5Live Monday Night Club

[Ned Stark]

Matt Hobbs on now, you can watch on iplayer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/66509779

 

[Himleywolf]

Came across really well as did Wolves as a club, explained the way we want to go forward, well said Matt

 

[surreywolf]

we had to be £85m (!!!!) plus on transfers, from MH - wow

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

we had to be £85m (!!!!) plus on transfers, from MH - wow

Haven't listened yet, but any answers to some obvious questions

1. When did they work this out?
2. Did they think to mention it when selling the even more expensive season tickets?
3. Is this to stay within £35m annual loses or less?
4. Since we ended up about there, does this mean Nunes was always going?

 

[surreywolf]

been at wolves since 2015. Didn't realise Kilman was his first signing, and he threatened to buy him out of his own money because wolves initially thought he might be slightly too old for what they wanted at 21!

 

[surreywolf]

Haven't listened yet, but any answers to some obvious questions
Did they think to mention it when selling the even more expensive season tickets?

ha ha yes he answered this in detail on national radio

 

[surreywolf]

very interesting - says he is deliberately open and straight with fans, so nothing hidden and can control the narrative

got to say, i think he comes across exceptionally well. R5 pundits seem impressed

 

[surreywolf]

MH: "i don't know if you saw the game on saturday but they (the fans) were incredible..... matheus might disagree.... but they were incredible. they can be a real 12th man for us.... i might be wrong and get egg on my face, but the only way we get them in that headspace is to bring them in on the journey so they are part of it"

journo afterwards saying fans will buy into anything so long as you have decent plan and are honest with them. Called it a 'startingly refreshing interview' just because MH was honest. Chris sutton agrees and says yes need wins but fans will be more patient and understanding if they get sense the club has a plan and they can be part of it

blimey saturday was huge for us!!!! we're going to lose plenty but just need to win a few, get a GOALSCORER in in Jan, and then we can do this

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

What did he say about the future in terms of spending? Thanks.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

ha ha yes he answered this in detail on national radio

OK, that might have been a tad sarcastic. It's all very well saying he's open and honest, so why did say we were buying £15m players when he surely already knew we needed that £85m profit, I mean 'we'll but a couple of £15m players once we've shifted £180m worth out' would have been a bit more honest (assuming this is profit after Cunha and Traore were paid for?)

 

[Ches78]

He does come across well and obviously is a big fan of GON (as he was of Kilman). Just hope he's right about him and that i was too quick to judge...

 

[berwickwolf]

Excellent interview, but one question: what is his vision? I think he referred to it, but didn't define it. That aside, an honest, open interview, very good.
Helped we won though!

 

[jrpb-3]

What did he say about the future in terms of spending? Thanks.

he didn't really, but then he wasn't really asked that

 

[surreywolf]

OK, that might have been a tad sarcastic. It's all very well saying he's open and honest, so why did say we were buying £15m players when he surely already knew we needed that £85m profit, I mean 'we'll but a couple of £15m players once we've shifted £180m worth out' would have been a bit more honest (assuming this is profit after Cunha and Traore were paid for?)

no idea mate

as is always the case with these people, they put a nice gloss on it and we can always pick holes

but strikes me he's calm, straight and well spoken. Considering the madness that has gone on, i'm glad we've got him

 

[Ned Stark]

Interesting to compare and contrast Molineux Mix with real life:

1. A bunch of knowledgable and reasonable football blokes just had an informed and intelligent discussion about Wolves in which nobody had a bad word to say about our manager and in which Mark Chapman for one was very complimentary about some of the football we've played this season. Our director of football gave a very measured and credible account of where we are heading as a club which was taken seriously by all concerned and everyone seemed interested and engaged.

2. But in actual fact we know Wolves are run by asset-stripping liars who are under the thumb of the Chinese government and are engaged in a cynical endgame to maximise profit from a project they no longer care about and have employed a yes-man PE teacher as manager because he was the cheapest option who, was it not for a lucky result against Citeh, has until the Villa game to save his job. We are currently on course for relegation, most likely double-relegation and probably bankruptcy as a result.

