Wolves 0-2 Brighton Where's Dave gone? Verdict

[Deutsch Wolf]

https://danwolves.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/reaction-wolves-0-2-brighton/

 

[sycophantia]

https://danwolves.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/reaction-wolves-0-2-brighton/

Can't really argue with any of that.......question is what/can we do about any of it? We will hopefully see the answers next season

 

[The Saturday Boy]

Lambert is trotting the experience line out again. Brighton had more of it than us.

Lonergan the back four and Edwards have over 1000 league games between them for us and previous clubs at this level and the first goal resulted from the player with the least experience mistiming his interception and the most experienced player pushing the ball into his net rather than round the post.

Presumably we won't be able to shift Costa in the summer because of this inexperience?

I hate the excuses coming out of the club for $#@! footballers.

Lonergan, Batth, Coady, Docherty, Edwards, Marshall, Bodvarsson, Weimann - all experienced players who should be able to put up some sort of challenge against an average side. Brighton are well organised, nothing more than that - yet they looked a league above us...which they soon will be.

 

[SSB]

We may not have lost if Lonergan didn't have catflaps for hands. Or at least stayed in it until the end at least.

His dive for no reason was one of the most bizarre things I've seen. Hope it makes the highlights so I can relive it again.

 

[AndyWolves]

His dive for no reason was one of the most bizarre things I've seen. Hope it makes the highlights so I can relive it again.

We need a gif of that - a proper wtf moment.

It should be club policy that when he gets picked to play the manager is shown the gif with an "are you sure?" Y/n pop up box appearing

 

[Alan]

Cav looked really good at the start when he was popping up all over the place and coming deep for the ball, then he started moving forward practically playing up front alongside Bodvarsson and faded out of the game.

He's the only really pacey forward we have; once Brighton got to grips with the fact that none of Marshall, Weimann, and Bodvarsson were going to be able to pose the same threat in 1-on-1 battles, they doubled up Cav immediately when he received the ball.

We need to to get a third attacker with their skill and pace. Bruma (linked last week) would be exceptionally good in this regard. If we sell Costa, then we must bring in two. I like Marshall but he simply isn't threatening enough to pull defenders around.

 

[Norman Deeley]

His dive for no reason was one of the most bizarre things I've seen. Hope it makes the highlights so I can relive it again.

Is that the one in the second half? Cross from the left and Lonergan dives about three days after the ball has gone past him? Sensational piece of keeping: let's hope he enjoys sitting on Rochdale's bench net year...

 

[Norman Deeley]

I'm going to try and be realistic and accept that the play-offs is the best we can hope for next year. We essentially have a whole team that needs replacing and with Lambert only talking of 3 to 4 signings, that isn't going to be enough. And we may as well give the youngsters a go for the rest of the season. Simply no point persisting with half of last night's team as they're never going to be good enough

 

[sycophantia]

I think 3 or 4 could be enough to challenge for outright promotion............provided its the right signings

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

4 gets us a new keeper, new centre back, both full backs.

Still leaves us with a central midfield problem and a powder puff strike force.

I think 6 may well be the minimum needed.

 

[Siggy]

His dive for no reason was one of the most bizarre things I've seen. Hope it makes the highlights so I can relive it again.

From that cross? Yeah that was really weird he could have taken 2 steps and just caught the ball.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[SouthWestWolf]

Fwiw I thought Cav played well considering the garbage he had to work with, also anyone remember Sako's first season?? We were all thoroughly underwhelmed then he came out all guns blazing in his second season.

 

[AndyWolves]

4 gets us a new keeper, new centre back, both full backs.

Still leaves us with a central midfield problem and a powder puff strike force.

I think 6 may well be the minimum needed.

I agree, 4 isn't enough to make us competitive. Even if we get 1 GK, 1 CB, 1 cm and a striker that'll make us average.

I just hope our scouts have been busy!

 

[Pompey Wolf]

I thought Sako was great first season to be fair, he was disastrous defensively and it was fantastic that he worked on that and improved that side of his game but given his output coming forward I was happy to carry him as a luxury player regardless.

Thought Cav and Marshall were fine yesterday, Weimann out of position and everyone else shite. I am absolutely done with Bod, just get whatever we can for him in the summer, he's not fit for purpose as a striker at this level. I do think Saiss has some class but some of his distribution was embarrassing yesterday and doubt we'll see him back next season. I hate Lonergen. Must have stolen a career as a professional goalkeeper because the idiot can't do anything that he's supposed to.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

Let's not delude ourselves.

