Cardiff 2 -1 Wolves: The Pantwetting Verdict.

[YoungWolf]

The formation is not the issue ffs

 

[Dolph06]

The formation is not the issue ffs

Then what is?

 

[The Bear]

Our defence and midfield were fine in general tonight. It's our attacking play which is letting us down too often and putting extra pressure on the defence.

 

[playtheace]

What pisses me off (and it was the same last season) is, when we up the pace we play miles better but it's all soooo fucking pedestrian.
I thought we were bossing the 2nd half without really threatening and then, for some bizzare reason (5 min before their goal), we decided to start being sloppy and just give the ball away to them......nothing brought that on, Cardiff weren't particularly pressuring, we just invited it... Fucking bizzare.

 

[jd1981]

Front three tonight aren’t good enough for this level, teams have sussed us out and we look an easy side to play against.
Raul first half especially didn’t hold a thing up leaving us under huge pressure.
Worried that was not a reaction tonight just a continuation.

 

[Alan]

The formation is not the issue ffs

I mean with this absolutely genuinely: if the formation isn't hurting us, what is our real problem?

 

[AndyWolves]

I really think we need a midfield 3. We have some absolute quality players in CM but they are getting overrun every game.

 

[Nando]

Raul, Adama and Helder with one of the wotst collective front line displays you'll ever see. Offered absolutely fuck all.

Jota our best player by a country mile when he came on solely by virtue of being able to trap a ball.

The first goal is parks standard. Diabolical grom Rui.

 

[east-coast-wolves]

Boly was pretty excellent and Saiss did much better than I feared.
Jota was lively enough as a sub.

Otherwise, piss.
There is a strange desire whenever Traore is on the pitch to simply punt it up field and expect him to beat everyone to it.
Costa was terrible today, Jimenez not much better.
Our distance shooting is currently not a threat and we continually waste the ball that way.
Rui was absolutely shocking for the first goal (though I think it was a foul, doesn't excuse him for being piss weak.

This was a game we should have controlled through midfield, and instead we tried to play Cardiff at their own game at times.
Thanks to some solid defending for 50 minutes or so, it sort of worked, though we didn't honestly look like scoring from open play ever.
Then we forgot how to defend too and it was all round dreadful.

 

[Templeton Peck]

Wide forwards have been two wide all season which has led to CF isolation and a much reduced goal threat as a result. When we have created chances we've been poor at taking them.

 

[YoungWolf]

I mean with this absolutely genuinely: if the formation isn't hurting us, what is our real problem?

Our issue (even during our good form) is that our front three are not performing with enough confidence and conviction - it has really limited us.

More recently, we’ve not found solutions to different challenges (like last week, needed our wingers to provide more support centrally) - coupled with a pretty clear lack of confidence all round following a few defeats.

I am worried but it’s more about performance than how the team is set up

 

[playtheace]

It is nowhere near Stale. We should've beaten Arsenal, away, 2 games ago, for christ's sake.

Boly was excellent, the rest ranged between mediocre and dreadful. On this and recent evidence I would really like Jota and Cav to have a run together. We had our best run last season when they played at the same time, they're both smart and creative and I've seen nothing this season to suggest that either Costa or Traore really merit playing in front of them at the minute.

Neves suspended for Chelsea leads to an interesting decision. Dendoncker, finally? A start for MGW (which would be a hell of a confidence vote)? Or does he simply move Saiss forward and put Bennett back in (who has to be wondering why exactly he was dropped considering Saiss was nothing special tonight)

Love to see Dendocker to be honest, against Leicester he looked incredibly tidy on the ball.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

And Hoilet has scored more goals against wolves than any other team he has played against!

 

[VanWolfie]

The change in tactics, by-passing the midfield, was most noticeable but I thought the inclusion of Saiss was meant to bolster the midfield with him moving up where he could. So the long balls were quite confusing and just didn't work. We would have been better off playing the way we have been, the game at least would not have been the dreadful spectacle that it was. We allowed Cardiff to pull us down to their level. Nuno has to be very careful now because we could easily be caught by lesser teams in the next few weeks if this trend continues. The team is playing as if they no longer have any confidence in their ability to stay and perform at this level. Although he played better today, I still think that Moutinho has, of late, hampered Neves' ability to impact the game. I wish I knew what Nono's thoughts are on Dendonker but I personally think that he needs to be given a chance to play in midfield. He couldn't be any worse than what we have been treated to in the last few games (with the exception of Arsenal). Something is wrong and only Coady is regularly displaying the spunk, spirit, and ability to survive at this level. Let's hope they get back quickly to the way they played in August and September.

 

[Aikiwolf]

I mean with this absolutely genuinely: if the formation isn't hurting us, what is our real problem?

The front three are. Poor control of the ball and not bringing people into the game., the front 3 are unable to beat people and when we do create something we can't score.

 

[Premier Quality]

The formation is not the issue ffs

I agree with that - too many of our players are flat at the moment, playing nowhere near their level. Moutinho was brilliant at the start of the season but he’s been poor lately. Patricio is similar. Jimenez has been good this year, but he’s dropped off. Don’t even start me on Helder Costa

 

[jd1981]

Not once in the last 2 games has Costa gone past a player looks so predictable

 

[Alan]

Our issue (even during our good form) is that our front three are not performing with enough confidence and conviction - it has really limited us.

More recently, we’ve not found solutions to different challenges (like last week, needed our wingers to provide more support centrally) - coupled with a pretty clear lack of confidence all round following a few defeats.

I am worried but it’s more about performance than how the team is set up

Maybe you're right, I have a hard time seeing it that way at the moment, though.

Angry as I am, I really don't want Nuno sacked. I just can't see where we turn it around, though, not after being done in by Huddersfield and Cardiff.

 

[Parkins left foot]

Now is the time when we find out whether Nuno can find a solution or whether he can only do it when things are going well - & yes the players have to step up & play their part, but the Manager needs to set the scene

The front 3 are not functioning as we need them to - a second goal would have killed Cardiff's momentum though that never looked like it was going to happen.

Suspect that there will be some incomings in Jan - whether they work out will not be known till after then!

 

[Alan]

Nuno after the match:

I am very cautious of the moment we are in. … But there is only one way forward. We stick together.