The fans arrived in a sentimental mood but Julen Lopetegui wasn’t having any of it.
With no Moutinho or Jonny in the squad and Raul left working the touchline as an unused substitute, this wasn’t the fond farewell many had anticipated.
But Adama reminded us all of the good old days with a full length sprint that ended with Hwang slotting in the opener and with several sumptuous Neves passes to appreciate, the crowd at least got some of what they wanted.
It sort of fell apart a bit for Everton after a good start. For a while it felt inevitable they’d open the scoring with Wolves unable to retain the ball and crosses raining down on Dan Bentley’s goal.
But Traore’s super break and a couple of injuries really set them back and from that point it was Wolves’ game to lose.
We should have punished them in the second half but as usual we squandered the few chances we created and when we did finally manage a good effort from Matheus Nunes, Pickford was there to keep it out.
The Toffees were on their knees, relying on long punts into the area and set pieces as their only route to goal with Wolves defending superbly to repel the bombardment.
But when the board went up showing an almost inexplicable 9 minutes of additional time, it felt inevitable that something would develop.
We came within one cross of seeing it out but credit to Everton for keeping at it and getting what could be the most precious reward.
Did Lopetegui learn anything from the multitude of changes he made to the team? Probably not.
Collins worked hard and won his share of tackles but looked nervous at times and seems too error prone to be consistently relied upon.
Podence drifted in and out trying all the usual flicks, Hwang scored his goal and covered the ground while Sarabia struggled to adapt to the pace of the game.
With such indifferent attacking options it felt cruel for Raul not to get at least a token few minutes but I trust in the manager’s judgement.
We should respect the past but look to the future.
It’s time to move forward and hopefully find some new heroes.
I agree with Julen in that he treated the game seriously. He even said before if Wolves had been in a predicament like Leeds or Leicester he would expect a professional approach. So in that respect there was no room for sentiment. J Lo was right. My big problem today was the referee was a useless bag of excrement. Shocking beyond belief. The Everton goal was scored outside of his incredible 9 minutes. I counted 9 mins 15 seconds. But hey ! At least we ay Sandwell Town. Julen and Jeff will continue dialogue. I am expecting a positie outcomme
Ooops should have posted ‘cheeseburger of death”. Which is in fact. Me !
On the beach ? Flip flops ? Not a chance !
We turned up and came within a whisker of “Fergie time” of another win and clean sheet.
I do think JL missed a great opportunity to bring on Raul for a few minutes at the end. He looked devastated when the fifth and final sub was made and it wasn’t him. Unsurprising given his 5 years of success and the trauma he suffered. It would have been wonderful for us, him and his family to be able to say thank you and goodbye.
With Moutinho and Jonny not even on the bench I think JL has been very professional but perhaps missed a trick. It’s a serious business football, but it’s played, coached and watched by human beings with feelings. The other players may wonder how valued they really are and what their final game will look when their time comes.
That situation could have been handled differently.
Finally Forest. I’m glad they are safe. They had a huge turnover of new players last Summer including MGW and Boly. Big risk but it paid off. Well done Steve Cooper. This may not be a popular opinion but I’m also pleased for MGW. I don’t subscribe to all the emotion and hate directed his way. He was a Wolves player for most of his life, bought a lot of money to the club when he was sold (even more now Forest are safe) and is playing great football for them. He played out of his skin today. He could even make the England squad in the future, so good luck to him.
UTW
I feel very strongly about the very poor decision of Lop to not allow Raul his moment at the end of this meaningless game.
There were thirty odd thousand fans anxious to pay heartfelt respects to a quality man who has given his all for this club –almost to the point of sacrificing his life. That they were denied this opportunity is disgraceful.
Yes, Raoul has not been able to regain his pre injury form — but that`s hardly his fault. How can we forget that during the first two years of his spell with us he was truly superb — certainly one of the best strikers in Europe. He had it all; an ability to hold the ball under pressure and bring his colleagues into play: a huge amount of skill on the ball: the ability to score goals on a regular basis; and above all his total commitment to our club. And how can we forget his prolific partnership up front with Jota. We`ve seen nothing approaching his pre-injury standard since that time.
In my view the lack of respect shown by Lop towards Raul is shameful. He may well be a first class coach, but at the end of the day he has much to learn from Nuno in terms of man-management. In Nuno`s time we were a unified pack, with players wholly committed to Nuno and his cause, and in return receiving his total respect.
This unity and mutual respect was the basis of our success. Unfortunately those days are long gone.
We’d have loved to give Raul a proper send off but don’t forget that he burnt his bridges with Lopetegui in the lead up to the world cup. He wasn’t so keen to wear the Wolves shirt then and clearly lost Lopetegui’s respect as he favoured a trip to the middle east over commitment to the relegation battle.
Sadly, I think you’re right.
Ped Ant. Maybe so with regard to the world cup, but is it right that we conveniently forget Raul`s magnificent commitment to our club for so long ?
I` ve been avidly supporting Wolves for over 75 years, and in my book Raul Jiminez is by far the greatest all round striker ever to wear our colors. Better yet ,he loves our club and he has given his all for our cause. In return, he surely deserves our utmost respect. That this was not unconditionally forthcoming from Lopetegui is an absolute disgrace. Period.
