Wolves 1-1 Saints - Reaction

[Viking Saint]

The weird thing is, I'm not worried about playing anyone in this division any more. We're playing some great stuff in places and even tonight, when we weren't quite at our best, we got an away point against a good side. Get Ralph signed up for 10 years please, and imagine what he could do with an owner who was prepared to splash out a little and add that bit more quality to the squad........

[Tamesaint]

Adams is really coming into his own these days. The pass for Theo's goal and the pass for Theo's miss were both excellent passes.

[S-Clarke]

Just now, Pilchards said:

Tough game.

Knew we would not play great football after the first 15 minutes as Wolves shut down the supply from Romeu and JWP.

Thought Che did well while Armstrong should of come off around 80 minutes plus Long was useless. Only on the pitch for his heading ability IMHO.

They made the game very compact from the off. They shut down the channels that Vestergaard has been using to pass forward, he had no where to go. It was a very tough game in that sense. Not much space and a very intense central midfield area.

[Dusic]

Fair result.

Bertrand and Djenepo nullified Traore well until the last third of the game where we also lost out in central midfield.

Not suprised Ralph lamented not having Redmond from the bench, he would have made a difference with 20 to go.

Walcott miss poor, but he had another good game and is covering for Ings very well.

 

[Colinjb]

A fair point, good game. Wolves are very tidy and we went for them. 

Will not dwell on Theo not taking that chance, Wolves spurned many of their own.

[Viking Saint]

1 minute ago, Dusic said:

Fair result.

Bertrand and Djenepo nullified Traore well until the last third of the game where we also lost out in central midfield.

Not suprised Ralph lamented not having Redmond from the bench, he would have made a difference with 20 to go.

Walcott miss poor, but he had another good game and is covering for Ings very well.

 

Each to their own, but I honestly don't think Redmond would've and that we're a better team without him

[hypochondriac]

Just now, Viking Saint said:

Each to their own, but I honestly don't think Redmond would've and that we're a better team without him

I think he would have been a better option off the bench than Long TBF.

[saint lard]

Happy to come away with point. 
we really did seem to revert to the routine of passing it back and sideways again and putting ourselves under pressure. 
so many loose passes. 
that pass by Adams to Walcott for what should’ve be put away was simply divine. 
bad miss by Walcott,but overall I thought he was fantastic. 
Djenepo....was abysmal. 
Alex McCarthy should take a bow. Brilliant. 

[HarvSFC]

That's the problem with being a good team again, our opponents will adapt to cancel out our strengths, rather than playing an open game. Newcastle tried it, but Wolves are a much better drilled team.

Feel we could have done more if we did have Ings. Walcott had a few more chances alongside the one on one miss. Adams is really coming into his own though. Both him and Vestergaard can pull off ridiculous passes from deep positions. Another good match from McCarthy also.

[Teddeer]

4 points from 2 games without Ingsy....what's not to like!

[Colinjb]

Just now, saint lard said:

Djenepo....was abysmal. 
Alex McCarthy should take a bow. Brilliant. 

Yeah, Djenny seemed utterly resistant to running at his opponent...... But that's what he does..... Maybe an instruction to play it safe?

And Alex was on fire.

[Forester]

Very good point against a team that I think are certs for top half finish again.  Not at our best, but in a way more pleasing to avoid defeat given this.

[Verbal]

Are there the signs of a strong striking partnership emerging between Walcott and Adams?  Seems so from these last two games...  

[Nordic Saint]

Let's face it, we thought we'd miss Ings very badly, and so 4 points from our last 2 games is a better return than many of us expected. We probably would have won tonight if he'd been playing  but the good thing is we've still managed to keep the unbeaten run going. Walcott has been a useful addition to the team but obviously his finishing isn't in the Ings class. It will be great to see Ings return in December. I really don't see the point of bringing Long on any more. It would have been good to see N'Lundulu come on instead. He'd have given Wolves a few problems and might even have scored.

[davefizzy14]

Happy with the point

It was always going to be a tough game as they are a very good side. McCarthy was awesome tonight, he kept us in it. Theo had a brilliant game topped off with a poachers goal. Adams was great too, the assist for Theo's goal and his all round game was very good. Good games from Armstrong, KWP, Djenepo and Bertrand too.

Ralph really has got us building something good onto Man Utd on Sunday - COYR 

Edited 23 November, 2020 by davefizzy14

[S-Clarke]

2 minutes ago, LeG said:

Thought we scored against the run of play and a sub was needed soon after. RH is like Poch. Brilliant plan A....almost no plan B.

