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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:01:24:14:17:28 by Ivybridge Wolf.

So... now Adama Traore seems to have joined the injury list as he is not in tonight's squad. Morgan Gibbs-White makes his first start of the season and Rui Patricio replaces John Ruddy in goal. It's difficult to see where the goals are going to come from, but Everton are also below strength with Calvert-Lewin out and Richarlison on the bench. Line-up:

Agree about the goals .... only Neto looks likely on recent form ...... but you never know.

On paper, this has a draw written all over it but hopefully Donk can support the front play and help to create a few chances and space ..... that'll help Moutinho and Neves to better control the midfield and supply some decent balls, a bit like versus Palace.

UTW!

Again a very young and inexperienced subs bench. Can only hope that we can avoid any further injuries or this season will soon start to become quite desperate.
Should be a good game which I think we can edge given a bit of luck and a following wind.

Just been watching Sheffield Utd get their first win of the season over Newcastle who had Fraser sent off for two yellows. Pleased for them - there can be no enjoyment from watching a team fail the way have so far this season, but have to say they are still very poor in attack & needed a penalty to win.
The defeat puts Newcastle three points behind us but we will have played a game more after tonight. I was thinking at the weekend just how poor they are, considering the massive number of first team players they have in their squad.

Fabio? MGW? There is a lot for Neto to do here, although he gets better every game. Should be interesting to see when Cutrone gets on but this one could go any direction.

I hope RAN adapts quickly to playing in a back four as he won’t have Saiss mopping up behind him

Cagey start by both teams. Not clear yet who is our striker! MGW has a huge chance to prove himself tonight



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:01:12:20:20:19 by Cheshire wolf.

Iwobe scores easily after a good cross from Digne no chance for Rui
Wolves 0 Everton 1

Semedo has his work cut out tonight up against Digne who is quality

Good play leads to Semedo earning a corner which Ruben Neves converts - from inside the box after a fine cross by RAN
Wolves 1 Everton 1

Good cross by Neto & a sharp save by Pickford to deny Silva

Good match, well since we woke up!

Great Ruben finish ...... and in the box!! Even Silva goes close.

COYW

Rodriguez sets up Iwobi but his shot is easily collected by Rui. Good to see Raul in the stand

We’re playing some reasonably stuff. Neto playing with real purpose again.

Having said that, we look better going forward

Neves tests Pickford, but even though it’s going wide he concedes a corner.. some more good play by Neto but his cross is just too high for Fabio. Saiss intercepts a cross & concedes a corner which is cleared.

Fabio needed to gamble to get on the end of Semedo’s cross. MGW gets a free kick but wasted

Stream keep failing but looks like we have recovered and seem to have the upper hand at the moment.
Great Neves goal.

MGW to RAN and a good ball over for Donk to hit and he shafts it!!

Danger man Digne puts a good cross over which RAN slams out for a corner which James heads over. Into 1 added minute, and the half finishes even.
A very close and enjoyable game to watch with two teams missing important players. Everton started well scoring after 6 minutes, but Wolves stuck to task, earned a corner & when RAN put a superb pass over to Neves he slotted home - his first Wolves goal from open play within the box.
All to play for Integrum second half
Wolves 1 Everton 1

That half went quickly!!
Wolves on top for large periods and GREAT seeing Neves get one from inside the box.
Here we go. Fabio to get two in second half?

Decent half of football. Entertaining.

We look better when going forward but still not creating many clear cut chances. I thought we responded well after the Toffee goal, and our goal was very good. Great to see the excellent run from Ait Nouri and a lovely volley / pass into the net by Neves.

Ait Nouri and Semedo both look so much better supporting the attack than when defending against skilful wingers!

Very much all to play for in the second half.

When do you think we might see Cutrone on? I say the 65th minute.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:01:12:21:12:00 by Ivybridge Wolf.

Quote:

chicagowolf
Here we go. Fabio to get two in second half?

If only!! I think it would be pleasing to see MGW get one too!

Quote:

Cheshire wolf

Quote:

chicagowolf
Here we go. Fabio to get two in second half?

If only!! I think it would be pleasing to see MGW get one too!

Do think he is doing well but the confidence thing can be terrifying.
Think Cutrone will be on before 65th minute though.

