West Ham 1-0 Wolves: Verdict Thread

[PuntsWolf]

View attachment 5098

First time I've seen the chance. While it's undoubtedly a free shot, so you'd hope he hits the target, there's so many bodies in front of him!

Only place it’s going in is top corner or with some lucky pinball

 

[slink]

we're abysmal versus the press, and this new tactic of the wing backs playing it back to kilman or saiss when they are by the corner flag for a hoof is stupid. We are just inviting pressure and giving up possession. It is rank.

Any team playing us knows, press and we struggle. You'll recover the ball and create opportunities.

Also total agreement with punts - why we get the ball forward, or an advanced throw in and pas back to coady and/or Sa is also pointless. We give away the advantage constantly.

It's like i was saying after the Arsenal game though it's not a tactic it's just an inability to get around the press because of the players reluctance to do certain things or not being capable of doing it. There's lots of things we could do but we don't seem to do any of them often enough.

The tempo that we knock it around doesn't help, that needs to go up a few gears firstly but then...

• We then need serveral players in the back 5 to be able to carry the ball forward like Kilman did for Podence's goal against Leicester. It's better with a fully fit RAN and Semedo because they can both beat a press individually although i'd like them to do it more.
• We need the midfield 2 to be better at turning and playing forward or being able to bounce the ball back quickly to a centre half for a pass in to one of the front 3 who need to show in much better positions.
• We need the 2 wider players in the front 3 to offer an option behind so sometimes we can just clip a ball there to get us out as we don't currently have that option. When we do clip it forward we need a reaction from more than one player. Just like when Sa does his quick kicks out it seems only 1 player reacts and they end up really isolated.
• We also need to be more positive when we do get the ball in forward areas, we are too easily forced to play the ball back to Sa, now sometimes you need to recycle the ball but we do it far too often.

 

[slink]

View attachment 5098

First time I've seen the chance. While it's undoubtedly a free shot, so you'd hope he hits the target, there's so many bodies in front of him!

Has to hit the target though, had he done so at least he forces another block or save and potentially a deflected goal. He shouldn't be missing the target.

 

[sycophantia]

Looked to me like he was trying to bend it round the defender, just didn't get any bend on it

 

[redvictor]

Whatever we say though it doesn't negate the fact we just don't have a proper goalscorer anymore. Like Bruno says we have no one to cross to, yet we still keep putting high balls in. Until that situation is remedied we won't be able to move forward. Maybe in the summer we will get someone.

 

[sycophantia]

Whatever we say though it doesn't negate the fact we just don't have a proper goalscorer anymore. Like Bruno says we have no one to cross to, yet we still keep putting high balls in. Until that situation is remedied we won't be able to move forward. Maybe in the summer we will get someone.

This is true but its up to the coach to set us up so we provide more and better goal scoring chances.

 

[Wulfie88]

 

[redvictor]

This is true but its up to the coach to set us up so we provide more and better goal scoring chances.

I think he is trying to, but without the players to do it his hands are tied. The WH game was a shambles though.

 

[sycophantia]

I think he is trying to, but without the players to do it his hands are tied. The WH game was a shambles though.

Yeah it's not going to be easy, but to carry on as per the last 3 games would be madness

 

[redvictor]

Yeah it's not going to be easy, but to carry on as per the last 3 games would be madness

Agreed.. Something needs to change, but it's going to have to come from the squad they have, and they also need to believe in themselves again.

 

[Jinky]

I don't think a back four is the silver bullet people seem to believe it is. Having one fewer defender isn't going to turn say, Podence into a massively effective creative/goalscoring force, look at his career record.

We went to a back four near the end yesterday, made no difference as we still didn't move the ball anything like quickly enough, still don't have people who attack deliveries from wide properly, still have too many players on the park who are seriously limited in an attacking sense.

