Fan column: Wolves must be more progressive to get out of trouble

He identified a subtle tactical switch one of the participating teams needed to implement. Within minutes, that change took place. 

It hadn’t occurred to me nor I suspect to the vast majority of the other viewers. It was simply a case of a professional demonstrating his expertise and offering an explanation to fans like me who don’t appreciate the nuances of the game as managers and coaches do.

 But football remains a simple game; have a shot at outscoring the opposition. If Wolves are to extricate themselves from the trouble they are in, Molineux surely has to be a venue where opposition defences are unable to coast through games safe in the knowledge that Wolves will offer only minimal attacking intent. 

Not suggesting a Postecoglou press or any other type of gung-ho approach with all guns blazing waiting for quality teams to exploit any wild excesses. Got no problem with measured counter-attacking either; Nuno perfected the tactic to great effect. But he was blessed with the likes of Jota and Traore two speed merchants capable of mayhem who no team could risk ignoring. 

But when you voluntarily call time on being proactive with half an hour of a game remaining and reduce yourself to impotence in the hope of retaining a narrow lead by effective spoiling, surely the logic seems unconvincing. 

Coaches do know best and had Jhon Arias converted a wonderful chance to double our lead or Strand Larsen had not been denied by the woodwork, we might be lauding Vitor Pereira to the skies for a tactical masterclass. 

But what did transpire, left an awful lot of Wolves’ fans absolutely baffled by what they had witnessed. 

Watched a post-match interview with a clearly frustrated Hugo Bueno who said, ‘we have to attack more when winning, not drop the line too much.’ Hard to argue with that synopsis; in fact, if we don’t follow this approach then the likelihood is we will remain rooted in the position we are currently occupying.

Lovely couple of hours at Molineux last week as a guest of Compton Care who detailed the exceptional services they offer. 

Finished with a tour of the club museum to climax a memorable day. A spot of perspective for those of us with the Bill Shankly mentality to football. It’s great but not that important.