Wolves 1 Middlesbrough 0 - Verdict thread

[Deano]

Jota was fucking quality all day, I never saw this "standing around" bollocks. I recommend specsavers.

Agreed. I was very impressed with him as although creatively there wasn't too much there for him in a tight game he dug in and put some good tackles in. Think he's going to be a great asset and should suit this league well.

 

[Norman Deeley]

Bookies now have Wolves at best price 8/1 for the Champo - very nearly joint favourites

 

[SLB]

Go to Wolves website and sign up for WolvesTV. Pretty sure replays are included in the package.

How much?

 

[Freddeno]

£45 for the season..not live games but highlights and you can see all streamed games about a day after complete..live radio games....etc etc

 

[Boozad]

Ruddy - 7. Did what he had to do and did it well. No complaints. Varied distribution was usually what was called for.

Miranda - 7. Looked solid first half and played out of defence like a pimp. A bit wobblier second half as Boro came forward but can't be faulted really.

Boly - 8. A pure fucking man mountain. There will not be many forwards get the better of him this season and he's comfortable with the ball at his feet. Lucky with a face high challenge in the box first half but that showed he's not afraid to do what needs doing.

Coady - 7. Still looks like a cross between a bloody good CH and a CM moved out of position. I think he could well grow into this position and his commitment can't be faulted, if he gets polished in this position it could be a Nuno masterstroke.

Douglas - 8. Always willing, always mobile and can play the fucking ball. Oh how good is it to see a proper left back/wing back? He's an absolute steal.

Doherty - 6. Infuriating. He's the anti-thesis of everything we're trying to do. Completely miscontrolled a ball in the first half that would have had us in a great position then gave away a stupid free kick a couple of minutes later. We need better.

Neves - 8. Oozes class and I'd like to see his doubters wonder whether he's up for this shit in the Championship after that. Creates space, breaks play, passes like a bitch, isn't afraid to shoot and is happy running the midfield. I fucking love you Neves.

Saiss - 7. Massive, massive improvement from last season. He's not baby sitting the defence any more and pings balls about like he fucking means it. A worthy partner for Ruben.

Jota - 7. Tried and tried but couldn't work any magic. Proved here though that he's no pushover and really isn't afraid to get stuck in and put himself about. He'll be key this season, no doubt.

Enobakhare - 6.5. Great skill, lovely footwork and unbelievably calm under pressure. Absoilutely zero end product though at the moment. A real star in the making when he makes that last third and final ball count.

Bonatini - 7. Not really at the races and let Bright move inside a lot but give the lad his due, he had one thing to do and did it. It won the game. Hard to judge from this outing but at least we know he can do one-on-ones.

SUBS

Dicko - 5. Killed our momentum when he came on and contributed little. Broke our play up a lot and helped Boro come back into it.

Edwards - 5. First touch was to hoof it out of play to give Boro a throw in as opposed to us breaking. We know what we're going to get and we got it.

Graham - N/A. Not really enough time to make an impression.

Great to meet up with so many forumites; Kenny, Deutsch, Lycan, Parkin, Johnny, Paddy, Langers, Aiki, Stan etc. Look forward to many more meet ups this season. Sorry I had to body swerve from Boho, minor family emergency.

Just bought Cardiff tickets, see you all there!

 

[Norman Deeley]

Slightly off-topic but I see Villa brought Chris Samba on for the last 5 minutes and put him upfront. Welcome to 1997: that's what the pundits mean by 'experience of the Championship.'

 

[SSB]

Anywhere i can watch full match? Would like to make a tactical analysis on it.

I reckon you'll be over to watch it first hand before the end of the season?

 

[Hereford Wolf]

Great performance and even better result.

Yes - we rode our luck a little bit but we deserved the win. The last 10 minutes were a little nerve racking though.

I like Bright and think he is a great talent, but he really frustrated me today. If you beat a player and make space for a cross then cross the ball - don't turn back into trouble.
He also needs to be more aware of players around him when he receives the ball.

A great start to the season.

 

[Norman Deeley]

According to the stats on Wiki Bright has played 14 games over 2 seasons, plus 2 in the League Cup. We probably ought to cut him some slack

 

[Boozad]

He gets slack for his age, he just needs to refine his end product. His footwork and ball control are fantastic.

 

[YoungWolf]

I love watching him. He's great.

He has never had a proper run of games, which with that shit we have played in his place is just wrong. He'd have been a much better player for it when there wasn't much reason not to give him games. KJ particularly I think.

 

[Norman Deeley]

He gets slack for his age, he just needs to refine his end product. His footwork and ball control are fantastic.

One of the really good points that I thought Kenny Jackett often made was about the importance of experience, actually playing matches. You look at someone like Marshall, who is 26 and has played nearly 300 games: I always think that is a plus point with a potential signing - experience and a simple physical ability to play a lot of games in a season. 14 games isn't even the start of a career - certain his end product will improve and Nuno clearly sees something he likes

 

[Boozad]

One of the really good points that I thought Kenny Jackett often made was about the importance of experience, actually playing matches. You look at someone like Marshall, who is 26 and has played nearly 300 games: I always think that is a plus point with a potential signing - experience and a simple physical ability to play a lot of games in a season. 14 games isn't even the start of a career - certain his end product will improve and Nuno clearly sees something he likes

Undoubtedly, the lad has class. Like I said his ball control and calmness under pressure are unreal, he just has to learn to make the right decision now, that's the only thing that lets him down. It will come with experience.

 

[AndyWolves]

A 1-0 win against promotion favourites with 7 debuts.

