The Mendes influence (2021)

[Big Saft Kid]

Why do things get so needlessly exaggerated on this site? 'Mendes hate' ?! Where has anybody said they 'hate Mendes?' I have said that, long term, I think we need to wean ourselves off the idea that Mendes will continue to be our main supplier of foreign players (which tend to be overwhelmingly Portuguese) and cast our net more widely. Mendes will look after Mendes, it's only natural. Sometimes that may mean that Wolves's interests come in 2nd place to his. That's why we shouldn't allow ourselves to become too close to him and too dependant on him. That's all. On the whole, so far, the relationship has been a very positive one for us. But let's not put all our eggs in one basket.

 

[Bawtry Wolf]

structurally the club is weak because jeff has too much power and the 4 guys working for him are not leaders. they may be subject experts but as a leadership team it is not strong. thats not mendes' fault. most other clubs would die to have our relationship. whereas we seem desperate to get rid. madness

I’ve seen this a lot and I don’t understand it. Is it based on their media presence in the ask Wolves piece or some other information or dislike. When we had Morgan and Hayward I knew about Jonathan, JR and Moxey because they were interviewed and also in the programme. I knew about Skirrow as he was mentioned, similarly Thelwell when he arrived. But I don’t recall many interviews.

just because someone doesn’t appear fantastic in a media presentation doesn’t mean they are weak leaders. No one was going to contradict the party line in those interviews. They were more open than I expected but I didn’t expect stand up disagreements or push backs. That takes place in private. I’ve had leadership people and teams that were strong leaders but not great public speakers. Conversely I’ve seen leaders who were great presenters but couldn’t lead or manage their way out of paper bag.

 

[Deleted member 11332]

We aren't as rich as Eveton, Spurs, Manu, City to compete for his top players.

We get to develop his younger players which is great, but not worth submission of our whole club.

Question is, was it Nuno's decision to go for mainly Mendes over our scout's suggestions for signings of Fosuns?

Well, seeing as I've seen it said that Nuno is hard to deal with because he's so far up Mendes ****. Along with a Spiers article specifically stating wolves wanted Olmo but Nuno pushed for podence instead. I'd suggest that is accurate.

 

[Tring Wolf]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1405534125193187333

 

[Flump]

Well, seeing as I've seen it said that Nuno is hard to deal with because he's so far up Mendes ****. Along with a Spiers article specifically stating wolves wanted Olmo but Nuno pushed for podence instead. I'd suggest that is accurate.

If we take as gospel that he preferred Podence to Olmo, then we don't know that it's because of the Mendes link. Perhaps he liked Podence's fleibility in where he plays, or something about how he plays.

While they've worked together for a long time, Nuno wouldn't be daft enough to intentionally skupper his chances at Wolves, just to get Mendes his extra couple of million for his cut from Podence.

 

[Deleted member 11332]

If we take as gospel that he preferred Podence to Olmo, then we don't know that it's because of the Mendes link. Perhaps he liked Podence's fleibility in where he plays, or something about how he plays.

While they've worked together for a long time, Nuno wouldn't be daft enough to intentionally skupper his chances at Wolves, just to get Mendes his extra couple of million for his cut from Podence.

If he did choose Podence over Olmo on that basis, then I for one am glad he's gone and I'd be surprised if he ever holds another coaching job of relevance again. Because he's obviously not got a clue.

I like podence but Olmo is twice as good in every facet of the game.

 

[JayStringer]

The trick with the Mendes connection has always been for Fosun to recognise when it's working and when it isn't.

I'll be perfectly honest, a lot of the fear driven about agents in football comes from people who haven't had agents. I've had an agent (different industry, obviously.) They are business people. It's not about taking things personally, but it's also not about taking things impersonally. They make decisions based on business, and they protect the interests of their clients.

My biggest fear was the conflict of interest if/when a club wanted to poach Nuno. If the club was a good move or a step up for Nuno, Mendes would then be obligated to do the best for his client, but that would be a conflict of interest in his relations to Wolves. We dodged that bullet. Doesn't mean it won't crop up again with Bruno, but Jeff's willingness to part ways with Nuno in the manner he did lessens my worry about the club being damaged by the process.

