New Manager Search *BACK ON*

[Wilf Wolf]

That could mean anything really .

Yes I appreciate that he needed a rest after what was it , 4 years at Seville . He clearly puts his heart and soul into it , so understandably he needs a rest .

Does that mean he'll be ready in November / December ?

I don't believe that his father's illness is the reason . Lots of people have ill parents , but that does not mean that you give us your job and be with them for 3/4 months until they pass away . Life goes on . If Lopetegui were to move to the UK having stayed close to his father for 6 weeks or so it doesn't mean that he cares any less .

Lots of people don’t have the option of taking time out to spend with an ill parent. Lopetegui can tie a break from work in with it, happy in the knowledge he can walk into work very quickly as soon as he knows time is right. It may surprise you that some people put family before a football team in a foreign land but that says a lot more about you than Lopetegui.

 

[Del Woppio]

If I was a millionaire and knew that taking a six month break would do my career prospects n harm at all, then it makes that decision to put family first a lot easier, and on a personal level it's great for him that he can do that. It's amateurish that we didn't see that coming, or thought we could talk him round. Our actual CEO had to fly out to see him, that tells you how interested Julen was in job

 

[Jinky]

I don't believe that his father's illness is the reason . Lots of people have ill parents , but that does not mean that you give us your job and be with them for 3/4 months until they pass away . Life goes on . If Lopetegui were to move to the UK having stayed close to his father for 6 weeks or so it doesn't mean that he cares any less .

Ignorant doesn't cover it.

Having been in this position myself, if I was able to give up my job and spend 3-4 months time with my dad before he passed away, I 100% would have done.

To be honest, I'm not a massive fan of some of the posts taking the piss out of Lopetegui for putting his family first, and there have been a few.

What I will say is, it's stupid (surprise, surprise) of Shi to be hanging around for him again. We have no idea what state of mind Julen will be in if/when the inevitable happens with his dad. It shouldn't be an issue anyway; because a competent person would have recruited an able manager by now.

 

[Tony Towner]

I am kind of wondering if he could be in the frame. He obviously wants to go to the World Cup and recently turned down the Huddersfield job because of it I believe? It would kind of make sense us waiting if he is next on the list.

If we are waiting/hoping for Lopetegui then our obsession with him is really strange.

There is logic to say they know manager x will take over in mid Jan. WC, few weeks off and hello Martinez/Barry/Lopetegui/Southgate or whoever

By looking at precedent there's much more likelihood that won't be the case and they've just kicked the can as they are flailing around in the hope something comes along

 

[Loki]

Have we dodged a bullet with Beale ?

The idea that he wants to remain loyal to QPR and help to build the project is nonsense in my view , based on how he allowed his name to remain as part of the speculation over the last week .
If he was committed to QPR - as he should be after only 15/16 matches in charge and doing quite well , then why did he allow his name to be bandied about for a week as a potential future Wolves Manager within days ?
All it would have taken was a very emphatic ' no I am not interested , I am staying with QPR ' answer . Instead he wouldn't answer any question of that nature when asked .
It smacks of over stated ambition to me . You simply have to stay put at some stage and learn your trade . He has to make mistakes at that level to understand how to cope with them at a higher level .
He now has a reputation of someone who is constantly looking over his shoulder for his next move .

Sorry but I think this is nonsense. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[prawnking]

There is logic to say they know manager x will take over in mid Jan. WC few weeks off and hello Martinez/Barry/Lopetegui/Southgate or whoever

Logic also begs the question whether any of them are actually worth waiting for, compared to the likes of Bosz or Martins who (while not perfect) are free now.

 

[Wolvensam]

After sleeping on it (and still being a bit angry) I do think we've taken the right decision albeit it has been self-inflicted by complete incompetence. Lage should have been sacked earlier, probably around May as some have said, and that would have given the summer to be thorough and appoint.

