Wolves lost their biggest game of the season against Burnley on Sunday – and Dave Edwards reckons one aspect of the loss will be a big worry for the manager.
Vitor Pereira’s job appears to be safe for now, but the pressure has cranked up massively on the Portuguese tactician after the defeat to the Clarets.
Wolves got slightly unlucky to lose it right at the death.
But reflecting back on the game, it’s difficult to argue that Wolves really deserved three points.
Wolves were abysmal in the first-half, but got back on level terms via a penalty from Jorgen Strand Larsen and then a header from Marshall Munetsi.
But Wolves didn’t make the most of all their possession in the second-half, and some unsavoury scenes followed in front of the South Bank after the full-time whistle.
For Dave Edwards, there was one aspect of the game that will be a major concern for Pereira.
- READ MORE: Four things we learned as Wolves lose late to Burnley and unsavoury scenes unfold at Molineux
Dave Edwards says Wolves lacked guile and cutting edge vs Burnley
Wolves were always going to miss Matheus Cunha. And Rayan Ait-Nouri was also a player who regularly provided output in the final third despite being a wing-back.
After their exits, it was paramount for Pereira to find a way of getting Wolves to still be threatening in and around the final third.
He hasn’t been able to do that so far – and the lack of output from the forwards is a big issue.
Strand Larsen is off the mark now in the Premier League, but is yet to score from open play. And there are no Premier League goals yet for Tolu Arokodare or Hwang Hee-chan.
For Edwards, the concerning thing against Burnley was that Wolves’ better chances fell to non-attacking players.
He said in his latest E&S column: “For all the possession and territory, they did not open Burnley up nearly enough. The guile or lack of clinical edge to finish is not there.
“Look at the goals and chances created. The first is a centre-back Santi Bueno winning a penalty, the second is Munetsi’s header set up by a defender Krejci off a set-piece. Obviously the big chance in the dying moments was Santi Bueno in the box.
“It shouldn’t be your centre-backs at the heart of all your attacking chances. That will worry fans and the head coach.”
Wolves have been toothless this season
It was to be expected that Wolves would not be as threatening in front of goal this term.
Losing players like Cunha and Ait-Nouri was always going to sting – they are two brilliant players capable of producing magic, and their output in terms of goals and assists was consistent.
As a result of their exits, Strand Larsen has also suffered, with the supply to him much worse this season.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 15 |  LeedsLeeds | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 11 |
| 16 |  BurnleyBurnley | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 17 | -5 | 10 |
| 17 |  FulhamFulham | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | -5 | 8 |
| 18 |  Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 17 | -12 | 5 |
| 19 |  West HamWest Ham | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 20 | -13 | 4 |
| 20 |  WolvesWolves | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 2 |
Recent data showed Wolves had created the fewest big chances in the Premier League so far. But when they do come along, Wolves tend to finish them.
So that points to a creativity issue more than anything, which makes it hard to understand why Fer Lopez is hardly playing for Wolves.
The Spaniard is still young and inexperienced, but surely is worth a show of faith at this point. There is also scope for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde to be playing more regularly for Wolves.