Wolves Verdict: Angry fans question Paul Lambert after Blues defeat

Heather Large

What's your verdict on the match? It was dreadful. We were simply not good enough. Not good enough to win and at this rate, not good enough to stay up.

Losing to a poor Birmingham City side at home has got to be the wake-up-call the team needs otherwise we're certainly heading for a relegation battle with no hope of remaining a Championship side.

We've got to start getting more shots on target and scoring goals while putting a stop to all the careless mistakes.

Every player needs to raise their game. To not want to play your best in a local derby is shocking.

We were poor, incredibly sloppy and lacked imagination and momentum.

Passes were going awry all over the pitch and too many times we would fight to win the ball only to give it back to them in the very next pass. We always seem to want to make it harder for ourselves by lumping it forward when we've run out of ideas.

Yes, we were marginally better after Robinson was sent off. But why did we have to leave it until then to start playing properly? And why didn't Lambert bring on any more subs? We were losing at home - we should be throwing everything at the opposition.

I think it was actually worse than the Wigan match which I never thought would be possible.

The only small positive in an otherwise terrible game was Dicko scoring. (Nouha, please can you score a few more to get out of this mess.)

Who played well - and who didn't impress? I can't think of one player who played well and there were plenty who didn't impress with Stearman, Weirmann and Price top of the list.

Russ Cockburn

What's your verdict on the match? For the first time since he was appointed, I find myself questioning whether Lambert is more of the problem than the actual solution.

To set the team up with such limited ambition against a Blues side devoid of confidence is unforgivable and the opening 20 minutes played out exactly the way we knew it would. We chucked a few balls in the box, Stearman missed a header and then the 'lulus' realised that we had little threat and might as well attack too.

Ikeme decided to join the ranks of the Chuckle Brothers by gifting them the softest of opening goals and then Davis popped up with a well taken finish that we tend to afford every returning ex-player.

Talking of 'Diggar', he's like that aggravating zit that wouldn't go away when you were in your teens and always reared its head on the big occasions. What a sad state of affairs we are in that I would actually jump at the chance of having him in the middle of park. That tells you the abundance of riches we have in that department.

Saville did his best impression yet of being invisible, whereas Price at least tried to take the game by the scruff of the neck in the second-half. Unfortunately, he hasn't got the range of passing or creativity to unlock a defence that were sitting deep.

Then we come on to Edwards, my old mate Dave. Apparently he had 13 touches, the majority of which was placing the ball down for a Blues goal-kick. How you can be centre midfield and the game bypass you when playing against 10 men is an unbelievable achievement?

This brings me on to Lambert. The very definition of insanity is keep doing the same thing and hoping it works. We all know that midfield trio doesn't work so change it, do something different, drop Dave for example. Oh no, we'll just continue with the same turgid dross that wouldn't look out of place on Bantock Park.

Make no bones about it we are in a relegation battle and in a run of form that would suggest we're the team others are looking to catch. We have a defence that gives away cheap goals, a midfield that doesn't create and strikers that don't score...but apart from that things are looking great.

Instead of having an eight-month pre-season to get us ready for next year, Lambert now faces three months to keep us up and save his job, as I can't imagine the Chinese will relish the prospect of £27m investment delivering you trips to Walsall, Oldham and Bristol Rovers.

The cup results have partly masked a poor return in the league and that has to change and fast. I also have no idea what he was playing at with the subs...playing against 10 men and you only bring one replacement on. It was crying out for fresh legs and something a bit different, you know the sort of thing Bright or Morgan Gibbs-White could offer.

It was almost like he forgot they were there...

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Out wide Weimann looks anything but the player he was at Villa and I'm amazed he didn't get the hook at half-time. We also appear to be slowly managing Costa's ability out of him and I'm sure, before long, we will be able to add his name to list of quality players we've ruined at Molineux.

Up top Jon Dadi seems to do everything but get into positions where he will score. I'd fix a tag on him so that it electrocutes him every time he decides to go out wide, that way he might actually do what he's supposed to do. Failing that, it might be worth actually playing him out wide to mix things up, it's a role he's played for Iceland.

The one bright spot of the night was Dicko breaking his duck, which hopefully will give him the confidence to get back to the player we used to have.

Peter Abbott (London Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? Depressed and disappointed. Much discontent after another worrying result. We are definitely staring at the wrong of the league table and this rollercoaster lark is certainly no fun now.

Though Wolves started on the front foot and got into Blues' faces early on, Stearman's header apart, we created no real chances on goal.

