06 Oct 2025 15:46:35
Be careful what you wish for. VP has not become a bad manager overnight. He is the right man for the job and we would be unlikely to do better. We all make mistakes and VP has made a few lately. It is not his fault that we are obliged to play Hwang and are consequently playing with ten men.

1.) 06 Oct 2025
06 Oct 2025 17:39:43
Are you suggesting Wolves have some sort of deal with Korean TV/tourist board?
Even if it does, when you look at Wolves total income from commercial activities, it is highly unlikely that that the income generated by Wolves from all Korean sources covers anything like even a few weeks of Hwang's wages.
It is therefore unlikely to be a reason to pick him!
Note each place in the table is worth millions of pounds and relegation costs tens of millions so you certainly want your best team on the pitch every week!

2.) 06 Oct 2025
06 Oct 2025 18:43:06
Hwang wasn’t our best player yesterday, but he wasn’t really bad. I would probably rather see fer Lopez or Rodrigo but hwang is our best finisher and didn’t look a mile out of place yesterday.

3.) 06 Oct 2025
06 Oct 2025 22:18:27
Can we stop the contractually obliged to pick Hwang nonsense. Unless anyone here can evidence it?

4.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 01:54:32
Spot on Sevlov, as far as conspiracys go it doesn't even make sense! Chan played less games last season than any other season, so I can only assume that this imaginary clause was added to his contract but ONLY at the start of this season?! Maybe it has something to do with the earth being flat eh?! ???

5.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 06:07:40
There's got to be a reason why VP was willing to sell him this summer as he was surplus to requirements but now a mainstay of the team. It can't be a footballing decision as everyone can see he's awful.

6.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 09:39:05
Wandering is it not entirely possible that he was willing to sell him in order to fund buying a replacement but having not been able to sell then Chan is now what he sees as his best option?! Sorry but if you or anyone thinks that VP would agree to HAVING to play someone despite form/managers choice then you clearly think the man's an absolute moron?! No manager would and as TFG points out the numbers literally don't even add up!
As I've said before the problem with this frankly ridiculous conspiracy is that it absolves VP (and the club) of their own shortcomings! If VP is starting Hwang then it's because he GENUINELY believes he's the most experienced/best option that he has! Time would be FAR better spent debating how on earth the club have put themselves in a position where Hwangs first choice rather than foolish conspiracy theories that to be honest have absolutely no basis in reality! ?

7.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 09:53:40
Surely the reason they were willing to sell Hwang is simple, they had interest from Crystal Palace and needed to create an overseas spot in the squad for Uche at the time.

There is no conspiracy theory, he's just getting the nod at the moment as the alternatives are unproven and not specialists in his role in this system.

8.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 09:58:02
BullysBoy II, you beat me to the reply, and said pretty much the same thing but more eloquently ?

9.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 12:03:41
Managers are not told to play/select certain players you say doesn't happen you say Bullysboy? You might want to ask Hansi Flick about that. Remember when he tried to end Manuel Neuer and Thomas Mullers international careers only to be told by Bayern Munich that if he didn't select them, then Bayern would not release any player to that National team. It may not be that extreme at Wolves but it does go on.

10.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 12:31:55
All, now I am going to add to the conspiracy theory.

Wolves have a sponsorship deal with Kocowa. This sponsorship, although no financial figures are available, has garnered 63m views from the South Korean community. The only player in the Premier League who generated more interest in South Korea was a certain Son Heung Min.

In May 2025, it was highly likely that Hwang was to be sold over the summer.

On 6th August 2025, Son announced that he was leaving Spurs for the USA.

On 13th August, despite Hwang failing to secure a move and despite the fact that the transfer window was still open for another 19 days, Wolves rejected moves by both Palace and Marseilles to take Hwang on loan for the season. Then on 26th August the club changed tact and said he would not be moving on under any circumstances.

A few days later, the club announce that they had now partnered with Kocowa as their main streaming platform partner. The CEO of Kocowa said at the announcement of the deal 'Wolves’ global presence and engaged fan base is a natural fit for our demographic, not to mention Hee Chan Hwang is one of our favourite players.'

