Lopetegui

[binners]

Look at the weak management team Jeff has surrounded himself with. Vinny Clark etc.

He can’t handle Lopetegui, he needs a yes man.

He doesn’t need a yes man……he just needs to go

 

[Adrian_Monk]

Either way Jeff has fallen out with another manager, as he did with Nuno and Lage. JL has acted wholly unprofessionally but I do emphasise that i wouldn't be the most rational in circumstances.

Overall, a mess.

This is basically what this boils down to. It isn't that Lopetegui doesn't want to be here - he wouldn't have come if that was the case, nor would he be arguing so vehemently for transfers - he just doesn't want to work with Jeff Shi. Nuno, on the other hand, loved being here, but also didn't want to work with Shi. Even Lage didn't seem overly enamored with Shi from many of the interviews he conducted during his time here.

What's the common denominator here?

Part of Shi's job is being a buffer between the stuff seemingly outside his control and the manager. He is also the person tasked with setting the vision and bringing everyone along with it. He is utterly useless at both core responsibilities of his role at Wolves.

I accept that Fosun are probably not communicating with him in the best and most consistent way, but he is accountable for that in the same way any senior leader is.

Get rid of Lopetegui and we will be back in this same position within a few weeks to a season, with another manager who can't work with him.

Get rid of Shi and bring in someone capable of fulfilling those core responsibilities, and I doubt Lopetegui would be so quick to run out the door.

 

[Willywolf]

No. He should resign if he feels that principled about it. Rather than whining like a little bitch in the media all summer about how unfair it all is.

He won't do that though, as he wants a payout. He doesn't care about exposing Shi or the impact on the club. He only cares about himself and getting what he wants.

Thing is, he is paid handsomely to work for the club. He works for WWFC and should be doing as his employer asks of him to the best of his ability with the tools available to him. I compare it to my job in teaching, albeit in simpler terms: I work for an academy where I don’t like the paperwork, bs, additional ****e added to my workload, but they are paying me for my time. As such, I do what my employer asks of me to the best of my ability.

In truth, this all needs putting to bed one way or another now.

 

[The Clock]

Direwolf and Wickedwolfie as the pantomime horse it seems

And before anyone asks for an audition, the role of Baron Hardup is already taken

 

[dougandiehard]

I don't think we are rudderless at the top, look at the funds provided for players who were over priced and/or over rated; Cutrone and Guedes to name but two. OK I accept that all clubs make mistakes in the transfer market but we are not a top four club and can ill afford to make mistakes.

 

[Jefe]

No. He should resign if he feels that principled about it. Rather than whining like a little bitch in the media all summer about how unfair it all is. He won't do that though, as he wants a payout. He doesn't care about exposing Shi or the impact on the club. He only cares about himself and getting what he wants.

You relocate from sunny Spain to a provincial former industrial town in the heartlands of England. You ask some of your family to come with you, but you leave other family members behind, including your wife and your ailing father. You carry out pound-for-pound one of the best performances in England last year, saving a club from the abyss of relegation and potentially hundreds of millions of pounds in losses. You have big dreams for next season.

Only it turns out your employer lied to you about your working conditions moving forwards. You see agreement after agreement reneged unilaterally. You feel like you were used. Would you seriously just walk away for nothing? Or would you want compensation?

 

[TheConcourse]

Pantomime season starting early on the Mix.

I'm going to think about which mixers I'd cast as which pantomime characters.

Now, who should I cast as Widow Twankey?

OH NO IT ISN’T

 

[mibullock90]

I think you may have heard what you wanted to. Phillips literally says that JL cannot afford to walk and Wolves cannot afford to sack him, and that the only way they will part is by mutual agreement. The JL discussion is about 30 mins in.

As for money for players, yes he said he thought there may be some incomings, but he also said it was the payment terms, specifically the up front payments, which caused the Elvedi and Scott offers to be rejected. That may suggest a short term cashflow issue or need to post a profit in this financial year.

