Wolves (h)

[Mick]

Good to be back on the forum after numerous connection problems when I was in hospital (finally dischsrged om Wednesday )



Teams, then……….

[GhostfaceKillah]

Bloody hell Mick, I hope all is well now you are out.

I hope it isn't a heart issue as this sort of game isn't healthy so far!

[Mick]

Bloody hell Mick, I hope all is well now you are out.

I hope it isn't a heart issue as this sort of game isn't healthy so far!

Cheers mate - have to admit Trippier had me a bit stressed for keep giving the ball away against a dangerous opponent!!

Think we pretty much got what we deserved there, our thin squad starting to bite now.

[GhostfaceKillah]

Disappointed with a point, which might be unrealistic and greedy considering the game midweek, the injuries and our resident gambler wasting 52 million of our summer transfer kitty.

Said it before but it is relevant again, Pope making a shit decision has cost us. I also don't understand Howe's continued reluctance in games to make changes. Yes the bench was weakened, but the team was flagging hard before the 2nd equaliser and you could see a goal coming.

Something else I have said before is that our summer transfer window in general hasn't helped. We are stuck with fixture congestion, and yet through injury, pure fucking stupidity, and stacking up players in positions that weren't essential, means we are reliant on the same group of players we had last season to carry us through to January. Wor Mandy stated we couldn't afford to make mistakes in the transfer window in order for the club to accelerate progress, and yet this has turned out to be one of most unhelpful transfer windows at a time when we really needed first team options.

Fuck knows what happens midweek against the Manc tosspots, there is no way we can go with Wilson again up top, arguably too much too soon for Joelinton fresh back from injury, and we are I'm big trouble if we push Bruno too far. I'd almost sack the game off now to ensure our league form and the Championd League doesn't suffer.

I'll probably review this result in the cold light of day different to what I do now.

[KMK]

I don't know how many more times this thin squad can dig deep like they did tonight to at least avoid defeat. 

Credit to them for the effort, but it's worrying to see the likes of Trippier, Gordon and Longstaff below par by their standards. It is clear that fatigue is becoming an issue.

Pope's decision to punch instead of catching the ball, which led to their second goal, could well have been a case of tired thinking.

With a limited squad something has to be sacrificed. I would prefer that to be the Champion's League, and concentrate on our league position and the domestic cups going forward. 

Also instead of Wilson up top why not try Gordon in that position now that Willock is back?

[Eeeeen]

With a limited squad something has to be sacrificed. I would prefer that to be the Champion's League, and concentrate on our league position and the domestic cups going forward. 

I'm sorry, but this is the wrong-minded kind of thinking that will fuck us over.  Football today is all about money.  It is not about romance.  It is not about history.  It is not about misty-eyed nostalgia.  The FA cup and the League cup bring in negligible revenue compared to the CL.  If we want to build our club so that one day it might be fighting for the 'double' the 'treble' or the 'quadruple' (which is what success looks like), we need to earn the money to buy the players to make that happen.  We need CL revenue, which means that, at the moment, the domestic nothing-cups can fuck right off and we need to make real money playing in the CL and qualifying for next season's CL.  That we may achieve neither should be a worry to us.

[GhostfaceKillah]

Yeah I don't agree with sacrificing the Champions League at all. It's where our top players want to be, it's where the money is, and it's where we become a European name. It's also what we spent all last season trying to reach.

[KMK]

With respect, I fully understand the importance of the revenue generated by CL qualification to our ambition for future success. 


My post reflected my opinion of where we are at the present time. 

Qualifying for the CL was a tremendous achievement, but for me it came too early. 
We need to assemble a squad with such depth that we are capable of challenging on four fronts. We just don't have that at the moment, which is why we are beginning to struggle.

With the thin squad that we have, the priority must be to finish in a league position that ensures qualification for next season's CL given that our chance of emerging from the group stage this season is a slim one.

[Mick]

The thing that’s bugging me more than owt else is that once again we face a cup game against Man Utd and can’t put our best team on the pitch.

Last time we had a joke keeper because of Pope’s handball madness.

This time too many key players aren’t available through injury - and Man Utd are playing shite and there for the taking.

My view on the CL debate above is, Eddie will use the resources he has as sensibly as he can, and this might involve us seeing some of the kids being given opportunities. We also have the likes of Targett, Livramento, Dummy, Krafth etc not yet used.

[cg40k]

Tough one yesterday. Silly mistakes cost us that game. Lack of depth hurt us. Still a long way to go.