Can Wolves Bounce Straight Back To Premier League?

Ever since Mick McCarthy was sacked, relegation has been inevitable for Wolverhampton Wanderers. The decision to dispense with the former Republic of Ireland manager was not in itself the axe that killed off Wolves survival hopes, but the calamity in appointing a successor meant the boys in gold never stood a chance. Rather than receive a bump from a new manager with fresh ideas, the internal promotion of the affable Terry Connor brought with it a €˜meh€™, and it is no surprise that results continued to go downhill. Yet Saturday€™s 4-4 draw at Swansea showed there is still fight in this team as well as quality, although the 4-4 score line gives quick indication of their strengths and weaknesses. First, let€™s look at the finances. Relegation from the Premiership instantly means a shrinking of budgets, but Wolves are a well run club. TV money has been invested in the ground and the playing squad, at least ensuring a long term legacy, personified in the new Stan Cullis Stand. The club does not need to sell off its best players yet, but relegation does give the management a chance to offload under-performing players and rejuvenate the side. Unfortunately those players the club are most eager to sell are unlikely to be the ones other clubs want to buy. Steven Fletcher, Matt Jarvis and Kevin Doyle are players of proven Premiership class who could easily find homes at the likes of Sunderland, Stoke, or maybe a Reading. Wayne Hennessey is out for six months with a cruciate ligament injury so Wolves will hang on to him, and Steven Hunt or Jamie O€™Hara might interest one of the bottom half teams, but with the promise of an immediate return to the Premiership Wolves may hang on to them. The defence has been Wolves Achilles heel, and save for Hennessey the whole back line can be said to have underperformed. Club record signing Roger Johnson has been an unmitigated disaster from the off, his usurping of Karl Henry as captain causing discontent in the squad, his performances have been very poor, arguments with teammates on the pitch have not helped, and turning up late and drunk to training was merely the icing on the cake. Wolves will do well to get half their money back. Elsewhere in defence Richard Stearman, Stephen Ward, Christophe Berra, and Ronald Zubar are all honest professionals but are not Premiership quality. The Championship is more their level but if they are retained the club may be deceived into believing they are capable of keeping them in the Premiership upon their return. The truth is they are either too slow, too cumbersome, or too error prone to play in a backline together. That Sebastien Bassong, on loan from Tottenham, has won praise from the stands despite hardly being a rock at the back shows the relative strengths of Wolves current defensive team. But the biggest issue the club needs to address is who will be manager next season. Given the way Steve Morgan and Jez Moxley handled the appointment of McCarthy€™s successor the fans should be worried, but Wolves should still be appealing enough to either a young, talented manager looking to enhance his career or an experienced manager looking for a way back into the game. Steve Bruce and Alan Curbishley were linked with the job in February, and now relegation has been confirmed negotiations may be easier. Equally, come the end of the season, it may be easier to approach an employed manager. Dougie Freedman, an ex-Wolves player, has done well with Crystal Palace despite operating with little to no budget at all, Gus Poyet has done wonders at Brighton but might prove hard to prise away, same could be said of Chris Hughton, Eddie Howe at Burnley, or Karl Robinson at MK Dons. Rumours spread that Connor might stay on for next season. That would be a very brave call, some might say foolish. Keeping Wolves up was a fool€™s errand but you would want to see better results and performances even in defeat before handing the reigns permanently to the caretaker manager. There is much to admire about the way Wolves have attempted to slowly grow their club. They haven€™t spent money they don€™t have, their long term future is secure, and the club has some very good assets that will either bring in money or help them return to the Premier League. They should be too strong for the Championship but unless they put the right man in charge, they could under-perform again. And if they don€™t return at the first time of asking, the championship can become a very difficult league to get out of.