Wolves have not looked out of place in the Prem, the team showing themselves more than capable of competing in this league, but half way through the season how have the players stacked up?
Patricio, to me he has proved an upgrade over Ruddy, what he might lack in distribution, he more than makes up with agility an general ball handling, made some quite outstanding saves, well worth his place
Rating : 8
Doherty, I have always rated this guy, but I must admit I had my doubts he could make the step up to the Prem, He has certainly proved me wrong, as honest as they come and a revelation this season (player of the season for me so far)
Rating : 9
Bennett, Another I doubted would make the step up, he has some Prem experience, but I doubted he had the ability to match Wolves ambition, he has his weaknesses, but is has proved to be Mr reliable.
Rating : 7
Coady, has taken to his role brilliantly, leads by example comfortable on the ball and an important part in the way we play, closing down anything that tries to break through, his range of passing always a potent weapon.
Rating : 8
Boly, A formidable opponent, maybe hasn't been quite as solid defensively as Bennett, but his ability on the ball makes him a real asset at the back, able to carry the ball out of defence, with a fine range of passing, makes him a far more rounded defender than Bennett, and important to the way we want to play.
Rating : 8
Jonny, Those of you bemoaning the sacrifice of Barry Douglas, should hopefully now see why letting him go was the right decision. Jonny may not be as accomplished going forward, but defensively he is rock solid, another Mr dependable.
Rating : 8
Neves, My biggest disappointment so far this season, he has so much ability, but has not hit the heights of last season. His once pinpoint passing is not as sharp, his free kicks no longer threatening the goal, and his shots outside the box are more likely to hit a spectator than the net. he has been worth his place in the team (just) but still waiting for the real Neves to show up.
Rating : 6
Moutihno, A 5 million bargain, his age might be against him but his quality is there to see, Nuno seems to be handling him perfectly and not burning him out, recent games he seems to have got even better, love this guy.
Rating : 8
Costa, Cinci may not be his biggest fan, but he has done a steady job, always ready to receive the ball, and can prove a handful for any defence, but he has been a bit up and down, and certainly should have more than 1 goal. but I like him, and think he has played his part this season.
Rating : 7
Jota, This player has not exactly set the Prem on fire, but even when not on his game he is like a wasp at a picnic, annoying as hell, closing down space and not afraid to tackle and a willing runner, but for some reason it has all fell apart in the final third. Thankfully the last two games he looked like the old Jota, long may it continue.
Rating : 6
Traore, a player with so much potential, if we can focus whats good in his game, we would have a real player on our hands. As it stands he can be a handful or a non entity. very hit and miss ( hopefully we stop the long ball up to him) it didn't work. Best out wide, has showed glimpses of what he is capable of. I think he will come good.
Rating : 6
Cavaleiro, Not much to say, more of an attacking threat, but again hit or miss, great option to have, but take your pick between him and the rest of our options.
Rating : 7
Jiminez, has had an almost impossible job, leading the line he has had his work cut out,but he has not shirked his responsibility, working as hard as anyone in the team. apparently we have an option to sign him for 30million?
many baulk at that price, but we would miss him if he wasn't available, as we have no one else to fill the role.
Rating : 8
Wolves have competed well so far, but we are miss firing, Hopefully, Neves can start to hit top form (he is showing signs) Jota can keep up his recent form, Traore finally fulfils his potential, and Costa finds the net.
A few more signings, we would be looking a very capable outfit.
Half time talk
posted on 31/12/18
Have always liked Doherty but didn't think he would take to the prem as well as he has and like you i would say he has been player of the season thus far as well(just ahead of Moutinho). We do need back up for him though because he surely can't keep up this pace all season and will need resting.
As for Coady, what can you say, hard to believe this is the same guy that was a complete and utter non entity in what was our poorest midfield in decades. Hasn't looked out of place for the most part though does get a wee bit bullied against a brute forward like Mitrovic.
Think Neves is worth more than a 6 but he definitely isn't having the impact he had last season but sometimes we forget that he is still very young and has a lot to learn and now he has a legend in Moutinho to learn from he will get better yet. Saiss has also made a big contribution recently and shown he is plenty good enough for this level in midfield but the midfield plaudits have to go to Moutinho who has been quality 9 times out of 10.
