2 days Ago By Michael Hincks
Short of calling on body language experts, to the untrained eye Gary O’Neil hardly cut a relieved figure after Wolves’ win over Southampton on Saturday. As the full-time whistle sounded at Molineux, O’Neil looked positively solemn before eventually smiling, thanking his backroom staff and hugging a handful of his players. There was no explosion, no falling to his knees to rejoice in a first Premier League win of the season, while the fist pumps towards the South Bank stand – seldom seen in these quarters this year – had to be coaxed out of him.
That O’Neil even chose to fist pump was a point of division for Wolves fans, some of whom replied “cringe” and “embarrassing” to an X post from one local reporter. Read Next 'He's into his overdraft': Wolves fans fear Gary O'Neil cannot save their season It only riled the O’Neil Out brigade further, and though unfair based on their manager’s largely muted response – which spoke of someone who knew they were nowhere near out of the woods – there was little by way of the actual performance to convince the doubters that the 41-year-old should stay on. Against Southampton, who have now replaced them at the bottom of the table, Wolves enjoyed just 29 per cent of the ball, at home no less.
Sure it may have been a dogged display in difficult circumstances, but while it was kickstarted by the fastest goal Wolves have ever scored in the Premier League – 108 seconds through Pablo Sarabia – they were fortunate to then benefit from a foe turned friend for the day. Viva VAR, Wolves fan can say for once , as Southampton really should have been level after 12 minutes, only for the video assistant referee Chris Kavanagh to send referee Thomas Bramall to the pitchside monitor to analyse a potential foul on Nelson Semedo by Mateus Fernandes. That Bramall was even sent to check this in the first place was questionable, given the seemingly 50-50 nature of the collision meant this was no clear and obvious mistake, but the on-pitch official opted to change his decision when shown slowed-down replays from one of the more damning angles.
The call split pundits, former referee Mike Dean said it was “very harsh”, while Southampton boss Russell Martin admitted it was “disappointing” given it was “open to interpretation”, as there was an argument to say Semedo actually fouled Fernandes and that a penalty should have been given. His protests seem fair. Read Next Wolves' anger at VAR masks what is really happening at the club Ha! come the laughs bellowing from Wolverhampton.
This is how it feels, and while Southampton will rankle at being the “little guy” on this occasion, Wolves certainly deserve the rub of the green in this regard. That VAR should even count as luck counters the very purpose of its existence, but when used wrongly it continues to fall into such a category. There was some irony therefore to be made from the fact sporting director Matt Hobbs – who will have a say on O’Neil’s future – was not allowed to witness this VAR reprieve from Molineux itself, having been handed a two-match stadium ban for confronting officials after the defeat to Manchester City.
He will have been glad, wherever he was, but he is unlikely to have sat comfortably, at least until a bolt from the blue from Matheus Cunha – who assisted the first goal – put the game beyond Southampton. Cunha was a cut above on Saturday and dug his side, and manager, out of trouble. Every team needs a talisman but Wolves are leaning dangerously towards becoming over reliant on Cunha, and how they would actually attack without their No 10 to pass to is not entirely clear.
Read Next The extraordinary lengths Fulham went to kick a Newcastle fan out of the home end Nevertheless, there was at least another reprieve in the form of a first league clean sheet of the season. Beyond the fact the Saints were denied an early equaliser, the visitors ended up without an attempt on target despite nine shots and 71 per cent possession. A better team would have punished Wolves, but that is an issue for Southampton, who face a difficult decision themselves over the international break regarding the future of Martin.
Back at Wolves meanwhile, in all likelihood O’Neil will live to fight another fortnight, with a trip to Fulham next on 23 November. However, the sense that beating Southampton merely delays the inevitable rings true should they go on to lose to Fulham, and so if the Wolves board can hypothesise that possible defeat then they must still ask the difficult question now. Is O’Neil really the man for the job? With Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham, Ipswich and Leicester to follow before Christmas, Wolves need to make sure they have the manager they want for a dogfight they are nowhere near out of.
O’Neil will say he is, and those with a glass-half-full outlook will point towards a run of three straight games unbeaten after that late loss to City, but the jury is still out on a deliberation that will dictate their survival prospects. In this instance, you cannot help but feel hindsight will come back to haunt them in May..
