Choices to be made and improvements needed on the road.
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00:00 I'm here with Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World to discuss all things for the four Midlands
00:06 clubs that we look at. Charlie, we'll start with Wolves, obviously going into a very hectic,
00:13 festive period now. But their away form in the Premier League seems to be something that's
00:18 really stopping them from maybe finding this next level under Gary O'Neill. It's not really
00:24 been very memorable away days, you know, you compare them to the likes of Everton who are
00:29 fantastic on the road, really, and to Sean Dyche lately. What do Wolves need to do to
00:34 maybe ensure that they are getting some points on the road?
00:38 It's disappointing, isn't it? The West Ham result, I think, solidifying the fact that
00:41 Wolves just simply can't get those results away from home. At Moliney, they've been brilliant
00:46 and we've seen them beating some of the top sides. There's been a theme home and away
00:51 where they've been struggling against those in and around them, I think, has been a bit
00:54 of a case of it. But West Ham aren't exactly one of those. They're in the top half of the
00:58 table. They won the European Conference League last season. So here we go again. It's coming
01:02 in against one of the teams that's actually better. So that is kind of solidifying the
01:06 away form not being the best. I think getting a bit better defensively, I mean, it's a pretty
01:11 obvious thing to say is now after losing 3-0, but they just look sloppy. And especially
01:16 Nelson Sameda at the moment. I don't know what's getting into him on the right wing
01:19 back position, but he's just quite sloppy going forward. He's great, but he just seems
01:24 to get caught out of position a lot. And then you're relying a lot on someone. Craig Dawson,
01:28 I think is a fantastic player. Max Kilman as well, but they haven't got that much pace,
01:32 especially with the likes of Mohammed Quddus coming in behind Jarrett Bowen. And that's
01:36 what really cost him at London Stadium. So I think maybe Sameda needs to get in better
01:40 form or maybe rotate in someone like Matt Doherty, see what he can do. I know he's not
01:45 what he used to be. I think those wing back positions, especially on the right, are costing
01:49 him at the moment.
01:50 And there's also a thing you can look at with Wolves, they've changed their goalkeeper
01:55 a few times in the last Premier League games. Obviously Dan Bentley coming in and Jose Sarr
02:00 and then swapping out. It can't really be hugely beneficial having two different names
02:06 swapping inside and out of the sticks every week. What's your sort of take and how do
02:12 they get it right? Because Jose Sarr on his day has been one of the best keepers in the
02:16 league at times.
02:17 I think they're probably at the moment in Gary O'Neill's mind on a bit of a level playing
02:22 field. That's why we're seeing them get a bit of a rotation. You can see in the background
02:25 my Brighton scarf. I'm very aware of what goalkeeping changes can do. Verbruggen and
02:30 Steele at Brighton, you never know who's going to start. It's not overly helpful, I think.
02:36 I think the defenders need to build a relationship, especially when you're trying to play out
02:39 from the back. Wolves not as reliant on that as Brighton are. But as you say, I don't think
02:45 it's going to help. You need some continuity there. You want to build a bit of a force
02:48 in the back line. Maybe this will go away at some point soon. We know Neil figures out
02:51 which one he prefers. I think Sarr probably should just about edge it. He just has quite
02:56 a few mistakes recently. And I think that's why Bentley is getting a bit of a push. You
03:00 got to remember he's trying to get his minutes too. And he's done some impressive performances.
03:04 So he's got a right of his own to get in the team. I think they need to figure out sooner
03:09 rather than later who's the number one.