Topic: Wolverhampton Wanderers

[JP!]

Fans aside, I thought they did pretty well, pressed well and harried us, for about 60 minutes, then the muscle injuries etc started to kick in. Didn't look fit to me.

[bradders1011]

That's why I wasn't too concerned at 1-0 down- they were never keeping up their press for 100 minutes. They were sprinting at everything, that's why we lost ever 50-50 first half, was always going to regress and start leaving spaces. O'Neill's got them trying stuff though, might stay up if they can string something together and get some luck, but they look very Championship to me.

[Red-Soldier]

There can't be many areas with football teams where the poverty songs aren't utterly lacking in self-awareness after more than a decade of Tory incompetence, but some of the worst ones for singing them do seem to contribute greatly to food banks organised by their club or fan groups, so you wonder how things don't click and they realise the connection between their idiotic songs and those endeavours.

Genuine question.  How many working class people can afford to go to the footie now? 

[redgriffin73]

Love a flop to the floor holding their head or face, these.

[Black Bull Nova]

I think O'Neill looks a decent manager from the evidence of the last 12 months, I thought they'd be down fighting at the bottom but look OK for safety without glory, not sure I can say the same for Bournemouth

[Zimagic]

I think there's a high level in the PL that most teams can play to, but the differences between clubs being for how long and what end-product they can conjour out of it. Wolves are in the group of teams that can spike high, are ok converting the few chances they get but also can't maintain their high for very long. The rest of the game essentially comes down to being able to defend long enough for their chances to count.

Another striker (or the same striker on another day) would have had them 2-3 up, they carved out clear chances while they were in the ascendency. Actually, the goal was one of the harder to score of those they created.

Once we stared cutting off their supply and stopped giving away the ball in the 2nd half, you never really felt that Wolves were going to add to their goal, so it became a question of being able to defend their lead. Which they couldn't, but maybe will against other opposition.

I think they'll be fine. A couple of wins and they will end up comfortably mid-table.

[disgraced cake]

I think O'Neill looks a decent manager from the evidence of the last 12 months, I thought they'd be down fighting at the bottom but look OK for safety without glory, not sure I can say the same for Bournemouth

Not surprised he looks a decent manager, he spent time learning at Liverpool after all  I was impressed with what he done at Bournemouth. Wasn't winning every week or smashing teams playing great football, but they won a few games I thought they had little chance in (including against us) and had them save with weeks to go last season. Shame they couldn't beat Everton to send them down though.

Wolves aren't great but again by April time or so I imagine they're safe.

[rafathegaffa83]

Last couple of years they've stayed up despite having a dreadful time scoring because they were defensively solid enough to pick up points. They're really defensively poor this season. But they do have one of the best keepers in the bottom half. I still think it's either them or Everton as the likely established PL side to go down

[Lynndenberries]

Cunha is an enigma. Look so good until he gets into the box and then he is a mess.

[Red-Soldier]

I think O'Neill looks a decent manager from the evidence of the last 12 months, I thought they'd be down fighting at the bottom but look OK for safety without glory, not sure I can say the same for Bournemouth

I think the new owners at Bournemouth, made a big mistake getting rid of him.

[rafathegaffa83]

I'd have thought in the summer Wolves were a certain favourite for relegation. Lopetegui quit the week prior to the season beginning, Wolves were massively hamstrung by Profit and Sustainability, they lost most of their midfield (Neves, Moutinho, Nunes), had scored a mere 31 PL goals last season and sold players who had provided 54% of their scoring last season. O'Neil has done a remarkable job with little to work with. Even if Everton didn't have a points deduction, Wolves would still be two points ahead of them, despite them dealing with their own financial chaos. They're also level on points with Chelsea.

Interestingly, Wolves are one goal away from equalling last season's goal scoring output. They've managed to get plenty of goals out of Cunha and Hwang. Both have already equalled or scored more goals than Wolves' top scorers in each of the previous three seasons. Wolves haven't scored more than 38 in the league over the past three seasons, which this season they'll likely surpass with ease. It'll be interesting to see how they fare without Hwang, but given the extent of their layoff, they might only miss him for 4-5 games.

[Black Bull Nova]

I think the new owners at Bournemouth, made a big mistake getting rid of him.

Both Wolves and Bournemouth appear to be vindicated (so far), bizarre