Agricultural foul on Neto in full flow by Doucoure for a yellow card. Neto still down hurt& we can’t afford to lose him too! At least that was Doucoureis 5th card so he misses their next game.

Neto is up but clearly still feeling his knee. Joao puts the free kick on Donk’s head but too high. Neto back on the pitch

Time to replace Fabio with Cutrone in my opinion

Ki-Jana Hoever ready to join the game. I suspect he’ll replace MGW & help Semedo deal with Digne

As guessed MGW off & Hoever on. Gomes replaces Davies for E’ton

Hoever is playing ahead of Semedo on right side with Neto on the left. Holgate goes through Neves for a yellow card. Wolves putting the pressure on in attack. Neves tries one of his specials and is only just wide with Pickford beaten!

Cutrone & Richarlison being prepared to come on.

Good stop by CC to deny Iwobi. Richarlison replaces Sigurdson. Ball floated into our area and Keane puts it into the far corner with a fine header above Saiss
Wolves 1 Everton 2

Cutrone on for Silva

Great goal but really gutted.

Neves a whisker away, hits the post ...... really unlucky.

Very poor corner by Joao when we needed better. Free kick for handball to Wolves in a very promising position. Hope Ruben can work his magic again. Sadly it hits the top of the upright!
Joao replaced by Vitinha. Coleman replaces Rodriguez

5 minutes to be added

Soft free kick conceded by Semedo & yellow carded. 5 added minutes to play

We’re struggling to find a way to break down their defence now. Neto earns a corner but we can’t connect

Hoever bumps into Richarlison who falls immediately again & Hoever gets a yellow card! Very annoying ! All over and we lose a good game. Same problem as usual in that we are without a striker to aim for. Our midfield including Neto played very well and created a great deal. We fell to a sucker punch when Gomes put a Gloria ball into the area & Keane got above our defence and put a splendid header in. A good game to watch, but wrong result!!
Bring on West Brom!
Wolves 1 Everton 2

Still growing into our new formation (s) I guess but whilst we can look quite effective going forward it is at the expense of our defence so a decision needs to be made, back to the tried and trusted until our squad is made stronger by the return of some of the wounded or start to look more and more like a lower half team.
RAN is a real talent in the making but Marcal or Jonny are better defensive options.
Silva over Cutrone every time for me.
Onwards and upwards I suppose, we must turn the corner at some point.

Awful start but got into the match well.
Good work by Ait-Nouri for the goal and good finish from Neves who for me was our best player and is looking more like his best and is shooting more like we know he can.
I'm not convinced that Cutrone is the answer thinking to what he was like when he was with us before but I think it's time to start him now as Fabio just doesn't look ready, not strong enough.
I know some are keen on a back four but I much prefer us to play a back three. We look far more solid and since we have been switching between a three and a four we've been conceding more goals. Defensively we were always fairly sound before.

Poor 2nd half, never really looked like scoring except for the neves free kick. You had the feeling we would get caught by a sucker punch from Everton and sadly that's what happened. If you struggle to score goals you are always going to be up against it. We desperately need someone up front who can put the ball in the net, if nuno thinks silva or cutrone are the answer he is kidding himself. I know fabio is a young lad and needs time and hes been throwed in the deep end but it's obvious he's not ready. Cutrone didnt do it first time round so why do wolves think he might do it now, it's desperate stuff for me. I fear if we don't get some quality striker in we could yet be sucked into a relegation scrap. They say one player doesn't make a team but rauls injury looks like it's ended out season unfortunately. Not looking forward to the Albion game one bit now!

Didn’t deserve to lose that but didn’t create enough to win it. A real chocker to have lost it though, a good winning goal, sadly.

Fine margins to be honest and we played some nice neat stuff at times, though we all know the problems and they continue, rather alarmingly. Since December, in the league, P8 W1 D2 L5 F8 A15. That is very poor form.

The Palace performance, albeit in the cup and also passages of play in a number of matches, including tonight, leads me to believe we will hold our own in this league this season but our league position does not lie. Football is all about scoring goals and we just don’t create enough chances full stop ..... meaning when we do get one, it must hit the back of the net. Too often it doesn’t.

