' Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Defends His Team Selection '

' Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Defends His Team Selections '

Disaster! Cardiff City suffer first defeat of the season as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defends team selection
By Terry Phillips

Sunday 24th Aug 2014

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Mark Hudson's own goal consigned the Bluebirds to a late reversal


Ole's next match
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All the evidence going into the new Championship season seemed to suggest Cardiff City would be a powerful attacking force with a suspect back division.

Yet Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s boys are posing a staunch case for the defence.

The Bluebirds lost to a disastrous injury time own goal when captain Mark Hudson lost composure and sliced a cross into his own net, but City deserved far better than defeat.

Even Wolves manager Kenny Jackett admitted: “Our goal was a stroke of luck.”

Solskjaer felt Hudson’s pain and said: “That’s football. We had defended well and lost to a goal scored from the worst cross of the match. Mark didn’t shift his feet quick enough at the end of what was a hard match.”

City deserved better after a gritty, occasionally ugly, team display which kept Wolves out until that last gasp winner. Wolves will argue they had good pressure, but there is no question City had the three best chances of the match.

While it seemed the rest of the football world were talking about City’s former manager Malky Mackay, Solskjaer and his team were determined to put off-field matters out of their minds and earn a positive result against one of their main promotion rivals. They almost did that, but Cardiff’s tough week continued with this defeat.




Cardiff City boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer slams decision not to award Bluebirds a penalty in their 1-0 defeat to Wolves



Jackett said he was questioning the quality of crosses his team were lifting into Cardiff’s penalty area when the winner went in off Hudson, saying: “We were putting aimless balls into their penalty area and yet that’s where our goal came from.

“Cardiff will be up there challenging. They are strong defensively and won’t concede many goals, while they will score a few.”

City are showing a tenacious ability to grind it out when they are not at their best and they looked on course for a hard earned point. Solskjaer and his players were left devastated by a Wolves winner which could so easily have been avoided.

Kevin McDonald whipped the ball in from City’s right and as it dropped towards the near post Hudson looked certain to clear, but it flew off a shin and past goalkeeper David Marshall from 10 yards, bouncing in off the inside of a post.

The defeat is a massive blow and Solskjaer is still looking for the balance and creativity he needs from midfield, but there were positives in a battling team display.

City have stuttered somewhat in playing style so far this season and there were too many individual errors at Molineux, but they have also shown a togetherness and fighting spirit to carry them through difficult times.

There will be goals, City will find a more fluid, flowing rhythm to their passing game. They have far too much attacking ability not to be scoring regularly, but right now they are not quite there.

It was, though, good to see a willingness to battle in a physically hard clash between two teams who both look certain to be among the front-runners this season.

There is still plenty of room for improvement in City’s team. Solskjaer would love to add one more defender, a centre-back who is comfortable with the ball at his feet and able to start attacks from deep, while he already has plenty of options in his squad.

Solskjaer surprisingly made three changes to City’s starting line-up with Mats Daehli omitted from the 18-man squad completely, while John Brayford and Kenwyne Jones, two of their best players so far this season, among the substitutes.

In came Anthony Pilkington, Hudson, with Matt Connolly moving to right-back, and Adam Le Fondre.

Solskjaer explained: “I had a choice of starting with Kenwyne and taking him off – or sending him on.

He missed a fair bit of pre-season work and has played a lot of football so far.

“Mats has a minor injury problem, but could be fit to play at Port Vale on Tuesday, while we changed the back four slightly and played Connolly at right-back because Wolves are a physically powerful team and we felt that was right for this match.

Huw Evans Picture AgencyMark Hudson of Cardiff screams after his late own goal.
“We defended well, didn’t deserve to concede a goal and didn’t deserve to lose.”

Wolves have now earned three 1-0 wins this season – against the three clubs relegated from the Premier League last season.

Cardiff had chances to have won, the best falling to Adam Le Fondre, Sean Morrison and Kenwyne Jones. The first followed a 60-yard run by Le Fondre, who broke fast, held off two defenders and shot from just inside the penalty area only to see his effort fly just wide.

Morrison stretched at the far post when he went up for a corner and failed to touch home from close range, while substitute Jones was desperately close to scoring on 84 minutes.

