Wolves chairman Jeff Shi is at the heart of controversy once more after making a bold statement about Gary O’Neil’s current squad.
It’s not been the best of weeks for Wolves, who received backlash for raising season ticket prices astronomically ahead of next campaign.
Fans of the club were left raging at the club after learning of the price hikes, with Jeff Shi becoming a villain for his unwelcomed statements to supporters at the time.
Now, the chairman is at the centre of controversy again with more recent comments on Wolves’ plans going into the summer transfer window, sharing his opinion on Gary O’Neil’s current squad.
By no means as controversial as his comments last week, Shi expressed his view that O’Neil’s 14th-place finishing side is an upgrade on Nuno Santo’s squad between 2018 and 2020, an opinion that very few would share.
Jeff Shi thinks Gary O’Neil’s Wolves squad is better than Nuno Santo’s
Via Express and Star, Shi explained his reason for forming a comparison between the two squads, making for confusing reading for many.
“I personally think our current squad is better than the one in 2018-2020.
“In the Premier League, there are around 10-14 clubs at a similar level, the position in the table depends on a lot of factors but it’s not the only criteria to judge a team’s competitiveness.”
The Wolves chairman was bold to make such a statement, considering the achievements of Nuno’s side between those years, with promotion to the Premier League, consecutive seventh-place finishes and a Europa League run achieved.
While O’Neil’s squad deserves credit for their work to keep the Old Gold in the top flight after the pressures of last summer, it’s a bizarre statement for Shi to claim the Englishman’s side is better.
Gary O’Neil would love to have Nuno Santo’s Wolves squad of 2018-2020
The current squad at Molineux is stacked full of top-quality talent, however, depth is sparse below the surface of the favoured XI.
Besides the achievements of Nuno’s side in the 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns, the Portuguese coach had an abundance of talent to work with, including the likes of Raul Jimenez, Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota.
Of course, O’Neil has his answers to possessing star quality at present although, the difference between the achievements of both squads tells a different story to Shi’s beliefs.
It would be difficult to imagine O’Neil’s current squad reaching a Europa League quarter-final, as well as achieving back-to-back seventh-place finishes, particularly after winning just one of their final 10 fixtures of 2023/24.
That being said, away from on-field performances, Shi’s statement is still incomprehensible, with Wolves struggling for depth throughout the season, leaving the boss in an almost impossible position to compete with clubs around him.
Wolves fans have been treated to some controversy from Shi over the past week, with the latest opinion of the chairman something to add to the list.