My take on Fosun is that they look at an industry, look at what other leaders in that industry do well and badly, and then come up with a model of their own. To that end, I think they came into football looking at Man City, then realised the billionaire-plaything-model wasn't for them, so looked as Spurs, and saw the strengths and weaknesses there, and are now committed to something of a hybrid between the Spurs and Leicester approach. And I also think they came in looking at the way Mendes has a stable of clubs, and moves players around to progress their careers while also making money, and have decided the long term answer is to build their own network. Wolves. Grasshoppers. At some point soon I suspect either a French club or an even closer tie to a Portuguese club. And now building relationships in Central and South America. I expect Juan Pablo Angel is a name that will be mentioned a lot in Wolves stories over the coming season.

So I'm not worried about the Mendes connection, because I think in a few years time we'll be referring to the Fosun/Wolves connection.

 

[Bill S Preston Esq.]

Based on what are these current guys "Yes men" & Thelwell & LD challenging Jeff?

Without having any first hand knowledge, this is all just everyone's own bias in making these comments.

People moaning about Vinny Clark raising prices, like LD didn't do that (there was a post yesterday or day before where LD said near enough what Clark said in the AskWolves videos).

Wolves fans need a Moxey, the Q and A session provided several of the little buggers conveniently sat around a table.

 

[rg4352]

Well, seeing as I've seen it said that Nuno is hard to deal with because he's so far up Mendes ****. Along with a Spiers article specifically stating wolves wanted Olmo but Nuno pushed for podence instead. I'd suggest that is accurate.

That was me that said that, I said that I’ve been told he is not easy to deal with - in terms of manner/mood - which is aggravated by his loyalty/over reliance to Mendes or as my friend said “that he’s up Mendes ****”


He’s not hard to deal with solely because of his closeness with Mendes, it just doesn’t help matters, and I imagine it doesn’t when trying to get yourself into a new club

 

[JayStringer]

Wolves fans need a Moxey, the Q and A session provided several of the little buggers conveniently sat around a table.

Truth.

 

[Wednesbury Wolf]

We have long been a player laundering operation rather than a typical football club. We are unique in British football and however much we pontificate it ain't going to change as long as our Chinese owners still own us.
We had a couple of fairly decent premiership campaigns then it all fell apart, injuries played a part but we were pretty **** when Raul was still playing.
I doubt Lage will have any say whatsoever on transfers but he knew that when he signed.

 

[Deleted member 11332]

That was me that said that, I said that I’ve been told he is not easy to deal with - in terms of manner/mood - which is aggravated by his loyalty/over reliance to Mendes or as my friend said “that he’s up Mendes ****”


He’s not hard to deal with solely because of his closeness with Mendes, it just doesn’t help matters, and I imagine it doesn’t when trying to get yourself into a new club

Thanks for correcting.

 

[Flump]

If he did choose Podence over Olmo on that basis, then I for one am glad he's gone and I'd be surprised if he ever holds another coaching job of relevance again. Because he's obviously not got a clue.

I like podence but Olmo is twice as good in every facet of the game.

Seems a bit hyperbolic to me.

Olmo has been in Leipzig team that's playing well, while Podence was naff recently in a struggling Wolves team, but has also looked class in spells for us. I'd be surprised if that leads to Nuno never holding another coaching job of relevance again.

Remember Fergie signed Eric Djemba-Djemba, Bebe and Kleberson - although in fairness, I doubt he'll get a top job again either, so maybe you're right!

 

[Flaneur]

Gattuso to Spurs then?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1405538810121711629

 

[SteveBullsKnee]

Why do things get so needlessly exaggerated on this site? 'Mendes hate' ?! Where has anybody said they 'hate Mendes?' I have said that, long term, I think we need to wean ourselves off the idea that Mendes will continue to be our main supplier of foreign players (which tend to be overwhelmingly Portuguese) and cast our net more widely. Mendes will look after Mendes, it's only natural. Sometimes that may mean that Wolves's interests come in 2nd place to his. That's why we shouldn't allow ourselves to become too close to him and too dependant on him. That's all. On the whole, so far, the relationship has been a very positive one for us. But let's not put all our eggs in one basket.