Then came Jones’ chance from a well worked opening, Le Fondre and Whittingham linked before the ball was chipped in to Jones, who chested it down and smashed his shot at goal from 10 yards. Goalkeeper Carl Ikeme made a stunning point blank save.

The Bluebirds travelled back to South Wales feeling hard done, while Wolves celebrated a third victory which takes them above City.

Solskjaer, though, will take the positives from this team display, and there were plenty of them, as he plans for their next Championship test at Fulham next Saturday.

Cardiff City FC

Sunday 24th August 2014.


Ole Gunnar Solskjær was frustrated with the nature of Cardiff City’s loss at Molineux, as after withstanding solid periods of pressure, the Bluebirds unbeaten run was brought to an end with an unfortunate injury time own goal.

"Wolves had most of the play to be fair, particularly in the first half when they pegged us back,” Ole admitted in his post match assessment.

“We didn’t win the ball in good positions to play, but we sorted our shape out at half-time and were miles better. We won the ball and counter-attacked more often, which is what I was hoping for in the first half. We had the best chances of the match.

"It was a cruel way to lose. We didn’t deserve to concede a goal, especially after the second half performance, when our defending was outstanding. David Marshall didn't have a save to make and that takes a lot of doing at Wolves.

"We dealt with crosses coming into our box, but the worst of the lot led to their goal. It’s in the 91st or 92nd minute when we needed to keep concentration levels high. But the players were tired, and at that time you don't move your feet as you should and then it’s in the back of the net. We were unlucky with Mark Hudson's clearance, but things like that happen and there’s not much you can do about it. That’s football.”

Frustrations aside, the Cardiff City boss was clear in his views on the goals that could have come; one via a strong penalty call that was never awarded.

“We could have come away with a 1-0 win had Kenwyne Jones scored with his chance, but he struck it too well, the keeper saved and the defeat is hard to take,” he said. “We had three excellent chances and were so close to earning some reward from a difficult match.

"We’re also disappointed not to have been awarded a penalty. The ball was struck from fifteen yards away from the Wolves defender (Richard Stearman) and he handled it just inside the penalty area. It was nailed on, one hundred per cent a penalty. It's not as though it hit him from two yards away.”

Cardiff City FC

Sunday 24th August 2014.


Ole Gunnar Solskjær was frustrated with the nature of Cardiff City’s loss at Molineux, as after withstanding solid periods of pressure, the Bluebirds unbeaten run was brought to an end with an unfortunate injury time own goal.

"Wolves had most of the play to be fair, particularly in the first half when they pegged us back,” Ole admitted in his post match assessment.

“We didn’t win the ball in good positions to play, but we sorted our shape out at half-time and were miles better. We won the ball and counter-attacked more often, which is what I was hoping for in the first half. We had the best chances of the match.

"It was a cruel way to lose. We didn’t deserve to concede a goal, especially after the second half performance, when our defending was outstanding. David Marshall didn't have a save to make and that takes a lot of doing at Wolves.

"We dealt with crosses coming into our box, but the worst of the lot led to their goal. It’s in the 91st or 92nd minute when we needed to keep concentration levels high. But the players were tired, and at that time you don't move your feet as you should and then it’s in the back of the net. We were unlucky with Mark Hudson's clearance, but things like that happen and there’s not much you can do about it. That’s football.”

Frustrations aside, the Cardiff City boss was clear in his views on the goals that could have come; one via a strong penalty call that was never awarded.

“We could have come away with a 1-0 win had Kenwyne Jones scored with his chance, but he struck it too well, the keeper saved and the defeat is hard to take,” he said. “We had three excellent chances and were so close to earning some reward from a difficult match.

"We’re also disappointed not to have been awarded a penalty. The ball was struck from fifteen yards away from the Wolves defender (Richard Stearman) and he handled it just inside the penalty area. It was nailed on, one hundred per cent a penalty. It's not as though it hit him from two yards away.”

