Bolton 2-1 Wolves: VERDICT THREAD

[wolf]

Saville on bench ahead of mcdonald and price is a bit dubious! Vlp starts v Cardiff sold the next week on bench today, selection baffling at the mo, bit of a hazy drunken report! We are wolves

 

[Hamlet]

So - from what I can gather over there six games, forwards are alright, midfielders are below average and defenders are crap. It's somewhat worrying (4 games, 3 losses) but a change can come around. Not sure if it will but KJ has had a bad spot every season and hopefully it's just a case of getting it over and done with early...

 

[Dinowolf]

KJ says it was a good performance apart from the first 15 minutes, that we were a little naive at times and were unlucky to give away two goals.

BBC stats. says we had 58% possession, had 22 shots with 9 on target.

 

[jd1981]

Bolton had scored 1 goal up until today and were handed 2 on a plate today EEL defending for the penalty was so naive.
There is no real spine to the team to build around either, Batth out injured, constant changing of keepers and Dicko lost for the season.
Call me negative but I just don't see this current squad threatening the top 6.

 

[The Bear]

A poor performance from us but we still could have easily come away with something from the game after that second half. We had enough chances to get a draw but poor finishing or decision making let us down towards the end.

We lined up with the same 4-4-2 diamond as against Charlton, and I'm sorry Jackett (or "Potato" as the bloke next to me kept shouting at him all game) but it's not working. Too many average to poor performances with it, and we always look more of a threat once you bring wingers on and stretch them a bit more.

The first half was really, really poor. For 20 mins Bolton had all the possession and attacking and we hung on hoping they wouldn't score. Alas they did. A long ball was headed backwards by Hause, Golbourne tried to ease Feeney off the ball and virtually missed him. Poor defending and it cost us a goal. Martinez no chance with it. Golbourne was constantly guilty of standing off his man and letting him cross the ball in which created a tough time for the two CBs. In the opening period Doherty was also guilty of leaving too much space behind him. Coady struggled to get his foot on the ball and Edwards looked like he was feeling the effects of two international games in a week and wasn't his usual dynamic self. Wallace was decent enough and looks like he has some skill and direct running at least.

The second goal was just really poor defending and decision making from EEL. Let his man dance inside him instead of forcing him down the line, then chopped him down even though he was already beaten and someone was there to help him out. Great penalty from Clough by the way. Right into the corner. Martinez almost saved it but for the perfect placement.

Oh and every time a Bolton player fell over the ref gave them a free kick. Complete homer in the first half, though he was actually quite fair in the second half. At least compared to the first anyway.

Second half we seemed to create a bit more and started having better luck down the sides of their defence. The penalty was a push/pull on ALF but I have no idea how Prince got away without a red card if the ref thinks it's a foul. Having just seen it again though I have to agree with Neil Lennon, it was a very soft penalty. Another good finish from Afobe sending the keeper the wrong way with another double-stutter run up, the same as his last penalty.

After the goal we really pushed at them and were the better team. Ojo coming on again stretched them a bit wider an gave ALF more space down that left channel. He had a glorious chance near the end when the ball ricocheted off the defender as he tried to beat him, but instead of shooting tried to Cruyff turn past the defender he'd already got in front of and square it. Should have had a shot. ALF also brought a decent save off Amos' legs from a narrow-ish angle about 10 yards out even though the defender seemed to be in front of him. Henry had a much better end to the game and got down their right to good effect regularly but his crossing was over-hit too often. His corners were good today though and we won most of the headers from them. EEL had a good chance from one corner, getting the run on his marker, but powered his header a foot over the bar when he really should have hit the target.

It wasn't all us though to be fair. They had a couple of good chances too. Their big man (not Heskey) shooting over after having the ball squared to him after Davies' good run into the box. And Martinez saved from a good Heskey chance apparently too (I had to nip for a piss and missed that one!).

ALF had another penalty appeal but it looked marginal and the players didn't seem to complain so I'll assume it wasn't one, even though I was calling for it at the time.

