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 are delighted to announce the signings of Ardon Jasahri and Tyrique George on loan until the end of the season. Ardon joins from AC Milan on a straight loan deal with no option to buy whereas Tyrique George has signed for an initial loan fee of £2,000,000 which includes an obligatory buy clause of an additional £4,000,000 if Wolves remain in the Premier League. In more news Santiago Bueno has signed for Bournemouth in a deal worth £11,000,000 where as Fer Lopez (Tottenham Hotspur) Yerson Mosquera (Galatasaray) Rodrigo Gomes (AS Roma) and Enso Gonzalez (Eyupspor) have left the club on loan until the end of the season.
Ardon Jashiri “I am really happy to be joining Wolves on loan, it has been a difficult season for me in Italy not receiving as much game time as I would like so when the opportunity arose for me to come and play in the Premier League I jumped at the opportunity and I can’t wait to get started and help improve Wolves fortunes this season. It is a world cup year and I want to ensure I am playing as much as I can to ensure I am in the squad but also am match fit and ready to contribute and help my team but the focus right now is on getting match fit and helping Wolves remain in the Premier League.”
Tyrique George “It has been a bit of a difficult season for me in August I came close to joining a couple of different teams but it never really materialised so I’ve not played anywhere near as much as I would have liked. When I spoke with Josh (McEwen) I thought this is the perfect place for me to come in and show what I am capable of and I’m confident that I'll develop into a better player under him. Obviously I’ve been at Chelsea so I have seen twice just how difficult he is making Wolves to beat but he has said to me my focus is going to be on pressing from the front and getting on the ball to try and score and create chances so I’m really excited to get started.”
Josh McEwen added “We are really pleased to get two signings in right at the start of the window, we have a lot more work to do this month to strengthen the team but we have got two young hungry lads joining the team who are going to be crucial to how I want us playing moving forwards. Santiago (Bueno) made it clear when I joined that he saw his future away from Wolves hence why he hasn’t really played since I’ve been here I want players that want to be at Wolves and won’t stand in anyone's way. We received some exciting loan offers for the other lads who haven’t really played as much Fer (Lopez) has the chance to make his deal at Spurs permanent but the others we are excited to see develop and return to the club at the end of the season.”
Two good signings, I think. George could very well find game time hard to come by at Chelsea with their millions of new attacking arrivals. Jashari looks great and a loan deal makes sense for a young player. He may just be a little too good for a permanent deal, so I feel you've made some choices that are actually quite realistic here. Kudos mate.
Nice little AI picture too. What's going on with those hands, haha...
Yeah George was linked with Fulham late in the window but the deal didn't quite happen as for Jashiri he definitely improves the midfield and if he has a good spell on loan it wouldn't make sense for AC Milan to sell him when they only wanted a loan deal anyway so I can't see it being a permanent move. I try and keep transfers as realistic as possible I think its more fun that way.
You should have seen the image it generated before it had him signing a contract and shaking hands at the same time 😂
Subs: Sa, Mane, Munetsi (On 60), H.Bueno, Doherty, Bellegarde, Tchatchoua, Hwang Hee Chan, Larsen (On 60)
West Ham United (4-1-4-1): Areola, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Todibo, Diouf, Magassa, Luis Guilherme (Off 60), Paqueta, Fernandes, Summerville, Fullkrug (Off 86)
Subs: Hermansen, Wan-Bissaka, Bowen (On 60), Wilson (On 86), Igor Julio, Soucek, Marshall, Potts, Mavropanos
Q: Josh a fantastic way to bounce back after that disappointing defeat to United last time out. You gave debuts to your new signings what did you make of their impact and how happy were you with that win?
Josh McEwen “I thought that the new guys made an instant impact, today is the first time really that we have played the way I have wanted to since arriving and you could see in the way we moved the ball it was the first time we had more possession than our opponents and I just thought all over the pitch we were exceptional. Obviously Tyrique (George) got off to a dream start but Jardon (Jashari) made the most successful passes on the pitch, we need to get their fitness up because they haven’t played much which is why they came off but overall I thought every player was outstanding.”