Jota, Traore, Costa(who i am a big fan of incidentally) and Cavaleiro as you say have all flattered to deceive for the most part and the reality is if these guys had performed as they can we would probably be sitting on a few more points by now.
Jota looked back to his best prior to injury after a very poor start to the season and Costa has just gotten worse and worse though showed a few glimpses Saturday that the break may have helped him out. Cavaleiro as ever the most productive of the original three when on the field but Nuno is never going to trust him enough and i suspect he will wrongly be the first out the door. Traore just isn't worth 18 million but he will have his good games and has plenty of ability and can only get better than what we have seen so fasr which has been bang average mostly.
A month or so ago i would have said 30 million was daft money for Jimenez but he is a class act and fits us very well, the downside of course being that he will never be a lethal finisher, that said i think we do need to sign him.
My top five would be something like this in order
Doherty
Moutinho
Jimenez
Boly
Jonny
posted on 31/12/18
Doherty has cover with Jonny able to play right back, but more cover would be nice.
The score for Neves is low, but it is more an indication of how far he has fallen from last season, he has far more ability than he is showing, that is why the 6.
I think it is pretty much a wash between Costa, Cac, Traore, Jota. although Jota on form is our most effective, although Traore in any sort of form would frighten any team. I actually think he could be worth 18 million, time will tell.
Jiminez, has been doing it all on his own up front, and to be fair to him done a damn fine job. maybe if others like Neves, etc start showing form and chipping in with goals, he will look even better. we will see.
We have not hit top form, but jota has looked good recently, Cav will always chip in with goals, Costa at last scored one . even Traore has looked threatening in parts. If our midfield wakes up a bit, second half could be very interesting.
posted on 31/12/18
Would like to think we could break 50 points at this stage but a few injuries could slow us down. Interesting to see if we add anything during January
posted on 31/12/18
Having spent so much money on both Traore and Dendonker, two players that haven't exactly set the league alight, it'll be interesting to see if we buy better than what we have, or just get 'back up' players who won't cost too much.
I believe we have enough cover both in defence and midfield. We'll more than likely go for a winger or two.
More importantly...who goes in January?
posted on 1/1/19
Agree with a lot of your assessments Amiga but not all
I would certainly give Neves 8. He has been a key player for us in the vast majority of games this season. Hasn’t done the spectacular stuff of last season but has won the ball for us so often in midfield and he is the main man for linking defence with attack.
Costa and Jota have been nowhere near as poor as some people make out and we wouldn’t be 7th in the league if they had been. They would be my first choices to take the two wide forward places by some distance. Jota has played more forward in recent games and he needs to be as close to Jiminez as possible. Having said that we have had glimpses of what Traore can do in some games recently and I still think the best is to come from him. Cavaleiro has had 3 or 4 really good games as a sub but to me has never justified his place when starting.
Jiminez to me has been our player of the season. His all round game has been excellent all season and he is now an increasing threat in front of goal and could become a regular scorer at this level.
Don’t know why you say Wolves are misfiring. We are 7th and that meets or exceeds the expectations of most supporters I would have thought. If you expected us to steamroller teams like we did last season I think you were expecting too much
posted on 3/1/19
Interesting to read your thoughts Spangles, 6 for Neves is harsh, but it is based around his level of performance last season, He had a complete game which had top clubs looking at him with envious eyes.
60 million and more was talked about, nobody is saying that now, remember how fans used to shout shoooot, nobody says that anymore, his free kicks hardly ever test the goalkeeper anymore, his passing has been ok, but Moutihno has lead the way there. I am being super critical of Neves, but that is because he is so much better than he is showing.
I certainly didnt think we would steamroller the division, and when I say misfiring, looking at my scores I'm talking about the midfield, it is amazing to me to think where we might be with a fully firing Neves and Jota, throw Traore into that mix, we have huge potential going forward.
If anything it's a positive, as a fully firing Neves and Jota, would certainly add to our 7th place.
posted on 3/1/19
or even our ninth place
posted on 3/1/19
If you want to be pedantic Wulf.