Our Wolves fan columnists have their say on the 2025/26 season.
Adam Virgo
A season that was written off before it even started with the way the owners handled everything going into the campaign. Giving so much power to Vitor Pereira and Domenico Teti in terms of transfers was a terrible decision, Jeff Shi also being included in that.
Three men who didn’t have a clue in terms of bringing the right profile of player in. Zero premier league experience brought in as well as very little quality wise when you lose the likes of Pablo Sarabia, Nelson Semedo, Rayan Ait Nouri and Matheus Cunha is insanity. We brought too many ‘risk’ players in and it’s shown this season with how bad we’ve been.
Being on two points after 10 games inevitably got Vitor Pereira the sack but the damage was already done. All of us fans were angry at everyone involved, understandably so by the way, so to recover that situation was something only a miracle worker could fix.
The Burnley game at Molineux pretty much summed up everything, Vitor Pereira arguing with the fans and Jorgen Strand Larsen coming over being angry with the fans too, relationships were tarnished and the club was an absolute mess from top to bottom.
Pereira clashed with supporters after Wolves' late defeat to Burnley (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)placeholder image
Pereira clashed with supporters after Wolves' late defeat to Burnley (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images) | Local Library
Under Rob Edwards there wasn’t much hope and to be honest apart from the little run we went on where we beat Villa and Liverpool as well as drawing to Arsenal and Brentford, there hasn’t been much else to get excited about under him.
To win zero away games in the whole season is laughable and ending the season on three wins just tells you everything you need to know about this team. I could count on one hand the players who have actually looked bothered this season.
Going into next season, I see Rob Edwards being in charge based on the fact he has helped with a lot of the planning for next season but he has definitely got to start the season well.
He has no excuses because from the fan’s forum, it has been said they want to reset and change a lot of the squad. We absolutely have to start the season well or they’re going to have to get rid, especially because our performances at the end of this season have been torrid.
Keeping Andre is massive for next season and we need to do everything we can to keep Mane and Rodrigo Gomes. Building the squad around them is key and bringing players in who actually want to be here and show that on the pitch rather than just saying the right things in interviews.
Clive Smith
This season's verdict hardly needs to rerun the weekly disappointments.
It is easy to recall the highlights as, after our first win, they were condensed within 14 days and all at home.
So where are we? Let's start with the elephant in the room.. our owners.
I don't share the popular opinion that they are to blame for all things connected to WWFC. It's their fault a piece of the roof fell from the South Bank. It's their fault Tolu hit the post when it looked easier to score. Really?
Tell me what better, more successful, owners we have had in the last 30, 40, 50, however many, years?
Over the last 10 years our average League position has been 16th. Compare that to the previous 10 years (27th), the 10 before that (28th) and 10 before that (41st).
Given a 10 year vision, with eight in the Premier League - who wouldn't have signed up for that? Who wouldn't sign up for that now?
Back then most of us had never heard of Braga - now we sing about about it like its our second home.
We'd collected a generational set of players who thrived under Nuno's leadership. Recruitment was good (or very lucky). We were well run and we were the envy of many clubs not in THE 'top six'. Seventh was our Everest, the summit. Could we realistically be expected to continually exist at that altitude? (For reference see Spurs, Newcastle, West Ham, fans of clubs considerably bigger than ours). Time to find base camp before, of course, we are able to climb again.
The Premier League
It's tough. Our four years there prior to these eight was totally about damage limitation and survival.
Running with the ball is typically curtailed with constant cynical fouls. The constant media hype where every game is massive, vital, crucial, huge despite only having three points on offer. Three defeats, and the manager with his Barmy Army support has become dispensable, either, suddenly not knowing what they are doing or having taken the team as far as they can. Judgement can be swift.
Constructive debate left the room a long time ago to be replaced by a finger tapping a keyboard or a shouting phone in.
Recruitment
The irony of last summer's transfer window should not be lost. Previous criticism had been that football people were not driving the recruitment. Yet fans were equally critical of Mendes football knowledge being previously used in many of our transfers. So last summer, trust was placed in VP and Domenico Teti.
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Wolves via Getty Images
Remember, at that time, just over 12 months ago, after six wins on the bounce, we too thought VP was the best thing since ... Nuno.
VP & Teti, Nuno & Mendes what could possibly go wrong? Well, pretty much everything.
It was always going to be a challenge given we'd finished 16th even with Cunha, Ait-Nouri, Semedo and Sarabia.
The popular chant 'Sold the team' is not the whole story. I suspect everyone at the club wanted those players to stay, they however, did not want to play for Wolves and left - most likely on a salary we could not match.