I think there might be some rose tinted glasses there,Mike. Raul has been excellent for us but even before his injury he did have a fair share of ordinary games. In my book he’s behind The Doog, Andy Gray and John Richards. I agree that he deserved a much better send off.
well said . !
couldn’t agree more .
Bit on the fence here.
Hard to disagree with Mike’s sentiments but like others felt more than a bit disappointed with Raul’s pre World Cup shenanigans,
The one thing that remains beyond a shadow of a doubt though is that David Luiz was never held to account for one of the most reckless “accidents” I have ever witnessed on a football pitch.
He legged it to Brazil, PJB, thinking he’s safe. It’s attempted murder, even now it makes my blood run cold. It was THE event that led me to this blog.
Gutted he was denied an ovation from the MOL. 1 lv
Has Raul already been sold?
Have to agree Mike. A rare wrong foot from JL.
Don’t really know what we learnt from that same old same old,
1 We’re we given a different set of rules at the start of the season
2 Ref was a git
3 Bentley got pushed from pillar to post every corner
4 Ref was a git
5 Why was Gomes marking Tarkowski at corners
Let’s hope either Leicester or Leeds win and put them down, we’ll done mgw if you can bottle some of your outstanding effort there’s a few here that still need it
Normally a miserable sob I’m quite optimistic about going to the emirates
6. We still miss golden goalscoring opportunities that would make shite ref’s fairly irrelevant.
Spot on Hindsight. And unless we somehow find new personnel to replace some of our current perennial failures its not going to get any better. The results of a totally inadequate and uncoordinated transfer policy stretching back over the past three years or so, has finally caught up with us
The last home game of the season should be a celebration and we can celebrate our second half of the season and JLo rescuing us. Adama reminded us what he can do, if only he was more consistent. Neves deservedly player of the season. Dawson again in control at the back. The summer transfers are going to be fascinating. Here’s to next season.
That referee must be an Everton fan… nine plus minutes of injury time??
What was that for?
Anyway, I just want to thank Raul for all the glorious moments he gave us fans during his time with Wolves and wish him the very best of luck in his future, whatever he may do.
Feeling a bit delicate this morning after another splendid bloggers ball reunion followed by more booze at the Combermere
Great to talk shop with Ben and Thomas and everyone else and by the end of the evening the disaster of the 99 th minute was feeling less of a blow
Thanks to Lord Twix for organizing the gig and the brilliant company
Hope to see all next year and here’s to a less stressful and more satisfying 23/24 season
OODCL
I think JLo dropped a huge clanger not bringing Raul on to say a proper goodbye to the team he has served so well and nearly lost his life playing for.
No matter what has gone on since, on and off the pitch, it was the least he deserved.
As far as the match was concerned, five yellow cards to Everton’s one and nine minutes of added time?….
Those numbers tell a story and it doesn’t do the referee any favours in my opinion.
The extra time goal for the toffees certainly put the dampers on our post match celebrations as their fans actually woke up and started to make a noise. I think they must have thought they had won The Champions’ League.
All in all, a bit of an anti climax.
Then on to the Bloggers’ Ballbash at Rocco’s, with all the regulars, plus a couple of new ones, eating and drinking too much. (Hopefully more on that in a future blog). Cheers to Lord Twix for arranging it all.
The evening was topped off nicely with a couple in The Combermere, and then home to bed.
Good to meet Ole, a passionate Wolves fan from Denmark, over breakfast this morning in The Park View.
Start blogging mate, we could do with some fresh ideas and opinions.
One more game and then we can all start growing our finger nails again, ready for the next season of being put through the ringer by the club we love.
“Wolves ay we!”
One great player left the stage to a rapturous standing ovation after another fully committed battling display. Another great player didn’t get the chance to give home fans the last, maybe, glimpse of his sublime talent albeit muted of late. Another great player asked, apparently to be left out of the squad and didn’t appear on the pitch at the end!
Oh well that’s life I guess, it’s never scripted how you’d like it. Like the extra “World Cup time” equaliser, it left me feeling a bit flat, because we should certainly have put the game to bed before the ref decided to change the rules of the game. Missed chances! A tale of the season, Podence’s chance was straight forward surely? There were others which at this level have to go in.
But these are good times, the promise of a full Lopetegui season, Nunes looked great when he came on, and hopefully other heroes emerge who will also earn standing ovations.
So it’s Hope rather than dismay, that we look forward to next season under an excellent coach.
Given that David Coote earned
the distinction of having his name chanted by the South Bank, “what a wanker”, you have to hope the referee authorities will look at having a training school for referees emphasising their need to be neutral.
Or maybe I’m biased, but some of the bookings and fouls against us were extremely dubious.
Onwards and upwards to brighter times!
T’was a glorious sunny day in Wolverhampton which reflected perfectly the mood of we Wolves fans as we took our seats and munched our pre-match Balti Pies.
The ref tried his best to cast his shadow over proceedings but his bias was only a mild annoyance. It wasn’t until the 99th minute (for sure we got our money’s worth) that the Toffees were able to rustle up a cloud to flit briefly across our beaming faces.
It did put something of a dampener on the proceedings that followed but I can only hope that yesterday’s heroes whom we shall see no more fully appreciate how much the success they have delivered has meant to us.
We had, after all, been denied the levels we have enjoyed this last six years for so,so long.
I know not what goes on behind the scenes so will not comment on the non-appearance of some of most beloved.
