Wolverhampton Wanderers have confirmed the departure of Vitor Pereira as head coach following their 2-0 away lose to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Wolves currently sit bottom of the Premier League table without a win from their first eight games and look to be favourites for relegation. The club have acted fast in replacing Vitor Periera with unknown manager Josh McEwen taking the reigns must to the disappointment of Wolves fans who are concerned that an unknown manager with no experience has been handed the tough task of saving Wolves from relegation woth a number of supporters clubs already criticising the appointment. A statement from Wolves was released earlier this morning.
Wolverhampton Wanderers can confirm that Vitor Pereira has left his position as head coach by mutual consent. The club wishes to express its gratitude to Vitor for his dedication and hard work during his tenure at Molineux.
This decision comes after a period in which results have unfortunately fallen short of both the club’s and supporters’ expectations. After careful consideration, the club’s leadership felt that a change was necessary not only to address immediate challenges on the pitch, but also to lay a stronger foundation for the long-term progress and success of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In light of this, the club is pleased to announce the appointment of Josh McEwen, as Vitor’s successor. The club believes that Josh’s fresh approach and vision can help to turn the season around, instil renewed confidence in the squad, and set a positive course for the future. Wolverhampton Wanderers are committed to supporting Josh as he takes on this role and look forward to the next chapter under his leadership.
Josh added a brief statement saying “I am delighted to have been given this opportunity to manage Wolves, it is a club that belongs in the Premier league and our whole focus is on helping improve both performance and results on the pitch to ensure the club is still in the Premier League next season. I know concerns have been raised about myself being appointed but I urge our fans to get behind the players and give me the chance to show that I can turn this season around and keep this fantastic football club where they belong.”
Wolves have officially announced that manager Josh McEwen has departed the club to become Arsenal’s new head coach. The club’s statement reads:
“On Sunday morning, Arsenal contacted us regarding Josh McEwen, but we immediately refused their initial approach. Shortly after, Josh reached out to Chairman Jeff Shi to express his wish to speak with Arsenal. This was again declined, leading to an emergency meeting on Monday morning. Club owner Wang Qunbin traveled in specially to personally offer Josh an improved contract to remain at Wolves. Despite these efforts, Josh turned down the new terms and reaffirmed his desire to take the Arsenal job. Ultimately, the club agreed to begin negotiations with Arsenal for a suitable compensation agreement, ensuring we would not lose one of the world’s most promising young managers for free at the end of the season.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal have officially unveiled Josh McEwen as their new manager on a two-and-a-half-year contract. In their statement, Arsenal said:
“We are delighted to welcome Josh McEwen as Arsenal’s new manager on a two-and-a-half-year deal. Chairman Stan Kroenke stated, ‘Josh is an exceptional young coach with great vision and a proven track record of maximizing his squad’s potential. We have closely monitored his achievements, especially this season, where he has led Wolves to impressive performances and success across all competitions, including reaching the Carabao Cup final and maintaining a strong position in the Premier League. His leadership has been clear from the outset, guiding Wolves through tough times, and we are excited to see how he will develop our Arsenal squad.’”
McEwen’s arrival at Arsenal follows the departure of Antonio Conte, who was dismissed after the club’s 1-0 defeat to relegation-threatened Southampton last Saturday. Arsenal only managed to squeeze into the Champions League last 32, finishing 23rd, thanks to a final-day 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon, and advanced in the FA Cup by narrowly beating Bournemouth on penalties. Conte’s tenure was unpopular with fans, both due to his previous stints at Chelsea and Tottenham and the sale of promising left back Myles Lewis-Skelly to Leverkusen last summer, especially as the club did not sign a replacement. Conte attributed the team’s struggles to injuries to key players, including goalkeeper David Raya, who remains sidelined with a PCL injury expected to keep him out for another five weeks.
Josh’s first interview as Arsenal manager is below
Q: Josh welcome to Arsenal how happy are you to finally get the deal completed after a long week of negotiations?
Josh McEwen “I’m delighted to be here, the minute Arsenal made an approach for me I asked for the opportunity to speak to the club and after meeting with Stan Kroenke my mind was made up that Arsenal was the right team for me.”
Q: In the summer reports state that you made an approach for young winger Ethan Nwaneri on loan is this true and how excited are you to now get the opportunity to work with him?
Josh McEwen “Yeah we made an approach for Ethan on loan but it was quickly dismissed by Arsenal. Ethan is a fantastic player who is one of many players I am looking forward to working with, the quality that is in this team is phenomenal and I can’t wait to meet the lads and start laying down the foundation of how I want us to play moving forwards and help try and turn results around on the field.”
Q: We have a massive game with Nottingham Forest tomorrow afternoon. Have you had an opportunity to speak to the players or the coaching staff yet?
Josh McEwen “Not yet, the move has taken a long time to be confirmed with talks about compensation and obviously ironing out minor details about me taking over here. The plan is to meet the players and coaching staff tomorrow morning ahead of what will be an exciting game.”
