Wolves slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Brentford on Saturday – and it was rather an afternoon to forget for Craig Dawson.
The Bees got revenge on Wolves, who beat them in the Premier League earlier this season and dumped them out of the FA Cup, by taking all three points at Molineux.
Christian Norgaard and Ivan Toney got the goals for the visitors, with Wolves punished for making mistakes.
It was an uncharacteristically poor home performance, and one man who struggled in particular was Craig Dawson.
Dawson’s performance was always going to be key for Wolves given the threat of Toney. But the 33-year-old had an afternoon to forget.
Some fans on social media are calling for Santi Bueno to come into the side for next weekend’s game with Tottenham Hotspur – but surely O’Neil needs to stick by the veteran…
Why Gary O’Neil should start Craig Dawson next weekend, after struggles v Brentford
Against Brentford, Dawson had arguably one of his worst performances for Wolves since he joined the club in January 2023.
Such displays have been very few and far between for Dawson, but on Saturday, he did not cover himself in glory for either of Brentford’s goals.
The £3 million signing was marking Norgaard for the corner and disappointingly allowed the Brentford player to wriggle free and get behind him to score a header. Jose Sa also might have done better with the cross.
Then for Toney’s goal, it was Dawson who played a really sloppy pass into Tommy Doyle in the Wolves defensive third. Brentford quickly got the ball back into the box for Toney to score with a first-time volley.
Mistakes like this from Dawson, though, are genuinely a rarity.
The central defender is usually rock-solid for Wanderers and tends not to make errors, playing the game in a very assured way.
With Wolves having now conceded seven goals in their last three Premier League games, some fans are calling for changes at the back, with Santi Bueno an option for O’Neil.
That is understandable, but if the manager is going to bring in Bueno, it shouldn’t be at the expense of £45,000-a-week star Dawson, who has surely got enough credit in the bank to keep his place for next weekend’s game with Tottenham Hotspur.
Dawson – who Stuart Pearce recently described as ‘incredible’ and ‘the best professional you’ll ever work with’ will be absolutely determined to atone for his sub-par display against Brentford. He will be the first to admit his performance on Saturday wasn’t one of his best.
You just know that he’ll do everything in his power this week at training to ensure he’s in the best place to bounce back.
Generally, the impact he’s had on Wolves’ backline since he arrived has been huge, and it could be a real risk to drop him in favour of someone with barely any Premier League experience. Especially against a pretty free-scoring Spurs side.