Gary O'Neil has been sacked by Wolves, with the club an utter shambles
Gary O'Neil has been sacked by Wolves, with the club an utter shambles
This meltdown at Molineux was supposed to happen 12 months ago.
Back then, rookie boss Gary O’Neil was catapulted into a post within a few days of the season’s start after Julen Lopetegui walked out. The Spaniard, a former manager of Real Madrid, had decided his reputation wasn’t going to be trashed by the group of players that had been assembled for him - and so he raced out of Dodge City before the bullets began flying.
Erstwhile Bournemouth boss O’Neil took on the challenge with a squad that had been deemed not fit for purpose by his well-travelled predecessor ahead of a daunting season’s opener at Old Trafford. The then 40-year-old didn’t have any pre-season to fall back upon - and little knowledge of the players he had inherited.
Despite these limitations, O’Neil made a decent fist of the hand he had been dealt.
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Defeats of Spurs and Manchester City at a rapturous Molineux kicked the season into life and buoyed by the fans’ backing - they were grateful and surprised by the turnaround - the group managed to survive and thrive.
Unfortunately - whether Lopetegui could see the writing on the wall is another matter - what has come to pass since then has brought to bear all of his fears from last year.
Questions over an imbalanced and inexperienced squad, shorn of any true dressing-room leaders has left the good ship in danger of keeling over.
It’s an important point - the behaviours of Mario Lemina, Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri after defeats to West Ham and Ipswich do not happen in well-ordered football clubs. Maybe it's because, in each of their last three seasons, Wolves have cashed in on their captain.
Their leader has departed. Dressing-room order and discipline is maintained through respected senior professionals. One by one, they’ve been weeded out.
Matheus Cunha was involved in a confrontation after Wolves' late loss to Ipswich Town (
Image:
Catherine Ivill/AMA)
Rayan Ait-Nouri was also dragged away in unsavoury scenes at Molineux (
Image:
Getty Images)
Conor Coady - a massive voice in the changing room - was discarded when Bruno Lage arrived. Ruben Neves left for the riches on offer in Saudi Arabia and Max Kilman - ironically, like Lopetegui, who desperately wanted to reunite with the defender - has swapped the Black Country for the East End.
None of this matters, of course, if the replacements are an improvement on quality.
They haven’t been.
At the heart of it lies inadequate recruitment, and whoever takes the reins at Molineux will have to master this area of the club quickly. Chairman, and proxy of Chinese owners Fosun, is Jeff Shi, who, in this pantomime season, has turned from the Fairy Godfather into the big bad Wolf.
Initially, the owners decided to spend their way to success. But gradually, due to the Chinese withdrawal of capital from football clubs, Wolves have had to preach a message of sustainability. Their trump card, a tie-up with super-agent Jorge Mendes, has been weakened too, over time.
The Wolves chairman Jeff Shi is a man under fire from fans (
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AMA Sports Photo Agency)
Sporting director Matt Hobbs - with whom O’Neil shared a good relationship - has sold his colleague short. Time and again, the former Wolves’ boss would defend the imports. Time and again, they let him down.
In the past three seasons, the club has cashed in to the tune of £250m on talent. Along with Kilman and Neves, Pedro Neto quit for Chelsea, Nathan Collins for Brentford, Matheus Nunes to Manchester City and Morgan Gibbs-White to Nottingham Forest. Toss into the mix the departures of Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore (both Fulham) and it’s a mighty exodus that has been allowed to leave Molineux.
Frankly, their replacements aren’t at the level required.
This summer Hobbs brought in Andre - a midfielder from Brazil - when a dominant centre-back was required. He also needed a winger. But spent £10m instead taking keeper Sam Johnstone out of Crystal Palace. That kind of muddled thinking holed O’Neil below the waterline. Was the outgoing manager culpable?
Max Kilman, last season's captain, was sold to West Ham in the summer
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Clearly, judging by the words in his final post match de-brief, in which ‘the group’ was deemed not good enough, he tried to put distance between him and them. Twenty goals conceded from set-pieces is something that can be worked upon at the training ground, however. O’Neil will defend himself that it was.
Two years ago, Wolves found themselves in almost exactly the same position. Back then, they found the cash to lift the club from the bottom of the Premier League under Lopetegui - and they escaped with one match to spare.
But the mood music is different this time out. The players lack a leader, they lack cohesion. It’s a lop-sided squad short on quality and confidence. They cannot buy their way clear of trouble. Inside the last week, it has descended into chaos.
Seriously - good luck to whoever fancies taking that on.
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