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Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Whisper it: Wolves might not actually be that bad.
At least not as bad as we all feared after the first five games anyway.
Despite building a squad overloaded with centre-backs for a season of rock-solid, five-at-the-back football, we somehow look better with most of them on the bench.
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New signing Ladislav Krejci, first used in midfield by Vitor Pereira, and Santiago Bueno, who seemed surplus to requirements in the summer, are forming a surprisingly solid partnership in an old-fashioned back four.
Krejci is a natural leader and organiser – something we have missed since the days of Conor Coady and Ruben Neves. You don’t captain Sparta Prague at 23, end a nine-year title drought and lift a domestic cup unless you have something special.
He wasn’t cheap (the fee will exceed 30m euros) but that is what it costs to compete in the Premier League, and so far he looks worth every penny.
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Calls for a back four have come and gone before, usually followed by panic and a return to a five after we start shipping goals. But this feels different.
Great defences are built on partnerships, and in Bueno and Krejci we have two players who read each other well, who are tough and physical but also comfortable on the ball. Krejci might even have the best first touch in the entire squad.
Sam Johnstone also adds calm behind them, and with Joao Gomes and Andre screening in front, you can see the spine of a proper side taking shape. The heartbeat from which everything ticks.
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As we edge into October, it seems Pereira is finally close to figuring out his best system and starting XI. Now he must trust it. Give it more than 45 minutes, and resist the urge to throw on defenders when we’re in the ascendancy.
Saturday night proved we have a squad more than capable of competing.
Besides, shutting up shop rarely works in the Premier League, sit deep for too long and someone will pick the lock, as Joao Palhinha’s 94th-minute gut punch revealed in the most devastating fashion imaginable.
Find more from George Lakin at Always Wolves
