Wolves blog: Still going strong… and getting stronger
Last weekend’s trip to Burton had the feel that this is how Wolves are going to play from now on.
Yes, Burton are 20th in the league, and had just been beaten by the same 4-0 scoreline against Aston Villa that week, but Wolves could have easily put more past the Brewers, writes Tom Tracey.
Wolves terrorised them with some fantastic play and fantastic goals.
It’s difficult to choose a favourite between Ruben Vinagre’s wonderful third goal or the fourth, for the way Ivan Cavaleiro sent Stephen Warnock onto his backside.
The win lifted us back into second place with a two-week break before a tasty Saturday evening fixture against Villa at Molineux.
The game showed Wolves have goal scoring ability all over the pitch, and can leave the likes of Leo Bonatini, who has now scored and assisted a total of eight goals, on the bench.
It feels almost like the handbrake has been released – earlier in the season I expected plenty of 1-0 wins, but we have scored eleven goals in the last five league games.
Wolves have the creativity and skill to put any team in this league to the sword.
Of the four games Wolves have dropped points in, three of those teams are in the top six now.
Wolves lost at home to top side Cardiff City, away to third-placed Sheffield United and drew with Bristol City.
You wouldn’t have predicted these three teams would be in the top six before the season.
But they are where they are right now on merit, and for varying reasons Wolves failed to beat them.
One of (very) few criticisms of Nuno’s tenure so far is this poorer form against the better teams.
Upcoming games against Villa, Preston and Norwich this month will test whether this problem will continue, as these three teams are all in and around the top six.
Wolves’ almost-unblemished form against the rest of the league is the reason for the position they are in, dropping just two points against Brentford from a possible 24.
This includes teams you would have expected to be in the top six – Middlesbrough, Derby, Hull – all defeated in the first three games.
Even if they were to continue to struggle against the top teams, but beat the rest, they would still win the league.
But there are many reasons why Wolves are going to overturn the better teams.
It doesn’t feel like they are even in their top gear yet – Neves has struggled in recent weeks, Burton aside, Willy Boly has missed a fair chunk of the season, we have let in a few sloppy, avoidable goals.
Once all these issues pass, it’s difficult to imagine Wolves not improving.
We have only just thrown Helder Costa back into the mix – it is frightening to imagine what him, Jota and Cavaleiro can do at full tilt.
Thanks to near-perfect off-the-field management, Wolves have almost unequivocal support for the first time in a long time, which is bound to be a help on the field – nobody has anything serious to complain about.
When Wolves return after the international break, they have six fixtures before the next two-week gap.
None of them – even Man City – probably want to face Wolves right now.