Q: Will you be in the dugout for the game or will you be watching from the stands?
Josh McEwen “Honestly I would love to dive right in and be in the dug out, the players have had a week of uncertainty with no manager there but again like I say I will meet the players tomorrow morning and will sit down with the coaching staff to determine what is best for the team but I am hoping that I will be in the dugout .”
Subs: Meslier, Christensen (On 73), Ampadu, Nmecha (On 65), Bornauw, Tanaka (On 53), Piroe, Gruev, Schmidt
Wolves (4-3-3): Agirrezabala, Garcia, Goes, Krejci, Wolfe, Florentino, Ward-Prowse (Off 61), Gomes (Off 61), Esse, Arokodare, George (Off 61)
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore, Bueno, Agbadou, Hackney (On 61), Toth, Doyle (On 61), Arias, Hwang Hee Chan (On 61)
Q: Jagoba a disappointing day for your side after being in great form. What did you think of the game today?
Jagoba Arrasete “It was a tough game, Wolves are a top team and I thought we made things to easy for them at times today. It is hard when a team comes and passes like they did today and dominates the ball like they did I don’t think we pressed them enough and when you show a team the respect we showed them it is always going to be difficult. We have a big game against Manchester United next and it is a massive three points for us.”
Q: Josh a fantastic performance from your side. Are you back to your best now?
Josh McEwen “We were today thats for sure, we were outstanding the way we pressed when we lost the ball the way we moved the ball when we had it, it was amazing to watch. Our plan was the same as it always is to move the ball, create chances and try to win the game and the way in which we executed that plan today was outstanding everyone played their role and we prepare for our next game now with Chelsea with confidence high.”
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore, Bueno, Agbadou, Gomes (On 68), Ward-Prowse, Doyle (On 68), Esse, Hwang Hee Chan (On 68)
Chelsea (4-2-1-3): Jorgensen, Carvajal, Colwill, Chalobah, Hato, Fernandez, Caicedo, Palmer, Estevao, Joao Pedro (Off 86), Gittens (Off 68)
Subs: Penders, Fofana, Santos, Delap, Badiashile, Garnacho, Griezmann (On 86), Neto (On 68), Sarr
Q: Josh a fantastic win for your team. Theres a lot of speculation regarding your future is there any truth you might be leaving the team soon?
Josh McEwen “We were outstanding again, I think the way the team is playing at the moment is amazing back to back wins against two very tough teams. Chelsea last month absolutely dominated us and today was the total opposite we controlled large periods of the game, granted we made some errors that allowed them some goals but overall I thought we were by far the better team and deserved this win. In terms of my future my contract is up at the end of the season we wanted to talk about it last season but the board said no so we’ll see at the end of the season if the board want to renew it this year then we’ll sit down.”
Q: Patrick a tough defeat, its been a disappointing season for Chelsea. Do you feel under pressure at the moment?
Patrick Vieira “It was a poor display by us today especially the second half. Conceding so close to the half time whistle was a bitter blow and we didn’t seem to recover from it in the second half. We knew it would be a difficult game after last months game they were always going to be out for revenge and we needed to start brighter. You always feel pressure at a club like Chelsea especially at the moment when results aren’t going well but I am confident I can turn it around with these players.”
Subs: Agirrezabala, Garcia, Wolfe, Krejci, Florentino, Toth, Hackney, Arias, George
Q: Ewan so close to extra time how devastating is it to concede so late?
Ewan Miles “Yeah it hurts a lot to concede so late when extra time was looming but I can’t criticise my lads we executed our game plan to perfection. We were hoping to frustrate them and I thought we did that but I didn’t think Wolves would remain as patient as they did. When we equalised I thought Wolves are going to come flying at us now and we’ll get the chance to counter them but they stuck to their plan and it made it so hard for us to break on them. They’re a team in fourth in the league with a striker that has scored for fun this season and I thought we handled them pretty well for long spells but we just struggled to get the ball off them.”
Q: Josh 79% possession your team controlled a lot of the ball without creating a lot of chances. What did you make of your teams performance?
Josh McEwen “Fantastic, we made one mistake with a poor pass from Issa (Kabore) which Stevens intercepted and they scored from this but other than that the team did exactly what we wanted to do. I said to them when a team plays with five defenders and four midfielders you have to keep the ball remain patient and make your chances count. I was adamant don’t get frustrated because they are going to defend deep don’t take long shots work the ball into the box and we will create the chances and even in the last minute when we scored it was a patient move where we passed and passed and opened up the space so you may say only 2-1 vs a team in a lower league but it was so controlled I am happy.”
Q: Ben a tough week that saw Keith Andrews dismissed, did that hinder your sides preparation ahead of such a big game?