Overall a poor first half performance and poor defending lost us that game before we had a chance to get anything out of it, even though we might have. We really couldn't handle their skillful players who ran at us like Clough, Silva and Davies today. They danced past us into the box far too many times.

I was also disappointed not to see Byrne come on. We needed more attacking threat to get an equaliser and he would have given us that. Maybe a tough first appearance away but we spent money on him to play not sit on the bench.


RATINGS:

Martinez - No complaints today. Some good saves and no chance with either goal - 7

Doherty - Dodgy first 15 mins. Got better but not to a standard that I felt comfortable with him. EEL has to come across help him out far too often - 5

Golbourne - Poor. First half he was crap at the back and a non-entity going forward. Not one decent cross put in. Tried to out-smart Feeney for his goal by easing him away from the ball but seemed to miss him altogether. Second half was a bit better going forward but still looked suspect at the back to me - 4

EEL - Horrible defending for the penalty but as least looked reasonably solid for the basics. Shite distribution as usual. We need better - 6

Hause - Did ok to be fair. Though for their first goal he had a clear header but misjudged it and headed it backwards to their striker. Though again, we still need better - 6

Coady - Struggled to get into the game first half. Wasn't winning second balls and was losing out in 50-50s. Second half he had more space and time and looked much better bringing it out from the back - 6

Edwards - A very non Edwards like performance. Not as full of running as usual and the game passed him by other than an occasional burst into the box or running back to make a tackle. I blame the internationals as mentioned earlier - 5

Wallace - At least tried to make things happen, either running with the ball or trying to get in behind. He suffered from the formation though having to drift out wide where he wasn't as effective. One decent chance in the second half when the ball got squared to him not far out from goal but he looked off balance and poked it wide - 6

Henry - Very quiet first half other than a shot tipped over (seen on the Ch5 highlights). Poor crossing. Better luck down the right in the second half but other than his corners his delivery was poor all game - 6

Afobe - Still coming way too deep. He was in our own half at times in the first half. Second half he did better up against their defender but the ball was often lumped up to him and he had to try and glance a header on or chest it and hold it up with a defender right up his arse. Got on the end of a good low cross in the second half about 8 yards out but the defender got a good block in - 6

ALF - Gave their defender a tough game, good on the ball, tried to run at them whenever he could, and was always available on the counter. Good movement for the penalty and had a shout for another. Great chance near the end but as mentioned above, turned and passed instead of shooting. Our best player today for me - 7 MOTM


SUBS:

Ojo - Still won't run at defenders with any pace. Often slows down and waits for help. His crossing is ok if a bit "flat", i.e. he doesn't whip them in he sort of puts his foot through them and they go quite straight instead of having any curl on them. Still looked a decent outlet though and stretched them more, especially on the break. (Wallace was unlucky to come off for him btw. Edwards needed hooking). Still not totally convinced with him but if we need a wide left player then he looks about the best we have unless Wallace is used there - 6

 

[big mean bunny]

Looking at the lineup for our side today it looks bereft of quality. The CB pairing is not that of a side chasing a top half finish, let alone playoffs.

 

[The Bear]

Hopefully once Batth comes back in they'll look more solid. If Golbourne carries on the way he is it'll be Hause moving over to LB again and EEL partnering Batth.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Yeah, I said after the Cardiff game (when Stearman was still here, and there was no inkling that he was going to leave) that all of our other centre halves were alright/good individually but really needed Batth next to them, as none of them can organise or lead like he can. We looked rickety as anything at the back before Stears left and we still look that way now because Danny isn't back yet. But hopefully he will be next week.

Having seen the goals - you'd want Hause to be just clearing that (didn't look like he was under any great pressure) and then there's not a problem at all, but Golbourne really can't let Feeney bring the ball down and get a shot away, that's just poor. The second is terrible from EEL on both counts as you mention, beaten too easily in the first place and then diving in when he was unlikely to win the ball cleanly AND there was cover - also to a lesser extent down to Doherty backing off too far into the area and not really doing anything, he hasn't shown the man away from goal, he hasn't got tight, he's just let him get into a more and more threatening position. Which always happens.

