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Nottm Forest 1-1 Wolves: Verdict Thread

I am arguing that Doc is better than Lima defensively. And it would appear that GON appears to think so also.
Ok well I don't buy your argument. He isn't better than anyone defensively. He can't defend. I knew that in 2013 and I know it now.

And football managers forever make insane calls. Mark McGhee thought Steve Corica was better than Alex Rae, it didn't make him right.
 
On drawing at the City Ground

“It's a good point. It was one that you feel like you could win, but also there were the moments you feel like you could lose. But it was good and an improvement. It’s a tough place to come, but it was a good game, probably a fairly even game, probably a fair result.

“There were lots of good bits and some crazy bits in there, but I like the fact that we felt a threat throughout. I liked the way we stood up when it was tough. You have to manage those moments, you have to defend your goals and make big blocks.

“It was a good, solid away performance where we looked a threat, where we weathered some pressure, where we looked like we could go and score a winner. So, it was a good performance. I’m pleased.”

On having to come from behind

“It was a disaster to go 1-0 down with how we started the game. We were the better side by far, in complete control, creating good chances and moments, and then we concede a real soft one from the corner.

“But it was an incredible reaction. It was a great goal from JJ, a fantastic finish, and some other real dangerous moments that we weren't quite able to make the most of. But it was important because as tough as our first two Premier League games were, we lost them both, so to go 1-0 down is a test at that moment.

“One-nil down away from home, there's not too many times that you come back and get something from the game, so it shows where the group are, shows the belief they have, the quality that they have, and this Premier League season is going to be tough, and we're going to need a lot of that bravery and togetherness.”

On coming through a busy week

“We probably should have gone 1-0 up with Rayan, going through one on one with the goalkeeper early and it was a big chance. But we were able to bounce back, which is good. Then we found some real good momentum in the game, I felt we had a really good spell.

“It was a good game and we obviously want to improve, and off the back of a busy week, tough week – a 6-2 defeat, cup game, the transfer window – it was an unsettling week for everybody around the group with a lot going on, so it was a good together performance and a point on the road in the Premier League is always good.”

On the penalty decisions which weren’t given

“I hate having to talk about this. Firstly, I said to Simon when he booked me that I apologise for the overreaction. It was not directed at anybody. It was just disappointment in a massive, massive moment for us, where we were away from home, 20/15 minutes to go. It's a huge, huge moment.

“I feel like the human in me is allowed to show disappointment at that moment. It wasn't directed at anyone, there was no abuse. But that's the booking.

“The decisions, I think, could have both been penalties. If you look at where it hits Jorgen on the arm compared to where it hits Chris Wood on the arm, there is a difference.

“But maybe I’m splitting hairs, and maybe because I've got a Wolves top on, and Nuno has got a Nottingham Forest top on we will have different opinions on it.”

On Sam Johnstone’s debut

“I thought he did well. He looked assured, his use of the ball was good, so it was a good a good day, but he’s obviously not played much recently and only had a couple of days with us, so it was a good start his Wolves career.

“I was disappointed that the goal went in so early for him. It's a really bad goal for us to concede. A couple of lads lose focus, which we speak about a lot. It can happen, of course, but a disappointing goal. But then, from that moment, he made a couple of good saves, looked assured with the ball, when we were needed to play, he played, when we needed to go longer, he put it in really good areas. Considering how much info we had to get into him in a short amount of time, I thought it was a decent debut for him.

“There's no situation [with Sa] really. It's an unsettling week, there's a lot going on, Jose had a bit going on, I obviously had a big decision to make around goalkeeping, and we decided it was Sam today. But Jose will be back training with a group once he returns from Portugal and the idea is that him and Sam will fight it out.

“I felt that Sam should have the shirt today, but it doesn't mean it's always going to be that way. Jose is a fantastic goalkeeper. He's done an awful lot while I've been here, before I was here, so Jose will react in the right way, and he'll know he needs to come back after the Portugal trip and fight for his place like everyone else does in the in the squad.”

On Semedo and Gomes’ substitutions

“Nelson's obviously been suspended for a while, so he hasn't had enough minutes and was cramping. Joao was absolutely fine, but he’d just been booked, the game was a bit chaotic, and I was just trying to protect him in that moment.

