What shoould Wolves do next with Fabio Silva?

[WolvesAndCows]

I guess the answer is to loan him out to a Portuguese, Belgium or Dutch team, next season, in the hope that he does well. He can then come back to Wolves, to either play or be sold. Trouble is, I don't see him playing under O' Neil and I doubt that Fabio actually sees his future at Wolves. It's become a tricky situation.

 

[Jefe]

It's a tough one to explain that's for sure... looked very strange - but I think his toe got caught in the grass and he fell over.... rather than cheating.

The reason many think he dived is because that is not at all how people react to suddenly stumbling to ground. You reflexively put your hands down to catch your fall, not throw them up in the air like Willem Dafoe in Platoon. He made it look as though he'd been pushed in the back.

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

It's a tough one to explain that's for sure... looked very strange - but I think his toe got caught in the grass and he fell over.... rather than cheating.

Sorry, but no. Just watched it again. He drags both feet, throws his arms in the air, arches his back like he's been pushed, and falls over. No-one ever reacts that way when they stub their toe.

 

[brianm]

The reason many think he dived is because that is not at all how people react to suddenly stumbling to ground. You reflexively put your hands down to catch your fall, not throw them up in the air like Willem Dafoe in Platoon. He made it look as though he'd been pushed in the back.

Sorry, but no. Just watched it again. He drags both feet, throws his arms in the air, arches his back like he's been pushed, and falls over. No-one ever reacts that way when they stub their toe.

This is how I see it as well. I don't understand it. There's nobody near him. What is he doing? Did he just start losing his balance because he was struggling to sort his feet, and then on instinct he did the thing he does when he starts losing his balance? Like it's that deep down in his brain? It can't be a conscious decision. It's too fast.

Just bizarre.

Whatever it is, it's not the actions of someone performing in the flow of the game, and not to his ability. I tend to think having Rangers do the yelling at him (the bad cop, as it were) could still work out for Wolves if they can bring him back in and build him up. This has to be eye-opening for him if there is any kind of player in there. It would be an absolutely genius piece of man-management to get him to the headspace he will need to find to have a successful career (in my view, a mindset that he has to overcome his lack of athleticism by being much grittier and more consistently engaged in the team's shape), but it might be possible.

The alternative is to just basically give him to an Iberian side and take a huge sell-on in case someone helps him make a good career.

 

[loppers86]

It's a tough one to explain that's for sure... looked very strange - but I think his toe got caught in the grass and he fell over.... rather than cheating.

he cheated and he was very, very bad at it. His epitaph will be:

‘Fabio Silva - he couldn’t even dive properly’.

 

[thetwistedsock]

Sorry, but no. Just watched it again. He drags both feet, throws his arms in the air, arches his back like he's been pushed, and falls over. No-one ever reacts that way when they stub their toe.

Looked like he trod on Lego though.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

When his confidence has gone he’s a lost cause.

I hope he gets a move to Saudi. He might find that level about right for him

 

[old wittonian]

When his confidence has gone he’s a lost cause.

I hope he gets a move to Saudi. He might find that level about right for him

Don't think he'll find rolling around on rock hard grounds to his liking.

 

[JohnB]

Remembered for scoring 50% of his goals vs Albion.

 

[SmiffyWolf]

I think he will be here but a loan with an option to buy . Unless we get a Saudi team to buy him for 30 plus million somehow.

I just think his management team should give him a kick up the **** . As hemis career is going to be not remembered for much of he keeps this standard up .

 

[Golden Arrow]

Another day dawns on the Mix as we continue to have a kick about with the Fabio football dilemma.
At 1200 + postings I would have thought it would have done its rounds, but alas no.

Sorry, I don't have a nugget or two to add to the debate, but do wish if this pointless meandering is to continue that someone corrects the title (or have I missed the point and the word "shoould" should be spelt that way?

P.S. Has Talisca signed yet ?

 

[WickedWolfie]

Another day dawns on the Mix as we continue to have a kick about with the Fabio football dilemma.
At 1200 + postings I would have thought it would have done its rounds, but alas no.

