Express & Star

Wolves Fans' Verdict v West Ham: Not good enough!

Our Wolves fans have their say on the defeat to West Ham.

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Hwang Hee-chan (Getty)

Clive Smith

I am biased, but seeing our line-up with four at the back did not provide me with much optimism. We have tried it before and it’s not worked.

I like Gary O’Neil, I like him a lot, he talks more sense than most managers. That makes it even more surprising that ‘four at the back’ has not been consigned to the ‘lessons learned’ draw. Ait-Nouri’s fitness may have been a factor but Bueno or Doherty could surely have, at least, provided some first-half security.

As it was, Toti got put to the sword, and West Ham spent the whole game attacking our left side. It proved profitable for them as, even once Toti was replaced, it was that flank where we conceded from.

Other things contributed to our defeat. We struggled winning any 50-50 balls, as we often do against bigger, physical teams. Ball retention is a real issue when we attack. We strive and often work patiently to find a pass in attacking areas but far too often the ball is lost before we have chance to get into a scoring position. Cunha was particularly at fault while Hwang was virtually anonymous the whole game.

None of the above makes good reading. Its puzzling how West Ham could have lost 5-0 in their last Premier League game. This time around they looked strong in attack and midfield and susceptible only at the back. Our weak front three failed to take advantage of their weakness.

Our points total needs improvement quickly, we seem to have lost some of the momentum we previously had. I wonder if we still have scars from that VAR battering at Fulham.