Wolves are relegated after an inexcusable and avoidable mess of their own making

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Wolverhampton Wanderers have been relegated back to the Championship. An entirely avoidable, but utterly predictable conclusion to this part of the club’s story.

A story which started with promises to challenge Manchester City ended with a season-long battle challenging Derby County.

Wolves won’t have the tag of ‘worst ever Premier League team’ around their necks…but their fight against the drop... well you'd scarcely call it a fight. The feeble and meek 3-0 defeat at Leeds United, twinned with West Ham's goalless draw against Crystal Palace, confirmed the inevitable, but the dye had been cast well before that.

Rob Edwards has inspired better results than his predecessor Vitor Pereira, who left Wolves close to the point of no return by the time he was sacked, at least. But the problems at Molineux go beyond the man in the dugout, even if they are the ones forced to front up.

From ambitious upstarts after their promotion in 2018, Fosun have overseen a period of managed decline.

From back-to-back finishes in seventh, Wolves have slowly moved down the Premier League table, relying on three worse teams to bail them out in previous years.

The playing squad has been ripped apart summer after summer, with the quality going out of the door never replaced by those coming in, even if they've spent heavily on replacements. And after years of circling the drain, they have finally - and deservedly - dropped down it.

Nuno Espirito Santo, the man who engineered the club’s rise from Championship strugglers to European quarter finalists, was the first to go public with his need for more players. He felt that he had taken the players at his disposal as far as he could. The soundbites from those above hinted their ambition was similar, but actions spoke louder than words.

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Nuno, ultimately paid the price, before the cycle was repeated with his successor Bruno Lage. The Portuguese actually had Wolves in a position to return to Europe in his first season in charge when he called for reinforcements to get over the line. He was given Hayao Kawabe, Chiquinho and Jeong-Sang bin. And that was before Adama Traore was inexplicably allowed to join Barcelona on a loan deal which had no obligation to become permanent.

Wanderers limped over the finish line, ending the 21/22 campaign in 10th, but with no momentum whatsoever. Lage lasted just two months of the following season, before a managerial search which exposed the naivety at the boardroom level.

Julen Lopetegui was the top target, but initially decided to stay in Spain after his father became unwell. Wolves had no Plan B, so stood still for more than a month, before Lopetegui eventually agreed to join.

The Spaniard’s arrival should have marked the distinct second part of the club’s stay in the Premier League. He masterminded an escape which at one point looked well beyond them and breathed new life into an increasingly frustrated Molineux.

But little did those on the terraces know that the frustration from Lopetegui himself was bubbling over. He felt promises were broken, ambitions curbed and plans changed.

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Lopetegui went public, such was his desperation to get himself off a wheel that was going in just one direction.

Gary O’Neil arrived, but only after Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Conor Coady, Nathan Collins and Raul Jimenez left. Within days, Matheus Nunes followed.

O’Neil had an impact, and his first season was a positive one. His reward? Captain Max KIlman, Player of the Season Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence all leaving.

It is almost incomprehensible to list the amount of talent that has departed the club in the last eight years. Particularly when looking at the squad tasked with keeping Wolves up this time around.

Pereira played his part in that with haphazard recruitment, control given to a manager who has never spent an extended period of time at a club - even to the extent that he brought in his own sporting director to work with. That decision in itself shows the kind of upside down thinking that has led Wolves to relegation.

Edwards was hired with fans already knowing their destiny at the end of the season. It took until January 3, for their first win of the season…with only two more following since.

Wolves have managed 24 league goals in 33 games. And just 17 in 16 matches in front of their home fans.

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Supporters who have been told their season ticket prices are ‘benchmarked’ against rivals that may be in the same division, but operate on a completely different level as they push for Europe.

The relegation may have been officially confirmed in April, but it's been pencilled in since well before Christmas...this comes as no shock. But that doesn’t alleviate the trepidation of what could come next.

Take a look at Stoke City, a club who spent 10 years in the top flight before their relegation in 2018. They were relegated with the idea of a quick return. Eight seasons later they have yet to achieve a top-half finish.

Wolves decision makers are adamant that won’t be the case at Molineux. Changes at boardroom level hint that lessons have been learned, but there is understandably a lack of trust.

This must be a reset for Wolves. A chapter in a longer story, rather than the definitive end. But for now, the plot moves to the Championship, they better be ready.

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