Posted by Football Manager Guru in Wolves had a couple of bad results this month, but the slump in form was redeemed by an epic performance against Liverpool in the League Cup quarter final. More on that later, Artem Milveskyi continues his red hot form, at this rate he might turn out to be the league top scorer this season.
The first game saw us lost away to Hull City 2-1. Wolves started the game brightly and we scored when Forren crossed a ball from the left flank and Inler had his header saved by the keeper. Forren showing signs he can attack from the LB position well. We were leading 0-1 at this point in time. However, Hull equalised just before half time when Berra made a mistake when he missed a header to clear the corner, and the Hull player had the opportunity to get a free header. 1-1 the scoreline. This was unlike Berra, who is usually so consistent.
In the 2nd half, our creativity seemed to be limited, and I started to wonder if it is because of fatigue that has finally gotten to the squad afterall that unbeaten run we forged took tons of effort, as the matches came hard and fast. I brought on fresh legs like Verratti and Fonseca, but this was to no avail. Hull delivered the sucker punch at the 60th minute mark when Barnett scored after being through on goal. We had no answer to that, and thoroughly deserved to endure our first loss of the season.
I do hope the boys could learn from this loss, and may be with this loss, complacency will be eradicated from the squad. A match that I am sure me and the boys wanted to forget desperately.
There’s a silver lining after the game though, Milevskyi was named player of the month! He thoroughly deserved the award as he hasn’t stopped scoring ever since he found his form. I am proud of him. What a buy he is turning out to be for a mere 10 million!
Not only are we doing on the pitch side of things, apparently our finances are doing great as well. We made a profit of 648K last month, and most people in FM will overlook how important it is to have secure finances, but having manage Leeds United made me realise, if you kept squad wages down way below the wage cap, and you earned a steady revenue per month, it was a way of ensuring you had a big transfer war chest for next season. So there you have it, the reason why I had 32 million to spend after the first season with Wolves.
Our next game against Fulham, was a crucial one. Otamendi was out injured, meaning I had to give Kryvtsov his first start of the season. The squad was determined to bounce back after a disappointing loss against Hull. We need to show the rest of the teams that a single loss will not be denting our hopes for a Europe spot. And I am proud that my squad did just that. A resounding 5-1 win over Fulham was just what we needed.
Krivets after a disappointing match against Hull, was eager to put things right in this game. And it was evident when he played a through ball for Ebanks-Blakes who took the ball on the bounce and volleyed the ball home for our first goal. We were leading 1-0. Kryvtsov suffered a blow to the head, and he was brought off to be treated on the sidelines. Fulham exploited our weakness at the back when they equalized from a corner when Kryvtsov was still off the pitch. If only he was around. I was not too worried though, at that point in time it was only 23mins gone, tons of football to be played.
We resumed our leading positing when Krivets burst past the Fulham defence when no one picked up his run from midfield and Hasebe played a ball to his feet that sent him 1-on-1 with the keeper. Krivets calmly slotted the ball into the goal. The boy is playing his heart out tonight! After half-time I thought that Fulham was a squad that we could beat comfortably as they hard threatened, hence I brought on Fonseca and Jones.
The two substitutes combined to great effect to extend our lead to two goals when David Jones played a cheeky chip over the Fulham defence and Fonseca first touch was flawless as he killed the ball and blasted the ball past the keeper. We lead 3-1. Hasebe notched his 2nd assist in that game when he put Krivets (again!) through on goal to score. Krivets was a man possessed tonight. Jones then extended our lead to 5-1 with a stunning free-kick.
Kryvtsov had a wonderful game, and it was evident to me that this youngster was ready to play on the big stage soon. I really hope he settles in England soon. 15 out of 18 headers won all over the pitch, 6 of which are key headers. He has outperformed Berra in terms of headers! Wow.
Not only was Kryvtsov unstoppable in the air, his tackling that night also out performed Berra. 5 out of 5 tackles were successful. His first start of the season was a great one!
