Jeff Interview

[Summer_Wolf]

Every premier league will say they want signings and no one is saying we don't need to streghthen . However Nuno has the final say and has high standards last summer it was incredibly difficult for us to improve on the players we have with the ffp restrictions. you have to include Jimenez and dendoncker because we made their loans permenant and therefore were signings.
To suggest Jeff doesn't back Nuno or want to strengthen or is quite frankly bizarre. We are never going to throw cash at anything that moves like West Ham do, thankfully.

Nuno hasn't been happy with the recruitment in the last 12 months, that's obvious. No one is saying throw stupid cash around for the sake of it... but at some point to kick on you have to take a calculated gamble. No one is saying anything of the sort, but we've clearly made mistakes in the last 12 months. Look, we're obviously not going to agree. You have your view, I have mine. That, after all, is what a forum is for believe it or not. Different opinions! Shock.

 

[Pagey]

Nuno hasn't been happy with the recruitment in the last 12 months, that's obvious. No one is saying throw stupid cash around for the sake of it... but at some point to kick on you have to take a calculated gamble. No one is saying anything of the sort, but we've clearly made mistakes in the last 12 months. Look, we're obviously not going to agree. You have your view, I have mine. That, after all, is what a forum is for believe it or not. Different opinions! Shock.

Summer Wolf? Proper Ray of sunshine you are.

 

[Yamalritee]

Wonder if fans will still say ‘ fosun are an investment group so they will look to make a profit on selling wolves’ every season.

 

[Leominster_Wolf]

But if Wolves want to actually move up, at some point a risk has to be taken in signing proven talent.

why though? Because conventional wisdom says you have to?
could we not be the new model? I think the famous Hansen quote was ‘you dont win Anything with kids‘ - but they did.
maybe this year or next or in 5 or 10 years time a similar pundit (Jermaine jenas a prime candidate) will be famous for ‘you don’t win anything without spunking hundreds of millions on players)

if we were to sign 3 or 4 upcoming prospects (ala Neto) and maybe 1 or 2 more established players, I’d be esctatic. Of course they won’t all work (jesus & cutrone), but if we get 2 more Neto’s, then surely it’s a success.

one final thought. Most of these ‘proven talents’ not only come with a price tag, but they also have an ego to match. Much of our success is in our team, ive said before they all genuinely seem to get along, like each other and seem like more than just team mates. Even our 2 ‘proven talent signings’ (moutinho & patricio) are a different breed to many. They are consummate professionals, without the slightest bit of ego.

that to me is more important in many ways than signing an undoubtedly talented player, who is also a billy big *******s.

 

[itsmee]

In other words no signings imminent and dilly dallying again like last summer? Hope I'm wrong but sounds a tad familiar

Or, the media ... have got it wrong again

 

[oldgoldheart]

Nuno hasn't been happy with the recruitment in the last 12 months, that's obvious. No one is saying throw stupid cash around for the sake of it... but at some point to kick on you have to take a calculated gamble. No one is saying anything of the sort, but we've clearly made mistakes in the last 12 months. Look, we're obviously not going to agree. You have your view, I have mine. That, after all, is what a forum is for believe it or not. Different opinions! Shock.

I got the sense nuno shared the recruitment responsibility. Cutrone and vallejho must have been signed off by him

 

[oldgoldheart]

I thought it was interesting last night that Bayern’s squad was less expensive than ours. A mixture of loans, home grown and cheapish transfers. The goalkeeper was 27m euros and the most expensive.

 

[Deleted member 4008]

Well if Nuno says he wants to strengthen and they don't in the right areas he won't be hanging around .

Delighted with Wolves but if we are happy to be like Everton and mid table then stick with the team we have . Otherwise you need 2/3 players to come into the 11 nevermind the squad . Those players will probably cost around 100/120 million. It's a decision do you want to try and compete with the big boys or just below .

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

I thought it was interesting last night that Bayern’s squad was less expensive than ours. A mixture of loans, home grown and cheapish transfers. The goalkeeper was 27m euros and the most expensive.

They brought Hernandez for 80 million Euros and he came off the bench. They've done great business but it does help that they absolutely dominate the German domestic market.

 

[WalsallWolf]

Nuno is our biggest asset above all.

Jeff must do everything required to support and subsequently keep him. It will be that man that wins us trophies. I firmly believe we will never have a manager like him. The club would fall to bits if he left and would take years to pull it back. He moulds it from top to bottom. I think some underestimate that.

I am not sure I quite like the "we want to do things steadily, step by step" quotes from Jeff.

Sit that alongside Nuno's post match comments after Sevilla, several comments in the last 15 months about us needing to "go hard" in the transfer market.

Call me cynical, but I fear the ambitions of our manager and our Chairman are not in line..

