Wolves self destruct
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 v Brentford FC 2
When on Friday I was listening to the Today programme on Radio 4 it came as something of a surprise when Gary Richardson introduced a long forgotten ne’er-do-well. Asked for his views on the proposed introduction of a Blue Card to the Football League, from out of the ether appeared the voice of one Peter Ridsdale. Peter Ridsdale - Wikipedia Those of you with long memories will know that Ridsdale has a stellar record of indebting nearly every football club he has been involved with. His financial acuity aside the Blue Card is to be used in a similar fashion to the Yellow Card in rugby, allowing referees to send those moppets who digress from the straight and narrow - when either tackling an opponent or engaging in verbal intercourse with an official - to the sin bin. Never lacking chutzpah Ridsdale was suitably robust in denouncing the whole idea, not unreasonably stating that referees already have it within their power to discipline players. “Just send a few off for verbal abuse and they’ll soon stop” he said. I couldn’t disagree. But it won’t happen, so wedded appear those administering the game to serially overcomplicate it. Thus very soon will Blue Cards be nestling in the chest pockets of league referees. But not, apparently, in the Premier League where VAR is still being perfected. Rejoice, rejoice! Ridsdale btw is currently some big cheese at Preston North End. His hide makes the armour plating on a Tiger tank Tiger I - Wikipedia look paper thin.
When last these two sides locked horns in the FA Cup 3rd round replay Brentford were denied the services of their awkward striker, Ivan Toney. For much of this game you wouldn’t have known he was on the pitch so anonymous was he. It took until the 72nd minute for him to have a strike on goal, his long range effort being easily saved by Jose Sa. Four minutes later however he was on the score sheet as the home side contrived to shoot themselves in the foot. With the ball at his feet in the six yard box Jose Sa gave Mario Lemina an awful ball leaving but one option, to off load it immediately to Craig Dawson. Normally assured with his distribution on this occasion the Wolves centre half failed to find Tommy Doyle, the ball being collected by a Brentford shirt. Three passes later the ball reached Toney who with the goal at his mercy slide footed home with ease.
The goal knocked the stuffing out of Wolves who for much of the second half had looked threatening, particularly following the introduction of Doyle whose distribution is of a higher order. Somehow O’Neill must find a way to meld Gomez, Doyle and Lemina into an effective midfield.
But with Brentford effectively parking the bus it was always going to be difficult afternoon. It didn’t help that Matheus Cunha, who is so good at gliding passed defenders and creating openings, had to go off injured after only twenty minutes. That and Jose Sa’s awful distribution were the low points of a first half in which the home side were very much second best, moving the ball too slowly and too predictably. It was therefore no surprise when with 34 minutes on the clock Brentford opened their account, Christian Norgaard heading home from a corner.
Wolves did manage to puncture the Brentford net but Craig Dawson’s 50th minute header from and in-swinging free kick was VAR denied. Offside the verdict. Waiting for an adjudication is, as the South Bank chanted, incredibly boring.
So, who’d be a manager? Coming into today’s game Wolves were riding high after a run of excellent performances none more so than their superb away win at Chelsea last Sunday. Gary O’Neill was rightly delighted with how his players had performed to claim Wolves’ first win at Stamford Bridge since 1979. Yet a week later and his side have been turned over by a Brentford side low on confidence after a poor string of results.
Who’d be a manager indeed.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sa 5, Semedo 6 Sub Doherty, Dawson 6, Kilman 7, Gomes 6 Sub Fraser, Ait Nourri 6, Gomes 6 Sub Doyle, Lamina 7, Neto 6, Cunha 5 Sub Bellegarde 5, Sarabia 6
Brentford FC: Flekken 6, Collins 6, Pinnock 6, Mee 6, Roerslev 6, Jensen 6 Sub Yarmoliuk, Norgaard 7 Sub Ajer, Janelt 7, Reguilon 6, Toney 6, Maupay 6 Sub Lewis Potter
Attendance: 30,731
Referee: Simon Hooper 7
©Mark Brennand