HarryFromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Saturday’s game at Portman Road by delving into their forums.

“Defeat stings like a bitch, doesn’t it?”, “It’s just not happening. We’re on thin ice now and the result next week against Mick will be worse”, “It’s not hard to figure out how McCarthy will approach the next match and we could be in for a torrid time at Ipswich. We will see what we are made of then.”

Saturday’s 2-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest may have been Wolves’ first league defeat since October, but it came as no surprise to most fans. The league leaders are winless in four games and many fear that a combination of weariness and streetwise opponents working them out could derail their campaign.

“Sadly, we seem to be a different team to the one that ruled the Championship during November”, “We have hit a bump, we are knackered and out of ideas. We need a fresh impetus”, “We are by no means promoted. I’m cautiously optimistic but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we threw it away.”

“This is not the Wolves I have come to know and love this season”, “We have no Plan B, no change of shape, no urgency and no spark”, “We are toothless, predictable and easy to nullify”, “The team seem lethargic and seems to lost confidence going forward. Opponents will scent blood.”

“Being top has its own challenges and pressures, but we have the advantage of knowing it’s down to us”, “One game at a time and let’s cut out the gloating and the laughing at Villa and WBA. We have our job to do, that’s all that matters, “This season will live long in the memory whatever happens.”

Nuno Espirito Santo

“This is the first real test of Nuno. There are some massive games coming up and it’s up to him now”, “I am confident we will work a way around this, as he seems to have quickly learned other lessons this season”, “He will sort out our current form, no doubt about that”, “Calm down and trust Nuno.”

Nuno Espirito Santo

“We are very lucky to have Nuno.” The 44-year-old Portuguese replaced Paul Lambert as manager at the end of last season. Supporters trust him implicitly to address this current poor run of results and many were happy to see him take the squad to Spain this week for a warm weather training camp.

“Nuno is the rarest thing in modern football, a man of true talent who has great integrity. Under his coaching, every player can become a star”, “He sets high standards. Even when we win he’s still not completely happy”, “He talks about having a footballing philosophy without sounding pretentious.”

“You can trust what he says and you want to understand more as the level of detail he operates at is ahead of so many managers. His drive and will to succeed leaves no stone unturned”, “I would give him carte blanche to run the club as he sees fit and don’t ever give him a reason to want to leave.”

Lacking Intensity and Threat

“Our style of play relies on accurate passing and movement rather than hustling the opposition and chasing the ball”, “The tempo in our passing is key but lately it has been too slow and easy to read. Early in the season we had very quick passing and movement”, “We have taken our foot off the gas.”

“Great one-touch passing moves are our signature these days, but more than the usual number have been a yard out than was the case a few months ago”, “We no longer pass the ball at our earlier high tempo”, “The lack of tempo at the start of games is a worry. We look like we are trying to walk it in.”

“We do look tired. Some players have been phoning it in for a while”, “We have looked sluggish for over a month now, “A lot of players are not used to playing so many games at such intensity. I think that mentally they are a bit shot, hoping someone will do something special to scrape the points.”

“Our most comfortable recent win was against a Brentford team who came to attack us”, “We need to deal with ultra-defensive teams who have found out how to slow us down”, “Their strategy is to foul our most creative players early on to unsettle them, and press hard to stop us building rhythm.”

“We have been unbelievably lucky injury-wise.” The starting XI (above) against Forest had a similar line-up and the familiar 3-4-3 formation which has guided them to their nine-point lead in the table, but fans suspect the lack of rotation has led to mental fatigue and helped opponents work them out.

“You can’t expect the defence to keep people out forever.” Fans are very happy with their central defensive unit. John Ruddy has been praised for his keeping and distribution while Ryan Bennett’s consistency, Conor Coady’s distribution and Willy Boly’s “imperious defending” have been lauded.

“The solid partnership between Ruben Neves and Romain Saiss has been pretty key to our success. They are not blessed with pace. They are simply passers, but damn good ones at that”. “We need to simplify our play. We are overplaying, taking too many touches in midfield. We are not Barcelona.”

The creative passing of Neves is important to Wolves’ build-up play, but fans noted that Barnsley man-marked him successfully in their recent 0-0 draw at Oakwell. Their concerns over wing-backs Barry Douglas and Matt Doherty are more to do with a lack of anybody to effectively replace them.

“Our wing-backs are exhausted”, “They are vital to our style of play, stretching defences when they push forward”, “They have been run into the ground as we have no quality back-up, particularly on the right”, “The long cross-field balls look wonderful but we often then stop and play it backwards.”