Watching the highlights back the only replays wolves had were the cross off the post and the own goal we had the far better chances and although not at our best I thought we deserved something from that game and the over reaction of our fans today really is just that an over reaction

Fulham have cause for concern we certainly don't as of yet there is a massive amount of football to be played and I'm confident we'll only get better as the season progresses

Watching the highlights back the only replays wolves had were the cross off the post and the own goal we had the far better chances and although not at our best I thought we deserved something from that game and the over reaction of our fans today really is just that an over reaction

Fulham have cause for concern we certainly don't as of yet there is a massive amount of football to be played and I'm confident we'll only get better as the season progresses

Disappointment, you know. People feel down because we lost, and with lack of anything better to point at, the track goes on repeat: tinkering this and tactics that. They forget that football is also about margins. One penalty given, and the tactics would have been fantastic. "I happy to see that we´re also able to win the ugly way". "Happy that we were able to dig out a result in a difficult away game", etc. 2 minutes minus a sloppy own goal from reading those comments instead. Rather predictable, but fully understandable. We´re just humans.

The match wasn´t televised, so I was not able to watch it myself, but the match reports I´m reading, suggest that we once again played a solid defensive match. And as the tinkering first of all was in defense, it doesn´t seem fair to blame it on that. And Connolly did well on the right, didn´t he? And except from that unfortunate own goal, Hudson was alright also? Or?

According to Ole, Jones is not able to play 90 minutes yet, so he chose to put him on instead of taking him off. I understand he was very close to score, so that could have worked. And I understand Daehli had picked up a minor injury. So in sum, it doesn´t sound like the tinkering was the problem, really. Maybe he should have tinkered a bit more instead, and given Whitts and Gunnarsson a rest? Maybe try Eikrem for a start? I don´t know, but the midfield seems to be the weakest link so far.

Well, we´re not gonna win every game anyway, so there´s probable going to be more disappointments during the ongoing season. And it´s good that people who only post after losses (to ask for someone´s head) also can take part of the great community

Bring on Fulham. We´re gonna kick your buts till you drawn in shit! Go Cardiff!!!!

Watching the highlights back the only replays wolves had were the cross off the post and the own goal we had the far better chances and although not at our best I thought we deserved something from that game and the over reaction of our fans today really is just that an over reaction

Fulham have cause for concern we certainly don't as of yet there is a massive amount of football to be played and I'm confident we'll only get better as the season progresses

Disappointment, you know. People feel down because we lost, and with lack of anything better to point at, the track goes on repeat: tinkering this and tactics that. They forget that football is also about margins. One penalty given, and the tactics would have been fantastic. "I happy to see that we´re also able to win the ugly way". "Happy that we were able to dig out a result in a difficult away game", etc. 2 minutes minus a sloppy own goal from reading those comments instead. Rather predictable, but fully understandable. We´re just humans.

The match wasn´t televised, so I was not able to watch it myself, but the match reports I´m reading, suggest that we once again played a solid defensive match. And as the tinkering first of all was in defense, it doesn´t seem fair to blame it on that. And Connolly did well on the right, didn´t he? And except from that unfortunate own goal, Hudson was alright also? Or?

According to Ole, Jones is not able to play 90 minutes yet, so he chose to put him on instead of taking him off. I understand he was very close to score, so that could have worked. And I understand Daehli had picked up a minor injury. So in sum, it doesn´t sound like the tinkering was the problem, really. Maybe he should have tinkered a bit more instead, and given Whitts and Gunnarsson a rest? Maybe try Eikrem for a start? I don´t know, but the midfield seems to be the weakest link so far.

Well, we´re not gonna win every game anyway, so there´s probable going to be more disappointments during the ongoing season. And it´s good that people who only post after losses (to ask for someone´s head) also can take part of the great community

Bring on Fulham. We´re gonna kick your buts till you drawn in shit! Go Cardiff!!!!

Nailed it! Very good post. It baffles me that some people think we're in freefall already. Get a grip, and bring on the next match!