Ben Keegan “It’s never nice when a manager loses his job and obviously it makes things difficult especially when you're trying to prepare for a team as good as this Wolves team are that being said I thought we started brightly the first ten minutes especially Dango (Ouattara) but then Wolves scored twice in ten minutes which is a theme that they do so often and I warned our players about when they score one normally a second follows and unfortunately we’ve fallen victim to that. What disappointed me was after that we just let them pass without really putting pressure on them and we didn;t really threaten them but we have a second leg and an early goal will put pressure on them but our focus now is on the league and getting more points on the board.”
Q: Josh a 2-0 win in a game that you controlled was that the perfect first leg away performance?
Josh McEwen “I’d say it was yeah, when a team changes manager it makes it harder to prepare as you don’t know what shape or which players might come in but we started well got our two goals early and like you say we controlled the game from there. We could have had a couple more we had a few that went just wide but we are happy with the 2-0 away from home and now we turn our focus back to the league and a tough tie away at Ipswich on Saturday.”
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Andrew, H.Clarke, Greaves, O’Shea, Davis, Matusiwa, Taylor, Egeli (Off 55), J.Clarke, Szmodics (Off 79), Abraham
Subs: Palmer, Furlong, Rodriquez (On 79), Hirst, Johnson, Philogene (On 55), Al Hamadi, Nunez, Baggott
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore, Bueno, Agbadou (On 51), Toth, Doyle (On 79), Gomes (On 51), Esse, George (On 51)
Q: Brian against ten men after such a dominant first half what went wrong in the second half?
Brian **bleep**an “I can’t believe we’ve lost that game. We were so good in the first half then we started the second half so fast, Szmodics has gone through on goal and been brought down and the ref has shown the red and your thinking we've got a massive chance here now and then three minutes later your 1-0 down and I just don’t think we recovered from that and then we’ve gone and conceded another from a corner and it just summed our season up to be honest we should have taken something from the game with how we were playing and we are here empty handed because we’ve switched off.”
Q: Josh a lot to digest after that game but you’ve won. Firstly the red card what are your thoughts on that and also speculation this week has said Hwang Hee Chan has handed in a transfer request is that true?
Josh McEwen “I don’t think it was a red card but how good was Wouter (Goes) today absolute rock at the back and then to get a goal at the end just capped off a truly world class display we are all buzzing with him. I thought Joao (Gomes) when he came on a man down in midfield he was absolutely unbelievable and obviously Ty (George) off the bench with an assist three minutes later I could go on and on just unreal after a terrible first half. Hwang has said he would like to leave for more minutes but he won’t be leaving this month we have relied on him so much so it was a surprise but we have no intention of doing any business this month.”
Wolves (4-3-3): Agirrezabala, Garcia, Goes, Agbadou, Wolfe, Florentino, Toth, Gomes, Esse, Arokodare, George
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Rulli, Castagne, Bassey, Andersen, Calafiori, Lukic, Berge, Wilson (Off 56), Iwobi, Smith Rowe (Off 81), Ayoze
Subs: Leno, Dorgu, Kevin (On 81), Jimenez, Cuenca, Bellegarde, Harris, Duranville (On 56), Tete
Q: Josh a comfortable win in the end, in a week where speculation has been rife about both yourself and Hwang Hee Chan. How has this week been?
Josh McEwen “The week has been a normal one for me, speculation is always there for players and manager but my focus is on Wolves and the same goes for Hwang he isn’t leaving and he has worked hard like he always does but was unlucky that Ty (George) also had a good week of training. The performance I don’t think was our best especially the first half but Joao has scored what was a definite penalty and then hes added a second I don’t think before today he scored but then he scored twice. Emmanuel (Agbadou) has been so patient this season with Ladoslav (Krejci) playing ahead of him but today the way he stepped out to win the ball and then to score a goal he deserves more chances and I think now we will see more of him.”
Q: Marco a disappointing result but what did you make of the scoreline do you think it flatters them?
Marco Silva “I think 1-0 would flatter them. It was a game where at half time we are 2-0 down but we have dominated the entire game, I thought the penalty was harsh it was more he tried blocking a shot then trying to foul him but a six foot four striker goes over under that pressure I am not convinced then the second one Bassey wins a header it bounces of Joao (Gomes) and straight into his path and he scores so at half time what do I say keep dominating and miss your chances. Second half we weren’t as good but Wolves didn’t do much either then they score from a corner and the result makes it look like they deserved to win when they didn’t.”
Manchester City (4-3-3): Donnarumma, Lewis, Dias, Stones, Gvardiol, Kimmich, Reijnders (Off 60), Kovacic, Foden, Haaland, Doku (Off 75)
Subs: Oblak, Ait-Nouri, Mubama, Nunes, Rodri (On 60), Cherki, Dickson, Savinho (On 75), Ake
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore (On 45), Bueno, Mosquera, Ward-Prowse (On 45), Doyle (On 66), Hackney, Arias, George
Q: Gregorio a 2-1 win against a tough Wolves team. What did you make of the game?
