Wolves latest: Struggle continues and should Tommy Doyle make starting XI?
A look at the latest at Molineux.
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00:00So, Charlie, starting with Wolves, obviously we've touched on their real tough start and
00:05the fixtures will eventually get easier, but that sort of puts more pressure on them when
00:09you've had such a bad start and then you have a run of games which you see on paper are
00:13more winnable, then the pressure sort of ramps up to get those wins over the line. What needs
00:19to change from what you've seen so far this season? Obviously, they've had a real low
00:22xG in terms of getting the goals and they're really not very ruthless up top, maybe down
00:30to the fact of losing Pedro Neto in the summer. Yeah, it's been a really difficult start for
00:35Wolves, obviously right at the bottom of the league standings, conceding far too many goals
00:39and then obviously the issue as well of not scoring enough. One goal a game, it could
00:43be a lot worse. We've seen in previous seasons on the Bruno Large in particular, it was a
00:49real struggle getting in the back of the net. Last season, a much improved Wolves side
00:53in terms of their attacking output and Gary O'Neill, we've seen such a positive way of
00:58playing and trying to press players high up the pitch and create as many opportunities
01:02as possible, but that just hasn't been the case. I reckon maybe it's the fixture schedule
01:06that hasn't helped on that front. It has been a very difficult start for Wolves. All six
01:10opponents so far are currently in the top half of the Premier League and the only real
01:14winnable game there was essentially Nottingham Forest away, and that was a draw at a point
01:20game. So I think if you add a bit more context to it, the situation isn't as bleak as it
01:24might seem on the surface. But yeah, as you mentioned, going forward, not ruthless enough,
01:29a little bit toothless. Jorgen Strand-Larsen, I think he's had promising moments, but he's
01:34not quite been that goal scoring hero that Wolves fans would have hoped. But you've got
01:38to give him time. He's only just arrived in the Premier League for the first time and
01:42it's a bit of a change in system as well, because having a bit of a target man up top,
01:45it's very different to last year when it was a little bit more fluid. So when the fixtures
01:49do improve, you'd expect Wolves to start scoring more goals. But the initial signs, of course,
01:54have been quite frustrating for fans.
01:57Yeah, and one player that's sort of missed out a number of games so far, especially just
02:02having to come off the bench is Tommy Doyle, obviously signed for a permanent from Manchester
02:08City and in a great deal. I mean, on paper, he was fantastic for moments last season.
02:13He really sort of took to the fans and the fans took to him well and he sort of embraced
02:18the culture at the club. Does he deserve a start? I mean, I see a lot of murmurs from
02:23Wolves fans, especially on social media, saying that he's certainly in the running and he
02:27certainly deserves to start in the Wolves shirt.
02:30Yeah, I think it's quite difficult because midfield is actually an area where Wolves
02:33are very strong. You might not see that from the results, but Andre coming in at the base
02:38of midfield for 21 million looks like a star of the future and already is settling in very
02:43strongly indeed. Mario Lamina, of course, the club captain, you can't drop him playing
02:46in a bit more of an advanced role. The only player you might be able to see drop for Tommy
02:50Doyle is Joao Gomes and obviously he's another one of those brilliant prospects who on his
02:55day can be one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. So it is difficult to
02:58fit in Doyle, but I would agree. I think his passing range is something that Wolves could
03:02really do with struggling to create chances. You can't win matches just purely based on
03:07energy and passion in midfield. That's what Gomes offers more of, but maybe the cutting
03:11edge from Doyle, especially at a game like Brentford away from home where it's going
03:15to be a bit more evenly matched. I think it could be a good decision to bring him in.