Winger Ivan Cavaleiro started against Forest instead of Helder Costa, but many believe him to be more of a threat off the bench. Diogo Jota is seen as the most inventive winger, but he is regularly targeted by opponents. The poor scoring form of striker Leo Bonatini is a more pressing concern.

“We can’t keep playing games without working the keeper. Goals from open play dried up too long ago.” Wolves have scored once in the last four games and have averaged just one goal per game in the last 11. “We are toothless and lightweight, we need to be more quick-footed going forward.”

Rafa Mir arrived this month but he is seen as a longer-term prospect. “It’s blatantly obvious we need an out-and-out goalscorer”, “A pacy striker capable of creating their own chances is crucial”, “We do need an imposing centre-forward who can put himself about, a target man who can win crosses.”

Wolves 0 — 2 Nottingham Forest

“A reality check”, “A worn-out performance, those Christmas games caught up with them”, “Forest have to be praised for their resilience but our play in the final third was dire”, “We were clueless for the most part today, sideways pass followed by sideways pass followed by a cross to nobody.”

“What a huge disappointment.” Forest took the lead on 40 minutes via a deflected long-range shot from Kieran Dowell, and Ben Osborn rifled home from Matty Cash’s pull-back three minutes later to double the visitors’ lead against their stunned hosts. “There’s the blueprint on how to beat us.”

“Two poor goals to concede and we then lacked quality on the ball in the second half”, “Forest sat deep and forced us to cross”, “We should be glad of our points cushion as that was a lower half of the table performance”, “The sooner this game is forgotten the better. A very bad day at the office.”

Swansea 2 — 1 Wolves (FA Cup Third Round Replay)

“Oh well, back to the main event of getting promoted”, “We battled well in dreadful conditions, but Swansea had too much for our second string and defensive errors cost us”, “It’s no disaster. We’re all disappointed to lose but we would be more disappointed if Neves did his cruciate this evening.”

Jordan Ayew opened the scoring for the Swans on 11 minutes after waltzing through the Wolves defence and finishing tidily. Jota drew Wolves level on 66 shortly after coming on from the bench but Wilfried Bony won the game for the hosts three minutes, pouncing on a loose ball to score.

“We lost nothing on a terrible night, our team of youngsters gave their best.” Nuno heavily rotated his line-up (above) for this game, with wing-backs Doherty and Douglas only starting through a lack of alternatives. Midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White was one positive for many on a rain-sodden night.

Barnsley 0 — 0 Wolves

“A disappointing result but on we go”, “We didn’t play badly, but it’s disappointing to have no shots on target with 59 per cent of possession”, “You have to give credit to Barnsley. They were relentless in their pressing and they stopped us getting into any rhythm”, “All in all, it was a bit mediocre.”

Wolves emerged with a point from a drab game which saw former Town striker Kieffer Moore make a first appearance for the Tykes from the bench. Although this result stretched their unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions, watching West Midlanders were far from convinced by their display.

“It’s not happening, is it?”, “The game lacked real quality. Barnsley took the sting out of it by halting play and wasting time”, “Barnsley got the point they played for and did well. They parked the bus, but a lot more elegantly than some teams have done, with fast breaks when they won possession.”

“We could not get out of second gear. It was very frustrating.” The line-up (above) saw Helder Costa start instead of Ivan Cavaleiro on the right wing. Nuno included only one defender on an attacking bench but a breakthrough never came. “No end product from us means we didn’t deserve to win.”

Goalkeepers and Central Defenders

“John Ruddy has proved himself a class act.” The 31-year-old ex-Norwich keeper “has been there and seen it all. He sees chances to get attacks started through years of playing top class football”, “He has saved us a fair few points but on top of that his quick throws have led to a fair few goals.”

John Ruddy v Leeds United

“Ruddy has played many long throws to start attacks. It seems to be a plan to get us moving before opponents get a chance to reform”, “He has dominated his area when required and he is tuned in to our new style of play. He is playing behind a settled defence that gives few chances to opponents.”

“My gut feeling is that Danny Batth’s time is up.” The 27-year-old youth product “makes the players around him more nervous when he plays”, “His distribution has improved with people to actually pass to and he reads the game well”, “He will probably have to move this summer to start regularly.”

“Kortney Hause can look a world-beater and then an utter pony. He won’t make it here with us.” The 22-year-old ex-Wycombe man “is a left-footed defender stuck behind Boly here. He has more than the odd rick in him”, “He takes too many chances, he’s a good Championship player but no more.”