Q: Nuno a disappointing result against a relegation rival, what are your thoughts on the game?
Nuno Espirito Santo “We started to slow in the game and we were punished for it. Inside twenty minutes we were 2-0 down and from there it was an uphill task. They surprised us because we expected them to play more long balls then they did they moved the ball different to how we expected and maybe it took us a while to adapt but I just thought we were poor today until the last twenty minutes after we made some changes we didn’t create much but by this point it was to late and we now have to focus on our next game to try and bounce back.”
Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford, O’Brien, Kim Min Jae, Branthwaite, Aznou (Off 82), Garner, Gueye, Dibling (Off 75), Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall (Off 77), Barry
Subs: Travers, Patterson, Grealish, Alcaraz, Keane, McNeil (On 75), Iroegbunam, Rohl (On 77), Coleman (On 82)
Subs: Sa, Agbadou, Munetsi (On 75), H.Bueno, Doherty, Bellegarde, Tchatchoua, Hwang Hee Chan, Larsen (On 75)
Q: David a massive win for your team what did you make of that result?
David Moyes “Massive game and a huge result for us against a very dangerous opponent who we saw last time out have sort of started changing the way that they’re looking to play. I said to the lads before the game we have to be tight and make sure that we battled for the second balls because if you allow Wolves to win them they can cause you a lot of problems and I thought we were exceptional in the first half, second half Wolves had a lot more of the ball and created a few more chances but I thought we deserved the win and it gives us a bit of space now.”
Q: Josh your yet to win away from home, today you hit the post three times what did you make of the performance and the result?
Josh McEwen “We dominated the first half an hour then had a crazy fifteen minute spell before half time that has effectively lost us the game. You said there we haven’t won away from home but it isn’t because we haven’t deserved to look who we have paid away recently United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton it is four tough grounds to come to and at the end of the day we have lost all four games and to be honest all of them have been by two or more goals so we obviously have to make sure we are tighter at the back but in terms of today we hit woodwork three times and on another day we probably win but fair play to Everton they’re a top side and they got the job done.”
Subs: Mason, Sweeney, Lewis T.Roberts (On 57), Knoyle, Hendry, Oates, Maris (On 71), Bowery (On 83)
Q: Josh an embarrassing loss for your side today losing 3-0 to a team that is two divisions below you. Do you feel like the pressure is now starting to build on your after a result like that especially the manner of it?
Josh McEwen: Firstly congratulations to Mansfield on their victory I thought they battled really hard out there. The conditions I thought were ridiculous the ball barely moved when we were trying to pass it and it took longer then I’d have liked for us to adapt to the conditions but that being said we created a fair aount of chances and we forced their keeper into a couple of really good saves but this isn’t the sort of game we can lose and dust off as unlucky its a team two leagues lower then us and we have lost by three goals. Obviously the position we’re in and the fact we have just been knocked out the FA Cup by a team two leagues below us doesn’t make great reading but I believe the board has belief in me we are working tirelessly on bringing in a couple more players to try and strengthen the team and try and push us up the table but results like the one today just aren’t good enough.
Q: Nigel what a performance from your team, an historic win how are you feeling?
Nigel Clough: Over the moon honestly look at who we have just faced okay maybe they’re struggling a little in the bottom three but they were unbeaten at home under this manager and we have come to Molineux and beaten them 3-0. I thought Liam (Roberts) was fantastic in goal he didn’t put a foot wrong all game and then for George (Maris) to come off the bench and bag two goals just really summed up our performance we really battled and we deserve to be in the hat for the next round.”
