Nathan Judah comment: Wolves have a plethora of issues to address

Going into the Coventry game in March, the former Bournemouth coach could do no wrong, with Wolves 90 mins away from Wembley and a real chance of European football.

What followed was a fall-off not even the most pessimistic Wolves fan could imagine.

Three wins in 26 games (just one at home) and a historic club seemingly sleepwalking to relegation.

There were moments in the Ipswich game where you felt Wolves were destined for a dramatic winner, but yet again, they found a way to lose another crucial game.

The next manager who comes in has a plethora of issues to address.

Here are just a few of them coming out of the 2-1 defeat:

Discipline

It’s no secret that Wolves’ squad are an emotional group of players, but there’s a difference between emotional and out of control.

These players are out of control

Jose Sa having to be restrained after a confrontation with fans at half-time during the 4-2 defeat Bournemouth was followed-up by then club captain Mario Lemina fighting with his own team-mates and coaching staff as well as Jarrod Bowen following the 2-1 loss at West Ham.

O’Neil talked about discipline all week and needing to learn from their mistakes – unfortunately they learned absolutely nothing.

Rayan Ait-Nouri was the latest player to be involved in ugly scenes after the final whistle.

The Algerian international had already picked up his fifth booking of the season during the game leading to a suspension for the Leicester City clash next Sunday.

Ait-Nouri was visibly on the edge throughout the game and clashed with Ipswich players post-match leading to a second booking and a sending-off.

The 23-year-old will now be eligible to return to the side for the Boxing Day match with Manchester United, but will be revert to four-yellow cards with another one-match ban on the horizon.

Ait Nouri refused to leave the pitch following his dismissal and had to be visibly man-handled by Craig Dawson and thrown down the tunnel before he did anymore damage.

It goes without saying this group must be able to control their emotions and it will be up to the new man in charge to address these deep-rooted issues immediately.

Captaincy chaos

Mario Lemina was stripped of the Wolves captaincy following his unacceptable outburst at West Ham.

But it wasn’t just that incident that cost him the honour of leading the team out.

Lemina’s performances has dipped alarmingly since taking on the armband at the start of the season from the departed Max Kilman.

The 2023/4 Wolves player of the season has looked a shadow of his former self. Struggling to impose himself in games and looking lost with his role in a midfield three.

Nelson Semedo was then given the armband and subsequently put in his worst performance of the season.

Liam Delap completely out-muscled and out-fought the right back leading to the opening goal .

O’Neil didn’t mince his words after the game, visibly furious with the Portuguese international’s role in conceding.

Semedo is a quiet man off the pitch, but does have the respect of the players on it.

Will there be a third change in captaincy with a new manager?

Fans unrest

Even before Ipswich scored their opener, chants regarding Jeff Shi and Fosun rang around the stadium.

The toxicity was evident for all to see and more importantly hear.

Jeff Shi did not take his usual spot in the Directors Box and after a series of own goals both-on-and-off the pitch this season, it does feel like there has been irreparable damage done between the charman and the supporters.

Can a new manager help reunite that relationship? Only time will tell.