I will say however, that any Leeds or Leicester fan looking on would have the right to expect to see our strongest team for 90, or even 99 minutes.
Later, I was pressganged into drinking far too much, eating fine nosh, jabbering about football and staying out far too late by some fellow bloggers who really should know better. Especially good to catch up with some after too long and meet up with Norsk Wolf for the first time.
I had a ball. And my lovely lady Jayney had a ball too.
And my head wasn’t too bad this morning.
You’re a one Wolfstroker ..
It was an absolute pleasure to rub shoulders with you and Jayney … so good mate ..
and the Combemere night cap just finished off a fabulous evening…
The Ballbash is becoming a socialite event … good company, great friends, honest cameraderie… and well .. just a lovely evening..
My Lord awfully sorry I didn’t make it. Not been on the blog much, so missed the invite blog. Been up in Gnosall a bit, my father has had a stroke, so sorting of power attorney etc..
Next one I would love to meet everyone.
Steve
That’s far more important Steve … hope you father makes a good recovery… best wishes to you …
Always good to catch up with you M’lud, and, of course, the Lady Lillian. Better still in the company of our fellow bloggers, although they do tend to lead me astray and I end up with a sore head.
9 minutes added on was baffling, then for them to score in the 10th minute? I have no words.
I imagine that ref has had a nice little back hander from Everton football club!
…..with Dyche tapping his watch as soon as the scores were level.
Or was he asking for longer perhaps and the message didn’t get thru to the ref ?
Lovely vintage run from Adama. Neves passes sumptuous as ever – we will really miss him. Disappointed that Raul wasn’t given an opportunity to say his goodbyes at Molineux – didn’t feel right at all, whatever else may have gone on.
Agree. Shame about Raul. He looked gutted at the end. Moutinho not on bench. On the flip side it shows a manager made of steel.
Final PPG of the season. This is what it predicts next week.
EVERTON 34 POINTS SAFE
LEEDS 32 POINTS RELEGATED
LEICESTER 32 POINTS RELEGATED
WOLVES 42 POINTS ON THE BEACH
The safety line is 33 points.
We shall see. Personally I am ecstatic I won’t be hiding behind the sofa next Sunday afternoon.
Just had the extreme misfortune of witnessing Greasy’s latest hair cut on MOTD 2. It looks like some sort of Colombian bird eating spider about to attack a baby antelope or something.
Wiped another £10mill off his market value, Cheese. He’s auditioning for the part of ‘The Mop’ in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, after he cleans KDB’s boots.
Lucky to get out of that situation with the Mendy allegations. That’s another £30mill off.
Plus he’s not that good this season. Minus another 30mill.
Should be available on a free transfer soon. 1 lv.
He should get to the barbers down Gornal. They wouldn’t mess about with hair cuts like that down there. They got lucky in the 80’s when New Order made army hair cuts trendy again. In Gornal the trend just merged in to tradition.
I saw the match from a seat other than my usual in Billy Wright Upper. Different perspective but all the usual frustrations, including poor refereeing.
I’m also in the camp that was sorry not to see a brief cameo from Raul. I dare say whatever has gone on between him and our manager will come to light in the fullness of time. I, for one, was left a little saddened.
The Bloggers’ Ballbash that followed did much to lighten my mood, catching up with friends old and new. A hearty ‘thanks’ to Lord Twix for organising. As we were leaving the restaurant, Rocco gave us a per of prescription sunglasses that had been left behind by one of our merry band. Contact me if they belong to you.
You probably don’t need to see this correction but…….a pair of prescription sunglasses…….
If they don’t have their glasses, they probably won’t see your post Dougie.
Too true, Steve.
If not, I can always keep them for my Roy Orbison impression.
If Leeds does indeed go down I think Wolves should pursue Westin McKennie in the summer if possible. I assume a Neves transfer to Barça will be profitable and I think he would pair well with Lemina and (maybe) Matheus. I know I’m a USA homer but his energy and dedication to quality play regardless of circumstances seem like qualities Molineux could get behind.
Many of the USA nationals playing in the EPL are underutilized or put in the wrong places. Christian Pulisic should start every week for a Premiere League team for example.
Well the scene was set under a glorious blue sky with the stadium bathed in sunlight for the season finale and the chance of putting another screw into Everton’s coffin. Alas though it was not to be. In a game that often lacked fluidity during a switch from our repetitive move out from the back and down the right in almost identical passages of passing, Adama takes the ball from the other side and does what only Adama can do. A scintillating run where I am sure many of us were just waiting for him to be hacked down, thankfully the player in question was more honest than the manager who actually brazenly stated that he should have brought him down with a professional foul – it’s not professional it’s just plain cheating.