8 is the minimum to give the squad enough depth.

Gk, fb x2cb, DM,cm x2, striker and Costa replacement as I will be amazed if he stays beyond august.

That's 50 million worth there of signings offset by 25 m of Costa that should keep us within ffp especially if others go.

 

[Walnut]

Lambert must play the younger players from now till the end of the season, as the more experienced players are just not good enough. The likes of Ikeme, Coady, Doherty, Bath, Edwards are not going to improve. So time to get rid.
I would pay them off and get them out of the club ASAP.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Hause
Ronan
Costa (if he stays)
Cavaleiro
Marshall
Weimann (as a striker)

You can build around those. Graham and Zyro too if they come back strongly. Iorfa if he can get back to his best (needs to happen soon, mind). Gibbs-White, Wilson, Ennis, Herc and Johnson might have a part to play but they are still developing. I don't subscribe to the ham fisted theory of sending players out on loan en masse as if that solves anything but Bright genuinely does need to go out for at least six months and then he might have something to offer.

The rest are at absolute best, squad players and not even integral ones - you could tolerate having Edwards around for his attitude for instance, you could accept that Coady has a year left on his deal, we won't be able to sell him and he'll be ok as a second or third choice right back that we use when absolutely necessary. Fine, but you don't want either starting much more than 10 games. They're automatic choices right now. When you go right through the team and in practically every area - other than out wide when everyone's fit - there are glaring weaknesses and players that have no business even being at a club like this then it underlines the scale of what needs to be done. Even promotion winning teams occasionally carry the odd weak link because they fit their system. We have tons of weak links who don't fit anything.

I seem to post this kind of list a lot, but at present I wouldn't lose any sleep at all if all of the following went in the summer, I've got very little time for most of them and the odd exception such as Silvio - who if he'd stayed fit and we'd actually used him, might have been ok - are just collateral damage because we genuinely do need to more or less start again:

Saville, Silvio, Deslandes, Randall, Upton, Rainey, Hayden, O'Hanlon, Reid, Simpson, Williamson, Borthwick-Jackson, Stearman, Nazon, Wallace, Coady, Price, Henry, Collins, Lonergan, Doherty, Mason, Bodvarsson, Gladon, Edwards, Oniangue, Saiss, Batth, Ikeme, Ebanks-Landell, Dicko, Evans.

THIRTY TWO players there and hardly any of them are anything like fit for purpose for a top six side. Now of course you're not going to get rid of all of them; you can only sell what people will buy for a start. And ok, it includes a fair few kids who've never really got near a first team spot for us. But still. If you need an illustration of the scale of the task at hand this summer, run through that list yourself and try to convince yourself that we might be alright if any of them play 30+ games next season. Good luck with that one.

 

[sycophantia]

Let's not delude ourselves.

8 is the minimum to give the squad enough depth.

Gk, fb x2cb, DM,cm x2, striker and Costa replacement as I will be amazed if he stays beyond august.

That's 50 million worth there of signings offset by 25 m of Costa that should keep us within ffp especially if others go.

I'd love 8, but think its way unrealistic, 4 is more likely and provided they are quality, then I think we could give it a go. I'm probably in a minority of one but think keeper isn't so important as FB, CB, CM and striker, Ikeme is just about good enough imv, but if we could upgrade that would be great. Brighton are the second best team in this league and by quite a way, don't think they were 8 players better than us yesterday

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I'm probably in a minority of one but think keeper isn't so important as FB, CB, CM and striker, Ikeme is just about good enough imv, but if we could upgrade that would be great.

The problem with that is even if you think Ikeme is adequate (I don't, but that's by the by), he always gets injured at least once a season. He's had three separate injuries this season alone. So we do need a keeper because otherwise it means Lonergan playing, Burgoyne is a fair way from ready, I'm not sure Flatt is ever going to be up to this level and Ruddy hasn't been used much in the age group teams this season so it would be fair to assume he's further away at this stage.

And if we're going to buy a keeper, we don't want to sign one who's just better than Andy Lonergan (I'll find you one of those down the park this afternoon). Sign one who's better than Ikeme who even at his best, is not and never has been any more than bang average for this division.

 

[wordsleywolf]

I'm hoping the 3 or 4 signings (of which I think 2 or 3 will be Championship experienced), will be padded out with some loans as well, especially from abroad (as the club's record with foreign signings could generously be described as no better than hit or miss).