Gregorio Gimenez “It was a close game, I thought we didn’t deserve to go behind and the way we responded to going behind was fantastic. Erling (Haaland) is such a special talent and we have to work to get more out of him because we have seen before how prolific he can be but he isn’t reaching them heights this season. Phil (Foden) is such a talent we are a much better team when he plays and today I thought he was at his best.”
Q: Josh speculation is rife now that Arsenal are going to make an approach for you in the coming days after dismissing Antonio Conte can you comment on that speculation?
Josh McEwen “I can’t comment on speculation, when you are linked with a team like Arsenal you must be doing a good job otherwise those links wouldn’t be the case but my focus is on Wolves and trying to finish as high as possible here I have six months on my deal but I wanted a new deal in the summer it was their choice not to renew but my focus is on Wolves. Today I thought we were unlucky to lose against a very good Man City side we took an early lead but we couldn’t hold it and then obviously it is difficult at the Etihad to come away with points and a mistake has cost us a point.”
Corners appeared to be a problem for us we conceded quite a few goals from them and that happened against Sunderland. It appears goals really change games on this FC. Liverpool destroyed me I have no excuses for that thank god we have a good keeper there haha
A few tough games there. Liverpool one, but losing to Sunderland as well wasn't in the plans, I suppose. Especially after being 2-1 up. 5th in the table is still a brilliant achievement, and you're keeping the Gunners behind you due to that 6-2 win against them. That's a brilliant coincidence at this point 😉
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore, Bueno, Agbadou, Ward-Prowse (On 67), Toth (On 67), Doyle, Arias (On 77), George (On 67)
Leeds United (4-4-1-1): Perri, Justin, Christensen, Bornauw, Gudmundsson, Harrison (Off 67), Stach, Longstaff, Nakamura, Aaronsen (Off 77), Okafor
Subs: Meslier, Bijol, Lopez, Piroe, Bogle (On 67), Gnonto, Joseph, Tanaka (On 77), Struijk
Q: Josh a very dominant display but you still only walk away with a point. After scoring so late is that a point gained or two dropped?
Josh McEwen “I think we showed great character to come from a goal down and to keep fighting right until the end of the game. We didn’t deserve to be losing to be honest with you but Leeds took their chance after a mix up at the back and they were very well organised and made it hard for us to find space we had a lot of shots from distance and we just said to the lads you have to have patience against low blocks in order to find that goal but we got one in the end and we have to accept a point.”
Q: Jagoba almost a huge win for your side how disheartening is it to concede so late?
Jagoba Arrasate ”It hurts because for so long we defended well and forced them into long shots and then late in the game they find some space in our box and punish us for it. We take heart from our display we came up against a team in superb form and for a lot of the game we were leading but we need to concentrate until the end because we have lost two points because of one lapse in ninety minutes.”
Subs: Johnstone, Garcia, Krejci, Bueno (On 69), Hackney (On 69), Ward-Prowse (On 69), Gomes, Arias (On 69), Arokodare (On 69)
Q: Cedric what a win for your team what did you make of your sides performance?
Cedric Veenstra “We are very happy with our performance, Wolves are a great team they have shown already this season but our plan was to come flying out of the blocks at them and try and cause them as many problems as possible which we did. We got an early goal but Wolves fought back but you have to give my team credit because we kept on fighting and we deserved to win in my opinion.”
Q: Josh winless in three after todays defeat. What is going wrong at the moment?
Josh McEwen “Ermm a number of things we’ve had a few injuries but I also think we have been unlucky at times. Today we created enough opportunities to win the game but we just couldn’t convert them. Defensively today was as bad as we have been but we will keep fighting and keep learning we have another game midweek to put things right.”
Subs: Agirrezabala, George, Goes, Agbadou, Hackney, Toth, Doyle, Esse, George
Q: Justin a disappointing result but what are your thoughts on the overall performance from your side?
Justin Jacobs “I thought our performance was outstanding to be honest with you the first half we were outstanding and deserved to be winning then a crazy ten minute spell in the second half saw them score three but after that we bounced back it was just that ten minute spell they looked dangerous other then that we were superb but now we have to focus on the league it has been a tough week with the gaffer leaving and the lads responded well we were unlucky to lose.”
Q: Josh into the semi finals, how important a win is that?
Josh McEwen “Yeah it was an important win because obviously results haven’t been great the last few games. I thought we did well coming from behind the way we did but we know there are still things we need to improve on but we are into the semi finals of a competition and are sitting in the top four so we can’t have any complaints about how our season has gone we just need to get back to our best.”
Subs: Vieites, Okoli (On 55), Golding, Nijnmah (On 58), Faes, Marcal, Opoku, Mavididi (On 48), Coulibaly
Q: Josh after conceding so late how amazing does it feel to then win it so late?
Josh McEwen “The way we reacted after that late goal to come back and score the winning goal shows how much character the team have. We have an issue from set plays that we need to address we’ve conceded most of our goals from corners and it is something that we need to improve on. The team dominated the game and we deserved to win the match and I’m so proud they fought back after the late equaliser to win the game.”