Maybe not, but we can only go so far in the system we are playing. I'd be happy to continue with 3-4-3, but with better players who can actually play the way Bruno wants (but if he had the players he wanted we wouldn't be playing this system anyway so it's a moot point).

Podence is the only player in the squad who currently looks for risky, forward-thinking passes (I haven't included Neto in this yet but when he's back starting games he'll be the same). He gets a fair bit of criticism for his decision making, but I'd take that 10 times out of 10 over the safe, predictable, tippy/tappy stuff we saw on Sunday.

 

[North Shropshire Lad]

They’ve removed the rule thay AST must attend 75% of games (or just buy tickets and sell them on) to maintain the privilege. So that may mean there will be a little more trickle down.

More likely they will still be bought for mates, but there is no real solution here.

In all fairness my mate doesn’t have any loyalty points beyond ST and the cups but he regularly gets a ticket to come along. If you really want to go theres always a way, but you’re obviously not going to be able to tickets for a group.

As both you and Slink have said, on paper removing the 75% rule should help but in reality it doesn't. I rarely go to away games anymore as 'myself' or get to sit in the away end for that matter! I know this isn't at all the clubs fault but missing the drawbridge being pulled up when I was attending all the games anyway still really irks. Mainly because I know who's fault it was...

Please get your mate to tip me off as to how he's getting tickets though with just home ST points - I think only twice has it gone that low to my knowledge!

 

[Tony Towner]

As both you and Slink have said, on paper removing the 75% rule should help but in reality it doesn't. I rarely go to away games anymore as 'myself' or get to sit in the away end for that matter! I know this isn't at all the clubs fault but missing the drawbridge being pulled up when I was attending all the games anyway still really irks. Mainly because I know who's fault it was...

Please get your mate to tip me off as to how he's getting tickets though with just home ST points - I think only twice has it gone that low to my knowledge!

It won't be through the club it'll be through SM, buying someone elses ticket. On paper the same 2.5-3k go to every away game

 

[North Shropshire Lad]

It won't be through the club it'll be through SM, buying someone elses ticket. On paper the same 2.5-3k go to every away game

PuntsWolf's post suggested to me their mate got tickets via the club with a home/cup ST points only on many occasions. This is what I was querying as, barring two exceptions, I don't think I could have done this season. I'm well aware of the SM selling of them or via mates and while it's not 'fair' I do take advantage of that myself or I'd never get to go in the Wolves end. At most places it's just easier to go in the home end and not having a Wolverhampton address helps me to a certain extent with this [as well as registering on their website well before our games].

 

[Tony Towner]

He said there's always a way, but I'll let him speak for himself

 

[PuntsWolf]

Yeah I was more referring to social media, saying he has no loyalty points rather than being able to get tickets with a low value.

I’m not on any of the groups but he tells me there’s always tickets going in various groups on FB or whatever and I always see people begging on Twitter who get sorted out.

He also always gets tickets for his dad to home games and he’s not even a member.

 

[StuardoWulf]

Bruno “Our ambitions is to go through the games and play the way we played today against West Ham. That’s the process and we need to continue to do that. That’s the way we are playing here, it gives us 40 points in the middle of February and puts our fans talking about Champions League."

Wtf!!
I don't know if he believes this, but if he does he's only kidding himself and wont be here for long.

the interviews on the Official site should be avoided. I just dont know how people think that was good.

 

[Mel Evo]

Wtf indeed. Listening to various podcasts (I know, I shouldn't) there are plenty of people who think he's a 'genius' managing to get this squad into the top half of the league, so people will cut slack accordingly. I'm don't agree with that really. Slumps happen though, and I'm hoping we'll be able to show some of the more positive aspects that have come through at times this season on Saturday for more than half the game say, against so-so opposition we should be taking the game to, at least.

 

[Throbber3]

1 shot on target Bruno.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

We've had either 1 or 2 shots on target in 9 of our last 16 league games. It's why I don't understand it when people say we play exciting stuff under Lage, we patently don't.