Wolves 0 - 2 Crystal Palace: The Verdict.

[StuardoWulf]

I think it’s easy to say don’t worry about it because over the season we’re doing well (which we are), but losing 5 of the last 7 home games and only having a shot on target in the 91st minute yesterday means things need improving.

Yeah its true if we are to be a top half team our home performances must be our foundation as we can't rely on the top 6 points and away victories, that said we are doing well I'm sure the club is working out why we are dropping so many points at home. More points home than away so far. We need a little more quality in the final third.
I think that as a result of our success away we're trying to be the away team at home unfortunately the other team is the away team, Palace would have been happy with a draw last night, so you can't just pretend that you're the away team the impetus was on us.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Sorry YW but this is coach speak/ pop psychology nonsense. It had nothing to do with confidence or bravery and I think they're easy get outs for the players, it was a tactical mis-step from Nuno and the players didn't respond mentally to this challenge.

The mindset last night was to keep possession and control the pace of the game, in itself not a bad tactic but for some reason we wanted to keep the ball whilst Palace got back into their solid formation. That's a definite plan on Nuno's behalf and one that he got wrong.

When we then tried to allow Palace to come onto us and try and hit them on the break our central pair were over run by their central 3 and so we struggled to win the ball back anywhere but wide and our 3 up against Wan Bissaka and PvA is never going to end well. Sakho is no slouch either and we played into their physical capabilities using this approach.

Credit Nuno for trying to change it by bringing MGW on but Palace just stifled him as Doc, Moutinho and Cav just buggered off whenever he was looking for a quick return ball.

It's a mindset I hope Nuno changes and becomes more positive with and I think he got it wrong playing Cav and Costa last night. We needed a more technical player from the off in MGW sitting on Milivojevic so we could try and get quicker ball in and around their weaker players technically like McArther and Sakho.

I know Nuno likes his defenders to come forward and his central midfielder to drop back with the ball and that works against the bigger clubs but teams like Palace sit off and are OK with midfielders dropping out and letting us have the ball wide as it doesn't hurt them. I'd like to see Boly/ Bennett and Coady step forward more and have runners between the lines both coming in off the angles and running off the shoulder and last night the front 3 didn't do that. Too static and easy to crowd out. We missed Jota in that sense.

The press/ sitting off didn't work either last night as it was far too easy for Palace to come out with the ball and only Raul was doing the pressing which left an easy pass most of the time. When we hunted as a pack we pushed Sakho into the kinds of mistakes we know he can make, sadly we didn't capitalise.

I'm sure Nuno will look at things and he has shown he can change as he did when he switched to a 3-4-1-2 formation.

On to City and a completely different performance.

This is a good analysis. When we have 3 at the back and then 2 CMs dropping deep we literally have Raul in the middle on his own and the WBs and IFs holding hands outside in none threatening areas.

That’s the problem with 3 at the back if your still asking your CM to drop deep. Too many players behind the ball. But it’s not the systems fault, it’s how you execute it. Just currently against the teams who take away the counter it is too negative.

 

[Norman Deeley]

We have home games left (excluding the big 6) against Leicester, Watford, Newcastle, Cardiff, Brighton and Fulham. I'd say a return of 13 points from those six games would be reasonable, with 10 the absolute minimum. But the approach we went with last night isn't the way to get 13 points

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Watford is away

 

[Lord Knows]

I think it’s easy to say don’t worry about it because over the season we’re doing well (which we are), but losing 5 of the last 7 home games and only having a shot on target in the 91st minute yesterday means things need improving.

Fortunately we have enough points on the board for Nuno to try slight variations tactically and with team selection before we aim higher next season.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

We have home games left (excluding the big 6) against Leicester, Newcastle, Cardiff, Brighton and Fulham. I'd say a return of 13 points from those six games would be reasonable, with 10 the absolute minimum. But the approach we went with last night isn't the way to get 13 points

As Pad says Watfords away. Actually I would want 7-9 points minimum from those 5 games. Hopefully no defeats thats the key.

 

[YoungWolf]

Think ND means West Ham as that is the one after Leicester.

 

[The Bion]

Assume Norm means West Ham and not Watford - edit- damn it YW

Don't think Leicester or them will sit back the way Palace did so those should be more open games. The others...not so much.

 

[Tony Towner]

Sorry YW but this is coach speak/ pop psychology nonsense. It had nothing to do with confidence or bravery and I think they're easy get outs for the players, it was a tactical mis-step from Nuno and the players didn't respond mentally to this challenge.

The mindset last night was to keep possession and control the pace of the game, in itself not a bad tactic but for some reason we wanted to keep the ball whilst Palace got back into their solid formation. That's a definite plan on Nuno's behalf and one that he got wrong.

