Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

[Ricco]

Ricco, as a keeper an honest question here, do you rate him much? Would you rather we had someone else or can you see promise in him ?

It's a great question Mike, here are some random thoughts:

I thought it was a bonkers gamble to sign him as first choice with no alternatives. Any other posistion a failure can be switched out without huge consequence... Jack Clarke for example. I saw his mistakes for Burnley and thought, 'bloody hell, they must really see something in him!'.

He has huge potential, what he does well is very rare, he has some special qualities for sure, he moves unbelievably for a keeper that size. But it's a big if on the mistakes he makes, with some keepers those disappear quickly with time in goal to 'get your eye in' and get up to the speed of a division, others never improve throughout their career.

I would have picked him to play at Wolves, 100%, but that's not to say he doesn't make me uncomfortable. I do think there are certainly things spectators miss though... for example there were 3 or 4 times Wolves players blazed over the bar from excellent positions... he was on them quick and he's flipping big, it makes strikers look for the corners and rush. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they would have stuck 2 of those past Walton because he's not the same presence. I bet very few have even considered that, and instead would focus on the goal he conceded. To be honest, I think it was deflected off Clarke's boot, I'd love to have that confirmed. Muric saves goals without touching the ball, I'm sure of that.

I don't think I'd have signed him, but I don't know what the other options were, I don't know who that someone else would be. Would I be looking at other keepers in January, yup! Is he crazy talented, yup. Do poor teams make their keepers look worse, yup.

I'd like to look back over what he has done, but my gut says if he comes good and the supporters stay behind him, he'll keep us up.

[hallamblue]

Some very fair and good points made there ^^^^

[marko69]

Yep, good points Ricco. You reckon he might also be a Grobbelaar / Barthez type whereby his flappy looking antics puts players off and they shoot over or wide?
My current opinion (based on MOTD footage) is that he is very suspect indeed.

[ITFC2024]

One thing that was frustrating yesterday was on a couple of occasions we had the opportunity for a quick counter attack if Muric had released the ball quicker. I know that at times game management comes into play, Chappers going down with his customary 1st half injury when we were under a bit of pressure as an example, but if we have a chance for a quick break on the counter then we should take it.

It’s down to his decision making again isn’t it….

Well I hope it is something our goalkeeping coach will pick up on and mention it to him. Our fans were screaming at him to release it and a couple of our players looked exasperated by it, especially Hutchinson.

Here’s the goalkeeper drill in practice…Muric you have three seconds to distribute the ball. Now maybe after practicing that a thousand times it will get into Muric’s big Frankenstein head to get the ball out quicker!

[ITFC2024]

I mean seriously has anyone else noticed the size of Muric’s head?! When he stands in the middle of the goal, the posts are tickling his ears! He should use his head to save shots! It’s a big head, but I bet if you shook it you’d hear a pea rattling inside!

[Bluemike]

Ricco, as a keeper an honest question here, do you rate him much? Would you rather we had someone else or can you see promise in him ?

It's a great question Mike, here are some random thoughts:

I thought it was a bonkers gamble to sign him as first choice with no alternatives. Any other posistion a failure can be switched out without huge consequence... Jack Clarke for example. I saw his mistakes for Burnley and thought, 'bloody hell, they must really see something in him!'.

He has huge potential, what he does well is very rare, he has some special qualities for sure, he moves unbelievably for a keeper that size. But it's a big if on the mistakes he makes, with some keepers those disappear quickly with time in goal to 'get your eye in' and get up to the speed of a division, others never improve throughout their career.

I would have picked him to play at Wolves, 100%, but that's not to say he doesn't make me uncomfortable. I do think there are certainly things spectators miss though... for example there were 3 or 4 times Wolves players blazed over the bar from excellent positions... he was on them quick and he's flipping big, it makes strikers look for the corners and rush. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they would have stuck 2 of those past Walton because he's not the same presence. I bet very few have even considered that, and instead would focus on the goal he conceded. To be honest, I think it was deflected off Clarke's boot, I'd love to have that confirmed. Muric saves goals without touching the ball, I'm sure of that.

I don't think I'd have signed him, but I don't know what the other options were, I don't know who that someone else would be. Would I be looking at other keepers in January, yup! Is he crazy talented, yup. Do poor teams make their keepers look worse, yup.