Wolves are delighted to announce the double signings of Wouter Goes and Romain Esse from AZ Alkmaar and Crystal Palace. Wouter has signed for a fee in the region of £24,000,000 on a five year deal with Romain Esse signing for £5,000,000 also on a five year deal. Both players gave their thoughts on the move
Wouter Goes “I am delighted to finally be able to challenge myself in the best league in the world. I feel like I am ready for this challenge now and can’t wait to get started and help Wolves start climbing the table and trying to stay in the Premier League. I’ve watched a lot of Premier League this season and you can see in the last couple of months that Wolves have changed their style of play and I think the new style of play will really suit me and the way I like to play I can’t wait to get started.”
Romain Esse: “I’m really excited to be here and grateful for the opportunity Wolves have given me. It’s been a challenging period at Palace because I didn’t get as many minutes as I would have liked, but I’ve stayed focused and kept working hard. Now I’m looking forward to showing what I can do, helping the team, and making an impact in the Premier League. I can’t wait to get started and contribute to helping Wolves stay in the Premier League this season.”
The manager added this on the signings “We are really pleased to be able to welcome both Wouter and Romain to the talented team we have here already. I think the investment from the board not only backs myself but also shows the belief they have that we can stay in the Premier League. To be able to go out and sign Wouter is a statement signing he is a fantastic young defender who we hope can develop in to a world class defender here. Romain I think has shown glimpses of what he is capable of and our job now is to unlock that on a consistent basis so he can show just how good he really is.”
In more news a number of players have left with Toti joining AZ Alkmaar for £6,000,000 whilst Daniel Bentley has joined Southampton for £820,000.
Q: Josh a fantastic late goal and a first for the club for Jhon Arias. How does it feel to get back to winning ways after the last couple of results?
Josh McEwen: “Obviously it feels great getting back to winning ways after the cup loss and the loss to Everton it was important we focused on today's game and just put them results out of our mind and we did that. I thought we started fast got the early goal and were in control the obviously Sam (Johnstone) Has dropped a howler with an awful kick and it has given them their equaliser but other than that I thought we defended well Sam made saves when he had to but I thought against a team in the top four we showed how good we are when we’re at our best.”
Q: Eddie disappointing to lose the game so late what did you make of the match today?
Eddie Howe: “Yeah, I thought we started the game a little bit slow, it took us a little to long to really start playing our football and start imposing ourselves on the game. I made a comment to the lads of the importance of starting brightly it’s one of them games where if you start on top the fans would instantly have gotten nervous and it would have hopefully fed through to their players but that didn’t happen fairplay Wolves started well and got the goal they deserved. I think a draw would have been a fair result in the end because after we scored I thought we controlled alot of the game their keepers made a couple of worldies from Wissa to keep them in it and then they’ve gone and scored a great goal to win it.”
Wolves have continued their busy winter transfer window as 2 new players have signed with four players leaving as Jean-Ricner Bellegarde has signed for Fulham for £6,800,000, Marshall Munetsi has joined Brentford for £9,000,000, Twanda Chirewa has joined Konyaspor for £1,300,000 and right back Ki-Jana Hoever has joined Vfb Stuttgart for £9,200,000.
In more positive news for Wolves fans they have completed the signings of right back Joaquin Garcia from Velez Sarsfield whilst young midfielder Alex Toth has signed for £4,000,000 from Hungarian side Ferencvarosi on five year deals. It means Wolves have signed six players this window in what has been a busy window although manager Josh McEwen has said it could have been a different window had they signed some of their top targets. We sat down with the new players and the gaffer on the latest signings
Joaquin Garcia “I am pleased to be here in the Premier league one of the best leagues in the world. I am very happy to sign for a team like Wolves who showed strong interest in me obviously it is a World cup year so if everything goes to plan maybe I can force my way into the Argentina set up for the World cup this summer but my main focus is on breaking into the team and showing the fans what I can do. I think since Josh (McEwen) has joined Wolves you can see an improvement in the results and performances but there is still a lot of work to do and I hope I can help contribute in a positive way in keeping Wolves in the Premier League.”
