Wolves’ draw with Birmingham City was assessed through players’ blunt ratings, frustration at defensive mistakes and the cost of missed opportunities given the number of goals conceded.
Wolves VS Birmingham City Ratings
The 2nd away game this week. The second game was a very disappointing performance, but the second game this week could have been an easy win.
Fortunately, Birmingham were not as good as West Ham, so a draw was awarded despite another shocking defense. However, it should also be noted that given how bad the defense was, the team simply couldn’t afford to miss simple opportunities.
If a team needs to score 3, 4 or 5 points to win the game – which is not a silly statement, as it should be – then golden-edge opportunities like those missed by Gomez and Armstrong must be taken.
Rating
Sa – 5 was better than it was against WHU, especially in crossing, although this is still an area where the defense still needs to improve. However, after conceding 2 more goals, he has little confidence that the goal rate will change. The first one was hit at close range, with great force, but actually hit him.
Could he have done more? Harsh as it may be, but every now and then you wish he’d save someone he shouldn’t have saved to make up for the one he shouldn’t have saved. The second time, he was positioned quite advanced, but probably because he expected the ball to be passed back to him, and therefore needed to stand up to help Jackson. However, even taking into account his inability to use his hands on return passes, surely he could have done more to prevent the ball from coming in – trying to deflect it away – rather than just looking like it bounced past him? All in all, neither goal can be attributed to him, but I would have liked more from my goalkeeper.
Jackson – 3 I don’t want to jump in and slander him – I feel guilty for being the first to name Totti, and because of the (over)reaction of the fans towards him he became almost unselectable – but he had a very bad day at the office. At Wuhan, his pace helped him in both directions. His passing, touch and awareness were poor today and nothing can hide the fact that he simply wasn’t very good.
Djiga – 6 Not bad, but gets more praise because he’s not Jackson or Totti. Needs to be more dominant in the air, but is far from the team’s biggest issue at the moment.
Krejci – 7 Calm on the ball and defending well, although both full-backs struggled to close down the Birmingham winger. His aim is very good! Definitely going to be one of the names on the team roster now!
Bueno – 5 More needs to be done to neutralize the danger on the flanks, but there was a strange moment going forward.
Andre – 6 perhaps could have been closer to the scorer’s first goal but once again broke the play, winning a tackle – this time the ‘penalty’ was a great tackle – and passing the ball well too. It will be interesting to see how James performs when he starts and his partner is more disciplined and skilled.
Munetsi – 5 Not involved enough in attack, either because of his poor positional awareness or because of his technical limitations, although he works hard and is very committed, his positional discipline means he is relatively easy to attack. Decent athlete, but at this level – let alone the Premier League – it’s not enough.
Gomez – 6 Hard worker and his speed is a real weapon. However, he missed a golden opportunity and may need to do more to cement his position.
Lopez – 7 V Moves forward well and does his share of the dirty work defensively. This is a huge and much needed improvement for the team. The team’s current reliance on him is worrisome.
Armstrong – 5 Didn’t put much into it, but when he missed an absolute sitter at the end, he really should have won the race.
Jimenez – 5 It’s hard to be too harsh as Wolves were overwhelmed in the second half so he faded away naturally, but to me he still wasn’t quite up to speed (or more worryingly, it was his pace, which was an issue in this case).
Substitute
Mane – 5 failed to get into the game, despite Wolves being in dire straits at the time.
James-5 As mentioned above.
Doyle – 6 Contributed well to the defense and retained possession better than most. Might his lack of pace and physicality, especially from Munezzi, blind me (and more importantly the Wolves manager) to his qualities?
Neve – N/A
Slow Traore – N/A
Overall, the team’s performance was concerning, especially in the second half. Trippier is still weeks away from the game and other than James, the current manager’s options look limited.
Wolves need Raul to step up and start running the ball better, allowing Wolves to gain better control and score more often – something that will be necessary given the desperate needs of the defense.
Discuss rumors and transfers on our page
Discuss rumors and transfers on our page
.