05 Jan 2026 18:09:26
Have I gone mad or is the football industry out of control! Man Utd sack their manager or is it head coach - league position 6th Chelsea have done the same -league position 5th. Celtic now have joined in - league position 2nd. Just proves what a crazy business football has become all three clubs will have paid out millions to end contracts and will pay out milllions to secure their new managers/head coach as well as millions in compensation to the former clubs.
Then there is the change over of three sets of back room staff including the ones employed to tell millionaire players how to take a corner and a throw in that could be at least 30 people.
All this in an industry where most clubs make massive losses every year but an industry where there seems to be no shortage of experienced business men/organisations looking to invest. I have been thinking for the last 20 years football will implode as none of this makes any sense but the football juggernaut keeps rolling on!
05 Jan 2026 18:31:38
That was a very interesting post Major. Thank you.
05 Jan 2026 18:41:45
You're not on your own thinking that Major Frank, maybe there's more to some of these sackings than just poor performances on the pitch.
Sometimes personalities, fallings out, etc also play their part but you're right some of them make little sense. As for football finances, don't ask.
05 Jan 2026 19:17:27
It will indeed implode at some point major Frank, and notably from silly sackings etc.
VAR and TV company's with their KO timings etc will drive the local club supporter away eventually and the atmosphere love and attraction will be lost at root level.
It'll be celebrity striker week or something.
The clubs are already losing identity in the clamour to take more money by different coloured change/away shirts.
I hate watching the old gold parading in neon blue, violet flush or whatever they label them.
Wolves wear old gold unless it's a colour clash, which isn't that often for us, bit it's the clubs identity being slowly eroded.
Get rid of the 'big teams' to their desired super leagues, or cap expenditure on players and squad size. kick off at the same times and get some degree of level playing field.
The manager situation is money for nothing if they're on the circuit, no pride loyalty or dedication .
It's money money money and sod the paying fan., because once we're broken it'll never be mended.
It's a have and have not league now, not football as we knew it, buy the team from the smaller financially well off and sod em.
Happy new year!
05 Jan 2026 20:51:07
I'm not sure how you take the excess money out of the game which seems to be at the root of all of this, maybe a gradual cap on TV revenue, but allow unlimited gate receipts and matchday revenue. Hopefully this would slowly move the game back towards the fans.
05 Jan 2026 21:19:01
Thanks for the replies Cashinblack, Longmyndwolf and Abbeywolf and happy new year. I agree on the clash of personalities being a factor and they have been debating this very topic on Radio 5 tonight. It seems that Directors of football now want the shout on all signings and formations so that makes them the manager in my book but they are low profile and don’t seem to get the flak for bad performances. If they want this level of influence then surely they have to appoint a head coach they get on with and have similar views on formations and style of football.
If in Chelsea, Man Utd and Celtic’s case they can’t work together then surely this is the director of footballs fault he must have interviewed the head coach and should equally take the blame for bad performances.
All seems crazy to me especially when I started supporting the wolves you had Bill McGarry manager and Sammy Chung who should of been paid a fortune as he seemed to be assistant, trainer and ran on with the bucket and sponge. Now there seems to be a whole army of backroom staff and the football is definitely less enjoyable.
I agree on the have and have nots Abbey and feel that the influx of American owners will start to push for a super league with no relegations as in American football to protect their investment. The worry is if they then cut funding to the teams outside this league which could be us then football as we have known it will change forever.
05 Jan 2026 21:49:33
Excellent thread.
Not sure there is too much money - most teams lose bucket loads so more not less would help.
However perhaps some control over its distribution and expenditure might both stop so many teams losing money - allegedly the idea behind FFP and its successor - and make the game more about football than money.
A broader distribution of the money - i.e. less to the big 6 or 7 and more to other teams, (perhaps even across all of the leagues) - and maybe a US sport like salary cap or tighter squad size restriction that would stop the big teams using their financial muscle to hoover up all the talent would do wonders for the game.
Greater protection for the smaller teams in respect of losing youngsters for free or nominal sums would also be good for everyone including probably most of the youngsters most of whom of course are simply discarded by the big teams ruining their careers.
But does the "money" care about the wider game and would the bigger teams agree to something/anything that takes away their inbuilt advantages?
06 Jan 2026 08:19:32
Sadly the answers are NO to the last questions asked Tfig, the money makers only care about one thing, keep it alive until they've sqeezed every last penny, and then dump it until such time as interest can be mustered again.
Footballs ruined and further damage with tinkering to the spectacle and overload of competition (s) will saturate and lose the average fan.
Take the carabou/fa cups, no replays at the detriment to smaller clubs, where a lucrative draw against higher placed clubs could be a life saver.
Now you'll get a big 6 teams reserves, battle a draw and even if you win on the night via pens you javnt got the big money a replay would give, you go through most prob to a lower team which wouldn't provide the same income.
It devalues our home competition to ensure European teams and media get the cut.
06 Jan 2026 09:11:14
Excellent thread, thanks to all contributors, made good reading over breakfast. The top clubs have virtually controlled the game to the detriment of the rest with loyal fans seeing their interests sidelined. No replays, serving the big clubs with congested fixtures as they play in absurd leagues for European qualification and bigger games than a replay at Barnsley. Makes you wonder. Should we have let the top 6 join that Euro league? Would the smaller clubs have got back to a more traditional game with cup replays, Saturday 3 pm kos, and the ability to nurture young players protected from clubs sweeping up talent with huge numbers on loan in Europe.
In reality I believe money will call the tune as ever, if you have the rules changed regularly to prevent what The Mancs, Chelsea etc have already done then beating one of the top 6 will be all clubs like Wolves can realistically aspire to.