Alex Toth “I am excited to test myself in the Premier league, when the offer came in from Wolves I spoke to my old manager Robbie Keane who obviously played for Wolves to better understand the club and he told me nothing but good things about the club, obviously he wanted me to stay but I want to test myself in the top leagues to really reach my potential and after speaking with Josh (McEwen) it was a no brainer to join the club. I am excited to get started and hope I can help the team fight to move up the table.”
Josh McEwen “Obviously it has been a busy window for us both in terms of outgoings and incomings probably busier then we had anticipated but we’re happy with the business we’ve done. Signing Alex (Toth) and Joaquin (Garcia) really adds quality to the team and we’re confident now that we have a squad that can push us higher up the table whilst playing some good football. We missed out on quite a few targets as well to be honest, we made an approach for Mathieu Epolo who ended up going to Atalanta, we went for Craig Rigg who rejected us to sign for Bayern Munchen, we also tried to sign Jack Clarke (Ipswich) and Zakaria El Ouahdi (Genk) but both players weren’t sure on the move so we moved on from them. The outgoings obviously we wanted to keep Ki-Jana but he had an approach from a team fighting for Champions league football in Germany so he asked to leave and we received an acceptable offer so decided to let him go.”
Manchester City (4-3-3): Donnarumma, Nune, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Kimmich, Reijnders, Silva (Off 62), Foden, Haaland, Doku (Off 72)
Subs: Ortega, Khusanov, Kovacic, Marmoush (On 72), Lewis, Savinho, Dickson, Rodri (On 62), Ait-Nouri
Subs: Sa, Agbadou, Toth, Bueno, Doherty, Mane, Esse (On 72), Hwang Hee Chan (On 72), Larsen
Q: Pep a much tough game than many expected for your side. How happy are you with this win?
Pep Guardiola: “A very tough match against a team that kept fighting, kept working hard and err they tried to win the game themselves. I thought my team fought really hard we created some chances maybe not as many as I would like in terms of the final third not finding Erling (Haaland) enough, but Wolves played a fantastic game. We kept fighting as we have all season and we must fight to win the Premier League which is our aim. Every team raises their level when they come to the Etihad you saw it with Wolves today they have a young hungry manager who came to the Etihad to win not many managers do that so I think he has a good future.”
Q: Josh not the result you wanted, what are your thoughts on the game as a whole?
Josh Nelson: “It was a bitter pill to swallow conceding so late but I honestly thought the lads gave it their all and you could see how much the fans appreciated it and how much we appreciate them at the end there when we have gone to thank them for their fantastic support. We had chances we took a lead but then they had a lucky bounce the ball fell to Haaland and he's equalised, they then got a penalty that was never a penalty but obviously Sam (Johnstone) has done brilliant to save it and then at the end they’ve gone and scored a great goal to win it. I’ve just had a little chat with Pep and he’s said he admired the way my lads went about it today which is nice to hear but words won’t keep us in the Premier League.”
Wolves (4-3-3 Defend): Johnstone, Tchatchoua, Goes, Agbadou, Bueno, Gomes, Andre (Off 72), Jashari, Arias (Off 72), Arokodare, George (Off 72)
Subs: Sa, Krejci, Toth (On 72), Wolfe, Doherty, Garcia, Esse (On 72), Hwang Hee Chan, Larsen (On 72)
Subs: Dennis, Bueno, Gannon-Doak (On 83), Kroupi, Hill, Kluivert (On 52), Evanilson (On 68), Christie, Soler
Q: Josh back to winning ways with another home win. Do you think your home form could be enough to keep you in the Premier League that’s sixleague wins in a row at home?
Josh McEwen: “I know I may sound a bit like a broken record but look at who we’ve faced away Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton and Man City I think our away form has been unfairly scrutinised without really mentioning who we have played, I’m not saying we are going to win every away game now because every game in the Premier league is hard but it is as hard a run as you can have. We have made Molineux a fortress other than that cup loss we are unbeaten here and look we know we need some away points to ease the pressure of winning every home game but we are confident that we will pick up some points away from home.”
