The Keen & Judah Show: How much faith should Gary Neil have in Nélson Semedo?

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Liam Keen & Nathan Judah discuss the good and the bad from the 2-1 defeat to Newcastle at Molineux.

Transcript

00:00It's time to look on the other side, the flip side of the coin, the cold side of the pillow,

00:13because we've got three players who didn't cover themselves in glory, let's say, yesterday.

00:21The first one, and we praised him on this show against Nottingham Forest, but we both

00:26felt didn't have his greatest game in the world, and that is Nelson Samedo.

00:31Still doesn't, well, didn't play the full game, and still didn't quite look fit to me.

00:35Yeah, I think he's, obviously he was suspended for those first three games, was away with

00:40Portugal as well in the summer, so had a bit more of a longer spell off, I think.

00:45Just needs to get up to speed a little bit, but did very well against Forest, and rightly

00:49deserves praise as one of the better performers on the day up there with Dawson, and at the

00:54same time, as you can't be blinded by giving him praise every week, you also can't be blinded

00:59by giving him criticism when he deserves it.

01:02I don't think he had his best game.

01:04What I do think he did well, to start off with a positive, is that he did show the attackers

01:10for Newcastle, the wingers, down the outside more often than not.

01:15The goal, the winning goal from Harvey Barnes was on a stake, really, from Matt Doherty

01:19allowing Barnes inside, and obviously Barnes has got a lot to do that at that point, but

01:23it's a fantastic goal from the Newcastle player, so frustratingly so, that it was so

01:29avoidable as well.

01:31So I will give Simeone credit that he did show the defenders down the line, and he did

01:36take them in the right direction.

01:37However, how many times did Gordon take him down the line and beat him, that's the biggest

01:42concern.

01:43He was turned inside out by Gordon and Hall at times, particularly in that first half,

01:48and then as you say, I felt he tired quite considerably.

01:51He is going to be an important player to Wolves and in this starting element to Gary

01:55O'Neill.

01:56He's experienced, had an excellent season last year, found a lot of consistency, and

02:01we know that Gary O'Neill loves him, and he's going to play regularly, he's going to play

02:05every week, but at the same time, when I've seen a below par performance, not a disastrous

02:12performance by any means, but a below par performance, I think you have to call a spade

02:16a spade.

02:17He's a player that we're fans of and we think has done very well for Wolves, but just not

02:22particularly on this day.

02:24He will keep his place.

02:25He won't play at Brighton, but he will keep his place and he will play at Villa, and he

02:29should play at Villa.

02:30He doesn't deserve to lose his spot after that performance, but you have to call out

02:34what it was.

02:35It was a performance that was maybe just lacking a little bit of something extra, a little

02:38bit of oomph, seemed a little bit flat.

02:40Yeah, it's an interesting one, isn't it?

02:42Because you talk about, Gary O'Neill talks about getting his best players into that team

02:45and shoehorning them in wherever possible.

02:47And then you've got the flip side of it and that balance, I guess, that we'll be talking

02:50about more in detail and through over the next few weeks, where the likes of right-hand

02:55Nuri, who he thinks better in a left wing back slot.

02:57I think Nelson Tomei is better in a right wing back slot with a bit more protection.

03:01You look at Mario Lamina, who we think is better in the centre of the pitch.

03:05What's better?

03:06Getting the best players in the team by hook or by crook or playing the best players in

03:10their best positions?

03:11And we'll soon see what ends up winning.

03:14But at the moment, it's not quite working, is it?

03:16Everything looks a little bit disjointed, almost like another pre-season almost, testing

03:22these players out, seeing what is the best formation and what works.

03:26And you are going to have a period like this when you make the decision to divert and sign

03:33Andre and have to then look at changing the system because previous attempts to sign players

03:39in the window did not come off wanting a centre-back, wanting other positions.

03:43That didn't happen.

03:45So when these things don't happen and you make a very deliberate decision to divert

03:49your course and change the way Wolves are going to play and change it to suit the players

03:53you've got, you are going to go through a little period of trying to find the best positions

03:59for players, trying to fit everyone in.

04:01I do worry slightly about the shoehorning of players in.

04:06Smeda obviously wouldn't be one of them, being a right back.

04:10I do think he's fine at right back still.

04:11I know your point about wing-back, but yeah, across the pitch you're trying to get players

04:17into the starting XI that perhaps, as you mentioned the Lamina one earlier in the show,

04:22you could have another attacking player on the pitch.

04:24So it's again, at the same time, I feel sorry for Gary Neal.

04:29I wouldn't want to be the one who has to decide whether Andre, Jair Gomes or Lamina drops

04:32out of the team.

04:33So, you know, it's a catch-22, you've got to make a decision one way or the other.

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