But for your disastrous start you would be in the European spots, so I suppose it’s starting next season with less injuries if possible, buying more creativity and improving your home record.
I'm not sure what we're debating right now, but for me we play 3CB's and 2 holding midfielders, it stifles our attacking intent, figured that was relatively obvious?
if we go 4-4-2 as of now I'd go
...............................Jose Sa...................
Semedo..........Coady.......Kilman..........Jonny
Podence..........Neves.........Moutinho.......Neto
.........................Fabio.........Raul.....................
semedo was a RB for Barca, who traditionally play 4 at the back, according to transfermarkt he's played RB for Barca 124 times, you don't get that many games for a top club if you're no good.(won 2 spanish titles and 1 spanish cup)
Jonny played over 200 games for Celta Vigo - another side that traditionally play a back four -so they both can certainly fulfil that role..
Mout and Neves will naturally sit anyway so that provides cover for our FB's getting forward
being able to then field 4 attacking players will surely help create chances, and you yourself said Fabio did well but was isolated vs the barcodes, so by playing him alongside another striker and with 2 wingers surely helps?
I wouldn't mind seeing both Fabio and Jimenez up front. It reminds me of the pairings we've had in the past with Dougan/Richards and Bull/Mutch.
Your line up looks good on paper, but there are those who don't think Coady is best suited in a back 4 and Semedo is best as a wing back. He played at RB for Barca, but at that time he was in a side that dominated others and didn't have much to do, generally.
I'll admit that your selection has a good balance and it'll be interesting to see if Bruno does go with a back 4 in any of our remaining games, but the reality is, we are still playing the same players who have yet to provide the goals we need. Not sure either Podence or Neto are good at defending when needed.
Semedo was first choice RB at barca for 3 seasons in which time they won 2 league titles, I'd say he's good enough.
Our side doesn't score many goals because we get so isolated up top, through slow ball retention/build up... Fabio barely got a sniff on Friday, and when he did there was no-one there to link from/to so by giving him a partner then it kills the isolation problem
Neto/Podence don't need to be great defensively that's the defenders jobs, all they need to do is be hard working and track the oppo FB back
regards Coady and Kilman the only way to find out is to play them as a two - if they don't take the chance either try Mosq and Toti or we bring some CB's in, in the summer
I like the look of Tino's 442, which wouldnt need to be a rigid old style one either with those players. We all know the the issue though is that the squad has been built around the 3CB 2WB system and we havent really got the CBs to play in a back four. Sacrifice Coady and you lose his leadership, sacrifice Boly and you lose his strength and size. I think Kilman can play there, but is the other option in the squad or do we need to go shopping for one?
comment by Oldgoldilox (U17303)
posted 16 seconds ago
I like the look of Tino's 442, which wouldnt need to be a rigid old style one either with those players. We all know the the issue though is that the squad has been built around the 3CB 2WB system and we havent really got the CBs to play in a back four. Sacrifice Coady and you lose his leadership, sacrifice Boly and you lose his strength and size. I think Kilman can play there, but is the other option in the squad or do we need to go shopping for one?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
truly I think we'll need to go shopping but we have half a dozen CB's gotta be worth trying through them first
If we are to go 4-4-2 then as Tino says the only way to find who is good enough is to play until we find the best combination.
Of course they will be practising in training so Bruno will have some ideas.
It would make for a more open game and we should have the attacking players to take advantage.
We will probably have to invest to get the right pairings throughout the team though.
our spine has been neglected for so a few years now anyway, so if and its a big IF, Bruno wants his 4-4-2 implemented here, then in theory with us due a revamp it kills 2 birds, we're pretty blessed on the flanks, just the CB/CM/ST pairings we need to look at
4-2-3-1 would be my preferred choice of system and with the players we actually have then this would be the best line up I guess.
.............Sa
Semedo, Coady, Kilman, Jonny
.........Moutinho, Neves
Neto, Podence, Trincao
..........Jimenez
But the problems with that line up are glaringly obvious aren't they. Coady isn't good enough for a back two, Kilman still has question marks, Moutinho and Neves likely aren't here and Trincao probably shouldn't be either and of course Jimenez is on the way down.
Reality is we need major work the next year or two and no doubt we are going to see some regression, the signs are already there.
A new CB for me would still be one priority and of course we need at least two midfielders to come in along with another striker and sadly our overhyped wide players probably need upgrading as well.
We have lacked a creative midfielder for many seasons now. Moutinho and Neves are a good fit in our 3-4-3 system. Our defensive record is one of the best, but we lack the goal threat, even though we have very good forwards.
But something just isn't clicking at the moment, however with results going our way, we may still grab a European spot.