I'd like to look back over what he has done, but my gut says if he comes good and the supporters stay behind him, he'll keep us up.

Very good points Ricco and definitely makes you look at One or Two things in a slightly different light, the sad thing from my personal point of view is that the howlers he makes are the biggest thing for and outweigh the positives. The thing about him being big and forcing errors from strikers though is very valid and almost certainly correct.

[Ricco]

More ramblings for Mike and Marko to ponder, and I'm not saying you're wrong in the slightest, I'm saying it's complicated and I don't know how well he is doing, I don't get the chance to watch as many minutes as some. But...

Please chose between:

Keeper who saves 160 shots and has 12 howlers a season.

Vs

Keeper who saves 140 shots and has 5 howlers a season.

And you'd say... don't be an idiot Ricco, it's obvious you'd pick the net 148 save keeper over the net 135, it's 13 goals better over the season.

But the bloody obvious thing is the howlers, they're clear for all to see and make you want to smack some sense in to the keeper, it's hard at the time to see the bigger, more logical picture and work out if maybe their other qualities offset the mistakes they make, with Muric... it might?

Another thing with keepers is... unless it's an exceptional save, it is often presumed that another keeper would also have made that save, or forced the same error from a striker, but we're not so forgiving when it comes to mistakes.

Here's another one for you:

Wolverhampton have conceded 14 set pieces this season, the league average is 5, and we are on just 2 conceded, only Brentford top us with 1. If you look at 'high claims', Muric is league leader with 35, second place is Raya way back on 24, with the average being around 14 or 15. So how much credit do we give him for that? Taylor wouldn't have got that close with Muric in goal, but we could send it in to the 6 yard box vs Wolves because we know their keeper wasn't Muric. Opposition have to give him more space, sending set pieces further away from him, again, that saves goals without him touching it, just like his 1v1 presence.

How good is he? I don't know. Is there better at the club, I seriously doubt it.

[JohnnyB]

Show me where i castigate others opinions.
Offering a counter opinion to other opinions is not castigating.
I want to understand the “displeasure” better.

I know you hate the references to the SPL, cannot fault that, it is infinitely poorer than EPL, (even Championship) ….. but after the Jack Ross debacle, I worry about unnecessary pressure on a manager.
I watch every one of the Messiahs pressers and find myself looking for Lambertesque-ness……. But its not there. I’m trying my utmost to get onboard with “He’s not the Messiah” clan!

For what it's worth, I agree with you Marko. Gamechanger, Ashton and Mckenna are obviously the best thing to happen to the club since Burley, at least. McKenna may not be the messiah but the above three have together raised our club from league one obscurity to competing in the PL, and that's a near miraculous feat. Given his record, Mckenna has certainly earned the right to respect for his decisions. Peeps might disagree but well they're not young managers with back to back promotions on their cv

I don't know what I have to do to get my point across on this, Johnny - maybe I should try the medium of dance or song?

I think McKenna is great and the management we have are indeed the best we have had for years - maybe even ever! However, McKenna is fallible and he has been found wanting several times this season - thats all I am saying and have ever said. We all used to criticise managers for 'not having a plan b' - well in my view, McKenna doesn't have one but still most think he can do no wrong! Everyone has to adapt and KM is no different. I want us to be the best we can be and right now, we are doing well but have dropped so many potential points which could see us all but down before the end of January. Some of those have been avoidable.

If we get 5 points from the next 5 games, we will have done extremely well. However, by then we may be adrift from the pack and THAT is why I am critical of what has gone on in recent weeks.

Ha ha would love to see the song and dance!

Seriously, you make good points and always make them respectfully - fair enough.

We're all feeling better after a win. But what has Mckenna done wrong? Muric has a mistake in him but also does great things, the subs generally are well drilled and make telling contributions, Hutch plays great on the right, but also in the middle. What else? No plan B. Wasn't spurs away plan B?

Anyway all good debate - take care man.

[Bluemike]

More ramblings for Mike and Marko to ponder, and I'm not saying you're wrong in the slightest, I'm saying it's complicated and I don't know how well he is doing, I don't get the chance to watch as many minutes as some. But...

Please chose between:

Keeper who saves 160 shots and has 12 howlers a season.

