5 Lessons from wolves victory over west ham

This was, undoubtedly, one of the most pivotal games of our season: win and we go 12 clear of the relegation spaces and can start (with a little assurance) looking up the table rather than anxiously behind us; lose and the gap between 17th and 16th widens to an almost insurmountable 11 points and dooms us to a nervy end to the season. Where I would prior have gone into a crunch match like this with foreboding and pessimism, I was oddly positive going into this game, adamant that we would not achieve the same fate as the reverse fixture – a 2-1 loss at the London Stadium, most notable for the embarrassing infighting after the final whistle which resulted in our captain resigning his role and being promptly shipped to Galatasaray in January.

 

Sure enough, this was a transformed, landmark game for our season, a real symbol of the changes Pereira has implemented, not least from the team spirit shown at full time. They battled for every ball, played free flowing attacking football and (at long last) kept a clean sheet! Hopefully, signs of things to come…

 

It has been a fair while since I have properly enjoyed watching a Wolves display without shredding my fingernails to within an inch of their lives, yet that first half performance was one of the most composed and classy we have played all year in my opinion.

 

The most marked difference for me is undoubtedly the obvious structuring and defensive changes; the back three looked unbreachable for large parts and were far better at progressing the ball forwards than we have been prior – our backline has a habit of getting scared, laying it back to the keeper who lumps it forwards to allow the opposition to regalvanise and attack us once again.

 

However, the arguably odd composition of Toti, Agbadou and Doherty has proved itself very solid in recent weeks and excellently linking with the midfield making us play through the lines with an ease and quality we haven’t been privy to for months, carving out well-crafted attacks at will.  This has become the prized possession of the side: the midfield. Munetsi had a good, solid game and ran himself into the ground, Andre was excellent once again, barely putting a foot wrong all night, yet his classy performance was outshone substantively by the majesty of Joao Gomes. Fresh off signing a 5 year deal this afternoon, he demonstrated to the Wolves fans and the world why he is one of the best at what he does in the league and why he is deserving of a place in that Brazilian National team. He was his classic tireless self in the midfield, fracturing the West Ham midfield single-handedly but also played a more attacking role than we have come to expect from him in recent years, taking players out of the game on the half-turn at ease and driving at the heart of the West Ham defence not least for that incredible move resulting in Munetsi hitting the crossbar in what would have been an excellent team goal.

 

Semedo and Ait-Nouri were quality once again, Nelson the ever-reliable and Rayan showing a defensive side to his game as well as his flair in the attacking half.

 

In attack, Bellegarde and Strand-Larsen continued their brilliant form from the last few weeks, Strand-Larsen adding another to his tally, taking him to double figures for a debut Premier League season in a struggling side. Just an all round quality performance throughout the whole match but especially in the first half.

 

It was almost inevitable and extremely predictable for us Wolves fans that once that spectacle of a first half was through and the finest of margins that had denied us a 2-0 lead and a little breathing space, that the second half was going to be a tricky watch – and it so obliged.

 

West Ham came out swinging on the front foot after they had been comprehensively played around in the first half yet Wolves in the opening stages had all of their attacks nullified. Then came the scrappiness that characterised this half: little scraps and incessant fouls broke up the game throughout yet Wolves still appeared fairly assured throughout.

 

It was an opportunity for us to see if this side are capable of grinding out a result against a physical, well drilled side – and they delivered. It was a great demonstration of game management; admittedly not as easy on the eye as it is to see Liverpool, City or Arsenal play sides into the ground to defend a lead yet it worked in it’s own way.

 

Although I didn’t enjoy watching it all too much, with retrospect it was quite refreshing to see Wolves finally score a goal and actually defend the goods they worked for.

 

After his calamitous conduct at Bournemouth, Matheus has attracted a lot of attention, both good and bad: transfer rumours for top sides; questions about his commitment and loyalty; criticisms of a lack of discipline, all culminating in this weeks newspaper interview and his subsequent rebuttal. All of this has magnified his role within the Wolves side and could easily distract the team.

 

I think we can all admit that before the FA Cup game we were incredibly optimistic going into this run of games against winnable sides, but were all hindered by the question afterwards: can this side do it without their main man, Matheus Cunha?

 

They have responded with 7 points from a possible 9 – yes they can. Strand-Larsen and Bellegarde have stepped up in their respective roles to make up for his absence, Joao Gomes and Andre have become one of the league’s most formidable midfield partnerships and the defence has become ever more confident.

 

Whilst it is irrefutable that Cunha is vital to this Wolves side and makes us a far better team when he plays, his absence has not been the horrendous consequence the media portrayed it to be, confirming Pereira’s constant insistence that he is forging a team which is not a ‘one man team’ but a sum of the parts.

Whilst still mathematically possible obviously (and I won’t explicitly say I am confident) Wolves can begin to feel a little comfort heading into the final 8 games of the season and look to the future.

 

The next transfer window is going to be make or break especially for the owners: are we going to invest, have an identity again and try to compete or maximise profits whilst sacrificing the football? I see it as a matter of time before Cunha’s £62.5 million release clause is triggered – to be frank, any side would be stupid not to sign him and a player of his calibre would be foolish not to consider moving up in the football world at such a point in his career.

 

However, I am reassured by the recent quickfire long term contracts for Yerson Mosquera and Joao Gomes, it suggests that we are prioritising a spine of a team to build around. When Nuno joined, he said he was building a spine around Boly, Neves and Jota; it appears Pereira’s incarnation of this is going to be Mosquera, Gomes and Strand-Larsen. A core of young, quality players to build off as a foundation is vital to long term success for us. many others are very important to retain yet we may have to accept the losses of certain players such as Semedo and Cunha.

 

The side needs a strong window and a long pre-season under the Pereira regime (I envisage his training camps being almost military for conditioning the players and creating a new identity.) Give the man some resources and see what we can do. COYW!