Worried. Massive few months coming up that could define whether we seriously push on, or become a mid-table PL side.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

Nuno is our biggest asset above all.

Jeff must do everything required to support and subsequently keep him. It will be that man that wins us trophies. I firmly believe we will never have a manager like him. The club would fall to bits if he left and would take years to pull it back. He moulds it from top to bottom. I think some underestimate that.

I am not sure I quite like the "we want to do things steadily, step by step" quotes from Jeff.

Sit that alongside Nuno's post match comments after Sevilla, several comments in the last 15 months about us needing to "go hard" in the transfer market.

Call me cynical, but I fear the ambitions of our manager and our Chairman are not in line..

Worried. Massive few months coming up that could define whether we seriously push on, or become a mid-table PL side.

What a load of nonsense. Totally spurious and unsubstantiated

 

[Pagey]

Nuno is our biggest asset above all.

Jeff must do everything required to support and subsequently keep him. It will be that man that wins us trophies. I firmly believe we will never have a manager like him. The club would fall to bits if he left and would take years to pull it back. He moulds it from top to bottom. I think some underestimate that.

I am not sure I quite like the "we want to do things steadily, step by step" quotes from Jeff.

Sit that alongside Nuno's post match comments after Sevilla, several comments in the last 15 months about us needing to "go hard" in the transfer market.

Call me cynical, but I fear the ambitions of our manager and our Chairman are not in line..

Worried. Massive few months coming up that could define whether we seriously push on, or become a mid-table PL side.

Is a manager ever happy with his squad? Every one I've listened to has said similar, always wanting more. I can't recall a manager ever coming out and saying our window was better than I expected, we worked hard and signed more than I need.

 

[Mrs E]

Well I can’t wait for the second part if his interview...

 

[WalsallWolf]

What a load of nonsense. Totally spurious and unsubstantiated

Its an assumption yes, but a pretty reasonable one if you digest Nuno's quotes and JS over the last 12 months.

 

[WalsallWolf]

Is a manager ever happy with his squad? Every one I've listened to has said similar, always wanting more. I can't recall a manager ever coming out and saying our window was better than I expected, we worked hard and signed more than I need.

I get that, but Nuno has said on at least three separate occasions in the last 12 months now the club needs to "go strong" or words to that effect in the transfer market. For him to say that again last week, he clearly thinks we arent. He wants us to up the ante.

Nuno is an ambitious man, he only has 12 months left on his contract. Look at things in a balanced way with Wolves specs off, will he stay beyond that if we continue to (and I quote Jeff) "do things steadily, step by step".. I am not sure.

 

[Pagey]

I get that, but Nuno has said on at least three separate occasions in the last 12 months now the club needs to "go strong" or words to that effect in the transfer market. For him to say that again last week, he clearly thinks we arent. He wants us to up the ante.

Nuno is an ambitious man, he only has 12 months left on his contract. Look at things in a balanced way with Wolves specs off, will he stay beyond that if we continue to (and I quote Jeff) "do things steadily, step by step".. I am not sure.

But nothings changed since Nuno arrived, he got us promoted ahead of schedule, European competition ahead of schedule, which was a fantastic achievement.

However he knew when he came what the limitations were, he knew what our goals were and Fosun have given him the tools to achieve them. He brought into the project, and sold it to the players, I can't see how that has altered.

 

[Mrs E]

I get that, but Nuno has said on at least three separate occasions in the last 12 months now the club needs to "go strong" or words to that effect in the transfer market. For him to say that again last week, he clearly thinks we arent. He wants us to up the ante.

Nuno is an ambitious man, he only has 12 months left on his contract. Look at things in a balanced way with Wolves specs off, will he stay beyond that if we continue to (and I quote Jeff) "do things steadily, step by step".. I am not sure.

Nuno left champions league to come to the championship he wouldn’t do that if he didn’t think Jeff and fosun matched his ambition. Nothing to suggest nuno isn’t happy or that Jeff isn’t backing him. Nuno was incredibly upbeat in his post Sevilla interview yes he mentioned signings but which manager wouldn’t?

 

[CelebrityWolf]

As you're in the Nuno camp presumably you must be aware that he prefers to work with a small squad. He's said this on a number of occasions. Maybe the 'mistakes' he is referring to were Cutrone and Vallejo. Sounds logical to me.

Nuno does like a small squad. We don't have a small squad, we have a tiny squad.

 

[WalsallWolf]

But nothings changed since Nuno arrived, he got us promoted ahead of schedule, European competition ahead of schedule, which was a fantastic achievement.

However he knew when he came what the limitations were, he knew what our goals were and Fosun have given him the tools to achieve them. He brought into the project, and sold it to the players, I can't see how that has altered.

