Ratings v Wolves

[SUIYHA]

I reckon we have at least 4-5 defeats per season in which we play better than we did today. I wouldn't give a single one of our outfield players above a 5/10, nor Nuno.

Might seem a little harsh on players like Dele, Hojbjerg and Skipp who ran their arses off, but all were sloppy on the ball, kept giving possession away and barely created anything of note - it felt like we couldn't get out of our half at all. I get that we were away from home and that Wolves pressed hard but we were dominated in midfield for the vast majority of the match which usually doesn't end well. 18 months on and we're still waiting to replace Eriksen...

A nice bit of skill from Bergwijn but that aside the front three were all unacceptably poor. The defenders had a lot to do and all made some mistakes in some cases particularly sloppy ones - the only difference between Dier and Sanchez today versus some of the games they cost us in last season was that Wolves were sloppy in attack and didn't take advantage when we gave them the opportunity. Traore always is a handful but he tore some of our boys a new one today, just lucky for us his end product is so inconsistent.

Nuno - pleased to see him start with two wins and two clean sheets but he got very lucky today. Took far too long to respond to Wolves and change things around, although in fairness we did finish the game strongly after Kane and Lo Celso came on. I just don't think our squad is suited to the formation he wants to play at the moment - if Son is going to play centrally instead of a classic CF to hold the ball up, then we need a proper playmaker to feed balls in behind. If we're not going to play with any creativity in midfield then we need to play with attacking full-backs / wing-backs getting higher up the pitch instead of Tanganga.

To end on a positive though - our MOTM was clearly Hugo Lloris. Looked calm, confident and composed and made a great save to protect the three points and clean sheet from Traore. Congratulations to him for the record breaking 300 appearances.

 

[chrissivad]

Didn't see the game. What I've noticed though is a lot of people saying 'Don't know how we won that', which is a huge improvement on last season when it was always 'Don't know how we lost that'.

There were plenty of games last year that we said 'I know how we lost that'

 

[agrdavidsfan]

Must also say Bergwijns upper body strength is freakish

 

[hughy]

I reckon we have at least 4-5 defeats per season in which we play better than we did today. I wouldn't give a single one of our outfield players above a 5/10, nor Nuno.

Might seem a little harsh on players like Dele, Hojbjerg and Skipp who ran their arses off, but all were sloppy on the ball, kept giving possession away and barely created anything of note - it felt like we couldn't get out of our half at all. I get that we were away from home and that Wolves pressed hard but we were dominated in midfield for the vast majority of the match which usually doesn't end well. 18 months on and we're still waiting to replace Eriksen...

A nice bit of skill from Bergwijn but that aside the front three were all unacceptably poor. The defenders had a lot to do and all made some mistakes in some cases particularly sloppy ones - the only difference between Dier and Sanchez today versus some of the games they cost us in last season was that Wolves were sloppy in attack and didn't take advantage when we gave them the opportunity. Traore always is a handful but he tore some of our boys a new one today, just lucky for us his end product is so inconsistent.

Nuno - pleased to see him start with two wins and two clean sheets but he got very lucky today. Took far too long to respond to Wolves and change things around, although in fairness we did finish the game strongly after Kane and Lo Celso came on. I just don't think our squad is suited to the formation he wants to play at the moment - if Son is going to play centrally instead of a classic CF to hold the ball up, then we need a proper playmaker to feed balls in behind. If we're not going to play with any creativity in midfield then we need to play with attacking full-backs / wing-backs getting higher up the pitch instead of Tanganga.

To end on a positive though - our MOTM was clearly Hugo Lloris. Looked calm, confident and composed and made a great save to protect the three points and clean sheet from Traore. Congratulations to him for the record breaking 300 appearances.

Yeah that's utter bollocks. I'm not going to dissect the entire post because, quite frankly, I can't be bothered, but this bit really irked me:

and barely created anything of note - it felt like we couldn't get out of our half at all

What about the penalty, Son's chance which he should have squared, the double save from Bergwijn and Son, Kane's chance late on, and Hojbjerg megging the last defender and getting a shot away. Let's be honest, they had far more of the ball but created nothing but half-chances and pot shots from distance. Let's not pretend that they battered us and we scored from our only chance.