However, I am fully on board with not making a bog standard appointment now just to see us safe from relegation meaning we then have to sack said manager in the summer and start this entire process all over again (see Zenga, Lambert). Obviously we wouldn't be in that position if we had done our due diligence, but I *do* think Lopetegui's dad is genuinely ill - and with an ill mom currently I'd love nothing more than to take 3-4 months off from work to care for her properly and you can't begrudge Lopetegui that - and part of me thinks Beale flip reserved at the eleventh hour (he won't say that in his interview with the QPR media team because their fans will bay for his blood).

I don't think we're magically waiting for candidates to become available post-World Cup. I'm probably a blind optimist, I'm probably giving the team at Wolves too much credit, but someone must have gone "I'm yours in 2023 if you want me" (maybe Lopetegui) which means we aren't rushing now.

This is slightly different to Terry Connor in that it hasn't been a knee jerk sacking in February - if anything it came too late - and our current interim does have SOME experience of managing a successful team, albeit in lower leagues. If they're going to supplement that further with coaches around them to add fresh ideas and then the head coach takes over that setup that's not too bad of a way to do it.

As said, could have been avoided, but it could also be a lot worse. Obviously a Martins/Bosz would have been better than their predecessor but they're not a long term solution, and to me we made the mistake in hiring Lage who wasn't a long term solution either.

 

[AndyWolves]

What's the old adage? Don't let perfect* get in the way of good.

*Obviously this requires a huge caveat

 

[Tony Towner]

Logic also begs the question whether any of them are actually worth waiting for, compared to the likes of Bosz or Martins who (while not perfect) are free now.

I suppose it depends on whether they think the drop from those to Davis is smaller than the one from Manager X to them.

I still think if Manager X exists it's JL and then more in hope than a guarantee

 

[prawnking]

However, I am fully on board with not making a bog standard appointment now

So we'll just wait for a bog standard appointment in January then, after three months with a sub-bog standard appointment?

 

[Wolvensam]

So we'll just wait for a bog standard appointment in January then, after three months with a sub-bog standard appointment?

Obviously very happy to have egg on my face in January when we hire Pedro Martins, but if it's Lopetegui who walks in the door it'll make sense.

 

[Langers]

I actually don't have an issue with waiting for the right appointment - and I still think Lopetegui would be a decent appointment.

But the amount of time it's taken for us to act on the fact we were shit, bad to watch and unable to win under Lage is something that I can't so easily forgive. It's made us look incredibly reactive, and I very much doubt that 'waiting until after the world cup' is a process we had envisaged when we first sacked Lage.

I don't agree with anyone saying we're as good as down already but FFS, it's not going to help matters - Davis needs a pretty urgent upturn in form and results because otherwise, the job looks harder, less attractive and our better players will be looking at January with a different perspective.

To add - totally agree with Jinky re: the flippant posts about Lopetegui's family. Really bad taste, uncalled for and really isn't a good look for anyone making said cheap shots.

 

[Wolvensam]

Think I'm pretty much in the same boat as Langers on this one. I don't know if we sacked Lage when we did as Lopetegui got sacked the same week or what, but it should have been done sooner.

 

[Derby Wolf]

After sleeping on it (and still being a bit angry) I do think we've taken the right decision albeit it has been self-inflicted by complete incompetence. Lage should have been sacked earlier, probably around May as some have said, and that would have given the summer to be thorough and appoint.

However, I am fully on board with not making a bog standard appointment now just to see us safe from relegation meaning we then have to sack said manager in the summer and start this entire process all over again (see Zenga, Lambert). Obviously we wouldn't be in that position if we had done our due diligence, but I *do* think Lopetegui's dad is genuinely ill - and with an ill mom currently I'd love nothing more than to take 3-4 months off from work to care for her properly and you can't begrudge Lopetegui that - and part of me thinks Beale flip reserved at the eleventh hour (he won't say that in his interview with the QPR media team because their fans will bay for his blood).

I don't think we're magically waiting for candidates to become available post-World Cup. I'm probably a blind optimist, I'm probably giving the team at Wolves too much credit, but someone must have gone "I'm yours in 2023 if you want me" (maybe Lopetegui) which means we aren't rushing now.

This is slightly different to Terry Connor in that it hasn't been a knee jerk sacking in February - if anything it came too late - and our current interim does have SOME experience of managing a successful team, albeit in lower leagues. If they're going to supplement that further with coaches around them to add fresh ideas and then the head coach takes over that setup that's not too bad of a way to do it.

