Wolves Fans' Verdict v Brentford: A defensive disaster

Clive Smith

Obviously the result and performance was disappointing. It would be insulting suggesting to look for any positives.

The opening half from the second minute onwards was frankly a horrendous defensive performance.

Brentford looked likely to score with each attack, every cross looked like being an assist.

It is too depressing to itemise all our faults in that half but, in summary, we looked all at sea defending our box while, further up the field, players constantly had their pockets picked and possession lost cheaply. The generally reliable Lemina and Gomes were at fault as much as the others.

Yet amazingly, with about 25 minutes gone we were still in the game. Brentford’s defence looked (almost) as shaky as ours at times. Having the resilience to bounce back twice was commendable. Cunha was rewarded for getting into the box to meet a cross while Larsen took a leaf out of Jota’s playbook, from last week, by getting ahead of his marker and steering the ball in.

Second best generally, but at that moment the scores were level. How annoying then that within just a few seconds our defence parted and we were behind again. The players reaction and body language told its own tale.

Then, just prior to half time, we saw a replica of the Chris Wood Forest goal with a header from a corner. When does our set-piece coach start work?

The game was gone. It must have been a tough session in the dressing room, not helped by the chorus of boos from some in the away end when the whistle had gone.

Somewhat surprising, there were no changes at the interval. Not sure who, but it just felt something needed to change. I don’t think anyone in the ground thought it would end 4-2. Remarkably, only at the end of the half did the score change. Wolves had responded, somewhat, having more of the possession but still requiring Johnstone to make more saves.

The media will probably label it as an eight goal thriller, but I had very few thrills.

A shout out for MOTM Larsen who provided a good target on halfway when our goal kicks went long. More often than not he won the header – too often there was not a colleague within 15 yards of him – leading to turnovers that could have been prevented.

Plenty for Gary O’Neil to ponder. Is five at the back in his thoughts? Does the risk/reward from a slow passing build-up have sufficient advantages? Is Lemina, Andre, Gomes the right blend in midfield? Where on the field gets the best from Lemina? Cunha?

Matt Gallimore

Last week I finished my fans’ verdict with a positive approach. I had empathised with our tough start to the season and with the group of players we have, I thought Brentford away was a good opportunity for us to get better, and start the process of picking up points. ‘Out of Darkness, Cometh Light’ was the final sentence of last week’s written piece. How wrong was I?

From the truly horrific showing on the pitch to the vocal dismay from the away end, it was as bad a day could get. We were abysmal!