comment by Cinciwolf---so glad I wasn't careful what I wished for!! (U11551)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by Tamwolf (U17286)
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by Cinciwolf---so glad I wasn't careful what I wished for!! (U11551)
posted about 2 hours ago
4-2-3-1 would be the system i would want to see, something like Neves and Moutinho with MGW ahead of them in the line of three.

The issue we have had goals wise is that our wide players have not been getting into the box and supporting Jimenez as much as they did a year ago and Costa and Jota have generally struggled and to a lesser extent so has Cav albeit he hasn't been back half as long he has been the one that knows where the goal actually is.


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Cav probably put in the worst performance we have seen from any of the front 3 options at the weekend to be fair. He seemed to give the ball away every time he got it.
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Costa gave the ball away more than cav this weekend as it goes.

Not defending any of them but Costa and Jota in particular have to contribute much much more, I don't think either has scored and I know Costa hasn't even got an assist, you need more than that from a key part of the set up.

Cav is probably just reaching 100% after injury but has still scored a couple already.

As for Traore, so far I think we have massively overpaid.
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Over 90 minutes Costa gave the ball away more. Whilst no one played well, in the first half, Cav gave the ball away more through loose passes and had 0 successful dribbles whilst repeatedly getting caught in possession. I know you love defending him regardless, but he had an absolute shocker at the weekend and was rightly brought off at half time.

Interestingly, before the game on Saturday we were third in the Premier League for chances created per game. Although Costa's end stats aren't good he has generally been ok and involved in a large number of our chances.

None of our front three options have been brilliant in front of goal this season, but Cav's first half performance at the weekend was the worst I have seen so far.

He must have been hopeless if he looked worse than what Jota has then as he has been comfortably the biggest let down on the team this season by some distance.

Fact is we carry more threat when cav is on the pitch and that has been the case the past two seasons.

comment by Tamwolf (U17286)
posted 53 minutes ago
comment by wolfieintheSunshineState (U16306)
posted about an hour ago
Our first goal conceded on Sunday was down to Neves' stray pass and then failing to track back.
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You mean Doherty?
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Yeah, my bad.

We are creating chances with this system. The problem is, the players aren't putting them away and that's something the manager has no control over.

Wouldn't it be great if the manager had a say in which players were signed, who he selects, what he does with them in training, what tactics he employs, how he motivates them. Sadly Nuno has no control over any of this, the team is selected through a raffle and they all go out and do what they want

Some random stats because i haven't bothered looking for a long time and yes i appreciate assists don't tell the whole story but that can be spread across all four players so balances out.

Cav has scored 2 goals in 255 minutes(1 every 128 mins) in the prem with no assists.

Traore has scored 1 goal in 313 minutes(1 goal every 156 mins) and has no assists

Costa has scored 0 goals in 952 minutes and has no assists

Jota has scored 0 goals in 789 minutes and has no assists

Glaringly obvious that Costa and Jota have let us down badly in front of goal this season but that said the numbers above(minus Traore) are not that surprising regarding Cav being the most 'ruthless' attacking threat.

Since being at Wolves.

Cav has a goal or assist every 134 minutes
Costa has a goal or assist every 169 minutes
Jota has a goal or assist every 187 minutes

comment by Cinciwolf---so glad I wasn't careful what I wished for!! (U11551)
posted about 3 hours ago
He must have been hopeless if he looked worse than what Jota has then as he has been comfortably the biggest let down on the team this season by some distance.
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He was pretty shocking. To be honest, I would probably drop both him and Costa for the weekend. I’d be tempted to start MGW.

The biggest problem with Cav is that when he is good he is very good, but when he is bad he is terrible. He doesn’t seem to have a middle ground or any real consistency.

Agree with you regarding MGW as i think he deserves a start now. Would definitely drop Costa and maybe Jota can come back in and be sharper now he has had a breather.

Against Cardiff I would still start Cav as he is stronger on the ball than Jota who gets targeted by physical teams.
I would drop Costa and give MGW a shot but what do I know!

I would be very surprised if Cavaleiro started on Friday. Nuno didn’t take him off at half time on Sunday because he was happy with what he was doing.

I think the time has come for a few changes. I can see MGW starting instead of Moutinho. And Traore and Jota playing either side of Jiminez. Disagree entirely that Cavaleiro is stronger than Jota. Diogo is the bravest player at the club, takes kicks every game and just gets up and gets on with it.

Bennett would be very unlucky to be left out but surely we need to give Dendoncker a chance at some stage

I would be very surprised if Cavaleiro started on Friday. Nuno didn’t take him off at half time on Sunday because he was happy with what he was doing.


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Quite possibly but it would be scary to think he is happy with what Jota and Costa have been doing with zero goals and assists now in a combined 1741 minutes which is just shy of 20 matches!!!

Maybe worth noting that with Costa and Jota supporting Jiminez in the team that remained unchanged for so long, Wolves got up to 7th in the league. Since Jota has been left out we haven’t won a match

Looking back through the comments about how we could change the formation of the team I think 4231 is the most bizarre idea.
It would mean changing the defensive set up that has been working well for 18 months
It would surely mean no place for Coady who has been one of our best players, can’t see how he fits into a back 4.
It would mean the likes of Doherty, Jonny and Vinagre playing full back when they are clearly more suited to being wing backs
When we meet a team with 5 in midfield, instead of trying to get control with 4 against 5 we would have 2 against 5
And all very well increasing the number in attack from 3 to 4 but if the midfield is struggling to get on the ball how do we get them in the game. I presume the suggestion is that we turn into a hoofball team in the Pulis/Allardyce style and bang the ball from back to front.

