Then Wolves attempt to re-appoint Gary O’Neil and you wonder whether you’ve seen the half of it.
The club’s ultimately failed pursuit of the man they sacked not even 11 months ago didn’t even fall into the “so crazy it just might work” category. It was just crazy.
On which side precisely sanity prevailed remains unclear but for Wolves and executive chairman Jeff Shi, the damage was already done. Getting all the negative publicity for an unpopular appointment, without actually managing to make the appointment, is quite the achievement.
At least now the search for Vitor Pereira’s successor has returned to more predictable candidates.
Ever since Rob Edwards left Wolves to join the FA in 2019 there was a sense he would return to Molineux some day in some capacity. Even so, you suspect he’d have wanted a more straightforward homecoming than the one currently being offered.
The task facing Edwards, should Wolves be successful in prising him from Middlesbrough, is first to be a saviour in the same manner as Pereira and Julen Lopetegui before him.
Except that now, Wolves as a club require far more than the quick fixes previously delivered. They need someone or something to restore long-term hope. Even Villa, when they stood in similarly dire straits a decade ago, had Jack Grealish to cling onto.
For those of us who chronicled Villa’s descent back then, the similarities with Wolves’ current predicament are unnerving.
Middlesbrough manager Rob Edwards applauds the fans following the Sky Bet Championship match at the King Power Stadium, Leicester. Picture date: Tuesday November 4, 2025.