“Roderick Miranda has made some incredible passes to release our attacking players. His weakness is his defensive positioning and decision-making.” The 26-year-old one-time Benfica player “is the best ball-playing defender we have but is physically lightweight and too weak for the English game”.

“Ryan Bennett is absolutely reliable.” The 27-year-old summer arrival from Norwich, who was with the Town academy until he was released at 16, “is not the most exciting footballer but he’s going to give you a consistently good performance in every game”, “He has been excellent and makes few mistakes. His positioning is impressive as he lacks a yard of pace.”

“Our record with Bennett in the team is very strong”, “His first thought in possession is to go outside to Doherty or Cavaleiro on the right flank instead of coming inside”, “I’m big fan. He’s goes under the radar a lot, but he’s an intelligent player who keeps things simple and he is solid and dependable.”

Joe Mason (R) celebrates with Conor Coady

“Conor Coady’s reading of the game has improved lately. He uses his awareness and anticipation to avoid getting into tight spots.” The 24-year-old ex-Huddersfield man “is important as an organiser, communicator and leader”, “He organises the defence fantastically, but he’s not a great defender.”

“Coady was all over the place against Forest”, “He was great until the opposition actually got at him. He wasn’t competitive in the air and Forest’s striker was moving on to him every time, you could see why”, “He got himself into some awkward positions and looked like he was half a yard off the pace.”

Willy Boly

“No one as big as Boly should be so skilful.” The 26-year-old loan signing from Porto “is composed and graceful but strong, tough and absolutely imperious”, “He’s so cool, but snaps like a cobra when he needs to”, “I have not seen as much excitement in my time for a centre-half since Dean Richards.”

Willy Boly v Martyn Waghorn

“Boly is a big devil with beautiful footwork. There’s no mistaking him”, “He’s composed, classy and so comfortable on the ball. He glides past players on the ball as if he’s in slow motion”, “We are so lucky to have him playing here. He never looks in danger and always tries to be positive on the ball.”

Wing-Backs

“Barry Douglas looks jaded. He doesn’t get far enough up on the left wing to receive passes.” The 28-year-old former Dundee United full-back “never tries to take his man on or sprint along the outside. This makes us much easier to defend against”, “He has looked off the pace and poor defensively.”

Barry Douglas v Grant Ward

“We should not underestimate the importance of Douglas’s set-pieces. He conjures up some magic from freekicks”, “He’s not great at defending in the air and he’s one-footed with no pace or trickery, but he is arguably our most potent attacking weapon on set pieces with his wand of a left foot.”

Matt Doherty

“Matt has a great engine and does most things well, but his delivery is pretty ordinary.” The 26-year-old former Bohemians youngster “gets into good positions but is very wasteful. He sees an awful lot of the ball but has opted lately for poor lazy balls into the box”, “He looks absolutely shattered.”

Matt Doherty

“Doherty is always a willing runner but his final ball is a joke”, “He’s a galloping tireless stallion. This guy doesn’t stop running, but he doesn’t get the final ball right and that’s the only thing that’s letting him down”, “He passes the ball backwards and slows the play, or he tries to cross and just loses it.”

Central Midfielders

“Alfred N’Diaye is an absolute midfield machine.” The 27-year-old Villareal loanee “breaks up play well, chases and harasses all game”, “He’s big, strong and decent in the air. He finds good positions to intercept and tackle, but needs a creator next to him because his passing is not really the best.”

“Morgan Gibbs-White looks tidy and is certainly a decent prospect.” The 17-year-old youth product “was one of our more dangerous players when he ran at Forest centrally after coming on, a breath of fresh air”, “He’s energetic, creative and he shows a bit of flair when he breaks from midfield.”

“I’m a Romain Saiss fan but he was poor against Forest.” The 27-year-old former Angers man and Morocco international “does have his limitations in that he is very left-footed and slows the game down, frequently taking the momentum out of attacks. He will eventually move into the back three.”

“Saiss is another one who has looked off the pace and played backwards”, “He’s almost ever-present this season and an excellent foil for Neves”, “He loves a challenge but does get silly bookings”, “He may not be the quickest, but has added goals to his obviously excellent positioning and distribution.”

Ruben Neves

“Neves is an excellent footballer and critical to our build-up play and overall performances.” The 20-year-old July addition from Porto “is a very classy player with great touch and vision. He gets stuck in as well”, “He’s head-and-shoulders above the rest in terms of his ability to orchestrate the team.”

