Conor Coady missed the crucial penalty last night as Wolves crashed out of the EFL Cup.

Before that, he was part of a back three which was pulled around by Brentford on Saturday afternoon.

His form was a topic of discussion for former Soccer Saturday pundit Charlie Nicholas on the Where’s Jeff? Podcast.

Nicholas suggested that the move away from the rigid system preferred by Nuno Espirito Santo has affected Coady.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur - Carabao Cup Third Round
(Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

“Brentford had Ivan Toney through the middle with his muscle and pace and they wanted to stretch Wolves,” said Nicholas.

“One thing we knew about Wolves under Nuno was they were pretty rigid and solid in their formation.

“With this manager, Bruno Lage, there seems to be a little bit less of that; the discipline’s not quite there.

“Conor Coady looks like he’s being stretched and pulled all over the place at the moment. Toney looked on for a hat-trick.”

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Coady’s form is a concern

Some Wolves fans see Coady as the only reason Lage needs to play a back five, and they want to see a clean break from that.

His form this season has been patchy and obviously he tried to take the responsibility last night and missed from the spot.

Going from Nuno’s deeper, more organised counter-attacking style to a higher line will take some time to adjust to.

It’s not quite fair to say that Lage’s tactics are to blame though, and Nicholas’ point isn’t the strongest.

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