WOLVES FANS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS FOLLOWING ANOTHER WOLVES DEFEAT THIS TIME TO ASTON VILLA
BLACKPOOL WOLF
Probably the shortest fan review I will do all year because there’s not much to say. It’s a repeat of the Newcastle game. We take the lead, play well and sit back. Another frustrating day. I really don’t know where our first win will come.
PAM WELLS
We started the game very positively. We defended well and counter-attacked effectively, although at times we were a bit slow getting enough players forward. We mainly attacked down the left, with good work from Rayan Ait Nouri and Bellegarde.
When Villa’s Carlos made a poor pass, Cunha anticipated it well and scored a good goal. Instead of going on the back foot, we kept pressing and could have scored another.
I hoped it wasn’t another Chelsea or Newcastle performance, but it was, in fact, worse because we never looked like scoring and didn’t really have a shot at all.
With Liverpool coming up, I hope Mosquera’s injury isn’t as bad as it looked.
My man of the match was again hard to choose. There were three or four candidates in the first half, but none in the second half, so I am giving it to Cunha for his anticipation in getting his goal.
My performance rating is 5.5.
Bottom of the league.
LOUIE LEFEVRE
No shock to see us lose another lead. We refuse to ever go for a second goal when momentum favours us and you know it’ll inevitably come back to bite us. You simply cannot just absorb pressure for 60 minutes. It didn’t work here, it didn’t work against Newcastle. It just doesn’t work. O’Neil once more costing Wolves a win and a few players look like they just don’t believe in this system anymore.
Feel like I’m repeating myself but there were very few positives. Dawson is completely alone at the back with no support and Ait-Nouri looked good in attack for the first half an hour but is constantly caught asleep when it comes to defensive duties. Sam Johnstone also did fairly well, no fault of his for the goals. Tommy Doyle was a bright spark when he came on but he absolutely should have started.
We looked okay for a half but then threw it away. Only turning up for 45 minutes is becoming an unfortunate constant of GON ball. A depressing afternoon and frankly our fortunes aren’t going to change next week against Liverpool.
GEORGE LAKIN
What’s there to say that we aren’t all already feeling?
In a nutshell, GON are the days of clean sheets at Wolves.
You can’t just play well in a system for periods of games; that means the system doesn’t work.
Lots of talk about depth on the bench, but notice when players come on we capitulate. Yes, we have recognisable names on the bench but not a squad accustomed to the system.
With Yerson potentially out for a period of time now how can we possibly continue in a 4? The issue is it means we’re another CB short for the alternative system that requires an additional CB!
The club needs to be certain that Gary’s the man to fix this and find solutions against the odds now, because that’s what we need.. zero excuses.
To me he looks (and has always looked) unable/averse to grinding out results- worryingly, that looks like it might be our only option for the next few months.
FINLEY SMITH
Where do I start?
A strong first half for Wolves, dominating and keeping Villa Park quiet. Going into halftime 1-0 up was a major boost.
However, it has happened again. Wolves crumble in the second half. Villa got too comfortable and went on to win 3-1, deservedly. Not good enough. We keep going 1-0 up and then throwing it away. The pressure from Villa really got to us. A game lasts for 90 minutes, sometimes longer like today. Not 50 or 60 minutes. Questions need to be asked. Liverpool next up is a tough game. We need to step it up big time.
Man of the match ~ Andre
Performance rating ~ 6
SCOTT DRAME
What more can I say? Things haven’t really changed. Everything functions as it should. The first half of the match was promising, yet the second half didn’t pan out as expected. Cunha stood out with his impressive performance, and O’Neil’s tactics were spot on initially but seemed to lose their edge as the game progressed. While there was plenty to cheer about in the first half, the momentum just didn’t carry through. What could have caused the dip in performance? Was it a tactical error or simply the opposition finding their stride?
John taras
Another game that is difficult to feel positive about.
It’s frustrating because I believe we have a stronger squad this season with more depth. That’s a positive!
However, we outplayed Villa in the first half but only managed one goal. That’s a negative!
You know what’s going to happen in the second half. Another negative!
Instead of pushing for a second goal to secure the game, we retreat and invite pressure. That’s a negative!
Looking ahead, I can’t see many positives in the next few games.
But I still believe we can turn things around. GON needs to use his substitutes more aggressively and get fresh legs on the pitch earlier to secure our advantage.
We’ve got to push on for that second goal. We can’t just defend for half a game!
KARL WHITEHOUSE
We started the game brightly, causing problems for the Villa back line. Both sides were cancelling each other out, with neither goalkeeper facing any issues. We need to create more chances if we are going to get a result.
We got the opening goal with Villa struggling to clear the ball. Their defence had problems, and Cunha was on hand to score. We cannot stop here; we need to push for a second goal to try and put the game out of sight.
It would be worrying if we let Aston Villa back into this game. We have them on the ropes now, and we need to keep up the pressure if we want a result in this derby.
Villa started the game better than us, while we were slow off the blocks. We must be ready to expose the Villa back line in the second half and get that second goal. We cannot afford to be complacent.
Wolves did not show much pressing in the second half. We need more urgency from the team this season. We are a team that keeps conceding goals. We needed another goal, especially as we conceded at the same time as in the last game against Newcastle, letting the home side back in after a mistake we have seen too many times this season.
It is not ideal to lose a player to injury, with Mosquera being taken off. I hope it is not serious. After this, we conceded again from a Villa set piece, highlighting the need for a second goal. We have serious problems showing again.
We let Villa back into the game, and they responded with three goals. We didn’t close the game out. The answer is clear: the formation we are using needs to change to stop these goals. I don’t want to say it, but the relegation word could come up if this continues.
Gary is now under serious pressure to sort this team out. The problems need addressing. It’s not nice to see the club you support struggling with a lack of leadership on the pitch.