Wolves Fans' Verdict v Newcastle: A better performance but the same result

Following a boring International fortnight and the endless transfer window postmortem we had a game to go to. Hurray.

With many players having travelled far and wide the resulting fatigue was always likely to affect the line up. Whatever the factors, the team looked very different to what we might have expected. Two debutants, four summer signings were on the bench which meant eight of the squad of 20 were new to VP. That's quite a significant turnover.

We started attacking right from the kick-off. (Why can't we replicate that in home games?) Within seconds Rodrigo might have scored and from the resultant corner Hwang also had a good attempt. That set the tone and for half an hour we played really well. Barnes had too much space and Johnstone made a point blank save, but that aside, Wolves dominated possession. A mixture of long balls to Arokodare, tackling hard, gaining turnovers in midfield and playing through balls from defence into the channels.

However, yet again a far post header from a deep cross led to us conceding the only goal of the game. Agbadou was our closest defender and should have done better, although the cross was very accurate. Our confidence took a hit and it was good to reach the interval without further damage.

Just to get it off my chest, yet again the referee seemed to apply different rules to each side. Our four bookings, starting after only seven minutes, compared to their single one after 88 tells only part of the story. Joelinton, Schar, Burn and Guimaraes were able to wrestle, push and shove at will, without punishment while we conceded a foul whenever the wind changed direction.

Newcastle defended in numbers after the break and we were unable to break through. Our substitutions eventually provided us with more momentum in the final minutes but lacking confidence to shoot or trying to find that telling pass meant an equaliser looked unlikely.

Arokodare looks to have brought us something we've not seen much of in a Wolves shirt. A strong physical presence in attack. Not so much Ray Hankin, John Paskin or Steve Kindon (ask your Dad) more like Diego Costa. Interesting to see how he might play alongside Larsen. 

Another defeat, but probably our best performance so far, certainly we looked better defensively and very much took the crowd out of the game. It's hard to judge what our ideal line up will be having seen so little of the new players. More questions than answers at the moment. Will rotating wingbacks continue, where does Krejci play, does Arias start? At least there are options for VP to contemplate. Interesting times ahead.

John Lalley

Wolves, themselves the infuriating masters of the slow start, uncharacteristically caught Newcastle absolutely stone cold but spurned a clear opportunity to take advantage. 

From an offensive standpoint, that was just about as much as we had to offer. Gradually but inevitably, our limitations were exposed and a less than impressive Newcastle were able to coast to a comfortable victory despite the thinness of the final margin. 

Clearly the commitment of our players was not in doubt but the demonstrable lack of the quality required at this level could not be hidden. Once Wolves fell into arrears, there was nothing to give rise to any optimism that the game might be salvaged. 

The second half was a tedious affair; Wolves unable to create even a passing opportunity were easily repelled such was our lack of pace, guile or invention. Winning a belated first corner of the half late on, Wolves instead of applying a minimum of pressure merely confused themselves with the ball ending up nearer to Sam Johnstone in our area than Nick Pope in theirs. 

It was a microcosm of our afternoon; a glaring example of the lack of method and cohesion that has made for the worst start to a season in generations. 

The clean sheet we managed in that second period though welcome, doesn’t mask the uncertainty of our defensive unit or the alarming propensity for hapless individual errors that continue to plague us. 

The positives? Krejci had a reasonable debut and showed his versatility and Arokodare might provide a physical threat when fully fit. Otherwise, another grim outcome to a highly forgettable game.

Adam Virgo

Four games, four defeats and it really is a disaster start to this season. It makes the Leeds game next week so important, anything but a win and I honestly don’t see any hope for the rest of the season.

There were definitely more positives to take in this game than any of the others, particularly how we started the game but once we went 1-0 down, we really lacked in quality.

It was very strange having Hugo Bueno and Rodrigo Gomes playing on the opposite side at wing back but they both had pretty good games overall. I liked the look of Krejci and Arokodare can be very useful if we can get players in and around him.

The second half was extremely poor and I still don’t see how Hwang and Munetsi are getting the game time they are over someone like Fer Lopez who shows his quality every time he comes on for us and has to surely be a matter of time before he starts in the Premier League.

The goal we conceded is another cross and Agbadou lost his man far too easily. It was good movement from Nick Woltemade but Agbadou needs to be stronger. He hasn’t been anywhere near good enough this season and wouldn’t be shocked if he is dropped sooner rather than later.

The Leeds game is absolutely massive for us and if we don’t win then I just don’t see how we will claw ourselves back in future games to stay in this league. If we don’t win also, Vitor Pereira is going to come under some scrutiny because although he hasn’t been massively backed by the owners, some of the decisions he is making aren’t exactly helping.

Harry Lee

I'm not sure many Wolves fans would have guessed the starting line up against Newcastle correctly pre-match, Vitor Pereira certainly making some bold choices in selection.  However, the change to a 3-5-2 has certainly been something fans have thought about after the signing of Tolu Arokodare, who came in for his first start along with Krejci, Mosquera and R.Gomes. After the first 15 minutes you'd have thought it was something of a masterstroke with Wolves starting quick out the blocks and arguably should have been in front.

Unfortunately, Wolves retreated within themselves soon after, ultimately when you have three centre backs, with J.Gomes, Andre and Krejci in midfield you are limited to fielding four 'attacking' players you are going to struggle to create chances. Strangely also in this system the wing backs inverted away from their natural sides, it wasn't totally clear what the game plan was over the 90 minutes other than some hopeful balls towards the debutant Tolu who found it difficult to hold the ball up and link the play, not helped by a below average performance at best from Hwang.  

Wolves created an xG of 0.56 vs Man City, 0.46 vs Bournemouth, 1.11 vs Everton and 0.50 against Newcastle. Whilst some may not like using xG as a statistic, it cannot be argued that Wolves are creating good chances in games, we lack the spark we had in the previous season with Ait-Nouri and Cunha. Compounded by the fact Pereira has not consistently started/given enough minutes to Arias and Fer Lopez, roughly £40m of incomings in the forward positions we are not using.

There is no doubt that the pressure is building ahead of the proverbial six-pointer with Leeds at Molineux on Saturday. We may not have invested enough in a timely manner, bought the right quality or quantity in certain areas, but this cannot be the time for excuses, Pereira and this Wolves team simply must deliver.