Andoni Iraola

dragonm8 said:
He is doing well, and good luck to him.

Don't think he would have done anything other than struggle with us this season.

Surprised that Wolves are doing well under his tutelage, but he does have some top quality players in his arsenal, that we simply don't have.

When Wolves sell the family silver, let's see how he does next season.
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Wolves sold a lot of the family silver pre-season and already struggled with that squad under 3 managers. GON’s predecessor even did a Scott Parker flounce and wrote them off.

Neto is their stand out performer but he has been injured for quite a lot of the season while Chang and cunha have also been out.
They don’t have the same depth of squad we have.

Also implies that of GON is winning more and scoring more now he has better players then suggests he would be more entertaining with £100m transfer kitty. Think he would got vina in and he would be more attacking than Kelly or Kerkez.
 
zigger zaggar said:
Anyhow, in an attempt to bring this thread back to what it's actually about, I thought it was indicative of AI's approach that with ten minutes to go and still 2-1 up he took off Semenyo and put on, not Mepham or AN other defender as certain previous managers would but Dango. Loved the ambition even if it proved not to have had the desired outcome.
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Maybe as he tried it at Brentford that and cost us the win ? Plus defensive approach at Man City backfired too
 
zigger zaggar said:
Do you really? I think you'd be happier if we could get GON back.
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Will let you know in March!

I like AI as manager and a person the way he comes across. So really hope he will do well for us.

I worry he might be like bielsa and only look for a short stay which is dangerous given the way we maybe changing our squad. This fear maybe totally unfounded of course!

The question is whether his expansive style is the right one without the quality it needs. Others have said the same on here.

I am enjoying AI so feel entertained but if we get to 7 games without a win then the alarm bells will start again.

However, I always felt this was the transition year for a good crack next season albeit maybe a few FFP driven sales will impact us.

Wouldn’t want GON to return as he would be too divisive and not the sort of figurehead to attract international talent to us. This shouldn’t be overlooked so AI has the right appeal.

As ever a mix of opinions. I merely respond to posts that annoy me as opposed to proactively looking for a GON bun-fight. Last season felt like trench warfare as it was with a mainly champ squad. That is no longer the case and our transfer budget is enviable for most clubs around us.
 
Going to watch games this season has been like chalk and cheese compared to the last couple of years. We do have some better players obviously, but a large part of it is down to the manager and his approach. It’s nice to go to (nearly) every game now with a sense of optimism.

At the same time, I’m glad GON is doing well as he seemed like a good man and performed well for us particularly after Parker’s attempts at self-sabotage. I’ll freely admit to being a bit surprised at just how well it’s going for him at Wolves.
 
robber button said:
Going to watch games this season has been like chalk and cheese compared to the last couple of years. We do have some better players obviously, but a large part of it is down to the manager and his approach. It’s nice to go to (nearly) every game now with a sense of optimism.

At the same time, I’m glad GON is doing well as he seemed like a good man and performed well for us particularly after Parker’s attempts at self-sabotage. I’ll freely admit to being a bit surprised at just how well it’s going for him at Wolves.
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Think every one is surprised at how well Gary is doing!!
 
JohnHold said:
Some beautiful goals, deft touches, killer crosses. Even for a highlights reel.
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As someone who watched probably 95%+ of his matches, this highlight reel doesn't do him justice.

He was technically very gifted and tactically the smartest in every team he played in. If only he had had an above average speed and strength, he would've been world class.

Still, with his tools, he was called to the Spanish National team a few times, including right after the World Cup win.
 
I saw people in that TV box thing cheering the side on in one of the games recently and just assumed it had been sold as an experience. Didn't realise it was players.
 
billythekid said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1769995512722129008
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Glad to hear that AI is still looking to get as many points as possible in the remaining games. You can bet your bottom dollar that he has EH's record points tally in his sights, even if he will probably never admit as much !

And yes, with only ten games to go and basically already safe, we can probably push the players a bit harder, risk a little bit more, knowing that the summer break will give them ample time to recover, should we end up pushing them too hard too soon.

I really like AI's attitude. Always wanting more. Never satisfied.
Let's enjoy him while we have him !
 
Kudos said:
I think the short contract was more driven by AI than us I suspect he was offered more than 2 years but he seems to prefer shorter contracts. Tindall and Parker were 3 years.

I hope he's here longer but I'm half resigned to losing him at the end of next season.
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Will be a big season for him, next season, if this is to be the case... Iraola has definitely shown us and the league what he is capable of doing, but it's been inconsistent and a slow burn at times... I love his football but the 'chaos' of throwing everything and every one at the win will be perceived by some as a bit too unpredictable.

It's still not proven that his style of play is sustainable in the PL. For me, there seems a strong connection with the time of the season and the fact we're suffering with injuries, and things have 'slowed' a little in the press and game plan... Are the players just absolutely buggered...?!?!?

Any 'so-called' bigger club will also expect quicker results and points on the board than Iraola showed here... We all saw first hand how long it took our players to understand his approach in both training and games... Other clubs would have strongly considered sacking Iraola in similar circumstances. He's not the type of manager that can just walk into a club and instantly improve you, and if he only ever wants short-term contracts, will clubs still be tempted in the short-term investment... ?

Like I said at the start, big season next year, to see how far we've come...? I too would love him to stay though and buy into what we're doing here...
 
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