Match Thread: Wolves v Newcastle United 15.09.24 KO 4.30pm
By Ivybridge Wolf
September 15 2024
With a whole bunch of draws for sides above us yesterday and another remarkable Everton defeat, there is an opportunity for Wolves to jump a few places this afternoon against unbeaten Newcastle United. That’s if we win, and we’ve only beaten The Toon twice since 2018/19 with an amazing 7 draws in a total of 12 fixtures. We could really do with that first league win of the season, by hook or by crook and get Molineux rocking again.
Johnstone will surely start in goal after a solid start v Forest with Sa on the bench. Sa won’t be happy with the situation, and I hope he fights for his place, nevertheless if he has lost his grip on the ‘number 1’ shirt I can’t see him hanging around. The bottom line is that Sa has been a good shot stopper but his distribution and composure with the ball at his feet often leads to many an unnecessary heart flutter!
Reports are that Lemina and Ait-Nouri both require late fitness tests prior to the game, fingers crossed that they are ready to go but at least Mosquera is fit after seizing up with cramp playing in Colombia’s 2-1 win v Argentina. Worth mentioning that Joao Gomes also played for Brazil, beaten by Paraguay 1-0. A bit of a shock.
O’Neil still needs to find the right formula in selection and formation. And like all sides, a bit of luck. It’s not been a terrific start, and despite a tough fixture opening, we need a win. Forest was a step in the right direction but in a week when discussion about the days of spending big is over, we could do with a boost. What a relief therefore that Wolves have launched a new ‘hyper violet’ (commonly known as purple) 3rd strip described as "bold, rebellious and fearless" which represents Wolves' "fearless attitude and relentless pursuit of victory, both on and off the pitch”. So in effect, GON, the players and the fans have nothing to worry about or fear!!!
Okay, the stats aren’t great, the winless league run now extends to 13 (D3, L9) losing 5 of the last 6 at Molineux and GON has never beaten an Eddie Howe team. Conversely Howe has never won at Molineux. Quite a mixed bag of past fortunes. Newcastle currently hold a great scoring record, netting in 22 of their last 23 premier league games, however and luckily for us, Hwang nearly always scores v Toon with four goals from five appearances. Overall, we all know that they will provide Wolves with a test today but we are due a win ….. especially that August is now over.
The match is to be covered live by Sky and will be the last premier league match of the weekend. It’s 4.30pm kick off which means I will likely be down the Duke of Cornwall with the Ivybridge Wolves crowd cheering them on!
I hope we play well and give us all the opportunity to relish our first 3 points of the season. It’s time we beat Newcastle and with a more cohesive performance (and that slice of fortune I alluded to) I am sure that we can. Hopefully we can build on that decent away point at the City ground and expunge the memories of the last time out at Molineux!!
All the best, please leave your match comments in the thread below.
UTW!!
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:06:00:42:58 by Ivybridge Wolf.
Subs: Jose Sa, Doherty, Bueno, Hwang, Rodrigo Gomes, Doyle, Sarabia, Borges, Goncalo Guedes.
2 long range efforts and the games over.
Unlucky with the deflection for their first goal but what the hell is doc doing for their second, he just stands there and there's no challenge and Barnes has a free hit, just pathetic.
He's not up to premier league football anymore that's for sure.
To much slow build up play and sideways football again.
Can't see where a win is going to come from if we keep gifting sloppy goals away.
Worrying times.
I genuinely feel a draw would been fair today but what is fair does not cut the mustard on the pitch. Pope made a few great saves as did Johnstone and we had our chances, as did they, but I was just as disappointed with Doc not getting a tackle into Barnes nut the finish was superb.
We retreated and lost the momentum in the lead up to the equaliser and I felt Newcastle deserved it for their persistence but the fortune they got off Dawsons head was gualing. Johnstone would have otherwise got it.
Overall I’m not convinced that we have the players at the back for a ‘back 4’ though I appreciate it gives us more bite up front. I can only hope that we address basic errors before Villa.
There were some good performances, Lemina, Dawson, Joao Gomes, but not enough to get us across the line.
Very disappointing. Very frustrating.
UTW
Yes it was a great strike from Barnes but Doc has to do much better than that especially with his experience.
Barnes has always been a thorn in our side even when he was at Leicester, i feared the worst when I saw him coming out for the 2nd half.
On the plus side andre looks a player.
Got a feeling it will get worse before it gets better.
Let's hope it does get better.
1 win in the last 14 games doesn't usually bode well for managers, not saying he should go but we need a result to boost flagging confidence.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:15:20:07:28 by essington wolf.
I think this is a pretty pathetic outlook from O'Neil. Newcastle have not been playing well, and this was a game when we had a great chance to get our first win. How can a manager approach a match with that attitude? Also he looked clueless in how and when to use his substitutes proactively.
From the beginning I've had the feeling that O'Neil is out of his depth and waiting to be found out. The season so far (and the tail end of last season) has not eased my concerns.
If we get relegated, is it a disaster where the club is just aiming to avoid relegation and go for a good run in a cup. It's as fcking dull as ditch water! I think the only person apart from me not delighted O Neil signed a new contract was Risca, everyone else was taken in by the new manager bounce. Even under Nuno many were saying he had been " found out" in his latter days, we hardly scored any goals and he made some dreadful signings such as Silva and Cutrone. It isn't a coincidence every wolves manager is dreadful, the club has simply reached it's ceiling of financial power and has nowhere else to go.
I think managers do make a difference, a decent manager can determine how any team functions any any walk of life e.g. in the office, for football etc. It's getting the best out of people and setting the right tone. But I do agree that the overall strategic approach from the board and owners sets the scene for success and yes, Fosun don't appear as committed as they once were and there are the issues of footballing financial shakles which favour certain clubs over others. So much for competition. Nothing we have said before.
I think we were unlucky to lose against Newcastle TBH, but didn't deserve to win either. I have always supported the appointment of GON, noting the belt tightening at Wolves, but even I now worry where the next point is coming from. Perhaps we'll surprise a few at Villa Park. We need that win
We all know what will happen, GON will get sacked at some point ( the 4 year contract is ridiculous and awful decision making from Fosun), someone like Moyes will come in, results will pick up and eventually we will sink back to our level which is 12th- 20th with Moyes /whoever sacked and endless repetition. One of the reasons I stopped watching it all - it's tedious and bloody boring. Fosun must be fairly stupid if they think GON is tactically astute, he is very young for a manager, nothing on his cv and unlikely to command respect of the players. Although managers aren't that important compared to budgets, I do think a more respected manager would get slightly better results but we will never win or get close to winning anything realistically so it's all p*ssing in the wind. I'd like to see sky go bust and the whole thing come crumbling down going back to an era of times gone by without the ridiculous money in football.