Fulham 2-0 verdict thread

[Langers]

Good article that DW, not entirely sure I agree with this part



Although we do have a clear first team, Nuno has been very reluctant to change players who could perhaps do with a break. Jota, Saiss (pre injury), Douglas and others might have benefited from sitting the odd game out.

Not sure I agree with this. Results throughout the season when supposed players have needed a rest suggest otherwise.

If results weren't going our way then I'd agree with you.

 

[Tredman]

Not sure I agree with this. Results throughout the season when supposed players have needed a rest suggest otherwise.

If results weren't going our way then I'd agree with you.

Yes but surely the aim would be to rest players before they were too tired to perform at the end of the season - Bonatini was a clear case in point, he has looked poor since before Christmas, but we kept on playing him. Nuno's end of season results at Porto would indicate that this isn't unusual either.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I thought Leo was playing well although he wasn't scoring. Still plenty of good things about his game. He was rubbish yesterday mind.

I understand why he has kept Jota in, arguably he shouldn't have left him out yesterday either (unless he's really in physical difficulty). He's always our best chance of a goal. He has still scored three in 2018 and the first goal on Wednesday was down to him.

Saiss was only really iffy against Forest, then got injured anyway. Can't think of many sub-par performances from him through Nov/Dec.

Anyway the point is that DJ (who is the direct comparator, as people won't shut the fuck up about an inapposite comparison from SIXTEEN FUCKING YEARS AGO) would NEVER make changes to the team, check our line ups towards the end of that season. Just kept everything the same, every week. Nuno does change it around, you wouldn't want 4-5 new players coming in all at once anyway.

 

[Tredman]

I thought Leo was playing well although he wasn't scoring. Still plenty of good things about his game. He was rubbish yesterday mind.

I understand why he has kept Jota in, arguably he shouldn't have left him out yesterday either (unless he's really in physical difficulty). He's always our best chance of a goal. He has still scored three in 2018 and the first goal on Wednesday was down to him.

Saiss was only really iffy against Forest, then got injured anyway. Can't think of many sub-par performances from him through Nov/Dec.

Anyway the point is that DJ (who is the direct comparator, as people won't shut the fuck up about an inapposite comparison from SIXTEEN FUCKING YEARS AGO) would NEVER make changes to the team, check our line ups towards the end of that season. Just kept everything the same, every week. Nuno does change it around, you wouldn't want 4-5 new players coming in all at once anyway.

To be fair, I'm coming at this slightly from the outside here as I missed the entire choke season and only had the world service and guardian weekly for info (never rely on guardian weekly for sport, it's shite).

In some ways changing has confused things (hello benik), but I do think it's better to change things very skightly when they are going well rather than make numerous changes when it is not going well. We could easily have brought MGW in earlier for one of the front 3, ditto Vini and we really should have done something about RWB

 

[Siggy]

Dave Jones was a stubborn bugger and there were all sorts of off the field problems that contributed towards that collapse. This really is nothing like that, its not even really a thing, we were poor yesterday but would have still beaten many of the teams in this league with that performance. We were also missing the best player in the league, Fulham are a good side in great form, its not really that confusing for me.

I think many of us were pissed off yesterday, emotions do sometimes get the better of us as football fans, but collapse?? not a chance.

 

[Parkins left foot]

As said earlier think that the reaction from some quarters to this result is partly due to 'only' picking up 2 points from the previous two games (especially the deflation of the last minute Norwich equaliser).

We were very unlikely to go through the remaining games without a loss & this was one was as likely as any to be one. Fulham are a decent Championship team with one or two better players & on a good run. If you are not at it then you will struggle to win (we weren't & didn't).

They played well & we were somewhat off. Agree that its not a collapse & will have given Nuno & the team something to go back home & deal with

 

[GLASGOWOLF]

As said earlier think that the reaction from some quarters to this result is partly due to 'only' picking up 2 points from the previous two games (especially the deflation of the last minute Norwich equaliser).

We were very unlikely to go through the remaining games without a loss & this was one was as likely as any to be one. Fulham are a decent Championship team with one or two better players & on a good run. If you are not at it then you will struggle to win (we weren't & didn't).

