Sheff Wed v Wolves - five talking points

Things couldn't have gone much worse for Wolves at Hillsborough.

They were comprehensively outplayed by a vibrant Sheffield Wednesday side who could and should have won by a great margin.

Fernando Forestieri (2), Daniel Pudil and Gary Hooper found the net for the hosts but they missed several more chances and Carl Ikeme produced a couple of outstanding saves.

But what went so wrong for Kenny Jackett's team? Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers pick out five talking points from a Hillsborough horror show.

One of these teams was exciting to watch, clinical in front of goal, positive and energetic in midfield, organised and difficult to beat at the back.

The other was Wolves.

It was painful to watch at times.

And for the second game in succession Wolves' defending left so much to be desired. The lack of organisation – and the amount of bad decisions being made – was truly startling at times.

With so many defensive issues they're not even giving themselves a platform on which to win a game.

Danny Batth and Ethan Ebanks-Landell were scythed through with alarming regularity. Matt Doherty, funnily enough, played like a right-back who unsure of his bearings on the left. For the second successive match Dominic Iorfa was continuously pulled out of position.

And there was little protection from midfield, with the menace that was Fernando Forestieri finding pockets of space wherever he went.

This truly was the nightmare before Christmas.

And the hundreds of Wolves fans who made an expensive jaunt to Yorkshire on a Sunday afternoon deserved so much better.

Some of these Wolves players need to take a long, hard look at the performances they're producing.

[related_posts title="More on Wolves"]

Mike Williamson's loss has been keenly felt.

Wolves conceded just three goals during his five matches with the club. Since his departure they've let in nine in four, including seven in the last two.

January is becoming a more important month by the game.

But will Kenny Jackett still be here then? The Wolves boss, looking more despondent and distraught than at any other stage in this mess of a season, defiantly stated: "I can quite clearly see where we are lacking and I have every confidence in myself to be able to put that right."

Wolves need at least two defenders. To have six senior players to chose from in defence (five at the moment with Kortney Hause out) is dreadfully poor planning.

Williamson, or someone of his ilk, in this Wolves team, plus a physical but mobile presence alongside Benik Afobe would make a big difference.

There was a lack of experience, of nous and more importantly of leadership all over the pitch.

In the second half Jack Price was often the only one trying to galvanise the players, when so many of them had their heads down.

Confidence seems to be at an all-time low.

Batth and Kevin McDonald in particular, who form half of the spine of Wolves' team and have been such important players in the past two seasons, are producing nowhere near what they are capable of.

But look at the ages of Wolves' players yesterday. With David Edwards on the bench, the average age of the outfield players was just 23.

Their oldest defender, where experience is arguably more important than anywhere else on the pitch, was Batth at 25.

Iorfa has started 45 league games in his career. Ebanks-Landell also 45. Matt Doherty is on 86 and Batth the senior man at 180.

With their obsessive focus on youth, instigated by Steve Morgan, Wolves took their eye off the present. And it's costing them dearly.

Wolves actually played some decent stuff in the opening stages.

James Henry excelled in the number 10 role, linking nicely with Benik Afobe, while collectively the team's closing down made life very uncomfortable for Wednesday's sheepish back line.

Forestieri's equaliser knocked the stuffing out of the team and thereafter attacking exploits were few and far between, aside from Jordan Graham who was a sporadic source of creativity down the left.

But elsewhere? Nothing. Nathan Byrne was poor, McDonald and Jack Price offered little going forward and Afobe barely had a sniff of goal.

The lesser-seen Grant Holt was sent on for his first appearance since November 3 and, while winning a few headers, had no service to speak of in an impact-less cameo.

Aside from Graham, there was no one to galvanise the team going forward.

But with a sturdier back line allowing more controlled possession in midfield, you do feel there are goals in this team.

[comments_cta header="What do you think?" text="What's going wrong at Wolves?" button="Log in and start commenting"]

Again Jackett spoke of the lack of confidence in his players, of their bad decision making and their poor defending as a unit.

It's been the same story so often this season and he must be sick and tired of rolling out the same excuses.

The answer for Jackett is surely the January transfer window.

If he gets the players he wants there is hope this season - hope that Wolves won't be sucked into a relegation battle, hope that they may even trouble the top half of the table, imagine that.

But Jackett must be given adequate backing by Jez Moxey and Kevin Thelwell.

That doesn't mean bringing in a couple of promising League One starlets who aren't yet versed in the pressures and rigours of Championship football

It means recruiting experienced players who won't lose the plot at the first sign of adversity.

Given that backing, there is no candidate out there who can do a better job in the current circumstances than Jackett.