Wolves have suffered another dip in form at the end of a season, with Gary O’Neil now sent a stark warning regarding Max Kilman following his recent performances.
It’s been a superb season for Wolves, but one that is beginning to be overshadowed by a significant decline in form from Gary O’Neil’s squad.
Earlier this year, the Old Gold were one of the clubs in the running to chase a European finish in the Premier League, a dream that has faded following a succession of injury woes and a general dip in performance level.
Now sitting in 13th and 11 points away from the top seven, it’s back to the drawing board for O’Neil this summer ahead of the challenges that the 2024/25 campaign will bring.
One win in their previous nine Premier League games has seen Wolves’ spectacular season fizzle out, with injuries the primary factor behind the fall of the squad, and one player in particular.
Wolves warned of Max Kilman weakness
Wolves captain Max Kilman has endured a difficult second half of the season, with the centre-back struggling to step up when needed amid the Old Gold’s injury woes.
Only last month, the 26-year-old was branded as ‘one of the best’ Premier League defenders in one-v-one situations by Andy Thompson, a statement that hasn’t aged well following the Englishman’s recent displays.
A disasterclass against Manchester City followed by a dismal performance during Wolves defeat to Crystal Palace proved Thompson’s opinion wrong, as the defender was unable to contain the likes of Erling Haaland and Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Now, O’Neil has been warned of the weakness in Kilman that has seen things go wrong for the £50k-a-week star, as journalist Nathan Judah explained on the E&S Wolves Podcast.
Touching on how much Wolves have missed Craig Dawson, Judah said:
“His [Dawson’s] impact in that defence from an experience point of view and we’ve talked about it a couple of times really about Max Kilman.
“I don’t think Kilman’s having a particularly good second half to the season really.
“I know there’s been some better performances in there but I do feel that he plays better with an experienced head and when he’s marshalling, whether a back four or a back five as captain, it’s not easy.”
Max Kilman has missed Craig Dawson
It’s a valid area of concern raised by Judah, who attributed Kilman’s dip in form to the absence of Dawson, who has been the glue in O’Neil’s back line throughout the campaign.
The Wolves expert explained his opinion that Dawson’s absence has “gone under the radar” due to the focus of absences being on the front line, branding the 34-year-old’s injury as a “bigger loss” than some of the missing forwards.
Kilman has certainly missed the presence of the former West Brom defender, with the numbers telling of how the Wolves skipper has struggled at the back.
In the previous 10 games without Dawson, Wolves have recorded just two wins, losing six and drawing two, adding emphasis to just how much the defence suffers without his expertise.
It’s a significant concern for the Midlands club, who are somewhat unable to rely on the man with the armband when other leaders in the side are absent, a weakness that Kilman must solve.