Ruben Neves

“I have seen few players with Neves’s all-round game. He produces sublime moments with gifted passes”, “He rarely assists goals and needs to find team-mates instead of shooting every time he’s in the final third”, “Barnsley went man-to-man on him and it stopped him from influencing the game.”

Wingers

“Ivan Cavaleiro is a lot better coming off the bench and running at fatigued defenders than he is when starting games.” The 24-year-old ex-Monaco player “tears a strip off teams as a game-changer with his dynamic power and pace”, “He looks lively and adds so much to the game. He can make us tick.”

Ivan Cavaleiro scores against Town

“Cavaleiro forced his way into the starting XI against Forest and he looked fancy but he had no end product and wasted many a corner”, “His movement was good with great trickery but he flattered to deceive”, “He worked hard and energetically but he couldn’t get into positions to create something.”

“I really rate Helder Costa, but that’s five crosses he has played which have not beaten the first man. Can someone swap his pitching wedge for a pair of football boots?” The 24-year-old ex-Benfica wideman had a poor game as a substitute against Forest. “We were shocking but Costa was truly awful.”

“For all Costa’s flashes of skill and intelligence, he is a peripheral figure in the game too often”, “He is not the player he was before last season’s ankle injury. He seems to have lost his willingness to take people on”, “His first touch is the best of all our forwards but his finishing so often lets him down.”

Diogo Jota

“Jota is one of the most skilful flair players that I have ever seen in a Wolves shirt.” The 21-year-old loan signing from Atletico Madrid “can produce magic that gets you out of your seat in admiration if his ability”, “Just when you think he’s having a quiet game he demonstrates a moment of great skill.”

“Jota does get kicked from pillar to post by most teams but he seems to be picking up more yellow cards himself”, “He had a poor game against Forest from the point he was fouled”, “He has looked leggy lately. When he’s firing we score and look stylish, but we look toothless when he’s off form.”

Strikers

“Bright Enobakhare hasn’t got the decision-making or cutting edge yet to be a first-team player.” The 19-year-old youth product “looks skilful and works hard. He’s strong and holds the ball well, but his issues are his erratic decision-making and his finishing”, “There’s a huge talent in there somewhere.”

“Rafa Mir is only 20 and is largely untested, but I will take come convincing.” The January signing from Valencia has featured as a bench option in recent league games. “He’s tall, quick and looks to get in behind the defence, but he is one for the future and he has not made much of an impact.”

“First sight of Mir and I wasn’t impressed. Years of watching football and you know a player, he did not look good at all”, “He isn’t the proven danger man that is going to worry defenders right now”, “He looks quite raw and short of pace. He doesn’t seem like an option for immediate league action.”

Leo Bonatini

“If Bonatini isn’t getting into the box for crosses, he should be coming short and providing an option with his back to goal. At the moment he is doing neither.” The 23-year-old loan signing from Saudi club Al-Hilal “needs to sort put his positioning. He isn’t giving himself any chances to even miss.”

Leo Bonatini

“Leo has not been at his best for the past month. He looks jaded”, “He isn’t fast or good at winning headers and has lost his poachers’ instinct”, “He had the knack of being in the right place when we weren’t being stifled, but lacks the guile to fashion chances when we have to break down defences.”

Wolves Fans’ Views on ITFC and the Game

“Ipswich are a good home team but we tend to do really well on the road. We should have enough, but I have a bad feeling about this one”, “I hope I’m wrong but can see a low-scoring draw or Ipswich just edging it”, “This is going to be a very tough game and Mick will have them pumped up for this.”

Despite some nervous pre-match comments, West Midlanders are heading down to Suffolk broadly confident of winning. The most popular forecast score is a 2-0 away win and 60 per cent expect their team to triumph. Only 12 per cent predict a Town win with a mere one in five expecting us to score.

“Back to winning ways. Ipswich are industrious and won't make it easy with their pressing, but I think our quality will tell”, “Class is permanent, we will edge this by a single goal “McCarthy will try and have a go at home. We will get the chances with the extra space and run out easy 2-0 winners.”

“We desperately need a striker and may continue to struggle in front of goal.” Their pessimists see their goal drought continuing with many predicting a stalemate. “We are odds-on to win but we need to be a lot better. I don’t see where our goals are coming from so it looks like a 0-0 for me.”

“Ipswich have a nasty habit of doing the unexpected”, “They are no great shakes, leaky at the back and a bit one-dimensional. They work hard and we know that can often make a difference”, “I am no fan of Mick but I don’t underestimate him. Other clubs have sussed us out and he will do the same.”

