Match Day Thread Wolves vs NCFC

3 - 0.
We really are a long way off the pace
60% of the play,but never really troubled Wolves.
Krul outstanding,but the rest very average.

 

3-0 loss and the gk is “outstanding”

Bring back Zimmermann. I stand corrected.

 

Just 'rediscovered' this site today - good coverage, the odd freeze but easy enough to reload.

https://www.vipboxtv.se/

 

Don Goodman on comms said look how many Norwich conceded last season while getting promoted.
Against the much sharper strikers in the PL things can [and have ] got worse.
With ostensibly the exact same defence in place - minus Timm Klose.

 

I think we all expected to concede a lot of goals this season; it's the lack of scoring that is depressing me.

 

Have to agree. Upped their game against Liverpool but collapsed after the first goal today and it just got worse. I had thought we had a chance to make a comeback this season but that thought has gone now.

 

Hmm! I think I've seen someone on here making that very same point ............ Clearly Don Goodman doesn't understand how great an impact our injuries have had .........

 

I'm obviously disappointed when we lose but I will always love this club unconditionally.

My biggest worry is that I am not guaranteed to be able to watch next season, but if I am granted a bit more time I don't care what division we are in, I will enjoy every minute

 

Why have Wolves and Sheffield United succeed in the PL when we haven’t? Both teams have been promoted in recent seasons. Is it all to do with investment in players (or lack of in our case) or are there particular reasons for their success?

 

Wolves are a very different case to Shef Utd, they were able to buy Portuguese international players like Ruben Neves whilst in the Championship because of their arrangement with Raiola. Since coming up they have then strengthened again using that relationship making them able to get players like Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho.

I don’t think anyone expected Sheffield to do as well as they have done this season, but they have played a system which they have developed over the past 3 years that not many teams have seemed able to find a real answer for.

 

There's always more factors to the why of performance, good or bad. Injuries are one factor but any team need a run of results to build confidence and consistency to get going and we've never been able to manage that. Difficult fixtures at the start of the season, chronic injuries breaking up partnerships, but also tactics that require top passing performance and clinical finishing. On occasions we've achieved that (Newcastle, ManCity, Everton), but when the passing falls away or defensive partnerships change we concede too easily and then go under.

 

I think football is about consistency.

We have been so inconsistent in so many ways (you might say consistently, inconsistent, but then you would be a smartarse).

That is what has hurt us. Changing defence, inconsistent form of defenders, inconsistent midfield, wavering form of wingers, inconsistent finishing.

You can’t stay in the premier league without consistently defending well or consistently scoring. We’ve done neither.

 

There's no mystery. Both managers have built teams who can actually defend. Wolves had the Championship's best defence when they were promoted, conceding just 39 goals. Last season they conceded 46 goals, which only the top four teams bettered. Sheffield Utd are mirroring this pretty closely. Neither Sheffield nor Wolves are sitting where they are in the table on account of scoring hatfuls of goals; it's on account of their miserliness in defence. As it happens, both standardly play with 3 at the back, but plenty of teams defend equally well playing 4 at the back. What's crucial is not the specific formation but the importance attached to not conceding goals.

 

It's also important to have a defence that stay fit together and not get decimated by injuries

 

It's also important to strengthen substantially a defence which leaked 57 goals in the championship ready for the much improved class of striker likely to encountered in the PL.
This we failed dismally to even address, never mind take any meaningful action on
[Respect to Byram, but an outlay of £725k was not ever going to make any real difference.]

 

I think the Byram investment was a good one tbh. He’s the one part of our defence which I think has consistently looked premier league standard, save for Krul. He’s had the odd shaky moment, but then so has Krul.

 

I agree, but when you look at the bigger picture, as in a season facing the best and most creative goalscorers in world football, was he enough? i suggest nowhere near.

 

Pretty much spot on Cromer.

 

I agree you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but if all you have is a sow's ear without risking the life of the club, you're bolluxed

 

Consistency is the key, Rob, and the lack of it comes from injuries causing changes and the lack of stable partnerships, particularly at CB. Robbie points out DF's tendency to change tactics from game to game, which is understandable, but also makes it more difficult for players, particularly the young guns, to play consistently. These things make it difficult to get any kind of run going.

As for recruitment, I agree with Rob that Byram has been our best defender (regardless of what he cost). We'll miss him for the rest of the season. Roberts and Amadou seemed to be good acquisitions, but didn't work out. We particularly needed Amadou to bring strength to the midfield where the problem has been cover in front of the defence. Tettey has done a good job overall, but others have been hit or miss. The partnership with McLean has looked good in recent weeks, but fell apart yesterday.

The real weakness in this squad, however, is the tendency to collapse once we go behind. The exceptions to this tend to be Byram, Krul and Cantwell, who seem to have the character to try to fight back. Pukki also has that, but he tends to be isolated once the collapse occurs. Other teams have the strength to fight back after going behind, so why don't we?