Wolves Fans' Verdict v Spurs: Promising signs but same old story

Rob Cartwright

Well, the results have not been good, but I’m feeling very positive as there has been progress in each of the three games. We are getting close to seeing something really special.

The midfield trio is now one we could only dream of a few years ago?

The defence has looked solid; if we can eliminate the odd individual error.

Like a “broken record” it is clear to everyone that we need a traditional centre forward. We’ve needed him for over a year, at least, and it’s gross negligence that we have started the season without one in place. Great to see Jimenez return so quickly, but he cannot do it on his own and it’s unfair to expect him to after his injuries.

We outplayed Spurs for the whole of the first half. Like the games against Leeds and Fulham, we created lots of half chances and a couple of golden chances but didn’t take them. Spurs came back stronger in the second half and Sa and the woodwork saved us. Collins lost his man once in the whole game and this was enough for Kane to score.

Fine margins indeed, but you have to stay switched on for every second at this level. Great strikers also take their chances. It was hard to take and hard on Collins, as he had played very well throughout and Kane had had little joy.

Bruno was able to make five substitutions, as the bench was much stronger with injured players coming back into contention. Jimenez, on after 59 minutes, did make a positive difference, as if to reinforce the need for another centre forward.

My man of the match was Neves. He may not shout or scream, but he leads by example and will make a fine captain. He looked very happy with his new team-mates around him. Guedes and Nunes both look great signings.

I think Podence and Neto had off days, when we really needed a forward player to step up and try and fill the massive void.

So it’s our usual slow start with the pressure to get a win starting to build.

We have the distraction of the cup this week. Expect a Preston win, most likely on penalties after a 0-0 draw.

Please Jeff – get a new forward in time to start against Newcastle!

Adam Virgo

A really positive first half performance against a very good Spurs side. The new additions settled in really well I thought and were a threat going forward.

We needed to take advantage when we were on top but didn’t really create any clear cut chances and not having a proper number nine with what we had probably limited us as well.

Spurs were the better side in the second half, they forced Sa to go long and they were able to win possession back very easily due to not having Raul on at that point.

Nathan Collins was having a brilliant game and Kane scoring seemed to knock his confidence a bit. It’s difficult marking one of the best strikers in world football for 90 minutes and he did a really good job for the majority. Defensively we were fine for large parts of the game.

I was really impressed with our midfield and Guedes was making some very good runs in behind Spurs’ defence. I wish Neto would have had more courage to run at Perisic and try to cause him problems but he got tackled once and then went safe every time after that. Defensively though, Neto did really well.

A lot of positive signs and if we continue to play like that, we’ll pick up points sooner rather than later. We just need to make the most of the chances we create and try to create better chances too with the amount of ball we can have in a game but I do think having Raul’s match sharpness back and another striker is needed, as well as other players adding goals too as we can’t just be solely reliant on the strikers and no one else.

Chris Ward

For the third game running now we’ve been the better team but failing to score has once again cost us dearly. The first half was the perfect showcase for what this new look Wolves side has to offer and once we finally click and add goals to our game there will be no stopping us.

20 shots at goal against a team set to play in the champions league this season and who finished fourth last season shows we certainly aren’t afraid to attack teams which is a breath of fresh air from the last couple of years where we heavily relied on sitting back and countering teams.

Guedes looked explosive and once up to speed he will be a fantastic addition to this team. He created chances, ran at defenders and drew fouls in good positions. Nunes looked calm and collective and showed excellent movement and passing range. He is going to be the real deal.

Jonny again looked off the pace and really doesn’t impact the game like he does at left back. With Somedo nearly at full fitness it won’t be long until we have some real competition for the full back roles.

Unfortunately, our domination of the game ended with the Moutinho substitution, we just struggled to keep possession after that and it allowed Tottenham to get a real handle on the game.

You could see the goal was coming, Tottenham ramped up the pressure hitting the bar and forcing Sa into an excellent save. Nathan Collins will be extremely disappointed to have lost concentration and let Kane escape him for the goal. Up until that point Collins was tremendous but in the premier league and against players like Kane all it takes is one small mistake and it can cost you so dearly.

There is plenty to be excited about however. We are one player away from completing the real spine of the team, something that’s been needed for a couple of seasons now. Lage needs to be given time to enforce this new philosophy and once the goals start coming there will be no stopping us.

John Lalley

A momentous Money Fest of a week at Molineux predictably ended with Wolves bankrupt again in front of goal seemingly no closer to solving what is fast becoming an intractable malaise.

In fact, it’s becoming utterly tedious in referring to the problem; players, coaches, systems, blame who or whatever you like, ultimately it continues to make not a jot of difference. Our season remains on a frustrating and damaging hold; our involvement in opposition penalty areas is at best negligible and at worst non-existent to the point of extinction.

Wolves comfortably subdued Tottenham during the first-half and had the subtle header from Nunes which defeated Lloris and missed marginally hit the target, maybe the final outcome may dramatically have been altered. For forty-five minutes our game plan was flawless, at least in two thirds of the field; Spurs were at a loss to fashion a response and their fickle supporters were quick to express their impatience at the interval.