Watching the highlights back the only replays wolves had were the cross off the post and the own goal we had the far better chances and although not at our best I thought we deserved something from that game and the over reaction of our fans today really is just that an over reaction

Fulham have cause for concern we certainly don't as of yet there is a massive amount of football to be played and I'm confident we'll only get better as the season progresses

Disappointment, you know. People feel down because we lost, and with lack of anything better to point at, the track goes on repeat: tinkering this and tactics that. They forget that football is also about margins. One penalty given, and the tactics would have been fantastic. "I happy to see that we´re also able to win the ugly way". "Happy that we were able to dig out a result in a difficult away game", etc. 2 minutes minus a sloppy own goal from reading those comments instead. Rather predictable, but fully understandable. We´re just humans.

The match wasn´t televised, so I was not able to watch it myself, but the match reports I´m reading, suggest that we once again played a solid defensive match. And as the tinkering first of all was in defense, it doesn´t seem fair to blame it on that. And Connolly did well on the right, didn´t he? And except from that unfortunate own goal, Hudson was alright also? Or?

According to Ole, Jones is not able to play 90 minutes yet, so he chose to put him on instead of taking him off. I understand he was very close to score, so that could have worked. And I understand Daehli had picked up a minor injury. So in sum, it doesn´t sound like the tinkering was the problem, really. Maybe he should have tinkered a bit more instead, and given Whitts and Gunnarsson a rest? Maybe try Eikrem for a start? I don´t know, but the midfield seems to be the weakest link so far.

Well, we´re not gonna win every game anyway, so there´s probable going to be more disappointments during the ongoing season. And it´s good that people who only post after losses (to ask for someone´s head) also can take part of the great community

Bring on Fulham. We´re gonna kick your buts till you drawn in shit! Go Cardiff!!!!

Decent post mate football is about margins and the tinkering as u suggest isn't as bad as made out either

OGS, has said since he came here that he wants to play fast, exciting football, scoring goals and attack minded, yet over the last 4 games the style has been very much defensive, so many supporters at the moment are understandably confused. We were on the rack for much of yesterday's game, there were a number of times when a final pass from Wolves would have resulted in a goal, they had 65% possession! just like all the teams last year had against us. I was hoping this year, that would be improved on and we would be bossing most games. Home and away, we are overly relying on long ball tactics, which surprises me, given OGSs philosophy. The tinkering, on top of this, makes things worse for the fans. Surely everyone knows that you start with your strongest 11? Jones is the in form striker, Brayford the in form RB, yet they are left on the bench? Is OGS, really saying that Wolves left wingers were too good for Brayford to deal with? In isolation, to lose this game is not a disaster, yet overall, over the four games, the supporters are concerned, that we don't seem to have hugely improved from last season, it's just that the opposition are far, far weaker.

^^^ this. Well said

i think we need to sought out our midfield before the defence, we need to keep hold of the ball which we are not doing at the moment and that puts a lot of pressure on our defence,but i do agree we should of kept brayford at right back

OGS, has said since he came here that he wants to play fast, exciting football, scoring goals and attack minded, yet over the last 4 games the style has been very much defensive, so many supporters at the moment are understandably confused. We were on the rack for much of yesterday's game, there were a number of times when a final pass from Wolves would have resulted in a goal, they had 65% possession! just like all the teams last year had against us. I was hoping this year, that would be improved on and we would be bossing most games. Home and away, we are overly relying on long ball tactics, which surprises me, given OGSs philosophy. The tinkering, on top of this, makes things worse for the fans. Surely everyone knows that you start with your strongest 11? Jones is the in form striker, Brayford the in form RB, yet they are left on the bench? Is OGS, really saying that Wolves left wingers were too good for Brayford to deal with? In isolation, to lose this game is not a disaster, yet overall, over the four games, the supporters are concerned, that we don't seem to have hugely improved from last season, it's just that the opposition are far, far weaker.

Spot on, you could not of posted a better post, exactly how I see it

OGS, has said since he came here that he wants to play fast, exciting football, scoring goals and attack minded, yet over the last 4 games the style has been very much defensive, so many supporters at the moment are understandably confused. We were on the rack for much of yesterday's game, there were a number of times when a final pass from Wolves would have resulted in a goal, they had 65% possession! just like all the teams last year had against us. I was hoping this year, that would be improved on and we would be bossing most games. Home and away, we are overly relying on long ball tactics, which surprises me, given OGSs philosophy. The tinkering, on top of this, makes things worse for the fans. Surely everyone knows that you start with your strongest 11? Jones is the in form striker, Brayford the in form RB, yet they are left on the bench? Is OGS, really saying that Wolves left wingers were too good for Brayford to deal with? In isolation, to lose this game is not a disaster, yet overall, over the four games, the supporters are concerned, that we don't seem to have hugely improved from last season, it's just that the opposition are far, far weaker.

