Nottm Forest 1-1 Wolves: Verdict Thread

[Jinky]

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.

Was away this weekend so only managed to get through watching the full 90 minutes earlier this morning, but just wanted to highlight this part of your excellent post/summary, Slink. I'm so pleased I'm not the only one that's noticed this.

There are no doubts that Joao Gomes is a huge talent - and he'll eventually move on for a big profit; of that I have no doubt. Sometimes if there's criticism of a popular player on here it can be met with derision, but I have the exact same concerns over his recent performances as you - even going back to the final month or so of last season.

I watched a 'Jose Sa best Wolves saves' compilation last week, and so many of them came from Joao Gomes losing the ball. He's excellent at winning the ball back, and he hustles the opposition better then most - but when he loses the ball with his back turned to goal, more often than not the opposition just run straight through the middle of us. His positioning seems all over the place. Personally I think he's being asked to do too much, and has too much responsibility.

In terms of this weekend specifically, I thought he was poor. Didn't really do much with the ball in an attacking sense, rarely got us up the pitch - was sloppy in possession and was also dispossessed in 50/50 tackles, which isn't something you expect. He's causing us more issues than good at the moment.

Moving forward, I'm hoping that the signing of Andre will help him. Someone who can just sweep in front of the back 4 and perhaps allow Joao & Mario a bit more freedom to do their thing in a progressive sense (although we'll still need them defensively). The situations where Gomes loses the ball, if he does this knowing Andre is stood behind him to break up the play/win it back, that can only be a positive thing IMO.

I hope a tweak in system & the introduction of Andre will see Joao get somewhere back towards his best.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

It's a fair observation, though equally it's easy to forget that he hasn't even played 50 Premier League games yet. He's still learning.

 

[YoungWolf]

I also think with Joao, we ran him ragged last season and then he’s played in copa America. I’m glad we’ve got a proper additional option in midfield now to help with that, he’s still young and needs managing

 

[Jinky]

It's a fair observation, though equally it's easy to forget that he hasn't even played 50 Premier League games yet. He's still learning.

Yep. This is what I was getting at when I said we're asking him to do too much. Gaz is expecting him to defend, break up play, move the ball about, drive forward in a box to box sense - it's too much for someone who is (despite being quality) still learning his trade.

Delighted we got Andre in there to help with the workload, but wouldn't be against seeing more of Doyle to give Joao a rest from time to time.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I thought Doyle was good vs Burnley and when he came on at the weekend.

 

[YoungWolf]

Doyle did quite well initially in helping us get a bit of control when he came on. I still have concerns over him working his way round the physicality side of things - a shame he didn’t get to be here while Moutinho was.

 

[Jinky]

I thought Doyle was good vs Burnley and when he came on at the weekend.

Most of the criticism with Doyle initially was over his pace. But he can still offer a lot from a tactical/possession point of view - similar to how JWP has made a career for himself at the top level despite having the turning circle of the QE2.

 

[Stan Hullis]

Doyle's mobility is a strange one - he looks like he should be quite athletic but he's very slow across the pitch.

As YW says, would have been great if he could have worked alongside Joao for a while.

 

[Johnny75]

Doyle did quite well initially in helping us get a bit of control when he came on. I still have concerns over him working his way round the physicality side of things - a shame he didn’t get to be here while Moutinho was.

I think Doyle played in a 3 with Andre or Gomes and Lemina would work very well. The Alexis Mac Alister/ Wijnaldum role if you like.

Cunha and whoever plays on the right would have some good balls to feed on.

Would mask some of his physical limitations too.

Got to be a 4-3-3 for that to work.

 

[Alan]

João is definitely a bit loose with his positioning but it is absolutely exacerbated by the bananas hyper-shuttler role Gary asks him to play, IMV.

I’m extremely low on Gary’s understanding of midfield positioning in general and would prefer to give João, Mario, et al the benefit of the doubt for now.

 

[Alan]

I think Doyle played in a 3 with Andre or Gomes and Lemina would work very well. The Alexis Mac Alister/ Wijnaldum role if you like.

Cunha and whoever plays on the right would have some good balls to feed on.

Would mask some of his physical limitations too.

Got to be a 4-3-3 for that to work.

Is Doyle athletic enough for this comparison? He’s sooooooo slow.

 

[Johnny75]

Is Doyle athletic enough for this comparison? He’s sooooooo slow.

Funny thing is neither of those guys are particularly quick and Moutinho was pretty slow too. David Silva and Juan Mata weren't very quick either, granted they played further up the pitch.

I think the first yard of Doyle's lack of pace is in his head, he's slow to look at the position of the game on defence and transition but he's ok when we have the ball.

He's still young and in the right formation and with the right coaching he could do well.