But you were racked by the doubt that we had to hit the target somehow to take anything from this game. Spurs inevitably upped the tempo, our midfield control began to wane, we lost the 50/50 challenges and predictably cracked under pressure. Even with Son out of sorts, as long as Kane was on the pitch, Tottenham in glaring contrast to Wolves, carried an immense scoring threat. Mind you, the goal we did concede was infuriating; just about the oldest routine with the flick-on from a set-piece. Straight out of the Dougan/Richards repertoire way back in the 1970’s. Given our monumental impotence you fancied that spelt the end and that a potentially good afternoon’s work was destined to yield absolutely nothing.

And so it proved; Neto’s poor ball control wasted a promising, numerically favourable opportunity before our hapless problem was starkly emphasised late on when we might just have saved the game.

Outstanding play from Jimenez freed Dendoncker close-in providing his reactions were sharp. But he was simply too slow to react with no semblance of anticipation and awareness. He was lingering with no intent seemingly unaware that a game-saving chance was being offered to him.

The opportunity passed him by and he didn’t appear to notice; it just didn’t register. Both of the expensive imports Nunes and particularly Guedes showed flashes of quality before they faded to the periphery. With the staggering amount of money Forest appear to have agreed to snare Morgan Gibbs-White, my mind drifted back to over forty years ago when Manchester City were determined to take Steve Daley from Wolves almost at any cost.

The fee nowadays from City would be chickenfeed but at the time it was viewed as astronomical. Dales was a proven success at Wolves but his time at City developed into a recurring nightmare. Gibbs-White leaves the club as a success on loan in the Championship but with only moderate impact at Molineux.

Not saying that Gibbs-White will suffer horrors at the City Ground the like of which Daley endured at Maine Road, but it’s hard to see how Wolves could turn down such an offer. I was hopeful he would shine for us this season and fulfil his potential, not to be but I wish him well.

Clive Smith

Our first encounter this season against one of the big six. Nuno made us hard to beat and good without the ball and Bruno kept that going even now we are playing four at back. That is hugely reassuring. The worry was that a more advanced formation would have a negative impact on our resilience. We passed that test today at least.

The first sixty minutes was probably our best since we beat Villa back in April. We were dominant in midfield with the Neves and Moutinho combo working a treat. With the fluidity of the players in front of those two, plus the Ait-Nouri overlaps we were playing really well. It was a prolonged spell and better than the twenty minutes we started the second half with at Leeds.

There was a mixture of neat progressive passing and long balls where we tried to collect the second ball. In possession there were less sideways passing in our half and more tempo further up the field.

Against an obviously strong Spurs attack we held our own defensively too. Neto played slightly deeper and supported Jonny down our right. We could have done with Guedes doing more of the same to help Ait-Nouri. He looked outnumbered defending while also being the one charging forwards and backwards a lot. Kilman and the increasingly impressive Collins were both excelling at the back.

Sadly there was a blemish and that was losing Kane for the goal. A near post flicked header in the first half nearly cost us then, so it was disappointing we had not learnt from that.

Bruno was almost spoilt for choice with his substitute options, which he made full use of. Unfortunately they did not pay off, we never looked as potent after the changes.

Our obvious and long standing goal scoring issue remains. What do you do with a problem like Jimenez? Stick or twist? It’s a tough call. Lots of teams want a goalscorer, many of them willing and able to pay a lot more money than us. It will be interesting if anything changes in the remaining days of August.

Having praised our two centre halves, Neves was again impressive and Guedes deserves a shout out too. In the final third he looked sharp and offered a threat while Nunes, who featured less often, also looked promising.

Liam Kennedy

Three games in, one point, one goal. Wolves will need to start picking up wins soon, but just like last week and the week before there were positive moments but they are struggling to turn moments into goals.

Feels like I might as well copy and paste my comments from the previous two games. Every Wolves fan knows the issue, the team needs someone who can put the ball in the back of the net, and that was the difference yesterday, typical strikers anticipation got Kane in behind Collins for a simple tap in, and that’s the difference between winning and losing.

If we were ever going to score on Saturday it was going to come through Guedes, who looked very dangerous in the first half and looks like he could be a smart piece of business and hopefully be the one to finally replace Diogo Jota’s goals. Wolves haven’t won a game since Aston Villa at home, and whilst Saturday’s line-up on paper was one of the best I’ve ever seen, results and goals need to start coming sooner rather than later if Wolves are to be successful this season.

Newcastle, Bournemouth and Southampton next and I think it’s safe to say two wins are needed from this run of games before the annual Liverpool and City back to back games. Think a lot of the season rests on if Wolves are able to bring in a number nine in the next couple of weeks, because for a team with the second most amount of crosses in the league, I don’t believe 5ft 4 ins Daniel Podence is going to be connecting with many of them.

Also think it’s time to cash in on Traore before his contract runs out next season. An absolutely frightening player when he wants to be, but Saturday showed his head just isn’t it anymore, it’s probably best for both parties for him to move on and use this money to help fund a striker.

