Crystal Palace 2-1 Wolves: Verdict Thread

[AndyWolves]

I'd play Ronan over Hodge if we need a midfielder to come on.

 

[Tony Towner]

The frustrating thing is that Palace have done nothing remarkable. They’ve used their PL money to sign the best players from the Championship. Eze and Olise weren’t even gambles and they’ve both been signed for less than a Guedes.

Not new news but we have spent somewhere in the region of 150m on Fabio, Semedo, Nunes, Podence and Guedes, all from Mendes in the last 3 years. Imagine the team we could have with that level of investment spent sensibly

 

[Johnny75]

Not new news but we have spent somewhere in the region of 150m on Fabio, Semedo, Nunes, Podence and Guedes, all from Mendes in the last 3 years. Imagine the team we could have with that level of investment spent sensibly

Need a proper DoF and CEO to make that happen.

Any mook can spend money, look at Utd.

 

[AndyWolves]

Let's hope recruiting a non Mendes manager is the first step away from Mendes

 

[Wolftone]

Not new news but we have spent somewhere in the region of 150m on Fabio, Semedo, Nunes, Podence and Guedes, all from Mendes in the last 3 years. Imagine the team we could have with that level of investment spent sensibly

You have to pay to learn. Big expensive learning curve for Fosun.
That's entertainment.

 

[PuntsWolf]

I think so much of it comes down to character rather than quality. They had Jeffrey fucking Schlupp playing centre mid FFS!

You just look how they react to things. Zaha had Semedo all over him first half but he just gets on with it, keeps showing for the ball, keeps battling away. Sure there are times when he loses his head and he's let Palace down a few times like that but they're massively outweighed by the battles he wins. Today he ran back with Traore for that freekick just before half time, battled against 3 or 4 players in a row and came away with the ball, showed the desire to get up and beat Semedo to the box to score the winner. Which of Wolves attackers, hell which of their players from anywhere, are showing that sort of determination and desire to make a difference?

This lack of fight is really pissing me off at the moment. Zaha just bouncing off about 4 players and just rag dolling Podence to the ground.

As you say Nunes is probably out of position but how is sulking around doing fuck all helping anyone? Your team is struggling to get the ball away from their 18 yard box for decent spells in the first half so drop in and show the boss what you can do, muck in and help your team out.

Completely agree. Not sure why there seems to be a need to defend him all the time. He was basically playing next to Costa second half in a 442 when we were getting bossed. Go in there and help out!

It was refreshing in the opening stages to see a bit more belief and purposefulness but it was soon quashed when it didn't bear fruit. I lay into Neves a lot for not doing enough but that opening spell I was pleasantly surprised. He was playing in tighter areas and moving the ball more quickly, I'm sure I even saw him take it on the half turn at least once! He made that driving run through the middle too, unfortunately the shot at the end was poor.

Thought he was decent enough today. He does muck in for sure. But against a team like palace with a ton of athletes he’s always second to the loose ball or playing catch up.

As always though, for Neves and pretty much the entire team, that confidence only seems to exist as long as the opposition allow it to. When the pressure is on, the spaces are limited and things become tougher they all slowly start going back into themselves and hiding from the bit scary world of front foot football. This team only play when they're allowed to, they don't compete.

Again the lack of fight. It’s a real concern for me. Traore B was putting himself about. He needs to start every game. Moutinho can’t seem to do anything any more. Can’t get around the pitch and doing little with the ball.
You seem to do laughing Emojis every time someone mentions relegation (so I’m not sure what your view is), do you not think this lack of fight aligned with poor quality in the final 1/3 and always prone to giving one away is a bit of a recipe for disaster?

 

[NicholasG1973]

I'd play Ronan over Hodge if we need a midfielder to come on.

I’d play Ronan Keating over Joe Hodge.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Hodge will make a career but it's reminiscent of how Anthony Forde was thrust into the first team out of nowhere. Just why.

Ronan is surely more suitable, he's been playing senior football since 2016.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I still can't believe Costa delayed the shot on his chance. Great ball (Podence didn't get much right but he did well there) and it opened up perfectly just to slot it bottom corner. Drags it onto his weaker side!

He's better than absolutely nothing but in terms of career peak -> when they arrived at Wolves, it's like when we had Cyrille Regis.

 

[Del Woppio]

Semedo is a disgrace at £35m. Bueno looked twice the player at both ends of the pitch.