This partnership is clearly to ensure that the Wolves brand is grown internationally and it seems that once Son left Spurs, the club took the chance to seize on an advertising opportunity. I think the caveat of the deal is that Hwang has to play some part (to the detriment of the team) just so the brand is grown.

I may be far off the mark here but this is what football has become now, a game played as much in the advertising field as much as the football field.

11.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 17:28:58
I’m not buying this Hwang must play because of Korean TV or any other dealfor that matter. Any manager or head coach worth his salt would not stand for it.
Kwang was not sold because we didn’t have a replacement.

12.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 18:02:30
Sorry Wandering but those dates you've given are entirely guess work depending on which outlet you are reading it on. In fact when I look it up on Mol News and Football Asia not only are the dates different but both sites (like many others) state that the VERY simple reason the deals broke down was because clubs only wanted a loan with no obligation to buy well we've learnt what that means the hard way (basically a free loan)! They also only wanted to pay £12m for him which frankly with our threadbare squad I would say they made the right call!
It's also worth noting here that as MolWay rightly points out that this was all actually happening round the back drop of Matt Hobbs/Palace gazumping us to Uche!
I also think that you seem a little confused about who needs who when choosing a streaming platform! Wolves are (at time of writing:) playing in the Prem league. Do you not think that Wolves therefore have the power in that dynamic as THEY are the ones selling Prem footy rather than the streaming company who don't have a business without stuff to sell?! There's also another little problem with your conspiracy and that is it wasn't a new deal with Kowoc was it, no quite the opposite! I think you will find that WE (Wolves) opted to take the option to extend the deal with Kowoc at the start of Sept!
So this whole notion that we are in some way indebted to them is absolute tripe all round I'm afraid buddy. As usual in the life the easy answer is often/usually the right answer and so is the case here. Hwang is starting cause VP thinks he should be and that's his choice as a manager plain and simple! I suspect this point will be well proven as I have a suspicion that after the last match (and the increased pressure) VP will start JSL and Tolu next game. Let's hope so eh ?

13.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 19:05:34
As I said, I may be very wide of the mark. But for me personally, Hwang should not play again. Do we have any one better? Rodrigo, Bellegarde to name 2. Surely playing with no experience but eager to prove your worth is better than what drivel Hwang brings.

14.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 19:16:21
BullysBoy. Do you know that the Premier League make more money from overseas TV rights than they do in the UK. The PL have a very close control of the actual product. What they don't have control over is the Asian Market due to the Chinese government's will to control. The Korean people are not interested in particular teams, they are more about individuals who highlight them as a nation. The Premier League is big in S Korea but the players are bigger.

15.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 20:42:42
Yes Wandering I do know that, but do you know why?! It's not about control (the Prem retain much of the control when selling nationally) but it is mostly due to the 3pm blackout which means we can only sell half of our rights for live games in Eng (with the other halfish of matches on at 3pm Sat). It's also (ironically) the reason for the rise of IPTV as generally speaking most other nations get more Live Prem than we do.
All of that however doesn't change what I said. It was OUR decision to extend the contract (which took part at the beginning of Sept, after Chan was already staying). I can also guarantee you that at absolutely no point was that extension part of some Bond-villain-like plan to give Hwang Hee-Chan more game time! C'mon Wandering, your a bright guy and you know this is nonsense deep down! Like I say though it is a welcome distraction from the REAL debate isn't it. Which should be how have things got to the point where we are relying on Hwang for the goals we need to keep us up?! ??

16.) 07 Oct 2025
07 Oct 2025 23:08:47
Personally, Rodrigo or Bellegarde should start ahead of Hwang.

17.) 09 Oct 2025
09 Oct 2025 11:04:17
Not sure on Bellegarde, he drifts in and out of games for me making him more of an impact sub. But I couldn't agree more with Rodrigo, seems bizarre to me that whenever he plays he looks like one of the best/most dangerous players we have yet he just doesn't seem to get much game time. Let's hope we change things round next game buddy ?