Wolves season review: Struggles, sackings and some success

Here we review the highs and lows of Wolves’ 2022/23 campaign.

Successes

At the start of the season, success for Wolves would have been building on the 10th place finish from last season and perhaps mounting a charge for European football, particularly with the money they spent in the summer.

But once the campaign got under way, and it was clear by the World Cup break that the club was in serious danger of dropping out of the league, survival would be a success.

Taking that into account, finishing 13th is a remarkable achievement after being bottom at Christmas. Wolves were down and out, but a smart managerial appointment and shrewd business in the January transfer window ultimately saved Wolves’ season.

Another success from the campaign saw some young talents emerge. Hugo Bueno finally got his chance and overall has been excellent.

Joe Hodge is a superb talent and has a big future, while Dexter Lembikisa continues to grow and looks very promising.

Wolves must take advantage of their excellent academy and the emergence of these impressive young players is a shining light in an otherwise difficult and disappointing season.

Failures

Wolves’ many mistakes this season began last summer, when they allowed too many leaders to leave at once.

Losing John Ruddy, Romain Saiss, Willy Boly and Conor Coady all in one window ripped the heart out of the dressing room, which was never replaced until January.

On top of that, Wolves made big money signings that did not work, while bringing in a player like Goncalo Guedes for £27.5million – someone who never wanted to come to the club and showed that in his performances.

Those two factors meant a team full of talent was lacking any real personality or character, and they quickly dropped down the league.

The very public chase for a new manager was not a good look – although Wolves eventually struck gold with their choice.

On the pitch, Wolves’ glaring problem has been scoring goals. Coming bottom of the Premier League for goals scored, with just 31 in 38 games, it marked Wolves’ worst Premier League return and their second worst return in a league season in their history.

When other factors of Wolves’ play improved to keep them in the division, a lack of goals remained an issue and is one to be addressed in the summer.

Managers

Bruno Lage was a gentleman, a hard-working coach and an detailed thinker, but ultimately paid for his mistakes.

The final nail in the coffin saw him play Ruben Neves at centre-back in his final game in charge – a 2-0 loss at West Ham – while Toti Gomes and Yerson Mosquera sat on the bench.

His odd selection decisions, rambling press conferences and dull training sessions dropped him in trouble – but the results and performances spoke for themselves and he was rightly let go.

Steve Davis was given the unenviable task of taking over and while results were still hard to come by, he deserves credit for giving some sort of anchor to a sinking ship.

Davis’s biggest achievement was giving an opportunity to those young talents that were overlooked by Lage.Bueno, Hodge and Lembikisa all emerged under the interim boss’ time in charge and he also deserves credit for giving Wolves one of their few positive outcomes this season.

Once Julen Lopetegui arrived he was tasked with saving Wolves and he did just that.

He made mistakes and was fare from perfect – the 6-0 and 5-0 losses to Brighton and Arsenal highlight that – but he ultimately did his job, and a terrific one at that.

Off The Field

The move to let Scott Sellars go and promote Matt Hobbs to sporting director was one that went down well with supporters, and although Sellars was not solely (or even largely) to blame for Wolves’ failures this season, Hobbs has made an impressive start to his tenure.

The infrastructure behind the scenes is in it’s healthiest place for some time and Wolves are set up for success with their scouting department and the lines of communication.

Hobbs and Lopetegui have a good working relationship and the structure at Wolves is working well.

Despite Wolves’ planned cautious approach this summer, to ease the financial concerns, fans should have hope and faith in the fact that the club should continue to unearth gems. If they can follow a similar model to Brighton and make it just as successful, it will prove fruitful in the long term.

It is also important to mention Molineux too, and the redevelopment needed. The Steve Bull stand in particular needs plenty of work doing on it and supporters have rightly been calling for it.

It is not currently high on Fosun’s priorities, but sooner or later it will be need to be addressed.

What Next?

Unfortunately for Wolves, ‘what next?’ hinges on Lopetegui’s future.

The head coach has been putting the pressure on to get more funds for the summer and a compromise may be needed – but Wolves’ current financial reality cannot be avoided.

This limbo regarding Lopetegui is not helpful and the club will need some commitment from the head coach to move forward with their summer planning. We are likely to see a big turnaround in players this summer with the end of an era on the horizon, and for Wolves it is how they rebuild that will decide their fate next season.

Particularly with Lopetegui on board, the infrastructure at Wolves is set up for a positive 2023/24 campaign, but the next few weeks and months are crucial.

If the head coach does depart, Wolves will continue on, but their next managerial appointment will play a huge factor in whether the club can avoid a season of hardship such as this one. But if all goes well, Wolves have the potential to kick on next season with a shrewd and well-planned summer.