It's the old cliché in football that managers need time to
settle. What Wolverhampton Wanderers fans will soon need to realise is that
newly appointed boss Paul Lambert may require a lot longer than most managers
need to settle in.
Lambert lost his first home game in charge of his new side
2-0 against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon proving that Lambert has
more to deal with than he perhaps bargained for.
Here are five reasons why Lambert needs all the time he can
possibly get to settle in at Molinuex.
Squad Size
With billionaire owners currently in charge of Wolves,
Walter Zenga was able to spend big at the start of this season and he surely
made the most of it. The former manager bought in 13 new signings with five of
them joining on loan.
Now, Lambert has been left with a squad of 31 first team
players and seriously needs to consider who is and isn't in his plans.
A big January cull would not be surprising given the large
squad that Lambert has inherited.
Formation
Paul Lambert has been regularly known to avoid playing two
up front. However is his philosophy going to work at his new side?
During their defeat against promotion hopefuls Sheffield
Wednesday, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson looked incredibly isolated up front and is in
desperate need another man to provide support for him.
Bodvarsson has been Wolves' main striker this season.
However, with only two league goals all season, he is out of form and the
isolation up front is not helping that.
If Lambert wants any chance of revitalising his teams’
fortune this season, he needs to either give someone such as Nouha Dicko or
Paul Gladon a try as a lone striker, or change the system completely.
Why is George Saville
on the wing?
The Chelsea academy graduate has started Wolves' last two
matches on the left hand side.
The natural central midfielder has looked poor in both games
in this position and it begs the question, why is he playing there?
Wolves signed four wingers who can comfortably play on the
left side in the summer, so why not play one of them and pick George Saville,
who clearly can't get a game over Dave Edwards, Conor Coady and Jack Price in
the middle of midfield.
Defensive Issues
With captain Danny Batth suspended, on loan Richard Stearman
partnered Kourtney Hause against Wednesday in the middle of defence.
The pair struggled to deal with the attack of both Fernando
Forestieri and the returning Lucas Joao and it was not a pretty sight for the
Wolves back line, especially in the first half.
It does not help that they are missing experienced defender
Mike Williamson and his absence could be part of the reason they have only kept
four clean sheets this season, against Preston, Newcastle, Ipswich and Reading.
Lambert may look to bring in another experienced defender in
January in order to reduce the poor defensive record displayed this far this
season.
Low Confidence
Wolves are without a win in over two months and their confidence
is incredibly low.
To top things off, Nouha Dicko, who is still considered one
of Wolves' star men is without a league goal since May 2015. The Malian has yet
to find his shooting boots since return from a length injury.
Kourtney Hause may be representing England Under 21's on a
regular basis, but his irregular spells in the Wolves line up are not doing his
confidence or his sides form any good.
Hause still has a lot of potential, but if Lambert does not
address confidence and get his side back to winning ways, the ability of his
players may decrease at the rapid rate in which they already are.