Vs

Keeper who saves 140 shots and has 5 howlers a season.

And you'd say... don't be an idiot Ricco, it's obvious you'd pick the net 148 save keeper over the net 135, it's 13 goals better over the season.

But the bloody obvious thing is the howlers, they're clear for all to see and make you want to smack some sense in to the keeper, it's hard at the time to see the bigger, more logical picture and work out if maybe their other qualities offset the mistakes they make, with Muric... it might?

Another thing with keepers is... unless it's an exceptional save, it is often presumed that another keeper would also have made that save, or forced the same error from a striker, but we're not so forgiving when it comes to mistakes.

Here's another one for you:

Wolverhampton have conceded 14 set pieces this season, the league average is 5, and we are on just 2 conceded, only Brentford top us with 1. If you look at 'high claims', Muric is league leader with 35, second place is Raya way back on 24, with the average being around 14 or 15. So how much credit do we give him for that? Taylor wouldn't have got that close with Muric in goal, but we could send it in to the 6 yard box vs Wolves because we know their keeper wasn't Muric. Opposition have to give him more space, sending set pieces further away from him, again, that saves goals without him touching it, just like his 1v1 presence.

How good is he? I don't know. Is there better at the club, I seriously doubt it.

I get what you are saying regarding the howlers etc but for me it's more than just that, I think his general decision making is poor much of the time, his distribution is very slow and probably the worst I have seen from a keeper, then to add the awful and dare i say it at times needless mistakes it doesn't paint him in that good of a light really.

I made the point when we were linked with him in the Summer that from what I had seen and read I did not want him here and nor did I rate him very much, Burnley fans are the same, sadly my views have not changed really. I think this is the way he is always going to be given that he came here with a bit of a suspect reputation.

Have we got anything better at the club, probably not, could we find better for the money we spent, absolutely One Hundred percent yes we could. All that being said I never give the guy a hard time at games by way of booing etc never have anyone and never will, although I must admit Jonas Knudsen pushed me hard.

[hallamblue]

He's unreliable in an alarmingly consistent manner. He reminds me of Bart in some ways. Can pull off outstanding saves but then mess up on basic goalkeeping skills ( being beaten at your near post). He is light years better than Bart in commanding his 6 yard area and no GK over 6ft 6ins should really ever be beaten in the air because with his arms up to catch the ball that's 9ft of elevation. His biggest problem is decision-making and what I can only describe as a rush of blood to the head when dealing with advancing attackers. Just when you need him to keep his head and narrow the angle and stay on his feet, he charges out like a headless chicken.

He's done these these things more than once at Town, and numerous times whilst at Burnley. This makes me think he is unlikely to change with coaching now as it's to ingrained at 26yrs. I know that's not old for GK, but maybe he's past that tipping point of being able to change. Who knows.

[Shed on tour]

More ramblings for Mike and Marko to ponder, and I'm not saying you're wrong in the slightest, I'm saying it's complicated and I don't know how well he is doing, I don't get the chance to watch as many minutes as some. But...

Please chose between:

Keeper who saves 160 shots and has 12 howlers a season.

Vs

Keeper who saves 140 shots and has 5 howlers a season.

And you'd say... don't be an idiot Ricco, it's obvious you'd pick the net 148 save keeper over the net 135, it's 13 goals better over the season.

But the bloody obvious thing is the howlers, they're clear for all to see and make you want to smack some sense in to the keeper, it's hard at the time to see the bigger, more logical picture and work out if maybe their other qualities offset the mistakes they make, with Muric... it might?

Another thing with keepers is... unless it's an exceptional save, it is often presumed that another keeper would also have made that save, or forced the same error from a striker, but we're not so forgiving when it comes to mistakes.

Here's another one for you:

Wolverhampton have conceded 14 set pieces this season, the league average is 5, and we are on just 2 conceded, only Brentford top us with 1. If you look at 'high claims', Muric is league leader with 35, second place is Raya way back on 24, with the average being around 14 or 15. So how much credit do we give him for that? Taylor wouldn't have got that close with Muric in goal, but we could send it in to the 6 yard box vs Wolves because we know their keeper wasn't Muric. Opposition have to give him more space, sending set pieces further away from him, again, that saves goals without him touching it, just like his 1v1 presence.