Our next game saw us play Middlesbrough away. We opened the scoring when Richard Stearman dispossess a Boro player and sprints down the right flank to deliver a great cross. Ebanks-Blake was there to apply the finishing touch. We lead away 1-0. Otamendi who was restored to the lineup, failed to clear a corner convincingly and the ball fell to a Boro player who scored from close range. Milevskyi took only a short wile to reestablish our lead for his 10th goal of the season. Fearsome midfielder Inler won a 50-50 ball and played a through ball for Milevskyi and he did not disappoint us in the red hot form he is in.
Boro hit us back immediately once again via a corner. At this point in time, I was starting to think this game was jinxed as everytime I score they seem to score from a corner to equalize.
Shortly after half time, they led through what else, but a corner (AGAIN?). Milveskyi once again came to our resuce when he equalized for us in the 55th minute when he dribbled past a Boro defender to create space for himself. The game is on!
I brought on Fonseca for Ebanks-Blake in the dying stages of the game, feeling we need something different to steal the 3 points. I was right, Fonseca came up and delivered a super sub performance when he stole the winner in injury time. 3 points stolen! Milevskyi made the goal with a fine assist.
Milevskyi’s performance was rewarded with a spot in the team of the week pick.
The next game saw us play newly promoted Preston North. Otamendi has not recovered from his injury and hence Kryvtsov was handed yet another start in the team. I was not too worried though, Kryvtsov has been great recently. He does not play like someone who has not yet celebrated his 20th birthday.
Krivets hit the bar earlier on in the game with a long range effort, and Preston gave me the impression they were a squad that we could easily steamroll as they hardly even threatened. Our first goal almost came when Berra was about to head the ball from a corner taken by Krivets, when he was fouled in the box. The resulting penalty was converted by Milveskyi and we were off to our 1-0 lead. Berra almost scored in the 40th minute when his header from a corner was cleared off the line. Unlucky.
After the restart, Milevskyi dribbled past a Preston North fullback to cross the ball for Ebanks-Blake to head into the net. Funny how Ebanks-Blake seemed better in the air this season as compared to the last season. Good goal, and Milveskyi made the goal.
On a quick counter attack on the 55th mark, Ebanks-Blake used his lightning pace to draw 2 Preston North defenders, and as a result no one was tracking Krivets late run from midfield, Ebanks-Blake laid a pass to Krivets and he made no mistake when he found himself 1-on-1 with the keeper. 3-0 the score line in the 55th minute. Time to rest players!
Preston hardly threatened despite the fact I played a few 2nd stringers like Verratti, Canales and Jones. We finished comfortably, winning 3-0.
It was an extremely one sided game as you can see from the stats. We had 25 shots while Preston only had 1. It was humiliating.
The next game was probably one of the best games of this season. We had a thrilling finish to a League Cup Quarter Final showdown with Liverpool. We won eventually via 5-4 in penalties. But let me be clear, we TOTALLY deserved to win in normal time if not for Reina, who I strongly believed the AI made him unbeatable just so we can get to extra time. Look at the stats, it’s totally ridiculous how they manage to go to penalties with my squad.
Look at the stats, tell me we did not deserve to go to penalties with Liverpool. They were utterly outplayed. It’s a miracle how Reina saved all those shots, till date I still refuse to accept this, and can only attribute the AI wanting to ensure we headed to penalties. We had 22 shots on targets, and Reina SAVED ALL 21? While they only had 4. And they still drawed with us all the way till penalties. That’s blatant robbery.
In any case, we started the game without Otamendi, without Forren. Which meant I had no defensive cover and it would be best to end the game by 90mins (unfortunately we did not, thanks to Sports Interactive jinxing us).
