Wolves manager Gary O’Neil now finds himself under huge pressure after failing to beat Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The game with Palace at Molineux was a fixture many fans saw as a must-win.
It was the start of a more favourable run of fixtures, and many were hoping to finally see the team get three points on the board.
But Wolves could only manage a 2-2 draw, again dropping points from a winning position.
The failure to beat Palace has now turned a lot of Wolves fans – even his biggest advocates are now having trouble making the case for him to stay on as manager.
One gets the feeling that not beating Southampton next weekend could be the end for him.
Gary O’Neil has made a lot of questionable decisions this season. But the game against Palace brought one in particular firmly into the spotlight.
Goncalo Guedes not starting a Premier League game for Wolves has been bizarre
Only a few months ago, no one would have been thinking about Goncalo Guedes and his game time at Wolves.
Many expected him to be sold the club, after having loan spells with Benfica and Villarreal. The star had not wanted to be at the club according to former manager Julen Lopetegui.
But he returned in the summer and then played a part in Wolves’ pre-season.
Guedes went on the trip to Miami, and O’Neil praised him publicly for the way he had applied himself.
He ended up staying beyond the transfer deadline, and Guedes has actually looked lively when called upon in games.
But strangely, he has barely been used in the Premier League.
Guedes has scored three goals this season, and they have all come in the Carabao Cup.
On Saturday against Palace, he came off the bench and laid on an assist for Joao Gomes to score and put Wolves in front.
So this term, it’s four goal involvements in 262 minutes of football, meaning one every 65 minutes.
Simply put, the fact O’Neil has not started him in a single Premier League game so far is absolutely baffling.
Pablo Sarabia had two extremely presentable chances to score against Palace and spurned both opportunities. Guedes, having already scored three times this season, may well have put at least one of them away.
The Portuguese attacker must be so frustrated at the moment, knowing he’s had good output but still isn’t being played from the start by O’Neil.
O’Neil may have regrets over Guedes
It may well be that O’Neil loses his job as Wolves manager soon – and there will be many reasons for him getting the sack.
His lack of faith in Guedes in the Premier League may be something he’ll regret when he watches games back and sees the chances that other players have wasted.
Guedes has genuinely looked lively when he’s come on in games, so the fact he hasn’t yet had a chance to start a Premier League game is strange.
| Goncalo Guedes for Wolves this season |
| Appearances (starts) – 9 (2) |
| Minutes played – 262 |
| Goals – 3 |
| Assists – 1 |
Last season, O’Neil found great success with the speedy attack on Hwang Hee-chan, Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha. Guedes has pace, power and decent finishing ability so his lack of Premier League involvement has been really odd.
The £27.5 million man been a reasonable threat when he’s played, and would be perfect to play on that right side, with Cunha from the left and Jorgen Strand Larsen through the middle. It is a position he has played in plenty of times for Benfica and Valencia.
Arguably, O’Neil should not have persisted with three midfielders for as long as he did.