Andy Thompson says he struggled to notice Jean-Ricner Bellegarde for Wolves against Brentford during Saturday’s 2-0 defeat.
Wanderers crashed to a home loss against the Bees, who got revenge for the reverse fixture and Wolves winning the FA Cup tie last month.
Christian Norgaard and Ivan Toney got the goals from visitors, who benefitted from really poor defending.
It was a poor day at the office for Wolves, who fell well short of the standards that have been set in recent weeks.
The loss of Matheus Cunha to injury was a big blow for Wolves and the man to replace him was Jean-Ricner Bellegarde – but in the eyes of Thompson, the Frenchman really struggled…
Andy Thompson unimpressed by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s display for Wolves against Brentford
Thompson was speaking about Saturday’s result for the club’s Matchday Live Extra show, and was asked by host Mikey Burrows about Gary O’Neil‘s decision to bring on Bellegarde.
The 25-year-old replaced Cunha directly, playing as a striker.
It is not a position he’s had too much experience of success in, and Thompson felt he struggled against the Bees. He said: “He’s a good player. I just thought today he wasn’t able to get himself into the game. There were times where I had to look on the pitch to see where he was.
“He didn’t really have a lot of influence at getting at the full-backs and getting behind the backline which is something he is strong at.
“I just thought he struggled to get into the game as regularly as he could. For me, when you’ve got a player like him, one, you’ve got to give him the ball to get at teams, but also he’s got to do a lot more when he has got it.”
It’s tough for Bellegarde
Bellegarde didn’t have much of an impact against the Bees, but he does deserve a little bit of sympathy because he was asked to play a role he doesn’t have much experience in.
The £13 million Frenchman was mostly a central attacking midfielder for Strasbourg, which is a position that took advantage of his ball-carrying and ability to drive.
The further forward he plays, the less he can make use of one of his best attributes.
But admittedly he could also be showing a bit more, and hopefully he’ll ultimately have a similar journey to the likes of Cunha and Pablo Sarabia.