One thing that has changed is Nuno's stock will have risen enormously

Listen, I hope I am talking utter drivel as one poster above very eloquently suggested.

I am just trying to look at things with a balanced view based on literal quotes and the 12 months expiry date on contract

 

[Mrs E]

Nuno does like a small squad. We don't have a small squad, we have a tiny squad.

No we have 25 like every other team there are players nuno doesn’t pick

 

[WalsallWolf]

Nuno left champions league to come to the championship he wouldn’t do that if he didn’t think Jeff and fosun matched his ambition. Nothing to suggest nuno isn’t happy or that Jeff isn’t backing him. Nuno was incredibly upbeat in his post Sevilla interview yes he mentioned signings but which manager wouldn’t?

He didn't actually "leave" though, did he? Directly?

His contacted expired. From what I can see that has been the case in all his jobs. Very respectfully he sees his contracts through and then moves onto the next project.

I sincerely hope that isn't the case next June, I am just flagging up my concerns as I have above.

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

Nuno didn't pick Podence for weeks. If he was that upset with the depth he'd have been straight in, surely?

 

[The Runner]

Nuno does like a small squad. We don't have a small squad, we have a tiny squad.

We have a small squad. Nuno likes the small squad plus the u23s as backup. Unfortunately, when you get a serious injury and then a silly yellow card, it's going to look stretched.

 

[Pagey]

One thing that has changed is Nuno's stock will have risen enormously

Listen, I hope I am talking utter drivel as one poster above very eloquently suggested.

I am just trying to look at things with a balanced view based on literal quotes and the 12 months expiry date on contract

Tbh I've been thinking about the contract for a while. Not many foreign coaches stay in the same job long term. Especially in England, only Wenger I can think off. I can't think of anyone else who has done more than 2 or 3 years, then the family situation with the pandemic might cause him to re think. Not trying to say he's going as its purely speculation on my part, but as much as I love what he's achieved so far at Wolves, I could understand him not signing a new one.

 

[Mrs E]

He didn't actually "leave" though, did he? Directly?

His contacted expired. From what I can see that has been the case in all his jobs. Very respectfully he sees his contracts through and then moves onto the next project.

I sincerely hope that isn't the case next June, I am just flagging up my concerns as I have above.

However he left it was a step down for him, imagine been replaced with phil Neville!!
I agree with the rest however he still has a year if he hasn’t signed by January I might worry.

 

[Mrs E]

Tbh I've been thinking about the contract for a while. Not many foreign coaches stay in the same job long term. Especially in England, only Wenger I can think off. I can't think of anyone else who has done more than 2 or 3 years, then the family situation with the pandemic might cause him to re think. Not trying to say he's going as its purely speculation on my part, but as much as I love what he's achieved so far at Wolves, I could understand him not signing a new one.

True he hates football without fans add that to being away from family as well - wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t sign

 

[Pagey]

True he hates football without fans add that to being away from family as well - wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t sign

I can see his resignation coming, next time a reporter asks him about our wingers tbh. We know how much he hates the press.

 

[CelebrityWolf]

We have a small squad. Nuno likes the small squad plus the u23s as backup. Unfortunately, when you get a serious injury and then a silly yellow card, it's going to look stretched.

Nuno wants more options, he has mentioned this several times the last year or more. It isn't even a debate.

 

[The Runner]

Nuno wants more options, he has mentioned this several times the last year or more. It isn't even a debate.

Links?

 

[CelebrityWolf]

Links?

Oh behave yourself. You been living under a rock?

 

[The Runner]

Oh behave yourself. You been living under a rock?

Links?

 

[Mrs E]

Oh behave yourself. You been living under a rock?

Can you find a manager that doesn’t want signings?

 

[Pagey]

If you Google "Nuno small squad", all I can find is Nuno explaining why he likes to work with a small squad, latest was a sky interview in July.

 

[Stoichkov]

I am just trying to look at things with a balanced view based on literal quotes and the 12 months expiry date on contract

I do not consider your view 'balanced' - far from it. You say it yourself - you're 'worried'. So youll always suspect the worst

this is the best few years of being a wolves fan I ever known. Try not to worry

 

[lycophilos]

It was very poor, for whatever reason. Yes, we completed the permanant deals of the players you mentioned. He said during the whole of the China tour about wanting players and going hard in the market, safe to say we didn't. Again in January, he said the same thing, we added 1 player. I never said we haven't delivered for 3 windows, don't put words in my mouth. I said he'd asked for more players for the last 3 - last summer, January and post Sevilla. The reality is we had the chance to kick on last summer and didn't, and Nuno alluded to mistakes happening and having the same squad as last year - so he clearly agrees the recruitment has been poor. It's not 'very wrong' at all. If you think last summer was a good window and January as well, then good for you. I happen to think it wasn't. We disagree hey ho

" Nuno has said for three windows now we need players and we haven't delivered. "
That's what you wrote.

