Johnny Phillips shares what Gary O’Neil firmly believes about Wolves’ current system
Wolves have come into the 2024/25 season playing a different system.
So far, we have seen Gary O’Neil set Wolves up with a back four, with two holding midfielders in Mario Lemina, two wide players, and Matheus Cunha playing off of new signing Jorgen Strand Larsen.
O’Neil spent pre-season working on this system, after spending most of last season playing a back three with wing-backs.
The wing-backs system has long been Wolves’ bread and butter, and yielded much success under Nuno Espirito Santo. Bruno Lage and Julen Lopetegui also had some joy with it.
O’Neil did try to use a back from the start of last season. But Wolves were too leaky and after about a month, he decided to revert back to the old system, throwing Toti Gomes into his starting XI against Manchester City.
Using the old system, Wolves beat the Premier League champions 2-1 at Molineux and that game was the catalyst for Wolves’ system. The back five was there to stay.
But we’ve seen a back four so far this term, and Johnny Phillips has made a claim about O’Neil’s beliefs about this system.
Gary O’Neil firmly believes Wolves will only be more aggressive if he uses a back four
The Wolves system is always a big talking point within the fanbase.
The theory is that using a back four will allow Wolves to become more attacking, and play more on the front foot.
Previously, Wolves have set up with a back three and wing-backs, and looked to hit teams on the counter. This was done to particularly great effect under Nuno.
Wolves have made a shaky start to the new season and there have already been some calls to revert back to the tried and tested back three/five.
But journalist Johnny Phillips – who is also a Wolves fans and is well-connected with the club – has made some interesting comments today about what the Wolves manager is thinking right now.
He writes in his Football Unfiltered Substack: “There are several areas the head coach is looking to develop but a key one is his stated desire to see the team being more aggressive without the ball.
“This involves getting the defence higher up the pitch, but it will be done with four at the back.
“O’Neil is firm in his belief that Wolves will only progress this way if he can go with a back four, and will avoid reverting to a three if at all possible.”
Fans should trust O’Neil’s judgement
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Given what he has achieved so far at Molineux, O’Neil deserves a show of faith from the fans regarding his plans for playing a back four.
We all know that Wolves have the potential to look brilliant in a back three/five.
But O’Neil feels there is potential for Wolves to play in a different way and for the better with a back four. He wants to play a higher line to push the opposition back, and get Wolves playing on the front foot a bit more.
There are going to be teething problems with it. And things are difficult right now because Wolves have a very tough fixture list.
But fans should give it a chance and hopefully by mid-season, we will see a swashbuckling style that will help Wolves pick up points.
