Sport
He Is Really Causing “Harm” To The Club, Gary O’Neil Spoke About Another Of His Star Player
Gary O’Neil has admitted there is one thing he needs to speak to Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes about.
Gomes made a sub-par start to the new season, but has been much improved in recent weeks.
Against Manchester City he was lively, and then he followed that up with a great display at Bournemouth.
On Saturday in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, Gomes then shone with a very busy performance. Andy Thompson felt Gomes was Wolves’ best player, and fans were certainly left impressed.
The one thing Gomes is primarily known for is his ball-winning ability. Dave Edwards reckons Gomes is Wolves’ best-ever player for this.
Given he is naturally combative, this means he is often getting into trouble with referees.
Gary O’Neil loves the player’s tenacity but has admitted Gomes needs to start picking up fewer bookings.
O’Neil says he needs to speak to Joao Gomes about his yellow card rate for Wolves
Wolves currently have four players who are one yellow card away from a ban – and Gomes is one of those players
Against Manchester City he was lively, and then he followed that up with a great display at Bournemouth.
On Saturday in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, Gomes then shone with a very busy performance. Andy Thompson felt Gomes was Wolves’ best player, and fans were certainly left impressed.
The one thing Gomes is primarily known for is his ball-winning ability. Dave Edwards reckons Gomes is Wolves’ best-ever player for this.
Given he is naturally combative, this means he is often getting into trouble with referees.
Gary O’Neil loves the player’s tenacity but has admitted Gomes needs to start picking up fewer bookings.
O’Neil says he needs to speak to Joao Gomes about his yellow card rate for Wolves
He’s got four so far and one more will see him miss one Premier League game.
It is a frustrating situation to be in, because Gomes now needs to watch his step. Tacking is a major part of his game, and it is not ideal that he’s playing with the threat of a ban lingering over him.
O’Neil said (via E&S): “We speak to him about the needless ones.
“He is very competitive, he makes a lot of tackles and has a lot of regains, but we do work with him on trying to improve that side of it and making sure he makes good decisions around when he puts his leg in for things and when he doesn’t.
“He is that type of player, but we need to help him understand when it’s the right time to go in for things and when you can maybe stay on your feet.
“He’s another player that’s still very, very young and we’re trying to help him develop.
“I love his energy and the fact that he’s desperate to win the ball back, but we do need to make sure it’s controlled enough to not get himself in too much trouble.”
Gomes picks up too many bookings
Gomes is certainly a player who picks up a lot of bookings.
So far since he came to Wolves, £15 million star Gomes has made 60 appearances for the club. He has picked up 20 yellow cards so far, which is one every three games.
During his whole club career so far, he has picked up 54 bookings in 184 games.
And across his nine caps for Brazil, he also has a rate of one in three, picking up three cautions.
Gomes is undoubtedly a brilliant player, with the potential to be very special. But this is a bad habit that he needs to kick.
O’Neil will not mind him picking up a few here and there. Ultimately, Gomes is a combative and tenacious player and naturally, he is going to give the referee something to think about at times. But he must stamp out the silly ones, so that he doesn’t put himself under pressure so much