Fraser Bishop

Across the three games so far this season, there is already a pattern emerging which is reminiscent of August last year; Wolves’ all-round performances have been decent and warranted more than the solitary point we have so far, but a lack of cutting edge is a real concern.

The first half at Spurs was as good as we have played in long time. We played with real authority, looked a threat, and limited Spurs to one chance which came on the stroke of half time. The midfield trio of Neves, Moutinho and Nunes did their job as the debutant’s header nearly dropped in at the back post which would have been the perfect the way to introduce himself to Wolves fans.

Going forwards, I thought Guedes, on his first start, looked very lively and had a few shots on goal including one from a quick counter attack starting with Sa. As Raul was on the bench, this meant playing without a recognised striker again but there was plenty of movement and fluidity in the front three, however we were unable to make our pressure pay and were punished.

You would have anticipated Spurs improving in the second half (they could not have been much worse) and that proved to be the case as Kane’s header off the bar and Son’s shot off the post were warning signs, before Kane eventually did break the deadlock.

I suppose any goal conceded is preventable, to an extent, but this one definitely felt that way. Nathan Collins switched off for the first and last time in the game as Kane lost him to head home, but I thought the Irishman played very well overall on just his third start and showed his quality when he dispossessed Son in the box after a quick free kick.

With some new additions, and players coming back from injury, Wolves were able to make all five subs which was pleasing as Bruno rolled the dice in chase of the equaliser. It was great to see Raul back in action, who I think could improve on last season’s goal tally in a more attacking system with support around him and should start against Newcastle in my opinion.

Overall, I am hopeful that it will click in the coming weeks and that Wolves will begin to put some results together. With the attacking players we now have, an exciting newly merging centre back pairing and quality in midfield I think it will, but, and it goes without saying, we desperately need to start scoring goals and stop the rot. No goals in over four hours of football doesn’t make for good reading, and neither does no wins in the last 10 Premier League games.

Robbie Meakin

Toothless. Again.

This has been the story so often and for so long. Everything is there, but for the end result.

If you don’t score goals, you don’t win games and I can’t help but think that we’d be sat top on nine points if we’d have signed a striker before the season started. I think we’d have gone on to beat Leeds, we’d have brushed past Fulham and we’d have had the game wrapped up before Kane scored for Spurs on Saturday. Maybe that’s just me wishful thinking, but I’d say I’ve got a strong case.

Bruno has finally built a squad representing the brand of football that he wants to play but he’s just missing that last piece of the jigsaw. I feel that it’s clear for everybody to see that we could be a force and have a good push for Europe now and if we can finally start scoring goals, we’ll see what Bruno-ball is all about. There have been a few names knocking around lately and it’s going to be an interesting week or so until the transfer window shuts. Here’s hoping we keep hold of Pedro Neto though, as he continues to be linked with a move to Arsenal.

On positives though, it was fantastic to see Nunes and Guedes turn out in old gold and I’ve got no doubts that they’re going to take us to the next level with the quality they possess. With a couple of marquee signings like that, it will surely benefit us on the Ruben Neves front as a bonus. The club are showing ambition now and, if Bruno can convince him that he’s building the team around the new captain, it’ll do our chances of a new contract and keeping him happy the world of good.

Talking of new signings, I thought Nathan Collins had a solid game again, despite a momentary lapse of concentration which was punished by the England captain. I like the look of the Collins and Kilman partnership. Solid, young, ball playing centre backs.

Hopefully we’ll see some much needed minutes for Semedo and Jimenez against Preston, in preparation for the upcoming league games. With players such as them returning from injury, we’re starting to see a stronger bench with options. As nice as it is to see kids make the bench, we need strength in depth and it’s looking a lot better now.

We go again, in the search for our first win of the season, against Newcastle on Sunday and, after their performance against Man City, it looks like it will be a sterner test that some of us thought it might have been.

I’m going to finish by calling out anybody I saw calling for Bruno’s head on Twitter. It’s embarrassing. The first three points is coming. Trust in Bruno.

James Pugh

Another frustrating day for the boys in gold. Not even going to go into the “get a striker in” chat as that has been the base of my reports for the last two weeks.

Jimenez is back, Guedes looks lively and I am extremely confident that we will have a new, sexy striker wearing the third shirt with 19 per cent off everything in store by this time next week.

We absolutely dominated for the majority of the game but that lack of killer instinct has cost us. I do think people have been harsh on Collins, as he seems to have been used as the scapegoat for what was an unreal (and jammy) assist from Perisic.

He was a contender for MOTM before that, and Kilman, Neves and Moutiniho all put on commanding displays. Ait-Nouri and Jonny have clearly been putting the hours of training in because they look miles better, and it will be interesting to see who Semedo comes in for.

Podence and Neto (hands off Arteta) also had good spells, but once again failed to capitalise. The latter actually put on an uncharacteristically good defensive display. While it’s frustrating not to take any points away, there is a lot to be hopeful for and putting in a performance like that against a Conte team is a very difficult task. However, Wolves have three very winnable games coming up and urgently need to find their bite.