Something didn't quite click tonight.

Anyway...if us not quite finding our mojo is a point away to Portugal...we've come a long way. Great to be a Saints fan at the moment. We will outwork united for 90mins. 

I think there are times you need to credit the opposition for stopping us. They closed all the avenues, condensed the middle of the pitch and were on us as quick as we are on teams....not many teams will execute such a tight game through the middle, it stopped our ways out really.

We tried to move it quickly, but they were on it. So credit to Wolves, the fact we still came away with a win is a good sign for me.

[austsaint]

2 minutes ago, LeG said:

Thought we scored against the run of play and a sub was needed soon after. RH is like Poch. Brilliant plan A....almost no plan B.

Something didn't quite click tonight.

Anyway...if us not quite finding our mojo is a point away to Portugal...we've come a long way. Great to be a Saints fan at the moment. We will outwork united for 90mins. 

Good summary.   And when Ralph did react against the Wolves momentum, Shane Long was the wrong player; offers so little these days - Diallo was probably the early sub we needed.   Great point just the same against a side with great attacking threat.   Theo's miss was crucial, but in the end it was a hanging on draw.   First time for a while our midfield has been outpointed and we had a lot to thank McCarthy for.   Despite losing possession once or twice Walker-Peters continues to impress and surely all Che Adams doubters are changing their minds.

[saintwbu]

I think Wolves were always going to be one of our toughest tests because they are happy to negate the opposition and have the quality to do it. I actually think there are better teams who we would fare better against because they would want to go toe to toe. Happy with a point, although i’ll be replaying that Walcott chance over and over in my head all week. 

[JRM]

50 minutes ago, The Cat said:

Going 2-0 up wouldn't have necessarily been game over, they had loads of chances and if it wasn't for McCarthy and some bad finishing could have scored a few.

Very happy with a point. 

 

Completely agree, just like last season, don't know why Wolves always wait to be behind to really start attacking us. 

Point is a very good result considering the chances they had (McCarthy man of the match) and we do miss Ings finishing. 

We're still in the title race for now, long way to go. 

[Jeremy Corbyn]

18 minutes ago, austsaint said:

Good summary.   And when Ralph did react against the Wolves momentum, Shane Long was the wrong player; offers so little these days - Diallo was probably the early sub we needed.   Great point just the same against a side with great attacking threat.   Theo's miss was crucial, but in the end it was a hanging on draw.   First time for a while our midfield has been outpointed and we had a lot to thank McCarthy for.   Despite losing possession once or twice Walker-Peters continues to impress and surely all Che Adams doubters are changing their minds.

Thought Che was immense today. Not just the two Theo chances but regularly dropping deep and spraying it about. His hard, flat balls to the wing are excellent.

[Dusic]

26 minutes ago, LeG said:

Thought we scored against the run of play and a sub was needed soon after. RH is like Poch. Brilliant plan A....almost no plan B.

Something didn't quite click tonight.

Anyway...if us not quite finding our mojo is a point away to Portugal...we've come a long way. Great to be a Saints fan at the moment. We will outwork united for 90mins. 

Flip side:

1. We have proven time and time again that dropper deeper and making defensive subs doesn't work.

2. Ralph is quite hamstrung from the bench. Of the seven subs tonight you wouldnt say any of them are challenging for a starting place in the team. He doesn't have a huge amount of options without making the team weaker by making a sub as most of them can't be relied on in a tight game.

[shurlock]

Happily take the point (don’t think we’ve won up there since our 6-0 in 2007), though I do think if Walcott had taken his chance (great hold up play and ball by Adams), it would have been game over. That’s why Walcott will always be a nearly man and Ings is such a miss.
 

For once, we lost midfield as Wolves pressed and gave us a taste of our own medicine. Romeu, in particular, struggled against their athleticism. That in turn rubbed off onto our two CBs. Given our two attacking midfielders tuck in so much, I wouldn’t underestimate the loss of Redmond in that area of the pitch. Physically he has more presence than Djenepo and is one of our few players who can turn on the ball, lose a man in tight space and break the lines. 

Edited 23 November, 2020 by shurlock

[MarkSFC]

I think that's the first time, other than Spurs but for different reasons, that we know that the quality of our players is not quite top 8. They didn't all fire, particualrly Romeu who left passes short and his lack of speed versus really athletic players was highlighted. 

