Wolves 0 Watford 2; The back down to earth with a bump, Verdict Thread

[darlowolf64]

Have at the Ref...

 

[YoungWolf]

Ref was poor for both sides to be honest - definitely did impact the result.

Joao's worst performance when we needed him and Neves to really step up against a physical midfield (and being outnumbered). Think that first goal really stunned us having had no threat from them before that. They did play very well for about fifteen minutes after that but neither side really created many chances, was a weird game.

Thought Diogo played quite well apart from the silly fouls. Boly definitely best played second half.

 

[Alan]

About as comprehensively outplayed as we've ever been under Nuno. Watford's defensive shape was absolutely outstanding and they're fully creditable for the win.

That said, we still could have gotten something from the match and wasted 3 or 4 decent opportunities. 11 shots with only 1 on target simply isn't good enough.

 

[Deleted Cyber]

Well it was all set up with motm potm and an international break so it's no surprise we came unstuck. Not at the races from the first kick. Fair play Watford did us all over the park. Disappointing first goal from distance. Wakey wakey for the second but good finish. Lack of energy today and bits of petulance also disappointing even if we can agree Lee Mason was crap.Jota getting booked for kicking the ball away and Bennett lucky with not getting a second yellow.

 

[Siggy]

On the positive I thought Vinny was excellent when he came on gives us a natural left foot and put in some cracking crosses we should have done better with.

That's the positives out the way....

Poor all over the park but in fairness Watford tactically set up to nullify Neves and Moutinho and it worked a treat we just couldn't retain the ball. Ref was embarrassingly bad although im not sure that would make much of a difference to the score, we had chances and just didn't take them.

Quite a few poor performances, I thought Bennett should have done better with the 2nd goal just didn't put enough pressure on the ball. Moutinho was poor but that was more down to Watford targetting him.

We move on, cant win them all. Would like to see more of Vinny hes so talented.

 

[east-coast-wolves]

Think we got schooled rather by Watford today. They overran our midfield in the first half and then second half were happy to set up and let us knock it around without looking too dangerous. We had some off days - Moutinho in particular had a stinker I thought - but credit Watford.

Also some credit to Nuno. His half time switch was good, Vinagre was much further up the pitch so ensured at least one of Watford's wide men couldn't tuck in and assit the overload, though this might also have just been Watford sitting back further.

That said, grumbles:
Why do we bring on a winger at wing back when we're chasing games? Has this ever done anything except destroy our shape?
Referee was ridiculous. So many soft fouls, mostly against us. Not only is this giving the ball back to Watford, it meant there was never any rhythm in the game, which was always going to suit them.
Watford's time wasting started way too early for my liking. Disappointing.
How much longer does Jota get before being dropped? He wasn't the worst of the starting three today (that's Raul) but again he gives the ball away more often that he does productive things with it. Cav always looks bright from the bench so time for him to start for me.

Grumbles over. Well played Watford. We'll be much better next time I'm sure.

 

[Templeton Peck]

Neves grew into the game but Moutinho was poor today. We controlled the second half but without hurting them. Poor final ball and finishing cost us again. Watford scored from nothing and flooded the middle which we didn't deal with until half time. The narrative will be this was a Watford masterclass but it really wasn't.

 

[darlowolf64]

On the plus side... Still in the top 8 and still above United

 

[PuntsWolf]

Was a bit like Forest last year. Two goals out of nothing very quickly and then the game was done. Back 3 were ok (despite conceding two). No one else would score above a 4 first half. Never looked like scoring second half either.

Our direct corners are abysmal. Tactically beaten first half leaving Jonny and Doherty doing nothing. Ref was abysmal.

Positive from it is that it brings the fan base down to earth. Brighton away is probably a decent game to pick to bounce back in.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Amazing how a pot shot from distance can effectively decide a game. After their opener they gained confidence and played very well. Ref didn't help us gain any momentum and Moutinho and Neves were stifled by them playing so incredibly narrow, a gamble that may not have paid off if our wing backs had more fuel in the tank, it was clear Jonny and Doc weren't as sharp as normal, we huffed and puffed 2nd half but never really threatened, fair play to them after their 1st goal their game management was excellent.

Certainly no need to panic and/or make wholesale changes but another poor performance will see Cav, Dendoncker and Traore banging the door down.

