Steve Bull: No panic but Wolves can’t feel sorry for themselves
Wolves’ defeat to Leeds last week was mainly down to three things: Poor defending, poor finishing and poor refereeing decisions.
It was the second weekend running the latter was a factor. Some of the decisions which have gone against Wolves this season have been absolutely shocking.
Yet you can’t blame the officials for everything. At some point, you have to handle your own business and against Leeds they weren’t good enough at keeping the ball out of their own net and putting it in their opponents.
It isn’t time to panic. I’m still confident we have what it takes to get out of trouble and there are some winnable fixtures ahead.
But the next match at Nottingham Forest a week tomorrow is a big one and though several members of the squad have gone away with their international teams, the break feels important for Julen Lopetegui in terms of preparing for the run-in. It’s fine to be frustrated at refereeing but Wolves can’t start feeling sorry for themselves.
Just like Bournemouth last month, the Leeds match was an opportunity missed to put some breathing space between ourselves and those teams below. Right now it is so tight, every point feels precious. A three-match unbeaten run is all it would need to ease the nerves but at the moment you wonder where that is coming from.
Though the result stung, there were positives against Leeds, not least the spirit shown by the team at 3-0 down. When we got it back to 3-2, I expected us to go on and win.
There were several good chances created to across the 90 minutes, certainly a big improvement on previous matches. The attacking players all seemed to be on the same page and there was more fluidity to the play. If we can keep that going for the rest of the season, surely we will start to put some of these opportunities away?
One player who rarely needs a second chance in front of goal is Harry Kane and I was delighted to see him become England’s all-time top scorer this week.
As someone who played with Gary Lineker when he came close to equalling Bobby Charlton’s 49-goal tally three decades ago, it seems remarkable we’ve had two players go past it in the space of just eight years in Wayne Rooney and now Kane.
It is not a feat which should ever be under-estimated, though Kane makes scoring look so easy at times and is so consistent, you can understand why some might take him for granted. Without wanting to sound big-headed, I experienced similar in my career at Wolves. People just expect you to score every week but it doesn’t work like that.
It takes a special player to do what Kane has and he isn’t finished yet. I suspect he is going to set a pretty high mark for the next generation to try and beat.
