Should we sack O Neil?

[Mardenboroughs Shoulder]

I changed my vote after Man City. I think he's earned a crack at it and it's undoubtedly a fantastic opportunity for him. I said at the start of the season that this is the weakest Premier League ever, so a great opportunity to stay up and rebuild next summer.

 

[djmikeydickens]

He's doing better than I thought he would. No bizarre selections or formations, moved to the back 3 and it's working for us lately. The in game management seems to be improving also. Players obviously like him too which is half the battle.

 

[QB Wolf]

We were very fortunate today

We were very unfortunate against Luton and Man Utd, that’s football. We controlled yesterday’s game for long periods and created some chances we deserved to win!

 

[JadeWolf]

Slowly but surely he’s winning people round I think. 11 points from our first 9 games is a more than decent return, and there have been some encouraging signs in the performances. He’s not the new Pep he’s not even the new Nuno (Newno?!) yet but he’s doing alright in my eyes. It’s early days I know but ask yourself if we finished the season where we are in the table right now would you say it’s been a acceptable season?

 

[AndyY]

I fully admit that I was underwhelmed by GON’s appointment. I will also tell you that I am not a “hire and fire ‘em” merchant, I much prefer stability than the chaos of change, so once GON came in I was willing to give him a chance and support him. However, I will also admit that I changed my mind about keeping GON after the Luton and Ipswich performances, I just could not see a way out of the malaise and we were clearly not firing on all cylinders and I wanted him out.
The last 3 results have been much better BUT, I still have my doubts. This is based on the way we started the game yesterday - I wasn’t there but was listening to comms and we appeared to start with 4 at the back and RAM left midfield, and were reportedly very sloppy and let Bournemouth have loads of space and time to build confidence. Why change a system that has been successful against “better” opposition, why change from a system where everyone seems to know where they fit and how to play? It made no sense to me and that’s on GON. Admittedly he did change to a back 3/5 and bringing on Doyle worked BUT there is too much tinkering for me. Pick a formation, pick the right people for the formation and coach them effectively in how to get the best from it. Don’t keep messing about.
I am back to requiring stability again now, and think that GON will keep us up but I am not convinced he is the long term answer.

 

[North West Wanderer]

i suspect the blip will be over today and GON will be a PE Teacher again tonight.

he’s many things, but he’s our manager and therefore deserves our support

Fair comment but several weeks ago many fellow Mixers disliked him too.
But I agree, it is weird to dislike a guy because Wolves hired him after JL left us in the lurch.

I always found it odd that JL is still respected by some after he walked out on us probably because he’s selfish, and yet Gary , who accepted a very difficult task , got pelters from many on here before he arrived at Compton.

That is so lousy and lopsided.

great post.
I’ll happily admit to some poor form when he was appointed. i’m not 100% convinced by any stretch but he’s clearly a decent guy and he’s showing some signs of development and improved decision making.

Lop is clearly a great coach, but not a great man imo.

 

[Bryce]

So I am going to change my vote and give him a chance because

1. Fosun won’t shell out for better
2. He does actually appear to learn from mistakes although he can overthink things
3 He has a win against City which Lage and JLo couldn’t manage
4He has a win against Bournemouth that JLo couldn’t manage
5. At times we are playing some nice fast football which is better than the tripe we have watched for three years

Now it may all go tits up. But, given his limitations and the fixtures we have a decent enough start. So keep it up GON

And he appears a genuine bloke who wants to learn and improve as a coach. Given the summer we had I am ok with it at the moment

 

[QB Wolf]

Slowly but surely he’s winning people round I think. 11 points from our first 9 games is a more than decent return, and there have been some encouraging signs in the performances. He’s not the new Pep he’s not even the new Nuno (Newno?!) yet but he’s doing alright in my eyes. It’s early days I know but ask yourself if we finished the season where we are in the table right now would you say it’s been an acceptable season?

I had a lot of people telling me Wolves would be relegation candidates, we’d lost so many players etc etc however I kept saying it’s Ok a lot weren’t regulars and we’d already replaced a lot of them. Even the pundits had us as relegation candidates and some fans. However we have a good squad, how good, I think 10th to 14th possibly if GON can keep us there it would be a success.

January will also be interesting to see how him Hobbs do then.

 

[Wagstaffe Was Magic]

People have taken a position and now won't budge from it no matter what happens. They would rather dispise the manager than be proven wrong.

Look how many haters of Mick there were even though it was our longest period of success for decades.

This , 100%

 

[Darvo]

I have only read some of this thread but there are some very mean postings on here!!!

He’s bought himself 2 months …… it’s just a calm before a big storm…. ffs !!!!!!

This is the first half Comms Thread on tour !!! The reactionaries…. the instant gratification crew … the spoiled children!!!