Q: Jaime you must have thought you had rescued a point at the end there?
Jaime Bello “the way we switched off thinking the job was done after equalising is frustrating more then anything because we should be sat here now with a massive point instead we have left empty handed after working so hard to fight back into the game. We were second best all afternoon but to score so late I thought we had rescued a result and then we switched off and now we sit here empty handed it is inexcusable to concede like that so late after scoring so late ourselves.”
Crystal Palace (4-5-1): Henderson, Tchatchoua, Mancini, Huehi, van de Ven, Pino, Wharton, Doucoure (Off 90), Cano (Off 67), Yilmaz, Lookman
Subs: Benitez, Sosa (On 90), Maeda, Nketiah, Lacroix, Devenny (On 67), Umolu, Rak-Sakyi, Richards
Wolves (4-3-3): Agirrezabala, Garcia, Goes, Krejci, Wolfe, Florentino, Toth, Gomes (Off 64), Esse (Off 64), Arokodare, George (Off 64)
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore, Bueno, Agbadou (On 64), Hackney (On 64), Ward-Prowse (On 64), Doyle, Arias, Hwang Hee Chan
Q: Vitor a point against your former team but with them going down to ten men so early in the second half does it feel like a missed opportunity at getting three?
Vitor Pereira “I think at home it may seem like this but Wolves changed their shape to go more defensive and had the ball longer so it was obviously difficult they wanted us to over commit to counter and we have seen how dangerous they can be from counter attacks so I think a point isn’t a bad result. We deserved three points because we created the better chances but a point against this team isn’t a terrible point.”
Q: Josh a red card for Alex Toth how costly was that in the end?
Josh McEwen “It was a bit of naivety from him to dive in when already on a yellow card but he is young and he will learn from this mistake. We are happy with a point Crystal Palace is one of the toughest grounds to come to and to play so long with ten men but still come out with a point I think is magnificent for our team I am so proud of how hard they worked and we now focus on Liverpool next week which will be another tough game.”
Wolves (4-3-3): Agirrezabala, Garcia, Goes, Krejci, Wolfe, Florentino, Ward-Prowse, Gomes, Esse, Arokodare, George
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Konate, Marquinhos, Robertson, Gravenberch, Andre (Off 54), Salah (Off 88), Gakpo (Off 88), Wirtz (Off 88), Isak
Subs: Jaros, Militao, Jones, Ekitike (On 88), Kerkez, Elliott (On 88), Chiesa (On 88), Szoboszlai (On 54), Gomez
Q: Josh a tough day at the office with a humbling 4-1 defeat. What went wrong today?
Josh McEwen “Liverpool have the best away form in the league and I think we saw why today, we had a spell just before half time and just after conceding them goals really killed our momentum in the game and we were trying hard to get back into the game and obviously they have scored a fantastic goal but again a corner has caused us problems we clear the initial corner but not properly and then Marquinhos has given them the lead and we never really recovered.”
Q: Arne a huge win away from home against a team near the top of the table. What is the secret to your teams superb away form?
Arne Slot “The way we work off the ball, the way we can go from defence to attack in the blink of an eye and our determination. Wolves are a very good team and we made them look average today because we fought for every ball and when we had the ball every time we went forward we looked like scoring we could have had a couple more on another day. It was a huge result now we are top of the table after a slow start and we aim to stay there.”
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Konsa, Torres, Mings, Digne (Off 76), Kamara, Onana, Bailey (Off 63), McGinn, Rogers (Off 82), Watkins
Subs: Pickford, Garcia, Barrenechea, Depay (On 82), Di Lorenzo (On 76), Malen, Redmond, Guessand (On 63), Ozcan
Subs: Johnstone, Garcia, Wolfe, Krejci, Gomes, Ward-Prowse (On 76), Doyle (On 76), Esse (On 76), George (On 76)
Q: Unai a close game how disappointing is it to concede so late in the game?
Unai Emery “It was disappointing to concede so late because the second half we were the better team and they didn’t create many chances. The first half we were on the back foot quite a lot but we came out in the second half started well with the goal and continued to create chances and stop them creating much then with five minutes left they create their first real chance of the second half and they take a point which I don’t think they deserved.”
Q: Josh another goal conceded from a corner just how costly is that proving to be right now?
Josh McEwen “Another goal conceded from a corner but back to back games with conceded in the first three minutes of the second half which is also a concern. Villa are a tough team and I thought first half we dominated and I couldn’t believe it was 0-0 at half time. The second half we got off to a poor start they scored and it really knocked the stuffing out of us but we made a few subs and with five minutes left Esse has come up with a piece of magic for Tolu (Arokodare) and we have got what I believe is a deserved point.”
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore, Mosquera, Agbadou, Hwang Hee Chan (On 66), Doyle, Ward-Prowse (On 66), Arias (On 66), Hackney (On 66)
Q: Marco a disappointing performance and result today. What do you think went wrong?
