RAN if you can!

By Ivybridge Wolves
April 5 2024

Including the Cup quarter final, Wolves host West Ham on Saturday having gone three games without a win, the last being versus Fulham on 9th March. Additionally, due to the most unlikely Chelsea comeback on Thursday, we have tumbled out of the top half of the table. A fair reflection of the depth of our squad? Quire possibly. Gary O’Neil will certainly want to arrest the winless run and get us back on track, his influence on the side remains key, it is of note this current team, regardless of selection or match situation, refuse to give up and always offer a fight and that’s not just because of the players, this attitude comes from the top. David Moyes praised GON during his Friday morning press conference, quite right too.  

An entertaining draw at Burnley at least got the points total ticking along, and perhaps a better result given Burnley’s 10 man draw at Stamford Bridge last week. Ait Nouri again was a standout player, however he will be disappointed with his failure to convert his one on one situation. Nevertheless, a remarkable effort and quite a reaction to the additional responsibility given to him by the manager. ‘RAN’ is most definitely not ‘just’ a left wing back, he offers great all-round play, is positive, attacking and now he’s scored three in his past four appearances (all competitions). Incredibly, he only managed 4 in his first 100 plus matches for us!! A special note also on Tuesday to Jose Sa who provided a solid last line of defence because it absolutely was needed!

Back to the West Ham game, Wolves fans will remember the tepid 3-0 defeat at the London Stadium in December and so will perhaps draw upon more happier memories, recalling we have beaten them twice in a row at Molineux, once under Lopetegui and one under Lage. West Ham have plenty of dangerous and good players, Antonio, Bowen, Ward Prowse, Paqueta, Soucek and the odd unsavoury type, Zouma the cat kicker. Apparently, Areola is injured so Fabianski will play in goal. They make a good side and they remain in the prime seat for another European adventure next season. Some, mainly media to be honest, are looking to make this match a sort of ‘do or don’t’ in terms of European qualification for both sides. Frankly, from a Wolves perspective, I think that’s hype and a distraction, we just need to approach the match positively. The incentive is to get out on the pitch and try to win it, the major prize of the day is that 3 Wolves points means we will overtake them in the league. That for now is surely more than enough?!

O’Neil certainly made some surprise selections to start at Turf Moor, so what’s the situation for this match? It will be highly dependant of fitness and availability once again, so look out to see if Cunha gets a starting berth and also whether Dawson is fit enough to play. Cunha certainly provided more drive when he came off the bench last Tuesday but how many minutes can he tolerate? At Fridays press conference GON said that both Hwang and Dawson trained with the team earlier in the day and that “they'll be reviewed after the session” to assess their involvement in the squad. Dawson’s mere presence provides an extra dimension in defence, and I really hope he’s available. Hwang would be a bit more of a surprise but welcome, nonetheless. How will GON play RAN? Will H. Bueno start? What about the Doc? Will it be Fraser of Chiwome or neither?!! Whatever the line up, with Cunha and the guile of the rest, I think we have more than enough to achieve a positive result.

Some stats for you all! Firstly, we are now on 42 points, that’s 1 more than the whole of last season and worthy of a small celebration! I mentioned we’ve beat West Ham in our last two Molineux fixtures; indeed, we’ve won 4 from 7 in the premier league against the Hammers at home but beware as they’ve won 5 of the last 7 league matches versus us, a remarkable statistical turnaround of fortunes! Generally West Ham games involve goals (their last 20 away matches have provided at least 2 goals) however they’ve only won twice in 2024. Swings and roundabouts, certainly winnable for Wolves.

I will be there and looking forward to hopefully a good performance. Please leave your thoughts, before, during and after the match in the usual manner and however you follow our fortunes, enjoy the game!

UTW!!

11pm 5/4/24

Match Thread: Wolves v West Ham United 6.4.24 KO 3pm

Discussion started by Wolves , 05/04/2024 23:00

Wolves
05/04/2024 23:00

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:04:25:07:26:47 by Cheshire wolf.

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Lupy
06/04/2024 14:24

Tough one to call today but let's hope we can squeeze them out and take three points.