So does Bruno stick with 3-4-3 or do what some are suggesting and switch to a 4-4-2. Methinks it'll be the former for now.
Yes, but Bruno did state that he wanted to change the system and the only way to do that is to invest in new players.
Read an item today saying that Benfica were after Bruno so we have to be careful we don't lose him.
Started to look like Bruno was going to go with a two up top set up but an injury and we had to throw that out the window thanks to our hopeless team building.
As for Bruno leaving, I don't think he will but you couldn't blame him given how poorly we have backed him so far.
I guess there's a whole other debate over whether a coach should adapt his system to the strengths of the players he has or coach the players to fit in to his system.
What Lage has done is largely the former but tactically within what is essentially Nuno's shape and formation he has evolved things quite considerably. His attention to detail when looking at the opposition and exploiting their weaknesses is impressive.
No coach ever had the luxury of being able to hand pick his perfect squad but it would be interesting to see what Lage could do if he had a blank slate and wasn't quite so restricted by the squad. At the current rate of squad development though its difficult to see whether he'll get the chance to build his own squad in any meaningful way.
This debate about moving to a back 4 has been ongoing for a long time now, well before Bruno arrived and I just don’t see it helping us with the players we currently have at the club. I think it would lead to us conceding more while not scoring many more.
Defensively I’m sure Jonny and Semedo could play in any formation. Same with Kilman and Boly. But Coady is excellent in the middle of a back 3 and as a captain but he has struggled when he’s asked to face up to attackers as he would have to in a 4. To take him away, particularly as the leader of the pack, would have an impact in the dressing room and as a key part of one of the best defences in fhe Premier League.
Midfield is where we can change. It’s time to move on from Moutinho and we might have to move on from Neves. As Bruno has recently said Ruben will be so difficult to replace as he makes a quality contribution both defensively and in setting up attacks. Whether he stays or goes we need to use the cheque book to change our midfield.
But up front is our weak area. Not because we don’t have good players but because we don’t have players that score enough. And I don’t think that’s a problem that gets solved by just changing formation. Raul hasn’t looked like scoring many all season, Podence, Hwang, Neto, Fabio, Trincao have never been consistent scorers in their careers. Fabio I think could become a scorer with more experience but the others will likely be worth half a dozen goals a season each, at best, regardless of what formation they play in. The solution to that lies in the cheque book not in the formation.
I’m all for moving from 343 to 4231 or 442 or 4141 but not without bringing in players more suited to those set ups
That's what I said in two lines.
Rumour mill predicting a Mendes swap shop in the summer with Traore going to Barcelona, Trincao to Sporting Lisbon and Matheus Nunos to Wolves. Think all parties would be happy with that if it happened
Watched Bayern batter Villarreal for 90 minutes then concede a breakaway goal to get knocked out of the champions league. Name to watch is the Villarreal centre back Pau Torres, be a great capture for someone
Yeah been a prospect for a while now
Wolves women had their biggest ever crowd at Molineux on Wednesday evening when 2,477 turned up to see them play Brighouse. Looked like they would celebrate being champions with a win but conceded twice in the last 5 minutes to draw 2-2.
U23s have two matches on Wolves TV over Easter. They are away at Middlesbrough on Good Friday at 14:00, then play at Molineux on Easter Monday evening at 19:00 against Newcastle
Rumours that Bayern are interested in Raul Jimenez. There could be quite a lot of movement this summer. It's looking more and more like a rebuild.
isn't lewa going to Barca?
The rumoured fee would be £25 million for Raul. That's a tempting figure for a player his age. Especially considering his injury too.
Yes, decent turn out last night, shame they couldn't hold out for the win, not unusual when you've wrapped everything up to take your foot off the gas I guess.
Makes you wonder whether there isnt a case for the club to develop a decent stadium pitch at Compton Park with spectator facilities for the youth, U23 & Women's teams. Im sure crowds would be higher at such a venue rather than hiring Castlecroft and Aggborough.
25m would be a very good price not gonna lie, he'd do well in Germany
could be a very different looking wolves next season
When I read that earlier, I did think it would be a good move for him actually at a good price. That's if its true of course. No way even at his best is Raul a direct replacement for Lewandowski. Who is though? There are so many contradictory rumours about Barcelona and their financial situation too. Would like to see him play in the PL before he retires, for us primarily but clearly that's not going to happen.
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Page 1 of 4
posted on 10/4/22
But for your disastrous start you would be in the European spots, so I suppose it’s starting next season with less injuries if possible, buying more creativity and improving your home record.
posted on 11/4/22
I'm not sure what we're debating right now, but for me we play 3CB's and 2 holding midfielders, it stifles our attacking intent, figured that was relatively obvious?
if we go 4-4-2 as of now I'd go
...............................Jose Sa...................
