Of all the burning questions that have been asked about Vitor Pereira around Wolves recently, Gary Lineker and Micah Richards think one is most pressing.
The decline in popularity of the Wolves boss is to be expected when a season starts the way it has.
Many have suggested Pereira’s time at Wolves is up with how the results have gone in recent weeks, but Wolves chairman Jeff Shi insists Pereira is safe.
Chiming in on the discussion are Lineker and Richards, who have plenty to say about the calls for his dismissal.
Gary Lineker and Micah Richards in agreement about Vitor Pereira
Wolves was a prevalent topic of discussion on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football. Alan Shearer is baffled by decision-making from Wolves players, but his co-hosts are more interested in talking about the Portuguese.
They both ask the same question, a question that shows favour to Pereira and shifts the blame to the usual suspects.
Lineker says: “If you lose your best two players [Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri] and then don’t really replace them, I mean, what do they actually expect?
“And as usual, who will get the blame? The coach. It just makes me feel like, what chance have you got?”
And Richards is in firm agreement. He recalls a chat he had with Pereira last season, lamenting the fact that things have gone so far the other way.
He says: “I remember interviewing him at Man City last season. Wolves were playing Man City, and I believe he said they were going through a difficult time, but he turned it around and he said with more time, he’s going to be a top Premier League manager.
“But if he’s not got the tools to do it, what’s he supposed to do? What is he actually supposed to do?”
As much as Wolves fans have begun to turn on Pereira, the two former players see it in a different way.
Pereira, Fosun and the owner/manager dynamic
Look, Pereira hasn’t covered himself in glory this season. There have been a few decisions that have left fans scratching their heads.
But as Lineker and Richards point out, he has lost significant pieces of the side. Now, Pereira’s transfer policy at Wolves didn’t help in replacing them, but the bigger issue is that they didn’t spend more than £26 million on any player.
In today’s market, that just won’t be enough to come close to the quality of Cunha and Ait-Nouri.
But wherever the blame belongs, one thing that’s for certain is that Pereira will go if it’s deemed a change is needed, not Fosun.
The owners are never the ones to suffer the consequences. It’s a tale as old as time.