The exact moment it all started to unravel for Gary O'Neil at Wolves - and the reasons why he's not solely to blame
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To find the source of Wolves' alarming decline under Gary O'Neil, we need to go back much further than the start of this season. O'Neil was sacked on Sunday after a dreadful haul of nine points from their opening 15 league games. Blame it on a ferocious opening sequence of fixtures, rough VAR calls or losing the two best players. Very few managers survive a run like that, especially when player discipline collapses as it did in O'Neil's final two games, against West Ham and Ipswich.
![[His dismissal came just 72 hours after he had been publicly backed by chairman Jeff Shi]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/15/13/93166781-14194749-image-a-2_1734267965946.jpg)
It was grimly appropriate that his tenure should end in farce off the pitch as well as on it, with chairman Jeff Shi's column in the local newspaper last Thursday. He backed O'Neil in that article before sacking him 72 hours later. Yet this story started last January. Finding himself desperately short in attack, O'Neil thought he had a deal to sign Armando Broja from Chelsea on an initial loan agreement. At the time Wolves were 11th but with an outside shot at qualifying for European competition. Broja had been granted little playing time at Stamford Bridge and was keen to move to Molineux.
![[Wolves also parted company with O'Neil's backroom staff, including Ian Burchnall (left)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/15/13/93166773-14194749-image-a-7_1734268206262.jpg)
Mindful of breaking spending rules and landing a points deduction, those in charge of finances said no. Since the window closed on February 1, Wolves' form has been desperate. Manager Gary O'Neil was sacked by Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon.
![[Wolves sold star defender Max Kilman to Premier League rivals West Ham in the summer]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/15/13/93166801-14194749-image-a-3_1734268055746.jpg)
