Andy Thompson has suggested Nelson Semedo was far too cautious on Saturday for Wolves against Nottingham Forest.
The Molineux legend was speaking on Wolves’ Matchday Live Extra show, after seeing Wanderers share the spoils with the Reds.
The 1-1 draw was not the worst result in the world, but many fans felt it was a real missed opportunity. Forest came into the game in bad form, with Steve Cooper under real pressure.
Wolves had not been particularly good against Burnley in midweek, despite winning, and so fans were hoping to see a dominant display.
Wolves had most of the ball against Forest, but just lacked creativity and also showed signs of fatigue.
Thompson expressed his surprise at the positioning of the full-backs, and focused on Nelson Semedo…
Andy Thompson disappointed with Nelson Semedo against Nottingham Forest
Wolves had the lion’s share of possession against Forest, but really struggled to break their opponents down at Molineux.
Forest set up with a back five, which perhaps affected Semedo and Hugo Bueno.
The pair did not seem to be too willing to bomb on, especially Bueno. But it was Semedo who Thompson focused on as he gave his thoughts post-match.
He said: “We were slow, the movement was slow, the passing was slow, it just played into Forest’s hands. We’ve let them off the hook. I think if we’d have gone at them and been positive and squeezed on them and forced the issue a little bit more with them, I think we would have got more of a positive result. It was just too s low.
“Our full-backs should not be level with our backline. We’re trying to hurt teams, they should be near enough level with their (Forest’s) backline. I just think we’ve got quality out there, Semedo has shown us what he can do. For whatever reason he’s just not been effective down this right-hand side. He’s got quality, he’s quick, he’s nimble on his feet and can get past people.
“He’s not a young lad who’s inexperienced, he’s a lad who’s played big football (matches) for big clubs, he should be pushing on and leading down this right side.
“If you’ve got pace like he’s got, you want to take it to teams, and he just didn’t.”
Wolves poor as a collective vs Forest
Semedo has come in for a bit of criticism here from Thompson, but the Molineux legend did also call out the team as a collective. He added that the strikers needed to be a bit more available.
It was just an insipid display from Wolves and it was definitely an opportunity missed.
Perhaps £80,000-a-week man Semedo was a focus for Thompson because the Portuguese has actually been in really good form in recent weeks – against Burnley, he was very lively indeed, and he’s enjoyed some other great games this season such as against Manchester United and Liverpool.
He is a player who can really hurt teams with his running, but on Saturday we just didn’t really see that unfortunately.