Then came Ikeme's big drop ball, overstretching and dropping it at Kieftenbeld's feet which threw us completely off balance. And when we gave up so much space for Davis to score, I could have cried.

Heard some calling for Paul Lambert's head at half time. Thought we might see Saiss come on to springboard some attacks at that point but as it turned out, couldn't fault the decision to bring on Dicko.

Bodvarsson's run-in with Paul Robinson carried into the second half ultimately giving us the man advantage. This brought Costa and Weimann back into a game they both (and they probably weren't the only ones) appeared to have departed after Ikeme's mistake.

I was delighted for Nouha then getting on the end of a rare cross to feet and at last, Wolves ever so slightly, gave more of a goal threat.

There were lots of corners, with defenders (including Ikeme) adding to attacks, Doherty bursting into the box more and more. All pretty disjointed at times and so few out and out scoring chances but we should at least have scrambled a draw.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Wanderers' No.9 was clearly man of the (half) match and I, for one, couldn't be more happy for that man. Good to get you back Nouha, we're gonna need you...

Rob Cartwright

What's your verdict on the match? I was not impressed with Lambert's starting XI.

I would have preferred, at least, three that were on the bench - Saiss, Williamson and Dicko. I could easily have made a case for Bright Enobakhare too.

As it was, our February form continued as, once again, we were one dimensional and predictable. I'm unconvinced that Lambert knows any other way.

I hope he learned lots about European beers on his much-shouted coaching trips into Europe. He sure didn't come home with anything to shout about on the football pitch.

Stearman almost scored with a header which went just wide. Within a couple of minutes Blues did score.

Both goals were a little lucky. Ikeme dropped the ball after taking a routine cross for the first. Then an unfortunate rebound off Stearman fell nicely to the feet of Davis. The Davis who never scored when playing for Wolves!

For a period after the first goal we looked completely disorganised. We've lacked leadership on the pitch since Sam Ricketts left two years ago.

I think that marked the end of Blues threat to our goal.

We did play better in the second half, but I feel Lambert should have been braver and changed tactics. As it was, we huffed and puffed but found 10 men as hard to break down as 11. It was as though we were all over them, without really creating goal chances.

Sound familiar?

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Costa and Price were our best players and neither of them were at their best.

Saville contributed nothing. I truly believe picking him ought be a sackable offence.

Edwards offered very little. Weimann is having low impact playing out wide. If we play him, I think it should be as a central forward alongside Dicko.

Batth and Stearman had very little to do, but still managed to look uncomfortable. The full backs both did well.

This has been the same story each league game during the month. Why keep doing what clearly does not work. The performances Lambert talks about in press conferences are very different to what we actually see from the stands!

Four weeks ago, we were walking away from Anfield having beaten Liverpool - I never thought for a minute what was about to unfold during February.

We need five wins from 14 games. I think we will get more of these away from home.

The fact is, we are no better under Lambert than we were Zenga. Our performances at home are as sterile as we suffered under Hoddle. It's that bad!

Russ Evers (Hatherton Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? Another big crowd, another team who in pre-match chat were beatable - and yet another let down.

Blues were on a terrible run but for the first half at least they were simply stronger, faster and each player was far more determined than ours.

Oh and they seemed to play with a plan. Compare that to our lot who appeared to be running through treacle and just doing their own thing.

You can't legislate for an infant school goalkeeping error from Ikeme but that just about summed up the performances from each of our XI which was devoid of any of the youngsters who have given fans a spark of hope lately.

We need to do something drastic and do it quickly or we are staring relegation firmly in the face. We must learn from past deficiencies rather than simply repeat them and that must start with recruitment which under Thelwell has been an utter shambles. Oh well see you at Reading!

Who played well - and who didn't impress? At the back Coady looked lost whilst Doherty simply went missing. Batth and Stearman reverted to their ponderous worst and were just second best with Stearman not closing any room down for their second.

But for the umpteenth time this season we lost the game in midfield. David Davis was allowed to boss the first hour unchallenged and we had no answer to it or him.

Saville and Edwards were yet again anonymous. They mirror each other every game as if they do not score - which to be fair to Dangerous Dave, he often does - they are simply a waste of space.

And then comes Price who now resembles a poor man's Karl Henry with his incessant sideways or backwards passing.

Weimann didn't turn up whilst Costa is having to change his game to accommodate the shortcomings of his team mates. Bodvarsson tries but you could put Messi, Harry Kane or Diego Costa up front in this team and they would struggle to score such is the lack of creativity from our midfield.

The last four or five managers have tried one up front and it has failed spectacularly each time and sure enough when we went 4-4-2 we scored.