When we then tried to allow Palace to come onto us and try and hit them on the break our central pair were over run by their central 3 and so we struggled to win the ball back anywhere but wide and our 3 up against Wan Bissaka and PvA is never going to end well. Sakho is no slouch either and we played into their physical capabilities using this approach.

Credit Nuno for trying to change it by bringing MGW on but Palace just stifled him as Doc, Moutinho and Cav just buggered off whenever he was looking for a quick return ball.

It's a mindset I hope Nuno changes and becomes more positive with and I think he got it wrong playing Cav and Costa last night. We needed a more technical player from the off in MGW sitting on Milivojevic so we could try and get quicker ball in and around their weaker players technically like McArther and Sakho.

I know Nuno likes his defenders to come forward and his central midfielder to drop back with the ball and that works against the bigger clubs but teams like Palace sit off and are OK with midfielders dropping out and letting us have the ball wide as it doesn't hurt them. I'd like to see Boly/ Bennett and Coady step forward more and have runners between the lines both coming in off the angles and running off the shoulder and last night the front 3 didn't do that. Too static and easy to crowd out. We missed Jota in that sense.

The press/ sitting off didn't work either last night as it was far too easy for Palace to come out with the ball and only Raul was doing the pressing which left an easy pass most of the time. When we hunted as a pack we pushed Sakho into the kinds of mistakes we know he can make, sadly we didn't capitalise.

I'm sure Nuno will look at things and he has shown he can change as he did when he switched to a 3-4-1-2 formation.

On to City and a completely different performance.

Bang on the money Johnny. We badly miss the December Jota, his direct style would have been of benefit versus Cav who had an off day and Costa who is still shorn of confidence and playing within himself. I saw comments on the match thread about him hiding, that's bollocks, he constantly showed for the ball, just took the safe option when he got it. I'm lost to what the answer with him is, unfortunately it wasn't scoring a goal.

Without wishing to be accused of confirmation bias, Jonny is not a left wing back for a team looking to take the game to an opposition happy to keep their shape and sit in. His left foot isn't a swinger, but he's not two footed either, his desire to check inside kills both momentum and the opportunity for the ball outside to continue to use width

 

[Norman Deeley]

I did indeed mean West Ham. Sorry, I am still struggling to remember my name after Xmas/New Year, much less what I do for a living. Yes. WHU instead of Watford and I'd see a record of 4-1-1 as a reasonable expectation.

 

[Siggy]

Just some things on players from last night,

Jonny - Been mentioned before several times against teams where we need to be on the front foot Vinny is the better option, more direct and willing to take men on and make things happen. I don't know why this hasn't been used more but I would like to see this happen more frequently in team selection from Nuno.

Saiss - I actually think this was the right choice, Neves hasn't been at his best this season and at times does look like he is struggling a bit. He is a wonderfully talented footballed but still such a young man that may need a little protection by pulling him out from time to time, I think this is good management from Nuno. As far as the game went we could have done with an in form Neves hitting those more complicated passes and making things happen, coming on as a sub he did look brighter hopefully he gets back to his best sooner rather than later.

Front 3 - Only change I would have made would have been Jota for Costa had he been fit, he wasn't. We have seen Traore without space its not pretty in the slightest. Our problem was the fact that by the time any one of them had the ball they 2 lines of players in front of them. This comes back to our possession game, if we are holding on to the ball and moving it backwards and the other side presses and creates space its a worthwhile exercise if they don't it isn't.

This type of performance (and result) is becoming more and more regular and we must find another way to deal with it, I wonder if the TA link is part of that process getting players in with different characteristics to what we have.

I am not worried in the slightest and I hope a signing or 2 will lift the mood generally and we will see some better performances against defensive/counter attacking teams.

 

[YoungWolf]

Sorry YW but this is coach speak/ pop psychology nonsense. It had nothing to do with confidence or bravery and I think they're easy get outs for the players, it was a tactical mis-step from Nuno and the players didn't respond mentally to this challenge.

The mindset last night was to keep possession and control the pace of the game, in itself not a bad tactic but for some reason we wanted to keep the ball whilst Palace got back into their solid formation. That's a definite plan on Nuno's behalf and one that he got wrong.

When we then tried to allow Palace to come onto us and try and hit them on the break our central pair were over run by their central 3 and so we struggled to win the ball back anywhere but wide and our 3 up against Wan Bissaka and PvA is never going to end well. Sakho is no slouch either and we played into their physical capabilities using this approach.

Credit Nuno for trying to change it by bringing MGW on but Palace just stifled him as Doc, Moutinho and Cav just buggered off whenever he was looking for a quick return ball.

