Wolves’ back four gamble continues to be unconvincing as Chelsea run riot at Molineux

Gary O’Neil has a lot to think about ahead of next weekend’s game away at Nottingham Forest after his side picked up zero points from their first two games, conceding eight goals in the process.

It was always going to be a tough start for the team in old gold, who weren’t helped by the fixture list which saw them go to the Emirates on the first weekend before hosting Chelsea on Sunday.

It was an evenly contested first half, with the teams going in at half time with the scores at 2-2 after an end-to-end first 45. It quickly got out of hand for Wolves though, as Madueke, who was at the centre of attention during the game after his controversial unflattering Instagram post regarding the city Wolverhampton, scored a 14-minute hat trick. Joao Felix scored Chelsea’s sixth in the romp which saw Wolves’ back four get carved open time and time again.

It felt as though Chelsea could have scored with every attack. They gained an overload or a three on three virtually every time they crossed halfway, leaving Gary O’Neil to re-evaluate his decision to change to a back four this season, which was something that his side spent their pre-season tour working on.

It’s no secret that O’Neil has been looking to swap Wolves’ counter-attacking back five system for more expansive football, with his side attempting to put more pressure on the ball and play a slightly higher line this year.

O’Neil attempted to play a back four at the start of last season, too, but had to adapt and changed to a back five after a beating in a similar fashion in their first home game of the season against Brighton, who ran out 4-1 winners.

That day it was Semedo who struggled in a full back position, getting isolated one v one against Mitoma, who made Wolves pay for their naivety. This time it was Rayan Ait-Nouri, best known for his attacking capabilities, who played at right back rather than wing back and got caught out, allowing Madueke to score three goals in quick succession on his side.

It’s clear that O’Neil’s long-term plan for the club is to shake off their reliance on a rigid back five, but he may not be able to switch from one to the other so seamlessly as shown by their poor start to the season.

It will now be interesting to see if he decides to stick or twist for their visit to the City Ground on Saturday, which is already shaping up to be a huge game for Wolves who need to start getting points on the board. They may well get away with a back four against Forest, backing their ability to outscore their opponents, however the next month consists of games against Newcastle, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester City and things are bound to get ugly if Wolves don’t tighten up.

They’ll face their old boss Nuno Espirito Santo at Forest, a man who was so successful playing the back five at Wolves, helping to get them promoted in a 3-4-3 shape before back-to-back seventh place finishes including an FA cup semi-final and a Europa League quarter-final.

Every manager since then has, at some point, tried to change to a back four. Bruno Lage was so confident in doing so that he loaned his captain Conor Coady, who is more suited in the middle of a three, but after a poor start to the season, where they struggled to score goals despite the change, he went back to the tried-and-tested back five.

Julian Lopetegui then came in and argued that he wanted to play a back four but didn’t have the players to do so. Now over three years after Nuno’s departure, the back five still feels the natural blueprint of a successful Wolves team, with results being much better in this shape and the team looking more balanced.

Wolves face Burnley at home on Wednesday in the EFL cup and it will be interesting to see if O’Neil calls and end to his experiment or sticks to his plan and starts with the back four.