Lopetegui

[old wittonian]

Porch or Tuchel would cost plenty but peanuts compared with the cost of relegation. We should approach them.

 

[RosehillWolf]

What did the Romans ever do for us!

Irrigation

 

[those were the days]

Julen: So what's the budget for January to fix this mess?
Jeff: We spent it all in the summer
Julen: Thanks for coming

Julen: Is Neves renewing in Jan?
…nervous shuffling of paper…
Julen: Neves will be here beyond Jan?
…long pause…
Julen: but I have leaders in the squad right?
…incomprehensible mumble…
Julen: talk me through squad cover anyway
Jeff: Scott over to you

 

[The Wolf Of Newbridge]

Blimey, really thought JL was a cert to be the new gaffer, genuinely shocked and gutted as I think the players would have responded positively to him.
Pretty troubling to hear we haven't even considered anyone else, seeing as supposedly Lage was a dead man walking for months now.
Only Wolves eh

 

[Ercall Wolves]

I don't see it that way. They told us we wanted Lopetegui, that we were holding out fir him, that Shi had flown to Spain to try and persuade him. All true.

Other people did say it was a definite done deal no denying that…. they were wrong and did not know

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

What did the Romans ever do for us!

Blinds, candles, noses.

 

[MasWolf]

Think it was reported we didnt bother interviewing anyone else and just threw everything at Lopetegui

A classic Wolves move.

 

[Wellington Wolf]

It's called insider trading. Something that our chancellor knows all about.

I don't think he knows he **** from his elbow!

 

[Ned]

Nuno's under contract in Saudi. Why would he com back for six months?

I don’t know. If he keeps us up or turns us round then there’s a conversation to be had. I’m thinking out loud.

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

Not hugely surprised. Disappointed of course, but understand why he’d turn us down given our current predicament, let alone the health of his father. He was my first choice though since we knew Lage was going, which is a shame.

My main worry is the huge importance of the next three fixtures against league position rivals, and realistically we now won’t have a manager for at least 2/3, and likely will have only made the announcement at best by the time we play the 3rd, giving them no time for training.

Appointing Martins now, which I anticipate we will, will feel hugely anticlimactic.

 

[SuperGran]

I don't see it that way. They told us we wanted Lopetegui, that we were holding out fir him, that Shi had flown to Spain to try and persuade him. All true.

Yeah that’s fine we could all see that on Twitter but some said it was a done deal and had been for weeks

 

[MasWolf]

I really hope Jeff shows some ambition. I'd be going all out for a top manager. There's no point when you have such a talented group of players we've just heavily invested in.

 

[Macman]

Id rather Pedro Pony than Pedro Martins.

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

Because it’s flamin obvious that he fired Lage when he knew Lopetegui was about to be sacked and available. He lined it up to finally get his man, and he’s been let down again. As with the Spain offer, Lopetegui again has the perfect reason for saying no, but Shi has been made to look a fool, and so have Wolves. Lopetegui’s father was ill before all this started, it’s not news, and so either Lopetegui or Mendes has taken Jeff for a ride. Just by remarkable coincidence, Martins job at Hull fell through at the 11th hour. I wonder why? He’s going to be announced as our new coach before the end of the week, and we’re supposed to celebrate? Shi and Mendes can go to hell.

Lopetegui's father was Ill before. I don't know if it was common knowledge though. I never knew until the other day. It's perfectly reasonable to think Lopetegui never told Mendes - it has nothing to do with him after all.

 

[Jefe]

Why OTT? What’s not true? I’m serious Shi and Wolves have been made to look like fools. If I were another serious manager I wonder go anywhere near the club. It will be Martins or another Mendes backup and we will be expected to celebrate. Guo should fire Shi now. He’s about to devalue his PL asset by more than 50% when we get relegated.

As I said on the Shi thread, (even though there are extenuating circumstances here) it feels like this moment has been a long time in coming. We are at a desperate crossroads, and it is ultimately because Shi is not a proactive chairman; he still does not have adequate knowledge of the sport (or appointed a DoF who does).