So, VP had significant gaps to fill and despite bringing six players in failed to do that. I blame VP (who knows the role Teti had?). The club trusted him and he brought in players that were not fit for purpose. On top of that, the whole squad looked so short of match fitness (Stoke friendly) that we were inevitably playing catch up from the start. Throw in the fact Larsen & Agbadou had effectively down-tools and being competitive was well beyond us.
The Manager
Part 1 - Vitor Pereira
He failed with recruitment. He failed to get the team fit in pre-season. When the fixture list came out in June, you could see the first six games were tricky, but Leeds and Everton at home were winnable, six points after six games and we'd be in the pack. On top of that, avoiding dreadful late goals against Spurs, Brighton and Burnley would have given us a comfortable mid table position. Instead it was two points, six adrift of 17th.
Game 10 he threw us under the bus.
He knew it. We knew it. A midfield of Munetsi, Bellegarde and Krejci with Andre and Gomes on the bench. The supporters anger, venom, hatred for the man was plain to see. Seeing his smug smiling face on someone else's touchline still makes my blood boil. Other people, more charitable than me, may like to wish him well.
Part 2 - Rob Edwards
He wanted the job. He left his 'comfort zone' to come. At the time we were in a bad place. Short on quality, short on morale and with an extremely negative fan base. It doesn't sound like anyone's dream job.
He deserves huge credit for taking the job on. At that time it looked unlikely we would beat Derby's lowest points total. He undoubtedly improved us, shuffling the pack trying to find the best formula from a collection of broken pieces. His hands were tied given the situation he inherited.
The players, the staff, must have felt the pain and disappointment when it seemed every mistake got punished.
We need to give him time, one transfer window might not be enough. Last summer we got six in and maybe two will work out. If we get eight in this summer, and six work out, we'll most likely still need more.
Lets be patient.
Supporters
'A supporter is a person that actively advocates, promotes, or champions a cause, individual or team. The term distinguishes itself from a passive observer by implying active backing, loyalty, or financial contribution.'
We need more supporters. Perhaps then, our home games would have a better atmosphere and likely better results. When the going gets tough, we have some of the worst fans around.
Be thankful we have a team to support. It would be nice if the fans were more proactive in their vocal support to support the club, the team, the manager as well as the players. A negative, sometimes toxic atmosphere will not help us attract players or encourage them to give of their best.
Don't boo when we lose at home for the first time. Don't be negative when a player you don't like makes a mistake.
Fans, media, social media all fuel the fire when things don't go well. (Everyone likes a crisis - when it's not yours).
Let's buck the trend. Let's manage our own expectations and not be diverted when others try to impose their agenda.
Players come and go, supporters are meant to be 'till death do us part'.
Next season there is no more pesky people with half and half scarves in the Championship - a level we've been at (or below) in 30 of the last 42 years.
John Lalley
Memorable this season demonstrably was not, but what occurred five minutes before it started, certainly was.
The superb presentation celebrating the life of Diogo Jota was breathtaking, a beautifully choreographed tribute with his family in attendance which captured the sadness and poignancy perfectly and resonated with everyone in attendance.
Missed as much at Molineux as on Merseyside, if ever there existed a moment for some reflective perspective, this was that moment. Unforgettable.
An absurd pre-season exercise in sophistry masquerading as a statement of intent from the then Executive Chairman presented the overwhelming evidence that Wolves were hell bent on failure. He didn’t stick around to man the lifeboats.
Five consecutive defeats to start the season, a disillusioned head coach heading haplessly to the exit and no win until January. A staggeringly dismal statistic that extends beyond embarrassing but spawned within Molineux itself.
The club wilfully shaped its own downfall; the revolving-door of departures without adequate replacements left us all knowing the final, inevitable outcome even before the clocks were put back.
Dealt a fearsomely torrid hand, Rob Edwards never had a single ace to play realising in rapid time that this was a task beyond his compass.
He has much to prove next season and little time to prove it; supporters are sceptical, he knows it, no extenuating excuses anymore, he has to address this hurtling decline in standards.
A decline that has plunged the entertainment level at Molineux to a depressing, bland and uncompetitive low. Wolves were irredeemably dull, negative, significantly less physical than most other sides and frequently simple cannon-fodder.
Trust and confidence in the club has been relentlessly eroded, the need to engender a more positive mentality is essential.
Recruitment has to be pragmatic based not on a whim, but on proper market-research knowing exactly what the expected role of each newcomer entails. Given the endurance required in the Championship, a tougher, more physical edge is essential.
And a consistent style and formation knowing exactly what we are seeking to achieve would be a welcome contrast to the haphazard spectacle just delivered.
Above all, restore some self-respect; do that and the supporters will back the team unconditionally. The ball is firmly in the court of the club; no more gaslighting will wash; time to deliver.
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