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chicagowolf
06/04/2024 14:52

Down at the Golden Palace today. Cunha and Dawson on the bench. Tommy D in midfield and BOTH Doherty and Semedo in the lineup.
Still no sign of Hwang

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 14:53

Having seen the West Ham line-up against ours I
Most certainly think we
Will have our work cut out to achieve anything today. Cunha is clearly only considered fit for an also -ran role, and there is a possibility we may see Dawson have a run-our which is likely to be encouraging, but I’m afraid I don’t see Serabia, Lenin’s and Doherty in the same attacking league as their strikers, and we can’t always rely upon Ait-Nouri to produce!

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 15:23

Great run in from right wing and a lethal shot by RAN which fizzes just over the bar.
Now Semedo chases down an almost impossible ball and keeps it in & passes to Pablo who has moved into a good position but the ball is smothered by Fabianski

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 15:31

Ball out over in to the area on to Doc’s head, back to Doyle but he shoots wide. Pablo picks it up but a weak shot from Mario is easy for Fabianski

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 15:35

RAN fed by Doyle and runs into the area where he is could be Emerson, penalty given and VAR confirm. Pablo Serabia to take it and he puts it in off the right hand post.
Wolves 1 West Ham 0

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 15:45

Powerful play in to the Hammers area by Pablo leads to a strong shot from Joao, straight at Fabianski. Joao then strikes out at Alvarez & earns him a yellow card. Wolves appeal for a pen for hand ball but nothing given.

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 15:53

RAN brought down again by Emerson for a free kick, which Pablo puts into the corner but well taken by Fabianski. Half time whistle goes and against all the odds we lead by a penalty goal after a foul on RAN. It really has been all Wolves in the first half with a very poor showing from Hammers who I don’t think have had a shot on target. RAN has been electric, and linked up superbly with Pablo who has also had a great game so far. Tommy Doyl and Joao Gomez have been playing durther forward than usual and have done well. We can probably look forward to Cunha coming on in the second half and hopefully adding to what we have already achieved.
Half Time: Wolves 1 Hammers 0

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 16:08

Milan Antonio and Ben Johnson replace Soucek and Soufal for W Ham as we restart

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 16:15

Jarrod Bowen off injured & replaced by Aaron Cresswell. RAN is also replaced by Matheus Cunha

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 16:33

Cunha concedes a free kick on the edge of our area. JWP steps up but his shot is headed clear by Doc
Kudus is more involved so far this half and needs to be watched. Kudus puts the ball on to Emerson’s head and he converts. Play called back he trod on Pablo’s heel - reviewed by VAR and goal
Is denied
Penalty given for hand ball against Max Kilman. No debate about it - it was a poor and unnecessary pass to Toti which caused the problem. Paqueta whips it into side netting giving Jose no chance.
Wolves 1 West Ham 1

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 16:35

Leon Chrome and Boubakar Traore replace Pablo Serabia and Mario Lemina

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 16:48

Ward Prowse
Floats a corner over from our right side which evades everyone including Jose Sa and Ito the corner to give West Ham the lead - no real surprise this half it must be said. Talk of ten added minutes

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Cheshire wolf
06/04/2024 17:01

Joao Gomez earns a corner which he then puts over and Max Kilman makes up for conceding a penalty by heading it in. VAR looking at whether Chirewa was in an offside position and blocking Fabianski’s ability to get to which he never would have but the goal is chalked off after an on pitch review and remains 2-1 to West Ham

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Andy Pandy
06/04/2024 17:22

Always on top. Played some good football. Ait-Nouri was fantastic, in fact everyone played well. Then came half-time. 2nd half the complete opposite. We were rubbish. The amount of times we gave the ball away or lost possession. Why VAR had to check Max's hand ball and take so long about it I have no idea. It was pretty blatant. Their 2nd goal I thought was a fluke and possibly taken in by the wind but it was no more than they deserved in the 2nd half. Max's goal was always going to be disallowed unfortunately. Goalkeeper was never going to save it but Chirewa was standing smack in front of him. Hoping Ait-Nouri's injury isn't too serious. We've got enough players out.

