us but this conspiracy thing does my head in.

It’s not just us, but if you cannot see the favouritism towards the sinister six then I’m not sure if I’m watching something different?
The whole point of VAR was to get the decisions right and remove the bias, but the people making the decisions on it are the same people who made those decisions pre-VAR so the opportunity to remove the mistakes and bias simply hasn‘t happened.
Look at the Moutinho handball at City which somehow wasn’t overturned yet every pundit called it out. Then look at the City handball at Everton which wasn’t given and the pathetic apology afterwards.
The Jimenez yellow was called out as a joke by every pundit I’ve seen.
There is no foul by Sa on Watkins - he simply went to collect the ball and Watkins collides into him not the other way round.

 

[Mugwump]

Solid performance again where we rarely looked in any real danger. Penalty could have gone either way imo, but i think no foul either way would have been the correct decision.

On a side note, i'm going right off Podence. He is so embarrassing with his theatrics.

 

[cannockwolves]

I thought we played some really good stuff in the first half and should have got the 3rd when we were on top.

Moutinho was outstanding, and Donk got though mountins of work. Jonny excellent and Marcel has a good game.

I thought Fabio had a good game, you can see he is getting better and in 2 or 3 years he will be a proper player. But he still doesn't have outstanding pace, he did well to get in front of Mings, but when Young scored the OG he should have been busting a gut to get into the box and he didn't. He still has a lot to learn and he needs to get stronger. But he is 19 so has time.

It's just a shame we couldn't get that 3rd when were on top it would have been so much better on my ticker!

Still always nice to get one over the Villa

 

[Hot Fuss]

Donck brilliant? FFS. Only passed sideways or backwards.

He had a great game, and I’m a critic of him. Broke up play and used the ball well.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

Solid performance again where we rarely looked in any real danger. Penalty could have gone either way imo, but i think no foul either way would have been the correct decision.

On a side note, i'm going right off Podence. He is so embarrassing with his theatrics.

Podence’s theatrics are painful, I completely agree. I do wonder though if this may be instructions from Bruno rather than just him. Ever since that god awful Brentford “performance” against us, it’s like we’ve decided that two can play that game too. Some players seem naturally suited to it, and I think Podence is one of them, like Fernandes, and Grealish. All tricky players, but all capable of falling over. When he first arrived, it took a lot to stop him. Now, he goes over like a skittle. I can’t believe that’s not intentional on behalf of the coach, and I don’t see Bruno or his team shouting to him to get off the grass and play. It doesn’t seem to win us many free kicks, but it does disrupt the game flow, and that’s something which has appeared in our play since Brentford.

 

[Oh Robbie Robie]

How can one track every VAR decision in every game played this season? On what factual basis do you say we've had the most marginal decisions go against us BY FAR? What unknown sinister organisation does Darren England work for that is able to ensure the top 6 stay the top 6? I'm sure every fans forum says the same thing as you about their team. Get real. I'm not the fool.

No, but for some reason you seem to think Sa was running towards the ball when, in fact, he wasn't.

 

[Contrarian]

Solid performance again where we rarely looked in any real danger. Penalty could have gone either way imo, but i think no foul either way would have been the correct decision.

On a side note, i'm going right off Podence. He is so embarrassing with his theatrics.

Yes, it's too much. To the point that you can never be sure whether he's really injured or not. Last season, when he did get injured (badly enough to be out for a few matches), nobody believed it initially as he'd been rolling around and screaming for the whole match. Similar today. Though I do think there were several fouls on him (and others) that Villa got clean away with, you wonder if the incessant squeeling and dramatics isn't part of why ultimately the refs ignore the genuine foul. Though it never seemed to work that way with Grealish - or any players at certain clubs.

Also, on Trincao, though he has his good moments and frustrating moments (just like Podence & Hwang), the thing I notice about him is how he fades in the second half - every single match, consistent as clockwork. All we ever get is one good half from him, then it's like playing the second half with 10. Not the quickest at best of times, by 60 minutes, he's moving like a 40 year old playing sunday league! Surely he should be fitter than that? Fabio managed near 90 minutes fine, today, in contrast.

Agreed on the penalty. Both players have eyes for the ball, Sa is hardly moving and isn't even aware of Watkins. If it wasn't given, which it wouldn't have been 99 times out of 100 in the past 30 years, it would be forgotten. Should have been a goal kick as it's just an accidental collision with no harm done. Appalling by the ref to make the match all about him - because 10 years from now, that's what I will remember this match for.