Armstrong I thought was a bit negative, and missed several runs behind. Not saying he should always have looked for the player but it is that vision and positivity that ultimately makes an individual and the team very good. 

I think we look very confident and very well drilled and I think we will be around 8th come the end of the season which will be just fine. 

We need that little bit more quality like Wolves have in places, like just one more notch up if you like across the team. Will that come from coaching or from new players or from youngsters if at all?!

Ings obviously has it and I think JWP is nearly at that level too. Diallo I have a suspicion is going to be very useful and who knows what Salisu could be like. 

Many many teams will get beat at Wolves so a good point and continues the run. 

We did not deserve to win so I dont blame Theo for that miss, but they had loads more. Thank god Alex McCarthy had a great game. 

 

Bring on Manure....

[hypochondriac]

7 minutes ago, MarkSFC said:

I think that's the first time, other than Spurs but for different reasons, that we know that the quality of our players is not quite top 8. They didn't all fire, particualrly Romeu who left passes short and his lack of speed versus really athletic players was highlighted. 

Armstrong I thought was a bit negative, and missed several runs behind. Not saying he should always have looked for the player but it is that vision and positivity that ultimately makes an individual and the team very good. 

I think we look very confident and very well drilled and I think we will be around 8th come the end of the season which will be just fine. 

We need that little bit more quality like Wolves have in places, like just one more notch up if you like across the team. Will that come from coaching or from new players or from youngsters if at all?!

Ings obviously has it and I think JWP is nearly at that level too. Diallo I have a suspicion is going to be very useful and who knows what Salisu could be like. 

Many many teams will get beat at Wolves so a good point and continues the run. 

We did not deserve to win so I dont blame Theo for that miss, but they had loads more. Thank god Alex McCarthy had a great game. 

 

Bring on Manure....

Your post doesn't make a lot of sense. You said the quality of our players are not quite top 8 despite drawing against a team who will be around that position. You then go on to predict a top 8 finish. So which is it?

[Saint Matty 76]

Thought Che was unreal tonight. Touch and passing was brilliant.

[musesaint]

Portugal 🇵🇹 1 Saints 😇 1

[saintwbu]

17 minutes ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

Thought Che was unreal tonight. Touch and passing was brilliant.

Agree - he is just getting better and better. He’s gone from not really finding his feet, to somehow being the perfect partner for whoever he’s paired with. Some of his passing is superb.

[skintsaint]

Can't complain against an away draw, especially against Wolves who are a tidy outfit. Sets us up for a good home game v Utd and a win will keep us in the title race 😅

[Roo1976]

1 hour ago, DT said:

Sorry. Forgot Armstrong, who was superb. We’re a good watch now

Wait til the crowds come back........................then the pressure and weight of expectation might turn up, and funny results all over this league . But yes atm we are very easy on the eye to watch long may it continue.

[LaptopSaint]

2 hours ago, The Cat said:

Going 2-0 up wouldn't have necessarily been game over, they had loads of chances and if it wasn't for McCarthy and some bad finishing could have scored a few.

Very happy with a point. 

 

Absolutely. We were two nil up at home at the beginning of this year (it feels like about a decade ago) and still lost to Wolves. A decent away point. 

Bloody hell though - how many more Portuguese players did they have ready to come off the bench??

 

[skintsaint]

51 minutes ago, LaptopSaint said:

how many more Portuguese players did they have ready to come off the bench??

Think they are just missing C.Ronaldo to make up the entire Portugeezer first XI. 😆

 

I'm not being serious MLG.

[John Boy Saint]

Good point and if you take away the nervousness of watching through Saints supporting eyes it was a good game. Like with other teams we tried to take them into the deep water but Wolves are a well organised team and kept dragging us back into the shallows. Wolves fans I was chatting to on WhatsApp with maligned the defence for our goal, but if you watch closely when the ball bounces off the Wolves defender by the goal line most players would have just let that go for the corner - Wolves defence accepted it had gone for the corner Except Che seized upon the opportunity in that moment of dalliance saw Theo was free and pinged it over to him, all whilst Wolves players were still thinking to get set for the corner. That is pin sharp thinking.

Bit of a shame they equalised but the chances they had only to be thwarted by Alex at some point the coin was likely to fall in their favour given the players they have. 

