Wolves legend Andy Thompson has identified one mistake that Gary O’Neil made during the Old Gold’s 1-1 draw with Burnley last night.
Last night’s draw with Burnley was a fair result for Wolves considering their current injury woes.
The Old Gold battled for more against Vincent Kompany’s relegation-bound side, who made it difficult for Gary O’Neil’s jaded squad over the 90 minutes.
Jacob Bruun Larsen’s first-half goal was crossed out by Rayan Ait-Nouri just before the interval, as the Algerian buried Pablo Sarabia’s delivery from a controversial free kick.
There were plenty of things to discuss after the fixture, particularly from a Wolves point of view as O’Neil expressed his concerns over lack of squad depth however, some think the boss was at fault for one decision.
Andy Thompson shares his verdict on Gary O’Neil decision during Wolves 1-1 Burnley
Speaking in reaction to the draw on the Wolves Weekly podcast, Wolves legend Andy Thompson pinpointed one area that he believes affected the first-half performance of the visitors.
Thompson was prompted to share his verdict on O’Neil’s decision to start the game with a back four, steering away from his usual back three with two wing backs.
“We looked more comfortable for the positions that we get in, and also the midfield too.”
“If you look at it, the way Burnley began, we were just chasing and that’s probably one of the reasons why the starting position isn’t right because of the four at the back, they didn’t know where to go.”
“They just look as a whole more comfortable with a back three, all of a sudden they know what their positions are, and they know where they’ve got to push.”
Gary O’Neil has found his best formation with a back three at Wolves
Given the lack of depth that Wolves currently have in attack due to injury, it was understandable why the manager decided to switch to a back four, seeing Ait-Nouri replaced at left-back by Hugo Bueno.
Ait-Nouri was needed in a more advanced position, which worked well as he netted the decisive equaliser, however, the Old Gold looked to lack coordination when moved away from their usual set-up.
Playing a back three gives Wolves the assurance of having three pillars cemented in the last line of defence, while the full-backs enjoy the freedom of being able to push up the pitch.
As touched upon by Thompson, the rest of the side also benefits from the way the defence is lined up, with the midfield struggling last night to make sense of having a rigid line behind them, subsequently limiting the attack.
Going forward, it will be hoped that O’Neil sticks with his favoured formation although, given Wolves’ current injury crisis, the boss is weathering a storm to put out his best possible XI.