Semedo..........Coady.......Kilman..........Jonny
Podence..........Neves.........Moutinho.......Neto
.........................Fabio.........Raul.....................
semedo was a RB for Barca, who traditionally play 4 at the back, according to transfermarkt he's played RB for Barca 124 times, you don't get that many games for a top club if you're no good.(won 2 spanish titles and 1 spanish cup)
Jonny played over 200 games for Celta Vigo - another side that traditionally play a back four -so they both can certainly fulfil that role..
Mout and Neves will naturally sit anyway so that provides cover for our FB's getting forward
being able to then field 4 attacking players will surely help create chances, and you yourself said Fabio did well but was isolated vs the barcodes, so by playing him alongside another striker and with 2 wingers surely helps?
posted on 11/4/22
I wouldn't mind seeing both Fabio and Jimenez up front. It reminds me of the pairings we've had in the past with Dougan/Richards and Bull/Mutch.
Your line up looks good on paper, but there are those who don't think Coady is best suited in a back 4 and Semedo is best as a wing back. He played at RB for Barca, but at that time he was in a side that dominated others and didn't have much to do, generally.
I'll admit that your selection has a good balance and it'll be interesting to see if Bruno does go with a back 4 in any of our remaining games, but the reality is, we are still playing the same players who have yet to provide the goals we need. Not sure either Podence or Neto are good at defending when needed.
posted on 11/4/22
Semedo was first choice RB at barca for 3 seasons in which time they won 2 league titles, I'd say he's good enough.
Our side doesn't score many goals because we get so isolated up top, through slow ball retention/build up... Fabio barely got a sniff on Friday, and when he did there was no-one there to link from/to so by giving him a partner then it kills the isolation problem
Neto/Podence don't need to be great defensively that's the defenders jobs, all they need to do is be hard working and track the oppo FB back
regards Coady and Kilman the only way to find out is to play them as a two - if they don't take the chance either try Mosq and Toti or we bring some CB's in, in the summer
posted on 11/4/22
I like the look of Tino's 442, which wouldnt need to be a rigid old style one either with those players. We all know the the issue though is that the squad has been built around the 3CB 2WB system and we havent really got the CBs to play in a back four. Sacrifice Coady and you lose his leadership, sacrifice Boly and you lose his strength and size. I think Kilman can play there, but is the other option in the squad or do we need to go shopping for one?
posted on 11/4/22
comment by Oldgoldilox (U17303)
posted 16 seconds ago
I like the look of Tino's 442, which wouldnt need to be a rigid old style one either with those players. We all know the the issue though is that the squad has been built around the 3CB 2WB system and we havent really got the CBs to play in a back four. Sacrifice Coady and you lose his leadership, sacrifice Boly and you lose his strength and size. I think Kilman can play there, but is the other option in the squad or do we need to go shopping for one?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
truly I think we'll need to go shopping but we have half a dozen CB's gotta be worth trying through them first
posted on 11/4/22
If we are to go 4-4-2 then as Tino says the only way to find who is good enough is to play until we find the best combination.
Of course they will be practising in training so Bruno will have some ideas.
It would make for a more open game and we should have the attacking players to take advantage.
We will probably have to invest to get the right pairings throughout the team though.
posted on 11/4/22
our spine has been neglected for so a few years now anyway, so if and its a big IF, Bruno wants his 4-4-2 implemented here, then in theory with us due a revamp it kills 2 birds, we're pretty blessed on the flanks, just the CB/CM/ST pairings we need to look at
posted on 11/4/22
4-2-3-1 would be my preferred choice of system and with the players we actually have then this would be the best line up I guess.
.............Sa
Semedo, Coady, Kilman, Jonny
.........Moutinho, Neves
Neto, Podence, Trincao
..........Jimenez
But the problems with that line up are glaringly obvious aren't they. Coady isn't good enough for a back two, Kilman still has question marks, Moutinho and Neves likely aren't here and Trincao probably shouldn't be either and of course Jimenez is on the way down.
Reality is we need major work the next year or two and no doubt we are going to see some regression, the signs are already there.
A new CB for me would still be one priority and of course we need at least two midfielders to come in along with another striker and sadly our overhyped wide players probably need upgrading as well.
posted on 11/4/22
We have lacked a creative midfielder for many seasons now. Moutinho and Neves are a good fit in our 3-4-3 system. Our defensive record is one of the best, but we lack the goal threat, even though we have very good forwards.
But something just isn't clicking at the moment, however with results going our way, we may still grab a European spot.
