Matt Maher: Problems at Wolves start at the top

In the one dugout, the ghost of the past in the shape of Julen Lopetegui. In the other, the face of Wolves (just about) present in Gary O’Neil. For both, the immediate future is likely to be bleak. 

The presence of Lopetegui should serve as a timely reminder the fate of O’Neil may have little bearing on the bigger picture at Molineux.

It was only 16 months ago Lopetegui left Wolves, on the eve of a Premier League season, having become frustrated at perceived broken promises and believing the squad he had been given was not at the required standard to compete in the division.

For large portions of the last campaign, you chided him, particularly in the early spring when for a brief few weeks it appeared his successor, O’Neil, might be about to lead a surprise charge to Europe.

Yet for all that the manner and timing of Lopetegui’s exit might have left a bitter taste, time has increasingly added weight to the Spaniard’s criticisms. For some months now it has been O’Neil, in his own less explicit way, voicing many of the same complaints.

When the axe falls on his reign, as now feels inevitable, he can have few real objections. It’s a results business and the list of Premier League bosses who have endured the kind O’Neil has for the past eight months and survived to tell the tale is painfully short. There is no question he has made mistakes, the persistence of playing Mario Lemina in defence despite the warnings provided by last weekend’s home defeat to Bournemouth being only the latest. For some time now he has appeared lost, dictated to by events and not in control of them.

By the same token, it is not like he has had much in the way of support. O’Neil was not helped by a Wolves transfer window which, like too many over the previous four years, was just a little too clever by half. What the head coach really needed, after seeing his captain Max Kilman leave for West Ham in a £40million deal, was a centre-back of similar quality. 

Instead, he got a midfielder who, while undoubtedly talented, provides limited help in plugging gaps in a backline on course to concede around 100 goals this season. 

The same applies to the sale of Pedro Neto. For all that it is popular these days to pore over the game’s supposed tactical complexities, some basic rules will always apply. Consistently selling your best players and failing to adequately replace them has rarely been a recipe for success. 

Bastien Meupiyou and Pedro Lima may well develop into excellent players but their use to the first-team is limited at this point. With money apparently so tight, it prompts the obvious question as to whether the combined £12m cost might have been better spent elsewhere. Granted, the £31m spent on Andre and Sam Johnstone is deserving of even greater scrutiny but it all speaks, as a whole, of a club which has focused a little too much on the future at the expense of the present.

Should O’Neil fall, some of the spotlight will undoubtedly shine on Matt Hobbs, the sporting director who championed his appointment and who was happy, just a couple of months ago, to take responsibility for the summer recruitment strategy. 

Not replacing Kilman, according to Hobbs: “Completely married up towards what (the) plan was.” True, Wolves can count themselves unlucky with the serious injury sustained by Yerson Mosquera but even prior to then, their defence had been rather leaky. The likelihood of injuries must always be factored into any planning. Whichever way you look at the summer, Wolves left themselves short at the back.

Yet a sporting director, or head coach for that matter, can only do so much when it comes to setting the tone. It is the latter which has sounded the biggest concern around Wolves, long before either Hobbs or O’Neil were in post. Ever since Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked three-and-a-half years ago there has been a distinct mood of drift at a club which, in the early years of Fosun’s ownership only ever seemed to have positive momentum.

What happened to the energy? Whether Jeff Shi likes it or not, the words he delivered in May in an open letter, at the height of supporter outrage over increased ticket prices, hang like an Albatross around his neck.

“If you only pursue trophies or consistent European football, Wolves might not be an ideal choice,” he wrote.

Fair or otherwise, that is the perception many fans now have of an ownership they believe has abandoned big dreams and is now happy to do just enough to get by.

Far worse is that same sense being shared by observers outside the club, including no doubt some of the prospective head coaching candidates sounded out in recent days, who will see have seen the experiences of Lopetegui and O’Neil, heard their words and perhaps concluded the job is not so appealing as it really should be.

It does not help Fosun or Shi that, just a few miles down the road, a rival club has achieved the targets they once claimed as their own.

A couple of years ago Villa were also stumbling before bold decision-making with the appointment and - more importantly - the backing of Unai Emery dramatically transformed their fortunes.

That is where you hoped Wolves were heading when they finally lured Lopetegui but within eight months it soured with accusations of broken promises and now, a little later on, they are right back where they started in serious danger of disaster.

It will require smart-thinking in the short-term to save this season, yet to end the cycle of struggle Wolves desperately need a renewed sense of purpose. Responsibility for delivering the latter sits clearly with those at the top.