It's a mindset I hope Nuno changes and becomes more positive with and I think he got it wrong playing Cav and Costa last night. We needed a more technical player from the off in MGW sitting on Milivojevic so we could try and get quicker ball in and around their weaker players technically like McArther and Sakho.

I know Nuno likes his defenders to come forward and his central midfielder to drop back with the ball and that works against the bigger clubs but teams like Palace sit off and are OK with midfielders dropping out and letting us have the ball wide as it doesn't hurt them. I'd like to see Boly/ Bennett and Coady step forward more and have runners between the lines both coming in off the angles and running off the shoulder and last night the front 3 didn't do that. Too static and easy to crowd out. We missed Jota in that sense.

The press/ sitting off didn't work either last night as it was far too easy for Palace to come out with the ball and only Raul was doing the pressing which left an easy pass most of the time. When we hunted as a pack we pushed Sakho into the kinds of mistakes we know he can make, sadly we didn't capitalise.

I'm sure Nuno will look at things and he has shown he can change as he did when he switched to a 3-4-1-2 formation.

On to City and a completely different performance.

It was a brief summary at midnight of what had been a very long day, forgive me for being a bit cliche.

What I mean is that I think there needs to be a higher tempo, and for us to position ourselves a lot further forward, which requires us to take risks, leave more spaces and thus be a bit 'braver'. That is individually and as a group. There is a trade off we have to accept I think in these type of fixtures.

I agree I think we could have started with Morgan in that role he has performed recently and although I understood why he came on there, by that point I think I would have played him as one of the midfield two (easily said in hindsight).

Jota's injury has come at a bad time as against Fulham and Palace we have really missed his ability to receive the ball between the lines, draw opposition players out of their positions. That said, even if he were there to do that I'm not sure we as a team have enough forward runners off the ball to make the most of that. I know that is not necessarily how we play anyway but in time we will need to come up with different solutions as we are pretty predictable when we have a team setting up very compact and keep their defence and midfield in front of the ball.

 

[arklowolf]

He's offside. Not by much and it's one that you can't really slate the linesman for missing, but he is off. Whatever, we should push out properly.

Yeah, I thought he was just offside as well, although I doubt it would have made much difference if he'd been just onside tbh.
I shouted offside at the time but the Mrs. who was in the next room didn't seem interested? Pah.

 

[big mean bunny]

My overall concern is that history has shown that a side finishing where we hope rarely performs as well against the top 6 as we have done. If we revert to form in the big 6 games but don't improve in these types of match ups that is potentially very worrying to consider.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

I did indeed mean West Ham. Sorry, I am still struggling to remember my name after Xmas/New Year, much less what I do for a living. Yes. WHU instead of Watford and I'd see a record of 4-1-1 as a reasonable expectation.

I would be delighted with that.

 

[playtheace]

Yeah we are missing Jota, but I doubt we would have seen the best of him over the last few matches because he wouldn't have had Vinagre behind him.
I dont think it's a coincidence that Johnny got injured and Jota got form.

 

[playtheace]

Also, I keep reading of Palace being hard to break down etc..
There was loads of space in the 1st half,Tompkins was coming out and either over playing the ball or losing it.
The problem was our complete lack of any direct play with pace or urgency.
Also remember not long ago that Boly would sometimes play a nice chipped ball over the top and down the line. He doesn't even attempt to find anyone now, it's a short pass sidewards or backwards.

 

[Norman Deeley]

The thing that really bugs me - and in the Fulham game it was hugely noticeable - is how many times a potential attack is slowed down because Ryan Bennett, instead of looking for a forward pass, or someone making themselves available, checks back inside and passes to Coady. That's not a criticism of RB, simply an illustration of how we lose momentum and allow other teams to get back into their defensive shape. Bennett must have made that pass 20 times against Fulham

 

[YoungWolf]

I think while Bennett is in that position (and boy has he earnt it right now) we will always lack somewhat in terms of distribution from that area. He knows his limitations. That is where Dendoncker may add to the team if he was to get an opportunity in that position. He would drive forwards with the ball more often and has a good range of passing.

 

[Tony Towner]

The thing that really bugs me - and in the Fulham game it was hugely noticeable - is how many times a potential attack is slowed down because Ryan Bennett, instead of looking for a forward pass, or someone making themselves available, checks back inside and passes to Coady. That's not a criticism of RB, simply an illustration of how we lose momentum and allow other teams to get back into their defensive shape. Bennett must have made that pass 20 times against Fulham

Ryan Bennett played the best ball of the game yesterday, crossfield over to Jonny in the first half. Tell me one team that has 3 truly ball playing centre halves? Bennett yesterday was isolated against Palace's best player and one moment aside when the game was already gone he made a mistake. Ryan Bennett can't pass is such a lazy narrative and quite frankly horseshit.