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O'Neil aka GONe

I’m pretty easily pleased regarding league position, I’d take top ten’ish season on season with maybe the occasional minor European qualification.
Following a brief hiatus I’ve seen nothing following the Tottenham game that he can deliver that, haven’t seen what he’s had to say, I just hope he’s not gonna turn into another post match bullshitter, I’ve had enough of them over the years.
 
Alan said:
It’s super weird to me that “the players were on the beach” has been used to defend Lop in our Brighton and Arsenal losses last season.

Surely the manager’s job is stopping that mindset taking hold?
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We were safe, the games had no meaning at all. Atrocious performances, but the job had been completed at that point. We didn’t have anything to prove.

Like Dan said, the rest of the season is an essentially an audition for GON. We don’t look like we will be in a relegation battle (better than I expected from the coach so fair play ) but the last four performances have been dreadful. Devoid of any real plan at all. He doesn’t have the luxury of a reputation like Lopetegui did (regardless of whether some rated him or not). It’s a great opportunity for him and his coaching career.
 
We definitely need some different options in January as it is clear that GON doesn't fancy the ones we do have on the bench.

Neto coming back will be huge again, we've been over reliant on his output this season and have regressed back to about normal since he left.

We're comfortably above where I thought we would be when GON was appointed but that doesn't entitle him to a free pass for the rest of the season. We've been really poor for 3 games in a row but managed to gather 4 points, and haven't picked up any points away since October so we need to change.
 
On the comfortably above expectations comment that a lot are making, isn't that as much about the state of the bottom 3 as us? We are probably 2 or 3 points higher than I'd expect, but in normal season you'd expect 3rd from bottom to have about 5 more
 
I think that is a fair comment but (for me) it doesn't affect how I view the results/performances.

I think it has just given us some more breathing space in terms of being able to make mistakes/perform poorly which happens to all teams. I still want/need GON to get it right. Jury is out as to if he will.
 
Tony Towner said:
On the comfortably above expectations comment that a lot are making, isn't that as much about the state of the bottom 3 as us? We are probably 2 or 3 points higher than I'd expect, but in normal season you'd expect 3rd from bottom to have about 5 more
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I agree partly with this, but the excellent performances and results against City and Spurs in particular deserve credit.

Otherwise, it's a fairly odd table this year - we're still averaging more than 1 ppg which I did not see happening prior to the City game. We're far too inconsistent but that's why we're in mid table - we do better against teams I don't expect us to, and the opposite against some of the bottom sides.

I think the rest of the season will pan out in a similar way. Points where we don't expect them, and poor results in games where we'd expect to pick something up from.

Still don't think there's any chance we'll be looking over our shoulders due to the current state of the bottom 3 teams.
 
Tony Towner said:
On the comfortably above expectations comment that a lot are making, isn't that as much about the state of the bottom 3 as us? We are probably 2 or 3 points higher than I'd expect, but in normal season you'd expect 3rd from bottom to have about 5 more
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I think GON deserves a little extra credit for where we would be had VAR not shafted us too.

He's been pretty unlucky to not only lose Neto, who under his management had displayed the best form of his career, but for us to undoubtedly have been done over several times.

I hope RAN and Neto can get back up to speed quickly, we'll be an entirely different team then.

He needs to fuck off this hybrid/4 at the back though, it doesn't work and it's proven that several times.
 
Problem with picking up points the 'wrong way round' as it were, is that it papers over cracks and masks what's a really dangerous situation. It seems far more likely that we stop beating the likes of City and Spurs than we start beating the likes Forest & West Ham. We'll be fine for this season, but next season won't be as kind. Leicester will be fine, Ipswich, well I guess they could be anything, and the you look at one of So'ton, Leeds and Sunderland and think none of them will be as bad as the bottom three are currently.
 
YoungWolf said:
We were safe, the games had no meaning at all. Atrocious performances, but the job had been completed at that point. We didn’t have anything to prove.

Like Dan said, the rest of the season is an essentially an audition for GON. We don’t look like we will be in a relegation battle (better than I expected from the coach so fair play ) but the last four performances have been dreadful. Devoid of any real plan at all. He doesn’t have the luxury of a reputation like Lopetegui did (regardless of whether some rated him or not). It’s a great opportunity for him and his coaching career.
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I don’t agree with the first part. I get the job had been done and we were safe, but the manager still shouldn’t be turning out those drubbings. Doesn’t change the Lop > GoN discussion, mind, but just feel he does get a pass when he shouldn’t.

Last part is spot on with where I am to be fair. I do genuinely like how he comes across, his time on MNF for example I found really good. However, we can all be busy fools, and ultimately if our last 3 performances continue, he will rightly come under pressure.
 
You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and I think sometimes the quality of our squad gets overlooked. When everyone is fit and on form we have a decent starting XI but the drop off in quality is extremely steep. A good example being when Gomes’ form dropped and he picked Doyle who was poor. There’s no doubt GO has made some odd decisions, yesterday’s back four being a prime example, but in fifty years watching Wolves we haven’t had a manager who hasn’t made odd decisions. GO needs at least a couple of additions in January and then the ball will be in his court, until he gets those players we’ll probably limp along, especially away from home.
 
Wilf Wolf said:
You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and I think sometimes the quality of our squad gets overlooked. When everyone is fit and on form we have a decent starting XI but the drop off in quality is extremely steep. A good example being when Gomes’ form dropped and he picked Doyle who was poor. There’s no doubt GO has made some odd decisions, yesterday’s back four being a prime example, but in fifty years watching Wolves we haven’t had a manager who hasn’t made odd decisions. GO needs at least a couple of additions in January and then the ball will be in his court, until he gets those players we’ll probably limp along, especially away from home.
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Only as good as your manager.
 
Del Woppio said:
...and the you look at one of So'ton, Leeds and Sunderland and think none of them will be as bad as the bottom three are currently.
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I think they will.

Our form against the lower sides this season isn't actually **that** bad. It could be better of course, but only the top sides have superb form against the lower teams, but even then we were the first team to beat City for example, Liverpool dropped points away at Luton too.

Our results against teams below us

3 - Bournemouth (a)
0 - Palace (a)
1 - Luton (a)
3 - Burnley (h)
1 - Forest (h)
0 - Sheff U (a)
3 - Everton (a)

11 points from 7, and 5 of them were away.

It's not worthy of the handwringing it gets.
 
Wilf Wolf said:
Well Neto, Cunha and Hwang look better under GO than Lop, but that doesn’t fit your narrative.
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We'll, I've said exactly that quite recently so you're wrong there. You missed RAN out too.

But GoN has made Hwang look terrible by playing him out of position over the last 3 games and Neto is injured GoN also doesn't know how to use Sasa properly.

I have said quite a few times he seems a very good man manager just not a very good in-game and tactical manager.

I think he's an excellent 1st team coach just not a manager. Nowt wrong in that and he's now got 6 months to prove he can be a manager.
 
Johnny75 said:
No, it isn't that binary.

In your 50 years watching Wolves you surely must know that?
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I do so I try not to make binary statements! I have no idea whether GO will prove to be a long term success at Wolves but I’m prepared to give him credit where it’s due and can see the squad he has is seriously lacking in depth which cannot be overlooked.
 
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