Fan verdict after Wolves thriller

Heather Large

What's your verdict on the match? What a game. Exhilarating, entertaining and somewhat exhausting!

To be so close to getting three points when it had looked so unlikely at half-time and have them snatched away within minutes definitely hurt.

But a point against a very strong Fulham side still feels like a victory to me.

Wolves fighting back from being 3-1 down with such a gutsy performance was enjoyable to watch and the atmosphere in Molineux was fantastic.

Although, there were some negatives. Our defensive troubles haven't gone away, were missed chances, especially in the first half, and our poor control of the ball in midfield left us open to frequent attacks.

But scoring first certainly seems to make a difference, as it did against QPR, and there seems to be a bit more confidence in the side now.

Overall I feel more positive about the rest of the season that I did a fortnight ago and it will be interesting to see what happens during the January transfer window.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? I thought Harry Burgoyne had a great game, he wasn't at fault for any of the goals - he really didn't stand a chance with Cairney's stunning volley - and that double save in the second half was fantastic.

Hause and Iorfa make me nervous every time they get their ball. We're far too fragile at the back.

Rob Cartwright

What's your verdict on the match? Entertainment 10/10, quality 4/10 and satisfaction 3/10.

I was very happy when the team was announced and Dicko/Cavaleiro were both starting. Also great to see another academy lad given an early chance though I would like to know why it wasn't Flatt.

The first 10 minutes summed up this game completely. We looked sharp going forward and extremely shaky at the back. The writing was on the wall for what was to come.

A perfect corner by Costa lead to our first goal and a good header from Hause. Then Fulham completely took over. Our midfield was woeful and could not gain or keep possession - a recipe for disaster when your defence can't defend.

As a unit they were shocking. I'm pretty sure the half time Christmas carolers would have done no worse. Only Doherty can hold his head high.

Dicko had a chance to make it 2-0 immediately before they equalised. All three Fulham goals were excellent, but what Batth and Hause were doing for the second is anyone's guess. I felt sorry for our debutant goalkeeper at half time.

We started the second half well. Looking dangerous on the counter attack - that's a story in itself, playing at home!

A good substitution by Lambert on 58 minutes, Bodvarsson for Saiss swung the pendulum in our favour. It was game on.

I was pleased to see Lambert "going for it" with a double sub on 88 minutes with the score at 3-3. Having got the fourth, we should have gone on to win.

If we could have bought on the Carol singers, maybe we would have. As we couldn't, terrible, terrible defending gave them a likely equaliser well into added time.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Wolves showed lots of effort and are not lacking in desire. It's plain to see many of these players are just not good enough.

Man of the match was Cavaleiro who was heads and shoulders above the others. I can only see him getting better as he gets more game time. I thought Dicko played well and again needs more game time to get sharpness back.

Batth and Hause were very poor. Iorfa was worse than them! All three are going backwards for some reason.

Coady and Edwards had very little impact, though to his credit, Dangerous popped up with yet another goal.

We beat Fulham 3-2 in January this year. The teams have gone on in opposite directions in the following 11 months. We let McDonald leave around the same time and we still haven't replaced him, so continue to have no creativity from midfield.

Taxi for Mr Thelwell!

Chris Hughes

What's your verdict on the match? Well, it wasn't 0-0...

When you see a game has ended 4-4 you'd expect it to have been a free-flowing, end-to-end affair full of chances for both teams. This was not one of those games.

Quite how a performance like ours merited four goals is beyond me. For 75 minutes we were outplayed by Fulham. Their midfield dominated the game and were given space to pick passes as they pleased, with Kevin McDonald allowed to dictate the tempo in much the same way as Derby's Will Hughes & Sheffield Wednesday's Barry Bannan had been allowed to on their recent visits.

The simple fact is that this was a meeting of two teams who seem to have no idea of what constitutes good defending.

While some of the finishes were excellent, the majority of the goals were scored by players who had been given far too much time and space to pick their spot.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Costa, when not rolling around looking for free-kicks, was dangerous as usual and caused some problems with his direct running. Cavaliero had probably his best game since signing for us and matched his attacking threat with hard work defensively in chasing down opponents and winning possession back.