Sorry, I don't have a nugget or two to add to the debate, but do wish if this pointless meandering is to continue that someone corrects the title (or have I missed the point and the word "shoould" should be spelt that way?

P.S. Has Talisca signed yet ?

That spelling error is the highlight of this utterly pointless thread.....

 

[Jefe]

Sorry, I don't have a nugget or two to add to the debate, but do wish if this pointless meandering is to continue that someone corrects the title (or have I missed the point and the word "shoould" should be spelt that way?

OP is Scottish?

 

[wwbug]

A man/boy trapped in the gilded cage of professional football.
No one can let him out because so much money and personal authority has been invested in him.

 

[Ned]

Nobody without the surname Silva wants Fabio to succeed more than me but, let’s face it, it’s been a disaster from day one; Some his fault and some not his fault.

He had a shot this season to really cement himself into the matchday squad and be a viable option either as a sub or competition for starters but it just hasn’t happened for him. He’s clearly (or his dad has) wanted to leave since last season and we set up an “impossible to fail” loan deal which would have guaranteed him a decent move at the end of the season - yet he’s somehow failed at a club who plays Ross County 4 times a season and has been so bad that I doubt Ross County would even take him next season.

Now we’ve got the arduous job of finding somebody to take him for a fee that isn’t going to be utterly embarrassing for us as a club and finding the sort of club that Fabio will actually willingly join instead of digging his heels in. Whatever happens, we will be paying a chunk of his wages for years to come as no club he joins is offering him what he is on here (and I know the figure touted is way higher than reality).

I just hope we don’t do our usual player happiness before the club approach, letting have a loan deal to a club of his choice with an option that will never be taken up.

 

[wwbug]

In July 2022 WWFC extended his contract by a year does anyone know what salary he is on and when the contract stops ?

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

In July 2022 WWFC extended his contract by a year does anyone know what salary he is on and when the contract stops ?

I don't know, but it's too much, and only extended because we fail to admit he is a dud and cling on to the absurd belief that he will, one day, turn into Harry Kane.

 

[Big Saft Kid]

Pound for pound, and all things considered, IMO FS is the worst single signing in my 70 years as a Wolves supporter. And I include Blobby Taylor and 'missing piece in the puzzle' Frankowski in that. They were also total crap but did not cost the club 35 million quid plus wages. Mendes and Shi should both hang their heads in shame. Instead, Mendes is laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[StaffordWolf]

I don't know, but it's too much, and only extended because we fail to admit he is a dud and cling on to the absurd belief that he will, one day, turn into Harry Kane.

He needs to learn to dive better if he wants to be anywhere near Kane.

 

[Zico]

Try looking into the real statistics but I don't think you'll be bothered.

Well I haven't bothered no, that looks just as independent

 

[Lobo de Ouro]

In July 2022 WWFC extended his contract by a year does anyone know what salary he is on and when the contract stops ?

I posted this a few weeks ago:


Done a little digging and asking around to try and finally banish the nonsense rumours regarding Fabio's wages. Internet has him ranging from £40k to nearly £100k per week, and people (not necessarily Wolves fans) repeatedly use the high end wage figures to criticise him.

Unverified, but I believe the contract he signed when he joined was as follows:

Basic weekly wage £37k
Wage if he makes an appearance in that week £42k
Wage if he scores in that week £47k

He subsequently received a £3k per week increase to his basic, bringing that to £40k but I don't know what changed, if anything, with the bonus payments. Also unsure how those bonus payments work when he is out on loan.

 

[Aimless Balls]

I posted this a few weeks ago:


Done a little digging and asking around to try and finally banish the nonsense rumours regarding Fabio's wages. Internet has him ranging from £40k to nearly £100k per week, and people (not necessarily Wolves fans) repeatedly use the high end wage figures to criticise him.

Unverified, but I believe the contract he signed when he joined was as follows:

Basic weekly wage £37k
Wage if he makes an appearance in that week £42k
Wage if he scores in that week £47k

He subsequently received a £3k per week increase to his basic, bringing that to £40k but I don't know what changed, if anything, with the bonus payments. Also unsure how those bonus payments work when he is out on loan.

