Liam Keen & Nathan Judah discuss the good and the bad from the 2-1 defeat to Newcastle at Molineux.
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00:00It's time to look on the other side, the flip side of the coin, the cold side of the pillow,
00:13because we've got three players who didn't cover themselves in glory, let's say, yesterday.
00:21The first one, and we praised him on this show against Nottingham Forest, but we both
00:26felt didn't have his greatest game in the world, and that is Nelson Samedo.
00:31Still doesn't, well, didn't play the full game, and still didn't quite look fit to me.
00:35Yeah, I think he's, obviously he was suspended for those first three games, was away with
00:40Portugal as well in the summer, so had a bit more of a longer spell off, I think.
00:45Just needs to get up to speed a little bit, but did very well against Forest, and rightly
00:49deserves praise as one of the better performers on the day up there with Dawson, and at the
00:54same time, as you can't be blinded by giving him praise every week, you also can't be blinded
00:59by giving him criticism when he deserves it.
01:02I don't think he had his best game.
01:04What I do think he did well, to start off with a positive, is that he did show the attackers
01:10for Newcastle, the wingers, down the outside more often than not.
01:15The goal, the winning goal from Harvey Barnes was on a stake, really, from Matt Doherty
01:19allowing Barnes inside, and obviously Barnes has got a lot to do that at that point, but
01:23it's a fantastic goal from the Newcastle player, so frustratingly so, that it was so
01:29avoidable as well.
01:31So I will give Simeone credit that he did show the defenders down the line, and he did
01:36take them in the right direction.
01:37However, how many times did Gordon take him down the line and beat him, that's the biggest
01:42concern.
01:43He was turned inside out by Gordon and Hall at times, particularly in that first half,
01:48and then as you say, I felt he tired quite considerably.
01:51He is going to be an important player to Wolves and in this starting element to Gary
01:55O'Neill.
01:56He's experienced, had an excellent season last year, found a lot of consistency, and
02:01we know that Gary O'Neill loves him, and he's going to play regularly, he's going to play
02:05every week, but at the same time, when I've seen a below par performance, not a disastrous
02:12performance by any means, but a below par performance, I think you have to call a spade
02:16a spade.
02:17He's a player that we're fans of and we think has done very well for Wolves, but just not
02:22particularly on this day.
02:24He will keep his place.
02:25He won't play at Brighton, but he will keep his place and he will play at Villa, and he
02:29should play at Villa.
02:30He doesn't deserve to lose his spot after that performance, but you have to call out
02:34what it was.
02:35It was a performance that was maybe just lacking a little bit of something extra, a little
02:38bit of oomph, seemed a little bit flat.
02:40Yeah, it's an interesting one, isn't it?
02:42Because you talk about, Gary O'Neill talks about getting his best players into that team
02:45and shoehorning them in wherever possible.
02:47And then you've got the flip side of it and that balance, I guess, that we'll be talking
02:50about more in detail and through over the next few weeks, where the likes of right-hand
02:55Nuri, who he thinks better in a left wing back slot.
02:57I think Nelson Tomei is better in a right wing back slot with a bit more protection.
03:01You look at Mario Lamina, who we think is better in the centre of the pitch.
03:05What's better?
03:06Getting the best players in the team by hook or by crook or playing the best players in
03:10their best positions?
03:11And we'll soon see what ends up winning.
03:14But at the moment, it's not quite working, is it?
03:16Everything looks a little bit disjointed, almost like another pre-season almost, testing
03:22these players out, seeing what is the best formation and what works.
03:26And you are going to have a period like this when you make the decision to divert and sign
03:33Andre and have to then look at changing the system because previous attempts to sign players
03:39in the window did not come off wanting a centre-back, wanting other positions.
03:43That didn't happen.
03:45So when these things don't happen and you make a very deliberate decision to divert
03:49your course and change the way Wolves are going to play and change it to suit the players
03:53you've got, you are going to go through a little period of trying to find the best positions
03:59for players, trying to fit everyone in.
04:01I do worry slightly about the shoehorning of players in.
04:06Smeda obviously wouldn't be one of them, being a right back.
04:10I do think he's fine at right back still.
04:11I know your point about wing-back, but yeah, across the pitch you're trying to get players
04:17into the starting XI that perhaps, as you mentioned the Lamina one earlier in the show,
04:22you could have another attacking player on the pitch.
04:24So it's again, at the same time, I feel sorry for Gary Neal.
04:29I wouldn't want to be the one who has to decide whether Andre, Jair Gomes or Lamina drops
04:32out of the team.
04:33So, you know, it's a catch-22, you've got to make a decision one way or the other.