Wolves Q&A: Liam Keen and Nathan Judah answer subscriber questions
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00:00 [Music]
00:09 Jude, I'm delighted to be joined by Wars reporter Mr. Liam Keane for an intimate discussion,
00:15 one for our Plus subscribers, delighted to see some of them at Molineux last week for
00:20 a members only event and second little bit this week we're going to be taking some of
00:25 your questions from the Plus subscribers as well we've had plenty come in and there are
00:30 some excellent questions that we have got ahead in the next 10 to 15 minutes to answer.
00:36 Liam are you ready because there's some good stuff here.
00:39 You've picked out five of the very best haven't you so let's bring it on let's do it.
00:43 I like these aren't these and there's quite a few of you guys who have you know had similar
00:47 questions but I think these five stood out to me so let's go with that.
00:51 Okay first one from Steve Garner and he says I've always been pro-Wolves staying at Molineux
00:58 but I've come to the conclusion that we need a bigger stadium with hotels, restaurants,
01:03 casinos etc with other sports included such as speedway could be a good joint project
01:08 to bring in more money all year round.
01:11 There is spare land north of Wolves with plenty of parking for cars, buses, coaches do you
01:16 agree?
01:18 With a question like this yeah exactly very good question you've got to try and find the
01:22 balance between sort of heritage and history and ambition and moving the club forward and
01:29 creating hopefully a brighter and better future and I always struggle with this one a little
01:36 bit because Molineux is something pretty special.
01:40 Molineux yes needs a lick of paint and a little bit of work doing to it and if you can expand
01:45 the stadium in its current form that may be the perfect solution but it's got something
01:51 special it's been there for a long time and it's got a connection to the local community
01:57 so I find it difficult to want to leave the specific space on Waterloo Road but at the
02:04 same time from a business point of view there is a lot to be said for this modern approach
02:10 I think is the way I would describe it from this question.
02:14 You can bring in a lot of money from collaborating whether it's with the council collaborating
02:18 with local businesses, hotels, restaurants and creating a sort of multi-purpose and multi-functional
02:24 space that is modern, sleek and effective so there's a lot of really good reasons why
02:30 you should do it but it comes down to can people let go of hundreds of years of history
02:38 in one specific location and in my opinion that's very difficult to let go of.
02:44 It's a difficult one, I would say that you don't need to let go of the history, the history
02:48 is always going to be there but you've got to move with the times and we're coming to
02:52 times now and very topical of commercial revenue being king in terms of funding, in terms of
02:58 spending, in terms of infrastructure and a lot of the reasons why they haven't spent
03:04 money on Molyneux is because the transport routes are always going to be as they are,
03:09 one road in, one road out, there's a lot that can't spill out onto certain projects but
03:14 with the university there and shopping centres etc it's very, very difficult.
03:18 You get a new plot of land, you can make it a beautiful stadium that's going to create
03:22 plenty of income, like you say, not just with the football but with so many other opportunities.
03:28 I get it, I get it and I'm not a Wolves fan so to speak so it's maybe difficult, maybe
03:34 I'm the wrong person to answer it but at the same time I think if you're going to carry
03:38 on and really take advantage of these commercial opportunities, if they're here to stay and
03:43 you want to raise prices as you are doing then and these people are going to spend their
03:47 money then potentially but you need to be very, very careful because if you get a 45,000
03:54 seat stadium and things don't go according to plan and you go down that could look very
03:58 empty very, very quickly so it's a delicate balance isn't it?
04:02 No, that's true, yeah.
04:03 You also have something special about Modern U in that there's not very many Premier League
04:09 stadiums that are based in city centres these days and the accessibility of Modern U from
04:15 a fan perspective and again just the special location that it's in makes it really quite
04:24 attractive I think as a stadium, albeit there is work that needs to be done to it.
04:31 It's a difficult balancing act to find and I think for Wolves to move forward in the
04:37 Premier League there might be plenty of business reasons to go ahead with something else.
04:43 Great Steve, thank you very much for that.
04:45 On to the next question from Matthew Cook and he says, my question is around Matt Hobbs
04:49 for me, he's doing a great job so if he was poached has the club got the structure to
04:54 cope?
04:56 Would someone be promoted internally or do you think they would have a succession plan?
05:01 I just don't want it to be Jeff, he says.
05:02 I do worry about the lack of football people in the club.
05:06 So I completely agree first of all that Matt Hobbs is doing an excellent job.
05:11 Communication wise he has ramped up, he's done interviews, he speaks to supporters,
05:18 he's done interviews and statements through the club and there's been regular enough communication
05:23 to say that that's been a very good improvement from the footballing side of things first
05:27 of all and then on top of that you have someone who I think has got in a short space of time
05:33 already a good enough track record of signings and Giao Gomez being a very important one.
05:39 The structure that Wolves are moving towards with the recruitment gives more power to these
05:44 experts to bring the right players in and that could only be a good thing for Wolves
05:48 moving forward.