Harry Burgoyne had little chance with any of the first three goals but his double save at 1-3 was a pivotal moment and kept us in the game. He looks a promising prospect.

The whole back four looked a mess yet again. Positional awareness is definitely not a strong point of ours!

Coady and Edwards were chasing shadows in midfield for most of the game. I lost count of the amount of 'nearly' challenges they made where they were too late to close an opponent down before a pass could be made.

Russ Cockburn

What's your verdict on the match? Wow. Well that game had more ups and downs than Katie Price's marital bed. At times it was like watching men against boys, with Fulham's superior midfield and passing style leaving us chasing shadows for most of the game.

Fortunately for us, their defence is as bad as ours so we were able to stage one of the greatest comebacks since Bobby Ewing returned to the set of Dallas. And that is why we love football so much.

At 3-1 down, I was expecting four, five, maybe six at half-time and if it wasn't for a fantastic double save from debutant Burgoyne I think it could have been. The young keeper's heroics appearance to galvanise the rest of the team and the next 30 minutes was blood and guts football.

There were moments of quality from Wolves (mainly through Costa and Cavaleiro), but the overriding approach was get in their faces, pressure, go long and pick up the intensity...it worked and Fulham's frailties soon became obvious.

KMac was imperious for the first 60 minutes, not difficult when he was afforded the freedom of Wolverhampton by our midfield. I'm still amazed how the 'old boys' in the backroom staff did not prep Lambert about how the Scot plays and why we needed to be closer and hunting in packs. Perhaps they did and he chose not to listen, which could be more telling.

We still haven't got the midfield three right in my opinion. There's no lack of effort in there, but there is a massive gulf in quality, composure and technical ability.

Saiss is probably the most naturally gifted of the trio and I would try to bed him in as the base of the axis and then add some creativity and poise in the January transfer window. Coady improved as the game wore on and Super Dave produced a finish Pele would have been pleased with to put us within five minutes of an unlikely win.

How he produced such a finish after being invisible for 89 minutes and struggling to find his own man from a few feet away is possibly the ninth wonder of the world or an elaborate ploy to lure the opposition into thinking he's not worth marking.

What you can't knock his what the goal meant to him and the passion he showed in celebrating mirrored the carnage that was unfolding on the South Bank.

So 4-3 up and five minutes to close out the game. Surely even we could do this? Not with our defence I'm afraid, who have more leaks than Wiki.

It's like watching a mash up of the Keystone Cops meets Wacky Races, with four defenders rushing around aimlessly, losing their men time and time again and failing to clear their lines.

It's crying out for some experience across a couple of positions, if nothing else to take the load off the youngsters and give them time to develop. There also needs to be better organisation and that has to be a key objective for Lambert in the lead-up to the festive period.

Admittedly, they're not helped by the midfield whose failure to retain possession for any length of time means we're constantly being probed. They also need to pick up runners from the centre of the park better...criminal when there are two defensive minded players there.

So another point on the board and there's no doubt whatsoever that the players are playing for Lambert. There are some very obvious, long-term issues that need urgently addressing and we shouldn't mistake the euphoria of a good footballing comeback to mask the gulf in class that exists between us and teams like Fulham. Teams like Fulham, let that sink in.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? As mentioned, Burgoyne's double save turned the momentum of the game on its head and I think he fared well on his first appearance.

Man of the match for me was Cavaleiro, who gave us a possible insight into what we can expect if he gets a run of games. He was good going forward and impressive in tracking back, showing strength on the ball we haven't seen since his arrival.

And then the finish. Wow. We've probably got two players in our entire team, who would have the confidence, composure and accuracy to produce that strike. Think we need to stick him in a Santa Claus costume before every game.

A big concern is Dicko. He desperately needs a goal from anywhere to give him the confidence he can still do it. One off his arse will do the trick nicely.

Russ Evers (Hatherton Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? The rollercoaster ride goes on.

We were outplayed by a gang of Man United lookalikes for 20 minutes before Hause somehow beat a clown of a keeper to put us in front.

Fair play to Fulham as for the rest of the first half they looked a step above us and went two goals clear courtesy of poor defending and a couple of wonder goals.

