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Wolverhampton Wanderers Still Have Problems

05 Feb 2025 07:39:22
{Ed's Note - Thefutureisoldgold1 has posted a new article entitled, Wolverhampton Wanderers Still Have Problems

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05 Feb 2025 11:31:03
Hi TFIOG, a thorough and thoughtful piece as ever but more than a little troubling.
Without our Wolves goggles it’s clear that a rebuild will be required whether or not we stay up. Cunha will be snapped up at the release price, Fabio might be sold (if he continues to perform well in Spain) and Guedes could be shipped on at a (wash your face) price. Hwang’s status (and form) will likely continue to be uncertain and all in all, we will need a new forward line (I assume JSL will stay).
I can see RAN leaving (not an effective defender and can’t work in a back four) to hopefully be replaced by a developed Hugo Bueno. It will be good to have the potential to play a back four but we might need a new right back (not sure Semedo can work in a ‘four’ or even if he’ll still be around).
Hopefully we can retain Yerson and our midfield players (another year out of J.Gomes would be stabilising).
However what worries me is that all the work required for filling the holes (especially up front) could be beyond our recruitment team if we’re in that ‘sell to buy’ loop where our marketable players are sold at the end of the Summer window and there is no time to bring in our targets or suitable replacements.

05 Feb 2025 17:13:57
future. As you say our problem is the successively poor transfer windows possibly with the odd exception. I'm hoping this time with the three arrivals that sorts defence and midfield for a while whilst possible changes at full back can happen our problem will be front players leaving and the need to replace them. Unless Fosun sell I don't see our circumstances changing tbh whilst I don't expect a season this poor again next time but I doubt we hit top half without new owners. Which is a pity I'd hoped for better in my lifetime maybe have to retain a bit of optimism and hope for a cup! Tea or coffee!

04 Feb 2025 20:19:33
Thank you Longmyd and Rugeley for the welcome.
Be good for the 2 new guys to get some time against Blackburn similar to Agadou when we played Bristol City

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05 Feb 2025 06:37:12
To be honest' I'd sooner leave them out and just have them train in the squad, to get upto speed, no point risking them getting injured in a cup game before they've kicked a ball in anger in the league.

05 Feb 2025 10:26:43
Welcome Waggy. I agree with you, if they are good enough and match ready get them out there. The sooner they gel on the pitch, the sooner we get benefit from the spend and help to getting the points needed. Injury is a possibility anytime, but they have been playing regularly so should be match fit.

05 Feb 2025 11:30:15
Welcome Waggy, I'm with you on this one. Players can just as easily get injured in training so let's get them in the squad and up to speed. Also a good way to do it as let's be honest we don't have the luxury of concentrating on cups this season, so it's a nice practice run before playing in the league 👍

05 Feb 2025 15:02:02
Hi Martin.
I appreciate your concerns re possible injuries during the cup gain however, there are a few injuries during training.
Surely better to get some game time this weekend than suddenly being exposed first time to a baptism of fire at Anfield

05 Feb 2025 17:32:34
Welcome waggy, I totally agree, they need to get the pace and feel of games over here, and indeed their team mates traits and movements.
Injuries are always going to be a concern in any game, even 5 a sides.
A victory and association with the fans can cement them into the club and help with the atmosphere of an field. Let's get em in if VP sees fit and hit the ground running.

04 Feb 2025 20:22:50
Wolverhampton Wanderers logo

Thefutureisoldgold1 has written an article entitled, Wolverhampton Wanderers Still Have Problems

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04 Feb 2025 17:31:12
New to the site but been reading it for years.
Good to see some more new signings.
Let's hope they can make an immediate contribution.
Survival is our goal at the mo however, thinking of the future we could have many players out during Dec 25 thru Jan 26 re African nations cup. Agbadou, Munetsi, Djiga, Ait-Noiri etc
Just a thought

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04 Feb 2025 18:26:54
Hi waggywolf, welcome onboard and you're not wrong there. It could take out our newly assembled defense at a stroke.