 

[Skrilla]

Interesting to compare and contrast Molineux Mix with real life:

1. A bunch of knowledgable and reasonable football blokes just had an informed and intelligent discussion about Wolves in which nobody had a bad word to say about our manager and in which Mark Chapman for one was very complimentary about some of the football we've played this season. Our director of football gave a very measured and credible account of where we are heading as a club which was taken seriously by all concerned and everyone seemed interested and engaged.

2. But in actual fact we know Wolves are run by asset-stripping liars who are under the thumb of the Chinese government and are engaged in a cynical endgame to maximise profit from a project they no longer care about and have employed a yes-man PE teacher as manager because he was the cheapest option who, was it not for a lucky result against Citeh, has until the Villa game to save his job. We are currently on course for relegation, most likely double-relegation and probably bankruptcy as a result.

Let's be honest, the tone of the conversation is very different if we hadn't just beat Man City. That's coming from someone who does believe GON deserves a fair chance, i.e. a few months, and not just a month and no preseason, so I'm not against him (and wasn't before the game), but context is important.

At the same time, they probably don't invite Hobbs on if we hadn't just beat Man City!

 

[surreywolf]

Let's be honest, the tone of the conversation is very different if we hadn't just beat Man City.

agreed...... but odd comment, we did beat Man City so anything else is immaterial

 

[Rowzed]

Matt Hobbs on now, you can watch on iplayer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/66509779

That’s a really good interview and went down v well with the pundits

 

[Rhoswolf]

no idea mate

as is always the case with these people, they put a nice gloss on it and we can always pick holes

but strikes me he's calm, straight and well spoken. Considering the madness that has gone on, i'm glad we've got him

Total contradictions in what he said about project being back on track, then buying £15m players to needing £85m profit, not definition of straight.

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

Interesting to compare and contrast Molineux Mix with real life:

1. A bunch of knowledgable and reasonable football blokes just had an informed and intelligent discussion about Wolves in which nobody had a bad word to say about our manager and in which Mark Chapman for one was very complimentary about some of the football we've played this season. Our director of football gave a very measured and credible account of where we are heading as a club which was taken seriously by all concerned and everyone seemed interested and engaged.

2. But in actual fact we know Wolves are run by asset-stripping liars who are under the thumb of the Chinese government and are engaged in a cynical endgame to maximise profit from a project they no longer care about and have employed a yes-man PE teacher as manager because he was the cheapest option who, was it not for a lucky result against Citeh, has until the Villa game to save his job. We are currently on course for relegation, most likely double-relegation and probably bankruptcy as a result.

I know it's half tongue in cheek, but you don't force a sporting director to make an £85m profit if you care about success.

Also, the O'Neil praise is reminding me of the 'apology to Gary O'Neil' thread after the first game. In fairness, the critics, including myself, should acknowledge how well he did on Saturday, but all the concerns don't go out the window.

 

[DanishWolf]

Interesting to compare and contrast Molineux Mix with real life:

1. A bunch of knowledgable and reasonable football blokes just had an informed and intelligent discussion about Wolves in which nobody had a bad word to say about our manager and in which Mark Chapman for one was very complimentary about some of the football we've played this season. Our director of football gave a very measured and credible account of where we are heading as a club which was taken seriously by all concerned and everyone seemed interested and engaged.

2. But in actual fact we know Wolves are run by asset-stripping liars who are under the thumb of the Chinese government and are engaged in a cynical endgame to maximise profit from a project they no longer care about and have employed a yes-man PE teacher as manager because he was the cheapest option who, was it not for a lucky result against Citeh, has until the Villa game to save his job. We are currently on course for relegation, most likely double-relegation and probably bankruptcy as a result.

I like and rate the guys on the Monday night club. But I struggle to see how their view of Wolves is closer to the truth than fans here, quite a lot of which I suspect watch Wolves more regularly than those guys.

Doesn't mean I myself hold any of the extreme views represented in the second point (asset stripping, etc).

