Following the surprise sacking of Rob Edwards, it appears as though a deal to hire César Peixoto is set to be completed. So, that begs the question, who is the new man to hopefully guide us back to the promised land? In this article I will look to answer that from a point of view of the man himself, his style of football, and finally how that suits the current Wolves squad (pending the potential mass exodus of transfers). Firstly, let’s have a look at the Portuguese manager’s background.
Playing History
Peixoto was mainly deployed as a left winger in his playing days across a whole host of the Portuguese elite clubs, including Porto and Benfica. This led to him receiving a solitary cap for the national team during a career which saw him score 25 goals in over 200 games in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. During this lengthy playing career, he went on to be managed by José Mourinho at Porto and shared a dressing room with Wolves legend Nuno on their way to a shock UEFA Champions League win in 2004. He then wound up his playing days at current, soon to be old, club Gil Vicente in 2014.
Managerial History
To say that Peixoto has had a turbulent career as a manager would be an understatement. In his seven years of coaching, he has never been with a club for more than 50 games – his current tenure in charge of Gil Vicente. His average term as a coach has been 0.58 years: a concern for someone Wolves want to lead a rebuild as a long-term project.
However, his recent managerial spell has been what has caught the attention of many. He took over at Gil Vicente in March 2025, leading them narrowly to safety in the Liga Portugal. Last season though, he exceeded expectations massively. With one of the smallest wage budgets in the league, Peixoto guided Gil Vicente to 6th in the league – narrowly missing out on European qualification. They were sitting in the European qualification spots until the last few games of the season, which is mainly due to their top scorer and starting goalkeeper leaving in January without being replaced.
Style of Play
Now to the part that I, and I also hope you, enjoy the most – the data! 6th for goals scored, 6th for goals against (reversed so that 1st is the lowest), and 9th for average possession are the key highlights. In simple terms, Peixoto’s team scores fairly high, conceded fairly little and is neither possession-heavy a la Pep Guardiola or full-on counter-attack a la every typical Wolves manager.
The underlying data backs up Gil Vicente’s strength as well. An xG difference of +9.6 (6th in the Liga Portugal) shows that throughout the season they should’ve scored 9.6 more than conceded – the actual figure was 9. Again, this is promising, as it shows they performed exactly to expectations – no underperformance, no overperformance, just a reliably excellent season.
3rd for accurate long balls and 4th for accurate crosses shows his team plays long to the striker before looking to lay it off to a winger/fullback to whip a good ball in. This reflects well in his typical 4-2-3-1 shape which Wolves fans will be pleased to hear will result in much more attack-minded football than the aforementioned counter-attacking we are used to now.
Lastly, one of his biggest strengths is his team’s set pieces. 1st for xG created from set pieces and 2nd for goals from them show just how great they are at making the most of them – something we have lacked for many years. However, it should be noted that they also conceded the 5th most from set pieces as well. Although, they conceded almost twice as much than their xG, so this is very much less of a concern.
His Gil Vicente side weren’t particular high pressers either, sitting 9th (exactly mid-table) for possession won in the final 3rd. However, the eye test showed in games against the Big Three (Porto, Benfica and Sporting) they were more than happy to apply pressure. This does concern me a little how that translates to a team who will be one of the big boys next season in the EFL Championship.
Current Squad – Winners and Losers
Now then, who do I think will be the biggest winners and losers of the current Wolves squad* playing in a more pressing attack-minded game. Firstly, let’s look at the winners.
*Those I expect to stay
Raul Jimenez – Firstly, the Mexican sensation will look right at home in a Peixoto system. A physical target forward who can win the ball in the air and lay it off to a winger before darting into the box to score a header from the cross. Easily someone who will be key next year, also factoring in Peixoto made Pablo Felipe who now plays for West Ham look like a £23m signing.
Rodrigo Gomes – A player who has struggled to find a role he feels at home in but will be absolutely great as a winger in Peixoto’s 4-2-3-1. Someone who can dribble effectively and run at an opposing fullback, Gomes is going to thrive under Peixoto I think and may finally look at home in this Wolves side.
So, who will be the biggest losers in the new-look attacking Wolves?
Tommy Doyle – I really like Doyle and feel that he is best suited to a more possession-orientated and slower game of football. Peixoto’s double pivot usually has a ball winner (André) and then a more box-to-box type midfielder. I don’t see Doyle in either of those roles so feel he will be someone that misses out on the new style of football’s benefits.
Adam Armstrong – As mentioned with Jimenez above, the lone striker needs to be someone capable of holding the ball up and winning it in the air. I don’t think Armstrong has the profile for that and equally doesn’t have the sort of winger profile that could have him shoehorned in there. I expect his minutes to somewhat decrease next year.
Overarching Thoughts
In summary, I think that the appointment of César Peixoto is one that will prove to be the correct decision in time. As was indicated in my recruitment plan article, I was a big believer and backer of Rob Edwards but I can now agree that a change in style of play I think was a necessary move. I’d, however, like to say that the way this has been handled has been horrific though and I do wish Rob the best and thank him for his time at the club. Regardless, it is time to back a new manager and, ultimately, one I think will be rather easy to get behind.
