Five reasons Gary O’Neil’s Wolves career ended as club announce sacking decision

Wolves have announced the sacking of Gary O’Neil following the Old Gold’s defeat to West Ham United.

The manager’s time at Molineux has come to an end as the decision was made to dismiss O’Neil after 16 months in charge. 

Fans had their doubts about O’Neil due to the Midlands side’s abysmal start to the season, with things not improving against Ipswich Town.

Wolves lost 2-1 to Ipswich Town on a dramatic afternoon at Molineux, suffering their fourth consecutive defeat in the Premier League.

Five moments that cost Gary O’Neil at Wolves

The start to the 2024/25 campaign has been poor for Wolves, who carried great hope into the new season after an impressive summer of preparation.

Sitting in 19th after 16 games played is not where the Old Gold expected to be, with form leading O’Neil to the end of his Molineux journey.

Some want to see David Moyes take charge of Wolves while others see the benefit of fellow linked figure Graham Potter.

For now, let’s take a look at five key moments that cost O’Neil his job in the West Midlands.

Summer transfer window

Matt Hobbs made an error in the summer transfer window which subsequently hurt O’Neil’s chances of getting Wolves kicking in 2024/25.

Wolves didn’t learn from their mistakes of the past, selling key players in Max Kilman and Pedro Neto, both without replacement.

Not signing a centre-back was a devastating mistake by the Old Gold, giving the Englishman little chance to compete with a squad severely lacking defensive depth.

Slandering players

While the mistakes made in the summer were less of O’Neil’s fault, the manager must take some responsibility for other errors he made.

One the coach made away from the pitch was the way in which he treated his players, publicly criticising several figures in his squad needlessly in the media.

Wolves fans were not happy with how O’Neil spoke about Jorgen Strand Larsen, as the Englishman questioned the striker’s fitness unprovoked after the Manchester City defeat.

Fans were equally as puzzled when O’Neil questioned Matheus Cunha’s approach, being one of several instances that the Englishman piled pressure onto his players.

FA Cup defeat to Coventry City

It’s difficult for one particular moment to represent a turning point in O’Neil’s career however, the FA Cup defeat to Coventry City certainly felt that way.

Wolves were moments away from a ticket to Wembley in the FA Cup quarter-final before the Championship side found a way to win the game.

The defeat to the Sky Blues triggered a winless streak and undoubtedly knocked the Old Gold’s confidence, with few more jaded than O’Neil.

Instead of a trip to Wembley, Wolves season took a dark turn and arguably, the squad’s spark has not returned since.

Everton humiliation

On the subject of a single game impacting O’Neil, the defeat to Everton on match day 14 was a low point for Wolves.

Wolves were humiliated by Everton who scored four against the visitors at Goodison Park, ending their four-game streak without a goal before facing O’Neil’s side.

From senior Wolves players failing to impress to glaring defensive errors, the defeat to Sean Dyche’s squad sent a gloomy message regarding the coach’s future.

Formational stubbornness

O’Neil had plenty of low points at Wolves but one of the manager’s most puzzling decisions was his inability to select his best formation.

Tony Cascarino blasted O’Neil for not knowing his best team as the Old Gold failed to convert to a back four at the start of the 2024/25 calendar.

Wolves found no joy in four at the back the season prior yet the Englishman tried his luck, leaving it until his sides winless streak grew to revert to a five-man defence.

It would be interesting to see how many points Wolves could have saved if a trial and error approach wasn’t taken with the defence, in what was a puzzling call by O’Neil.