Wolves Fans' Verdict v Burnley: Another missed opportunity

Russ Evers

An abject surrender in the proverbial boys v men match. Throw Newcastle and the second half of the Leeds game into the mix and clearly the passion of the players and the non-attacking nature of the manager and coaches has cost us.

To be fair we are probably in a false position but the way we are heading doesn’t bode well at all.

A few tried but Raul’s first intent now seems to be to try and win a free kick whilst Hwang just does not seem to add anything and even detracts from the attacking options on this evidence.

Fabio Silva was easily the pick of the forward players but was incredibly taken off. My glass is normally half full but I worry about next season unless we persuade Neves and Joao to stay and build around them.

Oh well, only another £100-plus day out to be disappointed and annoyed at the mindset of the lot of them.

Clive Smith

This verdict could have been written before kick off. We missed Neves and we had virtually nothing in attack the whole game.

Our squad may contain six forwards, five of whom had some game time, but it was our two wing-backs who looked most likely to score.

We played the better football in the first half but confidence just evaporated as we approached their box. An extra touch, a misplaced pass or the wrong decision meant our promising openings were wasted.

Semedo forced a good save following the break but after we conceded on the hour we were second best. From then on only MOTM Boly won a 50-50 as we looked overrun in midfield.

All of our possession was infront of a highly energised home team. Even the introduction of Neto failed to help us get near the byline to put in telling crosses.

If our front three had the same strength that Semedo, Saiss and Boly showed in defence we would pose a much stronger threat in attack. Jimenez is still a shadow of his former self, Hwang is unreliable with the ball and Silva lacks the confidence and strength to impose himself on defenders.

It is far from all doom and gloom, at times our swift passing was a joy, but our future progress will be hampered until we resolve our lack of goals. Hardly the first time we have all thought that this season.

Rob Cartwright

So predictable from Wolves.

The teams around us are all dropping points, but we go to (one of) our bogey teams and fail to turn up! It’s the hope that gets you in the end.

We had a decent first half, having plenty of time on the ball and using width to attack Burnley from both sides. Build up play was a bit slow and clear goal opportunities were few and far between with the best efforts coming from Semedo and Jonny.

It was a clear 3-4-3 formation and things were looking promising.

Burnley changed things at the start of the second half, pushing Rodriquez into a more central role. He had largely been ineffective wide on the left, in the first half. Bruno did not respond to this change and as Burnley started knocking on the door, we were struggling to keep possession or mount any kind of threat. Changes were needed.

The goal came from lax defending on our part. With half an hour still to go, there was plenty of time to put this right, but despite the introduction of Neto and Trincao we really were poor for the rest of the game.

Silva looked our most dangerous forward, so it was shocking to see him replaced. Hwang and Jimenez did very little to justify this decision. Moutinho was our best player. He was especially good in the first half, but like his team-mates failed to impact sufficiently in the second half.

So that’s just one win in our last twelve games against Burnley.

The most disappointing aspect is the failure of both players and manager to seize the opportunity handed to them over our Easter break. This was one of three must win games if we are serious about a European spot. In all honesty, I think we have now blown that chance, with the last two results. We had a Europa League place (fifth or sixth) within our grasp.

I’m really not fussed at all about the Europa Conference losers trophy (seventh).

We all know, we will finish eighth now.

John Lalley

Sad to say it but given Burnley’s adverse position, I reckon that if they could have chosen any opponent to face with the stakes so high, Wolves would have been prominent on their list of choices.

Knowing that Wolves had been presented with yet another golden incentive, Burnley could rest easy, leave their own understandable tensions to one side and simply be patient, safe in the knowledge that Wolves would falter and benevolently implode.

And so it proved; another opportunity squandered with the same tepid and indeterminate response that has ultimately disfigured a season that frequently promised so much more.

Burnley desperately had to win this game but instead of exploiting their anxiety and asserting our own imprint on the proceedings, Wolves lamentably played into their hands.

Yet again, a considerable advantage in possession failed miserably to produce anything faintly resembling a cutting edge. Having reached half-time all square, Burnley must have been confident that Wolves would steadily surrender any slight initiative, gradually lose direction and finish confused and bereft of ideas.

At Molineux earlier this season Wolves had a mountainous share of the ball but Burnley subdued their hosts very comfortably to secure the goalless draw. This time they had the bonus of breaking the deadlock and the lack of response from Wolves after falling behind was hugely disappointing but entirely predictable.

Burnley’s tenure in this League rested on a knife-edge and you might have expected some measure of panic or at least a modicum of tension, but not a bit of it. The insipid ineptitude of Wolves saw to that; Burnley played out time without a tremor with Wolves offering absolutely nothing to retrieve a deficit entirely of their own making.

For Wolves and with so much at stake regarding European qualification, that is a damning indictment; a repetitive failure, recognised but not addressed, suggesting that both coach and players are at a complete loss to even begin to rectify such a maddening deficiency.

As Everton travelled to Anfield desperately hoping Wolves could do them a relegation favour, they must have been as sickened as our fans at the inexplicable frailty of this defeat. With the three best teams in the league still on our remaining list of fixtures, this wretched setback probably scuppers any hope of tangible reward this season.

If so, it must be seen as a profligate waste of a genuine opportunity. I have no idea what the intentions of the club are right now or how the owners view the future, but to move forward a revolution isn’t needed but a subtle shift in direction is surely required.

Some of this squad who have served us admirably and maybe even a couple who have performed with genuine distinction might benefit by seeking fresh challenges elsewhere.

If Bruno Lage begins a second season here as he surely deserves to, then he has to be allowed to significantly influence any potential arrivals to the ranks. For all Premier League clubs, this recruitment does not come cheaply; how the owners react to this conundrum will surely indicate the direction they have chosen and the level of ambition existing at Molineux.