As said, could have been avoided, but it could also be a lot worse. Obviously a Martins/Bosz would have been better than their predecessor but they're not a long term solution, and to me we made the mistake in hiring Lage who wasn't a long term solution either.

How do you reconcile that Connor and Lage aren't alike but Lage should have been earlier in May and the sacking in February '12 was too late?

Don't make a bog standard appointment but instead inflict substandard appointment which could leave us in far deeper trouble come January.

I get you might be grasping for something, anything to make it make sense but last night's decision is catastrophic, somebody coming in a week ago needed an quick upturn in form, in January that becomes instant. It makes getting the appointment even more critical.

 

[Wolvensam]

How do you reconcile that Connor and Lage aren't alike but Lage should have been earlier in May and the sacking in February '12 was too late?

Don't make a bog standard appointment but instead inflict substandard appointment which could leave us in far deeper trouble come January.

I get you might be grasping for something, anything to make it make sense but last night's decision is catastrophic, somebody coming in a week ago needed an quick upturn in form, in January that becomes instant. It makes getting the appointment even more critical.

I was comparing Connor to Davis, sorry, in terms of interim appointments.

 

[prawnking]

How can anyone be comfortable with Steve Davis (nothing against him as a bloke) managing us in the PL for anything other than a game or two

 

[thisisgil]

I don't agree with anyone saying we're as good as down already but FFS, it's not going to help matters - Davis needs a pretty urgent upturn in form and results because otherwise, the job looks harder, less attractive and our better players will be looking at January with a different perspective.

If it wasn't for Neves hitting the post with the freekick, we'd have probably gone on to win the Palace game. At that point, Davis would be on 6 points from a possible 9 and we'd all be feeling a lot more optimistic. Razor fine margins!

I think on balance, things have improved with Davis and I think he's good enough to at least keep us in the race until January. His willingness to give some of our promising youth a chance and the fact that he uses players in position are both refreshing and I think he's as good as a steady hand as we could hope for at this stage. Still gutted about Beale though. He could have been our most progressive managerial appointment for thirty years.

 

[Wolvensam]

How can anyone be comfortable with Steve Davis (nothing against him as a bloke) managing us in the PL for anything other than a game or two

The play has gotten slightly better - all fine margins but if Neves nails that free-kick or Costa hits the ball first time we're 3-0 up into half-time and winning in the end.

He isn't the answer, of course he isn't, but I'm happy to have him in charge for 4-6 games if we get the right man. As long as we appoint the right man regardless of whether he loses all 4-6 or gets anywhere between 9-12 points.

Obviously if we don't get the right man, that's another story.

 

[prawnking]

The play has gotten slightly better - all fine margins but if Neves nails that free-kick or Costa hits the ball first time we're 3-0 up into half-time and winning in the end.

He isn't the answer, of course he isn't, but I'm happy to have him in charge for 4-6 games if we get the right man. As long as we appointment the right man regardless of whether he loses all 4-6 or gets anywhere between 9-12 points.

Obviously if we don't get the right man, that's another story.

I hope Davis can scrape enough points over the next few months to give the next fella a fighting chance, and I hope Jeff randomly pulls a great decision out of the bag in that regard, but for me it's like crossing your fingers and hoping the Tories appoint a great PM next week. All evidence points the other way, sadly

 

[Wolvensam]

I hope Davis can scrape enough points over the next few months to give the next fella a fighting chance, and I hope Jeff randomly pulls a great decision out of the bag in that regard, but for me it's like crossing your fingers and hoping the Tories appoint a great PM next week. All evidence points the other way, sadly

Oh absolutely, no doubt they've stuffed this up and I am absolutely not saying they've done well - this is all on them. But I do think sticking with Davis for 4-6 games and appointing some decent coaches to help him out won't be as much of a dumpster fire as it could be if we'd settled. I was more worried we'd settle for Bosz/Martins and take the club even further back than it has been taken already.

I just really, really hope they get the appointment right in January.