But I don't think it's unreasonable to ask questions about the way the club is run, why we suddenly had to turn in such a hefty profit. Doesn't mean they're asset stripping or have lost interest. But things have changed and even the most naive optimist can see that.
Going from a guy with Lopeteguis CV to GON is bound to lead to questions too.
Now it could be the case, that in all of the world, GON simply was the best possible option and finances had no say in it all. But in a summer of such hefty need for a profit, surely finances had some say in who we could employ.

Obviously doesn't mean he's a poor manager. Could turn out he's quite the bargain.

So to summarise, while I certainly don't share the most extreme views here, I'd say quite a lot of the many balanced comments here are closer to the truth than the opinion of the people on the Monday night club.

As for the project Hobbs is so excited about, I'm glad there's optimism at the club. I'm still to get a good explanation of what the project actually is, except for something fluffy like "Young and hungry ". But so be it.

 

[surreywolf]

you don't force a sporting director to make an £85m profit if you care about success.

you do if you've got no other choice, have been unable to attract any other serious investment and want to ensure the club remains sustainable

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

I know it's half tongue in cheek, but you don't force a sporting director to make an £85m profit if you care about success.

Also, the O'Neil praise is reminding me of the 'apology to Gary O'Neil' thread after the first game. In fairness, the critics, including myself, should acknowledge how well he did on Saturday, but all the concerns don't go out the window.

85m profit? That’s Billy bull shine we are on €75m according to transfermarkt

So where has the other 10m come from? Someone exaggerated the interview?

We was told by the media 50m transfer profit.

 

[SuperGran]

Hobbs is a good un we should try our best to hang on to him.

 

[Kebab Warrior]

Interesting to compare and contrast Molineux Mix with real life:

1. A bunch of knowledgable and reasonable football blokes just had an informed and intelligent discussion about Wolves in which nobody had a bad word to say about our manager and in which Mark Chapman for one was very complimentary about some of the football we've played this season. Our director of football gave a very measured and credible account of where we are heading as a club which was taken seriously by all concerned and everyone seemed interested and engaged.

2. But in actual fact we know Wolves are run by asset-stripping liars who are under the thumb of the Chinese government and are engaged in a cynical endgame to maximise profit from a project they no longer care about and have employed a yes-man PE teacher as manager because he was the cheapest option who, was it not for a lucky result against Citeh, has until the Villa game to save his job. We are currently on course for relegation, most likely double-relegation and probably bankruptcy as a result.

IT’S NUMBER TWO! Wake up sheeple!

 

[Kebab Warrior]

85m profit? That’s Billy bull shine we are on €75m according to transfermarkt

So where has the other 10m come from? Someone exaggerated the interview?

We was told by the media 50m transfer profit.

View attachment 37646

When we sell Neto and Gomes in the Jan window?

*note - I’m joking (I hope)

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

85m profit? That’s Billy bull shine we are on €75m according to transfermarkt

So where has the other 10m come from? Someone exaggerated the interview?

We was told by the media 50m transfer profit.

View attachment 37646

Hobbs said himself it was £85m

 

[sedgwolf1980]

Bunch of journos who know **** all about Wolves brown nose their guest, meanwhile the views of fans who watch week in week out are irrelevant. Strange take.

 

[Contrarian]

Interesting to compare and contrast Molineux Mix with real life:

1. A bunch of knowledgable and reasonable football blokes just had an informed and intelligent discussion about Wolves in which nobody had a bad word to say about our manager and in which Mark Chapman for one was very complimentary about some of the football we've played this season. Our director of football gave a very measured and credible account of where we are heading as a club which was taken seriously by all concerned and everyone seemed interested and engaged.

2. But in actual fact we know Wolves are run by asset-stripping liars who are under the thumb of the Chinese government and are engaged in a cynical endgame to maximise profit from a project they no longer care about and have employed a yes-man PE teacher as manager because he was the cheapest option who, was it not for a lucky result against Citeh, has until the Villa game to save his job. We are currently on course for relegation, most likely double-relegation and probably bankruptcy as a result.

