Dave Edwards: Best and worst of Wolves - and concerns with 'emotional' display

Wolves columnist Dave Edwards reflects on the Championship opener against Blackburn at Molineux, where the hosts rescued a late point.

Fans saw the best and worst of Wolves in Friday's Championship curtain-raiser against Blackburn.

It was an entertaining and enthralling encounter to earn a late point against a very well-organised Blackburn team.

It was a special moment for Raul Jimenez to net the late penalty equaliser. The script was written for him to play such a part. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Raul.

To start with the positives, for the first half - and specifically the first 20 minutes - Wolves were electric going forward.

A lot of it revolved around Fer Lopez, the star man who can unlock a defence with his vision and creativity. Every time he got the ball you could see the panic in the Blackburn players.

He did tire in the second half, but he looked superb for this level.

The midfield looked strong to me. Marshall Munetsi got his goal from Lopez's terrific pass and with the balance of Andre it made for a terrific first half.

But I felt the trio really did drift in the second half.

I thought the atmosphere was electric too. I was there and fans really played their part to give the players a setting to play in front of.

Cesar Peixoto must have been delighted when he walked out and maybe a little bit in awe, too, at the noise from Molineux.

Let's hope that continues. Obviously it is going to be driven by performances by Wolves.

I thought Peixoto explained it very well afterwards when he said Wolves played with their hearts and not their heads. I thought that was very evident.

You've got to play with intensity and passion - but you can't play on emotion. That is definitely what they did.

Wolves were all over the place in that second half, with huge gaps in that second half when they attacked. When moves broke down Blackburn were a well-oiled, organised Championship team, put together by a very good Championship manager in Tony Mowbray.

They were able to cut through Wolves. They will feel very hard done by to leave Molineux with just a point.

Wolves got very emotional and were unable to sustain attacks. It was gung-ho after the visitors scored their second. It meant Wolves could not be efficient to pick the ball up and start again after losing it. The distances the players had to cover were far too big.

The big worry for me is in Wolves' defence and in particular the left side.

For the second time running the opposition's right side caused lots of problems. The full-back joined the winger and doubled up to leave Hugo Bueno the week before, and David Moller Wolfe against Blackburn, completely isolated and left with lots of problems.

It's something that needs addressing quickly. They need more help from the left winger - does Mateus Mane need to drop in quicker? Or more bodies across from the centre of the pitch?

It's a problem area and not necessarily the full-back's problem. It's the way Wolves were set up. They looked very vulnerable.

The centre-half partnership is crying out for Santi Bueno or Ladislav Krejci. Toti and Mosquera have strength, pace and aggressiveness, but it also has an erratic nature.

Bueno and Krejci will both bring a calming effect to that backline. That will be needed in the hustle and bustle, frantic nature of the Championship when it takes flight.

It will be an interesting week with signings potential incoming and players out the other way. Wolves are still a couple of players light.

Comment Guidelines

Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

Local news you can trust
Follow us
© 2026 Iconic Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice