WOLVES FANS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS AFTER A DISAPPOINTING DEFEAT TO CHELSEA
GEORGE LAKIN
Plain and simple these players didn’t want it enough tonight.
When we upped the intensity at the end of the first half we had a blueprint to follow for the second. It shook Chelsea. Go and put the work in and there was every chance.
Long and short of it is they weren’t willing to put that kind of effort in for a full 45, and reverted back to passivity; choosing instead to roll over for a tummy tickle. Only really Joao Gomes stood up to be counted tonight.
Chelsea’s second was the worst for me- have to defend better from the front, a gentle jog masquerading as a press from the frontline. Need more than that in our position. So much more. And the less said about the return of the set-piece comedy saga returning the better.
We better hope we stay up by default with a ridiculously low points total if this the extent of effort and fight we’re going to see from this lot. If performances don’t improve fast, even that will be so much more than we deserve.
Embarrassing for large portions tonight. To allow Chelsea such a comfortable second half was criminal. Vitor has to be demanding so much more from them than that.
Lack of endeavour as much quality tonight. No manager worth his salt can continue to allow that to happen on his watch.
So, where next?
BLACKPOOL WOLF
For 15 minutes before half-time, we showed a bit of desire and passion, but before and after that, it was very poor.
Rayan Ait Nouri and Jorgen Strand Larsen had a nightmare; both were very poor today. Larsen comes too deep, is terrible in the air, and can’t hold the ball up. Ait Nouri’s positioning is poor; he’s easily beaten and doesn’t show the willingness to make up for his mistakes.
Sarabia is not the answer, in my opinion.
Cunha didn’t make his usual impact, but with 10 minutes to go, he’s still chasing every ball like João Gomes and R. Gomes when he came on.
I know Vitor Pereira has said Bellegarde and Hwang need support from the fans, but support is earned, and Bellegarde or Hwang just haven’t done enough in previous weeks.
I still think we have the players to keep us up. With a few more additions, the problem for me is that if we don’t get a shock result in the next couple of weeks, we could be too far behind the teams above us, and then we’re really drawn into a relegation battle.
Hopefully, the saving grace for us this season is Southampton, Leicester, and Ipswich.
I still think Sa is our number one; he’s better than Johnstone, but like I’ve been saying for two seasons, we need a new number one.
pam wells
Tough game tonight against Chelsea, and we really need to pick up some points. Come on, boys, we need this, and we can do it.
The first half started just as I feared. Chelsea were all over us, showing total dominance. We managed to hold them for the first 25 minutes before they scored after Cunha caught the ball awkwardly, and it went to their player, who scored easily. Although it was a bad move from our point of view, Chelsea deserved the lead. They kept coming at us, but suddenly, in the last 15 minutes of the half, we came to life and started to take the game to them. Eventually, we were rewarded when Doherty converted the corner. It was a pity that half-time came just as we had found our rhythm. Would we keep it up in the second half?
I expected some substitutions at half-time, but Vitor didn’t make any. Unfortunately, the second half started like the first. Chelsea kept coming at us, and eventually, they scored their second.
We then made three substitutions. Guedes came on for Sarabia, who hadn’t offered anything. Rodrigo Gomes came in for Ait Nouri, who didn’t have a good night, but the surprise was Bellegarde coming on for Andre. I thought he needed to come off as he was on a yellow card, but surely it was a chance for Doyle to come on.
The substitutions didn’t make much difference, although Rodrigo made a few good runs. They scored a third, and it was game over.
Very disappointing night. With another poor performance and Arsenal and Liverpool as our next two league games, I just don’t know where any points are coming from. We have a real fight on our hands.
Man of the match for never giving up and giving his all is João Gomes. Performance rating: 5. Vitor, you have a real job to turn this around.
KARL WHITEHOUSE
Wolves started the game nervously, allowing Chelsea more possession. We didn’t have the early chances, especially against a team that hadn’t won in five games.
From the start, we were not in the match, and we let them score the opening goal due to a mistake by Cunha in defending the free kick. Once again, we conceded from a set piece, which has been a problem this season.
We finally woke up in the last 15 minutes, managing to get back into the game after Chelsea had caused us issues. Ait Nouri struggled tonight, being placed on the left and then switched back to the right. He gave the Chelsea left-back space to score; it was a poor performance from him.
Larsen had little service tonight and played too deep at times. Vitor Pereira needs to address this. We have now conceded 19 set-piece goals this season, with another one tonight. Chelsea players had the space to score. What happens in training and warm-ups? Pereira has a job on his hands to sort out these issues.
We were not a cohesive unit tonight. There were too many mistakes, and our defence was poor. We failed to mark players, allowing them to score. Vitor needs to get the players to follow his game plan. Right now, it’s a frustrating time to be a Wolves fan.
The next three games on paper look tough. The big question is when will the next win come?
FINLEY SMITH
Such a poor performance tonight.
Chelsea moved the ball from one side to the other through our midfield far too easily. Yes, it’s Chelsea, but we need to make games tighter.
Larsen looked isolated again. Ait Nouri had a bad game. Agbadou was the only player who looked good tonight.
We are awful at defending set pieces. This is a continued problem.
Our next three games don’t get any easier:
Arsenal (H)
Aston Villa (H)
Liverpool (A)
We need to sign players to improve this squad and its depth. On to Arsenal at home. UTW🐺🧡