 

[southlondonyiddo]

MOTM

Hugo Lloris

300 Premier League games. The most by any player in our history

Club legend

Would have posted it in the Hugo Lloris thread but it’s in transfer rumours like every other friggin thread!!!

 

[walworthyid]

MOTM

Hugo Lloris

300 Premier League games. The most by any player in our history

Club legend

Would have posted it in the Hugo Lloris thread but it’s in transfer rumours like every other friggin thread!!!

That's some achievement. I really think that he doesn't get the credit he deserves on here! He's a top, top keeper that very rarely makes mistakes. He could certainly have had a big move if he had wanted one!

 

[ultimateloner]

It's a good result but it feels underwhelming because we lacked control. We had less of the ball and fewer shots on goal.

I think Nuno has improved our defence but it's still Mourinho's style of player and is the sort of performance I would expect going forwards, unless there are significant investments into the team.

We don't have players with the qualities needed to play a dominant style of football. What we have are players who are good on the break. This is highlighted when Kane came on, we immediately looked better on the ball.

While I'm happy that Nuno is optimizing the hand he is dealt with, as fans I feel that we need to recognize the squad's limiation.

 

[SUIYHA]

Yeah that's utter bollocks. I'm not going to dissect the entire post because, quite frankly, I can't be bothered, but this bit really irked me:



What about the penalty, Son's chance which he should have squared, the double save from Bergwijn and Son, Kane's chance late on, and Hojbjerg megging the last defender and getting a shot away. Let's be honest, they had far more of the ball but created nothing but half-chances and pot shots from distance. Let's not pretend that they battered us and we scored from our only chance.

Almost everything you mentioned came in the latter stages of the match after the substitutions had been made, with the Bergwijn/Son double save coming literally from Wolves failing to deal with Lloris punting a long ball upfield. We finished strongly in the final 15-20 minutes but over the course of the 90 they had more than triple the attempts on goal that we had.

Like I said - we play better than that and lose several times a season.

 

[whitesocks]

...
But Kane coming on changed it, just a massive change. We suddenly had someone who can hold the ball up, someone who could link the play and be a goal threat. He also made the players around him better. I fucking hate the way he has been a complete nob, but on the pitch he is vital for us.
...

Wolves had run themselves out a few mins before the subs came on. The tide had definitely changed.
If kane had come on in the first half, he wouldn't have got a touch as the pressing was too much and we couldn't get out of our own half.

Agree lloris was motm by far, with his record and crucial save.

Of course this wasn't how we thought we might play this season - it was all mourinho's fault we were so negative last season, we say. But it is basically the same players, with no creatives or passers, or carriers. Our front 3 have no height and play on the break, That's our strength.
And as Poch used to say, he respects all opinions, but when we win, he is proven right!
#Sayno got another great win and we will have to lump it. Bollux to our DNA.

 

[JimmyG2]

José would have been so proud. Early goal and well defended. for 80 minutes.

Dele............8+........Top man, bags of graft and a cool penalty earned and dispatched
Hugo..........7+........Has the knack of being in the right place at the right time.
Tanganga..7...........Tough opponent but didn't get too flustered.
Dier..............7...........Pretty solid today and nearly scored.
Bergwijn.....6+.......Much improved today.
Sanchez......6+.......Settled eventually
Reguilón.....6+........Gets forward well but sometimes doesn't quite get back. Good interceptions.
Hoijberg......6...........A more positive contribution
Skipp............5+........Still learning a role. Sound after a dodgy half hour
Moura..........5...........Not today, and he was doing so well.
Son................5...........Didn't do very much at all.

Kane.........Don't think this new boy will make the grade
Winks.......The time wasting substitution.
Lo Celso.. OK

Dele and the defence earned us 3 points.But not a formula you can rely on. Kept the Wolves from the door.

 

[walworthyid]

Another big shout to Dele today! Thought he was excellent again in difficult circumstances. Made and scored the goal, covered a lot of ground, made an excellent block on the edge of the box and really put himself about.

