Second from the bottom of the Premier League table with nine points after sixteen matches, it didn’t come as a surprise after the Wolves board decided to part ways with Gary O’Neil after an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at home to the newly promoted side Ipswich Town.
Defensive cracks at Monileux
The Englishman was brought in at the beginning of last summer with the goal of driving the Wolves project forward, which was cementing the club’s Premier League status. But things have been far from rosy, with the club languishing in the relegation zone. They have been disastrous at the back this season, with 40 goals conceded from 27.6 xG and an average of 2.5 goals conceded per game.
The standard of defending has been unforgivable and far from Premier League standard. Gary O’Neil’s team has only kept one clean sheet in sixteen Premier League games this season and has conceded 2+ goals in 14 of their 16 league games.
Dead balls & errors?
Another significant weakness that led to Gary O’Neil’s termination was Wolves’s vulnerability to set pieces. 33% of the 40 goals they have conceded this season had come from set pieces, with Ipswich’s winning goal being the 13th set piece goal Gary O’Neil’s team had conceded in the Premier League this season. Such weakness was a clear indicator that the team was poorly coached.
Wolves also struggled with their level of discipline and are in the top three in the Premier League for fouls per game, with 13 fouls conceded per game. With such a level of indiscipline, Wolves have conceded 5 penalties, with all 5 leading to goals. They’ve also been prone to errors, with 9 errors leading to a shot, with 3 of those shots leading to goals. They also rank first in the league for own goals scored, with three own goals scored this season.
Let’s talks offence
In the attacking department, Gary O’Neil had failed to coach a clear attacking pattern, with most of Wolves’s 24 goals from 17 xG this season coming from Matheus Cunha’s individual brilliance.
The Brazilian was responsible for 33% of Wolves’s Premier League goals this season, with the 24-year-old overperforming his xG with 8 goals scored from 3.7 xG. That overreliance on individual quality was a key factor in the board’s decision to part ways with Gary O’Neil. Their buildup was also easy to counter as they were too direct in attack, relying more on fast transitions and counterattacks to create chances. Gary O’Neil’s side is 19th in the league table for chances created, with just 29 big chances created this season.
Wolves 331 touches in the opposition’s penalty box this season highlight how poorly executed Wolves’s build-up patterns were under Gary O’Neil.
Unwanted sales
The sale of key players over the last two summers might have contributed to the Englishman’s sacking at the West Midlands club, with Pedro Neto & Max Kilman’s vital contributions clearly missing. Gary O’Neil might have been given enough time to turn things around, but it’s obvious he was out of his depth with the Wolves board justified in their decision to part ways with the manager.
