Nottingham Forest 1 Wolves 1
It looked like another defeat so I’ll pocket the point and try to forget the performance. Podence’s finish was the only good thing Wolves mustered in a game they spent knocking the ball side to side in that all too familiar horse shoe of misery. Forest tried their best to give us a goal by […]
It looked like another defeat so I’ll pocket the point and try to forget the performance.
Podence’s finish was the only good thing Wolves mustered in a game they spent knocking the ball side to side in that all too familiar horse shoe of misery.
Forest tried their best to give us a goal by heading against their own crossbar and Traore probably should have had a penalty after being bundled over in the box but those flash points punctuated another desperate outing.
Julen Lopetegui clearly had something in mind bringing Toti in from the cold and shoehorning Nunes into the left of midfield but it’s hard to call the experiment a success. The former is powerful but erratic and the latter is weak and ineffective. I think there were better players for both roles.
We also had three central midfielders but Forest still marched right through the middle of the pitch time and again, culminating in the opening goal.
That Wolves avoided going under in the period before half time and then after the break when Forest were piling forward on the counter is a minor miracle.
The head coach had played all his cards by the time the equaliser arrived with Costa (who was one of few to emerge in credit), Neto and Podence all involved.
A great finish but from a chance created almost by accident with all other meagre attempts to do anything in the second half swatted away with ease.
Coming away with a draw is massive under these circumstances but Wolves have got to do much better if they’re to collect the 10 or so points required for survival.
Lopetegui keeps moving the pieces around (which he’ll have to do again next week with Neves suspended for the next two) and I’m disappointed he can’t get more out of this group.
There are still no patterns of play in the final third, no interchange between the midfield and no clear identify.
What are we actually trying to do when we have the ball?
Beyond knocking it around between the defence and Ruben, it’s all so painfully static. When we’re pressured we give it away and when opponents stand off we can’t break lines. It’s excruciating to watch.
At this stage of the season all we can do is cherish every point and hope the next one comes along soon.
Based on this woeful effort, I’m not holding my breath.