If anything summed up Wolves’ season, it would be the last couple of weeks.
Throughout February, the Old Gold were brilliant as they bounced back from some relegation talk to go through the month unbeaten.
Nuno Santo has been nominated for the Manager of the Month award while Ruben Neves is in the conversation to be crowned Player of the Month.
However, the cracks are starting to appear in Wolves’ armoury again. They are now winless in three successive outings with their performance against Aston Villa on Saturday providing very few positives.
Nuno’s men drew 0-0 as they lacked ruthlessness in front of goal. It has been the same story in their last two matches, drawing 1-1 with Newcastle and being battered 4-1 by Manchester City.
It has been a poor week for the Midlands outfit and nothing typifies that more than their ability or lack of it rather, to find the net.
Willian Jose is still yet to score in a Wolves shirt while Adama Traore’s goal drought goes on. It would seem that they’re beginning to rely on their defenders to score the goals.
Conor Coady netted in midweek, while he and Romain Saiss had their best chances against Villa on Saturday.
Pedro Neto whipped in a mean ball from the right during the second half which found its way to Coady at the back stick. He hit the post and then with the goal at his mercy, Saiss somehow missed an open goal from a matter of yards.
Tim Spiers claimed the effort “defied the laws of physics” and it’s hard to argue with that point. The Moroccan just needed to tap the ball home but instead skied it miles over the bar. It was a moment that ultimately cost Wolves the game and left every Old Gold player in the camera shot with their head in their hands.
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It was a bewildering miss, one that might just go down as the worst of the Premier League season. Though, it was an incident that just about summed up a woeful night for Saiss; a player who never got going at Villa Park.
The £22k-per-week defender has been inconsistent this term and his display on Saturday evening proved that very point. Nuno likes his defenders to be able to play out from the back but he failed in that department, achieving a pass success rate of just 70%.
That tally happened to be the worst of any Wolves outfield player. It was also a number that was 12% worse than his seasonal average of 82% this term.
The Express & Star were rather damning in their assessment of the defender at full-time, saying; “Headed the ball with authority, however, his passing was inconsistent throughout. But it's the miss of the season that will cause the Moroccan international some sleepless nights.”
Saiss was kept busy by the likes of Trezeguet and Ollie Watkins but he often came out second best, winning just a solitary tackle in the entire match. In addition, the centre-back surrendered possession on 15 occasions.
It was an uncharacteristically poor performance from Saiss, someone who should now be wary of his place in the team.
With Willy Boly back among the substitutes, Nuno must consider wielding the axe on his place in the starting XI and replacing him with a more reliable defender. Boly is certainly that.