“The depth in the group helps us now. We spoke a lot about the transfers, and of course, we lost two big starting 11 players in the transfer window, but if you look at the depth we had to finish last season compared to the depth we had today, and the quality that we're able to put on, it makes decisions a lot easier.

“When you get to that 55/60-minute mark, knowing that you have real quality and the depth behind you. Joao, in that moment, maybe was at risk, so you can change him. When Nelson is feeling cramp, we’ve got Doc, so all the subs went on and gave us something.”
 
Their pen shout it hits above the T shirt line
ours it hits his hand Var bottled it
 
The wood one is more of a pen, but once they didn’t give the first they weren’t giving it either. If they happened in reverse I think they both get given
 
Ok well I don't buy your argument. He isn't better than anyone defensively. He can't defend. I knew that in 2013 and I know it now.

And football managers forever make insane calls. Mark McGhee thought Steve Corica was better than Alex Rae, it didn't make him right.
He made an excellent track and block/tackle on HA.

Not sure how Doc is the main topic of conversation yet again.
 
Because he's rubbish?

I don't know why you white knight him, you know he's rubbish as well.
 
Because he's rubbish?

I don't know why you white knight him, you know he's rubbish as well.
White Knight him?

I don't know why you are so obsessed with him.

I think he's been fine this season so far. Particularly against Martinelli when all had written him off. He's nowhere near as good as Semedo obviously.
 
Nothing really to add and nothing really learnt. We'll create positions and miss chances because we aren't clinical enough / make bad choices. We'll concede a lot of goals due to a combination of being very open and certain players lacking in defensive fundamentals. Asking your 34 year old centre half to throw himself in front of the ball isn't much of a defensive strategy.

We could do without Andre and Gomes buggering off to Brazil for the next fortnight because if we are to play 433 then there needs to be a hell of a lot work done on shape and distances in and out of possession.
 
Went to the game today and both teams were good and shit in equal measures. It was a good game to be fair. A draw was a fair result, I guess.

Observations - Dawson is our best defender and was our best player today, Lemina great and Cunha and Semedo did well, too. It’s a worry that Dawson is more comfortable with the ball than any other of our defenders.

The negatives being that Toti can’t pass a football to a team mate more than 5 yards away and we’re going to need Joao and RAN to be better than they were today - both anonymous really.

We need more pace, more out wide and we need to be more direct. I actually thought Hwang was good when he came on - he have their defenders something to think about at least. JB and RAN continually check back when wide - must be really easy to play against.

Goal looked soft from Johnstone but I think he’ll be good - already a massive upgrade with the ball at his feet.

Looked a penalty to us at the end - looked blatant - but appreciate I saw it in real time. The players and bench were going crazy so there must have been something in it……

Best thing today was probably that MGW was totally anonymous - it would have have been a really long trip had he not have been.

Fans largely ignored Nuno too.
 
There’s one word that describes us at the minute and its chaos. Now that’s great for the neutral because it means there’s lots happening but for us fans it means we never really feel we’ve got control of a game despite being the better team at times. When we slowed it down today we looked much better but it didn’t happen enough and the rest of the time everything is 100mph. GON needs to sort this asap especially in transition when we lose the ball, it’s absolutely wild at times and the shape of our players that are behind the ball when we have possession has to be better.

Before i talk about our players special mention for Simon Hooper who managed to get a whole ground agree that he didn’t know what he was doing. Some very strange decisions for both sides that actually spoilt the game at times.

Johnstone - Maybe could have done better for the goal but he’s expecting a touch infront of him and just didn’t react quick enough when it didn’t happen. Much calmer than Sa on the ball and his 30/40 yard clips actually went to players rather than in the stand.

Semedo - I’ll never be convinced of him at wing back because his output in the opposition half is really poor but at right back he’s a great option to have. Brilliant 1v1 and covered fantastically. Not sure we could get a better one for where we are if we’re playing with a 4.

Mosquera - Has so much ability and all the attributes to play at the very top especially with a leader next to him. Brilliant in the air a few times against Wood who is tough to play against and i just think he’ll get better every week.

