The one Wolves player who was a ‘fish out of water’ vs Bournemouth – and it’s all because of Gary O’Neil
Gary O’Neil is back on thin ice after Wolves’ terrible defeat to Bournemouth at Molineux.
Wolves’ 4-2 defeat to the Cherries saw the Old Gold drop back into the bottom three, something the squad had worked so hard to escape.
After a four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, yet another defeat was recorded as O’Neil was shown up by Bournemouth.
The manager was furious with Wolves’ errors against his former club however, in one instance, the boss must be held accountable.
Mario Lemina struggled against Bournemouth
Wolves fans think O’Neil’s job is at risk after losing so disastrously to Bournemouth, a fixture that left supporters stunned before the game had even kicked off.
Before the fixture, there was a lot of belief in Mario Lemina’s ability to play centre-back after the captain’s display against Fulham.
O’Neil decided to take a risk and field the Gabon international at centre-back again, despite having two defenders on the bench.
Lee Naylor couldn’t believe Lemina played in defence again, which was an opinion shared by journalist Liam Keen.
“I didn’t think it suited Wolves to keep him in that position, regardless of how good he did,” the Wolves expert explained on The Keen & Judah Show.
| Mario Lemina vs Bournemouth |
| 7 clearances |
| 1 error leading to shot |
| 50% duels won |
| 2 fouls committed |
| 13x possession lost |
“What Bournemouth do is press very high and aggressively and with Lemina, the benefit of having him in the centre-back position is the time he has on the ball to pick a pass – he didn’t have any of that time against Bournemouth.”
Keen highlighted O’Neil’s schoolboy error to assume that one size fits all regarding Lemina’s position in central defence, describing the skipper as a ‘fish out of water’.
“One of the reasons he did look like a fish out of water was the moment with Evanilson at 2-1.
“A cross comes in from the right and Evanilson barely makes a run, he takes a half step on Lemina and Lemina takes a half step in the opposite direction and leaves Evanilson free.
“That isn’t anything to do with pressing high or Bournemouth tactics, that is a midfielder playing at centre-back who has not followed the run.”
Gary O’Neil defended Lemina decision
The journalist noted what many fans were exposed to, watching a fantastic midfielder struggle to replicate a single strong performance in defence.
It was a tough afternoon for Lemina which was to some extent, no fault of his own, playing a role that he’s not accustomed to.
Some could perceive the lesson learned as a positive as it only hammers home that Lemina is not the answer to Wolves’ defensive issues and new faces must be signed.
After the embarrassing defeat to Bournemouth, O’Neil explained his squad selection, revealing why he started Lemina at the back.
“Bournemouth are quick on the ball so we went with Mario,” O’Neil said, a comment that only highlighted his blunder when selecting his XI.
“Hard to change that side after Fulham, in hindsight we might have done things differently, but so many errors today that gave us absolutely no chance.”
For Lemina, it’s clear that his best position is quite simply, his favoured position, something O’Neil must realise after losing to his former club.
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