Here, it seems he has thrown all his eggs into the Lopetegui basket without interviewing anyone else concurrently, and has been embarrassingly rejected. Whoever comes in now, will very publicly be known as sloppy seconds - the fans will know it, the manager himself will know it and so crucially will the players.

Martins' highest profile job has been for a club that have won their league 21 times in 25 years, and that we ourselves defeated over two legs. This guy is the biggest fish in the smallest pond. Svensson? The guy is a relative unknown quantity who has Mainz in lower mid-table, I'm not sure I understand our sudden romanticisation of the man. Dyche? Come on, that would not work with the group we have. Nuno? No, I couldn't bear the thought of him taking us down.

 

[Darvo]

For about the 500th time, we haven't had a manager since Mick. Ever since they have been called Head Coach for a reason.....

Yes, for the second time, I fully understand that.

What I don’t understand is the model.

I can repeat that for a third time if you need.

 

[WickedWolfie]

Lopetegui's father was Ill before. I don't know if it was common knowledge though. I never knew until the other day. It's perfectly reasonable to think Lopetegui never told Mendes - it has nothing to do with him after all.

Mendes knows pretty much everything about his clients. Lopetegui isn't but his agent and Mendes are extremely close....

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

Maybe his father's health, playing on his mind has something to do with the poor performance this season of Sevilla.
In hindsight it could be a good thing for us to pick someone else.

 

[WickedWolfie]

Yes, for the second time, I fully understand that.

What I don’t understand is the model.

I can repeat that for a third time if you need.

It's a model that works for most big clubs.

 

[SuperGran]

Lopetegui's father was Ill before. I don't know if it was common knowledge though. I never knew until the other day. It's perfectly reasonable to think Lopetegui never told Mendes - it has nothing to do with him after all.

It’s also reasonable to think that he’s taken a turn for the worse which would have bearing on his decision too

 

[JOSWolf]

He needs to go now. Once again he put all his eggs in the Mendes basket and guess what, it’s got a ruddy great hole in the bottom of it. If I were Guo I’d tell him not to bother flying back to the U.K.

So would I. Sellars and Shi out and lets get some top quality people in.

 

[JOSWolf]

Think it was reported we didnt bother interviewing anyone else and just threw everything at Lopetegui

If that is true then that is an absolute joke.

 

[Very Proud (AKA Still Proud)]

So just walked out of The Grand after watching the Commitments feeling good then see this bombshell! Bloody Hell. Something good surely has to happen to us soon.

 

[Rabid Wolf]

It's a model that works for most big clubs.

Tbf most big clubs has a competent DoF.

 

[WickedWolfie]

So would I. Sellars and Shi out and lets get some top quality people in.

If Shi goes you will get a less experienced Fosun man as Chairman. That won't change until or unless they sell up.

An experienced director of football is possible but how much clout they actually have..... Let's just say that Chinese management is quite autocratic.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

So just walked out of The Grand after watching the Commitments feeling good then see this bombshell! Bloody Hell. Something good surely has to happen to us soon.

Yeah, like Guo getting rid of Shi and bringing in someone who knows something about football.

 

[JOSWolf]

Apparently accurate. Makes for a very worrying next 7 days doesn't it.

Absolute shambles if you are correct there mate. Never ever rely on one man taking the job. The indications that this might happen were all there last week when I read what Oatley said and Ballague.

 

[Snarlingwolf]

Genuinely interested to know where the goals will come from for said wins?

I’m very interested to know where the accurate shots will come from to score the goals for said wins.

 

[YouGottaRaulWithIt]

Yeah that’s fine we could all see that on Twitter but some said it was a done deal and had been for weeks

Yes, fair enough. I reckon the mods should ban the words 'done deal', it's like 'whatever could possibly go wrong now', it never works out well for us.