How good is he? I don't know. Is there better at the club, I seriously doubt it.

I get what you are saying regarding the howlers etc but for me it's more than just that, I think his general decision making is poor much of the time, his distribution is very slow and probably the worst I have seen from a keeper, then to add the awful and dare i say it at times needless mistakes it doesn't paint him in that good of a light really.

I made the point when we were linked with him in the Summer that from what I had seen and read I did not want him here and nor did I rate him very much, Burnley fans are the same, sadly my views have not changed really. I think this is the way he is always going to be given that he came here with a bit of a suspect reputation.

Have we got anything better at the club, probably not, could we find better for the money we spent, absolutely One Hundred percent yes we could. All that being said I never give the guy a hard time at games by way of booing etc never have anyone and never will, although I must admit Jonas Knudsen pushed me hard.

Especially at Newcastle away!

[Bluemike]

Could have killed the prat that day

[Ricco]

Agree with everything said above, I imagine he can't change wildly at 26, but hopefully can enough. And I do wonder if he's been asked to be more considered (slower) in his distribution because of the errors!

I'm not sure the club will have the stomach to spend big on another keeper though. They'll lose money on that, but also on Muric's value if we swap him put. Then there's the threat of relegation and what that would bring.

I'm just hoping he's good enough, because I think we might have to stick by him and cross our fingers?

[hallamblue]

Ricco, I’d personally LOVE him to come good, because he has such physical presence, and apart from the misgivings people have stated, he’s a good keeper. I think you make a valid point about slowing down his distribution out from the back. Hopefully he’s just WIP and will come good. A good keeper and solid defence in front of him is the foundation for survival in my view.

[marko69]

Oh Jeezo, yes, remember Knood. Wow, shocking football player.

[Bluemike]

I hope he hasn't been instructed to slow down the distribution because that means we are adjusting our style of play, which has always been one of our strong points to accommodate his failings, that makes it even bloody worse for me.

[Ricco]

to accommodate his failings, that makes it even bloody worse for me.

You don't think we spent £35m+ on Greaves and O'Shea to accommodate Muric's failings?

[Bluemike]

No that was to get rid of Woolfenden's failings lol

[RRanger]

Word

I thought we played well for the vast majority of the game and apart from a short spell when it could have gone either way over 90 mins we deserved our win. Yes we conceded a poor goal and were under heavy pressure for a 10 or 15 mins spell particularly immediately after they scored, but you have to expect that especially when you’re playing away against a fellow struggling team. I thought McKenna got his substitutions spot on and no surprise that it was the two Jacks who assisted and scored the winning goal. It was a perfect set piece corner/header which had clearly been practiced many times on the training ground this week to exploit Wolves known weakness defending set pieces. Jack Taylor’s header was Wolves 20th goal conceded from a set piece so far this season. It was also Taylor’s first Premier League goal and he’s now scored in each of the Top 5 Leagues if English football. I wonder how many midfielders have that on their CV.
I really enjoyed that today and Saturday evening has been so much more enjoyable, a complete opposite of last weekend.

I have to say I am delighted that the substitutions worked out but to say it was 'no surprise' is not my view - it was a total surprise to me as those two had never looked like doing that in any previous game! Also, as for McKenna getting his subs spot on, again, he was just doing the same subs he always does. It just so happens that on this occasion, it worked whereas in many others, it hasn't. No great 'messiah moment' for me although I cannot deny it was very welcome and enjoyable!

What you’re looking for in a manager for a team like Ipswich Town doesn't exist in the modern era. Bigger dough (better players) and a Klopp type that you seem to be after could come in the door.
But i feel you’re putting a dampener on your own enjoyment for what is a very good Ipswich Town era. The Messiah stuff always has and always will be a joke……. But for his age and what he’s achieved in a short space of time must get some form of respect. No?

Off topic:
Ruud Van Nistelroy……. Quote: “We’ve only been working for 2 weeks……..” ——>> EXCUSES!

Thats is probably one of the things that i probably like most about kieron Messiahkenna over the past 2 years…….. Very little excuses. The most have been this year and it’s been about officials are VAR ——->>> but he’s been correct.

[shabba]

Newcastle have gone full strength tonight, 0 changes from their side last weekend.

Might be good for us, maybe they will be slightly tired?