The rebirth of Wolverhampton Wanderers - Relegation, crisis, change of ownership and a Portuguese revolution
When Wolverhampton Wanderers were promoted to the Premier League in 2009 after a five-year absence, not much was expected as they finished 15th and 17th in consecutive seasons before eventual relegation at the end of the 2011-12 season.
In stark contrast, there was a massive sense of excitement and expectation as Nuno Espirito Santo’s men returned to the top flight in 2018 after spending six seasons in the Championship. At the end of their previous campaign in the top flight, Wolves went down having collected a meagre twenty-five points.
After 25 games this season, their tally of thirty-eight points is already a staggering THIRTEEN more than what they managed in the entirety of the 11/12 season. In this day and age, football clubs across the globe crave for immediate success so much that their visions are awfully short-sighted but Wolves’ return to the biggest stage is nothing of this sort – the side that we see today in the Premier League wasn’t built overnight.
Upon relegation to the Championship in 2012, it was about to get worse for them as the club suffered relegation for the second consecutive season and dropped to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1989.
In the process, Wolves also set an unwanted record by becoming the only club in the history of English football to experience back-to-back relegations TWICE, having already done so in the mid-1980s. After Mick McCarthy’s sacking in February 2012, as many as EIGHT different managers had come and gone without making a real impact before Nuno Espirito Santo took charge in May 2017.
Their upturn of fortunes began in July 2016 with a change of ownership when Chinese consortium Fosun International purchased the club for a reported £45 million from Steve Morgan and his company Bridgemere Group. The new owners showed no signs of standing still as they brought in eleven new players, with Helder Costa, Ivan Cavaleiro and Roman Saiss being the most notable ones.
Although Wolves got a couple of giant scalps in the FA Cup with away victories against the likes of Stoke City and Liverpool, their league form did not show much improvement and manager Paul Lambert was relieved off his duties.
Under the new ownership, Wolves always showed signs of promise but as far as PL promotion was concerned, the summer of 2017 was the real turning point. In the transfer market, Wolves sent shock-waves across Europe by announcing the capture of Ruben Neves, the youngest ever captain in the history of the Champions League, for a league record fee of £15.8 million.
Nuno Espirito Santo, once a Champions League winning goalkeeper with Jose Mourinho’s Porto and previously on the books of Valencia and FC Porto as a manager, was tasked with bringing Premier League football back to the Molineux and he did so in incredible fashion.
Wolves lead the Championship table since late October and eventually went on to win the league title with four games to spare. They also broke the club record for most points secured in a single league season, having tallied ninety-nine points.
Upon reaching the pinnacle of English football after six years in the lower divisions, Wolves were eager to be better prepared to the quality of the Premier League and went on to have a transfer window that would be remembered for decades to come.
£112 million was spent on as many as eleven players as Wolves sent out a massive statement of intent even before a ball was kicked. Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho, who were both mainstays in the Portugal side that won Euro 2016, were signed to solidify the core of Nuno’s team and the likes of Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker were amongst other noteworthy signings.
As of August 2018, Wolves had more Portuguese players in their squad than FC Porto, one of the biggest clubs in Portugal - paints a picture, doesn't it?
A lot was said about Nuno’s influence playing a major part in this. Having spent the vast majority of his playing career in Portugal, it’s only natural that the former goalkeeper knew a thing or two about the league but behind the scenes.
But then there was one other rather significant factor. Significant man for Wolves, maybe?
Super-agent Jorge Mendes was and continues to be the lynchpin for a sizeable chunk of their transfer dealings. Mendes represents manager Nuno and was instrumental in Fosun Group’s takeover of the club by aiding with the negotiation,s so it is understandable that he plays a big role in Wolves’ recruitment.
The Portuguese Revolution, as they called it, was all set to take the Premier League by storm.
In their PL opener, Wolves hosted Marco Silva’s Everton at the Molineux and the West Midlands club took next to no time to prove that they deserved to be back in the big stage. They came from behind twice to salvage a 2-2 draw, with Ruben Neves’ sweetly struck free kick being the pick of the goals as they gave the rest of the league a glimpse of what they were capable of. Peter Drury summed it up perfectly when Wolves grabbed their first equalizer.
“Ruben Neves - Oh gem, old gold gem. Hear the place! Molineux in all it’s magnificence!”
In September, Wolves really hit their stride and went unbeaten as Nuno was awarded the Premier League manager of the month award. It was the first time that a manager of Wolves had won the award in the club’s fifth season in the competition.
As the season progressed, Wolves’ confidence began to grow as Nuno’s newcomers adapted seamlessly to life in the Premier League. They were uncharacteristically solid at the back and this kind of defensive solidity was unheard of for a newly promoted side.
The most admirable part of Nuno’s side is that they didn’t compromise their style of play despite facing higher quality opposition and to add to this, the Molineux became one hell of a tricky place to visit. In the Premier League, Wolves took points from the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. In the FA Cup 3rd round, they hosted Liverpool at the Molineux and the Merseyside outfit came up short as Wolves’ capped off a spirited performance with a memorable 2-1 win.
Wolves’ return to the Premier League has been nothing short of outstanding. After 25 match-days, they sit comfortably in 7th place, four points above nearest rivals Watford in 8th. We’ve seen many newly promoted sides achieve short term success in the Premier League before but Nuno Espirito Santo and co look like they could stay here for a long time as they are set up perfectly for the present and the future.
There’s a perfect mix of youth and experience in the squad, a wonderful young manager at the helm, diligent owners who’d adequately back their manager and a solid structure behind the scenes to handle transfers and other football-related activities. To cap it all off, these are wonderful days to be a Wolves supporter.
Wolves put their time away from the Premier League to full use and now have the most complete squad outside the top-six by some distance. They’ve firmly established themselves as a top-ten side and considering all factors involved, they look better equipped for long term success than seasoned PL sides such as Everton, Leicester City and West Ham United. Their project is by no means a fluke or a one-off and the rest of England have come to terms with this by now.
In certain ways, their rise to the top flight can be compared to that of RB Leipzig in Germany, who famously got promoted and finished runners up to Bayern Munich in the 16/17 season.
It's hard to see them break into the Premier League top-six anytime soon unless something extraordinary were to happen but whatever happens from now until May, Wolves season will go down as an undeniable success. One thing is for sure – Nuno Espirito Santo and his group of wonderfully assembled players have announced themselves to the rest of England and are here to stay for the long run.