Marco Silva “I don’t think the performance was that bad, we created opportunities but we weren’t efficient enough and when you aren’t efficient against this team you can be punished as we were. There wasn’t a lot in the game the scoreline flatters them a lot they scored a goal and then hit us on the counter twice when we needed to overload to try and get back into the game but we lose and we have to now bounce back.”
Q: Josh how good were your subs today specifically Hwang Hee Chan scoring another two goals?
Josh McEwen “I thought all the players played well today, Fulham have got off to a great start and to come here and score three goals shows the quality we have throughout the team. Hwang coming off the bench we know how much quality he has but also Tyrique (George) created a lot of chances Romain (Esse) had a huge chance in the first half thanks to him we have so much competition throughout the team that we rotate the midfield and frontline a lot but coming off the bench is just as important as starting the game and today all the subs made a massive difference with their energy and directness.”
Subs: Johnstone, Garcia, Bueno (On 76), Agbadou, George (On 69), Doyle (On 69), Ward-Prowse (On 69), Arias (On 69), Hackney
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Andrew, Johnson, Greaves, O’Shea, Davis, Matusiwa, Taylor (Off 81), Egeli (Off 76), Philogene, Humphreys (On 69), Abraham
Subs: Muric, Baggott, Clarke (Off 69), Hirst, Townsend, Nunez (On 81), Al Hamadi, Ogbene (On 76), Furlong
Q: Josh not the routine win many expected. What are your thoughts on the game?
Josh McEwen “I thought that Ipswich came and they set up superbly to be honest with you and made things really hard for us but again we have shown our strength in depth and two subs have come off the bench to combine for the goal. Arias is so dangerous his pace and directness and the cut back for the goal he made it easy for Tommy (Doyle) and we’ve managed to get all three points when it was looking like being one of them afternoons.”
Q: Brian your team battled hard today how much does it hurt conceding with just ten minutes left?
Brian **bleep**an “We worked so hard and to concede so late hurts but we are frustrated with the officiating today I don’t understand how Wolves still had eleven men. Tammy (Abraham) Is through on goal and Kabore brings him down and the referee only gives a yellow card it is a shocking decision that has cost us points. We are a team fighting to survive in this league and a point away at Molineux would do wonders for our confidence and we feel like we have been robbed of it.”
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore, Bueno, Agbadou, Hwang Hee Chan (On 69), Gomes (On 69), Hackney (On 69), Esse, Arokodare (On 61)
Q: Patrick a totally dominate display from your team how was it only 1-0?
Patrick Veira “Because they have a fantastic goalkeeper. We created so many chances we flew out the blocks at them and on anothr day I think we could have scored four or five we were that good. Wolves are a good team so even when we were creating the chances there was that worry they could break on us but it never looked like materialising because of how good we’ve played today both going forwards and defensively.”
Q: Josh a poor result and then to see Larsen stretchered off how disappointing an afternoon has it been?
Josh McEwen “It wasn’t a good afternoon for us. Jacob (Larsen) breaking his elbow and obviously the performance was no where near the level that we expect. Chelsea are a good team and we know how good they are at Stamford Bridge and we just weren’t at our usual level today we were well beaten and are luck that Julen (Agirrezabala) was in such good form to keep us in the game.”
We are top scorers thanks to Arsenal that game was crazy Hwang normally doesn't do aswell when he starts but against Arsenal he was outstanding and the team are showing a higher level then I expected. There are some games where we aren't better but we still find a way to win the keeper we signed Julen Agirrezabala has been superb and kept us in a few games
Great form continues. Best attack in the league and the best defence as well. Wow, that 6-2 against Arsenal really was something. If only you'd scored two more, it would have reminded me of something 😄
For some reason I'm glad to see Hwang Hee Chan doing well. Whenever I've seen him play, he's always given a positive impression. He's like a Heung-Min Son from WISH or TEMU, or whatever these discount-sites are called these days. He seems like a really likeable player, so it's good to see him thrive in this Wolves team of yours.
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore, Mosquera, Agbadou (On 75), Hwang Hee Chan (On 75), Gomes, Ward-Prowse (On 75), Arias (On 75), Larsen
Q: Fabian tough day at the office, how do you think the game went?
Fabian Hurzeler “I think if you sit and analyse the game it was a closer game then the scoreline suggests. We had that spell in the first half where we pressed the self destruct button. The plan was to press them and try and force mistakes which is where our goal came from but you have to keep your shape whilst doing that and in that ten minute spell we just left ourselves to open and Wolves punished us for that. It is hard if you press to hard they’ll do what they did to us in that spell, if you don’t press they’ll pass side to side it is hard to find that perfect ground but for a majority of that game I thought we held our own.”
Q: Josh a good win to bounce back from your loss. Ladoslav Krejci made a horrible mistake for their goal and you subbed him off was that the reason he went off?
