I wouldn’t be over critical of Semedo although like Ait Nouri I think he is better suited to being a wing back than a full back.

I do think we have looked a lot more open defensively playing with a back 4 than we were playing 343. Maybe that’s a price to pay for being better set up in attack. But that theory may be undermined by the loss of Jimenez who has arguably been our best player over the last couple of seasons.

So Nuno now has the unenviable task of trying to keep us tight at the back, while improving our goals for record without Raul.

Priority now has to be tighten up at the back, look for goals on the break.
Shame, but forced on us by losing Jimmy.

IMO.

0-0

I didn't see the Liverpool game so won't comment on that. However, to single out Semedo is bit harsh imo, as the times I've seen him, he's been getting better, especially as a wing back.

Not sure if this 4 at the back suits the players to be honest and I hope we revert back to a 3-4-3 against Villa. Not sure what Kilman did to be dropped as I thought he was doing fine.

We're not suddenly going to be a poorer side just because Jimenez is out and if we're honest, he wasn't at his best prior to his injury.

Yesterday was a bad day at the office and I'm sure Nuno will sort it out.

COYW

I think the introduction of a back 4 is going to be a good thing, but I had hoped that it would provide us with a system we could adopt when and where we needed it, rather than as a system that replaced the 343 or 352 that we have utilised so well in the past.

Draw for the 2022 WC takes place at 5pm UK time today. It'll be the first time the WC takes place in November and December, which will disrupt the Premier League and others.

Putting my cynical hat on...who took the 'bung' to have it played in Qatar?

They all did.

Ridiculous to say we won’t become a poorer side now Jimenez is out. Of course we will, every club in the world suffers when one of their best players is absent. Barca without Messi, City without De Bruyne, Spurs without Kane, Utd without Fernandes etc all become poorer sides

The problem last night was that we didnt play with a focal point in attack. Silva looked fine and provided us with that link against Arsenal. Last night Podence, Neto and Traore had no one to play off and we didn't occupy either of the centre backs.

I see no reason why we should regress back to playing negatively on the basis of one poor performance. Going to a back three won't change that if we don't give ourselves a focal point in attack. If now isn't the time to play Silva, then we have wasted £35 million.

Like I said, I didn't see yesterday's game, but I id see the Arsenal one and others. We didn't appear poorer just because Jimenez got injured. We adjusted and came away with a win. No man makes a team and we have the potential in Silva to continue to do well without Raul.

I can understand why he didn't start against Liverpool, but now is the time to give Silva as much game time as he can cope with.

So I stand by my comment that we will not be a poorer side without Jimenez, but please contradict, as that's what you're good at.

Jimenez is a massive player for us, losing your leading goal scorer will hurt any side. The frustration is that we've all seen the potential for this scenario to evolve. Signing Fabio Silva was a good move but relying on him as the back up to Jimenez surely wasn't the intended plan. It was an uncharacteristic gamble if it was and Im sure they must have had other forward targets in the summer in addition to Silva. Its not 35m wasted by any means but also not realistic to expect a big return on that investment before he's even started a league game.

Our policy seems to have been that signing a proven number 9 who can deliver 15+ a season in the PL is an expensive old business so lets buy one that either has some un-tapped potential (Bonatini, Jimenez) or can be developed and that we can get our money's worth from (Mir, Cutrone Silva). However our immediate needs are for someone that can step in and contribute from day one and take the pressure off Silva who even in the fairly impressive cameo against Arsenal, doesn't look ready to lead our front line every week just yet. The big question of course is who fits the bill? I still believe Giroud would have been worth the investment, last January and would have fitted in well, but there aren't many like him around and his value to Chelsea and therefore anyone wanting to sign him has probably risen since then.

Oldgoldilox I totally agree with what you have said and yes, we can bring in a CF in January however he could not be expected to hit the ground running and would need several weeks to settle in to the system and gel with his new team mates.
My concern is that we have 5 games before the January window opens. Those games include Chelsea at home, Spurs at home and Man U away. If we don't start scoring goals we are inevitably going to start sliding down the table.
So who do we have to lead the line?
Silva - as you say too much to expect this soon
Traore - works best out wide, not a central player
Podence - simply too short, needs balls to feet
Neto - again, works best out wide and is also too short.

