Wolves chairman reveals 'mistake' and balance to be struck for next season
Football is a difficult business and running a club is even harder work.
Wolves have enjoyed some brilliant moments since returning to the Premier League under Chinese owners Fosun and, in more recent years, some more difficult times.
They are now heading into the summer with a new leadership structure in place under chairman Jeff Shi, has that seen the sporting director role removed and responsibilities spread across more people, while Domenico Teti has come in as the bridge between head coach Vitor Pereira and the hierarchy.
This structure needs clear leadership and Shi is the man making the final decisions, but he has now revealed a previous mistake he made that he has now rectified after arriving at the club in 2016, while also admitting he may move on from his current role in the years to come.
"I made a mistake and maybe tried to stay away from football for a while," Shi said via the Business of Sport podcast.
"After the promotion to the Premier League we did really well, we went to Europe and finished seventh twice.
"I'm not from the football industry and I have more interests, I like games, videos, movies, music and I thought maybe I could focus more on that and leave the people here to do the job here.
"In the last few years I didn't spend enough time here. Now, I realise I have to be inside the training ground, until one day I can try and find one or two guys to do my job here.
"It's difficult because a football team needs a leader to show them the right way and if I left people started to feel disoriented. Maybe it's my personal mistake and now I've come back.
"After December I've spent every day at the training ground and for next season I hope I can find the balance.
"I feel we can have a team to do the same job I'm doing but eventually they need to see you here and talk with you."
Shi still visits family in Shanghai every year and has a plan to return home briefly this summer, but he is adamant that his role demands him to be in Wolverhampton.
But not only that, his focus must be on football until there is someone to take that responsibility off him, although Fosun Sports do also place importance on Esports using the Wolves brand.
He added: "It's not ideal for me. I've been in the industry for almost nine years and they need you to stick to the training ground.
"The players, the coach, the people want to see you in person and speak with you in person. In person things are different.
"In the first year in 2016/17 I tried to stay in Shanghai because my home was there and family was there. I travelled every two or three months and had one month here, it didn't work.
"After that season I decided to move my whole family here and eventually things worked.
"After that I tried to diversify my interests to different things but they didn't work very well.
"At Wolves we are trying to have a leadership team with four or five people doing different things.
"With team work it's easier for a succession plan, otherwise if you allow the coach to do everything, he may not be happy and too busy, and they think 'what are you doing'.
"He may leave eventually and we find it tough to do more things. Wolves, in the last 10 years, went through a time of relying on one coach and we didn't do much.
"Now, we have a team with expertise in every separate area, to give the coach an area to focus on and we can be more sustainable for the future."
