Very good, as ever. I fancy Podence to be a star for Wolves this season, if he stays with the squad. I can see him managing 10 goals, 7 assists and 2 red cards (for fighting players taller than him). However, the elephant in the room is that we will revert to 5 at the back by the end of September, after shipping in too many goals. Semedo and Ait-Nouri are natural wing-backs, albeit that Semedo cannot assist or score. Ait-Nouri is wasted as a genuine left-back, we need his ball control in the other penalty area. Personally I would play him as the new Neto.
Insightful as ever Johnny. I guess one of the really frustrating thing for most Wolves fans is that there are so many conflicting messages about financing and direction of the club, transfer & pricing strategy & the like. So many questions about the true ambitions of Fosun for Wolves and the seeming unwillingness to back our managers even when finances allow etc. However, worst of all is the failure of any of our Wolves journalists to really grill the club hierarchy on these matters in any meaningful way. I know there will be the fear of damaging relationships but with this there is the absence of the genuine accountability the fans demand and expect.
The mixed messaging on financing in recent years has not helped, but Fosun have genuinely invested huge amounts and it’s easy to lose sight of this when there is a need for strengthening.
Agree on proper scrutiny,, the club has always benefitted from a light touch locally. You can take this back to Sir Jack’s era when there was very little examination of the nepotism with regard to board appointments that held the club back and led to financial waste.
I understand the point on the scale of past investment but last year's pain was supposed to deal with the FFP impact of that, with this being a Summer of "financial freedom" as a result. Instead we are seeing a repeat of the pain of selling two key players with no replacements incoming. Agent fees and clauses alone do not explain the need for a repeat of this level of pain. We face the same PSR issues as all other EPL clubs and each of our rivals will need to deal with the same fees and clauses challenge when selling prize assets to balance the books. However, every one of our rivals (bar perhaps the basket case of Everton) are reinvesting significant amounts on replenishing the gaps and replacing lost stars. Forest, for example, despite their FFP issues and Bournemouth despite income being limited by a 16,000 ground capacity. Our rivals are upgrading while yet again we stand still and seem content to tinker with minor squad filling around the edges. Something does not sit right and the club needs to be challenged. What is limiting our ability to operate in the way all other PL clubs of our size seem able to do? Is it perhaps that the plethora of brand extension activity, set up to supplement our income, is in fact acting as a drain on our profitability and so affecting our transfer activity. I don't know but it has to be something yet to be explained. I have some understanding of the symbiotic relationship between local press and the club. I was part of the E&S reporting team that broke the story of the club going bust under Doug Ellis back in 1982. It is a tricky one but we seemed to have a better balance back then between maintaining a harmonious relationship while still retaining the ability to bite when needed. We had football writers maintaining the day to day and seasoned news hounds using investigative skills to to dig when necessary. We seem to have lost that. The club may surprise us this week with a splurge of canny signings - let's hope. If they don't then someone - please someone - dig, question, challenge and press until a better light is shone on what is really happening behind the scenes to OUR club.
They must have been incredibly exciting - if desperate - times covering the club during that period, Andy. I don’t think the Wolves is scrutinised in the same way as at any period during the 80s. That rigorous approach shifted gradually during Sir Jack’s ownership, and today’s coverage is another step away again.
In terms of PSR, I spoke with the ownership earlier this year about this and been assured this has never been the main issue with their approach, despite press reports which may suggest otherwise. They cited the sale of Matheus Nunes last season as having nothing to do with PSR, rather simply being a good deal for the club in terms of strategy.
I’m fairly confident that Fosun will reinvest some of its transfer income. At the time of writing this reply I think a deal for Andre at Fluminense is being progressed. What we are seeing is far more to do with strategy than any PSR constraints. Fans may disagree with Fosun’s approach but they would never deliberately put the club at risk. I wouldn’t want them to spend like Forest do, I think that club’s approach is far less stable.
It’s so difficult to operate in the Premier League today. That’s not to make excuses. The club never really grasped the opportunity they had with the success of the Nuno era and has struggled since, but it is a consideration.
Andre is on his way and it seems and an exciting prospect he seems. Money seems to be there after all although the transfer strategy does seem to be slightly out of kilter with GON's wishes for the squad. There is a risk to the approach and that is the thing that many fans find disquieting. Let's hope they get it right. And yes the 1980s was an incredible time to work on the front line of regional journalism. It was a time of high competition between big titles and a time when Editors had a generous budget to pursue the prize. There was an edge and urgency to everything back then - a far cry from the largely sedentary clickbait world of local journalism today. We were lucky back then in lots of ways. Thanks for taking the time to give such a considered reply. Appreciate ti
A balanced view Johnny with some very interesting insights. I’d like to think that we get Forbs and another central defender in and in if ( big if ) we do bring Ramsdale in I’d like to keep Sa at the club and sell Bentley creating competition at GK which is good ground for better performance. If the as said previous happens then I really think Wolves could be this season’s dark horse for a European spot but as it stands we’re looking at another mid table mediocre finish, safe but uninspiring.
Keeping Sa while signing Ramsdale is unlikely. Agree, the squad has the potential to challenge higher up the table this season but, such are the fine lines between success and failure, it is easy to see why there are fears Wolves will be looking over their shoulder at the other end of the table.
I really think that we need a back up centre forward, an out and out No 9. If anything happens to Larsen we have no natural centre forward to call on. This position never seems to get mentioned.