Man up and give the guy the credit he has earned! Support the management and the team and we will have a decent season!!!

Isn’t that what we all want??
Sometimes I do wonder with some of you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spot on. We have a young English manager making a decent fist of it with a squad togetherness that’s been missing for a while. Let’s get behind them and see where it leads. UTW.

 

[Axle]

He’s got our forward line firing which is something that none of the most recent incumbents could do.

It’s a bit of a tautology but if you have a team that has a threat then you are always in with a chance.

I think most of us would agree that having a team (let alone forwards!) who can score makes us better to watch, even if the rest of the side does look like a work in progress.

Not winning at Luton was not great but l’ve always said a point away from home is a good result in the PL. There are few easy games.

What l liked yesterday was the way the team swarmed all over their defence to get the ball back for the second. We weren’t settling for a point here and that shows they really want it.

We do need to increase the points haul at home, so let’s hope that’s next on the list. Increased confidence from a decent unbeaten run should help

 

[Andywolf74]

Scrolled through the post Ipswich reaction (mine included) to get to the present and have to give huge credit to GON for then getting 7 points from the next 3 (including beating the current Premier League winners) and making us more solid defensively, whilst scoring 5 goals in the process.
If you look to take 4 to 6 points from half a dozen teams that’s between 24 to 36 points in the bag.

 

[Golden Arrow]

Scrolled through the post Ipswich reaction (mine included) to get to the present and have to give huge credit to GON for then getting 7 points from the next 3 (including beating the current Premier League winners) and making us more solid defensively, whilst scoring 5 goals in the process.
If you look to take 4 to 6 points from half a dozen teams that’s between 24 to 36 points in the bag.

I felt quite low post Luton and Ipswich, but there have been signs of a rejuvenated Wolves since then, so yes reasons for optimism.
Since the heady days of European football, I've adjusted my expectations so PL league survival is currently my benchmark with a hope and a dream that destinations such as Barcelona, Istanbul and Turin will once again become a reality.

 

[Wagstaffe Was Magic]

Slowly but surely he’s winning people round I think. 11 points from our first 9 games is a more than decent return, and there have been some encouraging signs in the performances. He’s not the new Pep he’s not even the new Nuno (Newno?!) yet but he’s doing alright in my eyes. It’s early days I know but ask yourself if we finished the season where we are in the table right now would you say it’s been a acceptable season?

If justice was properly served by VAR we are on 14 points !!

That for me is a fantastic return given the very tough opening fixtures we’ve been given …. I thought we’d do well to have 5 or 6 after 10 games!!
He deserves his chance, it could be a season that surpasses all our expectations!!!

Go GON !!!!

 

[OLDGOLD]

We were very unfortunate against Luton and Man Utd, that’s football. We controlled yesterday’s game for long periods and created some chances we deserved to win!

Agreed. I think points wise we are about where I thought we would be, even though we got them from different teams than I expected. I have gone from the post cup exit sack him now, to let's see how he goes....

 

[Sheffield Wolf]

Good to see the ‘No’ percentage creeping up. I wonder what it was a few weeks ago?

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

Good to see the ‘No’ percentage creeping up. I wonder what it was a few weeks ago?

Ask loppers, I believe he has an excel spreadsheet, complete with graph, bar chart and trend line.

 

[wolvesaywe]

Would love to have seen this smug git's face when Sasa buried it yesterday

 

[sedgwolf1980]

I felt quite low post Luton and Ipswich, but there have been signs of a rejuvenated Wolves since then, so yes reasons for optimism.
Since the heady days of European football, I've adjusted my expectations so PL league survival is currently my benchmark with a hope and a dream that destinations such as Barcelona, Istanbul and Turin will once again become a reality.

Was thinking about this earlier. We are essentially a Palace / West Ham / Everton.

A fair bit better than the dross at the bottom, and still just 2-3 bad decisions away from a relegation battle, but similarly a good run a bit of good fortune away from a European challenge or a cup final.

There are worse places to be. Best not to overthink it, and just enjoy the ride. We spent best part of 30 years in this exact same position but a league below.

 

[Ches78]

People have taken a position and now won't budge from it no matter what happens. They would rather dispise the manager than be proven wrong.

Look how many haters of Mick there were even though it was our longest period of success for decades.

Some people wont perhaps, but I've definitely budged over the last 4 weeks - and all it took was taking 7 points from 3 games and beating what is widely seen as the best club team on the planet...

 

[The House of Wolves]

Was thinking about this earlier. We are essentially a Palace / West Ham / Everton.

A fair bit better than the dross at the bottom, and still just 2-3 bad decisions away from a relegation battle, but similarly a good run a bit of good fortune away from a European challenge or a cup final.

