Almost a year after getting the sack from Wolves, Gary O’Neil makes an ownership observation that still rings true.
Since exiting the world of management, Gary O’Neil has featured frequently on Sky Sports as a pundit.
On the latest edition of Monday Night Football, he was asked about the situation at West Ham and Nottingham Forest, where plenty of discontent is bubbling.
His take on the struggles of both clubs is just as pertinent at Wolves, something O’Neil was surely conscious of when he made his point.
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Gary O’Neil stresses the importance of structure
Following another West Ham loss, the discussion went into the arena of head coaching jobs and how little time a manager is given to work things out. Nuno has just arrived in East London, and already, he’s under the kosh.
O’Neil points out that a good coach is only part of the recipe, and an even bigger factor is the structure and culture at a club.
After starting the 2024/25 season very similarly to Vitor Pereira’s current run, the Englishman was unceremoniously dismissed. That, in hindsight, was the right call, but O’Neil’s point is that the blame shouldn’t fall solely on the manager.
Fosun and Jeff Shi have received plenty of criticism for how they have run the club, and you’ll hear no arguments from their former employee, whose stance on Wolves seems pretty clear.
That’s also why caution is needed in any Pereira decision. Who’s to say his replacement won’t suffer the same fate at Molineux.
Wolves ownership haven’t impressed since O’Neil’s departure
If what O’Neil is insinuating is that Fosun are the real issue at Wolves, he won’t hear too many voices in disagreement.
The way the club has been run, selling every good player who succeeds at Molineux, makes it difficult to say that things would be markedly improved by a new hire.
Pereira has six or seven players to integrate, none of whom have Premier League experience. Is a struggle to do so a reflection on the manager, or on poor strategy at the executive level?
Wolves fans have never hesitated to throw criticism where warranted, and with each passing season that Wolves stay out of any sort of contention in the top flight, it becomes clearer and clearer where that blame should be placed.