As football most influential man no one's net is bigger than Jorge's

 

[Stoichkov]

nuno to spurs (again) soon?

Tottenham’s move for Paulo Fonseca breaks down in latest manager blow

Tottenham’s move to appoint Paulo Fonseca has broken down in the latest blow to their attempt to find a manager

www.theguardian.com

 

[Stoichkov]

What on earth is "mysterious" about Nuno not being offered/accepting 2 jobs? You're just paying more attention to it because it's Nuno. I expect he was never that keen on Palace and spoke to them more to hear about their "project" than anything else, and Everton would be a good move for him, but they may feel like they can get a bigger/hotter name.

Things like 2 week managerial reigns happen all the time in Italy.

nah, nuno was in final one or two for both jobs, so was unusual that he disappeared from both as he got closer

just my opinion, that's all though.

 

[Flaneur]

nuno to spurs (again) soon?

Tottenham’s move for Paulo Fonseca breaks down in latest manager blow

Tottenham’s move to appoint Paulo Fonseca has broken down in the latest blow to their attempt to find a manager

www.theguardian.com

Mendes is trying to get Gattuso the gig there by the sounds of things

 

[rg4352]

Gattuso to Spurs, feels like quite the step down, don’t get what the fascination is with him manager wise, just sounds like a bit of a loon!

 

[Stoichkov]

I don't get this mendes hate. Without Mendes we would still be in the championship. he brought us definitely:
jota
nuno
cavaleiro
costa
neves
neto

none of the above we would have stood an earthly of attracting. he may even have helped fosun find the club. he is an agent but we find other players with other agents. this smacks of the "nuno out" brigade. the mix always needs a bad guy. the list is endless and ranges from thelwell to edwards and more recently nuno. people used to maon about the "cozy club". now thats gone they still arent happy.

structurally the club is weak because jeff has too much power and the 4 guys working for him are not leaders. they may be subject experts but as a leadership team it is not strong. thats not mendes' fault. most other clubs would die to have our relationship. whereas we seem desperate to get rid. madness

no 'hate' in my OP. just interesting to see Mendes increasingly in headlines this summer, and wondering where our relationships is going with him

 

[Stoichkov]

Mendes is trying to get Gattuso the gig there by the sounds of things

i read that - so i think nuno will be next when spurs fans kick off about gattuso

 

[Contrarian]

nuno to spurs (again) soon?

Tottenham’s move for Paulo Fonseca breaks down in latest manager blow

Tottenham’s move to appoint Paulo Fonseca has broken down in the latest blow to their attempt to find a manager

www.theguardian.com

Let's hope so! Similar to Everton, the fans mostly don't want him there. Would like as much discord in our rivals as possible

Also, if he does go there, it would suggest that owners are working with the likes of Mendes and his crew to extract as much money as possible from the game...and *** the fans. Which I think many of us suspect is going on anyway. At all the main clubs.

 

[Flump]

nah, nuno was in final one or two for both jobs, so was unusual that he disappeared from both as he got closer

just my opinion, that's all though.

At least 50% of people in the final two for a job don't get it!

 

[sjonnie]

Some points for the hand ringers:

1) Dalrymple wasnt at odds with Jeff. He was a "rugby" man and got offered the same role at his boyhood club Harlequins.
2) Thelwell similarly got offered a life altering position inside a massive group, simply career progression
3) No Mendes, no fosun. It was his agency that recommended Fosun buy us over other clubs
4) Why would Mendes do anything untoward to affect his relationship with one of his biggest clients now, or also own a decent percentage of his agency. As a shrewd businessman (which he is) that would make zero sense
5) Why are people so down on having a fantastic working relationship with the most influential man in global football?

What he said!

