Wolves could appoint the next Nuno who was once “manager of the year”

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Wolverhampton Wanderers fans must surely be braced for a big change in the next few weeks. Although nothing is certain, their manager Gary O’Neil’s job could well be on the line after an appalling start to the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Despite two draws in a row, the Midlands club currently languish at the bottom of the English top flight, with just three points to their name. It has been a winless start to the new campaign, and they have not actually won since the 27 April when they beat now-relegated Luton Town 2-1.

With that in mind, it is unsurprising that O’Neil could be the next Premier League manager to be sacked. They are thought to be lining up one experienced boss as a replacement.

Who could replace O’Neil at Wolves

The manager in question here is former West Ham United boss David Moyes. The Scotsman has coached a whole host of clubs, including but not limited to Manchester United and Everton, with the Old Gold now thought to be next in line to appoint him.

At least, that is according to a report from Football Insider. They explain that Wolves have Moyes ‘on their managerial shortlist’ if they decide to part company with O’Neil following his poor start to the season.

The Old Gold could well turn to Moyes because he is ‘regarded as a specialist in relegation battles’ which they find themselves embroiled in after a tough start to the season. Another factor in bringing the 61-year-old to the club is the fact he has plenty of ‘Premier League experience’ already.

Why Moyes would be a good appointment

Moyes has been out of work since the end of last season after he left the London Stadium following a successful second spell with West Ham. His second spell at the club was excellent, with football presenter Dougie Critchley describing him as “manager of the year” in 2021. He also brought silverware to East London, winning the Europa Conference League with the Hammers in 2022/23.

One of the first tasks that would face the experienced boss is to improve the Old Gold’s defensive record. They have been simply awful from a defensive standpoint this term, and have comfortably conceded the most goals in the Premier League with 27 in the ten games so far. Ipswich Town are second on that list, with just 21.

Historically, Moyes, who favours a 4-2-3-1 system, has a superb proven track record when it comes to making his team more defensively solid. The Scotsman has conceded 914 goals across all the games he has coached in the Premier League.

In the 697 games he has managed, that breaks down to just 1.3 goals per game, far better than Wolves’ record this term. In fact, having a strong defensive record in the top flight is something that he has consistently achieved with almost every club he has managed at that level.

Moyes defensive record per club in PL
Club	Games	Goals conceded	Goals conceded per game
Everton	427	503	1.17
West Ham	198	302	1.52
Sunderland	38	69	1.81
Man United	34	40	1.17
Stats from Transfermarkt

He could certainly be the second coming of former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo in that sense. The Portuguese manager, now in the hot seat at Nottingham Forest, was renowned for his defensive solidity at Molineux.

In 199 games in all competitions, he conceded just 281 goals, which works out at 1.09 goals per game. His defence, largely spearheaded by Conor Coady, was tough to breach, and it is serving him well again at the City Ground this season. His Forest side have conceded just seven goals in the Premier League.

Appointing Moyes could well be a perfect deal for the Old Gold. Not only would they be bringing in an experienced manager who has steered teams to safety in the past, but they would finally be able to tighten things up at the back, and perhaps be as secure as they were in the glory days under Nuno.