THIS!!!!

It's not that Ole is tinkering each week that bothers me. After all, each team we play has different strengths and he as manager is playing the best side he has to counteract and combat that. Fine.
What I would like to question is our lack of possession.
Every game so far we have been happy to let the opposition have the ball. We back off and back off, don't press the ball and give them so much time and space it's untrue.
When we do have it we appear clueless and after just a couple of touches we lump it 40 yards forward and inevitably lose the ball. This puts us back under pressure and this mad cycle starts again.
Nobody seem willing (or possibly able) to put his foot on the ball and control the game.
We need any of Whitts, Kimbo, Matts or Eikrem to play slightly deeper and give our defence an outlet.

With the amount of strikers we have, we should be putting teams to bed and causing them the selection problems. Clearly this is not the case as it's us who is under the cosh looking to nick a goal.
Are we showing teams too much respect? Or is it that because of our obvious defensive frailties, Ole now sets the team up to defend doggedly rather than attack?
I'll leave that one for Arthur C Clarke....

It's not that Ole is tinkering each week that bothers me. After all, each team we play has different strengths and he as manager is playing the best side he has to counteract and combat that. Fine.
What I would like to question is our lack of possession.
Every game so far we have been happy to let the opposition have the ball. We back off and back off, don't press the ball and give them so much time and space it's untrue.
When we do have it we appear clueless and after just a couple of touches we lump it 40 yards forward and inevitably lose the ball. This puts us back under pressure and this mad cycle starts again.
Nobody seem willing (or possibly able) to put his foot on the ball and control the game.
We need any of Whitts, Kimbo, Matts or Eikrem to play slightly deeper and give our defence an outlet.

With the amount of strikers we have, we should be putting teams to bed and causing them the selection problems. Clearly this is not the case as it's us who is under the cosh looking to nick a goal.
Are we showing teams too much respect? Or is it that because of our obvious defensive frailties, Ole now sets the team up to defend doggedly rather than attack?
I'll leave that one for Arthur C Clarke....

Agree, this is my main concern too.With our squad we should be controlloing the game and the possession, but so far we are
no where near that.We have a number of playeres in midfield who are very comfortable on the ball.We should be playing the ball on the ground comfortably and using the width.We seem to be the team living off scraps which doesn't make sense to me.

It's not that Ole is tinkering each week that bothers me. After all, each team we play has different strengths and he as manager is playing the best side he has to counteract and combat that. Fine.
What I would like to question is our lack of possession.
Every game so far we have been happy to let the opposition have the ball. We back off and back off, don't press the ball and give them so much time and space it's untrue.
When we do have it we appear clueless and after just a couple of touches we lump it 40 yards forward and inevitably lose the ball. This puts us back under pressure and this mad cycle starts again.
Nobody seem willing (or possibly able) to put his foot on the ball and control the game.
We need any of Whitts, Kimbo, Matts or Eikrem to play slightly deeper and give our defence an outlet.

With the amount of strikers we have, we should be putting teams to bed and causing them the selection problems. Clearly this is not the case as it's us who is under the cosh looking to nick a goal.
Are we showing teams too much respect? Or is it that because of our obvious defensive frailties, Ole now sets the team up to defend doggedly rather than attack?
I'll leave that one for Arthur C Clarke....

Good post and I fully agree. I'd expect Ole to be changing the team in order to play to the opposition's weaknesses. But I think he's far too worried about our defence that he's not playing to our strengths, especially when we have some good holding midfielders who should be relieving the back four and linking up to our strikers instead of just hoofing it up front.

I happen to think both the "Gloom & Doom Mongers" and the "Happy Clappy Everything's Ok Optimists" are all over the top on this. Yes, its right at the start of the season and we have actually achieved some decent results and Wolves away will be tough for most teams in this division, so, no need to panic Captain Mainwaring!

