Wolves 1 - 0 Millwall: A Nervous Cruise

[YoungWolf]

Haha, to be fair I think Miranda will be the next 'boo boy' target if anyone takes Mr Gloves' place.

We actually played some very good football, on my way out I saw the stats and we had 7 shots on target and a further 8 off target. Despite our patient play we created some good opportunities and in another game we win 3/4 nil. Once they went to ten perhaps we could have taken a few more risks but we were one nil up so I could understand that.

Some of the link up play between our front three and wing backs was very good. When we wanted to, we really pulled Millwall's two lines of four apart. We will face better defences and better defenders individually but it was still pleasing to see. Jota in particular floated around finding pockets of space.

Ruddy - 7 - Great distribution I thought today and made a good stop at the end with bodies in front of him

Batth - 6 - Bog standard from Batth at this level, solid performance.

Coady - 7 - another good performance at the heart of the back three. I don't understand when he suddenly learnt to pass like he is at the moment but long may it continue. Covers the other two defenders intelligently

Miranda - 6 - Sometimes a bit rash but he's aggressive and a good footballer. More to come from him.

Doherty - 6 - Made some good runs forward and was OK defensively but crossing was poor and limited us at times.

Neves - 7 - Dictated play, made some good passes and wins the ball a lot for us in good positions.

Saiss - 8 - my MOTM. Just looks so much more confident with a better defence behind him and better players around him. Very composed on the ball and using his physique well. And not getting booked!

Vinagre - 6.5 - He's a great little player and more than good enough but sometimes makes poor decisions getting caught under the ball. He will get better at that with time. Combined well with Jota.

Marshall - 6 - Looked much fitter than against Southampton though still not quite there yet. His crossing is better than Doherty and if Nuno trusts him defensively I see him playing the right wing back role still

Bonatini - 7 - classy footballer, and could have had a couple of goals which he deserved. if he continues to get in those positions he will not struggle for goals

Jota - 7.5 - absolute pest for the opposition and so good in tight spaces. First touch is brilliant and he has a good football brian

Subs: Bright - 6, N'Diaye - 6, Cav - n/a.

Overall very comfortable and with two more games this week we haven't over exerted ourselves!

 

[Deano]

I also thought Bright did fine but I did hear moans of discontent when he made the wrong decision once or twice which worries me, he is a young kid with bags of talent and I hope the fans don't get on his back to the point he is scared to try things. Some sections of the fans reactions to things he was trying worry me more than Bright himself.

 

[Aikiwolf]

He played half an hour. He created two chances by my count. He gave the ball away once in a stupid area when he overplayed. Don't get the hate personally.

I wouldn't say hate, just an increasing level of frustration. He has great feet but and clearly bags of potential, but that isn't enough when there is tough competition for that position. Hopefully he unlocks his potential sooner rather than later as he may start to struggle for game time when Costa returns.

 

[b3h]

Great day out. Just need to make 1-0's into 2-0's more! Also won £20 off Jota/1-0 so extra marks for him today.

 

[Tredman]

Thought N'Diaye looked good when he came on - offers something different to Neves and Saiss. More strength and pace - looked good running forward.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

I am looking forward to hearing DW's comments on N'Daiye.

Fair to say that he wasn't enamoured by the signing so (as he is usually fair to players who do well, even gloves on those rare occasions) it will be interesting to see what he thought.

 

[b3h]

Mostly agree with your post YW, Jota and Saiss for MOTM candidates for me.

Vinagre is quality. He plucks the ball out the sky so well, chest or otherwise. Couple of iffy moments but that's it. Better than Doherty 100% IMO.

 

[playtheace]

Anyone else has the ball for more than a second it's alright.
Bright put his foot on it and folks spaff their pants.
Marshall plodded around today and looked about as fit as Paul Butler.

 

[YoungWolf]

Thought N'Diaye looked good when he came on - offers something different to Neves and Saiss. More strength and pace - looked good running forward.

yeah he will be a decent option I reckon. Good competition and will play plenty of games when Neves/Saiss need a rest.

 

[Alan]

Thought N'Diaye looked good when he came on - offers something different to Neves and Saiss. More strength and pace - looked good running forward.

Interesting, AFAIK he's never been asked to do anything other than shield a defense and recycle play. I'll be interested to see if he's actually effective during attacking passages of play.

He's a tank, though. Imagine picking up the ball in possession and you turn to see N'Diaye and Boly staring you down.

 

[Alan]

Just been chatting about Bright on the Wolves USA Facebook group and had the realization that I'm nearly ten years older than him.

Fucking hell.