05:49 But within that structure they have to prepare for departures and they prepare for playing
05:55 departures or players departing rather by having a list of people to step up and come
06:01 in and add to the squad.
06:04 Now as with managers they do exactly the same and I can imagine with Matt Hobbs there will
06:10 be similar contingency plans.
06:12 There are plenty of people in the recruitment department that aren't always publicly named
06:17 and aren't always spoken about but do a hell of a lot of work to creating this strategy
06:23 and structure going forward and that gives a lot more optimism for Wolves' recruitment
06:29 strategy going forward under Matt Hobbs and even if Matt Hobbs was to leave that is in
06:34 place.
06:36 Now Wolves will want to do everything they can to keep hold of him because I think he's
06:39 done an excellent job so far but I think there should be some optimism in the structure they
06:45 have which is very different from the structure they had about 18 months ago with different
06:50 people in different roles.
06:51 I think Laurie Dalrymple did a really good job didn't he when he was at the club, communication
06:57 and I think Matt Hobbs has been refreshing that we've got someone like Matt Hobbs who
07:01 can do just that but he will be in demand, absolutely I completely agree that he will
07:05 be in demand, good people are in demand.
07:06 Let's hope that Wolves can hold on to him because he's a pleasure to deal with as well.
07:11 Mike Murphy, are you ready Liam?
07:13 I'm ready.
07:14 He says 'May I thank you and Liam for the excellent podcast, I greatly appreciate it'.
07:18 Thank you very much for that.
07:20 My question is how far do you think the innovative and unusual formations and team selections,
07:26 tactics and players playing out of position have affected the overall effectiveness of
07:31 the Wolves team in the last 10 games?
07:33 Have a great summer.
07:34 It's a good question and I think it comes down to with the amount of injuries Wolves
07:40 had and the momentum that they were beginning to lose particularly after the Coventry game.
07:48 Gary O'Neill was trying to find the right solutions to win games and keep the forward
07:54 upward momentum going.
07:55 Now that was in the end a tough ask and something he was unable to do but it does not take away
08:01 from what was a very good season and I think he was learning a lot about the squad, a lot
08:10 about individuals, a lot about himself and a lot about how he will go about looking after
08:16 this team and coaching this team and developing and evolving this team moving forward.
08:20 So these 10 games as much as they will be seen as a pretty big negative, rightly so
08:27 from supporters, it's always disappointing to finish a season the way that Wolves did.
08:32 I have confidence that Gary will have learned enough from those 10 games to adjust how he
08:39 works with this team moving forward and the changes he wants to make in the summer.
08:44 So that was I think a big reason why he was chopping and changing in the last few weeks.
08:50 I think he was trying to give himself, stay competitive but also give himself an idea
08:54 of where Wolves can go for next season and that meant trying new things.
08:59 Boubacar Chouiri getting a lot of minutes in the final few games, changing formation
09:04 a couple of times and just trying new things out while remaining competitive because unfortunately
09:09 Wolves had nothing to play for at that point.
09:11 So I would imagine the payoff will be a greater understanding and improvement of where this
09:16 team are moving forward.
09:18 He was handcuffed to a certain extent as well, wasn't he, with the injuries and the lack
09:22 of squad depth.
09:23 So hopefully that will get sorted out this summer and we'll get plenty more people and
09:28 the squad will be a little bit heavier going into next season in terms of quantity.
09:33 But I think versatility is obviously very important and he used versatility as well
09:38 as he could have done but at the same time there comes a point when that will run out
09:43 and you can't put square pegs in round holes.
09:46 You know, you've seen Mario Lamino as a left wing forward, Tommy Doyle up front and you're
09:50 thinking, well, you know, you've done really well but that's just not going to happen,
09:53 it didn't work, did it?
09:54 And so that was what the situation demanded unfortunately but I think that we all need
10:01 to, we all know, Gary O'Neill knows, Matt Hobbs, Geoff Shee, that there has to be more
10:06 players and a larger squad depth going into next season.
10:09 Yeah, absolutely.
10:10 Depth for me is the biggest issue for this Wolves team.
10:14 They have to add to it and I think Gary will be in a much better place to improve this
10:20 Wolves team moving forward with better options, more like-for-like options as you say, rather
10:25 than swapping out a forward and bringing on a defensive midfielder, for example.
10:28 Okay, another one from Ted Parton.
10:31 Ted, thank you very much.
10:32 He says, "To what extent does the defence require rebuilding, given the alarming rate
10:37 of goals conceded and a clear lack of leadership in that department, made more worrying that
10:43 one of our defenders is the captain?"
10:45 Thank you very much and hope you have a great summer, says Ted.
10:48 So yeah, defence, something that we've talked about recently, Liam, a lot of people say
10:53 that, especially at the start of the season, it's Wolves' strength.
