Wolves slipped to another defeat in the Premier League at the weekend but one player is emerging from the game with a lot of credit.
Wolves lost right at the end to Manchester City, with John Stones scoring a controversial header.
It was a shame for Wolves, who had defended so well in the game. Gary O’Neil had changed Wolves’ formation to a back three with wing-backs, and it was so close to paying off in the form of a point against the Premier League champions.
Santiago Bueno came into the backline, with forward Carlos Forbs dropping out of the side.
One other change O’Neil made was to put Jose Sa in goal, with Sam Johnstone picking up an injury ahead of the game.
Sa enjoyed a really good performance against City, making a string of saves to keep Wolves in the contest.
Alan Shearer described Sa as ‘incredible’ in terms of the saves he made, and many now want to see him keep his place against Brighton.
Former Old Gold full-backs Andy Thompson and Lee Naylor are two such people.
Thompson and Naylor say Jose Sa must start against Brighton
Wolves now have another tough game coming up against Brighton this weekend.
For Thompson and Naylor, there can be no debate as to who starts in goal for the game against the Seagulls, following Sa’s superb performance against City.
Naylor said on Matchday Live Extra: “It’s not close. He’s got to keep his shirt. If that’s what the manager goes off.”
Thompson added: “He deserves to be in the goal, for me. I think that he’s done more than enough.”
Naylor replied: “If that’s how the manager works, then yeah. If the manager’s like ‘well no, he’s my number one’, then that’s that. But if you’re going off ‘you earn the shirt’, then he’s earned that, I’ll tell you that right now.”
O’Neil would be foolish not to start Sa v Brighton
Many Wolves fans will also be urging O’Neil to start Sa over Johnstone against Brighton this weekend.
Some fans felt O’Neil’s comments about Sa were slightly disrespectful after the defeat to City on Sunday, but it wasn’t really all that clear what he meant.
He dismissed that he now had a potential selection headache with the two goalkeepers, and most took his comments to mean that Johnstone would be back starting against Brighton, despite Sa’s top display against City.
Even if Johnstone is back fit again, it would be an extremely bold move to start him ahead of Sa.
Potentially, it sends the wrong message out to the other players, and O’Neil will become a target of fan fury if Wolves don’t get a result against the Eagles and Johnstone does not perform.