Gutted that the equaliser came but felt the Scouser in Black would have just kept playing until they eventually scored. No mention of the foul on Dan Bentley leading to the goal. With the away support waking up for their only song of the 2nd half it tinged the day for me but not as much as Raul not getting a run out. I know it’s a mixed bag this one with some in the ‘no room for sentimentality’ camp and to be successful we need to be ruthless etc. I am personally in a different camp and firmly believe (if indeed he is leaving) that he should have been given some minutes on the pitch for the stadium to see him one last time in the Old Gold. This is a man who found a home at Molineux and his family embraced Wolverhampton and everything about the club. His family back in Mexico and many more Mexicans became Wolves fans and our footprint as a club grew from probably very few numbers to a sizeable following of new supporters across the pond. We all love our club but that is exactly what it is a club where we look after our own and to do this we need to do things the right way. Not a win at all costs because football is a game, a beautiful game that should be played the right way. Not ugly like a Dyche team full of bullies just trying to knock down the smaller guys and win anyway they can. Raul gave his everything for our beloved club the least we could do is say bye in the right way. He is still a player on our team and the manager as such has every right to put him onto the field without others implying that it somehow disrespects the other teams fighting for survival. He is still a good enough player at this level to come on or even start. If it is goodbye then thank you Raul and your family for all you have done for our club you gave us many wonderful memories.
Afterwards I finally managed to make a Bloggers Ball. It was great to put faces to names and get some insight into many of the Bloggers affiliation and obvious love for all things gold. I was fortunate enough to be sat next to Thomas and Ben and good conversation was had with many including Wolfstroker and his lovely lady. Dougie and his good lady and London Loyal were class acts. It was nice to get to meet the likes of Marin and his family along with others and the only downside was one evening is perhaps not enough time to get around everyone as some chats felt too brief. I hope next time to get more time with the Doogooders. A special mention to Lord Twix for not only organising the evening but the help and assistance he gave me on trying to obtain a ticket cheers Mike. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and hope to repeat it in the future UTW
A few renditions of …”we’ve got Julen Lopetegui “ in the Combemere with your cousin going for it was a moment to savour.
Thanks for coming all that way Danny .. another great Ballbash .. can’t wait for the video …
It was my cousins friend who was great value for it but the smiling landlord (although Matt had a more accurate description of him) did not seem to be savouring it that well. Til next time stay safe and keep laughing Mike
I know .. there’s always one isn’t there …
As you rightly say Norsk, always good to put a face to the name. Great to chat with you, especially over a pint.
It was an absolute pleasure Steve meeting both you and Jayney and I hope the start of a long tradition, stay safe my friends
best wishes to you mate … Great fun ! And thank you for bringing people along who were more pissed than me . It was very helpful
Thanks bloggers for the fun night . Well done Twix
God bless Clive and Steve , always in our hearts
UTW and FOWB
It was a pleasure my friend but remember ‘you’re not on the terraces’. My cousin was telling me that Gunner (the singer) went into a crowd of Villa fans after beating them the other week singing mind the gap (he obviously doesn’t understand league tables) and was swiftly helped into the horizontal position. Unfazed Gunner jumps up and says “that was very childish” walking off singing, apparently he does love a song
ha ha … brilliant !
he’s a good old boy … looking forward to the next time we all get told off by that massive bell end of a landlord
take care mate
It was great to catch up with you, Danny – and your cousin and his friend. See you when you are next around these parts.
Sorry we didn’t get to chat for longer Danny. I was feeling a trifle under par that day and failed to put myself about as I should have done.
Just think of Guedes on the football pitch.
The difference being, I can, I have and I will do better next time.
You probably did more moving about than most but the time is short and the evening flew by. I look forward to the next one and having a good natter take care both of you til next time
9 minutes, what a joke, corruption at it’s finest. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the Man City charges. It would make an absolute mockery of the last decade or so if they were found guilty.
As for Raul not be allowed a fun run out, i think Forest, Leeds and Leicester would see it differently. Maybe if we had been 2 nil up Lop might have considered it but while the game was in the balance there was no room for sentiment. Even goal difference could have major impact on the relegation battle. No need for Raul’s touchline tantrum. He’s barely kicked a ball lately so J.Lo was between a rock and hard place. Perhaps he should have brought on a bouncy castle as the final sub just to get the party started early….
Fair one HC it would have been a hard decision with which of our 20+ goals a season strikers to take off in his place
Ha yes, very true Norsk and i think Jiminez has been unlucky to be left out the squad of late cos he hasn’t been any poorer than any of the other strikers in my eyes. Lop has earned the right to make the hard calls though and
there was no shortage of love in the room for Raul so a few minutes on the pitch didn’t really matter, there’s no shame in going over to the fans from the subs bench esp in the last home game of the season. He’s arguing semantics imo, the manager did what he’s paid to do, pick the best team as he sees it and with £4m between 13th and 11th place the stakes are high.
I have to agree with you HC. Julen did not sign Raul and did not witness the assault by David Luis, he therefore does not feel the same emotional connection that say Nuno did.
It’s also fair to say that Raul has shown a petulance on the pitch on occasion which has resulted in at least one unnecessary red card.
Julen’s post match comments suggests that Raul will come on at Arsenal and how ironic that would be as it’s the place of his head injury.
Ultimately, we hired an elite manager to save us from relegation and he did so by making tough decisions which includes a lack of sentiment in the Everton game.
You can’t have it both ways.
I truly hope he gets some minutes at Arsenal.. I’ll be there to cheer him on …
From what I have seen. For all the big money and all that stuff clearly the players do get emotional about the fans support. A picture of Ruben on the back of the Wolverhampton Express and Star at the end and he does look tearful. Same with Raul. It obviously means a lot to them.
I think a draw was a fair result. They are happy and … we don’t really give a s**t.
