Wolves 1-2 Liverpool: Verdict Thread

[The Dude]

My view is that if Van Dyke does the same thing there is no penalty.

I think you're right. But Semedo should know, you can't do that v Liverpool, the officials can't wait to point to the spot.

Just look at the duels between TAA and João Gomes on opposite touchlines. Both were fouls on the player in possession (so one each), but both resulted in FK's for Liverpool.

Semedo shouldn't be giving the ref an excuse to blow his whistle.

 

[Tony Towner]

I get your point but suggesting Charlton, Pompey, Watford, Wigan and Fucking Reading... READING FFS are "clubs of our size" is just bollocks,

Sunderland
Sheff Wed
Derby
Leeds
Albion
All similar or bigger, all had numerous consecutive seasons. All no longer in it, some for more than a decade

 

[big mean bunny]

Forget Sá, Johnstone is just shit and we've paid £10M for nothing. The Wood & Konate goals are just dreadful.

I worry I am boring with this, but when Johnstone was first mentioned this was exactly what I said he was, as this is who he has always been bar the occasional game or two. Goalkeeper is the worst/weakest starting 11 position we have and it's not an area you can hide a player. It doesn't matter what the strength of the rest of the team is when you have a keeper like that who can't consistently make the types of saves needed to succeed in winning games at this level or saving points.

We spent £10mil on a keeper at the last minute that is already now near the bottom of most of the keeper metrics, and has basically lived at the bottom of those metrics at this level. That wasn't good enough to start for his previous team and probably wouldn't have started for any other team in the Prem. Potentially Bournemouth when they had Neto and obviously Southampton pre Ramsdale.

 

[Wolftone]

Didn't we buy Johnstone in a panic as it was almost nailed on that Sa was leaving?

 

[big mean bunny]

He was linked previously by Gold Flag last season. Also Sa is still here and whatever value he has I presumed is gone now.

Plenty of better keepers changed clubs this season and others would have been available even at the sort of deal we seemingly wanted with Ramsdale, so there is no excuse for settling on SJ.

 

[Wilf Wolf]

Played some quite nice football in the first half but it was all in front of Liverpool and posed no threat. On a couple of occasions we had the ball level with the edge of their box and took the safe option of going back and literally two seconds later our defence were being pressed on the halfway line. This belief that keeping the ball is good is clearly a GO tactic but he’s missed the point that unlike teams that do it successfully we just don’t have the players to do it. City do it and seconds later are back on the edge off the opposition’s box, we do it and we don’t get back there for 10 minutes!

Overall most of the team did ok but the exceptions were awful. Johnstone is Sa-lite, similar in many ways without the exceptional saves thrown in. Bellegarde was yet again completely anonymous, one nice run every other game and a great hit at Forset is not enough, especially when we have the likes of Sarania and Rodrigo Gomes available. Hwang has returned to “competition winner” levels of awful, however bad Guedes is he’s got to be a better option.

Failure to win at Brentford would take us to half a season of games with one win, against relegated Luton. In the majority of those games we’ve been second best and deservedly not won, all the time the defending has been dreadful , but apparently GO is the man to turn it around. There’s as much evidence of life on Mars but Hobbs and Shi can’t see it, or they can but simply don’t care.

 

[prawnking]

Bellegarde was yet again completely anonymous, one nice run every other game and a great hit at Forset is not enough, especially when we have the likes of Sarania and Rodrigo Gomes available. Hwang has returned to “competition winner” levels of awful, however bad Guedes is he’s got to be a better option.

I agree Bellegarde is an odd choice to have as a nailed-on starting option, but Sarabia looks to have a rotten attitude at present (and his contribution is little better anyway), and I think we need to see more of Rodrigo before anything other than the bench is an option, as he's looked weak and bizarrely slow to me so far.

I'd be starting with Forbs and seeing where his pace can take us

 

[Jinky]

I think the noise starts to increase now, anyway. We went bottom last week & most outside the club took a look at our fixture list & the sound bites coming from Gaz & probably thought “what did they expect?” - but last night seemed different. Saturday night live on Sky with Liverpool in town.

You’ve got Gary Neville tearing us apart on comms, calling out the shite tactics. He said on more than one occasion “you can’t fool football fans” as the boos were reigning down from the stands as we were quite happily knocking it around at the back with absolutely zero urgency what so ever.

G-Nev was critical of Bellegarde from the 2nd minute, as he had a 1 v 1 up against Trent but the ball ended up with Toti on the half way line.

Everyone is starting to see it & pay attention now. The noise will only get louder & the pressure cooker will only get hotter from both outside noise & from the fans.

I think we absolutely STINK of relegation candidates and it looks like most others are starting to realise this too.

 

[prawnking]

Come on mate, it's not as bad as it was in 1986.

Just enjoy your Sunday

 

[Wilf Wolf]

I agree Bellegarde is an odd choice to have as a nailed-on starting option, but Sarabia looks to have a rotten attitude at present (and his contribution is little better anyway), and I think we need to see more of Rodrigo before anything other than the bench is an option, as he's looked weak and bizarrely slow to me so far.