However, it's obvious that although there's been some positive developments - defensively for example, there's also obvious areas of concern, I.e. our midfield combination is weak. Whilst it's wrong to completely go overboard and call for the manager's head so soon, its equally irresponsible to bury one's head in the sand and pretend that everything will just magically get better on irs own accord. I think most people who have seen the games so far would agree that we could easily have ended up with less points than we have now, if the opposition had made more use of their chances.

With all the League games I've watched so far the common theme has been how we have failed to dominate midfield. We have had Gunnarsson, Adeyemi, Whittington, Daehli, Pilkington, Burgstaller and Eikrem and Digakoi come on as substitutes. Whittington has been the only midfielder who has played every single minute. It is just not working! I believe Ole radically needs to rethink his midfield tactics. The truth is we badly lack pace in midfield and at the moment some players are only passengers. Unless Ole addresses this problem we are likely to get overrun in midfield and probably lose more times than we win, especially when we come up against the better sides. Therefore I hope Ole will look to bring in a midfield dynamo to link up with Adeyemi and Digakoi as bulwarks and Daehli as the playmaker. This will hopefully allow the likes of Pilkington and Noone to express themselves more effectively as wide attackers.

I definitely did not agree with Brayford being left out and I hope Ole will realise his mistake and will see the benefits of continuity with a successful unit. However, up front he has made a rod for his own back. The squad is top heavy on strikers and Ole hasn't seen enough of them to decide on his best combination, compounded by absences through injury. I think we are going to have to put up with some tinkering up front in the short term until he finds out which of the many strikers he has will be most effective. I will give him the benefit of the doubt over Jones yesterday because I thought he should have started, but Ole feel hes not yet fully fit so his view must be respected on this. But at the same time, he can't afford to give too much time to players who might not make the grade - Maynard for example, when there are others - Guerra and Macheda who must be given their chance. Ole still has much to do, and he needs to do it fast, and ultimately keep a settled side.

N. B, For Whittington read Whittingham! Predicative text failure lol!

I happen to think both the "Gloom & Doom Mongers" and the "Happy Clappy Everything's Ok Optimists" are all over the top on this. Yes, its right at the start of the season and we have actually achieved some decent results and Wolves away will be tough for most teams in this division, so, no need to panic Captain Mainwaring!

However, it's obvious that although there's been some positive developments - defensively for example, there's also obvious areas of concern, I.e. our midfield combination is weak. Whilst it's wrong to completely go overboard and call for the manager's head so soon, its equally irresponsible to bury one's head in the sand and pretend that everything will just magically get better on irs own accord. I think most people who have seen the games so far would agree that we could easily have ended up with less points than we have now, if the opposition had made more use of their chances.

With all the League games I've watched so far the common theme has been how we have failed to dominate midfield. We have had Gunnarsson, Adeyemi, Whittington, Daehli, Pilkington, Burgstaller and Eikrem and Digakoi come on as substitutes. Whittington has been the only midfielder who has played every single minute. It is just not working! I believe Ole radically needs to rethink his midfield tactics. The truth is we badly lack pace in midfield and at the moment some players are only passengers. Unless Ole addresses this problem we are likely to get overrun in midfield and probably lose more times than we win, especially when we come up against the better sides. Therefore I hope Ole will look to bring in a midfield dynamo to link up with Adeyemi and Digakoi as bulwarks and Daehli as the playmaker. This will hopefully allow the likes of Pilkington and Noone to express themselves more effectively as wide attackers.

I definitely did not agree with Brayford being left out and I hope Ole will realise his mistake and will see the benefits of continuity with a successful unit. However, up front he has made a rod for his own back. The squad is top heavy on strikers and Ole hasn't seen enough of them to decide on his best combination, compounded by absences through injury. I think we are going to have to put up with some tinkering up front in the short term until he finds out which of the many strikers he has will be most effective. I will give him the benefit of the doubt over Jones yesterday because I thought he should have started, but Ole feel hes not yet fully fit so his view must be respected on this. But at the same time, he can't afford to give too much time to players who might not make the grade - Maynard for example, when there are others - Guerra and Macheda who must be given their chance. Ole still has much to do, and he needs to do it fast, and ultimately keep a settled side.