They played well & we were somewhat off. Agree that its not a collapse & will have given Nuno & the team something to go back home & deal with

Nuno's already said we need to improve in every area.
This is where Nuno needs to earn his money.
He has to.pick the team up for Reading.

3-5-3 jota up front
MGW in with Saiss

Oh and for the first time this season we neex someone else to.slip up Cardiff and keep the gap at 9 points. Promotion is not good enough for me I want the title

 

[Tredman]

Nuno is the man if he gets a 3-5-3 out on the pitch

 

[Irish_Wolf]

Completely dominated.
We really need to get ourselves sorted out.
We're coming over for the Burton match and I think we really need to lower our expectations.
The last 3 games we've been mediochre with flashes of lovely stuff.
But the powerful, irresistable stuff that got us to the top has been sadly missing...

One thing is clear for me, this team are not EPL ready, I dont care what people are saying but this Wolves squad is not as good as people think.
I think right now after a run of shite games and this defeat we will see what this team is made off. Go prove me wrong.

 

[Langers]

One thing is clear for me, this team are not EPL ready, I dont care what people are saying but this Wolves squad is not as good as people think.
I think right now after a run of shite games and this defeat we will see what this team is made off. Go prove me wrong.

I think they've done that 22 times out of 34 already this season but hey ho.

 

[Trips]

One thing is clear for me, this team are not EPL ready, I dont care what people are saying but this Wolves squad is not as good as people think.
I think right now after a run of shite games and this defeat we will see what this team is made off. Go prove me wrong.

Some over-reaction to one defeat (just our 5th of the season) against a very good Fulham side, who are the in-form side in the division and have now won 8 on the spin at home. This is the best squad of players we have had for as long as I can remember.

As for not being Premier League ready, the current squad would compete in the top flight. See the games against Southampton and Man City as proof. Obviously we would need to, and will, strengthen. But to suggest they are not as good as we think is OTT

 

[jd1981]

Fulham were good but that shouldn’t make it a given they’ll win the game. Up until they scored I thought things looked pretty even. We really didn’t cope well at all with falling behind.
Saiss and Ndiaye were outplayed in the middle of the park and offered little control.
Couple of situations in the first half were butchered by poor decisions especially early on by Costa who could easily of squared to Bonatini.
Don’t agree with the attitude of it’s just one of them days, yesterday highlights that a couple of players missing and we can look bang average.
We got away with it against blues due to how poor the opposition were.
I won’t get on the back of those who are panicking.
10 points is still healthy and will take some to make up.

 

[Parkins left foot]

Cardiff & Bristol goalless at half time

Would be happy with it remaining that way (or a Bristol late winner)

 

[pavlosmacwolf]

Well I have stopped posting when I drink cypro, because frankly it turned me into a right mad bastard, seems a few on here after one bad defeat, have taken up the mantle on my behalf.
You cannot win every game, complacency is a psychological part of the game, when you are crushing all before you, get over it, Nuno will kick arses and normal service will be resumed,
And stop drinking cypro and posting at the same time, trust me, it is not a good combination.

 

[playtheace]

https://oscillatingwildly.net/reaction-fulham-2-0-wolves/

I doth my cap and agree with all of that.
----------------

I will say if folks want Afobe up top then the midfield needs to try something different to "play to his game" if you will.
When Coady went into midfield and started to be more direct with through balls,then thats Afobes gravy but stick him up top
and play to the wings and we wont see anything different.

 

[Johnny75]

I'm with Slink in that the over reaction is OTT, but so is the metaphorical shrug of the shoulders, 'you win some you lose some' casualness.

We aced the first half of the season with some fair to decent Championship players and some that have no right being at Molineux, however our making was the system. This is an over simplification, but for the first couple of months teams didn't know what to make of it and the next couple they were scared to play against us so often didn't try to really win the game, they either parked the bus or kicked lumps, with the odd piece of success, but were largely unsuccessful in either tactic.

Some sides still have that attitude, Preston a couple of weeks ago being one, however by and large a few things have changed. Teams have worked out we need to control the midfield so they are putting an extra man in there, they know that the wing backs are key and neither are great defensively so they are pushing men on to them, they can see that as good as Coady's distribution is he's not a career centre half and cannot cope with a physical presence on him. In summary they have a gameplan on how to win which is beyond kicking lumps out of us and 11 men behind the ball. Forest, Norwich and Fulham all played reasonable football in getting their results against us because they knew that as long as they can push on our weaknesses they could then focus on their own strengths to get a result. Ruddy's relative collapse in form is nothing to do with the opposition, but another contributory factor.

