Wolves Selection Debates Need Better Perspective
A Wolves fan pushes back on claims that team selection is being driven by commercial deals, arguing it is unfair to single out a player and link his minutes to nationality or partnership headlines.
There is nothing wrong with debating whether a player should start for Wolves. That is part of being a supporter. What gets me is when the conversation drifts away from football and turns into assumptions about why someone is getting picked.
On the pitch, Hee Chan Hwang has still had games where he has contributed directly. If a player comes away from a match with a goal and an assist, then by definition he has had a bigger influence than plenty of others out there that day. You can still think Wolves might be better balanced without him in the side and also accept that he has impacted matches when he has played.
Selection is not a conspiracy
The biggest stretch is the idea that multiple managers would all keep picking a player they do not rate because of some off-field arrangement. Football managers live and die by results and performances. They are not in the job to protect anyone else’s theories, and they are certainly not there to damage their own credibility by carrying a passenger for reasons that have nothing to do with the pitch.
If someone wants to argue the player does not fit the system, does not press well enough, or does not offer enough in possession, fine. That is a football conversation. But claiming it is all being done for business reasons is a very different thing, and it needs more than a hunch.
KOCOWA: partnership, not a simple shirt deal
There also seems to be a misunderstanding about the club’s relationship with KOCOWA. The point being made is that it is described as a partnership rather than a straight sponsorship, and that matters because people keep asking for a neat “monetary value” as if it is a standard commercial package.
The partnership is framed as using Wolves as a platform to push Korean content into the UK and across Europe. That might help grow interest and revenue streams over time, but it is a different discussion to “we are paying X so you must pick Y”.
Critique form, not nationality
Here is the crux of it for me: it is perfectly acceptable to say you do not especially rate a player. It is not acceptable to target one of our own just because he is South Korean and then work backwards from that to claim he is only in the team for commercial reasons.
Wolves fans can and should demand higher standards, but the line has to be footballing performance and suitability. If we want better, let us talk about what the player is doing on the pitch, not where he is from.
.