I'll take that any day of the week

 

[Freddeno]

yeah, great 3 pts..would have settled for 1 point with our injuries...

 

[Banjo]

Some pretty budget highlights here - https://youtu.be/LvkR4FXjfWo

 

[Jabbawolf]

Can't remember ever seeing Wolves play with such technique and composure - and, as for the questions about a wet Tuesday in Barnsley, there is nothing about Neves, Jota, Miranda and Boly that would make me think they that won't be right up for it.

 

[Freddeno]

Can't remember ever seeing Wolves play with such technique and composure - and, as for the questions about a wet Tuesday in Barnsley, there is nothing about Neves, Jota, Miranda and Boly that would make me think they that won't be right up for it.

no chump experience :breakdance:

 

[nimrod]

great result against a decent side.

thought we could have tried to be more penetrating first half. played in front of their back line. wide men waiting to receive rather than pushing on.

great for Leo to score. cool finish justifying the YT clips. bit more movement to come from him I hope. personally, a pacy striker purchase in addition would be great.

bright is a talent. agree with the comments on decisions and he didn't attack the space enough when we countered, but with the talent in the squad I hope he can pick things up.

defence and the CMids were great. a few mistakes esp late on but fortunately the ball didn't drop for boro. Ruddy with one great save and was smart off his line for one through ball. got away with that a little.

douglas is a great purchase. got a knock when hacked down but didn't shirk a challenge after that.

not perfect but very promising.

 

[Banjo]

As for my verdict, the first thing I'd say is there were times where we looked so in control of that match it was incredible - not least given (a) how last season finished and (b) the quality of the opposition. I think we passed the ball incredibly well at times and looked very strong as a defensive unit. The best part is things are only going to improve from here.

My only criticism was we didn't create enough. With Cav and Costa back, things will be very different in that respect. Whilst neither was poor, I do think our weak links were Doherty and Bright down the right hand side. The former didn't seem comfortable crossing the ball or running with it and the latter regularly lets down his own fantastic skill with poor decision making.

I think we controlled the midfield and both Neves and Saiss had great games. Jota was quiet going forward but really got stuck in and Douglas was superb from start to finish.

Player ratings:

Ruddy: So good to see a keeper come and claim balls, have real control over his box and such a safe pair of hands. He did incredibly well for the Assombalonga one-on-one (not sure the latter did much wrong at all - just a cracking save) and just oozes control and confidence from the back. Also think he did well putting off the Boro #10 who missed an absolute sitter with his head in the first half.

Doherty: Not bad but nothing spectacular. Really surprised by how little appetite he had to cross or run with the ball whenever played into space (sometimes exquisitely so by both Neves and Saiss). Think German Phil will slot in to RWB once fit.

Miranda: a mixed bag but largely composed on the ball and a good tackler at the back. Looks a proper centre half who doesn't mind being dragged out into the channels. Had a few lapses of concentration which coincided with a booking and I do worry about how much he likes to man-handle the opposition. He looked better when I saw him pre-season but still an upgrade on anything we had in 16/17.

Coady: Largely impressive with just a couple of errors - one misplaced Neves-style pass put us into trouble unnecessarily and then he lost flight of a ball over the top which led to the Assombalonga one-on-one. Still worth his place for me - always talking and clears things up nicely before passing to a more creative player in front of him

Boly: absolute beast who will be hard work for any forward this season. He's not as composed on the ball as Miranda (and clearly would prefer being on the right rather than the left) but wins so much in the air and makes tackle after tackle on the floor. The occasional lapse in concentration (one spectacular overhead clearance could have been obviated had he simply won the first header which he misjudged) but I was generally very impressed.

Douglas: what a signing. Perhaps fortunate in that we're so unused to seeing an actual left back in our team but really this guy could go down as one of our best bits of business this summer. Fantastic in attack and defence and must have been shattered by the end. So much effort, so much class. A really good addition.

Saiss: a man reborn. I'd say he's up there for MotM. Great pressing and ball-winning and fantastic distribution. Anything Neves could do, Saiss could do too. Maybe it's the better players around him or maybe it's the fact he's playing the Hollywood passes from a more advanced position but, either way, how good is it to see Saiss influence a game this way.

Neves: just wow. What a player. He can tackle, he can run with the ball, he's not afraid to shoot and my word can he pass. He's simply way too good for this level. What a signing. Different class.

Enobakhare: a very typical performance from Bright-often creates space out of nowhere with very natural talent and trickery, only to let himself down with poor decision making. There's an incredible player in there but we need to find a way to eke it out. Shame he doesn't like using his left foot as he had a good chance which he tried to take on his right at the wrong angle and ended up passing it to the Boro keeper. Think he'll give way once cav is back

Bonatini: you can't ask any more from a player who's only been here less than a week. Took his chance very cooly and contributed a fair amount during his hour or so on the pitch. Needs to get up to speed but looks like he could be a great number 9 for us.

Jota: quiter than we'd have liked but he works very, very hard and when he did get a chance to run with it, he did spectacularly well- winning the ball in the left back position and beating two men before being fouled. Jota will be a big player for us this year.

Subs

Dicko: looked very up for it but his introduction changed how we played. He's much less of a link player and more of a chasing lost causes in the channels type forward. This encouraged far too many "percentage" balls being played into the channels which didn't suit us at all. I expect Dicko to be third choice by the end of the window and I'd be happy with that.

Edwards: somewhere between anonymous and terrible. He's not cut out for this style of play at all. He's never been any good with the ball at his feet and I'm not sure how he got on the bench ahead of Price at all.

Graham: looked lively in the time he had. Would like to see him instead of Doherty or Bright.