 

[Oliwolf44]

Remaining neutral and not talking about Wolves in particular, Jorge Mendes has WAY too much influence in football. This latest managerial crazy merry-go-round proves that much.

You could suggest that agents actually do nothing for the game, and with player wages increasing to an absolute crazy level, you could argue they are actively destroying it for their own financial gain.

 

[binners]

Well, seeing as I've seen it said that Nuno is hard to deal with because he's so far up Mendes ****. Along with a Spiers article specifically stating wolves wanted Olmo but Nuno pushed for podence instead. I'd suggest that is accurate.

I’m sure I read somewhere that Nuno didn’t want Olmo or Odagaard.

 

[Deleted member 11332]

Seems a bit hyperbolic to me.

Olmo has been in Leipzig team that's playing well, while Podence was naff recently in a struggling Wolves team, but has also looked class in spells for us. I'd be surprised if that leads to Nuno never holding another coaching job of relevance again.

Remember Fergie signed Eric Djemba-Djemba, Bebe and Kleberson - although in fairness, I doubt he'll get a top job again either, so maybe you're right!

Yeah it was, deliberately. To show how stupid it would be to choose Podence over Olmo. The reason is was done was because of Nuno's connection to Mendes.

 

[WolfLing]

Yeah it was, deliberately. To show how stupid it would be to choose Podence over Olmo. The reason is was done was because of Nuno's connection to Mendes.

It's difficult when you're comparing two attacking players, where one has been in good form for a good attacking side and the other has been in poor form for a poor attacking side.

Easy to forget that Podence looked the real deal for a spell earlier in the season, before his injuries started. To the point where he was bossing games, he broke into a talented Portgual side, most people had him as one of the first names on the team sheet (ahead of Traore) and people completely unrelated to Wolves were drawing comparisons with Eden Hazard.

Yes, Olmo might appear to be the better player in the short term. But if Podence does get back to where he was during that spell, there won't be that much between them over the longer term.

 

[Deleted member 11332]

It's difficult when you're comparing two attacking players, where one has been in good form for a good attacking side and the other has been in poor form for a poor attacking side.

Easy to forget that Podence looked the real deal for a spell earlier in the season, before his injuries started. To the point where he was bossing games, he broke into a talented Portgual side, most people had him as one of the first names on the team sheet (ahead of Traore) and people completely unrelated to Wolves were drawing comparisons with Eden Hazard.

Yes, Olmo might appear to be the better player in the short term. But if Podence does get back to where he was during that spell, there won't be that much between them over the longer term.

I'd still have him ahead of Traore but Olmo is miles better than him as a footballer. I've seen podence at his best for Olympiacos in the cl when he ripped Spurs to pieces, Olmo is just a better footballer. In the same way De Bruyne is a better footballer than Bruno Fernandes.

 

[WolfLing]

I'd still have him ahead of Traore but Olmo is miles better than him as a footballer. I've seen podence at his best for Olympiacos in the cl when he ripped Spurs to pieces, Olmo is just a better footballer. In the same way De Bruyne is a better footballer than Bruno Fernandes.

Yeah, I'd agree he's a better footballer. But probably not as effective as (a fully firing) Podence out wide. Given that at the time we signed him, Nuno wasn't in the market for (and actively avoided) central attacking midfield players, I can see why (other than the Mendes connection) Podence was chosen.

 

[Stoichkov]

for me, Olmo was the type of 'main' player we needed to come in and increase the depth of first-choice players

whilst i love podence when he's on it, that's not often enough and he feels like a luxury player right now

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

I think Barnsley’s midfield are literally water carriers, no passing ability required.

They play astonishing amount of long ball paired with a ferocious press at top pitch

 

[Halesowen wwfc]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1405534125193187333

Spuds are in the **** searching for a manager if they are lookibg at gattuso

 

[goldeneyed]

Until we splashed a completely over the top £65m or so on Semedo and Silva I was more than appreciative of the Mendes link. People talk of the Mendes carousel whereby you win on the swings and lose on the roundabouts. No doubt Shi is well aware of the dangers in getting caught up in the Mendes web as well as the advantages. But it is so important we develop our own separate scouting strength. If the latest acquisition from Colombia is an example of that all the better. But this summer should show up more clearly how much we still depend on Mendes and whether the kind of deals for Neves and Jota are still on the agenda. Also whether Sellars/Marshall and co are up to the job.