Playing one up front, as we do, is really tough for any front line player but in Jimenez we have a man who can lead the line so well with this set up. Without him, well, it’s there for all to see. Poor. Silva is young, he’ll get better but he is not currently up to the job. We are told he has incredible potential but When I think back a few years, I got really excited when I first saw Robbie Keane break into the side as a 17 year old and with good reason. Does anybody feel that when they watch Silva? If he was the usual youngster, he’d be in the U23s with rapid effect by now but perhaps his elevated price tag has led to a prolonged starting position? Moreover, I don’t think I would be writing this if we hadn’t have spent £35M on the lad, just commenting he needs a break from first team football or a loan. He needs to be taken out of the picture, to protect and look after him and let others lead the line ....... but as I said, playing the single centre forward role for Wolves is a tough job at the moment. Maybe Silva will come good. I hope so, it will mean the growing question mark I have will be well and truly shoved in my face !! Perhaps he would be more of a threat in a front two?

Anyway, all is not lost, there were plenty of positives about the match night, despite the gutting result. The midfield and Ait Nouri and Semedo looked decent, the latter two when going forward (rather than defending!!), Neto, of course. A great goal from Neves who was so unlucky not to score with that free kick.

So, Brush ourselves down, pick ourselves up and look to get out there and take the match to the Albion on Saturday.

UTW!!

Like you said ivy I remember being so excited by a young Robbie Keane but I'm struggling to get the same vibe with silva I hope he proves me wrong. If we had spent maybe 1 or 2 million on him and it didn't work out fair enough I think wolves could live with that, but to spend 35 million on a kid who is totally unproven at this level seems a little bit crazy to me. I hope for wolves sake he comes good if he doesn't its one hell of an expensive mistake.

Good posts.
Re. Silva, he is young and inexperienced but no striker in the world is going to score unless the team behind him make chances for him to threaten the goal and that is not happening. He has missed a couple of opportunities but so does Raul and we don’t berate him for it.
I think that our approach play is too pedestrian, watching last nights game it was interesting to see that when Everton defenders gained possession they invariably moved quickly forward with the ball, often to the halfway line something our defence rarely does. We should press more and be more adventurous not just relying on our wide players to produce crosses often met with few players in the box. Shabani was on the bench last night, he arrived with a bit of a fanfare so I would have liked him to have had a bit of an outing.
Ah well, back to my fantasy manager.

I’m trying to be balanced in my thoughts about Silva, particularly with some of the rabid comments coming from other sites which I do not endorse. He’s young with time to develop but I simply don’t get the price tag. I almost feel disloyal to the Wolves set up that has brought us such joy but I can’t see it with Silva. Thus my reference to Robbie Keane. In addition to him, despite in different positions and over the last 20 odd years, I will add Jolean Lescott, Neves and Jota to the list. The latter two were a touch older at 20 years, but all 4 of these players at a tender age demonstrated real quality. They oozed it and proved it. I don’t see that level of football excellence with Silva so can’t buy into the potential the club tells us about. That said, Bully was 21 before he broke through. But he’s no Bully either.
Equally I don’t want to slate him over a paucity of chances coming his way - Lupinehwoler is absolutely spot on there, hence my comments about what a gem we have in Raul (who misses chances too - he’s just a better finisher). I just hope, for the sake of Silva and Wolves, that my fears are utterly misplaced.
Unless we see a different style of play up front or formation e.g. playing 2 up front, goals will continue to be problematic for us to freely acquire with the players we have. Again, completely agree with being more adventurous and press hard, in particular from the midfield. Too many times, including last night, we had the likes of Moutinho pushing forward with the ball at his feet, in space, only to slow it up and pass sideways. Not just him, generally too slow and deliberate in attack.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:01:13:18:09:21 by Ivybridge Wolf.

I think you could add Neto to the list as well Ivy.
You are of course, correct about Fabio. He is 18, in a foreign country (although he has plenty of his countrymen around him), away from his family, in the middle of a pandemic and wasn't bought for this season. Together with the lack of chances, none of that makes it any easier for him but he's had a run in the side now and should be showing more than he is. He still doesn't look strong enough to me, gets knocked off the ball too easily. I would have thought his confidence could be taking a bit of a bashing and maybe he would benefit from being taken out of the side for now.
Hopefully he shows what he can do and I will be as happy as anyone else if he does and, as you say, some of the comments being thrown his way are completely over the top.