My solution may be viewed as a bit radical but to me it makes perfect sense - Dendoncker.

He has the height and is a powerful header of the ball. He knows where the net is. He is a hard worker just like Raul and is strong enough not to get bullied by big centre backs.
For the Villa game I would go with
Patricio
Boly, Coady, Kilman
Semedo, Ait Nouri
Neves, Moutinho
Traore, Dendonker, Neto

Agree with you oldgold that Giroud is just the kind of player we have needed in the squad to give cover for Jimenez and a couple of my mates have been saying that for 18 months now. Unfortunately the injury to Jimenez that we have looked vulnerable to has now happened and we are probably in need of a panic buy in January. I suspect Silva will end up being a similar player to Giroud and possibly better but whether he can turn into a player of that value overnight is possible but unlikely.

I’m all for a 4231 formation but the problem defensively is that Coady, Semedo and Ait Nouri are to me all better suited to the 343 set up. And I see Silva as the only real option for the central striker, and he did do a good job there against Arsenal so here’s hoping.

Gem, I had the same thought about Dendoncker, good in the air, good finisher, he's built more like a striker than a midfielder, could be worth a punt.

You do sometimes see guys who come in and hit the ground running from the off, especially in January if they've already got a few goals under their belt and their confidence is high. SEB and Afobe come to mind, where are we going to find a premier league quality equivalent to them though?

If we were to splash the cash in January then my first choice of Premier League strikers would be Danny Ings. Alternatively maybe go again for the much linked Andre Silva who has been banging in the goals for Eintracht Frankfurt

Ruben Vinagre joined Olympiakos on a season long loan but is evidently unhappy there and wants to return to Wolves in January

If we play Dendoncker as a striker ahead of Fabio Silva then we may as well give up on Silva altogether. Not only would it show we have no faith in him, it would also be a massive knock to the lads confidence that we would play a defensive and midfield utility player out of position instead of him.

Dendonker is proving to be a good box to box player and I feel sure he'll be among the goals soon, but to play him as a stop gap CF is way off the mark. Fabio Silva was brought to the club to provide us with an alternative at CF. The injury to Jimenez has given him a great shot at proving his worth and with more game time, I feel will produce the goods.

Wolves linked with Franck Kessie of Milan for a couple of years now as Milan were looking to offload him. Now he is a regular in midfield, scoring goals, making assists and Milan are top of Serie A

Way off the mark in your opinion.
Fabio Silva is an 18 year-old kid who was bought as one for the future to be included in the match day squad to get some game time experience from the bench when appropriate. The same as Ait-Nouri, Vitinha and Hoever.
To expect Silva to lead the line for 90 minutes every game would be crazy in MY opinion. He would be boy in a man's world, get bullied by big centre backs and score very few goals, if any. And that in my humble opinion would be more of a knock to his confidence than anything else.

U21s playing in the knockout stages of the Papa John’s Trophy tonight with an away game at Port Vale

Good to hear that Raul has been discharged from hospital now and is back home with his family. Seems to be confidence that he will make a full recovery and get back to playing football again. Let’s hope that’s true

comment by wolfieintheSunshineState (U16306)
posted 7 hours, 34 minutes ago
Dendonker is proving to be a good box to box player and I feel sure he'll be among the goals soon, but to play him as a stop gap CF is way off the mark. Fabio Silva was brought to the club to provide us with an alternative at CF. The injury to Jimenez has given him a great shot at proving his worth and with more game time, I feel will produce the goods.
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You think Silva is ready to lead the forward line for Wolves in the Premier league? I hope you're right but Ive seen no evidence that he is ready for that right now. There was a guy on the radio on Sunday who was raving about how he was the standout player in a youth tournament a couple of years ago so Ive no doubt that he will develop in to something special and he's in the right place to do so. However to date he's only got one senior league goal to his name plus a couple each in the Portuguese League Cup and the Papa Johns Trophy. Im not knocking him but I dont see him as the answer to today's problem.