[niceandfriendly]

KWP is really good, thanks so much to Spurs for letting us take him. He's getting better too. One silly mistake where he tried to beat a third man in a dangerous position, hopefully Ralph has a word.

Before the game would have taken a point but when you see a chance missed by Theo that we know Danny would've stuck away it's a little frustrating. But to go 7 unbeaten and staying in 5th position can't be sniffed at. Good to see Theo end his barren 15 year goalless run.

Armstrong and Djenepo need to stop giving the ball away so much in the middle of the park, it leaves us very exposed. Overall I thought Djen wasn't at it tonight.

Now let's go and smash United. Please!

 

[Secret Site Agent]

I remember the day we would have been ecstatic at getting a point now it's just enough but we want more.

 

Sign of the up beat team and feeling we have now.

 

The could have killed the game off which is a shame but it does show that we aren't a one trick pony without Danny Ings.

 

Onwards and upwards.

[Toussaint]

8 hours ago, Dusic said:

Fair result.

Bertrand and Djenepo nullified Traore well until the last third of the game where we also lost out in central midfield.

Not suprised Ralph lamented not having Redmond from the bench, he would have made a difference with 20 to go.

Walcott miss poor, but he had another good game and is covering for Ings very well.

 

Djenepo nullified Djenepo, that’s pretty much all he did, stayed on way too long.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

38 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

Djenepo nullified Djenepo, that’s pretty much all he did, stayed on way too long.

Ralph really seems reluctant to make subs/give Tella game time. Really flat game for Djenepo yesterday, surprised Tella didnt make it on (rather than moving theo).

[egg]

19 minutes ago, Jeremy Corbyn said:

Ralph really seems reluctant to make subs/give Tella game time. Really flat game for Djenepo yesterday, surprised Tella didnt make it on (rather than moving theo).

Tella is not good enough, at least not yet. Walcott to the left and someone else through the middle was  his only option really. On that, we weren't getting up the pitch so Long rather than one of the others made sense. 

[StrangelyBrown]

5 minutes ago, egg said:

Tella is not good enough, at least not yet. Walcott to the left and someone else through the middle was  his only option really. On that, we weren't getting up the pitch so Long rather than one of the others made sense. 

Long confirmed everything I have thought about him for while now - he's not the answer to any problem. He did almost nothing and looked like he didn't understand what he was supposed to be doing. About time we let the kids have a go.

Edited 24 November, 2020 by StrangelyBrown
Typo

[hasper57saint]

Bit frustrating to watch. Each nullifying the other. Wolves are well drilled but as we saw, vulnerable at times.Shame Theo only got the one but was worried when we started playing crab football again. McCarthy outstanding but let’s not forget that Che ran his nuts off and was ‘on the ball’ with his two assists. Content with a point. Only negative,and there’s always at least one. Why was Traore given such an easy ride by Mariner? His first tackle was worse than the second but he was only booked for the latter. Yet again,no consistency from the middleman. Ready for Manure now. COYS

[Brumsaint]

I think people are being overly harsh on Djenepo. He didn't have a great game, but he gave Bertrand a lot of support in keeping Traore and Semedo quiet, as well as playing Bertrand in really well a few times when he was overlapping. More goal threat and attacking intent with the ball would make a real difference, but he didn't give the ball away any more than other players - Romeu was most guilty of that today, I thought and JWP played a lot of backwards balls when he didn't need to IMO, some of which put us in more trouble.

I thought we were a bit flat overall, but Wolves did press really well and didn't give much room at all. McCarthy definitely MOTM, but I would have liked to see Diallo come on a bit earlier and Nlundulu or Tella instead of Long. Can't be too disappointed with a point away at Wolves when not playing at our best, though. 

[egg]

10 minutes ago, StrangelyBrown said:

Long confirmed everything I have thought about him for while now - he's not the answer to any problem. He did almost nothing and looked like he didn't understand what he was supposed to be doing. About time we let the kids have a go.

Long isn't good enough as a goalscorer but yesterdays change was about having a threat down the left to hold back their right flank and moving Walcott over was our best option. We also needed to stretch the game and of the 3 options on the bench, Long can do that. We weren't chasing a win, rather we were clinging on and I'd be surprised if anyone really wanted to see L'undulu or Obafemi come on to help us do that. 

