Express & Star

Wolves Fans' Verdict v Fulham: A win is a win!

Our Wolves fans share their thoughts on the 1-0 win over Fulham at Molineux.

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Matt Cooper (Talking Wolves)

The result will certainly mask the performance but the three points were vital.

The performance was better than the West Ham United game (not that it could have been any worse) but was still nowhere near the standard we have come to expect from Nuno’s Wolves.

The first half was its usual tepid self as Wolves lacked any real urgency to get a hold of the game and surrendered most of the ball to relegation threatened Fulham. However the performance did improve in the second half and although it wasn’t brilliant, the upturn was enough to get the better of Fulham.

Neto’s tenacity and hard work was finally rewarded with a sweetly struck finish to give Wolves the points. I thought he had a decent game, along with Semedo. We are still desperate for another couple of bodies through the door, though. The clock ticks.

Clive Smith

A rare thing of beauty - a Premier League clean sheet! Three points, much needed, but far from convincing. With many of the League playing with a high press, high tempo and scoring for fun, others are treating defence as if it were a virus. Wolves are somewhere inbetween.

Our tempo is relatively slow most of the time, but thankfully our usual resolute defence was back to normal following their day off last week. Yet again we changed our line up, with Saiss in a new position and Kilman starting, nervously, but importantly we kept our shape and rarely looked vulnerable. Behind them we had Patricio who continues to look on his game. A proper keeper, without any of this trendy fancy footwork thankfully.

Neves and Dendoncker were tidy and busy in the middle showing good energy box to box.

Up front we did not combine as a unit. Again it was MOTM Neto who looked the most promising, deserving his goal with a good finish and having the best attempt in the first half. Jimenez didn't see enough of the ball near the box while Podence looked slightly off the pace.

The area that needs greatest improvement remains goalscoring. Ironic then that of the six signings this transfer window four are defenders.

Adam Virgo

Good to get the three points and a clean sheet but there was still a lot of question marks regarding the performance.

We were playing far too slow in the first half, moving the ball sideways and backwards far too often which made no sense considering we were against one of the worst defences in the league.

The finish from Neto was brilliant, he was one of our better players along with Semedo. It felt like Nuno went defensive when we went 1-0 up in terms of taking Podence off for Moutinho which didn’t make too much sense.

Sitting back meant we accepted a lot of pressure and in the end we got lucky to win the game. Fulham had a couple of big chances which they should have taken but thankfully we did enough in the end to win.

The international break has seemingly come at a good time for us and hopefully we can improve a lot more after it. We definitely need to improve performance wise anyway or else we won’t win many games playing how we did.

Rob Cartwright

This was a nice training game for Wolves. We tried a few different formations with players in different positions and got a result with a clean sheet, which is a bonus!

Nuno was spot on, after the game. We need to be sharper and pass the ball much faster, when in possession. This is our biggest failure. Teams are allowed time to get players in position. Fulham had 7 players in defence, with 9 players often behind the ball. Neves is the biggest culprit of this slow play, though the whole of our midfield need to step it up.

Podence, Neto & Traore all have the pace to catch teams out and supply Jimenez, but far too often he has to come too deep to find the ball. The supply line to the wide men has gone AWOL.

A few positives to note - much better defensively. Kilman did well on his call up and used the ball well. Saiss also did well out of position. Dendoncker is a “must start” for me. I like the look of both Semedo and Hoever.

My Man of the Match Goes to Neto, for his smart goal and general positive play.

This is going to be a strange season, as shown by the early results everywhere. I think having no fans is having a massive impact on the players during games. In addition, Wolves had no break and a two week pre-season. This is bound to have an impact.

We now have 16 players away on international duty. This means hardly any time on the training field. The new players will have to develop and bond with teammates during actual games, so I think we should keep calm, show patience and enjoy the hard fought victories.

Russ Evers

Tentative but more resilient all round. Yes we conceded a great chance to Fulham but we had 2 or 3 equally good openings and on the balance of chances alone then a small margin victory for Wolves was a fair result.

It was all doom and gloom when we lost to Stoke (who are now in the quarter finals) in the League Cup and fists were banging pub tables when West Ham (who have subsequently easily beat Leicester - who themselves had smashed Man City) ripped us apart almost at will. But the faith was kept with a few tweaks and great to seen Kilman rivalling anyone on the pitch for the MOM award. Coady was back to his normal self and Boly looked greatly improved.

Neto who was a little below par previously kept his nerve with a great strike to ultimately win it and we move into the international break with chance to sit back and reflect on 1.5 points per game which would end in 57 points if the first 4 matches are replicated to the end of the season.

Incredibly we still have some keyboard warriors who think that a 1-0 win over Fulham is tantamount to a defeat. Let them go and watch utter rubbish such as the ridiculously over hyped and over valued drivel like Harry Maguire, Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez who between them couldn't grace a defensive unit in the magnificent Beacon League on a Sunday afternoon.

Yes we can do more and yes we can play better but the age old saying is a good side wins when they are not playing well. And our performance was better than most so far this season so its a re-start; a clean sheet and three points. Keep the faith and thank the powers that be that Ole is not at the wheel.