It was not a good evening on Monday night for Wolves captain Mario Lemina.
The midfielder featured in another defeat for Wanderers, which was a game Gary O’Neil could ill afford to lose.
The feeling was that if Wolves did lose, then O’Neil would be sacked by the board.
But that hasn’t come to pass and instead, O’Neil will get this weekend’s game with Ipswich Town and potentially games after that depending on how things pan out.
Monday’s loss was extremely frustrating, and after the full-time whistle went Mario Lemina was involved in an altercation with Jarrod Bowen.
The pain tussled, and Lemina then pushed the likes of Nelson Semedo, Toti Gomes and Shaun Derry away from him.
Dave Edwards has given his thoughts about that incident, and has made one observation that a lot of fans will probably agree with at this point.
Dave Edwards claims captaincy has hindered Mario Lemina at Wolves
Jean-Clair Todibo of West Ham United clashes with Mario Lemina of Wolverhampton Wanderers following the Premier League match between West Ham Unite...
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
It’s been a tough season so far for Lemina.
After Max Kilman left the club in the summer, the Gabon international was appointed the new club captain and at the time, almost everyone felt he was the best player for the job.
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But Lemina’s form has been concerning this season and we’ve seen a few things happen to suggest the armband may have weighed heavier than expected.
He was very emotional after the defeat to Liverpool earlier this season and then on Monday, we saw his emotions spill over at full-time.
Edwards has written in his latest E&S column about Lemina and believes the armband isn’t helping him. He said: “The scenes at the end were ugly. I always thought the players have always played for Gary O’Neil, I don’t think he’s lost the dressing room at any point.
“But Mario Lemina would have been bitterly disappointed when he woke up the next morning and looked at what went on with the scenes. Wolves are an emotional group and Lemina’s an emotional player, I think the captaincy hasn’t helped him with that – if anything it’s really hindered him with the responsibility he feels.
“Such a random moment like shaking Bowen’s hand, for that to fall into a catastrophic meltdown of arguing with team-mates and going head-to-head with Shaun Derry – when you’re the captain and know the manager’s difficult time and are acting like that, I felt it really left a sour taste and I’m 100 percent sure he regrets it. You have to manage those emotions.”
Lemina apologised after the incident with Bowen, but also outlined a few reasons why he behaved in the way he did.
Captaincy may have weighed Lemina down this season
There will be a lot of Wolves fans who agree with this verdict from Edwards about Lemina.
The midfielder was voted as the Supporters’ Player of the Season for 2023/24, but his form has taken a drastic downward turn this term.
And it’s difficult to argue against the captaincy being a big reason for his struggles.
Lemina is an emotional guy and the captaincy brings about a lot of pressure and responsibility. Those things then become amplified when the team is struggling and results are poor.
He did feel like the most natural fit for the role given he is a big personality. But some are now starting to question the choice – certainly, what happened at full-time against West Ham wasn’t the best look.
Lemina – who cost Wolves just under £10 million in January 2023 – must now bounce back from that altercation, and the best way to do that is with a top performance versus Ipswich, against whom he should look to dominate.
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