Good post. One thing, Gunnar has played as much as Whitts. He is incredibly slow too. Whats worse is he consistently gives away the ball too easily. OGS has to play a 5 man midfield. Or if 4-4-2 play Dikacoi and Adeyemi instead of Gunnar and Adeyemi.

OGS, has said since he came here that he wants to play fast, exciting football, scoring goals and attack minded, yet over the last 4 games the style has been very much defensive, so many supporters at the moment are understandably confused. We were on the rack for much of yesterday's game, there were a number of times when a final pass from Wolves would have resulted in a goal, they had 65% possession! just like all the teams last year had against us. I was hoping this year, that would be improved on and we would be bossing most games. Home and away, we are overly relying on long ball tactics, which surprises me, given OGSs philosophy. The tinkering, on top of this, makes things worse for the fans. Surely everyone knows that you start with your strongest 11? Jones is the in form striker, Brayford the in form RB, yet they are left on the bench? Is OGS, really saying that Wolves left wingers were too good for Brayford to deal with? In isolation, to lose this game is not a disaster, yet overall, over the four games, the supporters are concerned, that we don't seem to have hugely improved from last season, it's just that the opposition are far, far weaker.

I agree that it´s a bit disappointing (and even surprising) that we´re not dominating the matches more than we are, except from Coventry away, where Ole stated this was more his type of football. Why we haven´t been able to do the same in the other matches, it´s hard to answer really, except that we had Dikgacoi and Noone injured, Pilkington and Adeyemi arriving late, and others have yet to find their best form.

I would love to see us dominating too. However, it´s not correct to say that all the teams were dominating us last season, that´s simply factual wrong.

Newcastle-Cardiff - 2-1 ---- 48 % - 52 % (Cup)
Cardiff - WestHam - 0-2 ---- 63 - 37
Man Utd - Cardiff - 2-0 .... 46 - 54
Cardiff - Hull - 0-4 ---- 56 - 44
WBA - Cardiff - 3-3 ---- 42 - 58
Cardiff - Crystal P. - 0-3 ---- 63 - 37

The funny thing is that we (except from the cup match vs. Newcastle and the draw vs. WBA) lost all the matches where we had more possession than the opponent. Especially bizarre, are the stats against WestHam and Crystal Palace.

These are the stats for the liga games we won or draw:

WBA - Cardiff - 3-3 ---- 42 - 58
Cardiff - Norwich - 2-1 ---- 49 - 51
Cardiff - Aston Villa - 0-0 ---- 45 - 55
Cardiff - Fulham - 3-1 ---- 46 - 54
Southamp. - Cardiff- 0-1 ---- 67 - 33
Cardiff - Stoke - 1-1 ---- 43 - 57

It´s a puzzle.

Sunday 24th Aug 2024.

Cardiff City manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer conceded that Wolves' impressive brand of football stifled his team at Molineux yesterday.

A stoppage time own goal from City defender Mark Hudson gave Wolves all three points, after they had dominated possession but failed to create anything clear-cut in the Cardiff box.

The best chance of the game fell to Cardiff's Kenwyne Jones, who was denied at point blank range by an instinctive save by Carl Ikeme in the Wolves goal.

Solskjaer said: "Wolves had most of the play to be fair, particularly in the first half when they pegged us back.


Wolves showing encouraging signs - Jackett

"It was a cruel way to lose. We didn’t deserve to concede a goal, especially after the second half performance, when our defending was outstanding. David Marshall didn't have a save to make and that takes a lot of doing at Wolves.

"We dealt with crosses coming into our box, but the worst of the lot led to their goal. It’s in the 91st or 92nd minute when we needed to keep concentration levels high. But the players were tired, and at that time you don't move your feet as you should and then it’s in the back of the net.

"We were unlucky with Mark Hudson's clearance, but things like that happen and there’s not much you can do about it. That’s football.”

The defeat was Cardiff's first of the Championship season, making them the third of the three relegated teams to be beaten by Kenny Jackett's Wolves so far this campaign.