The Joe Edwards debrief - Burnley 2 Wolves 1

There were plenty of negatives on a dreadful night at Turf Moor, which ended with Nuno Espirito Santo’s fierce criticism of referee Lee Mason.

Nuno’s outburst

So, let’s start with Nuno’s post-match comments before going into what was so wrong with the performance.

Taking aim at Mason – insisting he is not good enough for the Premier League – was quite bizarre, it must be said.

The Portuguese had previously always avoided targeting referees, often stressing he had ‘not seen the images’ when asked about a particularly controversial call.

But he did not mince his words with Mason, stressing he ‘cannot control the players’.

Sure, he may have let a few things go that he should not have done. However, it did not strike you as an overwhelmingly poor refereeing display, and he rightly gave a late penalty when Fabio Silva was tripped by Josh Benson.

Ultimately, Wolves completely played into the Clarets’ hands and deservedly lost the game because of that.

It is worth noting TV interviews take place right after the final whistle and, naturally, emotions were running high.

Still, this was a very surprising statement from Nuno which has now seen him contacted by the FA for his observations.

Unconventional approach

On to the 90 minutes now, the game plan simply did not work.

Giving Owen Otasowie a first top-flight start on the back of his brilliant substitute display against Chelsea was nice to see, but deploying him in a false nine role was an experiment which went awry.

Things were better when conventional forward Silva was introduced, and credit to him for showing the right attitude and getting off the mark from the penalty spot. It was all too little too late, though.

Half-time appeared to be a golden chance to get Silva on, maybe with Adama Traore as well.

But by the time the pair entered the fray, Wolves were two down – and it could have easily been three or four.

Others brought into the starting XI such as Rayan Ait-Nouri and Max Kilman did not cover themselves in glory either.

It was not good enough. They overcomplicated it.

Corners and free-kicks

Remaining on the subject of simplifying things, can we please stop seeing set-pieces taken short and wasted time and time again?

Nuno has alluded to it a fair few times already this campaign – Wolves must start scoring more from corners and free-kicks.

So why are they so hesitant to get the ball into the box and ask questions?

Of course, delivering it straight into the mixer is not always going to work and the odd short one could prove beneficial, but not every time. Burnley, allowed to get in shape and track their runners, were utterly relaxed.

Their goals, meanwhile, both came from being direct. It has to change soon, surely.

Midfield issue

Ruben Neves was well off it, and compatriot Joao Moutinho was passive.

Both are supremely-talented players when on song, but this only added to the argument that they cannot play together any more.

The combination is yet to work this campaign and Leander Dendoncker’s presence was hugely missed.

Let’s hope the Belgian is back fit to face Tottenham.

January approaching

Next month’s window is a welcome chance to reinforce the attack. A striker must be snapped up, without a doubt.

For now though, Silva has opened his account and fingers crossed, the games against Spurs and Manchester United offer up far more positives.