Milveskyi almost opened the scoring testing Reina with a long shot that Reina could only parry. Milveskyi then threatened in the 8th minute again to score after he dribbled past the Liverpool CB. Unforunately, Reina saved yet again. Milveskyi was looking really fired up for this game. We were clearly dominating early game. Krivets almost scores in the 33 minutes as he was sent through on goal by Inler, but Reina saved again. We finished the first half clearly the better side. I brought on Fonseca for Ebanks-Blake in the 2nd half because I felt we needed a better finisher.
Berra almost scored the first goal after the restart, with a header being cleared off the line. This was really getting on my nerves now, a Liverpool side that totally deserved to get thrashed was holding us to a draw. In the 50th minute I took of Hasebe for the more attack minded Jones. And very nearly Fonseca scored for us, forcing another save from Reina after Jones set him through.
FINALLY, we beat Reina when a cheeky chip over the defence by Milveskyi found Fonseca, and Fonseca sidestepped the onrushing keeper to slot the ball home. FINALLY. Experience paid off here. You can’t believe how happy I was and it was the feeling of sweet sweet vengeance, when I punched my fist in the air.
My happiness was short-lived when Sports Interactive pulled a fast one on me, allowing Liverpool to equalize IMMEDIATELY from a corner that Babel turn in. And this was like their 1st shot in the game? Utter, blatant robbery. Tell me this isn’t scripted.
Late pressure from us towards 90mins did not yield anything as Reina made saved after saves. That guy was like a bus in front of the goal post. They might as well fire him and field a long bus in front of the goal post. In extra time the same thing happened, we threatened and threatened to no avail and I wont bore you with the details because you probably know what to expect. (yes, that’s right Reina made saves after saves.)
Eventually we came down to penalty and both sides were equally even but Enyeama pulled off a great save in the 5th penalty taken by Pool to make us winners of the League Cup Q-Final. A win that was long deserved and I was proud of the boys.
Kryvtsov showed he can stand his ground not only against ordinary teams, but against the big boys like Liverpool as well. He made 5 out of 6 successful tackles. I would also like to highlight the fact that my fullbacks did a great job with 5 successful tackles each down that flank. Great work from the defence as a whole.
Kryvtsov was also unbeatable in the air with a whooping 16 out of 17 headers won, 4 of which were key to the team. What a player and he’s only 19!
Mileyvskyi was also flawless for us, 6 shots on goal and 5 were on target. If not for Reina he would have gotten on the scoresheet already.
In the next game, we played Portsmouth, with an utterly tired squad from the Extra Time + Penalty shootout against Liverpool. I had no choice but to rest Shevchuk who was down to 70%. Forren was still out injured. Hence I had utterly no choice but to give Marc Muniesa the new youngster I signed from Barca this season his first start at LB. I have not even used him as a substitute yet! Stearman was also rested as he was down to 70+% as well. Kryvtsov played in his 2nd favourite position as RB. So I started the game with 2 makeshift LB and RB.
Otamendi looks rusty in this game, it is his first game after injury. He almost gave Portsmouth the lead when his misheader lead to a one-on-one chance with Enyeama, which Enyeama pulled a brilliant save to keep the score at 0-0. Yssouf Kone was also playing badly in the 2nd start I have given him this season. I wonder if he will turn out to be a flop this season. Portsmouth proceeded to cancel us out with a defensive mentality, and we had trouble penetrating their defence line.
At half time, I felt we need more attacking abilities up front, and I took of Kone for magic Milevskyi. It turned out to be a master stroke, as he scored within 2 minutes after the restart with a header after receiving a cross. Brilliant player. Took him only 2 minutes to conjure something. I felt that it was counterproductive going forward going forward considering how tired the squad was. Hence we switched to a defensive mentality and chose to keep possession and wind down the time left. It turned out to be a successful ploy as we were heading to all 3 points as we approached injury time.
Then Portsmouth fired in an unstoppable free kick that was RIGHT at the end of injury time. I was outraged. What a way to drop points. But that’s soccer for you. You never know what is coming next.