In the second half (and undoubtedly much to the dismay of certain internet trolls) Lambert switched to 4-4-2 and within 20 minutes we were in front having scored three more.

Woeful defending let us down at the end as a 5ft nothing Fulham striker managed to beat his marker who was a good foot taller in the air and it all ended 4-4.

Great game for the neutrals as they say but a game we had lost, then won and ultimately drew.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Cavaleiro impressed and frustrated in equal measures whilst Dangerous Dave popped up again to rescue his empty crisp packet performance until then. Roll on Tuesday.

Peter Abbott (London Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? Be honest, how many Wolves fans would have bet on the draw at half time? It was plain that Fulham were near the top and we were down the other end of the table, but we had missed our chances and they had taken theirs.

Once again, though, another improved second half performance comeback.

We made a good start, had a couple of near chances, great header from Hause to go in front. However, both before then and certainly up to half time, the midfield just disappeared.

Pretty much as expected, McDonald was in charge for Fulham.

It was a bit of a scramble to get back into the game with Doherty's goal but at that stage we had started to unsettle Fulham's defence and Cavaleiro's excellent goal capped, I thought, his best performance since he's been here.

A much quieter game from Costa but he didn't hide. Both wingers were back searching for the ball as they knew they would struggle to receive it from the non existent midfield.

Don't you just love Dave Edwards? One of the aforementioned midfield getting forward, as he loves to do, to spectacularly score what we thought would be the 90th minute winner from a very tight angle - cue great celebrations.

But, not to be, particularly once we realised there would be another five minutes to play.

Overall, an exciting end to end game and a welcome point after the depressing discussions at half time, even though amazingly, at the end, we had nearly won.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Congratulations to Harry Burgoyne on his debut. Can't particularly fault him for the goals conceded plus he did make a crucial double save second half.

There were lots of moans and groans around me when Saiss was subbed, most thought Lambert should have picked from Coady or Edwards but it really could have been any one of them.

Defence - it is what it is. Although I think Stearman would strengthen it.

Man of the match was Cavaleiro, who's getting better all the time and scored a marvellous goal.

Sarah Connolly

What's your verdict on the match? I feel I use the rollercoaster analogy far too often. But if ever there was a game to sum up how football can feel like a rollercoaster, that was it today.

How often is it that you can come back from being 3-1 down at half time, and still feel gutted about only taking a point? If you'd told me before the game that we would have scored four goals with two coming from defenders, I'd have called the men in white coats for you.

It was the game we'd been waiting for - entertainment wise. Cairney's goal was something special and looks even better watching it back.

I think we can start to see the fruits of Lambert's work now; starting to see how he wants to set up. We pushed forward a lot more and we created a lot of good chances that we should have taken.

The pre-injury Dicko would have put that chance away and at 2-0, we'd have been looking at a different game. It's all a big learning curve at the moment. Now we know that promotion isn't realistic, we can start to build the foundations for next season, starting with the basics.

Our back four were poor again, but were also offered little protection by a lacklustre midfield. Fulham completely outplayed us in the middle of the park, as have many teams that have visited us this season. McDonald shone for them, as he did at times for us, and showed us what we are missing this season. Their football was a joy to watch at times and it's easy to see why they are doing so well.

That being said, I feel that we also played some good football at times, it's just a shame we lose our heads as soon as we concede. We need to stop becoming a second half team. We did extremely well to get back from 3-1 down but we need to not be putting ourselves in that position every game.

The game shows why we love football. I went through every emotion and I'm still ridiculously excited for the next game.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? I don't think that many could argue that Cav wasn't our man of the match.

However, young Burgoyne had a good debut. The confidence he will have gained on Monday night will have been hampered by taking in four goals, but I can't really lay blame on him for any of them. A cracking double save kept us in the game and he never looked overwhelmed by the occasion. Bright future ahead for him.

Coady looked like a passenger for most of the game and never offered much protection to a weak defence. I can't decide what has happened to Iorfa this season. He looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights for most of the game and never seems to know what he needs to do or where he needs to be. He needs some good coaching and fast.