Rudyard Kipling once wrote: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs” – Gary O’Neil certainly did that. It must have taken huge composure for the former Bournemouth manager to remain so unflappable as he was mobbed by the rest of the Wolves coaching staff following their late winner against the club that unceremoniously dumped him in June.
With all around him in ecstasy, the former Bournemouth manager raised only a smile following Sasa Kalajdzic’s 88th-minute goal and perhaps, a whisper of “I told you so” under his breath.
So well did O’Neil do in resurrecting Bournemouth’s season after taking over from Scott Parker at the end of August 2022, it led many to suggest that he was deserving of a nomination for Premier League Manager of the Season.
Instead, he was promptly sacked by new owner Bill Foley and went on to take up the daunting role of Wolves boss on the eve of the season after Julen Lopetegui left the club after being unhappy with the lack of investment over the summer.
O’Neil’s professionalism continued after the final whistle when he played down any interest in the compelling wider narrative to this game.
“It’s not about me or returning to AFC Bournemouth. I just enjoyed our performance really, nothing else. I’ve got huge respect for everyone at Bournemouth and they gave me the opportunity to manage a Premier League football team,” he said.
“I haven’t celebrated often really when we score and I thought it was the right thing to do today (not celebrate). To be 1-0 down at half time was hard on the players and I thought we were the better team throughout. Bournemouth were exactly what we expected.”
Bournemouth are not yet getting what they expected from Andoni Iraola, the former Rayo Vallecano manager brought in to replace O’Neil and take the club forward with a forward-thinking, progressive approach.
So far that’s yielded just three points from nine games, one of the worst starts to a season in the club’s history.
“We have to take accountability and we have to accept that we are not keeping the focus to compete and win games,” said Iraola.
“When you are in the relegation spots you have to be worried. Even after the red card I thought we were defending really well but you have to keep the focus for 100 minutes in the Premier League and we made two big mistakes.”
Wolves were bright and Pedro Neto rattled the crossbar on five minutes after cutting inside and beating Lewis Cook before his namesake – the Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto – gathered Matheus Cunha’s follow up effort.
Wolves had the better of the early stages but it was an excellent goal which gave Bournemouth the lead against the run of play, a move which started with the £25 million debutant Alex Scott breaking up field and finding Philip Billing. After a clever pass from David Brooks, Billing picked up the ball once more and slid it into the area where Solanke scored with a brilliantly executed back heel.
O’Neil’s side were level just over a minute into the second half and it was no more than they deserved. Tommy Doyle had come on at half-time and it was he that found Neto who in turn laid off for Cunha to finish first-time into the far corner.
Soon after, Bournemouth were reduced to ten men when Cook was sent off for a headbutt on Hee-Chan who had confronted the Cherries midfielder after being cynically hacked down by him. The decision was quickly upheld by Var.
With Bournemouth camped out on the edge of their area, the game seemed destined to end in a draw. But, after a risky goal kick from Neto, Kalajdzic robbed Billing of possession on the edge of the Bournemouth area, exchanged passes with Hee-Chan and then stroked in the winner.
