Liam Keen: Disorganised, hurried and panicked - Wolves’ new low
Wolves have reached a new low in Bruno Lage’s first season in charge.
There is a way to lose games and the manner in which Wolves collapsed against Brighton was both embarrassing and inexcusable.
The most damning indictment is that Brighton hardly had to get out of first gear to win the game as Wolves rolled over with ease.
That, unfortunately, has been a running theme in the last three games as neither Newcastle or Burnley had to put up much of a fight or play particularly well to beat Wolves.
It was truly a tough watch in the first half at Molineux. Wolves flattered to deceive without, at any point, looking dangerous.
They handed two penalties to Brighton – although the first one may have been harsh – and only the post meant Wolves were not 2-0 down at half-time.
Looking at how Wolves conceded the goals, it summed up their performance and recent failings.
Willy Boly needlessly tripped Danny Welbeck for the second penalty, that was finally converted, and highlighted Wolves’ unusually poor defensive displays of late. Disorganised, hurried and panicked.
Look at the second goal. Raul Jimenez tried and failed to hold the ball up and find space in between the lines, Brighton break forward and Leandro Trossard finishes – having hardly been challenged.
That goal perfectly sums up Wolves’ struggles going forward and Jimenez’s personal failings.
The third goal – Yves Bissouma picks the ball up on the edge of the box and no player in gold is anywhere near close enough to him as he picks out the bottom corner.
Brighton deserved the three points, there is no doubt about that, but they were handed it on a silver platter by players in gold that were anything but a shining light.
Looking back at January when Wolves were flying and firmly in contention for the top four, it was always known that this team would go through a bad patch and the making of them would be how they get themselves out of it.
The consecutive losses in February to Arsenal, West Ham and Crystal Palace seemed like the worst of it as Wolves showed some desire to come out the other side of that spell.
But now, they are in a real fight to stop the season from fizzling out. This current spell is certainly the worst of the season and the squad has an almighty task to come out of it with their reputations – at least in the short term – in tact.
It is important to mention that Wolves and Lage have still had a very successful season that could be argued as an over-achievement, but with the opportunities they have missed it is difficult to be anything but disappointed.
Too many individuals have gone hiding in recent weeks and that form could result in a disastrous end to the season. Right now it looks difficult to see where Wolves will pick up a single point but it would be typical of Wolves to now go to Chelsea and win – as they are somehow still alive in the race for Europe.
Ask any Wolves fan now and they will say the race is over, with Wolves still to play the top three in their last four games.
And in all honesty, they are probably right, but at this stage West Ham are practically begging Wolves to take seventh as they also keep slipping up. With a game in hand and only three points adrift it can still be done, as unlikely as it is, and that slither of hope is what the Wolves squad need to harness in the coming weeks if they can at least make it a respectable end – or pull off the impossible.
