Wolves 1 Middlesbrough 0 - Verdict thread

[Derby Wolf]

I think the "can't do it at x in y conditions" is latently xenophobic.

When you boil down the diarrhoea it's implied that foreign players lack the (purported) inalienable "grit" that British players have.

 

[Del Woppio]

What's frustrating? The defender did his job and stopped the cross, it happens.

He had time to take a touch and look up. And even if he wanted to hit it first time, the defender was far enough away to make missing him pretty easy tbf.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

It was a shit decision from Doc. He literally gave away the ball when he was in more space than the ISS. He had nobody to aim at and made a piss poor decision, Neves would have every right to be pissed off.

Maybe poor Matt just got a bit giddy to be on the ball for a change, not going to knock him too much for one poor decision when he spent all afternoon watching the master of poor decisions just inside him overlook him for a pass on multiple occasions. Hardly the end of the world with the outcome either, got a corner, Douglas probably wasted that though as his set pieces were awful on Saturday, shame no-one really bust a gut to get into the box when he flashed one across the 6 yard box in the 2nd half.

The Saiss pass to Jota (I think) was also top drawer. It's nice to have 2 top drawer midfielders playing at Wolves, we've waited years for this to happen.

That the one where he fed it in behind a couple of players from the sort of inside right position? Personally I've got a lot more appreciated for a crafty little pass like that than the big ping, even though Wolves largely struggled to create anything on Saturday some of the interplay was lightyears ahead of what's been witnessed down there for ages. Was pleased to see Bonatini had a bit more to his game than the highlight videos had shown, loved his one little lay off to the edge of the box, shame he couldn't get a bit more involved though hopefully that was more of a fitness issue than general mobility, I'd echo whoever it was yesterday that said he didn't look great in the air but again that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

 

[Kenny]

The only point which carries any weight is the amount of games and that can come as a shock to the system. 46 games + Cup game ( so around 49 for us in total) , spells where it is Sat - Tues - Sat and the Christmas period of 4 or 5 games in a time they are used not playing competitive games

 

[Lycan]

Loved that pass. There was a solid 2-3 seconds where the crowd went quiet and couldn't work out who he'd pinged it to - then Doherty came out of no where and didn't even need to break stride. The cross got blocked, but the sooner we have someone with more quality running on to those passes, the better.

Neves did misplace a couple of passes early doors (one of them made the shit highlights on the website, when he hit it early to try and release Jota but scuffed it). However, we should feel lucky to have a player of his quality in our shirt, because I don't think he'll be here too long. He's absolute class.

I remember after his first pre season game in Austria, Speirs said something along the lines of, 'if Neves ever misplaces a pass it'll be front page news'. That's bollocks though, he's not just a guy who recycles possession, he's the sides primary creative threat and not everything he tries is going to come off. Just guessing here but I'd imagine that Adam Clayton's passing stats were a lot better than Ruben's on Saturday but I don't think you'll find anyone who thought that Clayton was the better of the two players.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

He had time to take a touch and look up. And even if he wanted to hit it first time, the defender was far enough away to make missing him pretty easy tbf.

It's one moment, he got a corner out of it so hardly going to infuriate the bloke who passed it to him is it?

The one in the first half that went off his toe out for a throw must have been more frustrating to the provider than the attempted cross.

 

[Kenny]

loved his one little lay off to the edge of the box,

The one to Neves? (which he then scuffed the shot for). That one was quality, so many strikers there would have tried to turn and shoot but he saw the better option and used it

 

[MARKakaJIM]

The one to Neves? (which he then scuffed the shot for). That one was quality, so many strikers there would have tried to turn and shoot but he saw the better option and used it

Not sure who hit it from the edge of the box, think it maybe got blocked by a defender? It's that sort of awareness I love to see in a footballer though, simple passes played early will cut teams to ribbons as long as everyone's on the same wavelength, thankfully there was a lot more of that sort of attitude on display Saturday than the old give it X and watch what they do sort of thing that's been commonplace for too long.

 

[Johnny75]

Maybe poor Matt just got a bit giddy to be on the ball for a change, not going to knock him too much for one poor decision when he spent all afternoon watching the master of poor decisions just inside him overlook him for a pass on multiple occasions. Hardly the end of the world with the outcome either, got a corner, Douglas probably wasted that though as his set pieces were awful on Saturday, shame no-one really bust a gut to get into the box when he flashed one across the 6 yard box in the 2nd half.