I believe Johnny saying Wolves cannot afford to sack him is open to interpretation; I interpret is as, if Wolves were to sack him, it would have a direct effect on other spending within the club i.e. transfers. Not that they don't have the money to sack him but they're reluctant to and quite rightly so.

 

[Direwolf]

Well it's all a bit of theatre must just remember to be more careful.

 

[North West Wanderer]

Yes, the team looks very well coached and he wants a couple of players.

so you think he’s right to drag the club through the mud and try and force a payoff with money we don’t have?

 

[RosehillWolf]

When he asked if he could meet Robert Plant, that's the only time he has smiled

Was he dazed and confused ?

 

[ombyman]

My 50p on this is that it's a culture clash (assumption and naive view alert!)

China v Spain

One is used to unquestioned control and unargued changing to a new truth. Hiding behind a projection of honour and freedom.

The other is from a macho honour led culture, where trust is key.

I'm not saying this is correct, or if one of these cultures is correct, but that is based on my life experience.

Recipe for disaster!

 

[WickedWolfie]

Direwolf and Wickedwolfie as the pantomime horse it seems

And before anyone asks for an audition, the role of Baron Hardup is already taken

Neigh lad, lol....

 

[tamwolf]

Thing is, he is paid handsomely to work for the club. He works for WWFC and should be doing as his employer asks of him to the best of his ability with the tools available to him. I compare it to my job in teaching, albeit in simpler terms: I work for an academy where I don’t like the paperwork, bs, additional ****e added to my workload, but they are paying me for my time. As such, I do what my employer asks of me to the best of my ability.

In truth, this all needs putting to bed one way or another now.

My employer recently announced a head count freeze for the rest of 2023 due to lower than expected financial performance. I was starting the recruitment process to expand my team when it was announced and that has been put on hold.

Maybe I should find a way to moan about this publicly and drag my employers name through the mud. It appears that that is an acceptable thing to do.

 

[ombyman]

Was he dazed and confused ?

He thought the way to the directors box was the stairway to heaven. But now he is facing the gallows pole.

 

[The Clock]

This is basically what this boils down to. It isn't that Lopetegui doesn't want to be here - he wouldn't have come if that was the case, nor would he be arguing so vehemently for transfers - he just doesn't want to work with Jeff Shi. Nuno, on the other hand, loved being here, but also didn't want to work with Shi. Even Lage didn't seem overly enamored with Shi from many of the interviews he conducted during his time here.

What's the common denominator here?

There are no common denominators - hence all the guff.

 

[dougandiehard]

He thought the way to the directors box was the stairway to heaven. But now he is facing the gallows pole.

Perhaps he'll return to Spain and Ramble On ?

 

[Ercall Wolves]

I support Wolves the club not a Spanish plonker. He has absolutely no loyalty and commitment to the players or the fans just before the season starts. His main agenda at this stage is to damage the club as much as possible until he gets a massive pay off and can to move to a new club cash rich.

Not at all …..all he wants is what he was promised and agreed when he took the job on
Despite Fosun changing the goalposts he is still here but understandably not happy

 

[Wolf 82]

You relocate from sunny Spain to a provincial former industrial town in the heartlands of England. You ask some of your family to come with you, but you leave other family members behind, including your wife and your ailing father. You carry out pound-for-pound one of the best performances in England last year, saving a club from the abyss of relegation and potentially hundreds of millions of pounds in losses. You have big dreams for next season.

Only it turns out your employer lied to you about your working conditions moving forwards. You see agreement after agreement reneged unilaterally. You feel like you were used. Would you seriously just walk away for nothing? Or would you want compensation?

Blimey.. you’ve managed to make a handsomely paid Egotist, with nepotistic tendencies, sound like Robin Hood here. Fair play.

 

[WickedWolfie]

My employer recently announced a head count freeze for the rest of 2023 due to lower than expected financial performance. I was starting the recruitment process to expand my team when it was announced and that has been put on hold.