What’s this source and why do you believe it? Because it’s the lowest? Also, have Rangers picked up 100% of whatever his salary is for the spell? Did we receive a loan fee? Anything verified would be great.

 

[Lobo de Ouro]

What’s this source and why do you believe it? Because it’s the lowest? Also, have Rangers picked up 100% of whatever his salary is for the spell? Did we receive a loan fee? Anything verified would be great.

Direct from someone who worked at the club at the time, who would have been privy to those details. No longer at the club, so no clue on the details of the Rangers loan.

 

[Contrarian]

I don't know, but it's too much, and only extended because we fail to admit he is a dud and cling on to the absurd belief that he will, one day, turn into Harry Kane.

Absolutely. Though I think "total dud" is a bit harsh, I've never seen anything in him that suggests he is unique, special, gifted. By now I've watched him in dozens of matches for us, Anderlecht, Portugal youth team and PSV (though not Rangers,thankfully). Enough there to become a professional footballer, sure, but nothing special to suggest he will ever score a hatful in the top leagues.

He's a decent finisher - but then so were the likes of Dominic Foley and hundreds of young players who become journey men outside of the top tier. I think that's the level Fabio will end up at. I always made the effort to see what was special about him, but have to admit, the only noticably eye catching thing for me were negatives. Like being terrible in the air. Clumsy and awkward if the ball isn't at his feet.

Might be that, like the emperors new clothes, I'm just not smart enough to see his psychic positioning sense or something. Good luck to the lad - he has always worked hard and tried perhaps too hard - if he pops up scoring 25 goals in La Liga in a few seasons, I would laugh at my ignorance and be pleased for him! Though I really don't think he ever will be good enough do anything special in the 5 top European leagues.

 

[Werewolf of Wombourne]

Pound for pound, and all things considered, IMO FS is the worst single signing in my 70 years as a Wolves supporter. And I include Blobby Taylor and 'missing piece in the puzzle' Frankowski in that. They were also total crap but did not cost the club 35 million quid plus wages. Mendes and Shi should both hang their heads in shame. Instead, Mendes is laughing all the way to the bank.

I would wholeheartedly disagree. Blokes like Taylor, Claridge, Gladon etc were crap signings at the time regardless of the money and everybody knew they were crap at the time.

There is so much revisionism and hindsight when it comes to Silva its unreal. At the time he signed Fabio Silva was one of the most sought after young players in world football, more than Joao Felix, and was being tracked by Juventus, Milan , Real Madrid amongst others. he was seen in Portugal as their next big superstar after Cristiano Ronaldo. It sent shockwaves through Europe when we signed him and it was considered a major coup.

Did we overpay? Probably, although once again there's a heavy dose of hindsight involved. Ask any Spurs fan if knowing what they know now they would have been happy to pay £35m for a 20 year old Harry Kane if they hadn't already got him. You can bet your life they would be.

We took a gamble that if it had come off would have been seen as one of the best bits of business by any club anywhere. For the chance of getting a world class striker it was well worth it. It hasn't happened yet for the lad and might never happen. But nobody who is being truthful can say they 100% knew he was going to fail when he signed. I don't remember anyone saying that they knew he was crap at the time. The objections at the time were that the money could have been better spent elsewhere. To say it's the worst transfer in the history of Wolves or of Football in general? Come on.

For that one I would nominate Joe Gallagher, Dave Thomas or Roger Johnson

 

[Contrarian]

But nobody who is being truthful can say they 100% knew he was going to fail when he signed. I don't remember anyone saying that they knew he was crap at the time.

Not until we saw him play. His first match was a horror show against Stoke in the league cup. There were plenty with doubts after that, also after his first few appearances after Raul's injury. They weren't just bad, they were "we've been conned, he's not even Midland Combination level" bad. He was clearly nowhere near even Championship standard at that point. And based on those appearances and every single time I've seen him since, I am genuinely baffled as to how any big clubs really thought he was the new Ronaldo! I think there was a lot of hype around him, possibly from agents/family, from even before we signed him. The bigger clubs were happy for us to take the risk.

