Chelsea (H) Carabao Cup R4: Build Up, Match & Verdict

[EnglishBob]

Playing like vintage Wimbledon to be plucky losers, at home, to Chelsea reserves.

That's what this team is now. Soon the pluck will be gone as resignation sets in. Sa already phoning in his 'performances'.

 

[Wolf of Ashford]

I wasn't able to watch the game last night so can't really comment on it too much.

But i did enjoy Krejci giving Cucurella a needless shove after our 3rd!

 

[sycophantia]

It was exciting, but all we did was lump it in the box. As soon as Chelsea raised themselves they cut through us like butter. With our flaky defence its not sustainable.

I think it was DW who suggested this team, lets go full Pulis and go down in a haze of shithousery:

Johnstone
Mosquera - Agbadou - Krejci - Toti
R Gomes - J Gomes - Andre - Arias
Tolu - JSL​

Oh yeah it certainly wasn't classy football but I'm just trying to find some sort of positives to hang on to so that supporting Wolves isn't just a dreary grind.
I'm already resigned to having to watch stone age football for us to get any wins and draws this season. It's horrible but thats where we are with the current squad.

 

[jd1981]

Give me a pragmatic win over a pretty defeat every day of the week.

 

[Tredman]

Its all about pragmatic defeats this season

 

[lemonjelly]

Couldn’t get on the site yesterday, still fucked off after Sunday and last nights game has only made it worse. Not sure what i’m most fucked off with, Fosun, Vitor, Vitor’s random team selections and subs, the daytrippers falling for the second half yesterday, it’s just everything.

That first half team selection, the sub when Doc got injured, the tactical switch when Vitor realised we were getting spanked that didn’t make it any better and has absolutely crucified poor Fer Lopez can get in the bin. That enough should be a sackable offence, as it basically lost us the game. Now i was in conflict with myself because my heart never wants us to lose but my head was thinking “i hope we get smashed 8-0” because he would have to go. The second half was spirited, aided by Chelsea switching off but it was actually proof that if we played that way i think we could get points in the league, it was similar to how we picked up points last year and is clearly effective against a lot of teams but it will be a complete one off and who knows what team Vitor will play Saturday.

Quite a few of our fans have been sucked in to it, now i can’t have a go at them for supporting the players and the club but we still need to make our voice heard on Fosun, Jeff and no doubt will have to about our manager again within the next 2 games.

Agree with all of this. I do hope that the fans can target the owners/manager regarding the dis-satisfaction, rather than the players, because that is where the issues stem from.

 

[lemonjelly]

I also thought Mosquera had a decent outing last night. Still no idea whet the formation was at any point btw - never sure if it was 3, 4, 5 or even 6 at the back. Horrible flashbacks of O'neil trying to be too clever.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Football is cyclical. Set pieces and long throws are back in because everyone’s spent 10-20 years trying to get their GK and CBs to play neat triangles on the edge of the box so now they can’t do “the basics”. I’m no football snob. What is entertaining is shots on goal, balls in the box. How it gets there is largely irrelevant. I’d rather see balls in the box leading to second ball shots at goal rather than the horseshoe of doom or my CB pressed into a hoof from the corner flag to a striker on the half way line with no one within 20 yards of him.

We’ve seen from Tolu’s brief appearances that even if he’s not quite Andy Carroll in the air he causes dusruption that the CBs hate. With Joao Gomes and Andre you’ve got two very good midfielders at picking up loose balls. In Krejci you’ve got quality from deep. We don’t have the ability to play through teams so we’ve just got to get it up there

 

[Tredman]

I also thought Mosquera had a decent outing last night. Still no idea whet the formation was at any point btw - never sure if it was 3, 4, 5 or even 6 at the back. Horrible flashbacks of O'neil trying to be too clever.

Genuinely I hope to never, ever see Agba in CM again.

 

[Loki]

Agree with all of this. I do hope that the fans can target the owners/manager regarding the dis-satisfaction, rather than the players, because that is where the issues stem from.

The players confidence is rock bottom and it doesn`t help to hear "you`re not fit to wear the shirt". We know a lot of them aren`t good enough but, ultimately, it`s not their fault that they are wearing the shirt. I understand the frustration when you see performances like last night`s first half, but I`d rather see the fans ire turned towards Fosun.

 

[Tredman]

The players confidence is rock bottom and it doesn`t help to hear "you`re not fit to wear the shirt". We know a lot of them aren`t good enough but, ultimately, it`s not their fault that they are wearing the shirt. I understand the frustration when you see performances like last night`s first half, but I`d rather see the fans ire turned towards Fosun.

Agreed, but I will make an exception for Sa

 

[malta mick]

Papering over the cracks I know but if we’d started with a normal back 3/5 we probably wouldn’t have been 3 down at the break.
Think if we play Larsen then he needs Tolu alongside him, and hopefully be able to push Krechi into midfield

 

[Loki]

Agreed, but I will make an exception for Sa

Good point, well made.

 

[Langers]

The players confidence is rock bottom and it doesn`t help to hear "you`re not fit to wear the shirt". We know a lot of them aren`t good enough but, ultimately, it`s not their fault that they are wearing the shirt. I understand the frustration when you see performances like last night`s first half, but I`d rather see the fans ire turned towards Fosun.