So, I am now more concerned about all the rumours going round regarding possible departures. Some expected. Some not. The latest being the manager (if he doesn’t get the funds to buy the new players he’d want), and now also Jose Sa who, according to the article, feels that he has been maltreated by the fans (who were saying he should be dropped). At least we now know that the players DO read what fans are saying. On the other hand, maybe fans should consider what they are going to write publically before putting pen to paper (so to speak).
With all the players that are likely to depart (sold), I would have thought there would be sufficient funds to bring in a lot of good talent that will fill in the gaps we really need to fill. Also let’s not forget we have some wonderful talent in the reserves and out on loan. I can see a handful of those being added to the squad next year.
So maybe it is not all doom and gloom for next year. Rather, and exciting adventure awaits. Wolves Ay We.
Alarm bells ringing loud and clear from WV1 judging by E&S headline just published -“Julen Lopetegui set for crunch talks over Wolves summer plans” and the content does nothing to assuage fears that there is a serious danger that he’ll walk if he doesn’t like what he hears. It’s not as if he’s short of potential suitors.
I pointed out in a recent post that Wolves have more financial clout than anyone in the PL bar Man City and Arsenal (source Forbes). If Fosun have any real intent they can restructure the club’s finances to overcome / circumvent FFP limitations.
Current indications look as if the intent element may be seriously lacking.
Great work again Jeff and co. NOT!
Desperately hope to be proved wrong.
Check out the BBC story from 10 minutes ago, it seems to have legs:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65687196
It is reported that Jeff didn’t give Lopetegui the full financial picture.
As we all know FFP rules (which I think we all agree are a sack of shite to keep the Big Six in place) are based on a club’s revenue and not on how wealthy their owners are. From the last report I could find by Deloittes, we have the 11th largest revenue so there are actually 10 clubs who have more financial clout than us.
So when you say overcome / circumvent FFP rules, is what you actually mean to say is we should cheat?
Is losing Lopetegui a real blow – absolutely.
Is Jeff doing a good job – not as bad as some on here would say.
Should we cheat – no thanks, I’d rather be in an annual relegation battle than dope the finances like certain other clubs have allegedly done.
Give your head a wobble.
Newt
Agree with nearly all your comments.
Firstly I confess that I am not au fait with the intricacies of FFP but not sure how many are; and when I used the phraseology overcome / circumvent I chose my words carefully, ie avoided the word cheating. However, I also believe in “when in Rome do as the Romans” so let’s do as the rest do. It also depends whether we are referring to Uefa or PL FFP but it’s pretty bloody obvious that the rules are being manipulated (flouted) on a widespread basis with little or no sanction being applied. eg. How does FFP define “income” as opposed to “revenue”. Capital investment could be define as income but not revenue.
But as you correctly state we all agree that whatever the interpretations or variations FFP is a very thinly disguised and poorly camouflaged attempt to maintain the the status quo of the self appointed elite, particularly in the PL.
And yes losing Lopetegui would be a disaster.
The so called “crunch talks ” have been on the agenda for several weeks so this is just a regurgitation of very old news. Time will tell if they are indeed crunch but a limitation on budget focuses the mind somewhat and may well lead to value for money smart acquisitions (Dawson, Lemina, Gomes) and not overpriced wate of spaces (Guedes, Silva, Cutrone) or jury’s out candidates ( Nunes, Cunha).
Jeff probably told him not to talk like we have hundreds of millions to spend or it will drive up the asking price.
Unless there is something we don’t all know about, this may just be standard operating procedure.
No John
Jeff probably told him he can only spend the revenue that outgoing transfers bring in; because of FFP limitations of course.
Thanks for keeping us up for another season JL. Good luck in your next venture.
On a different tack, the transcripts for the Podence spitting hearing make interesting reading.
Johnson called Podence a ‘Little Prick’ and a certain Mr Gibbs-White didn’t turn up to give evidence. Must have been a good party on.
Looks like Julian isn’t happy….according to the local rag…..has he been hoodwinked like the rest of us promised the world and given an atlas.
And of course it’s all FFP fault that Jeff and Fosun cannot give Jules what they promised and what the team needs.
This is the seventh years of Fosun ownership we’ve had promotion, and yeah 2 seventh place finishes a European tour but this was supposed to be the norm in fact we were promised Champions League football but the last 3 seasons have seen an alarming decline in investment and as such our league position.
We are seven years on in a better position but only just we have staved off relegation for now we have stagnated on and off the pitch we have a ground in desperate need of upgrading in capacity and facilities to generate more income but all we have had so far are fancy plans and presentations of what Molinuex could look like.
Yeah we’re are better off than seven years ago….but the fact is we should have grown and expanded not into records or computer games but on the pitch and the stadium.
There will be those who say Fosun have done a good job and it could be worse like a certain team down the road I’d say well we just missed out on joining them by the skin of our teeth that’s the only positive from this season….. Oh that and Semedo getting a two year contract extension fair play to him he upped his game Saturday the BBC Sport gave him 4.5 performance rating if he carries on like that who knows how much he’ll be worth…..2 Bob….that what I think he’s worth.
Little bit harsh on Semedo CHW.
As for the rest I think you were a bit little bit soft on our owners.
We are nowhere near the standards set by Fosun back in their 2017 flag waving declaration of intent. “Regular participation in the Champions League” requires a lot more investment and much less bullshit than has been forthcoming over the last few years.