I'd be starting with Forbs and seeing where his pace can take us

Happy to play Forbs instead. Just forgot to add him to the list of alternatives to Bellegarde. The fact there’s three makes it even more frustrating having to watch Bellegarde do practically nothing week after week.

 

[prawnking]

Happy to play Forbs instead. Just forgot to add him to the list of alternatives to Bellegarde. The fact there’s three makes it even more frustrating having to watch Bellegarde do practically nothing week after week.

I agree with you on Guedes over Hwang too, which shows what a plate of diarrhoea we're currently being forcefed

 

[thisisgil]

Overall most of the team did ok but the exceptions were awful. Johnstone is Sa-lite, similar in many ways without the exceptional saves thrown in. Bellegarde

Bellegarde was okay in the first half and did a lot of work off the ball. A couple of times he caused some problems cutting in from the left. Forbs was electric though. If he doesn't start next match, questions need to be asked.

 

[Mel Evo]

Bellegarde was okay in the first half and did a lot of work off the ball. A couple of times he caused some problems cutting in from the left. Forbs was electric though. If he doesn't start next match, questions need to be asked.

Forbs was alright and a significant improvement on Bellegrade for sure. Lacks composure though and seems pretty limited as a footballer. Not sure he’s an ideal starter, compared to R Gomes maybe, but suspect he’s about to get the full Tommy Doyle love in in the coming days and, well, we’ve got to do something.

The Bellegarde episode has been awful. Everyone can see he shouldn’t be starting and he could even have been appropriately subbed at half time. But GON sends him back on and literally hooks him angrily because of two particular mistakes right in front of him with the crowd groaning, presumably sending his confidence through the floor. Didn’t have to happen.

 

[Alan]

Far be it from me to overrate a player, but the faffing with Jean in wide areas is infuriating.

On the pitch and off, these players are being hung out to dry. Gary doesn’t have a clue how to coach to the players he has (shocking to me given how well he utilized Billing at Bournemouth, who hasn’t looked nearly as good since) and it will be his and our undoing.

To clarify, I mean that he's too married to his system and not willing to adjust to the squad's strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Tony Towner]

I think the noise starts to increase now, anyway. We went bottom last week & most outside the club took a look at our fixture list & the sound bites coming from Gaz & probably thought “what did they expect?” - but last night seemed different. Saturday night live on Sky with Liverpool in town.

You’ve got Gary Neville tearing us apart on comms, calling out the shite tactics. He said on more than one occasion “you can’t fool football fans” as the boos were reigning down from the stands as we were quite happily knocking it around at the back with absolutely zero urgency what so ever.

G-Nev was critical of Bellegarde from the 2nd minute, as he had a 1 v 1 up against Trent but the ball ended up with Toti on the half way line.

Everyone is starting to see it & pay attention now. The noise will only get louder & the pressure cooker will only get hotter from both outside noise & from the fans.

I think we absolutely STINK of relegation candidates and it looks like most others are starting to realise this too.

First time I've seen this mentioned. How vociferous was it?

 

[Johnny75]

First time I've seen this mentioned. How vociferous was it?

There were some boos but they weren't really aimed at anybody, just a general pissed off boo especially when they scored their first.

There were several choruses of GoN's barmy army and the players were clapped off at the end and not a boo to be heard, just general disappointment.

The stands were empty pretty quickly and I'd gone before GoN meandered his way to an empty South Bank.

 

[Alan]

There were some boos but they weren't really aimed at anybody, just a general pissed off boo especially when they scored their first.

There were several choruses of GoN's barmy army and the players were clapped off at the end and not a boo to be heard, just general disappointment.

The stands were empty pretty quickly and I'd gone before GoN meandered his way to an empty South Bank.

So fucking shitty; the players probably deserve the slag least of anyone (am I broken record on that point yet?) but equally directing the anger at the fuckheads who deserve it would assuredly fall on deaf ears.

Fuck me, remember when Solbakken got buckets of paint poured on his car? Where's that energy for Shi?

 

[Johnny75]

So fucking shitty; the players probably deserve the slag least of anyone (am I broken record on that point yet?) but equally directing the anger at the fuckheads who deserve it would assuredly fall on deaf ears.

Fuck me, remember when Solbakken got buckets of paint poured on his car? Where's that energy for Shi?

That's the bit that is baffling me. There's no vitriol towards Fosun and Shi at all.

 

[Tony Towner]

That's the bit that is baffling me. There's no vitriol towards Fosun and Shi at all.

I'm not sure gentrified is the right word, but our fanbase is older and relatively more affluent than it used to be. It would be toxic in a comparable situation 20 years ago. Look at Mick against Swansea with way more credit in the bank than GON, Shi or Hobbs have. There's just not that angst there now, or if there is it takes a lot more to bring it out.

That sometimes worked against us too, Wolves and West Ham were the 2 clubs Championship teams said to keep tight against for 20 minutes and the fans will turn.

 

[The Dude]

Sunderland
Sheff Wed
Derby
Leeds
Albion
All similar or bigger, all had numerous consecutive seasons. All no longer in it, some for more than a decade

Is factually correct. Suggesting we're the same size as Watford, Reading and Wigan is not.