Maybe I should find a way to moan about this publicly and drag my employers name through the mud. It appears that that is an acceptable thing to do.

Are you held publicly accountable by tens of thousands of opinionated customers and the media, and potentially roundly abused, if your team underperforms because of those savings measures? What if your employer reduces your team options? Like it or not elite sport is not like a normal job.

 

[mibullock90]

You continue to ignore the fact we’ve sold more than we’ve spent across the two windows.

But you could argue you're ignoring the fact we needed to sell to ensure FFP isn't an issue when it comes around. The fact that the Neves sale alone appears to have satisfied FFP means we're now in the realms of Fosun seeing some of the profit they want (reported £50m) and any further spending eats into that profit. The stumbling blocks with fee structure for Scott and Elvedi would probably be resolved if we were to sell Podence, Jonny etc whilst also satisfying Fosun with a profit.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

so you think he’s right to drag the club through the mud and try and force a payoff with money we don’t have?

I think most of division in the interpretation of this comes down to whether people believe he wants to go back to the Basque Country with a payoff or be successful in Wolverhampton with the squad he was promised.

 

[The Clock]

My employer recently announced a head count freeze for the rest of 2023 due to lower than expected financial performance. I was starting the recruitment process to expand my team when it was announced and that has been put on hold.

Maybe I should find a way to moan about this publicly and drag my employers name through the mud. It appears that that is an acceptable thing to do.

Your time would be better employed considering how to invest your sizeable salary

 

[dougandiehard]

At the weekend I watched again the Code Red documentary and felt so sad for Raul but justt as sad that NES left when he did. Great times under the Portugese maestro.

 

[North West Wanderer]

I think most of division in the interpretation of this comes down to whether people believe he wants to go back to the Basque Country with a payoff or be successful in Wolverhampton with the squad he was promised.

i don’t have a strong opinion of JL anyway

 

[SuperGran]

Are you held publicly accountable by tens of thousands of opinionated customers and the media, and potentially roundly abused, if your team underperforms because of those savings measures? What if your employer reduces your team options? Like it or not elite sport is not like a normal job.

He’s not paid 9m a year either I don’t think

 

[Bill McCai]

so you think he’s right to drag the club through the mud and try and force a payoff with money we don’t have?

Drag the club through the mud LOL

We are a PL club and the best we can do is Tom King and Doc (who we bumped into on a golf club). For me, that amateur approach is more damaging to the club than an interview pointing out we have gone from Plan A to Plan B (confirmed by Hobbs) to seemingly Plan D for Doc.

 

[tamwolf]

You relocate from sunny Spain to a provincial former industrial town in the heartlands of England. You ask some of your family to come with you, but you leave other family members behind, including your wife and your ailing father. You carry out pound-for-pound one of the best performances in England last year, saving a club from the abyss of relegation and potentially hundreds of millions of pounds in losses. You have big dreams for next season.

Only it turns out your employer lied to you about your working conditions moving forwards. You see agreement after agreement reneged unilaterally. You feel like you were used. Would you seriously just walk away for nothing? Or would you want compensation?

I have relocated 3 times through work. I have lived away from my wife for long periods during the relocations. During these periods I've felt like the role wasn't all it had been sold to be. I've also worked on major projects which have saved companies significant losses.

I can safely say that I wouldn't consider doing anything that Julen has done, no matter how well paid or public the position was. For that reason, I refuse to accept that he is the reasonable one in this dynamic. They all seem pretty unreasonable to me.

 

[Bostin]

I would love to know what Lopetegui's aspirations are, and how much he thinks we should spend / who we should sign to get there.

Personally I think we have a top half starting 11, and it would take 3 or 4 £40m + players to break into the top 7.

 

[North West Wanderer]

Drag the club through the mud LOL

We are a PL club and the best we can do is Tom King and Doc (who we bumped into on a golf club). For me, that amateur approach is more damaging to the club than an interview pointing out we have gone from Plan A to Plan B (confirmed by Hobbs) to seemingly Plan D for Doc.