I don’t have any problem with Nuno sticking to his philosophies and regularly playing 343 but when things aren’t working, as they weren’t on Sunday, he has to be able to come up with a Plan B to change how the game is going rather than changing like for like or as above changing to something worse. Hope on Jan we bring in a player or two that gives us more options

Looks like Dominic Iorfa could be on his way to Glasgow Rangers in Jan

comment by Spangles (U17289)
posted about 3 hours ago
Looking back through the comments about how we could change the formation of the team I think 4231 is the most bizarre idea.
It would mean changing the defensive set up that has been working well for 18 months
It would surely mean no place for Coady who has been one of our best players, can’t see how he fits into a back 4.
It would mean the likes of Doherty, Jonny and Vinagre playing full back when they are clearly more suited to being wing backs
When we meet a team with 5 in midfield, instead of trying to get control with 4 against 5 we would have 2 against 5
And all very well increasing the number in attack from 3 to 4 but if the midfield is struggling to get on the ball how do we get them in the game. I presume the suggestion is that we turn into a hoofball team in the Pulis/Allardyce style and bang the ball from back to front.

I don’t have any problem with Nuno sticking to his philosophies and regularly playing 343 but when things aren’t working, as they weren’t on Sunday, he has to be able to come up with a Plan B to change how the game is going rather than changing like for like or as above changing to something worse. Hope on Jan we bring in a player or two that gives us more options
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I don't have a problem with 343 being the standard set up either but changing to say a 4231 certainly isn't 'worse' as a second option and can be an effective.

We currently don't have Jonny and vinagre is still young and error prone so right now we could easily use a flatter back four, Doc has played in one for years.

Mgw would effectively be a third CM but with more of a free role to support the attack so we certainly wouldn't be in any worse position in midfield as you bizarrely suggest.

Right now we are one dimensional and I think that is becoming a problem and the like for like substitutions are rarely changing games.

We could go around and around in circles discussing what a plan B would be, but at the end of the day, Nuno will stick to a system that has worked for the vast majority of the time he's been in charge.

Our problem is not the 3-4-3 system, it's the players not taking their chances and scoring goals right now and not being able to comprehend that teams coming to Molineux will try and stifle us. Maybe we just need better players who can adjust their own game and someone who can actually score a goal or two.

Players aren't robots, so surely they can figure out themselves what's going on during a match.

Amazed to read in the Express & Star that Steve Bull is suggesting we play MGW on Friday, instead of Neves! Cant believe there are still people that don't appreciate how important Neves is to the team. Saturday he was crowded out by Huddersfield's 5 man midfield and ended up having a poor game. That told me not that we need to replace him, but how much less effective we are as a team when he isn't on his usual game.

Everyone has an opinion, even Steve Bull. Neves hasn't been up to his best this season and while still young, is not irreplaceable. Maybe all this speculation about a 60m move that you've read somewhere has effected him. If he has a poor game because our opponents are crowding him out, then maybe he should have been replaced on Sunday.

Neves has been largely excellent this season, hence why he has been linked with £60m transfers.

I do wonder about some of the rubbish written on this forum. Neves not at his best, Jota been hopeless, Costa been hopeless, Traore hopeless. Jonny, Boly also been criticised

I think a minor miracle must be happening in Wolverhampton that has lead to us spending so much of this season in the top half of the Premier League, considering we have such a bunch of no hopers in our team

I think literally every Wolves fan on the planet acknowledges that Jota has been the poorest of our players this season.

Costa has improved but certainly needs to deliver more.

Traore? He can be devastating in short bursts but for 18 million you have to expect more and thus far he can't even get a starting spot despite his rivals all struggling for form.

Boly had a sluggish few games but otherwise has looked good and i think Jonny has looked excellent.

Neves and Moutinho have both looked good for the most part but i actually think in those early games Moutinho was the better performer.

Everyone who posts on this forum can have an opinion and make whatever remarks they like about players, managers, or systems of playing.

The problem lies with a certain individual who refuses to accept that we all have varying opinions and is now criticizing one of our best players ever for daring to suggest an alternative in midfield.

Not only do I read differing opinions, but also different views on how we played, by posters who either go to the matches or watch the games live on TV. Maybe that's why we're all human, after all.

Can you imagine a world full of Spangles.

Reading that Bournemouth have sold out of their 3,000 allocation for their upcoming game at Molineux. Quite good considering they only have 10,000 fans at their home games.

Looking back at old games between Cardiff and Wolves it’s a fixture with plenty of high scoring games. We won 7-1 at Molineux in the mid 60s but the most memorable game was ten years before that.

In 1955 in Cardiff we recorded our biggest ever away win, beating them 9-1. We were ahead in the first minute and 5 up at half time. That Wolves team could show the current lot a thing or two about goal scoring because the previous game they had beaten Man City 7-2 and the week after beat Huddersfield 4-0.

Them were the days