Southampton (H) 9/11: Build-Up & Match Thread

[Elephant Pyjamas]

He’s got 3 goals, 2 assists in 10 games. Arguably should have more with a few chances he’s missed and was unlucky with his shot at Villa. He seems to be the most misunderstood player we have. It’s quite often that he’s asked to do too many things because of his attributes and that actually can go against him. He was poor on Saturday, constantly made the wrong decision in the final third but that bit of his game has been improving over the last year.

Yeah his output has improved a lot since Christmas, his failure to release the ball at the right moment (or at all) killed us on Saturday, and defensively he's been pretty crap all season.

 

[From Distant Shores]

RAN has become easy to defend against.

He needs to adapt and use the ball much better, he keeps trying to do too much.

He's not the only Wolves player of recent times to keep try to beat players until they run into the equivalent of a brick wall or see the whites of the opponents goalie's eyes. RAN does it, Cunha does it, Neto did it, Traore did it. It isn't very effective and, worse still, leaves us vulnerable to counter attacks. Beating a player or two and then releasing the ball seems to be much more effective.

It seems that it must be encouraged by the coaching staff, as from the little I've seen on TV, Neto and Traore aren't doing it at their current clubs.

 

[slink]

Yeah his output has improved a lot since Christmas, his failure to release the ball at the right moment (or at all) killed us on Saturday, and defensively he's been pretty crap all season.

It’s improved dramatically, he’s one of our biggest threats. Admittedly he was really poor on the ball Saturday but he’s contributed heavily already this season.

Don’t agree that he’s been crap defensively either. Struggled massively in the Chelsea game with being asked to invert and didn’t know when to go in and stay out, Savio gave him issues for 10 minutes in the City game and Bailey kept him honest in the second half at Villa. He’s pocketed Salah and Mbuemo who only scored penalties and done pretty well in the other games sometimes with no one in front of him and Toti masquerading as a defender inside him.

 

[Tony Towner]

He's not the only Wolves player of recent times to keep try to beat players until they run into the equivalent of a brick wall or see the whites of the opponents goalie's eyes. RAN does it, Cunha does it, Neto did it, Traore did it. It isn't very effective and, worse still, leaves us vulnerable to counter attacks. Beating a player or two and then releasing the ball seems to be much more effective.

It seems that it must be encouraged by the coaching staff, as from the little I've seen on TV, Neto and Traore aren't doing it at their current clubs.

What's our alternative attacking strategy? That's all GON has had for the last 18 months. Give it to your flair players and hope they do something. Whether that's Cunha, Neto, RAN or Hwang during his purple patch last season. We're down to 2 now, so they will see too much of the ball, they will make the wrong decisions, they will give the ball away and they will also be involved in the vast majority of the goals we score.

 

[Kenny]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1854449003200426142

 

[Mel Evo]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1854449003200426142

Underneath the downward pointing finger he could have just inserted the league table.

 

[Tony Towner]

Probably just an attention seeker, but someone on Twitter claims Shi's told him he's out if he doesn't win on Saturday, but that's only what many think anyway

 

[Kenny]

Probably just an attention seeker, but someone on Twitter claims Shi's told him he's out if he doesn't win on Saturday, but that's only what many think anyway

Good chance Jeff has said as much to the likes of Percy etc. Get the ball rolling so it's not much of a shock come Saturday tea time

Not that it should be a shock of course

 

[prawnking]

Probably just an attention seeker, but someone on Twitter claims Shi's told him he's out if he doesn't win on Saturday, but that's only what many think anyway

Apparently Gary was called into Jeff's office FACT

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

He should be out regardless. He wins and it just delays the inevitable for another 2 or 3 games.

 

[jd1981]

He’s surviving on a game by game basis if he wins Saturday he probably still needs 4 points from Fulham and Bournemouth which I doubt he’ll get.
Put it plainly it’s highly unlikely he’s in charge for Everton away.
Only way he kicks the can way down the road is by winning 3 on the spin etc

 

[Tony Towner]

I think it then becomes as much about the league table as our results at that point. If we were to win, Ipswich lose and Palace get a point at the weekend then we'd be 2 points off safety. Lose both and that still be 2 or 3 points and I think he'd be safe on the really don't want to sack him front. If it were 6 they would.

 

[Mel Evo]

Every realistic option seems depressing.

The really great outcome would be winning Saturday then changing manager. It’s bonkers that such a perfectly reasonable outcome is within touching distance today, but will be implausible one way or the other, both for the worse, next Monday. It’s only too late to turn this around because we continue to choose not to do so.

 

[SSB]

Probably just an attention seeker, but someone on Twitter claims Shi's told him he's out if he doesn't win on Saturday, but that's only what many think anyway

Also seen on Twitter that Neves is supposedly in attendance on Saturday. If he's been saving up whilst in Saudi, maybe he can tell Shi/Fosun to do one.

 

[Dinowolf]

Also seen on Twitter that Neves is supposedly in attendance on Saturday. If he's been saving up whilst in Saudi, maybe he can tell Shi/Fosun to do one.

Get him to bring his boots, oh wait my team already has too many midfielders according to some.

 

[Wilf Wolf]

Get him to bring his boots, oh wait my team already has too many midfielders according to some.

Andre and Neves would be a good bench option , alongside all our other signings bar Strand Larsen.

 

[Sniffer]

O'Neil weighing up Hwang return​

​

Wolves v Southampton (Sat, 15:00 GMT)


Wolves boss Gary O'Neil has faced the media before his side play Southampton on Saturday. He was first asked about team news: "We expect everyone to be okay from last weekend."

And on forward Hwang Hee-chan, O'Neil said: "He trained today with the group, he looked sharp. He trained a little bit on Wednesday.

"He is back fit, [we're] just trying to pick the right time for him to be back involved, whether that is tomorrow or waiting a few weeks through the international break."

 

[Jack Regan]

That's him not even on the bench then.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Team news: "Johnstone is fine. He's trained all week. Hwang trained today and looked sharp. He's back fit and we'll pick the right time for him to be involved."

On Saints: "It feels like an important game, but they all do. An awful lot will be made of it but I treat them all as huge games. I'm looking forward to it. The boys have had an excellent week of training."

"I have full responsibility and we are where we are. The next game is the one we can effect and our preparation has gone very well. The boys are looking forward to the challenge."

On Molineux atmosphere / fan frustration: "It doesn't affect me, I understand the job. With where we are I expect some negative noise. The players need the fans and they are giving everything. They are a group that keeps going and the fans play a big part."

On Sarabia: "He's very robust and confident. He backs himself and he did have an impact on the game. He took up fantastic positions and helped us with the ball, but we would expect him to score those chances."

"There will be moments tomorrow when we need to be patient enough without the ball and then be lethal with a solid base."

"We're still pushing and fully together. My job and my future is the least of my worries, the next 3 points for Wolves is all that matters."

Fan frustration: "That reaction was only for a small amount of time and the rest of it we had their full backing. I expect the fans to be fully behind the team tomorrow. The fans are passionate about their team in ups and downs."

"It's difficult to win games if you concede 2 every week. We have looked more solid since Brentford and we work hard on it. I'm aware of the areas we're not coping too well with."

 

[Jinky]

I normally get a notification from the Wolves app to say his presser is about to start - didn't get one today so missed it.

Assume it was a load of waffle and he ducked the serious questions about his role and the performance of the team. Did he finally admit tomorrow is a "must win"?