You're right in that the signing raised eyebrows , because the likes of Chelsea/Man U etc regularly spend huge amounts on unproven young players (many of whom don't hit the expected level) But they can afford to. We can't. If Juventus/Man U etc. genuinely believed him to be the new Ronaldo, they would have signed him, we wouldn't have had a chance. I don't recall the outrage from big clubs, like when we signed Neves.

From early on, would have thought it clear to anyone who could see through the hype, that he needed to go out on loan to a much lower level for several seasons. Raul's injury is only partly why he didn't, because Fabio was with us before that, with no attempt made to loan. I think that it would have been too much of a loss of face to make such a huge signing (for us), then send him out to League 1 or equivalent - and that has always been an issue. Some were still complaining that he would be our saviour when he went to Anderlecht, after multiple forgettable appearances for us! It would have been an admission that we paid far too much and that he wasn't at the level we were expecting initially.

 

[brianm]

I would wholeheartedly disagree. Blokes like Taylor, Claridge, Gladon etc were crap signings at the time regardless of the money and everybody knew they were crap at the time.

There is so much revisionism and hindsight when it comes to Silva its unreal. At the time he signed Fabio Silva was one of the most sought after young players in world football, more than Joao Felix, and was being tracked by Juventus, Milan , Real Madrid amongst others. he was seen in Portugal as their next big superstar after Cristiano Ronaldo. It sent shockwaves through Europe when we signed him and it was considered a major coup.

Did we overpay? Probably, although once again there's a heavy dose of hindsight involved. Ask any Spurs fan if knowing what they know now they would have been happy to pay £35m for a 20 year old Harry Kane if they hadn't already got him. You can bet your life they would be.

We took a gamble that if it had come off would have been seen as one of the best bits of business by any club anywhere. For the chance of getting a world class striker it was well worth it. It hasn't happened yet for the lad and might never happen. But nobody who is being truthful can say they 100% knew he was going to fail when he signed. I don't remember anyone saying that they knew he was crap at the time. The objections at the time were that the money could have been better spent elsewhere. To say it's the worst transfer in the history of Wolves or of Football in general? Come on.

For that one I would nominate Joe Gallagher, Dave Thomas or Roger Johnson

You only have to watch Fabio once to say "no, that's not a 35m player."

Big clubs "track" a lot.of youngsters they never pull the trigger on.

I remember very young Ronaldo. You could see the talent very clearly. Anyone who said "this guy is the next Ronaldo" was a liar.

 

[Fenrir_]

You only have to watch Fabio once to say "no, that's not a 35m player."

Big clubs "track" a lot.of youngsters they never pull the trigger on.

I remember very young Ronaldo. You could see the talent very clearly. Anyone who said "this guy is the next Ronaldo" was a liar.

Talk about missing the point

Silva was breaking all kinds of scoring records as a kid at Porto, and it was his scoring record that got compared to Ronaldo, not his style of play (he's even said himself he bases his game on the likes of Cavani). You could only see Ronaldo's talent because of the pace, flicks, and high white bandages on his ankles staring you in the face, if you'd have watched a 20 year old Kane, Lewandowski or Cavani you'd have written them off

 

[Wignall 3-0]

I really hoped Fabio would come good, but have given up on him now. I think his short term future at Wolves is about PSR calculations for next year. Matt and Jeff will have to crunch the numbers to find the best solution for Wolves` finances. If it fits to sell for a 50% loss then so be it, if not he may have to go out on loan for another season until the amortisation loss reduces? We stand to make big losses on Guedes and Silva as things currently stand. Other players may be more financially manageable after we make the one big sale of a star player.

 

[Werewolf of Wombourne]

Not until we saw him play. His first match was a horror show against Stoke in the league cup. There were plenty with doubts after that, also after his first few appearances after Raul's injury. They weren't just bad, they were "we've been conned, he's not even Midland Combination level" bad. He was clearly nowhere near even Championship standard at that point. And based on those appearances and every single time I've seen him since, I am genuinely baffled as to how any big clubs really thought he was the new Ronaldo! I think there was a lot of hype around him, possibly from agents/family, from even before we signed him. The bigger clubs were happy for us to take the risk.

