Always Wolves
Always Wolves
Fulham Wolves by Always Wolves 55 seconds ago
Fulham 3-0 Wolves: Embarrassed, Frustrated, Angry, Apathetic, Sad… and a Hint of Hope
Dave Porter's raw take on embarrassment, anger, and apathy starts with Vitor in post and ends with the announcement of his departure.
Halfway through writing this piece, I had a strong sense of déjà vu. I checked an article I wrote following the Leeds game and, sure enough, I’ve written this before. That article is on this website, so feel free to revisit it, nothing has changed. I also didn’t want to tell you that we should be starting our two best players, or we have no style of play or formation etc, we all know this anyway.
My options, then: copy and paste from that article into this one (tempting, as I’d rather not waste effort on something that simply isn’t deserving of it), or take the opportunity to give a sense of what I was feeling. If nothing else, that might offer some cathartic peace, and if any of this resonates, at least we’re not alone in going through this mess.
I’m Embarrassed.
My home office is adorned with framed Wolves shirts. They’re the backdrop to many a Teams meeting. I’m from Wolverhampton, though I now live on the South Coast — where, surprisingly, there are more Wolves supporters than you might expect. Still, it’s unusual enough to stand out and spark conversation.
As a result, I field jokes, and worse, pity, in almost every interaction. Even more painful is that the wider footballing world seems to have caught on: this is becoming something of a novelty. Wolves are flirting with the kind of record no club wants, the kind Derby County set in 2007/08. The latest fear? That we might go an entire season without a win.
The point is this: my club, a huge part of my life and identity, something people associate with me and a bond that unites my family, has become a punchline. I smile along and steer the conversation towards gloomy nights or terrible weather, but it hurts. It hurts to feel ashamed of your football club when it’s so deeply ingrained in who you are.
I’m Frustrated
Wolves are not a good side. We were rightly placed among the relegation favourites. We were poor last year with a much better squad, and this summer’s transfer window, not necessarily in terms of money spent, but in how it was used, was clearly a failure. I understand all of that.
What we are not, however, is a team so poor that we should still be winless and sitting on two points as the fireworks go off. It feels like Vítor Pereira is doing everything he can to sabotage any chance we have of winning. When the line-up was leaked — and then confirmed — there was no optimism, no hope. It almost felt like the team was picked to provoke us, to kill any momentum that might have come from a decent second half against Chelsea’s ten men.
We do have good players. We’re not a good team, far from it, but we should be among a group of other ordinary sides, not cut adrift and winless. The team selected clearly wasn’t going to win this game. At the very least, get someone in who can give us a fighting chance.
I’m Angry
How have we got here? How has this inevitable, relentless decline been allowed to happen? How have Fosun ignored so many warning signs that something wasn’t working?
This tolerance for decline, for being just good enough, and this tolerance for a manager breaking records of ineptitude daily, has simply been allowed to continue. Where does it end?
This is deep-rooted rot. It’s not something you can trim, prune, or patch up. This is death from the roots. And the worst part? It was all so treatable. To watch it burn year after year and do absolutely nothing is unforgivable.
Even now, as I write this, Vítor Pereira inexplicably remains in post. Fosun, once again, twiddling their thumbs while the building burns to the ground. But we shouldn’t be surprised. They caused this mess, with an arrogance that assumed things would just work themselves out.
They’ve handed Vítor so much power that removing him would mean admitting to a level of negligence that demands accountability. To sack him now would be to admit failure. Of decision making from Shi that is no negligent that it must also remove himself.
So, unbelievably, this may continue deep into the winter. And if it does, it’s not just Vítor’s reign that needs to end, it’s the reign of those who enabled it.
I’m Apathetic
Appreciate that this is something of an oxymoron given everything above, but let me put it in context.
The goals going in didn’t hurt. It was far too predictable to resonate, just the inevitable happening. No surprises here. The handball for the sending off should have triggered me into an anti-VAR meltdown on socials, but so what? It had absolutely no impact on the game. Jorgen Strand Larsen not converting from a yard? Meh. KJH wasting another cross or blasting the ball into the Thames from one side of the pitch over the other, almost humorous.
The overarching situation evokes emotion, but the defeats, the goals, what happens on the pitch, they’re just expected now. “Stop, he’s already dead.”
I’m Sad.
What we have been through to get here, all of the moments, all of the players we have had. The songs we have sung There was so much hope. Those were the days. Looking back and comparing to what we are now is heart wrenching. Did any of us think it would implode the way it has? could and should we have appreciated it more. The gloss of the years when we were the angst of every big club, could win any game, had players that would get into almost any team, the excitement. Looking back fills me with a sadness, memories that now seem distant and way beyond reach.
I’m scared.
Relegation is coming, but I don’t think that’s where this story ends. We’re unstable. We’re in debt. We’ve got players who’ll leave for reduced fees, and a deficit that still needs paying. I don’t want to go back to the bad days. I don’t want us to become perennial underachievers, or suffer a double-dip relegation. Just how bad can this get?
I don’t know where the bottom is. But I’m certain we haven’t hit it yet, and that, more than anything, is what scares me.
I’m Optimistic
As I write this, Vítor Pereira has been sacked. It feels like a weight has been lifted. Is there a light at the end of this bleak tunnel? Could we finally make moves that reinvigorate us?
It surely cannot get any worse. Suddenly, there’s a chink of sunlight breaking through the clouds.
Fosun must get this right. This appointment is, without question, the most important of their ownership, and it has to spark an immediate reaction. If ever light was needed, then maybe, just maybe, this is it. Because this is the darkest place we’ve been in for some time.
Fulham 3-0 Wolves: Embarrassed, Frustrated, Angry, Apathetic, Sad… and a Hint of Hope
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