It isn't the free scoring Dele of a few years ago but he's playing with real maturity and discipline. I think he's proving more than capable of playing as a cm in a 3.

Was as good if not better than PEH or Skipp today.

 

[yusrisafri]

E

Didn't see the game. What I've noticed though is a lot of people saying 'Don't know how we won that', which is a huge improvement on last season when it was always 'Don't know how we lost that'.

My memory mustve skipped me, but except for the west ham match where we drew when we shouldve won, i dont think there were any matches where we were in that "dont know how we lost that" situation.

We were playing like this almost every game last season.

 

[yusrisafri]

It's a good result but it feels underwhelming because we lacked control. We had less of the ball and fewer shots on goal.

I think Nuno has improved our defence but it's still Mourinho's style of player and is the sort of performance I would expect going forwards, unless there are significant investments into the team.

We don't have players with the qualities needed to play a dominant style of football. What we have are players who are good on the break. This is highlighted when Kane came on, we immediately looked better on the ball.

While I'm happy that Nuno is optimizing the hand he is dealt with, as fans I feel that we need to recognize the squad's limiation.

Wisest post of the day. Realistic and under no grand illusions. We continue to play like this, we will be doomed.

 

[tippspur59]

Dele the man...

 

[DenverSpur]

A game to show us exactly what we need and also grab a win.

Let's start with the shockers, son - can't remember him touching the ball, no hold up play whatsoever and also no service.

Lucas, well we had his one in ten game last week and reverted to type. The only suprise is that he wasn't dragged off at half time.

The hit and missers - Dele, won the penalty with a great run, scored the penalty and looked better when Kane came on but was wasteful in possession (as usual).

Bergwijn - I like him, mainly because he generally holds on to the ball rather than losing it everytime he gets it (see Dele, Lucas and son). But he really doesn't do enough. Again though he improved dramatically when Kane came on and also was always a threat. I'm interested to see how he develops this season.

On to the ok, our defence and defensive midfielders, individually not great but as a unit very good. One mistake from dier and traore being a force of nature apart they were solid enough. Weakest - Sanchez, strongest hoijberg.

Lloris - mom.

But Kane coming on changed it, just a massive change. We suddenly had someone who can hold the ball up, someone who could link the play and be a goal threat. He also made the players around him better. I fucking hate the way he has been a complete nob, but on the pitch he is vital for us.

No chance in hell of us getting cl without Kane, with him a very small chance.

We need two players urgently, one is a winger who can dribble (preferably one end to the other -like traore or Saint maximan.

The other is a man in midfield who can pass and be creative (eriksen of old).

A bit harsh on Dele, who worked his socks off, and Berwijn who was easily the best of the front 3 until Kane came on.
The rest I pretty much agree with.

 

[SpursSince1980]

José would have been so proud. Early goal and well defended. for 80 minutes.

Dele............8+........Top man, bags of graft and a cool penalty earned and dispatched
Hugo..........7+........Has the knack of being in the right place at the right time.
Tanganga..7...........Tough opponent but didn't get too flustered.
Dier..............7...........Pretty solid today and nearly scored.
Bergwijn.....6+.......Much improved today.
Sanchez......6+.......Settled eventually
Reguilón.....6+........Gets forward well but sometimes doesn't quite get back. Good interceptions.
Hoijberg......6...........A more positive contribution
Skipp............5+........Still learning a role. Sound after a dodgy half hour
Moura..........5...........Not today, and he was doing so well.
Son................5...........Didn't do very much at all.

Kane.........Don't think this new boy will make the grade
Winks.......The time wasting substitution.
Lo Celso.. OK

Dele and the defence earned us 3 points.But not a formula you can rely on. Kept the Wolves from the door.

Agree with most of that… but kinda harsh on Skipp. Would’ve given him a 7. Worked hard, with virtually no outlets from the attacking front 3, who were all a combination of poor and kept in check by a solid Wolves defensive display.