You're right in that the signing raised eyebrows , because the likes of Chelsea/Man U etc regularly spend huge amounts on unproven young players (many of whom don't hit the expected level) But they can afford to. We can't. If Juventus/Man U etc. genuinely believed him to be the new Ronaldo, they would have signed him, we wouldn't have had a chance. I don't recall the outrage from big clubs, like when we signed Neves.

From early on, would have thought it clear to anyone who could see through the hype, that he needed to go out on loan to a much lower level for several seasons. Raul's injury is only partly why he didn't, because Fabio was with us before that, with no attempt made to loan. I think that it would have been too much of a loss of face to make such a huge signing (for us), then send him out to League 1 or equivalent - and that has always been an issue. Some were still complaining that he would be our saviour when he went to Anderlecht, after multiple forgettable appearances for us! It would have been an admission that we paid far too much and that he wasn't at the level we were expecting initially.

Fabio was with us for exactly 86 days before Raul's injury. I don't know how quickly you think a player should be sent out on loan after joining a club but 86 days would seem a tad hasty. And no, he didn't need to go to League 1 or lower. He'd broken into Porto's first team in the previous season and broken Neves' record for Porto's youngest ever starter and scorer. I think we can agree that Porto are considerably better than League 1 level.

What he needed was time. Time to acclimate to a new country, a new style of football and to be brought through gradually as Raul's understudy. What he got, through no fault of his own, was to be thrust into a position he wasn't ready for and a number of games he had never played before. Despite that he still managed to break Cristiano Ronaldo's record as the youngest Portuguese scorer in the Premier League and score the same or more goals than Mitrovic, Haller, Giroud, Joelinton, Martial, Havertz, Rodriguez, Ayew, Robson-Kanu , Gayle, Carroll and McBurnie, all players with much more experience and in some cases higher transfer fees.
It's funny how Nathan Fraser hasn't got the same level of abuse for being in the same position.

 

[Highlandwolf2]

Nobody without the surname Silva wants Fabio to succeed more than me but, let’s face it, it’s been a disaster from day one; Some his fault and some not his fault. He had a shot this season to really cement himself into the matchday squad and be a viable option either as a sub or competition for starters but it just hasn’t happened for him. He’s clearly (or his dad has) wanted to leave since last season and we set up an “impossible to fail” loan deal which would have guaranteed him a decent move at the end of the season - yet he’s somehow failed at a club who plays Ross County 4 times a season and has been so bad that I doubt Ross County would even take him next season. Now we’ve got the arduous job of finding somebody to take him for a fee that isn’t going to be utterly embarrassing for us as a club and finding the sort of club that Fabio will actually willingly join instead of digging his heels in. Whatever happens, we will be paying a chunk of his wages for years to come as no club he joins is offering him what he is on here (and I know the figure touted is way higher than reality). I just hope we don’t do our usual player happiness before the club approach, letting have a loan deal to a club of his choice with an option that will never be taken up. Having lived in the area I can confirm that Ross County are based in a small town with a population of about 5,000; says it all.....

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Fabio was with us for exactly 86 days before Raul's injury. I don't know how quickly you think a player should be sent out on loan after joining a club but 86 days would seem a tad hasty. And no, he didn't need to go to League 1 or lower. He'd broken into Porto's first team in the previous season and broken Neves' record for Porto's youngest ever starter and scorer. I think we can agree that Porto are considerably better than League 1 level.

What he needed was time. Time to acclimate to a new country, a new style of football and to be brought through gradually as Raul's understudy. What he got, through no fault of his own, was to be thrust into a position he wasn't ready for and a number of games he had never played before. Despite that he still managed to break Cristiano Ronaldo's record as the youngest Portuguese scorer in the Premier League and score the same or more goals than Mitrovic, Haller, Giroud, Joelinton, Martial, Havertz, Rodriguez, Ayew, Robson-Kanu , Gayle, Carroll and McBurnie, all players with much more experience and in some cases higher transfer fees.
It's funny how Nathan Fraser hasn't got the same level of abuse for being in the same position.

