Former Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Chris Iwelumo admits the lack of goals from Bruno Lage’s side is “definitely a concern.”
Wolves were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Burnley last night, missing out on the chance to move closer to the top four before they face Liverpool this weekend.
Jurgen Klopp’s team are in red-hot form, and with Wolves struggling in front of goal, Iwelumo is concerned.
They have now scored just 12 goals in 14 league games, the joint-second worst in the Premier League, and their goal-scoring prowess at home is just as worrying.
Despite not losing at Molineux in the league since September’s defeat to Brentford, the old gold have only netted six goals in their seven home games this campaign, and Iwelumo has recognised that rectifying this is “the million-dollar question”, but certainly something that needs to be addressed.
“Last night, 65% possession in Wolves’ favour, but they never really troubled Nick Pope. I felt really sorry for [Adama Traore] last night because he did everything right. People are saying he should’ve passed to [Raul] Jimenez, but again he’s taken it round his man, he’s beat Pope in goal, and then obviously it’s the crossbar that’s evaded him so many times. It’s one of those things. It’s just a little bit of luck.
“Thinking about the other chances, there were 28 crosses last night, and only four of them were successful, so for me that’s a big concern. But, I have to say that at times when [Rayan] Ait Nouri and Nelson Semedo got the ball, there were no bodies in the box.”
Iwelumo, who scored 14 goals as Wolves won promotion to the Premier League in 2008/09, was a target man himself, and believes that sometimes Lage’s aesthetic playing style isn’t always the way to go.
“I go back to when I played at Wolves, the likes of Michael Kightly and Matt Jarvis … they knew the likes of myself, [and] Sam Vokes would be coming in at that back area. That was an understanding that we had.
“Too many times last night, the corners weren’t beating the first man, [and] set pieces are massive in any game.
“I know that Bruno Lage has given us an identity – it’s very evident what he’s put into place, but the players have to take responsibility as well that when these games are happening, and it’s not quite falling to plan, you have to fight for everything. You have to mix it up, you have to go with quality down the sides sometimes, even though Bruno wants them to play in between the lines, and through the thirds. I just feel that’s where the players need to take a bit more responsibility, you need a little bit more leadership.”
Despite the disappointing result, Iwelumo is still optimistic, and pleased with their start to the campaign. “It’s a concern that we haven’t scored, but we’re sat in a healthy position that anyone would’ve taken before a ball had been kicked this campaign, and it’s about building on that. I know we’ve got Liverpool and Man City in the next couple of games, but we’ve done it before. We’ve got individuals in the team that can turn the game on its head so that’s what I’m expecting.”
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