I think it is worth remembering that this was their (Wolves) first home game, in front of a packed stadium in 18 months. And playing against their former coach. It doesn’t surprise me they were much more aggressive and passionate than us. Especially over the first 60 minutes. Yeah, we weren’t great, and if that was Jose in charge, their would have been blood in the water. But, at the end of the day, we did put in a good defensive shift against an inspired team, and struggled to get hold of the ball in the final third. But realistically, they didn’t miss chance after easy chance. They had two or three decent opportunities and one very good opportunity. The latter of which was completely gifted to them by a mistake.

For what it is worth, and it has probably been two seasons since I said this… but Dele was my MoM today. Was excellent throughout. Very happy for him, as it was a disciplined and mature performance.

 

[DannyNZ]

A bit harsh on Dele, who worked his socks off, and Berwijn who was easily the best of the front 3 until Kane came on.
The rest I pretty much agree with.

Dele made couple excellent runs into the box, he worked really hard and helped cover Reggie and in the mid field but hard to argue wasn’t great with the ball and coughed it up a fair bit. Growing into that role well, but has to do better when he receives the ball, not alone in that respect either.

 

[DenverSpur]

I’m surprised everyone is so negative about today’s game.
It was always going to be hard going back to Nuno’s old team on their first home game with a full house. They were always going to to be up for it and playing a low block and counterattacking them made sense as really they are the team that want to counter attack. If we’d have played progressive possession based game their pace would have murdered us on the break. We also don’t have a creative midfielder in the team at the moment so you have to cut your cloth accordingly.
Where we were let down today was the inability of the front 3 to keep hold of the ball. Lucas, especially, was hopeless today and Son wasn’t much better. This meant we found it difficult to get out of our own half for any period of time. When Kane and Lo Celso came on we gained much more control. Nuno really should have taken off Lucas and Son much earlier than he did.
Having said that our midfield and defense played really well and limited Wolves to very few clear cut chances. Yes we rode our luck but their goalkeeper made more important saves than Lloris had to.
Overall we coped well in difficult circumstances. A sign of a good team is when they win when they play badly(which we didn’t) or when they don’t buckle when under the cosh. Also as Trix pointed out in the match thread only 4 teams have won away from home in the 19 games played so far. Home advantage, especially in these first few weeks, is going to be huge so that was a good win today.
Gave Dele MOM. Worked really hard today in a role he’s still not fully used to. Lloris was a close second.

 

[yiddo]

I’m surprised everyone is so negative about today’s game.
It was always going to be hard going back to Nuno’s old team on their first home game with a full house. They were always going to to be up for it and playing a low block and counterattacking them made sense as really they are the team that want to counter attack. If we’d have played progressive possession based game their pace would have murdered us on the break. We also don’t have a creative midfielder in the team at the moment so you have to cut your cloth accordingly.
Where we were let down today was the inability of the front 3 to keep hold of the ball. Lucas, especially, was hopeless today and Son wasn’t much better. This meant we found it difficult to get out of our own half for any period of time. When Kane and Lo Celso came on we gained much more control. Nuno really should have taken off Lucas and Son much earlier than he did.
Having said that our midfield and defense played really well and limited Wolves to very few clear cut chances. Yes we rode our luck but their goalkeeper made more important saves than Lloris had to.
Overall we coped well in difficult circumstances. A sign of a good team is when they win when they play badly(which we didn’t) or when they don’t buckle when under the cosh. Also as Trix pointed out in the match thread only 4 teams have won away from home in the 19 games played so far. Home advantage, especially in these first few weeks, is going to be huge so that was a good win today.
Gave Dele MOM. Worked really hard today in a role he’s still not fully used to. Lloris was a close second.

I think what you've said is mostly true. My concern is that our problems are ones we've had for quite some time, it really feels that its only going to be resolved by bringing in new additions.

Every day that goes passed feels like this is less & less likely to be resolved this month.

 

[Cooperfield]

• Lloris 7
• Tanganga 5
• Sanchez 5
• Dier 6
• Reguilón 6
• Skipp 6
• Højbjerg 6
• Dele 8
• Lucas 5
• Bergwijn 6
• Son 5
• Lo Celso 5
• Kane 6
• Winks -