There are worse places to be. Best not to overthink it, and just enjoy the ride. We spent best part of 30 years in this exact same position but a league below.

I said when we got promoted I’d happily take half a dozen seasons finishing comfortably midtable and establishing ourselves as a solid Premier League team who never look like going down.

We then overachieved massively in Nuno’s first 2 seasons by finishing 7th which has led to there being higher expectations from Wolves ever since.

I know fans don’t like to hear it and I will get the “lack of ambition” shouts but we really have to remember where we came from…

Sitting 12th in the Premier League is a fantastic positon compared to our average over the last 40 years. I’d be fine with a bit of midtable stability for a couple of seasons, a few years ago that was beyond our wildest dreams.

 

[JadeWolf]

I said when we got promoted I’d happily take half a dozen seasons finishing comfortably midtable and establishing ourselves as a solid Premier League team who never look like going down.

We then overachieved massively in Nuno’s first 2 seasons by finishing 7th which has led to there being higher expectations from Wolves ever since.

I know fans don’t like to hear it and I will get the “lack of ambition” shouts but we really have to remember where we came from…

Sitting 12th in the Premier League is a fantastic positon compared to our average over the last 40 years. I’d be fine with a bit of midtable stability for a couple of seasons, a few years ago that was beyond our wildest dreams.

Very true. Easy to compare where we are now to the Nuno times and be disappointed but we’re still only 6 seasons in. We’re stil not properly established you could say.

 

[Darvo]

I said when we got promoted I’d happily take half a dozen seasons finishing comfortably midtable and establishing ourselves as a solid Premier League team who never look like going down.

We then overachieved massively in Nuno’s first 2 seasons by finishing 7th which has led to there being higher expectations from Wolves ever since.

I know fans don’t like to hear it and I will get the “lack of ambition” shouts but we really have to remember where we came from…

Sitting 12th in the Premier League is a fantastic positon compared to our average over the last 40 years. I’d be fine with a bit of midtable stability for a couple of seasons, a few years ago that was beyond our wildest dreams.

It’s not so much about where we have come from as taking part in a ’loaded’ competition. Sadly, the odds of seeing Wolves finish top 5 or 6 are incredibly small. Not impossible… but fairly unlikely.

Im hoping we survive this season (preferably comfortably) and then start to develop a stronger team. Without the financial clout of the big boys and with the restrictions of FFP, we are going to have to be incredibly smart with a well thought out strategy for progress.

I’m fairly content with enjoying a top flight ride.

 

[StaffordWolf]

Would love to have seen this smug git's face when Sasa buried it yesterday

He's on here at about 10:30 haha.

You're welcome...

 

[Glow69]

Not sure on the limitations side of GON.

It's not as if he is peaked as a coach. Be good to see him develop with us.

 

[Jawwfc]

He's on here at about 10:30 haha.

You're welcome...

Interesting some of the things he says....

"If you want boring football and stay up you keep Gary O'Neil"

He should watch the below.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1716039649804636374

I'd say our football through out this Season has been better than it has been for a long time, the first 3 games of Lage were exciting but he quickly dropped that approach Gary seems to be a bit more balanced but allows individuals such as Cunha, Ait Nouri, Neto to play abit more.

 

[Thank you Sir Jack]

There is more joy in heaven.....

 

[wolvesaywe]

He's on here at about 10:30 haha.

You're welcome...

You're a legend

He really is an insufferable, deluded little twerp

 

[Hanbury_Wolf]

You're a legend

He really is an insufferable, deluded little twerp

Proper bell end.

Just throw words like "dynamic" in to the conversation and pretend that you're okay with being 19th with no wins losing 4 on the bounce.

"if you want enough points to stay up, go with O'neil"

Yes, we do thanks. Dynamic comes a distant second to winning a match of football.

 

[waveney wolf]

He walked into the wolves ground 4 days before the season started,,he asked where's Neves Mouthinio Collins Adama Raul Podence ??
All gone I'm afraid ...oh...and Nunes is going soon too ...and we start our season with man utd, Brighton , Man City , Liverpool , Villa ...fancy the job ?
I can't believe any true wolves fan wants him gone ..you re doing a great job Gary

 

[Zico]

You're a legend

He really is an insufferable, deluded little twerp

Hilarious. Has he ever considered that O'Neil played pragmatic football there because they're actually hopeless?! Enjoy the Championship, hope never to see you again.

Hang on though, is it allowed to criticise the oracle that 90% of this board treated as gospel?

 

[VancouverWolf]

Hilarious. Has he ever considered that O'Neil played pragmatic football there because they're actually hopeless?! Enjoy the Championship, hope never to see you again.

Hang on though, is it allowed to criticise the oracle that 90% of this board treated as gospel?

