Wolves Face Early Season Struggles Amidst Management Changes
Despite experiencing the worst start to a league season in their history, there is a sense of calm beneath the chaos at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The team opened the campaign with four consecutive defeats, raising anxiety levels among supporters who feared another battle against relegation. A fifth loss on Saturday, a 3-1 defeat to Leeds United, intensified these concerns as Wolves squandered an early lead, conceding three goals within just 14 minutes of the first half.
Currently at the bottom of the league, without a point or a win, these are indeed troubling times for Wolves fans. Historically, only two teams have managed to survive in the Premier League after losing their first five matches.
However, the club remains determined to turn things around, as evidenced by recent developments including new contracts for manager Vitor Pereira and striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, indicating a methodical approach behind the scenes. Pereira's new three-year deal comes amidst the team's struggles, although discussions had been ongoing throughout the summer.
While the optics of securing a contract during a poor run may seem questionable, the club believes it would appear reactionary to announce it after securing a victory. Timing in such matters is rarely perfect.
When Pereira joined the club in December, he brought with him a wealth of experience from 12 previous managerial roles, with his longest tenure being three years at Shanghai SIPG in China. He has acknowledged that his frequent job changes were often missteps, but they were all part of his journey to the Premier League. In his first 10 months with Wolves, Pereira has demonstrated his capability to manage in a league he has aspired to reach.
Wolves had previously awarded Gary O'Neil a four-year contract just before last season, only to part ways with him four months later. While Pereira’s contract does not guarantee job security, there is a collective desire within the club to avoid repeating past mistakes.
The appointment of Domenico Teti as the director of professional football in June, following the departure of sporting director Matt Hobbs, has bolstered Pereira’s position, given their previous collaboration at Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia. Teti aims to be viewed as a club appointment rather than merely a product of his relationship with Pereira, enhancing communication between the manager and the club's hierarchy.
While Teti’s role does not conform to traditional sporting director functions, the club's operational mechanisms remain intact. Executive chairman Jeff Shi initiated discussions for Strand Larsen's new contract before Teti finalized the five-year deal. Shi has emphasized the need for stability this summer, and there is a structured synergy off the pitch that now needs to be reflected in the team's performance on the pitch.
Wolves were active in the transfer market, needing to rebuild the squad after selling Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri to Manchester United and Manchester City for a total exceeding £90 million. Although it was widely accepted that Cunha's departure was necessary due to his £62.5 million release clause, his exit has left a significant void. Last season, Cunha accounted for 17 of Wolves' 63 goals in all competitions, while Strand Larsen contributed 14.
Strand Larsen, who recently signed a new contract after interest from Newcastle, scored twice in the EFL Cup against West Ham but has yet to find the net in league play. After struggling with an Achilles injury that sidelined him for two matches, he returned as a substitute against Leeds.
“We are in a really tough spot right now,” Strand Larsen expressed. “I am really disappointed in all of us. Nobody wants to be in this situation, but we can only blame ourselves. It affects us and those who want to attend the games too. It’s about the mentality of the players, and we need to do better.”
Wolves managed to score twice against Everton and in the first half against Leeds, but they have struggled to find the back of the net in three of their five league matches thus far. Overall, Pereira has lost more than half of last season's goal-scoring output since the start of the current season, and it appears those gaps have yet to be filled.
New signings, including striker Tolu Arokodare from Genk for £23 million and attacker Fer Lopez from Celta Vigo for £20 million, will need time to adapt. Additional defenders David Moller Wolfe and Jackson Tchatchoua joined the squad this summer, while Pereira advocated for the signing of Jhon Arias from Fluminense for an initial £15 million, having observed him extensively in Brazil.
The strategy has leaned towards acquiring international players, driven by the perception that better value can be found outside the Premier League, where fees are notably high. Wolves have historically navigated the foreign market with varying success, with notable acquisitions including Pedro Neto, Ruben Neves, Ait-Nouri, and Cunha.
Internally, there is recognition that the new recruits have much to prove, and there is an acknowledgment that some could have been brought in earlier to better acclimate to Pereira’s methods. While they will be given time to adapt, some sources have indicated that a more strategic order of arrivals could have aided in their settling process and improved overall performance.
Character-wise, the new players have integrated well with the existing squad, with only Arias needing to learn English. However, Wolves have maximized their overseas player quota and will shift focus towards homegrown talent moving forward.
The need for experienced players is critical, as three of the five players who logged the most minutes last season—Ait-Nouri, Cunha, and Nelson Semedo—have departed, marking the loss of the fourth captain in successive summers. Pereira also did not secure the additional midfielder he desired; former Burnley captain Josh Brownhill was mentioned before he joined Al Shabab on a free transfer, but he did not fit the profile Pereira was seeking.
Wolves have a history of slow starts, having found themselves in the bottom five after five games for the past four seasons. Since their return to the Premier League in 2018, they have won just one league match in August under five different managers: Nuno Espirito Santo, Bruno Lage, Julen Lopetegui, O'Neil, and now Pereira. In 23 matches during this period, they have lost 14, with only one victory against Everton in 2023, which has consistently placed them in a position of needing to catch up, particularly over the last two years.
Last season, it wasn't until their 11th match that they secured their first win—a crucial 2-0 victory over Southampton—only for the situation to deteriorate rapidly, leading to O'Neil's dismissal in December after a damaging defeat to Ipswich. Pereira took over and managed to guide Wolves to a 16th-place finish, winning six consecutive matches between March and April to alleviate relegation fears. However, the troubling trend now is that the last victory in the league came on April 29, following a 3-0 win against Leicester.
This loss of form is concerning, especially considering how well Pereira had blended the team last season. The performance of centre-back Emmanuel Agbadou, a January signing who played a crucial role in maintaining Wolves' Premier League status, has been shaky and error-prone thus far this season.