After Wolves' poor run of form continued, with a fourth consecutive Premier League loss, Gary O'Neil has been sacked as manager.
Their four losses in a row, coming against Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham and Ipswich, have proven costly, leaving them 19th in the table, and leading to O'Neil's dismissal.
Ait-Nouri-Wolves
Wolves held more possession against Ipswich, having 54% of the ball, taking 16 shots (more than Ipswich's 10), creating one big chance and generating 1.27 xG (more than Ipswich's 1.20 xG). However, despite outperforming the Tractor Boys in certain metrics, the result is the most important, and it was yet another loss.
Plenty of factors have hurt O'Neil and his attempts to revitalise Wolves this season, losing a few key players to injury, and more importantly, losing stars such as Pedro Neto in the summer transfer window, failing to effectively replace them.
Gary O'Neil's Demise
O’Neil’s side had averaged 46.4% possession this season (14th in the division), averaged 11 shots per game (fourth lowest in the league), and averaged 14.6 shots against (sixth highest).
This was down from their possession average last campaign (48.6%), shots taken per game (11.3) and shots against (15.2), with their performance seeing a decline in all aspects.
Gary-ONeil
To go along with this, Wolves only conceded ten goals from set pieces in 38 games last season, yet already this campaign, they have shipped 14 in just 16 games.
With their performances dropping off this season, alongside also acquiring a new Achilles heel, O’Neil’s time as Wolves manager has come to an end, and they could already have a Premier League legend waiting to take the reins.
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A new manager for Wolves
Reports from David Ornstein on Sunday afternoon suggested that the club were making a move to hire Vitor Pereira.
Despite those claims, there could be an alternative. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was spotted at the Molineux for Wolves 2-1 defeat against Ipswich, as pressure was mounting on O'Neil and this has led to plenty of rumours for Solskjaer to take over as the Wolves manager.
The Norwegian hasn't been seen in management for three years now it would be a sizeable gamble, but what exactly could he bring to the Midlands?
Well, Solskjaer is best known for scoring 91 goals in 235 games in the Premier League, and also providing 41 assists in that time. However, he has also already managed multiple English sides, including Manchester United, most famously, where Bournemouth boss at the time (Eddie Howe) praised the job he was doing for the Red Devils as "excellent".
Solskjaer manager record
Club
Man Utd Reserves
Molde FK
Cardiff
Molde FK
Man Utd (Caretaker)
Manchester Utd
Stats taken from Transfermarkt
The 51-year-old Norwegian often deployed his Manchester United side in a 4-2-3-1, which would vastly contrast the last few managers at Wolves, who have often opted for the back-five approach. However, the squad is well suited to having three behind the striker, allowing the in-form Matheus Cunha a more free number ten role, which could get the best from him.
This would also allow the inclusion of two wingers, such as Hwang Hee-Chan, Goncalo Guedes, Carlos Borges and even Pablo Sarabia when he returns from injury.
ole-gunnar-solskjær-manchester-united
Solskjaer could bring a well-needed change of dynamic to the club, allowing them to catch teams off guard, be more aggressive with their talented technicians such as Cunha, and start to build something slightly different to what Wolves fans have become accustomed to in recent times.
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Wolves may make a managerial change soon