10:55 I actually think that it is a little bit alarming and that especially with Max Kilman and his
11:01 situation and maybe being a little bit unknown going into the summer, but regardless of whether
11:07 they keep Max or not, it's something that I think needs strengthening by at least one,
11:12 if not two, really strong first-teamers coming into this football club because they were
11:17 a little bit toothless and a little bit disorganised, especially towards the end of the season.
11:21 Yeah, definitely.
11:23 Craig Dawson has been a really important part of this Wolves' defence and we saw how much
11:30 Wolves missed him when he was injured for these final few months of the season.
11:34 That makes a massive impact.
11:36 And then you've got players that are learning and improving.
11:38 Totti Gomez, I'm a massive fan of, but he is still learning and improving and has had
11:44 a relatively short Premier League career so far.
11:46 I think he'll only get better next season.
11:48 Santi Bueno, new to the league, new to the country, did well and much better than he
11:53 had done in his debut and early parts of his Wolves' career, but will still need time to
11:58 adapt.
11:59 And then there's Max Killman, who I think is a very good defender, but has struggled
12:04 when he's had to be the aggressor and he hasn't had someone like a Connor Cody or a Dawson
12:10 next to him.
12:11 So, there are gaps and question marks to address with the Wolves' defence and that's why it's
12:16 a good question because I agree.
12:19 I think that an addition at centre-back, an experienced addition, would be a smart move
12:26 from Wolves, someone who can play out with the ball better, I think would be a really
12:32 good addition for Wolves, particularly with Dawson now 34 and, albeit not at the end of
12:38 his career, but approaching that time.
12:42 And obviously with Killman being linked to other clubs, I can imagine attracting a lot
12:47 of interest.
12:48 It's going to be an area that Wolves need to address because, albeit they've scored
12:52 more goals, they've definitely started conceding more as well.
12:55 And I think it's one that Gary needs to look at.
12:58 For sure.
12:59 Last one today is from David Stallard and he says, 'If, as appears likely, our bold
13:06 effort to abolish VAR is unsuccessful at the forthcoming Premier League AGM, do you think
13:23 you will make Wolves a target for even more controversial VAR decisions going against
13:27 us in the future or vice versa?
13:30 I'm 100% in favour of the abomination being abolished, by the way,' says David.
13:36 Abomination, excellent word.
13:38 Excellent way to phrase it.
13:39 I've used that word to describe you many times.
13:42 No comment.
13:43 I totally understand why supporters would phrase it this way, why there would be a concern
13:49 over decisions going against Wolves.
13:51 But I suppose by its very nature, the reason that question is brought up and the reason
13:57 why supporters may feel this way is because they feel that there is some sort of agenda
14:01 against Wolves or corruption.
14:03 Now Wolves in their statement, by triggering this vote, it's easy for me to say, triggering
14:08 this vote for the VAR to be abolished, they made it very clear that suggestions of corruption
14:17 are nonsensical and cannot be stood up and that Wolves do not back those claims, which
14:24 of course the fans have been chanting at grounds and sort of targeting the Premier League.
14:31 And I understand why, because there's so many decisions going against Wolves, but I don't
14:35 think that the solution to that is suggesting corruption.
14:41 I agree with where Wolves are coming from.
14:43 There is no agenda against Wolves.
14:44 There is no targeting of Wolves.
14:48 There will be, even by human nature, no specific conscious targeting of Wolves because they
14:54 made this decision.
14:56 It will, Wolves went about it in a professional and polite manner, but just said the VAR is
15:00 not working, we want it gone.
15:02 I don't think that will impact next season.
15:04 I do think there will still be decisions going against Wolves next season purely because
15:07 of the state of VAR, not because there is a conscious effort to punish Wolves for trying
15:13 to get rid of it.
15:14 Unfortunately, I do think VAR will be around next season.
15:17 I don't think Wolves will be successful, but I do hope that they will be successful in
15:20 inspiring some sort of change with it.
15:23 The cynics will say Liam, that after Wolves' appeal, the first VAR decision that they got
15:28 involved with went against Wolves and a yellow card got turned into a red with Nelson Samedo.
15:33 I know there'll be one at the beginning of next season as well.
15:37 I can guarantee it.
15:38 There'll be one in the first two or three games, probably a major one.
15:41 Wolves will be complaining, rightly or wrongly so, but there is no corruption.
15:46 There's no agenda against Wolves.
15:48 It is for large parts incompetence from the way that individuals carry out the technology
15:57 and carry out the rules.
15:58 Enjoy this little chat.
15:59 Some really good questions today.
16:00 There'll be plenty more of these Q&As throughout the summer.
16:04 Remember, exclusive to Plus subscribers.
16:06 We'll ask you to send your questions in and myself and Liam will do our best to answer
16:10 them.
16:11 But for our first little sesh, that was a pleasure.
16:13 Liam, thank you very much and we'll see everybody very, very soon.