What's the plan?

[big mean bunny]

Watching Sako tearing it up on MOTD hasn't helped my head! I know I often do this, but as an amateur manager I once had an issue where I had two decent forwards for our level, both got 15 goals in a season which had them in top 5 for the league, but they just couldn't work together as we didn't have the midfield to play two up top, however everyone was always like 'why does he never play both of them?" in the 7 or 8 games we started both and went 442 we lost something like 5 and only took the lead in the others once changing shape and taking one of them off. The reason I mention this, as this is what Wolves remind me off. Dicko and Afobe seem to be too talented to not try to accommodate both, however it seems to be to our detriment, and I honestly don't have a suggestion for what he should do. I hate even suggesting this but I would honestly consider 352 or some hybrid of it! and saying that has not helped my head.


Ifora - Stearman - EEL or Hause

Henry - Edwards - CC - Kmac -Golborne

Dicko - Afobe


I fucking hate 3 at the back, but that for me would balance out our strongest team without it negating us. One CM covering, Henry as WB could be helped by Ifora's athleticism and Gol for me is currently our best left sided option.

I know Dicko didn't start today but it sounds like we got worse with the changes, not better.

 

[slink]

I just don't think we have the players to play it; admittedly Wallace might slot in where Edwards was and look brilliant but you're still parking a right winger in a sort of infield berth and asking full backs who can't cross the ball to offer loads/all of your width going forward. This needn't be a complicated league, Mick got Ipswich top six last season playing his nuts and bolts football on a tiny budget and he'll probably do the same this year as well. We know it isn't sustainable any higher than that but that's by the by for now. If we could go and sign four technically accomplished midfield players (Coady may be one of them, he's started well apart from today) who fit the system perfectly then great, but I don't think it's anything like suitable for the squad we have.

You're quite right, we can't directly replace Sako because no-one that good will come to play in this league, unless we get lucky on a gamble from abroad as we did with the man himself. However just a steady but consistent presence out there would do, we have Afobe's goals for a full year to offset the loss of Sako's output. It cannot be beyond the wit of our recruitment team to sign a decent left sided player, there are loads out there.

I don't think we are far off from having the players for this formation, i have no problem with the midfield in it even Edwards because his energy gives us something. The main problem with it is definitely the full backs who aren't very comfortable in the final third .

To be fair you may be right with the Sako replacement, Ojo may do ok for us but he definitely isn't someone we should be looking at as any kind of replacement for Sako. I just feel we are light centrally in a straight 442 even if Afobe or Dicko drop in.

I genuinely wasn't that impressed, we kept the ball quite nicely but it never looked that threatening to me and it is by definition lopsided and has players in spots where they look ill at ease at times. Most of the chances vs Hull came from their errors rather than our incisive play and while we were 2-0 up and miles on top vs QPR, I wouldn't say we were blowing them away, we weren't creating much, Green didn't have much work to do. It was lots of pretty play in nothing areas. They were authentically terrible as well.

The defensive issues the system causes were there for all to see.

I thin you are being harsh on us here, yes a lot of the chances at Hull came from their errors but we forced them into it a lot of the time which means the formation was working, we just didn't take those chances. In the QPR game Green didn't have much to do because like at Hull we missed the target when we didn't score, Afobe had a header at the back post at 0-0, Hause missed a good headed chance off a corner, Afobe was flagged just offside but didn't know at the time and put it over the bar, Edwards dragged a shot that was deflected for a corner and even then at 2-1 Afobe turned Hall who managed to get back to block and then Green made a save when Afobe should have hit it left foot. We created chances and i don't know where it's come from that we didn't, yes we let QPR have a lot of shots but most were from long range and only once we had stopped playing and let them back into it.

I think it only causes defensive problems when players stop doing what they are supposed to do like on QPR's second goal when McDonald and Edwards followed the same runner and Phillips cut inside of Golbourne which meant he had a free shot. If you get those little things wrong in any formation you are going to be struggling.

 

[Nando]

Dicko and Afobe worked perfectly from January onwards. They're now our best two players - they have to play.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

left winger left winger left winger left winger left winger left winger left winger left winger. Its been said so many times as to be boring.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

In all seriousness I said I doubted we would have 7 points by the end of August with the squad we have and the fixtures we started with. Reckon thats likely still. Confidence is not high by the looks of it and I dont know why. I may be wrong but I do fear that KMAC may not be having a positive influence,its a hunch nothing more and its only from watching the likes of JOH and RoJo who had such negative influences. A good team does not become a bad team overnight but a team that overperformed could easily now be performing to its level. That would really piss me off. Go back to 4-4-2 and get some nouse to replace #headsgone KMAC and a new centre half with Nouse too. Jury out for Ojo with me too. What a difference a week makes. This was KJ on Monday 17th http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33963054 . Think again the squad is still to thin to challenge on the sowing of the first 4 games

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

We don't need a new centre half, we need Batth back. All of the other three will be fine alongside him.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

and what happens if he is unfit again? No I think that needs strength. Stears has not stepped up, Hause has had rocky moments and EEL is also lacking. We need clean sheets again and quickly and the only way to do that is defend properly. We havent done that in any game this season. The defenders take that on the chin. Another centre half will give better depth if he is quality and there are a few about to look at

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

We clearly see both Ebanks-Landell and Hause as valuable players both now and in the future - EEL in particular is too old now to be considered as just potential - Batth and Stearman are the established pair. That is four centre halves who should be fine at this level, we cannot be carrying five, that's going to leave someone with no football at all and would be terrible squad management. It won't happen unless one gets sold which also won't happen.

