George Lakin looks at O'Neil's tactics and complexities compared to simpler times for BBCSport.
Wolves were once a predictable and effective team, built on a solid defensive foundation. Our simple but devastating counter-attacking style allowed us to absorb pressure and threaten anyone on the break. The team’s success was rooted in simplicity, a principle Einstein famously called the ‘ultimate sophistication.’
Wolves now seem bogged down in complexity. O’Neil, an ardent student of the game, has embraced intricate tactics and extreme attention to detail. Upon bringing in Jack Wilson, a set-piece coach from Manchester City, in the summer O’Neil claimed: “I don’t meet too many people who go into as much detail on game plans as I do, but Jack is one of the closest.”
Yet our set-piece struggles persist. Brentford, highlighted this. Ethan Pinnock drifted unmarked at the back post twice within a matter of minutes. Bizarrely, we seem to opt against going man for man, instead choosing to direct our players to start deeper and run onto the ball to clear. Complexity.
Any opposition coach worth their salt can see that there is a clear window of opportunity in playing the ball directly into the space just out of reach of the onrushing defender. The result is a free header, so place your best aerial threat right there and voila. Wolves looked like conceding from just about every set piece against Brentford. Simplicity was the kryptonite to our complexity, and it’s becoming a theme.
Football in its finest form is a simple game. The wisest in our game know this, which incidentally make O’Neil’s comments about the similarities between himself and Wilson now look incredibly stark. Wilson finds himself out of a job. His extreme studiousness adjudged to have meddled with our clarity. But O’Neil -his master and kin- remains; stuck in the epicentre of the widespread confusion he has created. Lost in game plans that exist only in the pixels of an iPad screen. Meanwhile, his players look on in search of their leader.
ARTICLE BY GEORGE LAKIN
George fell in love with Wolves the moment Colin Cameron fizzed one into the bottom corner against Plymouth Argyle on the 31st December 2005- during his first ever Wolves game as a child.
He loves digging a little deeper when it comes to Wolves, often conducting his own research to help him read between the lines and increase his knowledge and understanding of all aspects of our great club. He is keen to share his insight and findings with fans who share in his biggest love, -after his lovely wife, Amy and little boy, Tommy of course!- our mighty Wolverhampton Wanderers!
George is passionate about reaching and uniting all corners of the Wolves family, young and old, near and far. So make sure you don’t miss his weekly column exclusively for Always Wolves this season!
