Wolves chairman has spoken in a rare interview about his future at the club.placeholder image
Wolves chairman has spoken in a rare interview about his future at the club. | Getty Images
Wolverhampton Wanderers latest news round-up as the Old Gold’s Premier League struggles continue
Wolverhampton Wanderers remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table and deep in relegation peril, as two own goals gifted Arsenal a stoppage-time victory over Rob Edwards’ side at the Emirates on Saturday evening.
The West Midlands outfit put in one of their best displays of the season, limiting the league leaders to not a single shot on target in the first half and putting through their own net twice in unfortunate circumstances, sandwiched in between a dramatic Tolu Arokodare goal which looked set to have snatched an unlikely point for the visitors.
Last Monday night’s emphatic 4-1 home defeat to Manchester United saw fan protests against the club board and Fosun ownership, with chairman Jeff Shi coming out to speak on the issue in a rare interview.
Wolves chairman Jeff Shi speaks on fan protests and his future at the club
Speaking on BBC Radio WM, Shi addressed the protests and suggested that he and the club’s owners are set to stick around at Molineux. He stated that while he understands the frustration, he hopes that fans can be “more happy” following the success the club has enjoyed in the early years of Fosun’s ownership.
Asked if he was going to stick around for the long term, Shi said: “Yeah, I think personally, I have the empathy. I feel the frustration from the fans. Of course, I hope they can be more happy, and I hope the people in Wolverhampton can be more happy.
“And we have done that in the past, right? But in the meantime, I have my own way to run the club and to try to push the club to grow. So I feel that I have to keep myself calm, and to think about what to do for the future is the best way.”
‘It cost Wolves’ - Jay Bothroyd gives verdict on Arsenal offside controversy
Meanwhile, former Premier League striker Jay Bothroyd has given his verdict on Arsenal’s opening goal on Saturday, an own goal by Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone. Bukayo Saka appeared to be in an offside position in the build-up to the awarding of the corner which bounced in off the shot-stopper, and Bothroyd questioned whether the goal should have stood.
Bothroyd said on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch: “He [Saka] is impacting the play. He’s impacted the play because that’s where he’s going. He’s making a run for that ball. So he’s making the defender [Toti Gomes] make a decision. Which he has to make.
“He doesn’t know Saka is offside because he’s not even facing him – he’s looking at the ball and running backwards. I feel he’s definitely impacting the play.”
Former referee Dermot Gallagher interjected: “Because of how it’s set up. As I said, there’s a possibility that ball goes over and the other player comes in. The assistant has got to wait. He’s got to let the move play out. Because it’s so tight. If that ball ends up in the net, it goes to VAR, and they say ‘It’s a offside position, he’s played the ball.”
Bothroyd argued: “Ultimately, it has ended up in the net. The corner came, and Arsenal scored. I look at it and I say, there is an outcome, okay the phase of play is different, because the ball is dead. But there’s an outcome that happened which was a goal, which cost Wolves.
“These are the scenarios that I allude to when I’m talking about, these small decisions, it doesn’t take long to look at that. They could look at that and say, ‘Hold on a second, that’s offside, maybe we should take this back’.”
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