04 Feb 2025 18:30:48
Settling into a new country is difficult for players. Having close family around is key. When a player from abroad receives a work permit does anyone know what rights that gives to immediate family?

04 Feb 2025 18:59:29
Welcome to posting waggy.
As you have seen, a range of views!
For most, it is not just surviving this season, but Fosun's plans for the future that concern most fans.
On the upside, very reassuring that Mr Guangchang authorised the 2nd biggest spend this window. However, he needs to change the Leadership at the top for us to establish a solid platform for a brighter future.

04 Feb 2025 14:11:49
Before the window opened we needed 3 to 4 new players for the first 11 and perhaps another 3 or 4 for squad depth.
As Wandering very sensibly stated it was never going to be possible to solve these problems - the result of 5 years of almost unmitigated mismanagement - in one window.
However we have seemingly managed to add 3 players to the squad 2 of whom we have to hope are going to be first choices at CB at least for the rest of this season - Yerson may place one of them under pressure for a starting place next season!
Consequently if we survive we may be able bring the squad back to the levels required to compete in the lower half of the Premier league in the next transfer window this summer
However sadly this does require 3 things to happen.
Firstly the players we have bought this window and the returning from injury Yerson plus the reinvigorated Guedes and Bellegarde all have to prove that they are capable of consistently being first 11 or squad players at the very least.
Secondly we have to retain all of the existing players we wish to
and thirdly we have to acquire a further 3 or 4 players all capable of filling their roles in the first 11/squad.

The first of these points should be achievable Emmanuel already looks a solid acquisition, Djiga has all the attributes to make a contribution as well and perhaps ludicrously optimistically I am hopeful that Yerson, Guedes and Bellegarde can continue to develop positively!
However unless there has been a massive change in our finances it is likely that even if all of the players wanted to stay - and given that several will be out of contract or have already made noises about wanting to leave that in itself seems highly unlikely - we are almost certainly going to have to sell at least 2 of our senior players and possibly more. Unless our underlying financial position has changed we will need to raise on average an insanely high £70m + a year, (every year!), from disposals to meet PSR rules. Note it is not sales prices but profits so selling Cunha for £60m, (as we now seem fairly certain to do), will only raise circa £40m of profits.
This sadly means that we won't need the 3 or 4 new players assumed in point 3 but, the once again unachievable, 5, 6, 7 or even 8 of which 4 or 5 will need to be first 11 quality and possibly 2 or 3 of which will need to be the superstars of the first 11.
So whilst we have to hope that we have done enough this January to stave off relegation this season we are sadly likely to be right back up to our necks in the mire again next season because as Wandering pointed out you can't solve the problems this club now has in one window!

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04 Feb 2025 16:05:35
Especially not in a January window TFIOG but you're quite correct, survive this season maybe, but it will be more of the same next. Bumping along the bottom or worse may well be our fate for sometime yet.

04 Feb 2025 16:15:55
Thefutureisoldgold1. Maybe you should consider being renamed as Thefutureisbleak!
I honestly don't believe anyone knows the true financial situation of Wolves other than those inside the club and why should we be any worse than at least 50% of the teams in this league. I include London teams in that also Fulham, CP, Brentford. We are at least of Similar size if not bigger. We should be able to compete. If not and it's all doom and gloom according to you, we may as well give up now. We've just bought 3 players in (2nd highest spenders) in this window and managed to offload Lemina. Players will leave in the summer for sure. Sarabia, Dawson, Traore, Doyle?, Fabio, Doherty?, Hwang? Johnstone, SA,?
Cuhna, RAN, Gomes?
I doubt we'll take the option on Forbes.
Obviously the GK needs addressing, but assuming the players just bought work out and with H Bueno to return we should have a good defence and solid midfield.
If Cuhna does leave then so be it. It's up to Hobbs and VP to find suitable replacements. Don't forget Cuhna wasn't exactly performing brilliantly at his previous club and didn't look great when we first signed him.
A lot of those player listed above are surplus to requirements now anyway and just adding to the wage bill which should be significantly reduced when these go. We've just beaten Villa ( A champions league team), added to the squad in areas we all thought needed strengthening so IMO we need to be a little more positive.

