Wolves’ defeat to City poses more questions:

Uneasy truces all around as Gary O'Neil searches for answers

For every question answered during Sunday’s last gasp defeat to Manchester City, there were more that sprung up from a pragmatic performance that ultimately brought no reward. Distractions were everywhere, not least with another VAR denouement that produced howls of derision from all four sides of Molineux.

A long international break on the back of that shocking collapse at Brentford was the last thing the players, coaches and suits in the boardroom needed. That gap had been filled online with forthright sections of the support demanding the removal of the head coach, the owners and one or two figures in between.

In the stands, at least, there was clear support for Gary O’Neil as Sunday’s game tipped towards its dramatic conclusion. It helped that he picked a side suited to the job in hand, returning to a three-man central defence with Craig Dawson at its heart. This, alongside a rigidly secure low block, meant that Wolves effectively contained Pep Guardiola’s champions for virtually the entire match. A wonder-strike from defender Josko Gvardial and a handful of other long-range efforts suggest O’Neil did a good job frustrating City, and Erling Haaland in particular.

For all that his detractors point to a dismal and lengthy run of results – one win in 18 Premier League games stretching back into last season - this was evidence of a flexibility in strategy that has previously earned O’Neil results. What Sunday certainly showed was that Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait-Nouri are most effective as wing-backs, but we knew that already. That it took so long to stop banging square pegs into round holes is a cause for concern. Surely the back four experiment is gone for another season?

If the players lost control on the pitch at Brentford and gave the impression of a side full of frustrated individuals refusing to accept responsibility, then this was a far more cohesive display from a group who were all pulling in the right direction, on the pitch at least. Whether or not confidence will have suffered with John Stones’ stoppage time winner, only time will tell, but it will infuriate O’Neil that his players could not hang on for a point.

No team has leaked more than the six goals Wolves have already conceded in the last 15 minutes of matches this season. At half-time against Chelsea, Newcastle United and Aston Villa, O’Neil’s side came into the dressing room on the back of strong performances up to the interval. But by the end of all those games they were well beaten, doing nothing to allay criticism that Wolves have become a 70-minute team at best.

On Sunday, Jorgen Strand Larsen was accused of being a 60-minute player. “I’ve spoken to him a lot, he needs to get through longer than an hour,” said O’Neil in his post-match press conference. “Every game, he has run his race after 60 or 65 minutes.” The head coach followed that up with a mild swipe at Hwang Hee Chan, too, who “needs to get himself sharper.”

It all hints at tensions within the dressing room. Nowhere can that be more evident than with the goalkeeper situation. Despite Jose Sa’s man-of-the-match performance, O’Neil shut down any discussion that the Portuguese international may have put himself back in the reckoning for the number one jersey. Sa looks certain to be moved on in January, but it makes a mockery of any suggestion that the football department are comfortable with this status quo and believe that Sa and Sam Johnstone are genuinely competing for the first team shirt.

Spending a substantial part of the summer transfer budget in this area has left Wolves with two first team keepers of a similar standing and a pair of third choice keepers, with a few long contracts thrown into the mix. Once Aaron Ramsdale was out of range, Wolves should have persisted with Sa - despite the obvious misgivings the management have about the player – rather than spend £10million on a keeper not in Ramsdale’s class.

Fosun took plenty of criticism for walking away from the summer window in profit, but it is easy to forget the transfer fees committed to squad strengthening have not been insignificant. With the best part of £25m also spent on Pedro Lima and Rodrigo Gomes, who are seemingly nowhere near the first XI, it is tempting to wonder if the recruitment department were trying to be too cute. Clearly, every club wants to unearth the next great prospect but more attention to the here-and-now may have resulted in a more balanced squad.

It is an untenable position to suggest that Wolves were not at least one centre-half short going into this season, irrespective of Yerson Mosquera’s subsequent injury. If the club are still struggling come January it is unconceivable that this situation will not be addressed. Fosun would make money available if the circumstances required a solution in this area, but it should never have come to this.

Despite the misgivings about the balance of the current squad in a back four, there is plenty of talent that can thrive in the right system in areas where the recruitment department has had successes. Joao Gomes, Matheus Cunha and Mario Lemina stuck at their tasks with determination against City, and Carlos Forbs offered an outlet from the bench.

In many respects, Sunday’s performance put the lid on simmering anxieties. Supporters have been unnerved and angered by a wide range of issues that stretch way back into the summer: ticket prices, player sales, shipped goals, sacked set-piece coaches and so on. After Brentford away, the last thing anyone wanted was another capitulation before the trip to Brighton.

Will this be a stay of execution or a turning point? Clearly, O’Neil needs to become more pragmatic - as he has been previously - if he is to extend his time at Molineux. It is a myth to suggest that the run of fixtures beyond Brighton represents an easier ride. Yes, if the team had won five games already then home games against Crystal Palace and Southampton would represent a more benign challenge, but the idea of going into one or both of those fixtures still seeking a first win of the season is unthinkable. The pressure from the stands would be unbearable.

A straightforward run of fixtures is only straightforward if you are winning games. As supporters trailed away from the exit gates bemoaning another VAR misdemeanour, it was too easy to look elsewhere. Now is the time to do exactly the opposite. A succession of strategic decisions in the boardroom, the recruitment department and from the first team coaching staff have led Wolves down this path to the foot of the Premier League table.

The answers must come from within, with each component taking responsibility. We saw seeds of optimism on Sunday, but it will require a much larger sample size before supporters are convinced that the rest of this campaign will not be spent in troubled waters.

The atmosphere against City was reasonable, without ever reaching the levels of recent encounters. With tickets on general sale for virtually every game now and sell-outs unlikely, the landscape has changed. Apathy has not quite replaced the fervent support of recent Premier League seasons but supporters no longer see the sort of ambition that whets the appetite.

That is a conversation for another day. There is a fragility around the club now. Uneasy truces. The scars of Brentford ran deep. City was neither a healing process nor more of the same pain. Brighton is big.