 

[lycophilos]

I'm not arguing with any of that. But we tried to be 'smart' last summer, ended up waiting too long and ended up panicking at the end of the window. Can't make the same mistakes this time, as Nuno has alluded to.

Where has Nuno said that Wolves made so many mistakes, as you seem to think, over the last few windows? And let's get rid of this idea that Nuno is dissatisfied with the backing he has received from the club. On the contrary, he has always said that he has received full backing.
I get the impression very strongly, that Nuno has the final say in such matters as transfers, size of squad, and so on. Of course his views may change as situations change. But it has been repeated over and over again, that he much prefers working with a small squad. For a start it is easier to develop the intense team spirit - pack mentality - which so characterizes the present Wolves squad, with a small squad of players of good character, than it is with a larger squad composed of players collected together without much regard to their personalities.
It amazes me that some fans cannot seem to see what remarkable progress Wolves have made in the last three seasons. The promotion year goes without saying. Wolves first season back in the EPL, 7th position - how many promoted clubs have done better in their first season? Last season, 7th. again with a higher points total, despite a more exhausting schedule than almost any other club in the EPL, and into the quarter finals of the Europa Cup. So none of the dreaded 2nd season syndrome! And no key players lost to larger and richer clubs.
Of course there is a drawback in having a small squad - in perhaps over-playing particular players. I am sure Nuno realizes this, and is trying to find the correct balance between having a small tightly-knit squad, and a larger, looser one. One thing I expect however is that, with Nuno's full approval, the club will not be going for "marquee" or "statement" signings merely to show how Billy Big-B*ll**ks Wolves are. This will disappoint those in this forum who are continually asking for Wolves to make precisely that sort of signing, but I believe that Nuno's way of doing things is more honest and healthy for the club in the long run.
(That said, if Wolves were to sign, say, Messi, with Nuno's approval, I would be excited as any Wolves fan. But I don't expect that sort of signing, because I suspect it would be detrimental to team spirit. I wonder how many Barcelona players were a bit disgruntled when Griezmann appeared, earning way much more money than any other Barca player apart from Messi.)

 

[lycophilos]

Tbh I've been thinking about the contract for a while. Not many foreign coaches stay in the same job long term. Especially in England, only Wenger I can think off. I can't think of anyone else who has done more than 2 or 3 years, then the family situation with the pandemic might cause him to re think. Not trying to say he's going as its purely speculation on my part, but as much as I love what he's achieved so far at Wolves, I could understand him not signing a new one.

That is a worry. Nuno seems to me to be a person with a healthy, balanced personality, unlike, for example, Wenger, whose obsession with football caused the breakdown of his marriage. How Nuno copes with his separation from his family, may be the greatest factor in whether or not he signs another contract.

 

[Deleted member 5276]

It's nothing to do with impatience. We have a golden opportunity to kick on, I hope we don't waste it. Starting with Nuno signing that contract. Believe me, I have enjoyed the journey.

With respect, we have kind of been here before with Barnwell and Barker. We all know it didn't work out as we hoped it would but times are different now and top players earn crazy amounts of money. We have to respect we are owned by some very prudent business people and while they have stated they want to be one of the world's leading clubs that doesn't mean it has to happen right away under the current circumstances.

A "golden opportunity" is relative because it usually means spending ridiculous amounts of money on so called "proven" players but as we've seen there is no guarantee. For me, having lived through all our travesties, I get more enjoyment watching a kid like Neto turn Spurs defence into jelly than I do watching the superstars at the so called top six clubs. I'd far rather play the patience game with these players than pay stupid money for so called superstars. Heck, just today I heard that Brentford wanted 25m quid for a striker who is Championship standard.

So, while I understand your point of view, I just find it an impatient one. You seem to think that the deveopment of our club is all about what we do between now and October. I can't agree with that. And, more pertinently, it seems our owners have visions far greater than that.

 

[1972 i began]

Nuno does like a small squad,we all know that,but he did say the other wik that we needed help when we played Seville.This pandemic cost us more than people are making out.The players were literally knackered.Let's hope this little break recharges their batteries.We don't know who is gonna be Nuno's first 11 yet.Perhaps Podence and Neto will get more games next season,or should I say in 3 wiks time.Bloody ell.They should all be on the same level now and train hard to get the shirt,and then it's up to them to keep it.A couple of additions wouldn't go amiss that's for sure.

 

[Glow69]

Some folk should start writing a fictional novel on here the amount of scenarios they come up with. ****ing hell.