04 Feb 2025 16:37:25
future. I have thinking about the permutations we are now able to have in both defence and midfield, it's quite a nice feeling for a change particularly for our midfield. For our defence we should have a pretty solid back 3 for quite a while from the start of next season when Yerson returns, if we stay up and the new guys do well. Then I read you piece and shatter my illusions, but obviously reality has to kick in and facing up to it you are quite right we are just going to go round in a cycle of selling our best players every year just to fight relegation again. Why do we bother! I think I'll just have a fantasy football team of my own instead! Nah can't do that too many years punishing myself following Wolves I've got to carry on to the bitter end!

04 Feb 2025 21:43:55
Blacksford - apologies.
Even I think I over do it!
You are undoubtedly correct in that I am very negative about the last 5 years!
To be fair to me though we have gone from a side that looked like we could be regulars in the smaller European trophies with potentially the occasional appearance in the main competition to a side that is having to battle incredibly hard not to be playing Championship football next year!
However if we are talking about negative if all 12 of the players you list do leave - (and I accept that some of them will and indeed others like Semedo for example may also leave, but surely not all of them) - we would be struggling to consistently get 11 on the pitch let alone have a squad. Given that you also have 5 or 6 of our current starting 11 including our best 3 players all leaving survival would surely also be highly doubtful even if we can scrape 11 pros together each week?
With respect to the financial position of the club, cf others, we can in fact all check out the publicly available, (on the internet), accounts of the clubs.
I have previously posted about how we compare to Brighton and it is very very badly!
However you listed 3 sides presumably chosen at random?
Well let's look at them and compare them to Wolves
In terms of turnover over the last 3 years Wolves have gone backwards sharply.
Fulham, Brentford and Crystal Palace, (albeit that only Palace have been in the Prem all 3 years!), all have seen their turnover rise rapidly!
At the pre tax level Wolves have seen their profits fall (in fact losses rise!) year on year (by over £85m in the 3 years)
Brentford are consistently profitable and Fulham and Palace have seen their profits improve (losses decline) to the extent that theirs are now some £35 - 40m pa better than ours.
At the pre player sales level the story is exactly the same. Our losses are racing away out of control, Brentford are consistently profitable and Palace and Fulham are seeing solid progress with losses now £70 -80m pa less than those suffered by Wolves.
So sadly if you do look at the accounts of these other sides the reality is that we are in fact substantially worse off than them and the gap is getting wider fast!
Should we be able to compete - yes of course and a few years ago we weren't just competing but were significantly better both on the pitch and financially.
However since Jeff become involved it is indeed a story of doom and gloom.
The solution is very very simple - replace Jeff with someone competent and turn around the financial debacle the club is suffering from. This would at a stroke, well as soon as the new CEO could deliver the changes required, allow the club to keep its better players and build the team.
Unfortunately over the last 5 years all of the managers from Nuno to Vitor have been operating with one hand tied behind their back as a result of the incompetence of Jeff!

05 Feb 2025 07:18:28
The way Wolves is managed is a contradiction to the way their other interests are managed.
“Fosun has never been an owner to spend for fun. It is not in their nature or character. They always try to invest where necessary, to give the club a leadership team and foundation, but also empower the team here.” (London TELEGRAPH, 9/27).
Then we see Mr Guangchang come over and authorise what is a panic spend. Clearly Shi has no real authority.
So they seem to care.but it is still unsettling for fans, not being clear on Wolves future.

05 Feb 2025 07:24:46
No need to apologise TFIOG1. It was me over reacting. TBH I really don't understand the financial aspects of how our club is run. I just thought we'd had a good/reasonable January transfer window. Just beaten Villa and things were starting to take shape. I do agree that we've been steadily going backwards, not sure if that's Shi, the over reliance on Mendes or a combination of both. IMO the problems started when we didn't replace Jota, but more so when we lost Raul to that horrendous injury. As others have stated this season is now all about survival, but there are a lot of players surplus to requirements at Wolves who are not good enough who are adding to the wage bill and contributing very little. Who knows what next season holds, but IF these new additions work out we once again have the basis of a good team. If Guo (Gua) did come across (or felt it necessary) to sanction both Cuhna's new contract and player recruitment then maybe Shi is simply not competent enough in his role.