Dawson - Don’t know why people are complaining that our best centre back is 34. Yeah it’s not long term and we need to invest there but why we’ve got him we should be using him. Outstanding.

Toti - He’s not going to get forward to any great degree from left back but he was solid enough and not a complete bomb scare on the ball. Improved for having Dawson next to him.

Bellegarde - Thunderbastard of a strike to equalise but anonymous the rest of the game really. Still no idea what he is and how to get the best out of him.

Gomes - Sounds strange to say about him but i think he’s been a massive issue in the 3 games so far. He’s great at tackling but right now his positional understanding and his awareness of who is around him and where his midfield partner is has me really worried. I do think part of it is instruction but a lot of it is his game and he does need to work on it.

Lemina - Work rate is fantastic and much better than his midfield partner. Glad he played on after his injury because it looked bad from the reactions of the players. Guilty like Gomes at times of being too eager to press which leaves us wide open.

RAN - After seeing the replay his chance early on was harder than it looked. Played too wide and looked much better when he came inside. Would rather see him play on the right if we play this formation so he can come inside and link with Cunha.

Cunha - When he ran with it they just couldn’t deal with him and with better decision making after the first 20 minutes possibly would have got on the scoresheet or set one up. We need him to be a bit more clinical again.

Larsen - Tough game for him as he was isolated sometimes with Cunha drifting and Forest centre backs right on him. Makes good runs though and holds it up reasonably well already which are good signs.

Subs

Doyle - Regained us a bit of control in the game because he didn’t just run around and moved the ball instead. Like to see a replay of his first shot that looked destined to go in the top corner before being blocked but can’t be sure. Definitely has a role to play if we go to a 3 man midfield.

Hwang - Just a bad footballer when we have the ball and his tracking is woeful when we don’t. Will be an option at times but hopefully not very often.

Guedes - Was pretty good Wednesday but seemed to even struggle to control the ball today. Not an option in a wide area as he was used today, has to play down the middle.

Doc - Was really worried when he came on and Forest attacked that side several times. It looked like that was going to lead to the winner but he improved after that and was reasonably solid in injury time.

Andre - Not enough time to have any real impact but i don’t think it will be long before he plays as we need more control in midfield.

Great to get a point on the board but this style of chaos just isn’t sustainable. It’s just so unpredictable that will lead to goals at either end and very little control which is fun if you’re not a fan but not for us.
 
Went to the game today and both teams were good and shit in equal measures. It was a good game to be fair. A draw was a fair result, I guess.

Observations - Dawson is our best defender and was our best player today, Lemina great and Cunha and Semedo did well, too. It’s a worry that Dawson is more comfortable with the ball than any other of our defenders.

The negatives being that Toti can’t pass a football to a team mate more than 5 yards away and we’re going to need Joao and RAN to be better than they were today - both anonymous really.

We need more pace, more out wide and we need to be more direct. I actually thought Hwang was good when he came on - he have their defenders something to think about at least. JB and RAN continually check back when wide - must be really easy to play against.

Goal looked soft from Johnstone but I think he’ll be good - already a massive upgrade with the ball at his feet.

Looked a penalty to us at the end - looked blatant - but appreciate I saw it in real time. The players and bench were going crazy so there must have been something in it……

Best thing today was probably that MGW was totally anonymous - it would have have been a really long trip had he not have been.

Fans largely ignored Nuno too.
MGW certainly wasn't anonymous. He was at the heart of most of their good play.
 
We won't fix the defence until we
a) fix Ran
B) get jaoa gomes and lemina playing their natural game, i'm hoping andre in between them can fix that.
 
It is abysmal marking on their goal yet again. Not even a particularly good ball in and Wood barely moves. We just leave him totally free. What the hell is going on there, it was the same last week. Giving a cheap goal away and we're chasing the game.
 
It is abysmal marking on their goal yet again. Not even a particularly good ball in and Wood barely moves. We just leave him totally free. What the hell is going on there, it was the same last week. Giving a cheap goal away and we're chasing the game.
I presume set piece coaches are defensive as well as offensive? If that is the case ours shouldn't have his probationary period signed off
 
Was Lemina moving freely at the end of the match?
 
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