 

[The Bear]

Doherty was very narrow and in the box to start with because the ball initially came over everyone's heads from an over-hit corner and out wide to Da Silva. Why Doherty was more central than EEL in the first place for a set-piece I can't explain though. It should have been the other way round.

 

[Lycan]

Hopefully once Batth comes back in they'll look more solid. If Golbourne carries on the way he is it'll be Hause moving over to LB again and EEL partnering Batth.

I think Id rather have Doherty at left back than Golbourne atm. I cant think of anything positive about Golbourne's game atm.

 

[The Bear]

Hause is solid at LB. IIRC he played there against Cardiff. I gave him MOTM even though it was a biggest dwarf competition that day.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

If you do put him at LB then you absolutely have to put a genuine winger in front of him. Having him with any attacking responsibility whatsoever down that side is just a disaster.

 

[The Bear]

I said this about Wolves Player after the Blackburn game:

There's a £4.50 option for a month which I guess you could have when you plan on not going and when we don't have Sky games on. I might do that actually, assuming there's the same level of highlights for each game.

Just signed up for this since there are four games between now and the next game I'll see (Huddersfield on Sky). Only works out at £1.12 per game so worth a look to see what the extended highlights are like. I'll let you know if they're any good.

 

[The Bear]

If you do put him at LB then you absolutely have to put a genuine winger in front of him. Having him with any attacking responsibility whatsoever down that side is just a disaster.

Oh absolutely as he isn't going to overlap at all. Ojo, Wallace or Henry. Not Edwards.

 

[Lycan]

Well, that was fookin shite. I seem to be saying this a lot recently but that first 45 minutes was as bad as I've seen Wolves play. It's night and day between the team that finished last season so strongly and this one. They're completely devoid of pace, strength, confidence and creativity. There's nothing special about this team at all. We did get more of the play in the second half but that was more to do with a shocking Bolton team searching for their first win backing off and giving us space to play in front of them. Even then, Bolton had the two best chances of the second half on the break and in the end 2-1 flattered us.

Martinez - 7 MOTM - People keep saying 'pick a keeper and stick with him'. If we're going to do that it's got to be Martinez, he's miles better than Ikeme. Didn't do much wrong today, couldn't have done much with the goals but I don't think he rolled the ball out short once.

Doherty - 5.5 - Utterly devoid of technical ability but at least he didn't make a complete arse of himself. There were a few counter attacks down our right hand side which Doherty was involved in and was probably our best defender on the day, even though he didn't actually do much defending. Backed off Silva every time he had the ball.

EEL - 3 - He's not good enough, it's simple as that. At least with Hause you can see the potential for improvement but EEL just looks out of his depth. He's an absolute mountain so when Bolton hoofed the ball forward he was in his element, when they mixed it up and came at us a different way he was beaten all ends up. When he's not battling for a high ball with a big lump of a striker he looks like a league 1 player, his touch and distribution was just laughable at times. I've no idea how anyone can look at him and say he's ready to take over from Stearman. The penalty... Don't get me started...

Hause - 5 - He wasn't a complete disaster, although there were a few shaky moments. Lacked his usual composure bringing the ball out from the back but I'm willing to forgive him that today as there wasn't much movement in front of him.

Golbourne - 2 - Rancid. What's the use of a defender who's scared of contact? We might as well have played van La Parra at left back, he'd have got stuck in a bit more. Going forward his passing was hesitant and when we broke down the right hand side and needed to switch the ball he was inevitably 20 yards behind the play. In the build up to one of the QPR goals he went in for a 'tackle', ended up on his arse with the ball stuck underneath him and then tried to scoop the ball away like Willie Carr's paraplegic cousin. That happened twice today. Rowe, Hause, Iorfa, Doherty, Deslandes, anybody but Golbourne next week.

