There are very few similarities between Gary O’Neil and Bruno Lage at Wolves however, one trend has been spotted. Wolves are in a much better place following O’Neil’s arrival last summer, as the Englishman continues to put his stamp on the squad. Arriving at Molineux just days before the 2023/24 season commenced, the boss had little time to get to know his squad as Wolves started the campaign in dreary form. Quickly, the results started to pick up as the manager realised his formation wasn’t working, seeing him revert to a back five, something that proved to be a success.
Bruno Lage Wolves struggle resurfaces With the players that O’Neil has in his squad, switching to a back three with two wing-backs worked perfectly for the Old Gold. Despite the successes of last season, the manager has reverted to playing a four-man defence, which so far this season, hasn’t worked given that Wolves have conceded nine goals from three games. Only Everton have conceded more than O’Neil’s side, hinting that change should be considered, as a theme that has troubled the club before re-emerges.
Speaking about the start to the season on The Keen & Judah Show, journalist Liam Keen formed a comparison between O’Neil and former Wolves boss, Bruno Lage.“Other managers have tried a four, Bruno Lage being the obvious example who attempted to play a back four in his second season, it didn’t go well. “There were a lot of parallels to this year in the sense that it’s been a tough start, there’s an experienced defender not starting – Conor Coady during Lage’s reign. “Dawson was certainly left out at the start of the season but came back with vengeance against Forest.” There will be hope that comparisons between Lage and O’Neil’s second seasons end there, given that the Portuguese coach was dismissed in October 2022 as Wolves sat in 18th. Gary O’Neil should consider change A lot of Lage’s failures had to do with his attempt to change the identity of how the club operate best on the pitch. While O’Neil is not at the former coach’s level, there is some concern creeping in as to when improvement will be seen, with Wolves yet to record a win. Things aren’t about to get any easier for the squad, with the next five Premier League fixtures coming against Newcastle, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Brentford and Manchester City.
The idea of edging towards November without a win on the board is unfathomable, however, Wolves expert Keen urged fans not to be ‘too scared’ of O’Neil’s defensive plan. “I don’t think people should be too scared of change, you can be wary and anxious of change but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. “If Gary O’Neil finds reasons to believe that a back four is the way Wolves should play, there’s no reason right now why we shouldn’t have faith in that.” Only time will tell if the Old Gold can find sanctuary playing with four at the back, with little time to adapt to change as the fixtures pile up in both frequency and difficulty.
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