I would rather hear Fosun and Jeff get the stick, but the players deserved a LOT of stick for that first half 'effort'. Because some of them simply weren't concentrating and didn't want to be there. That's simply not good enough, no matter how shit they are.

 

[Wilf Wolf]

The players confidence is rock bottom and it doesn`t help to hear "you`re not fit to wear the shirt". We know a lot of them aren`t good enough but, ultimately, it`s not their fault that they are wearing the shirt. I understand the frustration when you see performances like last night`s first half, but I`d rather see the fans ire turned towards Fosun.

I actually think most of them could do a job in the PL if they had three or four quality players in the team. The problem is many of them are the kind of player an established PL team would be looking to upgrade at the first opportunity or use as squad players. We saw last year that with Cunha, RAN and occasionally Sarabia playing that they could do better than they currently are. Even ManCity struggled by their standards when Rodri, KDB and a couple of CHs were missing.

As others have said all we can do is make the best of a bad job and VP has shown no signs of doing so.

 

[sycophantia]

Couldn’t get on the site yesterday, still fucked off after Sunday and last nights game has only made it worse. Not sure what i’m most fucked off with, Fosun, Vitor, Vitor’s random team selections and subs, the daytrippers falling for the second half yesterday, it’s just everything.

That first half team selection, the sub when Doc got injured, the tactical switch when Vitor realised we were getting spanked that didn’t make it any better and has absolutely crucified poor Fer Lopez can get in the bin. That enough should be a sackable offence, as it basically lost us the game. Now i was in conflict with myself because my heart never wants us to lose but my head was thinking “i hope we get smashed 8-0” because he would have to go. The second half was spirited, aided by Chelsea switching off but it was actually proof that if we played that way i think we could get points in the league, it was similar to how we picked up points last year and is clearly effective against a lot of teams but it will be a complete one off and who knows what team Vitor will play Saturday.

Quite a few of our fans have been sucked in to it, now i can’t have a go at them for supporting the players and the club but we still need to make our voice heard on Fosun, Jeff and no doubt will have to about our manager again within the next 2 games.

I always enjoy your match thoughts but I have to say I find the 'daytrippers' remark a bit patronising tbh. I guess I count as a daytripper as we only get to about 6-8 games a season. I think people just want to get a bit excited about a Wolves performance, me and the other daytrippers aren't under any illusions, we know the club has been terribly run for years now and we're left with an unbalanced woefully under qualified squad and coach. The coaches and club hierarchy deserve all the shit they get. We're in the shit but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a bit of a 'plucky fightback'

 

[Tredman]

Thought about posting on here at one point to ask if you had come in your kit @sycophantia, as you might have got a game after that first half performance,

 

[slink]

I always enjoy your match thoughts but I have to say I find the 'daytrippers' remark a bit patronising tbh. I guess I count as a daytripper as we only get to about 6-8 games a season. I think people just want to get a bit excited about a Wolves performance, me and the other daytrippers aren't under any illusions, we know the club has been terribly run for years now and we're left with an unbalanced woefully under qualified squad and coach. The coaches and club hierarchy deserve all the shit they get. We're in the shit but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a bit of a 'plucky fightback'

Appreciate that may have come across like i’m being a prick and that’s fair, apologies for that. I have no issue with being excited in the second half, it was more the reaction i was hearing after the game that the 1st half had been forgotten and even in the first half the reaction to being 3-0 down should have been more volatile. I can also see why those who don’t go as often wanted to support the team and that’s fair too because we all should really.
Also have no issue with those who can’t attend very often, just so frustrated that yesterday looks like it’s going to paper over cracks again and we’re further away from a manager who can get the best out of this squad. Would also say there seemed to be a lot around me in the Southbank who hadn’t been to many games, didn’t know all of the players or probably not even Wolves fans

 

[lemonjelly]

I would rather hear Fosun and Jeff get the stick, but the players deserved a LOT of stick for that first half 'effort'. Because some of them simply weren't concentrating and didn't want to be there. That's simply not good enough, no matter how shit they are.

on sunday it was clear the players were worried about conceding first, as they knew it could/would get toxic.

I do feel that though the performances have been poor, the players have not lacked effort. They're being hamstrung by poor tactics, poor selection decisions, and poor squad additions. None of which is their fault, nad is why the anger needs to be aimed at fosun/jeff/vitor.

 

[sycophantia]

Appreciate that may have come across like i’m being a prick and that’s fair, apologies for that. I have no issue with being excited in the second half, it was more the reaction i was hearing after the game that the 1st half had been forgotten and even in the first half the reaction to being 3-0 down should have been more volatile. I can also see why those who don’t go as often wanted to support the team and that’s fair too because we all should really.
Also have no issue with those who can’t attend very often, just so frustrated that yesterday looks like it’s going to paper over cracks again and we’re further away from a manager who can get the best out of this squad. Would also say there seemed to be a lot around me in the Southbank who hadn’t been to many games, didn’t know all of the players or probably not even Wolves fans

Fair enough, I would never say you're being a prick, far from it, as I said your match reviews are always well-balanced and nuanced.
Must admit I didn't speak to anyone post game that felt conned or that had the wool pulled over their eyes, they all seemed fully aware of the shitshow we are currently but were genuinely enthused by the second half performance as a stand alone period.
You and others who go to every game, some home and away are fully entitled to be pissed off.