Opinion

Gary O’Neil returning to Wolves would make no sense, Fosun should steer clear

Gary O’Neil has been tipped for a return to Molineux, as he is one of the candidates to take over from Vitor Pereira.

O’Neil was sacked by Wolves just under a year ago, and the now departed Pereira was the man who had taken his place.

O’Neil, alongside Rob Edwards, is one of the five names shortlisted, and that has left Wolves fans reacting to the news on social media.

However, bringing back the former Wolves head coach may not be the best move for the club.

Gary O'Neil is all smiles at Wolves training.
Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images

A Gary O’Neil return does not make sense for Wolves

It would be typical of Fosun and Jeff Shi to hire a man who had Wolves in a similar position last year, after they had already sacked him once before.

Gary O’Neil lost the dressing room last season, and many of those players are still at the club.

The 42-year-old believed the squad he had was ‘not Premier League quality’, and with Wolves now a much weaker team, you would have no confidence he could get a proper tune out of them.

That was just one of a multitude of excuses he whipped out after each loss.

Vitor Pereira came in and proved the squad was more than capable of Premier League survival, thus proving Gary O’Neil wrong in the process.

Like the end of Pereira’s tenure, the performances in the latter months of the Englishman’s time were uninspiring. It would be silly to think it could be different now.

If Wolves want to have any attempt at survival, O’Neil is not the right appointment. There is certainly a manager out there who will be more confident in the squad than he is.

Position Team Played MP Won W Drawn D Lost L For GF Against GA Diff GD Points Pts
15 EvertonEverton9 3 2 4 9 12 -3 11
16 LeedsLeeds10 3 2 5 9 17 -8 11
17 BurnleyBurnley10 3 1 6 12 19 -7 10
18 Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest10 1 3 6 7 19 -12 6
19 West HamWest Ham9 1 1 7 7 20 -13 4
20 WolvesWolves10 0 2 8 7 22 -15 2

Gary O’Neil’s good times were as good as the bad times were bad at Wolves

The Wolves hierarchy should not be tempted to rehire Gary O’Neil based on the highs they felt from his first season in charge.

O’Neil led Wolves to 14th place and even managed a run in the FA Cup to the quarter-final. There was certainly lots for fans to be excited about.

However, the season after was extremely poor, and that has to be taken into consideration.

Fosun cannot afford to get this decision wrong, and O’Neil has proved he is unable to bring Wolves back from the position they are in right now.

Someone like Brendan Rodgers could be a wise appointment, as he is open to the move.

Leave Gary O’Neil in the past.