It was all not doom and gloom though. Marc Muniesa really impressed me as a teenager who just came from Barca as a trainee. He lasted 90minutes in the EPL, without making a single mistake, winning 4 out of 5 tackles he made on the left. Another player to look out for in the future for Wolves. Our defensive cover seems really reliable in the hands of young Kryvtsov and Muniesa both of which have not even turned 20 yet!
Krytsov looks equally as good at the RB positioning, wining 8 out of 11 headers. This guy is unbeatable in the air!
As we played our 15th game, Wolves sits 2nd in the table, with a total of 32 points, and also a vastly improved goal difference as compared to last year. Our back 4 has really bucked up this season. Milveskyi continues to be a source of inspiration and it is really heart warming to see the youngsters like Kryvtsov and Muniesa come through for us when we needed them. A Euro cup spots seems almost guranteed at the rate we are going, question is, can we really qualify for the Champions League. That is the new aim for the club, and we shall see in the coming days, if we can make dreams a reality.
Thank you for reading and for your continuous of Wolves. We hope to reward you with European games next season. See you in December!
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The team seems to be playing quite well judging by the number of chances that you are creating. I think that you could be in for… the title, good luck!
@Johnny, thanks for the encouragement. Title? Hmm, we might need some real luck with injuries. I have quality players but if anyone is injured, I might not have the stamina to last all 38 games. We’ll try though, Cheers!
Hi Jason, i think its quite common in the game with what you encountered against Liverpool. Sometimes we just couldn’t win certain matches or they immediately equalized after we score a goal. Hope SI can fix this
Back to your Wolves, your team recovered well to form after the loss to Hull. i have confidence that European place should be no problem for your team. Probably need to take note of fatique, a bit of rotation is needed if there is too many games. Good luck.
Hi FM Guru, it looks like your doing a great job with Wolves, well done! Milyevski looks like an inspired signing, if he keeps his form up he could fire you into the Champions League, and who knows, even the title!
Apart from the silly loss to Hull at the start of the month, it was very solid indeed.
Can understand the frustration with the Liverpool match. When that happens, you start to think along the lines of SI making certain things happen. Although it’s early after the new patch, it does look like it might have balanced a few of these things out. The patch may have resolve the issue with who your players were trying to mark at corners, because I’ve played 4 matches since the patch, and not conceded from a corner yet, which was almost unheard of before it.
I agree with Johnny that you might be able to mount a challenge for the title, but as you say it does depend on how lucky you are with injuries.
Hey,just read through your blog and its fantastic I must say.Wolves are a team I like and its good to see them do good!if you stay injury free your in fot a shout for the title!
Hi Jason
You are doing very well indeed to get Wolves into second place. I can fully understand your frustration and for the most part agree with you. Just to add some balance I’ve seen countless games in real life when one team camps out in the opponents half but the ball just won’t go in and then the other team scores. That’s the way football is…unfortunately. Don’t get dis-heartened I think you have a great chance at the title the way your team is playing.
@Lye: Hey Lye, I will heed your advice, and make sure players who are tired will be well rested. I am really glad the young players are stepping up though, they are really ideal for home games against the weaker teams.
@Laxeyman: Hi Laxeyman! Your blog is one of those that I read before I started my own blog, and how great it is to see a new face commenting on my site (: Thank you for your well wishes, hope to see you around often!
@Ziggy: Hey Ziggy! I haven’t tried the new 10.3 patch yet, but after what you mentioned, I might just install it the moment I get home from work. I am crossing my fingers that no major injuries happen as we are about to reach the halfway point in the season.
@Kevin: Hey mate. I totally agree with your point of view. That’s football for you. If the better team always wins, and david can never beat goliath, soccer wouldn’t be as exciting as it is. As a fan, we live for the moments where the unexpected happens. Thank you for your well wishes. It would be amazing if we really win the title this year.
@Sears: Hey Sears, nice to see another new face on the site. You’ve no idea how important comments like yours are to me. It really makes me fulfilled writing about our favourite game.