Very good, as ever. I fancy Podence to be a star for Wolves this season, if he stays with the squad. I can see him managing 10 goals, 7 assists and 2 red cards (for fighting players taller than him). However, the elephant in the room is that we will revert to 5 at the back by the end of September, after shipping in too many goals. Semedo and Ait-Nouri are natural wing-backs, albeit that Semedo cannot assist or score. Ait-Nouri is wasted as a genuine left-back, we need his ball control in the other penalty area. Personally I would play him as the new Neto.
Yes, the defence is the issue at the moment. Hard to see how we are genuinely equipped for a four right now.
Insightful as ever Johnny. I guess one of the really frustrating thing for most Wolves fans is that there are so many conflicting messages about financing and direction of the club, transfer & pricing strategy & the like. So many questions about the true ambitions of Fosun for Wolves and the seeming unwillingness to back our managers even when finances allow etc. However, worst of all is the failure of any of our Wolves journalists to really grill the club hierarchy on these matters in any meaningful way. I know there will be the fear of damaging relationships but with this there is the absence of the genuine accountability the fans demand and expect.
The mixed messaging on financing in recent years has not helped, but Fosun have genuinely invested huge amounts and it’s easy to lose sight of this when there is a need for strengthening.
Agree on proper scrutiny,, the club has always benefitted from a light touch locally. You can take this back to Sir Jack’s era when there was very little examination of the nepotism with regard to board appointments that held the club back and led to financial waste.
I understand the point on the scale of past investment but last year's pain was supposed to deal with the FFP impact of that, with this being a Summer of "financial freedom" as a result. Instead we are seeing a repeat of the pain of selling two key players with no replacements incoming. Agent fees and clauses alone do not explain the need for a repeat of this level of pain. We face the same PSR issues as all other EPL clubs and each of our rivals will need to deal with the same fees and clauses challenge when selling prize assets to balance the books. However, every one of our rivals (bar perhaps the basket case of Everton) are reinvesting significant amounts on replenishing the gaps and replacing lost stars. Forest, for example, despite their FFP issues and Bournemouth despite income being limited by a 16,000 ground capacity. Our rivals are upgrading while yet again we stand still and seem content to tinker with minor squad filling around the edges. Something does not sit right and the club needs to be challenged. What is limiting our ability to operate in the way all other PL clubs of our size seem able to do? Is it perhaps that the plethora of brand extension activity, set up to supplement our income, is in fact acting as a drain on our profitability and so affecting our transfer activity. I don't know but it has to be something yet to be explained. I have some understanding of the symbiotic relationship between local press and the club. I was part of the E&S reporting team that broke the story of the club going bust under Doug Ellis back in 1982. It is a tricky one but we seemed to have a better balance back then between maintaining a harmonious relationship while still retaining the ability to bite when needed. We had football writers maintaining the day to day and seasoned news hounds using investigative skills to to dig when necessary. We seem to have lost that. The club may surprise us this week with a splurge of canny signings - let's hope. If they don't then someone - please someone - dig, question, challenge and press until a better light is shone on what is really happening behind the scenes to OUR club.
They must have been incredibly exciting - if desperate - times covering the club during that period, Andy. I don’t think the Wolves is scrutinised in the same way as at any period during the 80s. That rigorous approach shifted gradually during Sir Jack’s ownership, and today’s coverage is another step away again.
In terms of PSR, I spoke with the ownership earlier this year about this and been assured this has never been the main issue with their approach, despite press reports which may suggest otherwise. They cited the sale of Matheus Nunes last season as having nothing to do with PSR, rather simply being a good deal for the club in terms of strategy.
I’m fairly confident that Fosun will reinvest some of its transfer income. At the time of writing this reply I think a deal for Andre at Fluminense is being progressed. What we are seeing is far more to do with strategy than any PSR constraints. Fans may disagree with Fosun’s approach but they would never deliberately put the club at risk. I wouldn’t want them to spend like Forest do, I think that club’s approach is far less stable.
It’s so difficult to operate in the Premier League today. That’s not to make excuses. The club never really grasped the opportunity they had with the success of the Nuno era and has struggled since, but it is a consideration.
Andre is on his way and it seems and an exciting prospect he seems. Money seems to be there after all although the transfer strategy does seem to be slightly out of kilter with GON's wishes for the squad. There is a risk to the approach and that is the thing that many fans find disquieting. Let's hope they get it right. And yes the 1980s was an incredible time to work on the front line of regional journalism. It was a time of high competition between big titles and a time when Editors had a generous budget to pursue the prize. There was an edge and urgency to everything back then - a far cry from the largely sedentary clickbait world of local journalism today. We were lucky back then in lots of ways. Thanks for taking the time to give such a considered reply. Appreciate ti
A balanced view Johnny with some very interesting insights. I’d like to think that we get Forbs and another central defender in and in if ( big if ) we do bring Ramsdale in I’d like to keep Sa at the club and sell Bentley creating competition at GK which is good ground for better performance. If the as said previous happens then I really think Wolves could be this season’s dark horse for a European spot but as it stands we’re looking at another mid table mediocre finish, safe but uninspiring.
Keeping Sa while signing Ramsdale is unlikely. Agree, the squad has the potential to challenge higher up the table this season but, such are the fine lines between success and failure, it is easy to see why there are fears Wolves will be looking over their shoulder at the other end of the table.
Excellent article. Hits the key points and open questions.
Thanks, Mick.
I really think that we need a back up centre forward, an out and out No 9. If anything happens to Larsen we have no natural centre forward to call on. This position never seems to get mentioned.
Good point, Paul.