Burnley 1-0 Wolves: The Verdict

[Jinky]

The squad needs completely gutting.

6 defeats in last 9 is laughable given the fixtures and what’s at stake.

We had two weeks to prepare for this game. Burnley played on Thursday night. Don’t get me wrong, they were awful, but we’ve not even created a decent chance.

All the pretty passing means nothing if you can’t score, and as I said in the matchday thread, we have to be the worst team to watch in the PL.

Think that was my final straw for Bruno, too. He can go, and I won’t care. Takes far too long to make a change and picks the wrong teams with the wrong tactics. I’ve had enough of watching slow, boring, shite, predictable football.

 

[Derby Wolf]

We're 8th, which is far better than i expected at the start of the season, so there is no way that i would be calling for his head, especially as the tools he has been given to work with are basically the same as what Nuno had who finished 13th.

By the same metric how do you explain the same players being able to recover going behind so many times under Nuno yet us now being the worst team in the league, probably the country once we concede the first goal?

Even last season we were 4th in the league and won 16 points, the year before we were top of the league with 21.

When we need our coach most he's nowhere to be seen.

 

[Johnny75]

I’d be delighted if we never had to play Burnley ever again. Such a predictable result.

I’m bored with Bruno. I’d say that I wouldn’t care less if he was replaced at the end of the season but that’s not strictly true as I’d have no faith in Jeff/Fosun to appoint anybody decent.

I can’t believe the contrast between this and Nuno’s first couple of seasons. The excitement has all gone. I used to be able to watch Jota every week and now we have the likes of Hwang & Trincao. Meh.

The most frustrating part is that with a bit more ambition and some half decent recruitment we could have been Europa League regulars by now. It wouldn’t have taken much.

I can’t believe how badly Fosun and Jeff Shi are fucking this up. Monumentally so.

Hwang isn’t fit to lace Jota’s boots.

 

[big mean bunny]

I just can't understand the thinking behind Hwang. He is like Darren Bent without the goal contributions or instincts. Such a poor signing from the looks of it.

As Lincs has said as soon as we concede you now have the belief we have lost.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Solskjaer finished 2nd last season. It was so obviously a misleading position.

There are numerous teams below us who are better.

This is clearly nonsense Dan, if those teams that are "better than us" WERE better than us, then they'd be above us.

A league table after 33 games, isn't a one off cup tie, or a game of conkers. We are where we deserve to be based on how good we have been over the course of the season. You are defying any logic by suggesting otherwise.

 

[AndyWolves]

Burnley had more than double our xG

 

[big mean bunny]

Burnley had more than double our xG

1.0?



Sorry, being sent out for a walk now due to being in such a foul mood.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

This is clearly nonsense Dan, if those teams that are "better than us" WERE better than us, then they'd be above us.

A league table after 33 games, isn't a one off cup tie, or a game of conkers. We are where we deserve to be based on how good we have been over the course of the season. You are defying any logic by suggesting otherwise.

So do you think Man Utd were objectively a better team than Liverpool last season?

I would say they were not. The league table does lie sometimes.

We are not the 8th best team in the league. 18th best of late, maybe.

 

[redvictor]

We can't score, it's as simple as that. We have one recognised striker who is not as good as he was. Fabio Silva and Trincao are just not goal scorers, however much we want them to be. Hwang, let's not go there.
We haven't been beaten by anymore than 2 goals all season, which gives you a chance if you can put the ball in the net. We can't, and have never really been able to via the strikers for a good while.
You can get anyone setting us up to score, but when the front players try to walk the ball in time after time you are on a loser.
Once again the chance for Europe goes begging. It's players that need changing not the manager.
Burnley ffs...

 

[jd1981]

15 blanks in 33 games and average a goal per game expect that average to drop before the seasons out.

here’s how the remaining games will go
BHA draw
Chelsea 2+ goal defeat
Norwich 1 goal win
Man City 2+ goal defeat
Liverpool 3+ goal defeat

In game management by Bruno is frankly baffling.
As a spectacle we’re just awful to watch, I’ll go as far to say the only times it’s been entertaining is down to the ineptitude of the opposition.
This isn’t a case of end this season then go again next.
Alarm bells should be ringing for the board, we’re not moving in a different direction more like going round in circles.
Biggest fear is the board will be arrogant enough to think we’re to good or established to go down because weren’t. If I was a betting man I’d be surprised if Bruno is still in charge by Xmas to many bad or reactive decisions.

 

[Johnny75]

Got to create chances to score goals.

We don't create chances because our formation works for 0 of our forwards.

 

[Dire Wolf]

Today we lacked intensity, we lacked desire and we lacked any semblance of a plan. Too many players strolling around and giving the ball away and not prepared to run off the ball or attempt anything remotely impactful. And a manager who just hasn't got any idea of how to get a tune out of this completely stale and heartless squad. If we go behind we are totally clueless about how to turn it around, both manager and players.