That the one where he fed it in behind a couple of players from the sort of inside right position? Personally I've got a lot more appreciated for a crafty little pass like that than the big ping, even though Wolves largely struggled to create anything on Saturday some of the interplay was lightyears ahead of what's been witnessed down there for ages. Was pleased to see Bonatini had a bit more to his game than the highlight videos had shown, loved his one little lay off to the edge of the box, shame he couldn't get a bit more involved though hopefully that was more of a fitness issue than general mobility, I'd echo whoever it was yesterday that said he didn't look great in the air but again that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I'd agree with all of that Mark and I think you highlighted the weakness we have off the bench for the forward positions with Douglas late cross. I assume this will be rectified when Cav is back, Costa is fit and another striker is signed.

Dicko must be on his way out as he just doesn't fit this system and nor does Dave. I don't think either player gets much game time with Cav on the bench and another striker to come in.

Dangerous was the only sub I didn't understand as Nuno could've picked Ronan or Zyro to come on for that short amount of time to do a better job in the false 9/ AM role. Particularly as Dave was shockingly bad.

It's great to see a Wolves team, whilst not at its best win games. There is much more to come from this team when they gel together and with Costa and Cav to come back, it's genuinely exciting times.

The only point which carries any weight is the amount of games and that can come as a shock to the system. 46 games + Cup game ( so around 49 for us in total) , spells where it is Sat - Tues - Sat and the Christmas period of 4 or 5 games in a time they are used not playing competitive games

It is a lot of games and I think we may well be using the January transfer window to get a few short term deals in to get us over the line. I am of course thinking we will be top 6 at a minimum by then.

 

[Kenny]

Dangerous was the only sub I didn't understand as Nuno could've picked Ronan or Zyro to come on for that short amount of time to do a better job in the false 9/ AM role. Particularly as Dave was shockingly bad.

I would say he was on to simply put pressure on the Boro defenders when they had the ball. Where previously we were happy to let Gibson and co pass it amongst themselves, as we were getting a bit knackered, the idea was to get Dave to be in their faces for 15 minutes and get them to go for the long ball option. We all know Daver can run for days without stopping. It worked a little bit but I doubt we will see much more of Dave this season other than Cup games.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

I'd agree with all of that Mark and I think you highlighted the weakness we have off the bench for the forward positions with Douglas late cross. I assume this will be rectified when Cav is back, Costa is fit and another striker is signed.

Dicko must be on his way out as he just doesn't fit this system and nor does Dave. I don't think either player gets much game time with Cav on the bench and another striker to come in.

Dangerous was the only sub I didn't understand as Nuno could've picked Ronan or Zyro to come on for that short amount of time to do a better job in the false 9/ AM role. Particularly as Dave was shockingly bad.

It's great to see a Wolves team, whilst not at its best win games. There is much more to come from this team when they gel together and with Costa and Cav to come back, it's genuinely exciting times.

The Edwards change seemed an odd one, he was never going to be a like for like swap in that position unlike some of the other options off the bench could've been but then it just became difficult to tell where he was actually supposed to be and what the team was supposed to be doing, they almost looked like they were going 532 at one point with Edwards central and a Dicko/Jota pairing up top. I think in the later stages of the game a lack of structure did as much to unsettle things as fitness reaching it's limits, the changes just disrupted the whole team and left Wolves looking a bit of a mess at times.

Even then though none of the Boro players really stood out to me as someone who looked like they could do much damage, Bamford probably being the stand out in that respect after his introduction as he managed to find some good pockets of space at times and think managed to turn Boly a treat at one point with a neat first touch.

Don't think a draw would've been unfair in the end personally, Wolves had the better of the general play for majority of the game but Boro managed to fashion more better chances in spite of that but luckily for Wolves they weren't able to convert any of them.

 

[Johnny75]

I'd take Bamford in a heartbeat, super player and would fit our system perfectly.