And it looks as if JL has seen the light.
An alarming decline investment over the past three seasons? Not quite. The first two maybe but this season has seen a massive upturn and there’s part of the problem because the summer’s buys, and also that of Cunha, seemed of the panic, aswell as very costly, variety. It was only when a common sense, value for money approach was adopted over the winter that we saw the right kind of players being brought in.
As for Semedo, exercising the option was a no brainer. The alternative was to let him go for free and then having to acquire two right backs in the summer when there are much more pressing needs in other areas of the squad.
Panic spending due to the years of non or minimal investment if we hadn’t been in the mire then would Fosun have splashed the cash…..very much doubt it.
Interesting breaking-news story popped up on my gem trade screen at work today. Fosun raised $455mil selling International Gemological Institute (known as IGI), I know Fosun are here there and everywhere in business but I had no idea they owned a gem testing laboratory. I’m amazed. It doesn’t seem a logical fit with their other businesses. Just goes to show that Fosun have deep pockets. But maybe, just maybe, Guo Guangchang the owner of Fosun has been spreading his wings too widely with investments in such a diverse spread of businesses internationally.
All I’m interested in is knowing what will happen at Wolves next season. Fosun have the money but can they spend it at Wolves due to FFP? Is it just baloney to bring down asking prices of players we are interested in? If some reports are correct and Lopetegui has been misled, he will walk with a notch on his CV for saving Wolves from almost certain relegation. In that situation I hope we could bring back Nuno.
DWW
Lovely idea re Nuno but doubt whether he would want to work with Shi again after the way it finished last time.
And Barry Douglas, too.
Nuno doesn’t seem to be getting too many mentions this season as a potential Premier League replacement manager.
Best thing Fosun could do is sell up its clear they don’t have the desire, heart or ambition to take the club forward.
The last three seasons have proved this….sacking Nuno……instead of backing him.
The Lage experiment that back fired and when they finally got there man it looks like they lied to him if Julian walks this will damage there reputation to the point where no manager will trust them…..no decent manager anyway.
Don’t know how true it is but reported over here spurs are watching j-Lo developments
Only at bloody wolves could we buy new shoes only to shoot areselves in the foot
Looking at things positively, I have a theory.
Fosun made certain predictions when they took over which, for various reasons, have proved impossible to fulfil. Some people, can you believe, have used this as a stick to beat them with for the last few years, despite our position being demonstrably better than anything we achieved in the years preceeding.
Learning this lesson, Fosun have decided to downplay our prospects in the hope that their critics in the fan base will be happier should we overachieve.
Unfortunately, I fear they may have to learn another lesson about the psyche of the fans they serve.
Some of them will never be happy.
Conspiracy theorists abound. It’s like watching GB News. In 2022/2023 season Wolves spending on players was MORE than Man City and Liverpool. And comparable to the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle. Only Chelsea and Man Utd spent consierably be more. Yet Fosun are somehow failing us and should sell up.
It’s not brain surgery. It’s not how much you spend, it’s how you spend it. Fosun seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing. I thank Fosun for rescuing us seven years ago, but we’ve got the seven year itch and need new owners with new ideas. We can’t compete with the big city clubs with oil-rich owners but the likes of Brentford and Brighton show what can be achieved, and for that matter what we WERE achieving under Nuno until Fosun lost the plot.
Well put DWW, perfect summary of the Fosun era. Started with a bang, has turned into a whimper of myopia and misjudgement.
Totally out of perspective DWW I’m afraid ..
Ok you single out Brighton and Brentford.. and yes they’re clubs ( when they do well) to be copied..
but you overlook Chelsea and their moneybag owner who spent 500plus million .. even 50+ million on a manager no longer there…
But what about clubs like Reading, Blackpool and Wigan who all graced the PL in years gone by .. they’re going down another division to the 2nd .
I’m thankful to Fosun for taking the reins off miserly Morgan and muppet Moxey .. both of whom were happily taking our money but going nowhere as a club ..6/ 7 years of watching Premier League football is fine by me .. crikey we suffered for 20 years previously in the doldrums…
Ok Fosun gobbed off a bit .. but I’m still satisfied with where we are… and where we’ve come from … and I’m not a happy clapper either… Morgan and Moxey gobbed off and delivered fuck all…
The words ‘nail’, ‘head’ and ‘hit’ spring immediately to mind, M’lud.
Lord T
With respect, have to disagree on several fronts.that Dances has it out of perspective.
I do agree that Fosun are a better option than the Scouse Cowboy and his sidekick, but for me it stops there.
Had it not been for the miraculous efforts of the now apparently pi$$ed off JL we would have been back where Fosun found us – in The Championship. And imo the panic in Nov. was brought about by those in Shanghai seeing their £350 – £400 million pound asset reverting to not much more than they paid for it. I wouldn’t be surprised at anything they night have promised him to dig us out of the hole we were in on Christmas Day but it seems they may have “spoken with forked tongue”.
And we shouldn’t be comparing ourselves with Brighton, Bournemouth, Reading and co – we’re bigger and better than that and their first 3 years would support that contention, but then it all went awry with a complete collapse of professionalism and competence coupled with an ongoing series of recruitment disasters and the premature disposal of players who still had much to offer. If you want to compete with the best of the rest (which is way below the 2017 Fosun pie in the sky proclamations) then you have to have professionals running the club who know about football as well as commerce and the last 3 years say that we haven’t had that. Anyone with an ounce of business AND football acumen would have told Lage evolution is way better than revolution.