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Ivybridge Wolf
07/04/2024 13:58

Delighted 1 Gutted 2

Delighted - we played so well in the first half. After a really tight start, we grew into the first half and by the end we had dominated with not just a deserved lead but with some stylist play, crisp and accurate passing, high energy , fantastic movement and some great individual performances. RAN was terrific as was Sarabia, Doyle, Doherty, Lemina, Gomes, Semedo. Our defence were in control and comfortable. The only issue for me was the slim 1-0 lead.

Gutted 1 - In stark contrast, what a poor, polar opposite performance in the second half. Languid, disjoint, lack of energy, poor ball retention, poor positional play, lack of fight, no attacking intent, sometimes chaotic at the back. We invited pressure and created our own problems, albeit under far more pressure from West Ham, superbly led by Antonio who had come on at half time. An inexplicable turnaround! The events leading up to the penalty were a complete joke of a defensive effort, giving the ball away for fun. Added to that, a wonderful, but heartbreaking once in a blue moon event - a goal direct from a corner. Fluke and wind assisted, maybe, but you can’t deny the quality of Ward-Prowse’s right boot.

Gutted 2 - the disallowed Kilman goal. When all was lost, we equalised, a bullet header from 5-6 yards, the keeper no chance. Joyous!! The ugly spectre of VAR, already overused in the match, raised its head again. I remain firmly of the opinion that whilst Chirewa was in an offside position, he was not interfering with play nor influencing the capability of Fabianski to react to the header. The ball was in the back of the net but any of could blink, never lone the West Ham keeper. Utterly gutted.

Let’s say the journey home could have been better.

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An angry wolf
07/04/2024 19:18

No one thought the goal should be disallowed including both managers. Goals can't be enjoyed - as I said on the other thread, a Franskenstein version of the game that was once enjoyable. The only thing left to play for this season is the prediction league. Cheshire has never finished above me in the table - I intend for that record to continue

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Cheshire wolf
10/04/2024 08:02

I actually think you are wrong there Angry as I was Champion a couple of seasons ago, although that may have been one of the times when you withdrew from the board. However if you look I think you will see you still have a mountain to climb this season, because as far as I know there was only one of us who benefited from Max’s goal being chalked off!!

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An angry wolf
13/04/2024 10:33

I noticed the 1-2 prediction and assumed on the percentages it was unlikely to be you Cheshire - how disappointing . Still on we go, do you know what board member has predicted what score pre kick off BTW

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Cheshire wolf
14/04/2024 10:19

Quote:

An angry wolf
I noticed the 1-2 prediction and assumed on the percentages it was unlikely to be you Cheshire - how disappointing . Still on we go, do you know what board member has predicted what score pre kick off BTW

No Angry I have no advantage over anyone else in knowing who has forecast what. I can however tell you that I was unable to make my forecast yesterday, and unfortunately unable to do a page for the game as I am in Hospital. Ivybridge on the other hand was at the Grand National. I can only apologise that between us we were unable to provide our usual service.

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An angry wolf
14/04/2024 11:14

Sorry to hear that Cheshire, I hope you get out of hospital and return home ASAP

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chicagowolf
14/04/2024 11:48

Quote:

Cheshire wolf

Quote:

An angry wolf
I noticed the 1-2 prediction and assumed on the percentages it was unlikely to be you Cheshire - how disappointing . Still on we go, do you know what board member has predicted what score pre kick off BTW

No Angry I have no advantage over anyone else in knowing who has forecast what. I can however tell you that I was unable to make my forecast yesterday, and unfortunately unable to do a page for the game as I am in Hospital. Ivybridge on the other hand was at the Grand National. I can only apologise that between us we were unable to provide our usual service.

Sorry to hear that Cheshire. Look after yourself

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Cheshire wolf
15/04/2024 12:31

Thank you chaps

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An angry wolf
15/04/2024 13:14

The good news is you seem to have gained a point in the prediction league Cheshire despite not making a prediction. The FA are conducting an investigation

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