Sometimes goals are just too good to stop.
Wolverhampton Wanderers were unfortunate to lose to Newcastle United. The two goals they conceded, both rasping efforts from outside the box, were difficult to prevent — but Gary O’Neil’s side have now gone 16 Premier League games without a clean sheet.
No current Premier League side have been waiting longer for a game where they do not concede. That kind of demoralising run does not happen by accident.
Since their last clean sheet — in February’s 1-0 win over Sheffield United — Wolves have conceded 36 goals, with Sheffield United the only side to concede more (38), despite their relegation meaning they have played fewer Premier League games.
“The Chelsea game (a 6-2 defeat) was obviously just crazy errors. The out-of-possession structure was too open due to a few of the boys not being able to do what we needed,” said O’Neil when asked to assess the goals conceded this season.
“And that was sort of how we started against Newcastle, which is why we had to change it fairly quickly.
“People were not quite able to do what was asked of them so we had to move a couple of people around and then I thought it looked better.
“The two goals (against Newcastle) came from shooting from a long way out because we had managed to frustrate Newcastle in that phase in the game.
“The first one flicked off Craig Dawson for a big deflection.”
One of the problems facing O’Neil is that there is little obvious pattern to the goals Wolves are conceding.
Wolves are 18th in the Premier League after three defeats in their opening four games (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
Twenty-five of those 36 goals conceded since their last clean sheet have come from open play, a figure surpassed only by Sheffield United and West Ham (27 each).
But as a percentage, Wolves’ tally from open play accounts for 69 per cent of the total goals conceded — a figure that puts them firmly in the middle of the pack between the top (Crystal Palace on 90 per cent) and the bottom (Southampton on 50 per cent but from a small sample size of four games, below Arsenal on 57).
Only relegated Luton Town have conceded more goals from corners (seven) than Wolves’ six since that Sheffield United game but that tally still amounts to just 17 per cent of the total goals conceded.
Just six per cent of Wolves goals conceded have come from free kicks and nine per cent from penalties.
So, while goals conceded from set pieces is a little high and will be the responsibility of recently-appointed set-piece coach Jack Wilson to address, Wolves do not have the luxury of believing that cutting out one type of goal will prove to be a magic cure.
In simple terms, they concede too many of all types of goal — 13 to left-footed strikes, 16 to shots with the right foot and seven with the head.
Their 83 per cent of goals conceded from inside the penalty area compared to 17 per cent from outside is also fairly standard among Premier League clubs.
So to tighten up their defensive record they will need to cut out the number of goals being conceded from all areas, from both sides of the pitch and from a range of different methods.
There are obvious personnel issues hampering O’Neil’s efforts to shore up his side.
Rayan Ait-Nouri struggled in his previous outings as an orthodox left-back in the new-look defensive four but the Algeria international was much improved against Newcastle until he picked up a worrying ankle injury.
This time it was Matt Doherty’s turn for a costly error and, while O’Neil did not name the Republic of Ireland international, he clearly held him responsible for Harvey Barnes’ winning goal.
“Since the day I got here, I spoke about keeping wingers on the outside, especially if they’re playing as inverted wingers and Nelson Semedo did an unbelievable job of keeping the winger outside for 70 minutes.
“Then at the end we decided to let him inside. He’s still got a lot to do but we gave him the opportunity to come inside on his strong foot and score a very good goal.”
Harvey Barnes, that is SENSATIONAL! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/VpM9nx03TT
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 15, 2024
With Doherty struggling to recapture the magic of his first spell at Wolves since returning to Molineux last summer, O’Neil’s side look exposed at right-back if Semedo is not on the pitch.
And with Craig Dawson now 34, Yerson Mosquera feeling his way into Premier League life and Toti missing out on Sunday with a hamstring issue, O’Neil is not blessed in defence with the kind of depth he has in attack.
Yet the squad is now locked in until January and, if Wolves continue to leak goals at their current rate, their season will become a fight against relegation and O’Neil will feel inevitable pressure.
There are many reasons for optimism at Molineux with a squad bursting with attacking talent but any turnaround in fortunes must be built from the back.
(Top photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