And if the rumours that JL is heading for the exit door have any substance it will prove that we still don’t. Having spent 6 years trying to get him on board to see him leave after 6 months would sum up all that’s worst about the Shi school of management.
Let’s all watch this space, but I think we should fear more of the same if JL does indeed walk.
You’re completely entitled to your views and opinion PJB … but out of interest which teams are bigger than us …? … those that we should be emulating..
Lord T
Realistically – my thoughts as follows.
Despite Fosun’s grand plan with all it’s bells and whistles I never saw that as a goer. And despite a bit of a changing of the guard at the moment I think the dreaded big 6 are here to for a good while yet – only Man City have really broken the mould of The Sky 5 (and good luck to them)..
BUT
As I’ve said before WWFC has a huge geographical fan base stretching from Cheshire to the West Midlands and the Welsh Coast to the East Midlands. There is no reason with sound management and continuity, which Fosun have failed to provide lately, that we can’t consistently be in the top ten rather than relegation battles.
Given Fosun’s massive resources that’s not asking the impossible.
Fosun have we had just one nervous year .. and that was due to Lunatic Lage wreaking havoc at the back end of last season and the front end of this .. it was Lage who ‘ cleared the decks’ and screwed it up … I don’t think it’s fair to hoist that failing idiot’s work on Fosun. .. they’ve forwarded the paddle when we were up the creek.
Come on PJB give them some slack .. otherwise FFP will come and bite us on the butt … and that could well hurt .. unless your Man City, Chelski or Newcastle ..
Fully agree on “Lunatic Lage!” as mitigation LT, but he was Jeff’s appointment (via Mendez) and you can’t say that recruitment under Serllars was anything short of disastrous. We’ve been on the slide ever since Jeff gained sole control. We wouldn’t have potential FFP problems if we hadn’t squandered so much on the likes of Cuitrone, Jordao, Hoeever, Bonatini, Trincao, Willian Jose, Silva, Guedes et al. And it has to be said that Nunes, Cunha and Collins (c£100 million this season) still have an awful lot to prove.
And now as a result we are in danger of losing the manager that Fosun have been trying to recruit for 7 years. How much slack does the post Nuno (should have been backed not sacked) era deserve?
and london
Twinx,
We have a antiquated stadium that cannot accomidate all the fans that want to watch the team, yet all we here from Fosun is we must be self sufficient and generate more income……..so what do they do……..they start a record label…..and entering the games world they think stick a Wolves badge on it and it will sell……why would people buy a record or a computer game just because it has a football clubs badge on it…..a football team that has not won a major trophy in over 50 years.
Let’s face it Fosun have lost interest but are only willy to invest the bare minimum to secure the valve of the club and its Premier League status.
But what do you want out of Fosun …
Big signings and big wages AND a New Stadium .. not forgetting champions league football and an immortal place at the top 6 table ..?
Personally I don’t think Fosun want to throw that sort of money at it ..
It’s not what I want…..it’s what they promised which was to build a club capable of competing in the Premier League on and off the pitch……there words not mine and to do that requires investment not just in players but the whole inferstructure of the club which includes the stadium.
If Fosun are no longer will to do that that’s there prerogative but they then have an obligation to the fans to try and find someone who is willing to invest in stadia and the team.
I’m not a business man but I know that turning away 10 to 15,000 customers every other week and all the revenue associated with them is not away to grow your business and generate more income.
And yes building a bigger stadium or upgrading Molineux would cost money but long term would be worth it ….even a blind man can see that.
We’ve got that seven year itch? Who is ‘we’.
Let’s see where those teams are in 3 years. Don’t forget that UEFA sanction that restricted investment.
Lots of teams do well for a season or two and then fall back, including us and Leicester. Some players get offers from richer clubs and move on.
I expect us to be in the top half again next season with some gone and some brought in.
Guedes was a mistake. If we can’t get a decent amount on a sale, loan him out and let him find his form and increase his sale value.
If Nunes wants to go, same thing.
There are others too but that’s not the point of this post.
Brighton finished 17th/16th/15th in 19/20/21. And 9th last season -same points as Wolves. I remember similar pronouncements about Leicester ( who could go down on Sunday) and Swansea (division 2) as the way to go. Everton and Man City under investigation for FFP breaches. We can’t risk the same and possible points deductions etc surely.
I’ve just read that Daniel Podence has been cleared of spitting at Brennan Johnson.
Ace witness, Morgan Gibbs-White who made a statement to the FA that he had seen Podence spit at Johnson, failed to turn up to give evidence and could not be contacted.
No further questions m’lud. I rest my case.
Now you’ve upset me Doog as you obviously don’t readmy posts.
Sorry about that mate.
I’ve read it twice now to make up for it.
We’ve both probably read the same news DOOG .. but I found it interesting to note that Johnson said that he spat at him and in evidence said that he felt something hit his shirt… I mean … he’s become a Walter Mitty… make it up as you go along … it’s a pity that Podence doesn’t make a counter claim for damages .. particularly as both Johnson and Gibbs White were lying .. .. as usual the FA bottle it .. not afraid to follow a whim but can’t find a way to punish the obvious porkies ..