[Jeremy Corbyn]

9 minutes ago, Brumsaint said:

I think people are being overly harsh on Djenepo. He didn't have a great game, but he gave Bertrand a lot of support in keeping Traore and Semedo quiet, as well as playing Bertrand in really well a few times when he was overlapping. More goal threat and attacking intent with the ball would make a real difference, but he didn't give the ball away any more than other players - Romeu was most guilty of that today, I thought and JWP played a lot of backwards balls when he didn't need to IMO, some of which put us in more trouble.

I thought we were a bit flat overall, but Wolves did press really well and didn't give much room at all. McCarthy definitely MOTM, but I would have liked to see Diallo come on a bit earlier and Nlundulu or Tella instead of Long. Can't be too disappointed with a point away at Wolves when not playing at our best, though. 

To be honest, I just think Wolves are a very good side, they're clearly very strong defensively and we did well to create the chances that we did.  The key is for that sort of performance to be at the lower end of our form, then we're well set.

[Baird of the land]

20 minutes ago, hasper57saint said:

Bit frustrating to watch. Each nullifying the other. Wolves are well drilled but as we saw, vulnerable at times.Shame Theo only got the one but was worried when we started playing crab football again. McCarthy outstanding but let’s not forget that Che ran his nuts off and was ‘on the ball’ with his two assists. Content with a point. Only negative,and there’s always at least one. Why was Traore given such an easy ride by Mariner? His first tackle was worse than the second but he was only booked for the latter. Yet again,no consistency from the middleman. Ready for Manure now. COYS

Personally i thought we got rub of the green from the ref. JWP and Romeu both should have been booked for completely cynical fouls.

[tajjuk]

Away to probably the best of the rest (or maybe second best of the rest), without Ings, after an international break (which we never seem great after) then I would say that is a good point. 

A week now to prepare for Utd, hopefully we can give them a good game. 

[jasonb]

Did anyone catch Ralph's pre-match interview on Sky? He mentioned the players would have to work hard to get back to where they were pre-international break. He went on to say he hoped that would be sooner rather than later. 

Now being a keen marathon runner who understands training and periodisation including peaking for performance, I wonder if the sports science has the team peaking and troughing based on the schedule. 

I assume so, that would explain the levels only being a little lower yesterday? Just something I noted and for me was evident in the play from the off. 

I'm sure all teams do this but a high intensity outfit like ours it must be more pertinent. Look at Bielsa's teams who often fall away 3/4 into a season. 

 

Anyway, decent point up at the Wolves. 

[OldNick]

11 hours ago, Pickles said:

 

Who was doing the interview Danny Dyer, what is it coming to having such a poor interviewer.

[OldNick]

11 hours ago, LeG said:

Thought we scored against the run of play and a sub was needed soon after. RH is like Poch. Brilliant plan A....almost no plan B.

Something didn't quite click tonight.

Anyway...if us not quite finding our mojo is a point away to Portugal...we've come a long way. Great to be a Saints fan at the moment. We will outwork united for 90mins. 

All this Plan B nonsense, what Plan B can a manager with our squad do? Lump it up to the forwards and give away cheap possession. The best teams play their way win or lose, if we were losing AKA Chelsea we can play long ball but if you have a drilled team you can't change the system easily. Thank god we havent got fans at the ground as we still haven't learnt patience as a fanbase

[SFC Forever]

very happy with the point.

 

my main concern now is what happens when opponents start taking their chances. will Salisu be ready to help out.

[Monkeyboy]

Knowing how much Wolves pick up in the second halves of games I was a bit worried going in 0-0 at the break. Would have taken the result before the game but in the end can feel a little disappointed.

Really pleased for Theo to get off the mark and will hopefully do his confidence some good and we'll see a few more. Che just gets better and better each game, his passing and vision has been immense recently.

If that second goal goes in I think we manage the game out for the win, as it was, we started to look a little leggy and wolves managed to capitalise on a mistake. Hopefully other teams don't adopt the "play it neat and tire us out then strike later in the game" tactic as we do tend to struggle when teams sit back and invite us on to them. 

Overall a good display against a tough opponent. Looking forward to Utd, just have to make sure we get 2 to counter their inevitable penalty. 

[Fan The Flames]

Was that Theo miss really a 'miss' or just a good chance not taken. I mean Patrício is a good keeper, he was set quickly and his positioning was good, he had both posts covered. Yes Theo connected badly, but he did what most strikers would do and went for the rear post. Maybe hard and high would have been better. Didn't Ings fail with a similar one last season.

If he had missed his first that would have been a miss but was his second any more of a miss than Armstrong's.