 

[Johnny75]

I would say he was on to simply put pressure on the Boro defenders when they had the ball. Where previously we were happy to let Gibson and co pass it amongst themselves, as we were getting a bit knackered, the idea was to get Dave to be in their faces for 15 minutes and get them to go for the long ball option. We all know Daver can run for days without stopping. It worked a little bit but I doubt we will see much more of Dave this season other than Cup games.

I can see the logic but i'm not sure Nuno will be going down that route again after his first pass. I think Dave may make the cup game at Yeovil and then be shipped out on loan to Shrewsbury.

 

[Jinky]

The only point which carries any weight is the amount of games and that can come as a shock to the system. 46 games + Cup game ( so around 49 for us in total) , spells where it is Sat - Tues - Sat and the Christmas period of 4 or 5 games in a time they are used not playing competitive games

This conversation seems to have spread across two threads, so I'll copy my comment from the "general news" thread in to here as it seems relevant.

I *sort* of understand people wondering if he can last the length of the season. On that front, this will be the most amount of games he's played. And we will expect him to play more games in quick succession than he's ever done before. Certainly at some point this season his performances may drop off and we'll need to rest him. But I don't think that's specific to him being Portguese or a £15m sigining. It happens every season at every club - Alex Iwobi at Arsenal last season springs to mind. Came in to the side early doors, was young/enthusiastic and a bit of a revelation. But then got knackered, lost a bit of form and was eventually benched for a few games. It happens.

However, that's not the same as "can he do it on a cold Tuesday night in Barnsley". For me, it doesn't matter what day of the week it is, how cold it is or where we're playing - Ruben Neves will still be a better footballer and "up for the fight" compared to the majority of cloggers in this division.

As a Wolves fan, my main concern is having the quality to come in to replace Neves in the periods where he may need a rest. At the moment we only really have Jack Price in there who could do an adequate job. It's important that as and when we do rest our key players, the replacements can come in and keep our level up.

 

[Jinky]

I can see the logic but i'm not sure Nuno will be going down that route again after his first pass. I think Dave may make the cup game at Yeovil and then be shipped out on loan to Shrewsbury.

Edwards will eventually be phased out. I understand why he was chosen to come on ahead of Zyro and Ronan against Boro. We had started to come under pressure and were playing backs against the wall football at that point. Edwards can run around a lot and is a bigger lad than Ronan. I suspect at that point Nuno's thought process was simply to get someone on who could defend at corners and generally run around a lot to put pressure on the Boro defenders. Zyro clearly isn't 100% yet and Ronan is so slight in stature that he probably wouldn't have been the right choice to have as the man we're aiming to hit up top.

Eventually Edwards will be used less & less. He has a use behind the scenes as an experienced player and nice bloke - but he won't survive on the pitch for long.

As a side note, I didn't notice, but Banjo told me I was scowled at by a woman sitting in front of me for daring to chuckle at Edwards' first contribution where he shinned the ball straight out of play. Amazing how many of our fans actually want him in the side week in week out.

 

[Johnny75]

As a side note, I didn't notice, but Banjo told me I was scowled at by a woman sitting in front of me for daring to chuckle at Edwards' first contribution where he shinned the ball straight out of play. Amazing how many of our fans actually want him in the side week in week out.

Maybe his mum?

 

[Siggy]

Haven't seen the game as I'm away on holidays but delighted with the win. When we signed Ruddy and Douglas I think we pretty much all agreed they were Thelwell signings, does this mean Ferret face has finally got a few right?

Reading the E and S player ratings it appears Edwards contributed as much as Boly, which I am certain is horse shit .... It looks like Dave's time is coming to an end however I hope he gets a testimonial just for being a thoroughly bloody nice chap and a great pro in his time here.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[Kenny]

Reading the E and S player ratings it appears Edwards contributed as much as Boly, which I am certain is horse shit ....

It is....a big pile of horse shit but Timmy can't say nasty things about the few at the club who will give him some time

 

[Derby Wolf]

He gave Graham N/A despite Graham winning a couple of free kicks, one by the corner Middlesbrough box and on halfway which helped relieve the pressure we were under in the final stages.

Aside from letahering the ball out of play when trying to play a pass with the outside of his boot Edwards didn't do anything of which I recall.

 

[b3h]

I actually squealed like a little girl at that Neves pass. Really glad someone caught it!