Vinagre and Coady were excellent, Cav good too. Beyond that poor throughout.

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[Premier Quality]

No complaints about the defeat - Watford weren’t all that, but we didn’t create enough to get back into it.

Lee Mason is a fucking awful referee, clearly doesn’t understand the game. Having said that, he wasn’t helped by Watford’s constant gamesmanship, they fell over at every opportunity, was embarrassing. pereryra especially, can’t stand up for more than a minute without collapsing, I think there’s something medically wrong with him.

Our front three have been pretty poor for a while now, they need to improve or we should be looking at starting Cav and Traore. Two seasons ago, Helders finishing was magical, now he looks like he’ll never score again.

Agree with Siggy completely, Vinagre was really good - hope we see a lot more of him.

Poor today, but we’re not going to win every game - hope we improve for the next one.

 

[Tom Hark]

Mason did us no favours, although he could easily have sent Bennett off near the end, but we were entirely the authors of our own misfortune there. Had to happen sometime I suppose. Last year it was Cardiff; this year it was Cardiff max. Smothered us rather than steamrollered us, and did it very well indeed. Full credit to Garcia for coming up with the plan. Maybe Nuno should have reacted a bit quicker? We did look better in the second half but really no one was on it today. Shame, because there really wasn't much in it in the way of chances. We just fluffed all ours. I don't think we deserved any more than we got from a poor game between two very average sides.

 

[Pablowolf]

As shite as the ref was, and he was really bad, you can chalk this up to "just one of those days". See Wolves 0 - 6 Southampton. We weren't good but we really weren't bad. Nuno'll fix it.

 

[The Bion]

Tbh I'm not sure how much of it was down to Watford's shape and how much was down to us just being really, really flat. As mentioned Moutinho's worst game by a distance, they swarmed him repeatedly. Neves wasn't really on it either, though he did improve - if they're both off we will always be in trouble.

Thought Doucore and Deulofeu were really good for them, couldn't get near the former and the latter rinsed us first half.

This will be a really good test for Nuno now. We typically respond well to setbacks and will have to - not overlooking Brighton at all as that will be tough but Spurs and Arsenal after means this could easily turn into a wobble..let's hope that doesn't happen.

Special shoutout to the twonk offering the Watford fans outside from the safety of the upper NB who then left early. Setting up for a huge scrap, I'm sure :eyeroll:

 

[Tredman]

I thought, rather like Southampton first half, they set out to out power and pace our midfield 2 and it worked. Its the downside of playing 3-4-3 with 2 rather similar paced midfield two.

In other games Neves and Moutinho will still be able to find space out wide as they did second half, having vinagre definitely helped, really can't drop Jonny but Vini really adds another deimension. That run into the middle on to adama was brilliant, shame we couldn't get them combining more.

Might be time for Dendonker to come in and freshen things up.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Dendoncker for who? Certainly wouldn't drop any of the back 3.

Let's have a bit of faith in this side, they deserve another pop at it against Brighton, if they lapse again then they can have no complaints.

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[Alan]

Dendoncker for who? Certainly wouldn't drop any of the back 3.

Let's have a bit of faith in this side, they deserve another pop at it against Brighton, if they lapse again then they can have no complaints.

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Hard to say, neither Bennett nor Boly were quite at their best today but wouldn't be dropping either of them.

Maybe for Moutinho if he has weary legs? Although at that point you'd expect Saiss to come in first.

 

[Tredman]

Not sure to be honest, but we did look tired.

Bennett would the obvious, but harsh choice, he is limited - any opposition player should just move closer to Coady when he has the ball because the only place it ever goes. If not then one of Neves or Moutinho, but that would be bonkers.

We did just look off the pace - whether that's mental or physical i don't know.

It possibly shows how much we rely on Nuno setting the team up well, which he couldn't do this week with all the players returning at odd times.

 

[Lichens]

I thought the second half performance was good enough. Vinagre looked great. Nuno will learn from this.

 

[Alan]

Certainly no coincidence that his first two subs were guys who started in the most recent international matches (Jonny and Raul).

Bennett is definitely at fault for Pereyra's goal IMO but it's probably the first time all season he's been directly at fault for anything negative. If anything I think we need to freshen up the attackers as too often the ball just doesn't stick and we invite pressure back on us.