Fan column: Inadequate transfer window damaged Wolves despite recent improvement

What Jeff Shi described as ‘a good window’ was in reality an impoverished mishmash of newcomers without a scintilla of experience in Premier League football. Ranked alongside the calibre of departed personnel, hustled out of the club to balance the books and triggering an alarming and damaging decline in standards, the contrast remains stark. 

This shrinking pool of talent is defined by our desperate position in the league and the damage has been incalculable. 

There’s been a glimmer of optimism lately buttressed in how Wolves frustrated Newcastle at Molineux. Watching Jackson Tchatchoua having his best game for the club against the Magpies suggested that it may be time for some mid-season reappraisal. He’s blessed with speed in abundance; taking him on in a foot-race is a fool’s errand but initially it appeared that he offered little to complement his blistering pace. 

But he successfully subdued a couple of established international players displaying an awareness and a positional sense seemingly foreign to him prior to the arrival of Rob Edwards. One last gasp goal-saving intervention was high quality defending. 

As with the other newcomers, commitment and energy from Tchatchoua has never been in doubt and though far from being a Premier League shoo-in, he appears more responsible shedding some of his previously hectic inconsistency. 

Fellow wing-back, David Moller Wolfe is currently out of the team only because he is vying for the position occupied by the excellent Hugo Bueno. Early impressions were that the Norwegian was bland and insubstantial but a couple of goals in the League Cup boosted his confidence and since then he looks a really useful asset with other Premier clubs on his radar. 

Ladislav Krejci has been the pick of the bunch; accomplished and classy reading the game effectively and showing potential leadership qualities. Undoubtedly good business. 

Belatedly, Jhon Arias has finally given spasmodic indications of his ability and likewise Tolu Arokodare. The Nigerian appears to be a viable replacement for Strand Larsen. 

In contrast, Fer Lopez will be intensely frustrated; minimal appearances with a suggestion of a lack of physicality stunting his progress. Still young, undoubtedly talented; his time may still arrive.

 A good window? The evidence states otherwise, the input insufficient, but some signs of improvement albeit frustratingly, far too late.