Wolves Verdict: Fans deflated after disappointing defeat

Russ Evers (Hatherton Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? A glorious day off the pitch but a total abomination on it.

Wolves just were not at it yesterday...not even close. And even then we should have taken the lead early on but Dicko missed the sort of chance any half decent Sunday League player would score 99 times out of 100.

And that was it. Heads dropped and we just seemed to stop. Half-hearted, cheap and uncaring attempts led to easily our most disappointing performance of the season.

The entire team were shocking and had one foot on the beach. But we have Brighton, Leeds, Huddersfield and Preston to play yet not discounting Derby.

Whether it was instructions or just retreating into shells we abandoned the three pronged attack and left Dicko and later Bodvarsson isolated.

It probably takes up 85 per cent or more of the "spare" weekly cash for the average Wolves fan to travel and watch such abject careless attitudes and that is the biggest thing that needs to change if next season is going to be the one we wish for.

My glass is however always half full so we will put this down to the dreaded manager of the month curse and fingers crossed this was o total one off.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? High balls to Weimann who was up against a 6ft 4in centre half sums up the nous of the players on show and we ended up exactly with what this performance deserved.

Peter Abbott (London Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? It may well have been the Grand National at Aintree but Wolves weren't at the races after the quarter hour mark.

In those early minutes Nouha failed to score his one chance and City managed to get on the front foot whereas we slipped back.

From my viewpoint, Patterson's goal looked to be straightforward for Lonergan, so need to see that again, Danny Batth managed an accidental header onto his own bar, Lee Evans was pulled up a few times by the referee and the Bristol players knew what they could get away with.

For Tammy Abraham that was to go down in the box for no great reason and, thanks ref, dodgy penalty given and scored.

Second half, a decent move at last, ended however with a Doherty stumble in their penalty area and a breakaway third goal. Deja vu after our winning goal midweek.

Consensus around me was that Bristol City, even though they had let in five midweek, were quicker and faster. We certainly couldn't get our game going and with a "homer" ref, that was that.

To be honest, and knowing we let in three goals, the back four were largely untroubled. The midfield were certainly below par and we lacked any bite up front. Good too see Jon Dadi score though, albeit a late consolation.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Man of the match, in a poor team performance I would flit between either Doherty or Coady.

Chris Hughes

What's your verdict on the match? An absolute shambles from start to finish. Impotent going forward against a side who conceded five in midweek and, Hause apart, defending like schoolboys for 90 minutes.

Watching this game you'd think our lot had already decided they were safe and didn't need to put an effort in.

Poor at the back, negligent in possession, and impotent up front until a deflected shot landed at Dadi's feet six yards out to pull a goal back to give the travelling fans some hope for the last 10 minutes.

We were that far adrift that no one even tried to start 'the clap' for the goal.

This was as bad as we've been since January and no one stepped up to take responsibility. We might be safe but yesterday proved that, after our winning run, there are still areas we need to improve on.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Kortney Hause was by far our best player. He won everything in the air and on the ground but was let down by his teammates.

While we were beaten 3-1 it didn't seem that sort of game. Both teams were poor but we lacked class in key areas that cost us. Evans and Edwards were below their recent standards and both full backs struggled greatly.

Russ Cockburn

What's your verdict on the match? Well, the manager of the month trophy is about as welcome as a bout of chlamydia and a one-hour Citizen Khan Christmas special.

Yesterday, we just weren't at the races and lost to a more focused, committed and 'up for it' Bristol City team that had relegation fears firmly on their mind.

I'm not saying losing is a good thing, it isn't. However, the result yesterday will stop any romantic notions Lambert and Shi might have been fostering that this squad is capable of a promotion push...put simply, it isn't.

We need an experienced centre back (who can stay fit for more than three games), two centre midfielders (a creative force and a general) and a striker who scores. We can't put our hopes on Dicko returning to former glories.

For an actual match report, I'm going to let Pat Russell (a regular on our trips) take it away...

With the opportunity to extend their winning run to six games, Wolves were brought back down to earth with a bump. And a Championship style reality check against a motivated Bristol City team who had suffered a 5-0 defeat in their last match.

The wonderful weather in the south west was reminiscent of a pre-season friendly and some of Paul Lambert's men performed as though they were already on the beach. An early chance for Nouha Dicko crafted by Gibbs-White, wasn't converted and with it the opening for Wanderers to obtain a foothold in the game.

Wolves midfield shortcomings returned with a vengeance - Jamie Paterson was afforded both time and space to open the scoring for the hosts with the City player allowed to run off the back of Edwards to score from outside the box.

Things went from bad to worse when former Wolves' man Mark Little made a foray into the box, and, when challenged by Matt Doherty, went to ground far too easily with the over officious referee James Adcock awarding a soft penalty. This was duly dispatched by the prolific on loan Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham.

The second half started as the first had concluded - with the home team hungrier for the ball and showing more attacking intent. Midfield mishaps continued for Wolves, Evans was remiss in possession and allowed a City player to snaffle the ball and when the pass came into the penalty area the adroit Abrahams was on hand to apply the finish.

Jeff Shi has alluded to a two-year promotion aspiration - the Fosun executive should test the water with Chelsea in the summer to ascertain whether the services of the striker can be secured for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

A 20-goal per season forward has to be top of Paul Lambert's transfer targets for next season.

Without Helder Costa in the team again there was a paucity of craft and invention from the Molineux men. With no tangible urgency the game fizzled out for Wanderers, who managed a consolation goal from Bodvarsson.

So the winning run had come to an unedifying end, the sold out away section emptied with fans looking to enjoy the balmy Bristol weather and delights of cider barges.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? From a Wolves perspective Coady continued with his consistent performances of late. Defensively obdurate and looking to get forward when the opportunity presented itself. Weimann was again full of running and endeavour, but starved of service his efforts went unrewarded.

Kortney Hause continued to show his quality with an extended run in the team and, after the talismanic Helder Costa, why he is the most coveted player at Molineux.

Edwards had a particularly poor game, booked harshly early on he was reluctant to tackle to avoid a red card. When his 'ratting' of the ball is removed he becomes a benign option - offering as much stimulus to the proceedings as the empty top tier of the Lansdown Stand.