 

[BigL1988]

Isn’t it time to just close this thread? He’s not coming, it’s over, move on.

 

[hollo]

Why didn't he tell us this a week ago and not waste our time.

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

It’s also reasonable to think that he’s taken a turn for the worse which would have bearing on his decision too

Absolutely. At 90(?) Years old, a sudden decline can be a rapid one.

 

[StLuke]

I am absolutely gutted and whilst mistakes have been made and fingers can be pointed I am actually quite proud on a human level the way the club has handled Lopetegui’s decision with dignity. The guy could be about to lose his father, and really that’s more important to him than anything else. We move on. Don’t know where and this season has the feel of one of those where nothing goes right. One thing I do believe is that things werent going to get better with Bruno remaining… it’s a low point for sure but let’s remember this club’s motto

 

[Ned]

Lage should have been sacked at the end of last season- we have idiots in charge.

This is quite simply the cause of everything bad that has and is happening this season. That one decision that wasn’t made.

Edit: this sounds like I’m being a bit sarcastic but I’m not.

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

I really hope Jeff shows some ambition. I'd be going all out for a top manager. There's no point when you have such a talented group of players we've just heavily invested in.

I’m sure he wants a top manager, and if Tuchel or Poch would come he’d pay them well.

Problem is, we’ve got a squad full of individuals, with not many leaders, more or less zero goals in the side, and no chance of signing players until January.

We are not shopping in the top manager category. Dyche/ Nuno level is probably about the height of who we can attract ATM. Only it will be a Portuguese manager we’ve not known much about prior to the last week that we’ll appoint.

 

[AndyY]

Porch or Tuchel would cost plenty but peanuts compared with the cost of relegation. We should approach them.

Agree

And in the mean time I must update my CV. I couldn’t even get in the John Hunt School team but I have managed complex teams and delivered projects, lol!

 

[Clipboard]

Why didn't he tell us this a week ago and not waste our time.

Didn't fancy it i reckon.

 

[Scott.Cooper]

It seems hard to believe that this was a shock to Wolves.

I would imagine the timing of Lage and Lopetegui both being fired were coincidental. The timing added a lot of fuel to the fire but it could quite plausibly have been the case that Lopetegui had little intention of ever coming.

He has been fired from Sevilla and was happy for Jeff to fly out and have a chat (and no doubt offer him a job) but he quite likely was never interested. He is in a different class to other Managers we have been linked with and can realistically attract so perhaps we should be giving Jeff a pat on the back for trying!

Wolves would surely have known that and I would imagine have also spoken to others. I still expect an appointment imminently.

 

[Stourport wolf]

Why didn't he tell us this a week ago and not waste our time.

He is thought to be getting paid 13 million euros for being sacked at Sevilla. Not sure what his contract says, but sometimes if you manage a new club, the club that sacked you doesn't need to continue to pay you.
So, maybe any new club would have to pay him on top of the 13 million euros, or he stays home with his ill father and gets paid the 13 million from Sevilla football club.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

I am absolutely gutted and whilst mistakes have been made and fingers can be pointed I am actually quite proud on a human level the way the club has handled Lopetegui’s decision with dignity. The guy could be about to lose his father, and really that’s more important to him than anything else. We move on. Don’t know where and this season has the feel of one of those where nothing goes right. One thing I do believe is that things werent going to get better with Bruno remaining… it’s a low point for sure but let’s remember this club’s motto

Ok, on the face of it, that sounds reasonable. But consider this. Is his father’s illness new, and not well known? Would his agent, Mendes, have known better than anyone apart from Lopetegui, whether it was serious enough to keep him in Spain? Would Mendes, given close ties to Wolves, have warned Jeff of this, before we seriously approached him, let alone publicly flew out to meet him? So how is that in any way respectful, or in any way, smart? The smart and respectful thing would be to leave him alone, send private messages of support, and focus on other candidates.

This is nothing but a total shambles, and it does not reflect well on the club or Jeff.