January 2021 Transfer Window

[Wolvensam]

Don't Son and Kane have about a 75% contribution to all of Spurs' league goals this season?

We shouldn't be expecting a RWB to do that much, in fact we created that role specifically for Doherty as he's a dreadful defender.

Pretty much. We're as pants as Tottenham are without Kane, and Leicester without Vardy. Both were absolutely awful this weekend.

 

[Wolvensam]

Definitely. But I will say that I feel he's missed Raul more than anyone. He was never much of a goalscorer (half of his tally last season came in one game), but his assists were excellent. There's little interplay in the forward line without Raul and Doc, and now if he gets a decent cross in at all (big ask) he doesn't really have anyone in the box to make use of it.

Traore is at his best when he comes centrally and drives at his man. Sometimes his teammates need to be a bit quicker at releasing him so he's in those 1v1 situations, and sometimes he (Traore) needs to be a bit more clever in how he plays.

 

[Deano]

I think I disagree on Boly - he has only ever really gotten 2-3 a season (if that) and that's okay for a CB. I think Donck has only ever gotten 5 in his entire Wolves career.

I reckon Nuno suspected Neto, Podence and Traore would step up and contribute. The former have to some extent but Traore has been very poor - he isn't coping well with having 3-4 men double up on him just like his team mates aren't doing a good job of exploiting the space that creates.

Dendoncker got 6 in all competitions last season, 4 in the premier League. That's not too bad for a player who's primarily a defensive midfielder and played a number of his games off the bench or at CB

 

[Premier Quality]

I have said it before, but Neves is to me a playmaker with his range of passing.

He is, he offers two of the three areas I said a midfielder needs to partake in, and the third is probably by tactical choice

he’s excellent defensively, superb passing, but doesn’t dribble or play pass and move to progress us through the lines (though he probably could if there were people to do that with).

 

[Wolvensam]

Really what Nuno needs to do with Traore is make him watch his two goals against Manchester City last season on repeat and drum in "this is how I want you to play"...

 

[prawnking]

Leicester without Vardy

Watch him declared fit to play us on Sunday too

 

[Premier Quality]

I suppose my argument for this would be Kante (in no way am I saying Dendoncker is as good as him!) isn't a very progressive passer or scorer either, nor is Jorginho particularly. I think to call Dendoncker a limited footballer is harsh, he's pretty good at the defensive midfield side of his game. You just need the midfielders alongside him so he can execute that role.

What we're missing alongside Neves/Dendoncker is that box-to-box midfielder. Dendoncker hasn't got the finishing ability for it, but Neves hasn't got the engine for it either.

A third of kantes passes are progressive this season, and he regularly breaks the lines by carrying the ball forwards past players using his pace and strength. Midfielders don’t need to score necessarily, but they do need to contribute to more than one aspect in my view.

 

[Walnut]

Really what Nuno needs to do with Traore is make him watch his two goals against Manchester City last season on repeat and drum in "this is how I want you to play"...

I think that Traore had his head turned last season and thinks he's better than he is. Watching him the last few weeks, I don't think he wants to be here.

 

[The Saturday Boy]

Effective footballers make winning teams, effective footballers who are also talented are world class. Donk really should have 5 or 6 goals this season and if he had we wouldn’t be having this conversation. David Platt was effective, not a very good footballer, but effective. Doc was never a very good footballer but we found a way to make him effective.

Our problem at the moment is no matter who we put out on the pitch, none of them are completing their tasks. i don’t think it is the individuals we has lost so much as the little partnerships that were so well drilled.

Doc - Traore
Traore - Raul
Neves - Moutinho
Jonny - Jota

These were all well drilled partnerships that either through departures, injury or form are missing and they were the foundation of our success. Now it is a mess...

Semedo - Traore or Podence or MGW
Traore/Podence - Silva
Neves or Moutinho - Donk
Marcal or RAN or Saiss - Neto

We have no consistent partnerships anywhere...including the back 2 or 3

Nuno often talks about identity, we don’t have one. The team changes on a game by game basis, what once was predictable is now a lottery. Bringing in new players isn’t going to change the fundamental issue which is a settled side that can develop a rhythm. If Traore isn’t fit enough to play 4 or 5 games on the trot....leave him on the bench, if Moutinho‘s legs have gone don’t give him every other match. If Otasowie is ready (he isn’t) give him a run of games.

Yes, we have been unlucky with injuries but some of the other selections have been choices not forced.

 

[Tony Towner]

Watch him declared fit to play us on Sunday too

He has been

 

[Wolvensam]

A third of kantes passes are progressive this season, and he regularly breaks the lines by carrying the ball forwards past players using his pace and strength. Midfielders don’t need to score necessarily, but they do need to contribute to more than one aspect in my view.

Point taken - I do think we're missing that from some of the CBs too, particularly Coady, who nearly always looked for the forward pass.

 

[Premier Quality]

Point taken - I do think we're missing that from some of the CBs too, particularly Coady, who nearly always looked for the forward pass.

Agreed - I think some of that’s confidence though, because we are passing backwards and sideways rather than progressively to a huge extent recently. That’s not what Nuno is saying he’s asking of the players.

 

[Wolvensam]

I think that Traore had his head turned last season and thinks he's better than he is. Watching him the last few weeks, I don't think he wants to be here.

I don't think it's necessarily that, I think he's finding it tough coming up against two or three men a game - it's the making of Traore whether he can work around that or not.

 

[Wolvensam]

Agreed - I think some of that’s confidence though, because we are passing backwards and sideways rather than progressively to a huge extent recently. That’s not what Nuno is saying he’s asking of the players.

In terms of progressive/aggressive play, it's only really coming from Kilman across the backline at the moment who steps in to midfield spaces in an attempt to drive the attack and move the team up the pitch. I think you're right: it's confidence, Boly does it from time to time too. It's similar to how Manchester City and Liverpool play their centre-halves.

 

[prawnking]

Apparently we enquired about William Carvalho last week but it's a no go

 

[PuntsWolf]

Not excusing their output - just making the point that I think we never noticed it before as we had goals coming from other places on the pitch.

This is the viewpoint I struggle with. To me it was blatantly obvious we were going to struggle at some stage. We were often winning games or scoring goals with our one and only meaningful effort on goal in a game, or from Raul smashing one in the top corner, or Adama putting a worldy cross in a precise point where our only man in there can score and fortunately he was fucking good at it (Raul), Jota running 50 yards with it and smashing it in bottom corner, Doc being in the 6 yard box to score.

We were winning games on fine margins. Now we don’t have Raul (or Jota/Doc) we are losing them as we our giving goals away from penalties/set pieces/individual errors as well.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Apparently we enquired about William Carvalho last week but it's a no go

Thank Christ. Slower than continental drift.

 

[Del Woppio]

Yup. We basically missed out on Europe because we didn't score enough goals; we then sold our second and third highest scorers. I could accept the gamble (sorry Johnny, calculated and measured anticipation) on Neto, but not on Podence, Traore and our assortment of midfielders. They all had established careers and it was pretty clear they were never going to get more than a decent handful of goals between them. Add to that the botched transition, and it's little wonder we're probably the dullest team in the league.

 

[Walnut]

I watched some of the Leeds game yesterday and they are good with fast attacking football. They aren't boring.

 

[Nando]

Rodders has had his contract cancelled.