Collins and Kilman - I was proper excited, like we'd found ourselves a kind of wish.com version of Dias and Laporte, and despite the ability and potential they have I don't think the organisation and experience is there, and it literally costs us every game.

T2 - I like his hustle and think he'll be a good PL player in a year or two.

Podence, Guedes and Adama - I'd take £30m for the three right now, they're fucking wank at influencing football matches, despite technical/physical ability.

Nunes is being criminally played out of position, but tbh he's also disappointed me with his attitude and the scarcity of his carrying, which was supposed to be his key strength. Appreciate that's harder to do from higher up the pitch.

I said earlier in the season that if Ronan is getting regular minutes we deserve to go down - turns out he's not getting as many minutes as he should be. Appreciate Davis and Collins will have a loyalty to Hodge, but fucking hell lads, its the Premier League

Costa, I know he'll be a fan favourite but he's basically just a pantomime character in a football shirt. He hasn't got it anymore.

We're fucked. We don't get the ball in the box enough, we don't get (or have) dangerous players in the box. The G/A per 90 for the entirety of our forward line, fit, injured or whatever, is pathetic throughout their entire careers (Neto's youth notwithstanding). Even Raul's basically had 18 good (well, phenomenal) months in his whole life. Sasa has spent over half his career on the treatment table, a gamble we couldn't afford to make and one that hasn't turned out.

Neves may have the armband, but I don't think he's a leader, though he's obviously the least of our problems right now.

Our squad is imbalanced, with too many in our core 14 that wouldn't get in most top ten teams. I'm genuinely worried about relegation, and with that in mind I'm moving against my natural attraction to attacking managers. We need 7 months of grind, and then a fucking massive rebuild.

 

[PuntsWolf]

I still can't believe Costa delayed the shot on his chance. Great ball (Podence didn't get much right but he did well there) and it opened up perfectly just to slot it bottom corner. Drags it onto his weaker side!

He's better than absolutely nothing but in terms of career peak -> when they arrived at Wolves, it's like when we had Cyrille Regis.

The only hope is another few games he might be more at it

 

[Mild 'n' Scratchins]

Semedo "tracking" back. We can't win games if we're not even going to do the basics properly.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1582479458233380864

Shocking defending. The thing is, first half he was actually pretty good but it all went south with that second goal of theirs. That is typical of our team at the mo. No one is consistently playing well for the majority of the game. It's either good in spells to absolute cack in others. All in game!

 

[Harry J]

Looks like I'm the only one who thought Hodge had a reasonable game. He had plenty of energy, got up and down the pitch well and was always eager for the ball. He also looked comfortable enough when in possession. I get that it might be too much too soon but he's 20 years old and in a struggling team.

 

[Del Woppio]

Looks like I'm the only one who thought Hodge had a reasonable game. He had plenty of energy, got up and down the pitch well and was always eager for the ball. He also looked comfortable enough when in possession. I get that it might be too much too soon but he's 20 years old and in a struggling team.

There's not an anti-Hodge agenda, I don't think. He's just too young and inexperienced to properly influence games at this level. It's a failing by the "recruitment team" that he's getting this many minutes, rather than a pop at the kid, who is doing is best and will have a decent career

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

¡ que bueno !

Otherwise it's all fine margins, another day we win that game. Zaha the difference, and I thought we allowed them too much space on the edge of our area. At least we are showing more attacking intent.

 

[WsWolf]

Semedo "tracking" back. We can't win games if we're not even going to do the basics properly.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1582479458233380864

That's bad but Kilman's positioning there is shit. He has no one to pick up, cut out the easy pass and make him beat Collins.

 

[Carrotdude]

Hodge genuinely looked like they’d just picked some random lad out of the crowd and given them a shirt, nowhere near good enough and it’s shocking management to bring him on.

 

[AndyWolves]

That's bad but Kilman's positioning there is shit. He has no one to pick up, cut out the easy pass and make him beat Collins.

Thing for me is that Kilman has to get his positioning inch perfect whereas all Semedo has to do is run a bit quicker. Semedo has the easier opportunity to influence the play there, for me anyway.

 

[Tredman]

Semedo was excellent first half. Weird times.

 

[big mean bunny]

Semedo was excellent first half. Weird times.

He was, he played so well they had to tactically adjust for him and yet seen many elsewhere saying he needs to be given away for free etc, he doesn't do great on either goal but he isn't alone, on the first he gets sucked inside as the CB follows Zaha out, so Semedo moves across, his issue is not checking the movement of the player he had been near, people acting like he left him for no reason.