Well i for one think fosun are learning the art of telling everyone your almost skint but really thats a load of bollocks.
You watch the players arrive in a few weeks time and also the players leave when jlo gets his hatchet out ( you know what i mean doog before you comment )
Cmon , you never tell anyone how much money you have to throw around do you twixy
Jlo is going along with the plan and will get what he wants .
Of course I could be totally wrong and the whole thing falls apart at the seams
Im off for some moussaka
Spikeyboy.. I m honest and always tell people how much wonga I’ve got to throw around …
Fuckin zilch ..
Hope you’re having a great birthday celebration..
yes mate metaxa 7 star left me a bit knock kneed last night hope you’ve all recovered from saturday night
all the best
utw
Metaxa 7 Star. You know how to live Spikeyboy!
Not the 7 star spikeyboy. Deathwish or what. Plus it tastes like mouthwash. 1 lv
Football is one of the few businesses where large chunks of your income stream are predictable in advance. In wolves case, tv rights, attendance, hospitality, sponsorship are all predictable within a fairly narrow range on a 2-3 year time horizon. To that end, losses are either attributable to shock or unplanned events e.g a relegation or poor returns on investment decisions e.g player recruitment . In wolves case, it is a pretty much inescapable conclusion that it is the latter that has caused our predicament. Of course, not everyone gets every transfer right but overall you strive to get more successes than failures. Of course, the more you invest in an individual player the higher the potential loss if you get it wrong. The less you invest the greater the potential upside if you get it right. It is in this area that our “strategy” , if you can call it that has been bamboozling. Irrespective of your views on individual players, 35m on a completely unproven young striker is a risk even many elite teams might shrink from. 30 m on a wingback in his late twenties that will have little sell on value at the end of his contract seems highly questionable to me. 40m sale of a young striking talent with the buying club only paying 4m upfront is equally strange. FFP is not the problem. FFP is designed to put the brake on clubs, some might argue to restrict them against challenging the big 6 , in some instances though it is to protect them from themselves. Whether you like to hear it or not, the difficult situation now emerging is completely and utterly down to a succession of poor decisions in recruitment over a 3 year period after a very promising first 3 years. Keeping Lopetegui is essential but irrespective of whether that happens or not, there has to be a change of leadership and strategy at the club. Fortunately, it looks like the change of strategy will be forced on us anyway, but even more important is the change in leadership and if Jeff Shi hasn’t learnt his lessons from the last 3 years then our club is not in safe hands at all.
Greetings Blogocracy,
Time to reflect that 2 of Leeds, Leicester or Toffeeton are waving goodbye to the ample delights the EPL has to offer. All would tell you they’re too good to go down.
Ok not Leeds, too thick to stay up.
All have chucked considerable wedge at the project and in no considerable terms have royally fkd it up.
We, and I include Jeff in this, have averagedly fkd it up. Our laughable attempts to sign a soddin striker since THE ‘accident’ are becoming legend at better endowed clubs, Ivan ‘Brentford’ Toney, Fulham Mitrovic, Aston Watkins, Notts Jonson.
Ok I’ve warmed to Costa, but has he scored? Can we build the club identity around him? Of course not.
No disrespect to The Boy Wonder or The Giraffe intended. But that’s £53 mill. That’s nearly a Mo Salah.
Matheus Nunes is our best shot. CR7 esque on a few occaisions. We need JLo to put the effort in over the summer. Get the team together, focus the energy and show the Chinese what Iberian football is all about.
Plan B? Big Sam, along with a number of others, will be available soon.
Let’s stick with Plan A for now.
1 lv & COYW.
Rasta
Definitely agree on sticking with Lopetegui as Plan A, but that requires his approval which by all accounts may not be forthcoming unless he has the backing he says he needs.
We could wait till after the Gunners game, PJB, or you could sketch out your Plan B now, supposing you have one? Graham Potter? Perhaps a bit premature. Lets wait and see what transpires. 1 lv
Who in there right mind would want to manage Wolves if Fosun let Julian go because they hoodwinked him into taking the job.
Broken promises not just to the fans but the man who saved Fosuns a small fortune and not to mention there reputation.
Think on that all those who think Fosun are still true to there word.
If he were to go (which I still think is less than more likely) we’ll no doubt end up with a Dean Smith type who will be grateful for any job he can get in the premier league.
All the best managers need loads of money.
There is so much being said and separating truth from fiction is often impossible for us humble football fans.
Lopetigui is not a fool. I can’t believe he would have taken the Wolves job without receiving clear and acceptable answers to all the financial questions he considered relevant. Particularly, I believe he would have asked for and received a clear, unambiguous and acceptable answer regarding how much would be available to spend on transfers this summer and to what extent, if any, that amount depended upon player sales. In my opinion if he doesn’t stay it will tell us he was misled.
But when he arrived no-one knew how much would be spent, or received, in the January window and that was bound to have an impact on future dealings. Its easy to be critical with hindsight but, when he arrived, everyone’s focus was on survival and, consequently, the January window acquisitions. What we don’t know is the content of any, “if we stay up’ discussions.
I tend to agree with Bilko Hind sight.
No pot is bottomless and if offered let’s say for arguments sake, a 200 million war chest of which he chose to spend 80 in January (very well in my opinion) he can’t expect still to have 200 million to spend