Yesterday we played the best side in the league since Xmas away from home where they've won their last 8, losing that in isolation isn't something to be overly concerned by, however the overall pattern as described in my 3rd paragraph is. I still think we will go up, but Nuno needs to see what is happening to us and come up with a plan to compensate. He's trying things like the second half formation versus Norwich and putting Afobe on to be more of a number 9, but they don't seem to be the answer.

I think you're right there TT teams are doing something different but not until they are largely 2-0 down as QPR and Norwich did.

We were poor yesterday and I think it showed that neither Saiss or N'Daiye are anywhere near the quality we need for the PL. I thought the poorest player on the pitch was Doherty and whilst Leo was poor Doc was partially at fault for both goals, his attitude stank and his distribution was pathetic.

We have struggled when our players in the wide positions struggle and both Targett and Fredrick showed our wide men are just average Championship players.

I think Nuno may go all Bielsa on us and double down on his efforts to impose his system on the game rather than cope with what the opposition are doing as when he changes tactics we haven't looked great. I think Afobe has also knocked our balance somewhat and that hasn't helped.

The overreaction to a loss is pathetic though and shrugging the shoulders is all you can do. No point dwelling on the past, just get on and make it better. Only the media and idiots look for things that happened a generation ago as an indicator to what may happen now.

 

[The Bear]

I'm afraid last night showed up Coady's limitations and weaknesses playing at CB. He's fine if he can sit back and read/anticipate. But get him isolated one on one and a forward can have him on toast.

Twice last night he found himself taking on Mitrovic. And both times he got rinsed. The first he was on his heels for a through ball and couldn't make up in time, the second he tried to get tight and Mitrovic turned away from him. Both resulted in a goal, although both weren't entirely Coady's fault I'll give him that.

It still shows him up though. And I hope more teams don't try and get at him one on one because he'll struggle if they do.


Oh and a note on Alf. When he got hauled off last night he was our best player on the pitch. Not a massively high bar admittedly but he was playing well and gave us some kind of foothold in midfield. Saiss should have been hooked instead. Bizarre decision. Once Alf went off we surrendered midfield completely.

 

[Parkins left foot]

Nuno is the man if he gets a 3-5-3 out on the pitch

Well Costa, Jota & MGW are quite a bit shorter so maybe we can get away with two of them in a long coat down one side

They can take it in turns so be less tired :icon_biggrin:

 

[Jinky]

I'm with Slink in that the over reaction is OTT, but so is the metaphorical shrug of the shoulders, 'you win some you lose some' casualness.

We aced the first half of the season with some fair to decent Championship players and some that have no right being at Molineux, however our making was the system. This is an over simplification, but for the first couple of months teams didn't know what to make of it and the next couple they were scared to play against us so often didn't try to really win the game, they either parked the bus or kicked lumps, with the odd piece of success, but were largely unsuccessful in either tactic.

Some sides still have that attitude, Preston a couple of weeks ago being one, however by and large a few things have changed. Teams have worked out we need to control the midfield so they are putting an extra man in there, they know that the wing backs are key and neither are great defensively so they are pushing men on to them, they can see that as good as Coady's distribution is he's not a career centre half and cannot cope with a physical presence on him. In summary they have a gameplan on how to win which is beyond kicking lumps out of us and 11 men behind the ball. Forest, Norwich and Fulham all played reasonable football in getting their results against us because they knew that as long as they can push on our weaknesses they could then focus on their own strengths to get a result. Ruddy's relative collapse in form is nothing to do with the opposition, but another contributory factor.

Yesterday we played the best side in the league since Xmas away from home where they've won their last 8, losing that in isolation isn't something to be overly concerned by, however the overall pattern as described in my 3rd paragraph is. I still think we will go up, but Nuno needs to see what is happening to us and come up with a plan to compensate. He's trying things like the second half formation versus Norwich and putting Afobe on to be more of a number 9, but they don't seem to be the answer.

Very sensible post. Agree with all of it.

 

[Penk Wolf]

Norwich scoring late on is the issue not losing to Fulham.