Wolves Fans' Verdict v West Ham: A VAR farce

28,000 football experts would not have come up with that line-up and formation. It was inspired. The first half was as good as we’ve been all season. The number of passes we made felt like our highest in any game. It was a joy to watch.

Passing long and short, quickly and often first time was far more accurate than it often is – we constantly found a man in space, frequently it was Doyle or Ait-Nouri while we also had the marauding Semedo and Doherty as willing supporters. Sarabia meanwhile was just ‘floating’. At times it was amusing to see two or three West Ham defenders central, but with no-one within 10 yards to mark. That’s not to say we didn’t get men in their box, we did, and we had an abundance of shots too.

Obviously it was disappointing to only lead by a goal, but if the game continued the way it had been then there was nothing to worry about. Besides one early bad miss the Hammers had not been in it at all.

As for the second half, my, now that was a different story! Quite a few things changed. Firstly Antonio came on at the break. From then on he was the best player on the pitch and virtually unplayable. 10 minutes later Ait-Nouri went off, having been our best player until then. His replacement, Cunha, was initially just not up to the pace of the game as we constantly turned over the ball.

The flea in the ear Moyes must have delivered to his team was having an immediate effect and the momentum had changed. The time and space Wolves had up until then had vanished and instead West Ham were almost permanently on the offensive.

You wonder if Wolves’ earlier pass and move approach contributed to us looking second best. As the half wore on we looked depleted of energy. Lemina and Sarabia were replaced, both looking tired, but our replacements could not turn the tide. Following the equalising penalty there looked only one likely winner. The source of the goal was disappointing to say the least. A crowded box and blustery conditions should have been handled better.

Then.

VAR was not the reason we lost. It was however the reason we did not draw.

VAR, the gift that keeps taking away. Yet again I left the ground feeling cheated.

John Lalley

It’s pointless complaining; football now resembles an episode of Crown Court with players and spectators trembling in the dock as the jury considers its verdict.

Yet again, the Lord Chief Justice donned the black cap and meted out the latest blatant miscarriage of justice and scandalously sentenced Wolves to another date with the gallows.

Truly, the law is an ass; the absurdity of it all beyond parody. Laurel and Hardy, The Two Ronnies and Benny Hill regardless of their comic genius couldn’t hold a candle to these jesters.

They’ve established a version of alternative comedy unique in its blundering buffoonery. And if you think it surely can’t get any worse, then your judgement is as skewered as the hapless contingent operating seemingly blindfolded at VAR headquarters at Stockley Park. Raise your glasses to rampant ineptitude and here’s to the next time; another farcical instalment is inevitably imminent.

There were some critical errors on the pitch too. The woeful mess Wolves made of failing to clear the danger which led to the penalty equaliser was galling. A real self-inflicted wound. And much as I admire the dead ball skills of Ward-Prowse – visions of his free-kick for Southampton at Molineux will always linger – to allow a corner to drift into our net, regardless of the blustery conditions was negligent in the extreme.

In truth, The Hammers dominated the second period; they upped the tempo, appeared stronger physically and easily neutered the threat we had posed in the first-half. Wolves simply could not break the strangle hold and their incessant possession and probing panicked us into error. Only the rampaging Ait-Nouri could break the spell and his premature withdrawal was unfavourably crucial. He had been instrumental in influencing our own dominance in the first-half; indeed, during this period, Wolves had been as fluent and assertive as they have been for some time. Two genuine opportunities to double our advantage slipped away and ultimately this proved crucial.

Our squad is thin, under strain but still competing competitively within its limitations. The nonsense that they endured at the finale to this game they simply didn’t deserve.

Rob Cartwright

A game that didn’t go to plan and we could have so easily won. However, things went horribly wrong in the second half, including poor defending, poor officials and even the elements all colluding towards a defeat.

Seriously disappointing as this was the game we needed to win most, against one of our main rivals. The European dream is now over. Our season may be too.

We looked fabulous in the first half. All things pointed towards one of our best performances of the season. Passing and movement was very good and we were ahead at half-time.

We couldn’t wait for Cunha to return from injury, but interestingly we were still ahead when he came on. He did not impact this game!

West Ham were much the better team in the second half and the warning signs were there. It was poor defendng that led to the equaliser. I think it was Doherty who gave possesion away in our own box with Kilman raising his arm to block the subsequent shot. A clear penalty.

Doyle and Gomes were superb. Lemina has looked jaded since his own injury. I think Traore has shown us enough to get a start now.

To concede direct from a corner is horrendous. That six yard box was full of defenders; I can only think the gale force wind had impacted the flight of the ball. As a side, I have always wondered why the corner taker is not offside in these situations?

Credit to Wolves, we did not give up although started to look disjointed as more subs came on. I couldn’t see us scoring, but we did in added time. What I mean is everyone thought we did, players, supporters, radio and television pundits all thought “goal”. It was only the little people in Stockley Park who decided we hadn’t. They asked the referee to go to the monitor and he was not brave enough to stick to his original decision. A shocking decision.

Without a shadow of any doubt, VAR has ruined football.

It is now run by those same little men at Stockley Park, not players or managers.

I’ve been watching Wolves for 55 years and I’m now questioning whether it is worth the time, money and effort. It’s no fun anymore. If you cannot celebrate a goal spontaneously, what is the point.

The FA need a serious rethink, before the game is destroyed beyond the point of return.

Robbie Meakin

A Jekyll & Hyde performance, overshadowed by yet another terrible VAR decision.

Wolves were the better team in the first half and I was pleased and somewhat surprised, given how comfortable we were with a good amount of possession and no striker in attack. Pablo Sarabia’s fourth league goal of the season was the icing on the cake.

However, the second half performance was one to forget. Kamikaze defending led to Max Kilman conceding a penalty, which Lucas Paqueta finished with style, and Jose Sa was left flapping as James Ward-Prowse found the back of the net direct from a corner.

It looked like Kilman had redeemed himself with a late equaliser, heading home from a corner. However, referee Tony Harrington and the VAR team had other ideas. Somehow, the decision was made to disallow the goal, claiming that Tawanda Chirewa had interfered with play. However, replays clearly show that he did not block Lukasz Fabianski’s line of vision, as he could see above his head, and the veteran keeper was left rooted to the spot anyway, not even moving to attempt to save the header.

After the game, Fabianski and David Moyes came out and said that the decision to disallow the goal was incorrect. It’s another one from Premier League officials and I’m at a point now where I’ve lost some of my passion for football and I don’t fully enjoy watching my team any more – because of what we have to suffer at the hands of VAR, the officials, PGMOL – but I do every time so I know what to broadcast and write.

To quote John Coleman, “I’m rapidly falling out of love with football”. I’ve always been passionate about Wolves – and football in general – but it’s becoming something I’m not all that bothered about any more.

It feels like a what was once wonderful marriage, that’s now run its course and is hanging on by a thread. Like a stay together for the kids kinda thing.

It genuinely upsets me that it’s come to this. The game’s gone. And we’ve got the powers that be to thank for it.