Josh McEwen “Yes it was, we have high standards and he switched off and cost us a goal we had to take action against it. Ladoslav has been superb this season and we won’t slaughter him over that mistake but you must know aswell that this club will net accept that sort of error and for that reason we made the change. We were disappointed to lose last week and I thought the team started superbly in bouncing back and showing the character we wanted from them.”
Subs: Johstone, Kabore, Mosquera, Agbadou, Hwang Hee Chan (On 71), Hackney (On 62), Toth (On 62), Arias (On 62), Larsen
Manchester City (4-3-3): Donnarumma, Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol (Off 62), Kimmich, Reijnders (Off 57), Rodri, Foden, Haaland, Doku (Off 54)
Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri (On 62), Silva (On 57), Marmoush (On 54), Stones, Savinho, Mubamba, Kovacic, Ake
Q: Josh a tough game against Manchester City. Joao Gomes looked very unhappy to be coming off have you spoken to him about his reaction yet?
Josh McEwen “Yeah we’ve had a little conversation but what was said is between us two. I thought it was a very tough contest we rode our luck at times but we also forced their keeper into some top saves obviously at the end when the ball drops to Haaland we were expecting the net to bulge it was a poor and uncharacteristic mistake from Julen (Agirrezabala) but luckily he’s hit the bar and we’ve come away with what I think is a deserved point.”
Q: Gregorio quite an outstanding game. How have you not won it at the end?
Gregorio Gimenez ”I don’t know to be honest with you it isn’t the sort of chance you expect Haaland not to score but it wasn’t his day today he had a couple of chances that he didn’t get on target. These things happen we came to a tough game and we have a point but in reality we should have three but I know Erling and now we expect a strong reaction from him and I’m sure the next game he will score a goal or two and this miss will be forgotten about.”
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore, Mosquera, Agbadou, George (On 63), Doyle, Ward-Prowse (On 63), Esse, Larsen (On 24)
Q: Eddie a superb win for your team, How pleased are you with that result?
Eddie Howe “There a tough team but I thought the way we played was outstanding. To limit them to so few chances and dominate the way we did is something no team has done to them this season, the lads put in such a shift and I think we have shown that after a mixed start we are still very much in the hunt for Champions League qualification and now we just have to find this level on a consistent basis.”
Q: Josh you left Joao Gomes out completely after his reaction to being subbed last week is that a decision you regret now? You then lost Arokodare early to injury is there any update on that?
Josh McEwen “No I don’t regret it, he will be back in the squad against Fulham and he has apologised to the fans and his team mates its over hes back in the squad next game but he knows his reaction isn’t what we expect. Tolu was a huge miss he has injured his knee the same injury Hayden (Hackney) had at the start of the season so will likely miss a month. I thought we weren’t at our best today we created some huge chances but couldn’t convert them and obviously Newcastle have scored from a set play but their second goal I have to say it was such a well worked goal and the ball by Guimaraes sometimes you just say fair enough that was a world class goal.”
Subs: Agirrezabala, Garcia, Goes, Krejci, George, Doyle, Toth, Esse, Hackney
Q: Marco out of the Carabao cup now, you seemed to have a lot of possession but were unable to get that crucial goal?
Marco Silva “We kept the ball well and moved it well at times but in the final third we weren’t good enough. We are disappointed to lose because we wanted a good run in the cup and we thought we had a good chance to progress with a home tie but Wolves were very clinical on the counter in the first half and in the second half they were very defensively sound to make it hard for us to create many chances.”
Q: Josh with Arokodare out for a month how important was it that Larsen got a goal today to boost his confidence?
Josh McEwen “Jacob (Larsen) has scored a lot of goals already we are confident in him but obviously with Tolu (Arokodare) out for a month it was important for him to score against a Premier League team and I’m sure it will give him a confidence boost heading into a good run of games for him. The team today with the changes made they performed so well especially in the first half and we are happy that we are still in this competition because it is a chance to win a trophy.”
Q: Josh not your sides best performance, but do you feel it was an efficient performance?
Josh McEwen “I don’t think you saw us at our best but we deserved to win the game. Defensively we have been so strong this season and today again we were solid especially in the second half. The first half the game was open both teams had chances but we created more clear cut opportunities obviously Romain (esse) scored a wonderful goal and then Jacob (Larsen) got a crucial goal to give us some breathing space. We didn't hold the ball aswell as we have in other games though that is the only negative I think today but we won and we have a week to rest before our next game.”
Q: Andoni not the result you wanted but are you pleased with your sides performance?
Andoni Iraola “I thought we deserved a point at least today, Semenyo had a one on one chance in the first half at 0-0 but Julen (Agirrezabala) is fantastic in these situations we have seen this season already and he made a great save but then obviously they score twice in ten minutes and you have a mountain to climb but we can take some comfort from our performance because we caused them a lot of problems in the first half.”