One to cut out and keep for when we are back in the relegation zone in a month or two! And back out of it a month or two after that. Then "I told you so" when we start next season badly ... and so it goes for ever, it never ends!

Change the names and much the same could have been said about Leicester just over a year ago. Or Leicester the season before they won the league having nearly gone down. Nobody can see into the future, basically.

I think the real answer is that the truth is between those two straw man extremes you draw.

 

[wwbug]

Interesting to compare and contrast Molineux Mix with real life:

1. A bunch of knowledgable and reasonable football blokes just had an informed and intelligent discussion about Wolves in which nobody had a bad word to say about our manager and in which Mark Chapman for one was very complimentary about some of the football we've played this season. Our director of football gave a very measured and credible account of where we are heading as a club which was taken seriously by all concerned and everyone seemed interested and engaged.

2. But in actual fact we know Wolves are run by asset-stripping liars who are under the thumb of the Chinese government and are engaged in a cynical endgame to maximise profit from a project they no longer care about and have employed a yes-man PE teacher as manager because he was the cheapest option who, was it not for a lucky result against Citeh, has until the Villa game to save his job. We are currently on course for relegation, most likely double-relegation and probably bankruptcy as a result.

There are facts and there is talk.
I am going to listen to the talk later on BBC Sounds.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

Bunch of journos who know **** all about Wolves brown nose their guest, meanwhile the views of fans who watch week in week out are irrelevant. Strange take.

Yes, I actually quite like Hobbs, he's done a good job from what I can see. But do me a favour - 'tonight we're going to rip Matt Hobbs apart, and next week our special guest is - oh hang on'.......

 

[WeAreTheWolvesII]

Have listened to it now, it is a good interview, and he does come across well.

The two concerns are:

1. Michael Beale.

Hobbs was very, very confident with O'Neil and it was good to hear, and I think he twice used the word 'special' when discussing him.
Yet I have no doubt he would have said the exact same about Beale last year, and he has turned out to be a disaster.

2. The honesty

I think he was laying that on a bit thick to be honest. We were not told at all what was happening this summer. He released a statement on the 15th June that he was 'never in doubt Lopetegui would stay'.
In fact, from what we grasp, it was the complete lack of honesty that forced a managerial change.
We also had Jeff Shi sending a letter to supporters calling for togetherness and stating 'with the players and all support staff, they are working hard again to prepare for the upcoming campaign' despite knowing they were searching for a replacement because Lopetegui had left.
There were also major disputes from fans about the reality of FFP. So, to claim Wolves were honest with the fans this summer is actually hilarious.

It does sound like Hobbs has complete control of the club though. It seems like we've gone all in on him, so we need him to be good.

Agree on the whole he came across well though. Now we have to hope he's right.

 

[Mel Eves on a bike]

Came across well but I think he’s done a good job of making it sound like they have this new considered approach which is much better than we had say in the summer. Seems clear to me they had to tailor this to fit the situation as opposed to it being a plan in the first place.

If it goes pear shaped will we do a u turn and employ an experienced manager or stick with looking for another up and coming one?

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Hobbs said himself it was £85m

We sold total of €169.20m

Transfer Profit €75.20m

Hobbs can say what he wants the figures add up

Wolverhampton Wanderers - Transfers 23/24

Transfers: Overview of all signed and sold players of club Wolves for the current season.

www.transfermarkt.co.uk

 

[SakosRightFoot]

We sold total of €169.20m

Transfer Profit €75.20m

Hobbs can say what he wants the figures add up

Wolverhampton Wanderers - Transfers 23/24

Transfers: Overview of all signed and sold players of club Wolves for the current season.

www.transfermarkt.co.uk

They're mostly estimates on that site, clubs don't disclose the actual figures. If Hobbs says its £85million profit you've kind of got to believe him rather than a random website

 

[SuperGran]

Interview with Hobbs on Mikey burrows podcast tomorrow

 

[WR4Wolf]

Thought his transparency comments were a joke. We've had no clarity from the leadership for many years since Fosun came in. I'm sure he told us to be patient and we would do business late in the window then tonight admits we weren't really looking to do anything until Nunes left which then allowed us to do a few bits.