05 Feb 2025 07:48:15
Good stuff again TFIG. Personally I prefer your conservative take on the numbers, knowing the worst scenario gives hope to improve the outcome. I have an issue over the hype with Cunha. For a long while he was ineffective, suddenly he has some great performances and wants to leave, and plays a couple of disinterested performances. No doubt he can play, but for me he is inconsistent and moody. I wonder what his second half of the season will produce? As it looks now and someone offered £70m I would take it. Perhaps not a popular view but I am not buying all the hype.

05 Feb 2025 08:09:05
I don't think you should reproach yourself TFIOG, these are the facts, pure and simple. After a storming start Fosun have left things to Jeff and it's not good reading, it is a story of decline both on and off the pitch for much debated reasons which is why we are where we are today.

Fosun have sanctioned further spending but that's only down to needs must, to correct the failings of the previous window. Had we have been in a less precarious position I doubt they would have. The extent of their ambition appears to be Premier League survival and nothing more, now that's negativity.

05 Feb 2025 10:27:36
Realistic hard nosed quantitative approach future, what is lacking in many areas of life now. Keep posting!

04 Feb 2025 15:02:36
I might be wrong but I thought twenty-two or under weren't in the reckoning for how many foreign players you have as the limit is eighteen.

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04 Feb 2025 13:42:06
All in all a decent window.
These transfers are a lot more complicated than we know. So to get them over the line in time was a great effort.
Would have loved a striker however the defence was always the priority.

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04 Feb 2025 15:02:45
Correct Nando, the defense was the issue that needed sorting, no doubt. We seem to have goals in us so the attack was never really going to be added to in January, imo.

We may still lose Cunha in the Summer, so that will be the time to take stock of that department.

04 Feb 2025 13:28:57
No comments today from anyone on yesterday?

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04 Feb 2025 14:00:56
There's a few positive comments below regarding the transfer window to which I agree. The bonus is that we got rid of Lemina. Pity it ended that way but we need to move on.

04 Feb 2025 14:05:45
Although we've brought players in, we cannot pass judgement until they've played. Hopefully Saturday will be an ideal time to bed them in.

04 Feb 2025 14:08:52
Fair point but I suppose what that reflects is that both signings are pretty much entirely unknown entities? Yes I was pleased that the club did indeed follow through and bring some much needed, extra help for the squad. However it is virtually impossible for any of us to judge how successful that was yet until they play. Getting £3m for Lemina was good business considering a) he's a known problem child and b) his contracts up in the summer. Other than that let's see how the new guys look going forward, if Agbadou is anything to go by hopefully both will represent decent value 🧐

04 Feb 2025 15:13:04
A bit early to comment Nigel, personally, I've never heard of our two recent signings so need to see them in action first. Having said that I'd not heard of Agbadou either and he hasn't disappointed.

04 Feb 2025 15:35:29
I thought Agbadou, Doc and Toti were excellent as a defensive unit on Saturday.

Toti was always looking to move forward and start the attacks.

Agbadou provided stability at the back if we lost the ball in midfield and Doc did a bit of both.

But Djiga looks like he's an upgrade on Doc and personally, I think he, Toti and Agbadou will strike fear into strikers just by the sheer size of them as well as their defensive qualities.

04 Feb 2025 18:11:58
Fair comment LMW

Wolverhampton Wanderers Player Ratings v Aston Villa

04 Feb 2025 07:39:17
{Ed's Note - Thefutureisoldgold1 has posted a new article entitled, Wolverhampton Wanderers Player Ratings v Aston Villa

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03 Feb 2025 19:10:55
Still think should go for a striker to help out Cunha and Larsen but quite happy with the 2 we have if nothing else happens.

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