Succession planning. Now, before you yawn and switch over to either the excellent South Bank Resistance or listen to the hilarity of abuse of the week on the E&S Spiers & Judah Wolves podcast, read on, it will be worth it, I promise, probably.
Anyway, during the long, long international break, the tabloid chat has been about the Manchester clubs and apparently Juve, sniffing around our prize assets. Neves for £60m, Jota for (insert something fictitious here). Oh and don’t forget the ludicrous link with Man Utd and Nuno.
Whilst this is undoubtedly just the redtops trying to sell a few more papers, there is a certain inevitability that at some point, our very best will move onto to challenges bigger than we will be able to offer.
And whilst someone like Nige, the happy binman, might lament on the Franksy phone-in that Neves ay gewin anywhere or that Wolves will get European futball in three seasons, woh they? The reality is that the real super powers of the game, the likes of United, Liverpool, Citee, Barca & Chelsea, will be challenging for the top prizes, whereas Wolves will not.
Reality does suck. But there it is. I’ve supported Wolves since the 80s. I didn’t go to Chorley, but I do remember as a nipper putting money in a rattling tin to help save this club from extinction. Asda saved us. Not a line I thought I would be typing today. But it did. Without the council buying Molineux and then selling some of the surrounding land to developers, this club would be in the knacker’s yard.
My point being is that, I, like many slightly more mature Wolves fans, have nearly seen the club I love have a decade of decline in the 80s and nearly go to wall & we have endured some awful football under clueless reigns of too many to mention.
But this club, my club, our club, is in its rudest of health in my lifetime. In a short period of time we have gone from shoving in cheap square pegs in round holes, to buying in bona fide world class talent. That said, we have to temper expectations and I don’t think we will ever be eating at the top table again. I may be wrong and how wonderful it would be to be proven otherwise.
Bringing in top notch quality will always run the risk that the powerhouses of Europe will want to come in and pinch our best and in the process pay them wages we can’t compete with.
And that neatly brings us on to the subject of succession planning. A term used in HR to answer the ‘what if’ questions. What if (for instance) Sandra, the Head of Accounts decides to jack it all in and follow her dream of growing rambutans in Malaysia with her 22 year old toy boy? Has the company got someone who can step into the breach? Have they got someone sufficiently trained in the business who knows what the hell Sandra has been doing for the last 30 years in the office?
Or, do they have to go through an expensive recruitment programme, leaving us with a gap for months whilst we work out what to do?
Hopefully the likes of Shi, Dalrymple and Thelwell have got this covered.
Think back to when Mick McCartney was sacked after the Molineux mauling by Albion in 2012. The knee-jerk reaction was to sack Mick and then start the search for his replacement in earnest. It was a farce.
Eventually after everybody turned us down, or the board foolishly disregarded Steve Bruce because of a few Molineux Mix comments, we ended up with Terry Connor. Poor Terry. The Clipboard Clod as he was nicknamed.
More of an intern doing work experience, Terry had no chance motivating the bomb squad to show any metal. He didn’t win a game and took 4 points from a possible 39. We finished bottom of the Prem with 25 paltry points.
After Terry we had Ståle Solbakken and Saunders before Kenny Jackett came into bring order back to the club and lay the foundations for the success we see on and off the field today
Moxey and Morgan got that and many other appointments completely wrong. And Fosun didn’t get it right either when Zenga came in, which was a rush appointment after Lopetegui didn’t take the reins.
It feels different now though. If we manage to keep Neves beyond the January transfer window, which I think we will, it is almost an inevitability that he will go in the summer. This time around I would expect Nuno, Fosun and Uncle Mendez to have a plan. If we get £60 to £80 million for him, which on the face of it sounds insane, but in today’s market for such a special young talent, isn’t unrealistic, then we move on and strengthen.
Some fans will always say we ‘need’ players. We don’t really ‘need’ anybody at the moment. However, if you think about the ‘what if’ question, and any potential injuries we may suffer will always throw up this question.
Yes, we could do we a bit more cover at full back and up top, but we have players with versatility and the illusive Dendonker can play everywhere(ish).
So, the scenario where we lose Ruben and bring in a fortune and spend it well on 2 or maybe 3 world class talents is one thing.
Losing Nuno? That’s the stuff of nightmares. My favourite manager since Graham Turner brought us back from the brink, what Nuno is doing is incredible. Tactically astute, driven and focused. He has an air of arrogance and doesn’t quite treat the media with distain, but is certainly nudging that way with his short monosyllabic answers. Brilliant.
If he takes Wolves to mid-table or beyond this season, as we all anticipate, then he’ll become even more of a hot property than he is now. And then what? Gone are the days of bringing in a penny-pinching replacement from the continent or Wrexham.
As well as casting the net to bring in some brilliant young talent to add to our squad, I would wager that the club and the uncle are already thinking about the ‘what if’ when it comes to Nuno.
So onto Burnley and the return of some our old guard back to Mol. In 2002 I remember going up to Turf Moor and watching as Sturridge & Cameron put us 3-0 up before the break. Sadly I also witnessed a forlorn Gazza plodding around the pitch in a Burnley shirt. He was hauled off at half time. A year later he had unsuccessful trials at Wolves, something we should all try and forget.
Although it’s fantastic that Wolves are favourites for the game, I don’t think it will be quite the walk in the park that some expect. Yes, Burnley have played a shed load of games already this season and yes they haven’t looked anywhere near the team they were last season, with their paltry point from 4 games.
But Wolves are still adjusting to this league and although I expect a win, I think it’ll be close. It has to be also be time to unleash the fastest player on FIFA 19, Adama Traore from the start. I’m not buying this nonsense about him being an impact sub. His pace and dribbling ability will scare the life out of any team and particularly Burnley with the likes of Bardsley in their backline.
Enjoy the weekend and try not to worry. Players, managers and owners will come and go, but the club and us fans will always be here. UTW!
@Wolvesblogger 