If Batth got injured again then we'd have to deal with it in the same way as Chelsea would if Terry got injured or City would if Kompany got injured. Their defence obviously wouldn't be as good in their absence what with them being their best centre half by a distance, you can't cover everything like for like.

 

[GoldFlagFlyingHigh]

Jackett needs Jed Wallace to be a prem player in waiting otherwise he's going to be under fire soon and Wolves will be calling MK Dons, and it won't be to ask them for 10k tickets!

 

[Tony Towner]

Danny Batth has just had his best week as a Wolves player. I said in pre season I didn't think McDonald was the head down, give everything type in his current situation. I'd still get him signed up or fuck him off if some of the reports I've read are accurate.

Just go 442 next week and go at them:
Ikeme
Iorfa
EEL
Stearman
Golbourne
Henry
Coady
McDonald (Price if he really is not putting it in)
Ojo
Afobe
Dicko

If that doesn't work, then I think we are struggling

 

[Johnny75]

I was watching the Blues v Derby game on Friday and Jonny Russel was outstanding. A left sided forward who can play wide as a winger or in a narrow formation. A quality player. Pretty much all we need too. The consensus from others seems to be:

narrow formation - we don't have the full backs to play it
4-2-3-1 - we can't fit Afobe and Dicko in apparently.
4-4-1-1 - worked well from Jan onwards

My biggest bugbear with yesterday was the hoofball we played. A disgraceful regression from a manager who needs to show he hasn't lost it and is clearly capable of far better.

We have big problems with our backroom staff now. I would bin Thelwell off too as he's proving pretty useless at running a recruitment section. The obvious parallels are Man City and Stoke for me. They have people who do all the buying and selling with the coach having minimal input and they employ the best. At the moment we have a halfway house which employs rubbish. Thelwell has to responsible for this and in any other business he would get the boot for non-performance.

 

[Lycan]

Ikeme (29)

Iorfa (20) Stearman (28) EEL (22) Hause (20)

McDonald (26) Coady (22)

van La Parra (24) Edwards (29) Ojo (18)

Afobe (22)​

Martinez (22) Dicko (23) Henry (26) Golbourne (27) Doherty (23) Price (22) Enobakhare (18)

That is a big problem for me. The back four in particular.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

Danny Batth has just had his best week as a Wolves player. I said in pre season I didn't think McDonald was the head down, give everything type in his current situation. I'd still get him signed up or $#@! him off if some of the reports I've read are accurate.

Just go 442 next week and go at them:
Ikeme
Iorfa
EEL
Stearman
Golbourne
Henry
Coady
McDonald (Price if he really is not putting it in)
Ojo
Afobe
Dicko

If that doesn't work, then I think we are struggling

Ikeme
Iorfa Stearman EEL Goldbourne
Henry Coady Wallace Ojo
Afobe ALF

Dicko RVLP Edwards, Hause Martinez Doherty

Dicko looks a yard slower so gets a bench and if Abobe plays behind ALF at least we can see their capabilities as a pair. Wallace to come in next week. KMAC could be on his way out. He has annoyed me with this contract crud.

 

[Hamlet]

I guess this is as good a place to say this as anything but...who can replace Sako? I don't know if there is anyone right now but right now that's the strongest argument I've heard against the team right now, that the creativity isn't there and we don't have an impactful player like Sako anymore. I wouldn't put this down to lack of investment but it would be useful to have a player that might spark the game to life.

Wolves will play better, we've seen that they can. I would rather we avoid another horrible run though

 

[Wilf Wolf]

We need a player who can play wide left, not a direct replacement for Sako. Get a solid performer and whilst he might not match Sako’s moments of brilliance there will be occasions where a steadier player is an improvement on Sako’s wastefulness which seems to have been forgotten. Add a full season of Afobe, Coady and young players improving and we can compete if we play to our strengths. Having no wide left player has completely upset the balance of the team highlighting lots of weaknesses that probably wouldn’t have been if the team was set up like it has been for two seasons.

 

[ROVERT47]

Every time I see this thread I keep thinking of, 'what's da big idea?'.

 

[malta mick]

as i said on another thread, we identified Ameobi as Sako replacement, so why did we allow Cardiff to hijack the deal ?

 

[Tony Towner]

Nothing was hijacked, he spoke to both clubs and chose them.

 

[malta mick]

from what i read it was. he spoke to them, wasn't happy about signing and was on his way to us.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

My real worry is that KJ said a week ago that "business was done". He either needs to lose face and sign players this week or stick with the squad and cross his fingers. The latter is risky as any last minute silly bids for our players may turn their head and the boards head leaving us with no replacement and further weakened. A shit start to the season is also not good for keeping players focused on the club they are contracted too if others come knocking ( KMAC and Stears?). I have this really nagging feeling we will still lose someone this window exacerbated by not getting the players in that we need. That will leave us looking at loans in the autumn. Call me cynical but that does not inspire me at all. I really hope I am wrong and if my predictions in the prediction league are anything to go by I will be!