 

[b3h]

Don't really think Bright is scapegoat. He's very clearly a mini magician on the ball at times and also very clearly a step too far behind play/caves and does completely the wrong thing at times. Looks like he'll be involved all season though so just have to hope he improves

 

[Keef]

Don't forget brights only played about 15 games max for the first team,still got a long way to go

 

[YoungWolf]

Don't really think Bright is scapegoat. He's very clearly a mini magician on the ball at times and also very clearly a step too far behind play/caves and does completely the wrong thing at times. Looks like he'll be involved all season though so just have to hope he improves

He will be involved and will get to learn from some very good attackers who he is competing with

 

[Boozad]

Deutsch, sorry coudn't make it to Boho mate, the little 'un was bored and wanted to go home. The decision was made.

Decent match to watch, Millwall always looked like there was a gulf in class between us and in many ways in was a non-contest, and while I think we made things a little difficult for ourselves while attacking at times but controlled the game comfortably and played some very good stuff.

Ruddy: 7 - Great save towards the end after having very little to do but I wasn't overly impressed with his kicking today. Nothing to get bent out of shape about though.

Batth: 6 - What you'd expect from Batth, Ronseal. Millwall played into his hands really but it was good to see him bringing the ball under control, looking around and passing it out. A vast improvement to his game.

Coady: 7 - Solid today, I've never really been a fan of him at the back but he was good today and looked the natural lead-by-example captain. Some very good passing and read the game perfectly.

Miranda: 6 - Slightly dodgy today but still played his part in keeping Millwall out. I just never felt 100% confident when he was going to make a tackle or when a man was running at him and he looked a bit gangly.

Doherty: 5 - Pissed me right off. He had the bare minimum to do defensively and did that OK but when he got forward he was fucking woeful. Stray crosses galore, the most notable being in the second half just after Millwall had gone down to ten, he was found in acres of space on the right and with nobody even going to close him down was under no pressure at all and he proceeded to put the ball in the South Bank. So many times he fucked up attacks and was left standing there with his head down. Needs improving on as we're playing down one side at the moment as fuck all comes from the right.

Neves: 7 - Lovely footballer to watch and stuck a leg in on quite a few occasions when needed. His brain is so quick he finds little trouble in finding a pass even when he's got two opposition players on his back and he never stops looking, he reads the game so well.

Saiss: 7 - Probably the best I've seen him play, he covered the whole pitch near enough and contributed to defence and attack. A completely different player from last season and compliments Neves perfectly.

Vinagre: 7 - I said I wanted to see him in the team and now I have, and I liked what I saw. Great footwork, massive work ethic, pace and energy stood out and caused Millwall loads of problems, his only real let down is his delivery and decision making in the final third which can only improve with experience. Sign him up.

Marshall: 6 - He ran like a 40-year-old today, like he had a rod up his back. Put the work in but still looked way off the pace and didn't really make anything happen.

Bonatini: 7 - Some people may not find his style of play aesthetically pleasing but if you really watch him he really is key to the way we play. Unlucky with a long range low effort early in the first half which was well saved and worked his bollocks off again. He does pull it all together up top and most of his work done is outside the box, if he can just gain a yard of pace I think he'd bag 15 this season.

Jota: 8 MOTM - Classy. Just classy. Plays right across the front and causes all sorts of problems and has such good vision. When we've got him and Costa in tandem it's going to be exciting if nothing else. Fantastic strike to win the game, it was great being behind the goal to watch it go in. Doesn't mind dishing it out either, just a quality player all round.

Bright: Lively and brought some fresh impetus to our attack, and while he does need to improve his end product (by quite a bit) he'll get there, he's only young. If he's the same in a year's time then it will be a problem.

N'Diaye: Was obviously trying to make an impression and looked eager. Launched into a pretty decent sliding tackle on the left straight after he came on and won some of the fans over straight away, then lost possession in the middle not long after after getting the ball stuck between his feet. Decent first impression if not breath-taking.

 

[Boozad]

People need a scapegoat and Doherty has gotten stale. :icon_wink:

No he hasn't, he was shit once again today. The difference in quality between him and the rest of the team is plain as day.

 

[Kenny]

I am looking forward to hearing DW's comments on N'Daiye.

Fair to say that he wasn't enamoured by the signing so (as he is usually fair to players who do well, even gloves on those rare occasions) it will be interesting to see what he thought.

Post match he seemed impressed with his performance

Looks like a solid signing and has improved the back up options for Neves a crap load. Really odd seeing the number 4 on the sub board and not for Dave to stroll on though...

 

[Kenny]

No he hasn't, he was shit once again today. The difference in quality between him and the rest of the team is plain as day.

Doherty wasn't shit...but he had his shit moments, such as his cross that hit the back row of the South Bank. His touch and movement that saw him fouled, and the Millwall lad 2nd yellow card, was class.

Marshall was the worst player on the pitch today - The man that takes a month to get up to speed

 

[Quirkafleeg]

Very harsh on Doherty. I thought some of his one touch link up football and movement into the box was quality. Yes the crossing left a lot to be desired.

 

[Boozad]

He pissed me off, the crossing should have made a difference today as he had so many opportunities but he fucked them all up. He didn't have that much else to do so it stood out to me. I still think we need better than him as just doesn't offer enough for the position he's playing.