 

[Mugwump]

Yes, it's too much. To the point that you can never be sure whether he's really injured or not. Last season, when he did get injured (badly enough to be out for a few matches), nobody believed it initially as he'd been rolling around and screaming for the whole match. Similar today. Though I do think there were several fouls on him (and others) that Villa got clean away with, you wonder if the incessant squeeling and dramatics isn't part of why ultimately the refs ignore the genuine foul. Though it never seemed to work that way with Grealish - or any players at certain clubs.

Also, on Trincao, though he has his good moments and frustrating moments (just like Podence & Hwang), the thing I notice about him is how he fades in the second half - every single match, consistent as clockwork. All we ever get is one good half from him, then it's like playing the second half with 10. Not the quickest at best of times, by 60 minutes, he's moving like a 40 year old playing sunday league! Surely he should be fitter than that? Fabio managed near 90 minutes fine, today, in contrast.

Agreed on the penalty. Both players have eyes for the ball, Sa is hardly moving and isn't even aware of Watkins. If it wasn't given, which it wouldn't have been 99 times out of 100 in the past 30 years, it would be forgotten. Should have been a goal kick as it's just an accidental collision with no harm done. Appalling by the ref to make the match all about him - because 10 years from now, that's what I will remember this match for.

Could be Trincao is just one of those players who needs games to hit the right fitness levels. You often hear of players being fit but not match fit. I guess some players just have better natural conditioning than others.

 

[Abbobrom]

Credit needs to go to our recruitment . We appear to purchase players who fit in to our model and not just splash cash on names
.
There is clear evidence of skill in individual players and a close knit team spirit.

 

[sc91]

Drunk verdict you say?

HAHA

All i have is up the wolves and fabio is our saviour.

Hah

 

[Shergar]

Verdict? 3 points against the Veela, loadsa Guinness. The perfect day.

 

[Hanbury_Wolf]

You're wrong. Watkins clearly gets to the ball first. Sa is running out and Watkins and him collide. I agree it is debateable but the fact Watkins nicked the ball gave the referee the decision to make. Similar scenario to Jimenez; if you put the referee on the spot it may not go your way.

Exactly this. If you get there first, you're winning on way it another

 

[Ian]

Good win that could/ should have easily been 4 or 5 nil to Wolves.
2 nil down Villa were always gonna come at us 2nd half but it was pretty comfortable until another 50/50 decision goes the opposition way.
" All played well" for Wolves except perhaps Hwang who continues to lose possesion too easily , either from a bad touch or just passing it to the other team, putting us under unnecessary pressure.
Finally a word on Podence, potentially the most skillful player in our team but constantly overplays it and the play acting just gets under my skin.

 

[Streathamwolf]

Spot on. We will come to regret the money we wasted on Hwang.

Without his goals we wouldn't be anywhere near a European place.

 

[sedgwolf1980]

Podence took an elbow to the face in the first half and in the second he got clattered to the extent that we had to get the 4th official to change the number on the subs board from Trincao to his.

I agree he’s the most ‘theatrical’ player in our side, don’t get me wrong, but yesterday is a bizarre game to suddenly start calling him out for it. He literally went off injured!

 

[NewarkWolf]

Question is, what causes Watkins to go to ground? It really doesn’t matter if he gets the ball first, what’s important is why did Watkins go to ground? Is it Sa taking him out, or is it Watkins running into Sa? It’s not obstruction by Sa, as Sa is clearly going for the ball - his arms are outstretched almost touching it. So the question is, did Sa take out Watkins through his movement? The replays are clear. No, Sa didn’t take out Watkins. It’s a coming together. Watkins runs into Sa. No foul, game continues. At least that’s how it should have been. But no, Watkins rolls around on the ground and forces the referee to make a decision. VAR had all these angles available, and apparently didn’t see a clear and obvious error.

Again though, if Sa had flicked the ball forward irst and in trying the follow on and get the ball was taken out by Watkins it's a foull awarded to us. It's all about who gets there first in this day and age sadly, I don't agree with it btw.

Two playets coming from different angles to get the ball, the one who doesn't touch it before the inevitable collision will get punished.

 

[Big Saft Kid]

What on earth were you watching. You know it’s important when midfielders hunt down opposition and break up play, don’t you? Comments like this really suggest you should support a ‘top’ team that has 60%+ possession each week.

Oh **** off. What I saw was a constant unwillingness to attempt a forward pass, unlike Boly, say.

 

[Wagstaffe Was Magic]

Great game, was balanced on a knife edge even when we were 2-0 up ! An earlier Villa goal and it was up for grabs.

Yesterday I loved the performances of Sa, Boly, Kilman, Moutinho Dendoncker and Silva, but Jonny Otto was my MOTM!