Its interesting to see how things develop in your Wolves game. I had a pretty similar start and had a 2nd table position in November. Now its march and we are down to fourth… Man C has five points up but one game less played. I think my transfer sum was 32.5m£ that and the fact that i sold Kightly to Juventus for 11m£ Gave me the opportunity to significantly strengthen the squad. The first signing i made was Brazilian DM, MC Sandro…
I always check my real life favorite clubs and for DM backup i found Milan Smiljanic who’d probably had differences with the Espanyol management and was listed for 500£!!?? Not long ago he scored the winning goal vs. Arsenal in the league cup final, and hes a consistent performer despite some personal trouble settling in;) While eying Espanyol i found a perfect fullback bench man in Francisco Javier Chica who plays both sides very well.
Sandro and fellow Brazilian striker Defederico were where most money went… Purchased a few well scouted talents aswell, among them Jonjo Shelvey, who apart from shooting and the free kicks has exellent stats.
When pre season began i was happy to find two regen players with top stats in the wolves youth draft, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who is my assistant and my best scout predicts them as four star players. First season most players looked up to Nenad Milijas, but this seasoon its Ebanks Blake that is the big star of the team, so far this season he has scored 20 goals and assisted five.
The corners are still a bitch, since none of the defenders have that special ability that Berra, Shawcross, Mexes and other goalscoring defenders seem to possess. Sandro is my best choice header, Veratti my corner taker.
How do you handle morale, teamtalks, and it would be fun hearing something about what staff you’ve appointed.
Forgot to mention that i managed to pick up Argentinian defender Nicolas Buridissio (ex Juve??) on a free transfer… A really good defender that passes the ball better than the stats will tell.
hmmm… he was in Inter, and his name is Burdisso. I mistyped.
@Matereo: Smiljanic for half a million is a real bargain! Francisco Javier Chica sounds like someone I should check out considering I need backup in the LB and RB roles. Thanks for the suggestion, I think I might write a post in the near future regarding team management and morale. Cheers Matereo, always good to hear from another Wolves manager. Btw, did Milijas leave your club after the 1st season?
Smiljanic wasn’t half a million… he was five hundred pounds or since i play FM set to Swedish crowns.. 5000 kronor
First season when i checked his value was 3m£ or something… this season 500£… strange.
No Milijas is still around, i had him tutoring Veratti, gave him an improved contract. Strange and thing is that he has dropped his shooting skills from 20 to 19 despite me having top staff and i think well set training. Could be i often put +23 players on secondary role training so i have a flexible team and bench.
For tactics i vary between a 4-4-2 with Djuric in an OML/O-playmaker role(Jarvis on the other side as a MR). Playing better teams i there for set Elokobi or Lumb to defensive. Sometimes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and my other coaches reminds me that the opponents play not so good against 4-5-1 lineups, so i also play a 4-1-3-2 with Sandro in a DM role set to defensive, centrally in front of him set to try and win the ball him i play Smiljanic, Henry or Morgan Scneiderlin, centrally on the sides of this balancing CM, Veratti, Milijas, or Shelvey.
I used to have lots of problems with morale, but all that changed after a post i read at the FM-Sweden site. I follow this 100%… If we are predicted to win i never give a team speak. If we are underdogs i wish them good luck.If we are winning in half time there’s never a team talk, only a disappointed or prove your right individually. If we are down, if still a draw, and the opponents have more possession shots on goal etc. disapointed. After the games eaven if we lose i set team talk to pleased. Individuals who perform with ratings lower than 6 i dive a disappointed saying to. Individuals who get over 7.8 rating i rave and say fantastic to. I always remember to mention them to the press aswell. This really works. It brings extraordinary morale to any squad. Its actually fun to see how disappointed and unsettled players have a green morale arrow straight up anyway
Matereo, I though is nice if you have a blog as I founded that you have so many information on Fm tactics. nice to to see people start to linking each other with a same interest.
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