We are supposed to have leaders on the pitch in Moutinho, Coady and Raul but when the going is difficult I don't really see any true examples of leadership in adversity. Boly was the only one today who looked like he even cared about getting a result.

I could quite happily not have to watch Hwang, Trincao, Raul, Dendoncker or Saiss ever play for Wolves again. The squad needs a total refresh and these are prime candidates for the axe. But we'd have to have people in charge who knew how to invest in the quality we need to change the culture around the club and we'd need a manager who could deliver it. I don't think we have either.

 

[Boozad]

Bruno doesn't even make reactive changes. 77 minutes to change anything against Newcastle. That's not reactive, that's comatose.

 

[redvictor]

Wolves boss Bruno Lage speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "I'm disappointed because I've seen this game too many times. Different to Newcastle, but we were the better team and played well, we played the way we should. But we didn't score one goal and one mistake and we concede a goal.
"We came here and we controlled everything, with the ball, the spaces and we did well between the lines, but sometimes it is hard in the final third. We are not scoring goals; I'm happy with the players' work, but in terms of putting teams in a different level, the European level, we can't score goals."

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[Elephant Pyjamas]

Man U collected more points over the course of a 38 game season, so of course they were better last season!? They finished 5 points above them! It wasn't even close.

The league table doesn't lie, no. Not a 38 game league table!

You are applying a hell of a lot of recency bias to this stance.

The fact that we either win or lose and so rarely draw (we haven't Drawn since before Christmas) doesn't help the psychology of a fan, as it's always boom or bust.

We've won 3 of our last 6 (9 points) yet if we'd been unbeaten in the last 6 games and have 6 points, we'd probably feel better right now.

 

[Mild 'n' Scratchins]

Once I saw the starting XI it was hope, rather than expectation, for me today. Hwang and Jiminez have basically been pants all season and, predictably, were again today. How on earth they were not subbed off today, only Bruno, our ever increasingly clueless manager, can say. Fabio was the only bright spark in today's front three and he gets pulled off! He put in at least one decent cross in today, first half, which was crying out for someone to tap into an empty net but we just don't have anyone in those right places at the right time, ever! Moutinho tried his very best in midfield, with little or no support from Donkey. Semedo and Jonny were OK. But make no bones about it, in the main we were horse shit. I don't really blame Boly for leaving his man in the middle to try to stop the cross that led to their goal because he was covering for Saiss and Coady who both went AWOL. I really do think our problems stem from the back. We need a decent, proper centre half to replace Coady, enable us to switch to a back 4 and get an extra man into midfield to partner Neves and Moutinho (assuming they both stay). Until then we will always struggle to play football the way it should be played.

 

[The Bion]

We've won 3 of our last 5 (9 points) yet if we'd been unbeaten in the last 5 games and have 5 points, we'd probably feel better right now.

I might be missing something but no we haven't

Everton W
Leeds L
Villa W
Newcastle L
Burnley L

Unless you mean before today

 

[redvictor]

Bruno doesn't even make reactive changes. 77 minutes to change anything against Newcastle. That's not reactive, that's comatose.

He could put on a goal scorer, but we literally don't have one in the squad. Our problem lies in who we have up front. Balls get up to them, but they continually make bad calls when they get near or in the box. Raul who used to be brilliant in the box isn't anymore. We have no one up front who can head the ball anymore. Unless Raul has an epiphany in the close season we need 3 strikers. That's apart replacing who leaves in the summer. God help us if Neves does....
Who on here trusts the recruitment team?

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I might be missing something but no we haven't

Everton W
Leeds L
Villa W
Newcastle L
Burnley L

Unless you mean before today

You were quick of the mark

Before today, or last 6 games (which i changed it to)

It was more to reflect a point of this weird win/lose never draw season we are having.

 

[Johnny75]

Man U collected more points over the course of a 38 game season, so of course they were better last season!? They finished 5 points above them! It wasn't even close.

The league table doesn't lie, no. Not a 38 game league table!

You are applying a hell of a lot of recency bias to this stance.

The fact that we either win or lose and so rarely draw (we haven't Drawn since before Christmas) doesn't help the psychology of a fan, as it's always boom or bust.

We've won 3 of our last 5 (9 points) yet if we'd been unbeaten in the last 5 games and have 5 points, we'd probably feel better right now.

We've lost 3 of our last 5.

But that doesn't tell the whole story. Our football has been as dull as anything Hoddle served up during that period apart from Watford where we decided to play.

When we play we can be good, sadly that's way too infrequently.

It's not all on the manager but a good 80% is him.

As much as I dislike Howe look at the difference between him and Bruce. The football itself is far better and they've only really added 2 players of any quality and neither are better than what we have.