Expectations come with price tags. He’s gone backwards since he was first here. Gary bombed him out for a reason

 

[The Wolf In The North]

Another day dawns on the Mix as we continue to have a kick about with the Fabio football dilemma.
At 1200 + postings I would have thought it would have done its rounds, but alas no.

Sorry, I don't have a nugget or two to add to the debate, but do wish if this pointless meandering is to continue that someone corrects the title (or have I missed the point and the word "shoould" should be spelt that way?

P.S. Has Talisca signed yet ?

It becomes even more annoying when someone mischievously suggests you hum the thread title to the tune of "What shall we do with the drunken sailor" and it gets stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

 

[MIKE SLATER]

I would wholeheartedly disagree. Blokes like Taylor, Claridge, Gladon etc were crap signings at the time regardless of the money and everybody knew they were crap at the time.

There is so much revisionism and hindsight when it comes to Silva its unreal. At the time he signed Fabio Silva was one of the most sought after young players in world football, more than Joao Felix, and was being tracked by Juventus, Milan , Real Madrid amongst others. he was seen in Portugal as their next big superstar after Cristiano Ronaldo. It sent shockwaves through Europe when we signed him and it was considered a major coup.

Did we overpay? Probably, although once again there's a heavy dose of hindsight involved. Ask any Spurs fan if knowing what they know now they would have been happy to pay £35m for a 20 year old Harry Kane if they hadn't already got him. You can bet your life they would be.

We took a gamble that if it had come off would have been seen as one of the best bits of business by any club anywhere. For the chance of getting a world class striker it was well worth it. It hasn't happened yet for the lad and might never happen. But nobody who is being truthful can say they 100% knew he was going to fail when he signed. I don't remember anyone saying that they knew he was crap at the time. The objections at the time were that the money could have been better spent elsewhere. To say it's the worst transfer in the history of Wolves or of Football in general? Come on.

For that one I would nominate Joe Gallagher, Dave Thomas or Roger Johnson

I agree with Gallagher and Johnson, both awful signings. I thought Thomas was doing OK until Richie Barker told him to pull his socks up. Literally.

 

[Werewolf of Wombourne]

Expectations come with price tags. He’s gone backwards since he was first here. Gary bombed him out for a reason

I’m not saying he’s been a success but just trying to push back against the idea he’s the worst signing ever. I thought he did well in the COVID season under Nuno for such a young lad. It started going wrong under Lage. Had the pandemic never happened and Nuno stayed maybe we’d all be looking at a different player now

 

[waveney wolf]

Feel sorry for him. His performances for Portugal U21s show that there is something about him. I’m gonna take a contrary view and hope he comes back, the management team put their arms around him and show him he is loved and help him get his mojo back - even get him psychological help if that’s what he needs.

He is too young and there is too much invested in him just to give up.

Just get him off the wages bill ..how many millions has he taken off wolves ? Just get rid... anywhere

 

[ombyman]

You only have to watch Fabio once to say "no, that's not a 35m player."

Big clubs "track" a lot.of youngsters they never pull the trigger on.

I remember very young Ronaldo. You could see the talent very clearly. Anyone who said "this guy is the next Ronaldo" was a liar.

Liar is an interesting, but in my view correct word to use. We were conned and fell for a web of hype. No scout was whispering in the ear of the madrid owners about Fabio, because there just isn't talent there. People may have been noticing him due to youth level goals, but that is different. It makes you think if wolves had even scouted him, or if it was all about Jeff getting hoodwinked by Jorge, or even worse....Jeff being in on it

 

[Rhoswolf]

Up there with Dick-le-Flem for me as the worst signing ever, many candidates for the title but he's a definite favourite.

 

[Scallywolf]

I agree with Gallagher and Johnson, both awful signings. I thought Thomas was doing OK until Richie Barker told him to pull his socks up. Literally.

Robert Taylor has to be right up there as well. Steve Corica comes close.
Further back I remember Derek Jefferson and Mike O’Grady.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Robert Taylor has to be right up there as well. Steve Corica comes close.
Further back I remember Derek Jefferson and Mike O’Grady.

Corica wasn’t brilliant but he still made 100 appearances for us