Q: Andoni a disappointing loss which sees you lose ground on the European places. Are these the types of games you think you should be winning?
Andoni Iraola: “We want to try and win every game. Wolves start fast we have seen that lately and I thought we did well overcoming their early barrage we grew into the game dominated the ball but in the first half we didn’t create enough chances and then we concede a goal right at the end of the half when we were having our best spell. Second half I thought we created a lot more chances their keeper made some good saves but I can’t argue with the result because Wolves were dangerous the whole game. They are in great form at home and you can see why today with how intense they play the game.”
Was about to respond earlier with 21 games played and only 2 points up to Leeds and 3 to Fulham above the line. Then I saw the next post with wins against Newcastle and Bournemouth, and surely you would have climbed out of the zone by now. But no, Fulham and Leeds did also win 2 from the last 3, making it quite a competitive battle to avoid relegation.
Strong signings, all providing youth and a lot of potential. Wouter Goes is a marquee signing. If Wolves can sign players of his caliber, fans can start dreaming about good things happening at Molineux.
Theres a few teams in the relegation battle who surprise me it will be interesting to see how it pans out they seem to emulate our form but if we keep up the way we're going I think we will escape the relegation zone especially now we have more quality in midfield
Wouter I did a bit of research and haven't seen him linked with any top teams in Europe and he isn't at Ajax or Feyenoord so I thought it would be a realistic marquee signing for Wolves we missed out on some other players as Bayern Munchen went for one of our targets and Atalanta went for another and thought it would be more realistic that they would join them over Wolves in a relegation fight
Subs: Jorgensen, Gusto, Alvarado, Delap (On 73), Hato, Essugo, Joao Pedro (On 58), Lavia (On 65), Adarabioyo
Q: Josh a first league defeat, what did you make of todays game?
Josh McEwen: “I thought Chelsea played very well, we maybe weren’t at our best I don’t know why but we just didn’t move the ball as well as I know we can but credit to Chelsea they put in a really strong performance and deserved their win. We got off to a sloppy start and I don’t think we ever really recovered from that I thought both their goals should probably have been kept out particularly the first where Sam (Johnstone) got his hand to it but hes pushed in in off the post and on another day we probably have the luck and it bounces out but we were beaten by the better team.”
Q: Enzo a dominant performance from your side against a team who have been in superb home form. How happy are you with that win?
Enzo Maresca: “I am delighted to win the game against a team who we have drawn two games with already this season. I think we deserved to score more goals we hit the post and had two cleared off the line and then there keeper made a couple of good saves but the important thing was to come here play a good game and pick up the points because a lot of teams have lost here recently so we take the three points closer to the Champions League places and move onto our next game against Leeds.”
Subs: Johnstone, Agbadou, Andre (On 65), Wolfe (On 79), Doherty, Tchatchoua, Hwang Hee Chan (On 65), Esse (On 79), Larsen (On 65)
Q: Sean a 0-0 draw but certainly not a boring game, what are your thoughts on the match?
Sean Dyche: “Yeah I thought it was actually a good game of football between two sides that wanted to win. I thought we had the better chances we hit the post and forced Jose (Sa) into a few decent saves but at the same time Sels has made two or three top saves so I think Josh (McEwen) would agree that a draw is a fair result given the way the game played out. Their a tough team for anyone you’ve seen how they have been playing and you know they will create chances but I thought we coped well and just unfortunate not to get that decisive goal.”
Q: Josh, Sean Dyche said he thinks a draw is a fair result on the balance of play do you agree with that?
Josh McEwen: ”Yeah he’s probably right, I thought we had the better chances you know Tyrique’s (George) header and Tulu (Arokodare) should probably have converted them chances but they have a top keeper whose kept them out and they’ve obviously hit the post so it wasn’t a game wither side dominated. I thought both sides played some excellent football the first thirty minutes I thought the way we moved the ball was exceptional but they kept going grew into the game and as Sean says a draw on reflection is the fair result.”