Couldn’t understand it at the time and still don’t……..

why would anybody care about a single Bournemouth fans unprofessional opinion ?…….or even listen to it?

 

[Jawwfc]

Hilarious. Has he ever considered that O'Neil played pragmatic football there because they're actually hopeless?! Enjoy the Championship, hope never to see you again.

Hang on though, is it allowed to criticise the oracle that 90% of this board treated as gospel?

I think GON mentioned in his first interview that he did what was required football wise and that he has a completely different squad at Wolves and needs to see the ability of the players close up.

Right now Gary is looking to have played the right way at Bournemouth to keep then up now they want to try this "sexy" football and they don't have the playing staff to do it,

It's similar I suppose to how the press had a Kompany love in for playing "sexy" football (and I suppose been a sky favourite) when I think Luton will fair better as they battle and are aware of the teams limitations.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

I was hugely critical of O'Neil but I stopped after Man City.

It wasn't even the result that changed my opinion, although it obviously helped, but it was more the change in formation and approach.

My main criticism in the first few weeks was that we were soft, it was Steve Davis-esque. We could play well for 20 minutes in a game, or even longer, but it didn't matter as we'd lose.

The City game was transformative because we had a clear plan, we were aggressive and had an intensity even by sitting back.

I really think that result changed things for the players as well. City do lose games occasionally, but it's so rare that they lose to sides near the bottom. A win like that had to give you confidence in what the manager is trying to do.

After that, it was similar against a very good Villa team.

With performances, it's hard to judge. I really don't think any team in the bottom half should ever expect or think they can dominate a game. The league is ridiculously tough.

Even Bournemouth, who looked poor for the record, have a squad that, on paper, should be good. With the exception of Luton and Sheffield United (even Burnley spent £100m this summer), any team can beat anyone.

So, all you can ask is that we're competitive, and we have been under O'Neil, and there's an edge to us now.

We are physically strong and offer a counter-attacking threat. That's something to work with.

My main criticism of O'Neil was that he wasn't qualified for this job, and it was on him to show us that he deserved the job. In the past three weeks he has done that, so he now deserves time - which he will get.

I echo the others as well with the points return, it's fantastic given the fixtures we had. Genuinely as many points as I think anyone else realistically would have picked up.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

People have taken a position and now won't budge from it no matter what happens. They would rather dispise the manager than be proven wrong.

Look how many haters of Mick there were even though it was our longest period of success for decades.

This is clearly wrong though as the vote stayed open. After Ipswich it was overwhelmingly for the sack, now it's 70/30, so 20% of people changed and the other 70 just haven't changed their vote, but will have changed their minds. Realistically nobody thought he'd actually be sacked after 5 games and nobody thinks he should be sacked now. This supposed set of people who'd rather he failed so they could be proved right doesn't really exist outside a handful of oddbods maybe, we're all pretty fickle really!

 

[theweave]

He's improving players which is the biggest compliment you can give a manager. Hwang, Neto and Ait Nouri all playing their best football since they've been here

 

[wolvesaywe]

I think GON mentioned in his first interview that he did what was required football wise and that he has a completely different squad at Wolves and needs to see the ability of the players close up.

Right now Gary is looking to have played the right way at Bournemouth to keep then up now they want to try this "sexy" football and they don't have the playing staff to do it,

It's similar I suppose to how the press had a Kompany love in for playing "sexy" football (and I suppose been a sky favourite) when I think Luton will fair better as they battle and are aware of the teams limitations.

To be fair to Bournemouth they said they wanted to go in a different direction and they have done just that

Down!

 

[Muscat]

Hilarious. Has he ever considered that O'Neil played pragmatic football there because they're actually hopeless?! Enjoy the Championship, hope never to see you again.

Hang on though, is it allowed to criticise the oracle that 90% of this board treated as gospel?

It's hilarious how utterly deluded and arrogant they are. I saw another clip posted on Twitter of an equally dislikable Bournemouth fan saying they didn't stay up because of the job O'Neil had done but because they had "excellent players". They're all absolute garbage, and it merely shows what a job O'Neil did.

 

[Muscat]

He's improving players which is the biggest compliment you can give a manager. Hwang, Neto and Ait Nouri all playing their best football since they've been here

I'd include Semedo in that too.

 

[Ches78]

One of the things that stood out to me from GONs post-match interview was when he said he'd never managed a team playing against 10 men before. It'll sound stupid, but I hadn't really considered these kind of factors/experiences that a manager needs to learn how to deal with. It just illustrated how early he is in his career and that he needs time - just like young players - to learn how best to plan for or react to different situations. Fingers crossed Garys a quick learner and he can learn and develop with this squad and club and we can achieve good things, starting with a nice dull and safe season in the Prem.