The Premier League season has not started well and now Wolves are out of the Carabao Cup.
A 3-2 away defeat against Brighton last night was not unexpected, given the 10 changes head coach Gary O’Neil chose to make and the patched-up nature of the defence he sent out against opposition now yet to lose in six matches this season.
But in some ways, the negatives from the night were more worrying than the scoreline suggested, despite a good second-half performance.
Will Wolves fans see Jose Sa again?
If there was any lingering debate about who is Wolves’ No 1, Jose Sa put an end to it — and not in a good way.
The Portugal international made his first on-field appearance last night since losing his place in the first XI following the summer signing of Sam Johnstone from Crystal Palace. And within 31 minutes, he had done enough to leave fans wondering whether he would ever be seen in a Wolves shirt again.
For both Carlos Baleba’s 14th-minute opener and Simon Adingra doubling the Brighton lead 17 minutes later, Sa appeared to do the hard work by getting his hand down to long-range shots but failed to keep the ball out of the net. He was also culpable in the build-up to Baleba’s strike with a risky decision to play out from the back.
Add in several other questionable decisions in possession and the result was a performance well below Sa’s best level.
Only he will know his state of mind but he appears to currently be lacking the focus required for first-team football and, while he was much improved in the second half, with some solid catches under pressure and more decisive distribution, there was still a suspicion he could have pushed Danny Welbeck’s shot to safety instead of to Ferdi Kadioglu to score Brighton’s decisive late third.
“There’s always a lot of people involved in goals,” said O’Neil as he attempted to protect his player. “We know how good Jose can be between the sticks and there were a couple of good hits.
“I haven’t seen them back, looking at it from a goalkeeping perspective. I was looking more around the team structure and how they got to those positions, but it’s never just about the goalkeeper.”
Regardless of O’Neil’s diplomatic words, Sa’s hopes of a first-team recall now appear remote. The bigger question is whether he can retain his spot on the bench ahead of Dan Bentley, a player fresh from signing a new contract.
Baleba’s shot evades Sa to put Brighton 1-0 ahead (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
What has happened to Hwang and Sarabia?
Hwang Hee-chan and Pablo Sarabia were key figures in Wolves’ most successful spells last season, with Hwang scoring 13 goals in all competitions and Sarabia emerging as one of the Premier League’s best chance creators.
Yet this season they have faded out of the starting line-up, with Sarabia yet to start a league game and Hwang dropping down to the bench for the past two Premier League fixtures having started the campaign in the XI.
Last night, they were both given the opportunity to improve their prospects of playing more minutes in the league. Instead, the game went the other way for the pair of them.
Hwang was especially disappointing with just 21 touches — the fewest of any of Wolves’ starters. He did not register a shot on target and had just one goal attempt overall and the South Korea international, who spent part of his summer in limbo amid interest from French club Marseille, looks way short of his best form and a first-team recall seems a long way off.
Sarabia, meanwhile, lost possession 18 times, more than any of Wolves’ other attackers, and completed just 21 of his 30 passes. For a player who relies on technical proficiency to make up for his lack of physical stature, he was a long way short of where he needed to be.
Both players have more than three months to change their fortunes before the transfer window reopens but, if they cannot reclaim first-team spots, expect fresh discussions about their futures in January.
Is Guedes Premier League-ready?
The man who a few months ago appeared to have no prospect of a Wolves career is now pushing harder than anyone on the fringes of the first team for a Premier League spot.
Goncalo Guedes was not known for his work rate in his previous stint in the Wolves side (before spending the past season and a half out on loan) but it was his industry and tireless running that stood out last night in a new central attacking role. The 27-year-old Portugal international led the line with real industry and scored his side’s opening goal, although he should have added another in the second half when he wasted a huge chance.
“He showed an excellent attitude,” said O’Neil. “His work, his willingness to work for the team, his moments of quality, his brightness, I was really impressed. I’m pleased for him, because obviously he’s had a tough journey, some injuries, and been unsettled here.
“His performance was very good.”
Against the odds, Guedes has already moved ahead of Hwang in the pecking order and is on course to push summer signing Jorgen Strand Larsen for a starting spot.
Not too many other Wolves players enhanced their reputation last night, but Rodrigo Gomes, another recent arrival who has not started a league game since the opening weekend of the season, caught the eye with his industry and pace while fellow newcomer Carlos Forbs had a useful cameo from the bench for the final half-hour.
GO DEEPER
Unpicking Wolves’ long search for a Premier League clean sheet
(Top photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images)
