It seems like a lifetime ago that Gary O’Neil was at the helm at Molineux, and last night the former Wolves manager was back in the Monday Night Football studio.
Gary O’Neil left Wolves last December, biting the dust after weeks of poor results.
O’Neil really struggled in his second season at Wolves and perhaps could have gone sooner, but he was handed a new contract ahead of the new campaign which bought him some time to turn things around.
The turnaround never came though, and eventually he was succeeded by Vitor Pereira.
O’Neil had to go when he did. But there were certainly some bright moments in his reign, with the best period coming midway through his first season.
Last night, O’Neil was in the Monday Night Football studio to cast his eye over West Ham United vs Brentford.
And after the game – which finished 2-0 to Brentford – the former Molineux boss answered a question about Erling Haaland that many Wolves fans will appreciate
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Gary O’Neil responds brilliantly to Erling Haaland question
Erling Haaland is pretty much unstoppable at the moment.
The Manchester City number nine is the Premier League’s top scorer with 11 goals, and he is scoring every 62 minutes in the top flight.
In total for club and country this term, Haaland has 23 goals.
He is in truly frightening form, and last night the Norway international was analysed on Monday Night Football.
But there was a light-hearted moment that some fans will actually appreciate, because O’Neil was asked by presenter Dave Jones how one defends against Haaland.
Without missing a beat, O’Neil said ‘Defend low and pick Craig Dawson’.
When Craig Dawson pocketed Erling Haaland for Wolves
O’Neil may have been half-joking, but Wolves fans will definitely remember when the two teams met at Molineux on September 30.
Wolves won 2-1 against City – and one of the big takeaways from that game was Dawson’s handling of Haaland.
Haaland barely had a sniff all game as Dawson kept him close, winning most of his duels against him.
There was even a moment when Haaland acknowledged Dawson during the game, after the defender stopped him from scoring a certain tap-in, poking the ball away from the striker.
After the game, Alan Shearer stated that Dawson had totally nullified Dawson, describing his performance as ‘faultless’ (via premierleague.com).
Dawson also fared quite well against Haaland when Wolves hosted City about a year later at Molineux in the Premier League. The striker blanked and was quiet, although City did win the game 2-1.