So does Bruno stick with 3-4-3 or do what some are suggesting and switch to a 4-4-2. Methinks it'll be the former for now.
posted on 11/4/22
Yes, but Bruno did state that he wanted to change the system and the only way to do that is to invest in new players.
Read an item today saying that Benfica were after Bruno so we have to be careful we don't lose him.
posted on 11/4/22
Started to look like Bruno was going to go with a two up top set up but an injury and we had to throw that out the window thanks to our hopeless team building.
As for Bruno leaving, I don't think he will but you couldn't blame him given how poorly we have backed him so far.
posted on 11/4/22
I guess there's a whole other debate over whether a coach should adapt his system to the strengths of the players he has or coach the players to fit in to his system.
What Lage has done is largely the former but tactically within what is essentially Nuno's shape and formation he has evolved things quite considerably. His attention to detail when looking at the opposition and exploiting their weaknesses is impressive.
No coach ever had the luxury of being able to hand pick his perfect squad but it would be interesting to see what Lage could do if he had a blank slate and wasn't quite so restricted by the squad. At the current rate of squad development though its difficult to see whether he'll get the chance to build his own squad in any meaningful way.
posted on 12/4/22
This debate about moving to a back 4 has been ongoing for a long time now, well before Bruno arrived and I just don’t see it helping us with the players we currently have at the club. I think it would lead to us conceding more while not scoring many more.
Defensively I’m sure Jonny and Semedo could play in any formation. Same with Kilman and Boly. But Coady is excellent in the middle of a back 3 and as a captain but he has struggled when he’s asked to face up to attackers as he would have to in a 4. To take him away, particularly as the leader of the pack, would have an impact in the dressing room and as a key part of one of the best defences in fhe Premier League.
Midfield is where we can change. It’s time to move on from Moutinho and we might have to move on from Neves. As Bruno has recently said Ruben will be so difficult to replace as he makes a quality contribution both defensively and in setting up attacks. Whether he stays or goes we need to use the cheque book to change our midfield.
But up front is our weak area. Not because we don’t have good players but because we don’t have players that score enough. And I don’t think that’s a problem that gets solved by just changing formation. Raul hasn’t looked like scoring many all season, Podence, Hwang, Neto, Fabio, Trincao have never been consistent scorers in their careers. Fabio I think could become a scorer with more experience but the others will likely be worth half a dozen goals a season each, at best, regardless of what formation they play in. The solution to that lies in the cheque book not in the formation.
I’m all for moving from 343 to 4231 or 442 or 4141 but not without bringing in players more suited to those set ups
posted on 12/4/22
That's what I said in two lines.
posted on 12/4/22
Rumour mill predicting a Mendes swap shop in the summer with Traore going to Barcelona, Trincao to Sporting Lisbon and Matheus Nunos to Wolves. Think all parties would be happy with that if it happened
posted on 12/4/22
Watched Bayern batter Villarreal for 90 minutes then concede a breakaway goal to get knocked out of the champions league. Name to watch is the Villarreal centre back Pau Torres, be a great capture for someone
posted on 12/4/22
Yeah been a prospect for a while now
posted on 14/4/22
Wolves women had their biggest ever crowd at Molineux on Wednesday evening when 2,477 turned up to see them play Brighouse. Looked like they would celebrate being champions with a win but conceded twice in the last 5 minutes to draw 2-2.
U23s have two matches on Wolves TV over Easter. They are away at Middlesbrough on Good Friday at 14:00, then play at Molineux on Easter Monday evening at 19:00 against Newcastle
posted on 14/4/22
Rumours that Bayern are interested in Raul Jimenez. There could be quite a lot of movement this summer. It's looking more and more like a rebuild.
posted on 14/4/22
isn't lewa going to Barca?
posted on 14/4/22
The rumoured fee would be £25 million for Raul. That's a tempting figure for a player his age. Especially considering his injury too.
posted on 14/4/22
Yes, decent turn out last night, shame they couldn't hold out for the win, not unusual when you've wrapped everything up to take your foot off the gas I guess.
Makes you wonder whether there isnt a case for the club to develop a decent stadium pitch at Compton Park with spectator facilities for the youth, U23 & Women's teams. Im sure crowds would be higher at such a venue rather than hiring Castlecroft and Aggborough.
posted on 14/4/22
25m would be a very good price not gonna lie, he'd do well in Germany
could be a very different looking wolves next season
posted on 14/4/22
When I read that earlier, I did think it would be a good move for him actually at a good price. That's if its true of course. No way even at his best is Raul a direct replacement for Lewandowski. Who is though? There are so many contradictory rumours about Barcelona and their financial situation too. Would like to see him play in the PL before he retires, for us primarily but clearly that's not going to happen.
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