Not sure when he agreed to come on the programme but he couldn't have timed it better. If he was on last last Wednesday morning I don't think he would have been waxing so lyrically about GON.

Saturday was a great win but we need to see this develop over the next few games as performances so far have been inconsistent. For Utd away there was Luton & for Liverpool 1st half there was Palace 2nd half. He put a very positive spin on things and and the panel seemed to lap it up, but I wasn't so convinced.

 

[SingYourHeartsOut]

Came across well but I think he’s done a good job of making it sound like they have this new considered approach which is much better than we had say in the summer. Seems clear to me they had to tailor this to fit the situation as opposed to it being a plan in the first place.

If it goes pear shaped will we do a u turn and employ an experienced manager or stick with looking for another up and coming one?

Absolutely this. He was really good, sounded great, a clear plan, a chance to re-set and go for a different strategy. But let's be honest, it's all a bit convenient that we decided the best strategy was to employ a young hungry coach we didn't need to pander to and young and hungry players just when the money ran out.

Doesn't mean the strategy won't work. Just have to remember than young and hungry turns into cheap and inexperienced once you lose a few.

At least he said O'Neil has great faith in the squad, so hopefully that is true and we can stop with the £80m light of a team that got 41pts bull****.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

Haven't listened yet, but any answers to some obvious questions

1. When did they work this out?
2. Did they think to mention it when selling the even more expensive season tickets?
3. Is this to stay within £35m annual loses or less?
4. Since we ended up about there, does this mean Nunes was always going?

None of those questions were asked, and Hobbs didn’t provide any obvious answers to them in passing.

The £85m profit was a direct unprompted Hobbs quote. If you listen carefully, he didn’t actually say whether they needed to make an 85m profit or not, rather it was him saying that was the outcome. The obvious follow up question should have been why did they make such a large profit, and did it have to be so large? But it wasn’t asked. Nor was it asked if that was always the target or did it change over the course of the summer.

But it’s a good interview and well worth listening to while it’s up. Key observations for me…

JL told him he wanted to leave at the Celtic game, but said he would stay as long as it took for the club to find his replacement, even if that extended into the start of the season. It all sounded quite amicable between him and JL.

They interviewed four candidates, none in jobs because that wasn’t practical so close to the start of the season, and GON was the strongly preferred candidate. Hobbs said people can interview well, but that’s not sufficient, and what impressed with Gary was his attention to detail, trust in the squad (as was then) and how well he performed with a lesser squad at Bournemouth.

They want to change the culture from that under Nuno, so it’s important to have mostly younger players, and a young hungry manager. They have sought to become less reliant on Mendes and more self sufficient, but they still see him as an important agent with good players. Said lots of clubs have agent partnerships/ alliances.

Very different expectations with GON compared to from JL. Was asked what the club’s expectations were, and he didn’t really provide a clear answer - just said the results will follow if he, Gary, etc do their jobs well. He said he thinks Gary is “something special”, but he acknowledged he’s still early in his coaching career. Said Gary works ridiculously hard and long hours, and likely won’t be able to survive in management into his 70’s!

Been at the club since 2015. Kilman was his first signing. He was so convinced by him, he told the club he’d buy him with his own money if needed.

Said he tries to be open and honest, and believes that helps build trust and support with the fans, even if sometimes he says things people don’t like. He laid this on a bit in my view, possibly because the narrative has changed since January, and this hasn’t been explained. In saying that, he does come across well, and to the extent he can, I think he talks sense and appears open and honest.

 

[sc91]

Excellent interview, but one question: what is his vision? I think he referred to it, but didn't define it. That aside, an honest, open interview, very good.
Helped we won though!

I've heard his vision is to have you suitably tanked up for every home game starting Saturday.