Wolves fans could never have imagined the 2023/24 season would go so well, after the chaos of last summer.
Supporters were on a high after Julen Lopetegui kept the club in the Premier League, but those feelings of joy quickly turned to concern, as reports surfaced about financial problems.
Those financial problems would result in Wolves selling a number of top players, and in the end, Lopetegui departed shortly after giving a controversial interview to journalist Guillem Balague.
Supporters felt dejected by what had happened, and then it was announced that Gary O’Neil was to succeed the Spaniard.
It is safe to see his appointment was not particularly well received. Sure, he had kept Bournemouth in the top-flight, but the general consensus was that Wolves were definitely going to struggle under him.
O’Neil took a couple of months to work things out, but he has done an absolutely terrific job, and there are now even conversations about him being the manager of the season so far.
Today, Graeme Souness was talking about Wolves – and he took aim at Lopetegui for walking away…
Graeme Souness suggests the job Gary O’Neil has done at Wolves is a bad reflection on Julen Lopetegui
Many fans and pundits tipped Wolves to either be in a relegation battle or go down this season, having seen what transpired with Lopetegui.
Everything pointed to a season of struggle. How would the players possibly recover from Lopetegui – a proven, top manager – essentially feeling they weren’t good enough to work with?
They would recover because Gary O’Neil came in and believed in them.
O’Neil saw something in them that Lopetegui did not, and it is so clear to see how much all the players love and respect him.
Souness believes that O’Neil has really shown his predecessor up. He said on talkSPORT: “What I would say is, and I think I sat in this very chair two years ago – it seems like longer – and I’ve always felt Wolves had really good players but missed a striker.
Jim White added: “But Lopetegui didn’t think they had the players at his disposal to do well.”
Souness replied: “That was his opinion, well Gary has certainly proved him wrong. I always felt Wolves have really good players and if they had a goalscorer, they’d do very, very well. Upwards and onwards for Wolves.”
Of course, O’Neil has managed to unearth two goalscorers at Wolves this season, with Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan scoring 22 between them across all competitions.
O’Neil has shown Lopetegui up
It is difficult to disagree with Souness’ suggestion that O’Neil has shown Lopetegui up.
The 40-year-old Englishman has done a remarkable job and if anything, he has shown that the squad still had plenty of quality in it right from the start.
It is a poor reflection on Lopetegui that he left – surely, as a supposed top manager, he could have done something.
It was probably undoubtedly frustrating for him and there was a suggestion that the club did move the goalposts on him regarding spending and the potential to recruit new players.
In the end, the situation was what it was, but Wolves fans everywhere will be delighted at the outcome.