Henry - 2 - Nothing worked. Slow, dawdled on the ball, over hit crosses and when he got in positions to shoot he either scuffed it or cannoned it straight into the nearest defender. Got in a bizarre scuffle with Wellington Silva who ran him ragged down the right hand side. His corners were abysmal. Slow, lofted chips to the back post. When was the last time we scored from one of them? Must've been before I was born.

Coady - 5 - Didn't do anything wrong but doesn't have the ability to make something happen when there's such a dearth of creativity all around him. When we started to try and control the game in the second half he was key.

Edwards - 2 - He gets one point for turning up and another for making the Bolton keeper hurry up when he started to waste time at the end. I'm not buying this 'he was tired from the internationals' shite, his performance today was down to a lack of ability, not fitness. Every time he got the ball it went straight to a Bolton player, every time we tried to break he slowed it down and every time he had a chance to shoot he scuffed it. I'm counting that chance he shanked into the side netting an open goal, that makes 3 I've seen him miss so far this season. Did have one shot from range but it went nowhere near.

Wallace - 4 - He at least tried to be a little bit adventurous but looked well off the pace for me. Very lightweight, dawdled in possession and scuffed two half chances wide. the last one he did a Dave Edwards spectacular, falling over as he shot with no defenders around him. The sub should've come sooner.

Afobe - 6 - The one player on the pitch with a bit of quality and took his pen well. His body language is shocking though. I know it's not his fault when everybody around him is falling apart but he looked like a petulant child at times. When we get the ball into his feet he makes things happen, please don't hoof the ball to him though.

ALF - 6 - Worked hard and got into dangerous positions, he can't do the job we're asking of him though. A fox in the box but nothing more. I've got to be honest I thought the penalty was very soft (haven't seen a replay) but he had a stonewall pen turned down 5 minutes later when he was pushed in the back so maybe evened itself out.

Ojo - 5 - Decent delivery and we were crying out for some pace when he came on but he just looks so timid when he's taking on players.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

What frustrates me is our problems seem to be so avoidable.

Pick your strongest XI. Struggling at the back? Pick a keeper and stick with him. No inspiration going forward? Bring on the exciting attacking player you've just signed.

I know a manager's job isn't easy but the remedies to me seem glaringly obvious.

The frustrating thing is that these obvious remedies are added to the list of obvious requirements before a bloody ball was kicked. I know its only September and lots can turn around but I am struggling to find the green shoots of growth at the moment. We have wasted, squandered the opportunity to build on last years successful campaign. What the hell would have happened had we made it up last year got only knows. There may well have been a collective sign of relief from the Wolves boardroom that we didnt go up or make the play offs. As for the bull that we were looking to sign and build ( Moxey June 2015) that has been shown to be horseshit. KJ is clearly shoe-horning the wrong players into a style he wants to play and that is not reaping any rewards , nor is it likely too. Anyone who thinks otherwise is Myopic. At this rate top half is a dream. I got a lot of stick for " pant wetting" re the recruitment, the sako replacement, the need for a new centre half even before Stears was sold but I guess I will stay in my nappies safe in the knowledge that all evidence points to my pissing as completely justified. Going to bed thoroughly fecked off with the whole situation

 

[ROVERT47]

I think I'm in the right place at the moment, didn't get the wifi sorted till last, glad to be away from it to be honest when we're struggling.

 

[Lycan]

Can somebody who saw that shite yesterday please tell me what the fuck he's talking about?

 

[Norman Deeley]

A word on Jackett. When he came to the club he made some good, tough decisions. Record points, good performance last year but still some strange decisions. And now a complete cock-up this season. Doesn't know his best team, doesn't know his best formation and increasingly coming out with crap. No, I am not calling for his head but as someone said above, he needs to take a long, hard look at himself & realise he is seriously underperforming. Do Brighton have a better squad than us? Would have cheered if we'd appointed Chris Hughton as manager. Do Birmingham have a better squad?

I suspect he is safe for this season, but if he continues to make cock-ups like he's doing at the moment then he shouldn't be.

 

[Lycan]

I think he's got himself in a right mess this season and unlike last year I don't think he's got enough quality in the squad to dig him out of a hole.