He’d be sacked in any other industry for what he’s done.

 

[Bill McCai]

Tamwolf sounds like he could be in the running for the job once Lop departs.

 

[groundhogwolf]

Sounds a little like Leicester situation last season, hope it’s not the same result

Possibly why Julian has been more vocal, last season Roger appeared to tow the party line, however the outcome was the same.

 

[Bill McCai]

He’d be sacked in any other industry for what he’s done.

He is not in any other industry though.

 

[ombyman]

Perhaps he'll return to Spain and Ramble On ?

Escape from the darkest depths of Mordor

 

[groundhogwolf]

This is basically what this boils down to. It isn't that Lopetegui doesn't want to be here - he wouldn't have come if that was the case, nor would he be arguing so vehemently for transfers - he just doesn't want to work with Jeff Shi. Nuno, on the other hand, loved being here, but also didn't want to work with Shi. Even Lage didn't seem overly enamored with Shi from many of the interviews he conducted during his time here.

What's the common denominator here?

Part of Shi's job is being a buffer between the stuff seemingly outside his control and the manager. He is also the person tasked with setting the vision and bringing everyone along with it. He is utterly useless at both core responsibilities of his role at Wolves.

I accept that Fosun are probably not communicating with him in the best and most consistent way, but he is accountable for that in the same way any senior leader is.

Get rid of Lopetegui and we will be back in this same position within a few weeks to a season, with another manager who can't work with him.

Get rid of Shi and bring in someone capable of fulfilling those core responsibilities, and I doubt Lopetegui would be so quick to run out the door.

Very interesting point, I just wonder if Jeff has always been inflexible, can’t remember the guys name he left under a cloud to work for a rugby club, but relationships seem to start to fall apart and Jeff was then dealing directly with Nuno.

 

[North West Wanderer]

He is not in any other industry though.

so he’s allowed to say what he wants then.

 

[North West Wanderer]

it’s a **** show all round with zero credit for any of em

 

[Wolf616]

God I wish my work would sack me and pay me off. Maybe they will if I spend all day on MolMix arguing about nothing

 

[Carl Corts Flick Ons]

I'm actually really excited to see this team play this year. I love the athleticism and aggression that Gomes and Traore bring in the midfield and I think that Fabio, Cunha, Neto, Nunes, and Sasa are going to cause some damage (along with Doc and Sarabia). I really do. We may even score more than 45 goals this year

We really only need an experienced right-footed CB for competition/cover with Dawson. Would love Alex Scott, but that won't make or break our season.

This drama is complete BS and waste of time - I just want to be focused on ManU and take it to those overrated turds...

I think this is where most fans are now that aren’t swayed by every little bit of news that they read on here or Twitter etc no matter how legitimate the source
You would like to think that after all the carry on with ‘fake news’ on much more important topics than a football team over the last 5 years or so people wouldn’t react to every bit of news they see taking it as gospel

When you sit back and look at our squad now we are only a centre back short. If JL leaves because he wants more players he’s actually of a different view of the squad to probably most fans are now

If there was ever a season to start with holding back on signings due to ffp then this is it… there are comfortably 6/7/8 worse teams than us this season and yet we’re being made out to be relegation favourites by many after Julen and his antics with his journalist mate

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

Yes Shi and co probably didn't tell him of our FFP problems when talking to him. However in January they spent millions on players he obviously wanted, by all accounts this would have been our budget for this season. you cannot spend what you haven't got without consequences . He either needs to stop moaning and get on with the job he is very well payed for or resign. I am sick of reading our club being trashed in the media because of him.

Couldn't agree more.

Either do the the job or quit.

Don't just sit there getting paid to do it and complaining to your mate in the press at every opportunity.

Hes clearly an excellent football manager but highly strung and doesn't want to be here. I assume he'll walk very soon