Johnny Phillips: Wolves need to be one pack on and off the field
When Paul Lambert stood on stage at Wolves’ End of Season Awards at the Telford International Centre in May 2017 - and outlined his hopes for the following season in front of over 1,000 supporters - he knew what he was doing went against his principles.
Lambert was only there to protect his players. Days earlier he had been informed that he would be relieved of his duties at the end of the season. This contradicted the glowing reference he had been given in April by chairman Jeff Shi in an Express & Star interview: “He’s the right man for us.”
The Scot and his assistant Stuart Taylor had earlier been invited out to China for a meeting with Fosun chairman Guo Guangchang. Shi had not yet moved to the UK but some weeks after the invite he phoned Lambert to cancel the trip. The Scot did not hear from the chairman again until he was asked by managing director Laurie Dalrymple to a meeting, where Shi confirmed the club was talking to Nuno Espirito Santo but asked him to remain in situ should the deal fall through. A compromise was reached. Lambert got on with the formalities of tying up the season but refused to hang around when it became clear Nuno was coming. Neither head of recruitment Kevin Thelwell nor Dalrymple were party to the decision.
Essentially, a black hole sits where a more tangible structure is required between a head coach and the ownership in Shanghai. Despite attempts to bridge this gap, this summer’s events have illustrated the glaring space that still exists, rendering effective communication difficult.
Julen Lopetegui’s parting words this week were damning, with namechecks for several staff but not a word for Shi or Fosun, the company paying him and his staff in excess of £10million-a-season.
The position of sporting director only works effectively if there is a mutual dissemination of information where the owners are kept abreast of the football side of the business and the sporting director understands ownership strategy. There has been little evidence, since Fosun took control just over seven years ago, that this relationship works both ways.
It began in the summer of 2016 with players arriving via Jorge Mendes with no prior knowledge of Thelwell. Including one who limped in for a medical only to depart on crutches. Andrea Butti was appointed as general manager under Walter Zenga but his main achievement was to block access to the head coach, much to the frustration of administration staff. A Minister Without Portfolio, it was only a matter of time before Butti departed with Zenga in the first failed experiment of Fosun’s tenure.
