Wolves - 1 Aston Villa - 0 Custard Cup Final Post Match Critique

[Oklahoma]

I also thought we were the better team and had the better chances. The Mings miss, which was a great free kick routine, and the Buendia shot which was a brilliant save.

Last few games have been disappointing but win the last 3 and it might be good enough.

Do you want to bet against us?

UTV

[Nev]

Wolfs are becoming a bit of a bogey team to me. We never get thrashed but seem to struggle against them, I felt that halfway through the game yesterday.

[Risso]

I also thought we were the better team and had the better chances. The Mings miss, which was a great free kick routine, and the Buendia shot which was a brilliant save.

Last few games have been disappointing but win the last 3 and it might be good enough.

Do you want to bet against us?

UTV

We're 25/1 to qualify for Europe now, if you fancy it.

[Clampy]

That post about us 'bottling it' was ridiculous. We may end up coming short but bottling it is way off the mark.

[john2710]

Teams will have started to work out what stops us. To get around this we need to evolve how we play, from game to game & even within games.

Last week Man Utd changed how they played to accommodate us. When was the last time that happened?

Our ability to change is restricted by the limited pool of players we can pick from & injuries to key players has made it harder. That will be addressed over the summer. We won't have an Ollie Watkins V2 on the bench, we'll have an alternative player with a different set of abilities.

[Drummond]

Agree completely John.

[The Edge]

Teams will have started to work out what stops us. To get around this we need to evolve how we play, from game to game & even within games.

Last week Man Utd changed how they played to accommodate us. When was the last time that happened?

Our ability to change is restricted by the limited pool of players we can pick from & injuries to key players has made it harder. That will be addressed over the summer. We won't have an Ollie Watkins V2 on the bench, we'll have an alternative player with a different set of abilities.

Wolves game plan was to get an early goal then pack the defence and hope to catch us on the break. Pretty basic stuff but effective. I take it as a compliment that the home team had a game plan to park the bus for 80 minutes. Once Unai starts bringing in his own players we will be more effective at making in game alterations to deal with situations like yesterday's. We have an elite manager now and days like yesterday are a mere bump in the road. We'll have our day against teams like Wolves and it will be oh so sweet. Viva the revolution.

[olaftab]

That post about us 'bottling it' was ridiculous. We may end up coming short but bottling it is way off the mark.

Maybe bottling it is strong but we do seem to have wilted  when Europe got real. There was pressure once the Media Started saying we are favourites  to secure that  and suddenly we start losing and not scoring.

[PaulWinch again]

That post about us 'bottling it' was ridiculous. We may end up coming short but bottling it is way off the mark.

Maybe bottling it is strong but we do seem to have wilted  when Europe got real. There was pressure once the Media Started saying we are favourites  to secure that  and suddenly we start losing and not scoring.

To be fair unless you’re literally one of probably Citeh, Liverpool (in previous years), and Arsenal this year sustaining the form we had just doesn’t happen.

[The Edge]

That post about us 'bottling it' was ridiculous. We may end up coming short but bottling it is way off the mark.

Maybe bottling it is strong but we do seem to have wilted  when Europe got real. There was pressure once the Media Started saying we are favourites  to secure that  and suddenly we start losing and not scoring.

They absolutely have not bottled it. It's a ridiculous way to look at it. We've had key injuries and we lack squad depth to cope with it. They are running on empty. To accuse them of bottling it is an insult to the players who have made a monumental effort to get us to where we are right now.

[pauliewalnuts]

This was always going to happen, we weren't going to go on winning forever. Still, it's disappointing though, winning is great.

We're running on empty and have very few options from the bench, and some of those options we do have are of questionable quality.

Next season's going to be very, very interesting.

[RamboandBruno]

Our depth problem is seen in the Buendia situation.

Many have pointed out he’s been poor of late but, until today with Coutinho on the bench, who do we replace him with?

Emery is doing an amazing job, out of this world, but we have a lot of work to do on the squad this summer in terms of quality of course but also numbers.

The lack of depth was clear at Christmas, yet Emery and the board did not do anywhere near enough when we had the chance in January.  A golden, if unexpected chance to reach Europe, and we look to have completly blown it.  Add to that Emery's bone-headed team selection in the two cups as well.  Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool will not be anywhere near as bad next season.  Another season bottled.

There is nothing wrong with being disappointed that we look like we could miss out on Europe. However, you have contradicted yourself with the ‘golden’ and ‘unexpected’ comment. Other than the last couple of weeks there hasn’t been a golden opportunity to make Europe. Emery and the players at his disposal and how he has coached and organised them has created the opportunity out of virtually nowhere. We haven’t blown anything, we’re the third of fourth best team in the league since October. Its just a really irrational post.

[Paul.S]

Our ball movement across the backline is so slow it is open to a hard press, need to get better ball players. We were the better side but Wolves after scoring played six across the back and we couldn't break them down. Ollie is our only real option up front and when he is well held we struggle.

We’ve done this since Emery came. Newcastle thought it would be their lucky day until Emery changed tactics and we lobbed it to McGinn and the rest is history. I think we’ve massively improved at the back regarding passing it around. I’d agree with your comments about our forward line but that’s due to not having any options out wide. Bailey has been terrible so it’s easy to break teams down who don’t come at us. Hopefully with some quality additions we’ll move onto the next level. I’m sure Emery is all over this.

[Risso]

That post about us 'bottling it' was ridiculous. We may end up coming short but bottling it is way off the mark.

Maybe bottling it is strong but we do seem to have wilted  when Europe got real. There was pressure once the Media Started saying we are favourites  to secure that  and suddenly we start losing and not scoring.

They absolutely have not bottled it. It's a ridiculous way to look at it. We've had key injuries and we lack squad depth to cope with it. They are running on empty. To accuse them of bottling it is an insult to the players who have made a monumental effort to get us to where we are right now.

I don't agree with the sentiment, but the poster appeared to be saying that the club bottled the January window, not that the players have bottled these last few matches.

[Drummond]

That post about us 'bottling it' was ridiculous. We may end up coming short but bottling it is way off the mark.

Maybe bottling it is strong but we do seem to have wilted  when Europe got real. There was pressure once the Media Started saying we are favourites  to secure that  and suddenly we start losing and not scoring.

They absolutely have not bottled it. It's a ridiculous way to look at it. We've had key injuries and we lack squad depth to cope with it. They are running on empty. To accuse them of bottling it is an insult to the players who have made a monumental effort to get us to where we are right now.

I don't agree with the sentiment, but the poster appeared to be saying that the club bottled the January window, not that the players have bottled these last few matches.

Judging by the calibre of the individual who will have responsibility from 1st July, I'm not worrying about that side of things any more!