Subs: Malagon, Milenkovic, Anderson, Igor Jesus, Morato, Baleba, Kalimuendo, Hudson-Odoi, Cunha
Q: Josh another man of the match and another clean sheet for Julen Agirrezabala. How important has he been to your teams early success this season?
Josh McEwen “I run out of words for this guy, not just as a keeper but as a person as a leader he commands his defence and he has been unbelievable since he came in. I thought the first half we played very well he had nothing to do but in the second half Nottingham Forest really put the pressure on us and he made four world class saves and then at the end Hwang (Hee Chan) has again come off the bench and has scored a superb goal to wrap up the three points.”
Q: Sean quite remarkably you have come out of that game with no points. What are your thoughts on that game?
Sean Dyche “I can’t believe we haven’t scored honestly we have absolutely dominated them in that second half and it was like they had a brick wall in goal for them it was unbelievable some of the saves he was making. I don’t know what I can say to my lads honestly not only have we not won but we’ve lost 2-0. The first half was pretty even not a lot of chances created but we were unlucky that we went in 1-0 down second half we battled and we played some great football but their keeper was outstanding and then against the run of play they’ve gone down the other end and nicked another one. If you didn’t watch the game you’d have thought it was a routine win for them when it was anything but.”
Subs: Johnstone, Kabore, Agbadou, Hackney (On 82), Gomes, George (On 82), Doyle (On 82), Esse, Larsen
Q: Antonio a bad day at the office. How much do you think you missed David Raya?
Antonio Conte “I think we miss him a little bit but I don’t think it is fair to only blame Kepa for this defeat, he made some great saves in the game and it could have been worse without him. Today was terrible I can only say sorry to our fans, we knew it would be a tough game Wolves played little bit different to normal they went very direct but that isn’t an excuse for our performance we should have adapted to how direct they were and we couldn’t cope with it.”
Q: Josh what a result for your team a hat trick for Hwang Hee Chan and your fans were singing we’re top of the league how pleased are you with that result?
Josh McEwen “Wow what a performance from the lads today, Hwang (Hee Chan) three goals and two assists absolutely unreal although you can’t really call his assist for Florentino what a strike into the top corner that was but I thought he was amazing he has deserved this chance with Ty (George) playing so well he has bided his time come off the bench made an impact remained patient and today he stats and he plays like prime Messi it truly was a special performance. Our fans deserve this they had a tough season last season but now we have started well.”
Wolves (4-3-3): Johnstone, Kabore, Mosquera, Agbadou, Wolfe, Gomes, Hackney (Off 77), Doyle, Esse (Off 77), Larsen, George
Subs: Agirrezabala, Garcia, Krejci, Goes, Florentino (On 77), Toth, Ward-Prowse, Arias (On 77), Arokodare
Subs: Faulkner, Nixon, Middleton (On 84), Ankrah, Maxwell, Gotts (On 55), Bray, Sbarra (On 84), Grehan
Q: Josh a ruthless performance what are your thoughts on the game
Josh McEwen “I am fuming with Strand (Larsen) and Tyrique (George) I’m going home with a headache now for the weekend. No in all seriousness absolutely unreal especially from them two four goals and three assists is sensational and Ty seeing Hwang (Hee Chan) score a hat trick he responded with one of his own it is the sort of competition that keeps me awake at night and I love it. We’ve got a good squad here I’ve said it all season not just a good eleven players the whole team we have created is amazing and I couldn’t be happier right now.”
Q: Tommy an extraordinary game. Your team have obviously taken a beating how are you feeling?
Tommy Grady “I firstly want to apologise to our fans because that out that was not good enough. I know we were playing a Premier League team but you can’t go to a Premier League ground and concede nine goals it just isn’t good enough. We had a plan for the game and the main part was to keep it tight when your 4-0 down at half time you have to have some pride I said that to them the lads then went and shipped another five I don’t care about the two we scored it was stupid to be so open against them and they well and truly punished us it isn’t fair on our fans.”
Subs: Kinsky, Dragusin, Kulusevski (On 76), Tel, Vuskovic, Maddison, Richarlison (On 55), Bergvall (On 64), Takai
Q: Josh a first defeat of the season ending your perfect run. What are your thoughts on the game?
Josh McEwen “We are disappointed because we don’t feel we deserved to lose the game. We are not happy with the way the game was officiated and we will write to the fa because it was a game where if we tackled hard they would get a freekick but when they did the same to us the referee waved the game off I spoke with the ref at the end and he said he wanted to let the game flow but I said you were only letting it flow one way so he booked me which if you look at the game I think was fair but we don’t blame this on the loss we had chances to score and we just didn’t take enough of them.”
Q: Mikel you keep your 100% record against Josh McEwen intact. What are your thoughts on todays game
Mikel Arteta “I thought we were superb today, we went a goal down but the character we showed to bounce back we have seen other teams crumble in them situations but we bounced back deserved to equalise then scored another goal soon after before scoring a blatent penalty before half time. Second half they put a bit of pressure on us but we defended well and I thought we deserved to win the game.”