Subs: Sa, Agbadou, Andre (On 65), Wolfe (On 72), Doherty, Tchatchoua, Hwang Hee Chan (On 84), Arias (On 65), Larsen (On 65)
Q: Oliver 3-0 up after twenty minute how have your side lost that game?
Oliver Glasner: “We threw the game away, for twenty minutes we played as well as we have played all season even at 3-0 up we had a chance to score and then out of no where Wolves scored two quick goals and we seemed to panic and let them back into the match. The second half I thought we came out looked good and assured I thought we looked most likely to score and then we got hit on a counter attack and they equalised and then you could see how they pushed really hard they started to press more aggressively we tried to take advantage and then they played a long ball over the top that caught us out because all game they kept the ball down and they scored the winner. I am furious you can’t throw this game away like we did.”
Q: Josh your first away win, you made it difficult for yourselves didn’t you?
Josh McEwen: “Yeah that's an understatement, to be honest the conditions I’m surprised it was on with the amount of snow on the pitch and it took us a while to adapt to the conditions but if I’m being honest we didn’t move the ball as well as I would have liked we gave it away in poor areas and caused a lot of our own problems, but we showed character we fought hard to get back into the game and we’ve gone to one of the toughest grounds you can go to and we’ve gone 3-0 down and come back to win 4-3. I really hope this can be the springboard now that sees us stay out of the relegation zone and start looking up the table.”
Subs: Sa, Krejci, Toth, Wolfe (On 85), Doherty, Tchatchoua, Hwang Hee Chan (On 80), Arias, George
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Di Lorenzo, Torres, Mings, Digne (Off 68), Kamara, Onana, McGinn (Off 65), Sancho, Rogers, Watkins
Subs: Pickford, Cash, Elliott, Depay, Garcia, Malen, Burrowes, Guessand (On 65), Maatsen (On 68)
Q: Josh a poor result, you again left Jose Sa out despite a clean sheet in his last game e is there any reason for that and what did you make of today’s game?
Josh McEwen: “Jose (Sa) has told us he wants to leave in the summer so we have decided Sam (Johnstone) will be our number one for the rest of the season, I don’t think Sam can take the blame for that result he made some good saves it was just one of them games where a few of our lads had really poor games and Ollie (Watkins) has punished us for that we were well beaten and we just have to brush ourselves off and concentrate on the next game. I think we are conceding to many goals at the moment but we have shown this season how well we can bounce back.”
Q: Unai a superb result for your team particularly Ollie Watkins how pleased are you with that result?
Unai Emery: Good evening, I am very happy with the performance of my team as a whole we dominated the game and when we had chances we were clinical in front of goal. We know we need to score more goals to help us qualify for the Champions league and the ruthlessness we showed today is the exact type of performance that is required to fire us into the Champions league places we must keep this sort of performance coming and if we do that we will be back in the Champions league next season.
With Villa in 5th and Palace in 7th, this was another difficult run of games. An away draw at Forest probably wasn't too bad, and one win from the other three was probably the most one could have hoped for. Great to finally win away from home, always tough when one has the back against the wall with these things. One away win tends to open the door for more to come. More importantly you're out of the relegation zone now.
Arokodare keeps scoring for fun with another hattrick. How is he doing compared to other forwards in the Prem? Watkins for instance, having also scored a hattrick here. How is the golden boot race taking form?
Anyway, the "good evening" from Unai Emery made me laugh. Good one.
It has been a tough run of fixtures lately but we're picking points up and have found a way out of the relegation places. The away win was huge after going 3-0 down so early to bounce back.
I think Arokodare is the fourth top scorer Haaland is top then Muniz and then Watkins I will include in future updates the next update won't incude it as we are slightly ahead in game at the moment so I don't have the numbers from the next update.
Playing a nigh game against Villa I couldn't resist 😂