 

[Sedgley Gold N Black]

Mendes’ influence has been great for us and I hope it continues so it will continue to be great for us.

Everyone’s fixated on the missing out of Olmo in favour of Podence and missing out on Tapsoba but really Mendes’/Nuno’s suggestion for centre back was clearly Dias but the club and Fosun wouldn’t stretch to it.

I’m sure there’s been other cases of similar Mendes recommendations we’ve missed out on, Cancelo was arguably one too, and we’ve seen some brilliant players that have arrived.

It’s nice to see other areas of the club are targeting good alternatives though and clearly recruitment within the club has come on along way since the days of targeting Sagbo and Grant Holt with overseas additions like Phil Ofosu Ayeh and Onianuge

 

[wwfc9]

In the end, at some point, I think we will have to sever the umbilical cord to Mendes. He is there principally because FOSUN (Jeff Shi) need his advice, as they don't have in-house football expertise. But his advice doesn't come without strings attached in the form of 'his' players and 'his' managers. That's how he makes his money. There will come a point, may be under FOSUN, and certainly if our ownership changes, when he outlives his usefulness. For what it's worth, I hope we eventually outgrow him. The over-reliance on him is unhealthy.

Surely when he makes money so do fosun , it suits both parties with his involvement , it’s not all one way ..

 

[wwfc9]

If he did choose Podence over Olmo on that basis, then I for one am glad he's gone and I'd be surprised if he ever holds another coaching job of relevance again. Because he's obviously not got a clue.

I like podence but Olmo is twice as good in every facet of the game.

Wouldn’t it make more sense that fosun would push for mendes clients over others not nuno ? When the agent makes fees on transfers so do our owners ? Wolves accounts pay the fees and guo and mendes make the agent fees out of it ? I do wonder how much guo and mendes have made from all our ins and outs over the last 4 years , not saying that’s all fosun are here for but it’s surely a great side earner whilst trying to get us globally recognised …

 

[theweave]

If Mendes does place Gattuso there it'll be interesting if the London media label spurs mendes puppets in the same way they do us

 

[WolfLing]

Mendes’ influence has been great for us and I hope it continues so it will continue to be great for us.

Everyone’s fixated on the missing out of Olmo in favour of Podence and missing out on Tapsoba but really Mendes’/Nuno’s suggestion for centre back was clearly Dias but the club and Fosun wouldn’t stretch to it.

I’m sure there’s been other cases of similar Mendes recommendations we’ve missed out on, Cancelo was arguably one too, and we’ve seen some brilliant players that have arrived.

It’s nice to see other areas of the club are targeting good alternatives though and clearly recruitment within the club has come on along way since the days of targeting Sagbo and Grant Holt with overseas additions like Phil Ofosu Ayeh and Onianuge

Yeah, selling our project to those sorts of players is the biggest challenge. All Mendes can do is bring them to the table and help to convince them. But as we’ve seen, players like Cancelo, Dias and Fernandes were out of our reach because they are a different class of player.

Interesting to see the comments from Patricio’s mate Nikolas Alek yesterday. About how Nuno going and our poor season last year has made it harder than ever to convince our established stars that the club is continuing its progression. No doubt much harder to convince new players of the same thing too, which might be why we’ve gone down the ‘up and coming’ route more.

 

[Deleted member 11332]

Wouldn’t it make more sense that fosun would push for mendes clients over others not nuno ? When the agent makes fees on transfers so do our owners ? Wolves accounts pay the fees and guo and mendes make the agent fees out of it ? I do wonder how much guo and mendes have made from all our ins and outs over the last 4 years , not saying that’s all fosun are here for but it’s surely a great side earner whilst trying to get us globally recognised …

No.