Liam Keen analysis: Wolves making history for the wrong reasons in a game of two halves

The answer from most Wolves fans is not hard to predict, and understandably so. Particularly when you consider this is the first time Wolves have lost their opening four league matches for the first time in their long history.

But looking at the defeat to Newcastle objectively, there were plenty of reasons to be positive in the opening 20 minutes.

Wolves played their best football of the season so far and started extremely quickly - almost scoring instantly when Tolu Arokodare knocked down a long ball for Rodrigo Gomes, who had a clear sight of goal but had his effort deflected wide.

From the resulting corner Hwang Hee-chan forced Nick Pope into a good save and with Wolves on top, R.Gomes had another big chance that he dragged wide.

Vitor Pereira surprised us all with his formation change and team selection - it was a brave call that saw his wing-backs swap sides and two summer signings given starts, but it was working.

R.Gomes and Hugo Bueno were dangerous on both flanks and Arokodare was a nuisance for the Newcastle defence by holding the ball up, using his size and strength to his advantage and finding his team-mates when the ball was knocked into him.

Wolves were mixing it up as well. They often used long balls but were also keen to play when they had the ball at their feet and an excellent Emmanuel Agbadou pass released Hwang Hee-chan down the right, who saw his low cross cut out just before it reached Arokodare at the far post.

But Wolves failed to capitalise on this dominance and at home, with the quality they have, Newcastle were always going to have a resurgence. 

Sam Johnstone pulled off a fantastic save to deny Jacob Murphy from close range, but the Magpies eventually found the back of the net in an entirely predictable way from a Wolves perspective.

Andre failed to stop a good Murphy cross and Agbadou - as he has done on far too many occasions so far this season - fell asleep again. He lost Nick Woltemade at the far post and the striker gleefully headed home. 

It was far too simple and Wolves found themselves behind.

The rest of the half was difficult for them as both Murphy and Sandro Tonali came close to adding a second - the latter hitting the inside of the post with a strong strike.

Wolves were not clinical enough when they needed to be and Newcastle made them pay.

But they still had 45 minutes ahead of them and they were still in the game - which makes the second half performance so incredibly frustrating.

Wolves camped in their own half for more than 20 minutes, allowed Newcastle to have the ball and never threatened going forward.

Arokodare was tired by this point, while the wing-backs were being scuppered by the attitude of the players around them.

Newcastle's inability to score a second, the nervousness of their slim lead and the small impact of some of Wolves' substitutes meant Wolves were pushing for an equaliser late in the game but they never created anything meaningful.

After a fairly entertaining first half, the neutral would have been falling asleep during a drab second half.

Looking at the match overall, it is difficult to take too many positives due to Wolves' start to the season, but the performance at the start of the game was much more positive than previous fixtures.

Defensively they have also marginally improved, but regardless of what Pereira has to say publicly about that, there is still a lot of work to do on that front.

The head coach is right, too, that referee Chris Kavanagh was far too whistle happy and giving yellow cards for players' first fouls was very harsh.

It will have impacted the game for Wolves to some degree but is it the reason they lost the game? Certainly not.

Pereira continues to insist that Wolves need time due to the signings not having Premier League experience, how late in the window many of them arrived and the impact of the international break.

The last point affects all Premier League sides and is largely redundant, but the first two comments point to how disappointing and scattergun the transfer window was.

Wolves are paying the price for not carrying out a structured plan this summer and they are now making history for all the wrong reasons. Pereira must find a way to change their fortunes.

He now faces a very big fixture at home to Leeds next. If Wolves lose, supporters will undoubtedly make their feelings known and pressure will start to mount.

Wolves have to take the positives from their start against Newcastle and ensure the home fans have something worth cheering for, otherwise it could be a toxic afternoon at Molineux.