“This will be a tough game. The game at Molineux was a close affair with only a moment of quality from Cavaleiro deciding it. Saying that, Ipswich didn't create too much either but hopefully they will be more expansive at home which should work in our favour”, “An early goal is always vital though.”

“The Mick Obsession Continues...”

“Mick knew the ‘some people’ comment would create a laugh and it did”, “Mick was magic. He was honest and straight as they come. He was completely on our level and that’s what separated him from many of our other recent managers”, “We loved him because it was so easy to relate to him.”

“The most successful Wolves manager in my lifetime.” Mick amusingly reprised his 2014 comments after our recent win over Leeds and this was a cue for fans to revisit his time at Molineux. “I find Mick very likeable and it surprises me that many don't have that view and take him too seriously.”

“That's a typical example of Mick's wit, a contrasting punchline with impeccable timing”, “Mick is a decent, honest, straight-talking bloke. He says it as he sees it, sometimes he’s wrong, but often he’s right”, “A great bloke and a great Championship manager. How our fans slated him was beyond me.”

“Mick is very good when the cupboard is bare. He gets the best out of more limited players”, “What he has achieved at Ipswich is phenomenal, no budget and they are never in trouble. Their fans will regret the day when he goes, because I’m 100 per cent sure within two years they will be in League One.”

“I get the impression the Ipswich job and the fans there have been getting to him a bit and he has looked like a man under pressure”, “He's doing a fantastic job at Ipswich on an absolute pittance and overachieving with what he's been given”, “He is there now for nearly as long as he was at Wolves.”

“The thing with Mick at Ipswich is that they seem pretty disillusioned with his style of play. Just because they might not be better off if he leaves doesn't mean it might not be the right decision if he does leave. He can’t take them any further than he has and I think he needs a new challenge.”

“Ipswich’s attendances have dropped but it’s not all Mick’s doing. They seem to have an owner who is pretty much absent but if all you are getting is dour, survivalist football it’s going to take its toll”, “He has done as well as anyone could expect at Ipswich, but Marcus Evans is the problem there.”

“When Mick managed us we never did well against proper footballing sides”, “It is time to show Mick a ‘thank-you’ on Saturday but we have really moved on. Then we can listen to him explain how we bought the league and he's got nowt!”

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The busiest Wolves message board is the authoritative and knowledgeable Molineux Mix.

@HarryFromBath

Photo: Action Images

LankHenners added 15:50 - Jan 26 Thanks Harry - the absence of Skuse will be big tomorrow so we'll need Connolly on top of his game to really get at Neves. We could make it a bit of a drab game and then like the away fixture it might be a bit of quality from them or a good Waghorn set piece from us that settles it either way. The comments at the bottom show how Mick's seen really in the wider football world (and certainly how owners and fans of other clubs will see him) - having to more than overachieve with his hands tied behind his back. Hopefully the majority of our fan base can look back at the good job Mick's done. Probably won't happen immediately after he leaves but they could well be right than in a few years we'll see his tenure as halcyon days.

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Elto added 16:21 - Jan 26 “I find Mick very likeable and it surprises me that many don't have that view and take him too seriously.” Indeed.
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BobbyBell added 16:39 - Jan 26 We mustn't forget that Wolves sacked MM in 2012 and slid down to league one. I still however think his style is way too negative especially against teams that we should beat. There is always a risk to changing a manager but we can't just keeping treading water and expect fans to turn out and watch it.
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Pilgrimblue added 17:15 - Jan 26 The trouble with the "wider football world! is that they only remember his past successes and therefore hold him in high esteem. However they forget his failures and I don't see them watching him now. If they did their views would be entirely different.
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ronnyd added 19:40 - Jan 26 Excellent piece Harry, (as usual). Reading it, it would appear that they have at least as many loans as we have. That,s the way of it at the moment unfortunately. Could cause an upset tomorrow, just hope we go for it as we did against Toon last season.
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Kikapu added 20:19 - Jan 26 Thanks HFB for another well written report. Given this is about Wolves, this Saturday's visitors, may I thank you again for the last section as well. Apart from a few noisy spectators at our club the supporters around the country have nothing but praise and respect for the job MM has done here. Wolves, of all clubs, know just how important he was when he managed them and how quickly they declined once they got rid of him. Please take note moaners. If you haven't read the last section, or just skirted over it, please read it again. Long may his reign continue.

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