Today’s update:
2020/21 Season (42 matches)
Season Summary:
Premier League = 13th.
FA Cup = 5th Round.
League Cup = 2nd Round.
Top Goalscorer = Pedro Neto & Rúben Neves (5).
Fans' Player Of The Season = Pedro Neto.
Players' Player Of The Season = Pedro Neto.
With only 5 weeks between the end of the 2019/20 season and the start of 2020/21, an exhausted club now had to pick itself from the disappointments of failing to qualify for the Europa League for the 2nd consecutive season.
In addition, Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo was quite open that Wolves had to change their game plan/tactics if they wished to break through into the next level i.e. the top 6.
However, I always thought this was extremely risky for a number of reasons.
Firstly, Nuno was meticulous in his preparation of the squad, especially during the off-season, where each player was drilled re their role in the set-up. There was, in effect no close season as the players and staff needed time to rest.
Secondly, the transfer activity in the close season was not encouraging. Key striker Diogo Jota was released to Liverpool for a record fee of £45M, which was understandable given the circumstances; but how Wolves spent the incoming money was not.
£9M was spent on securing defender Ki-Jana Hoever, who has been a major disappointment, spending most of his time at Wolves out on loan.
What was outrageous was the £35M spent on teenager Fábio Silva from FC Porto, which was solely sanctioned by club chairman Jeff Shi, announcing Silva was a generational talent.
Well fuck me stupid what absolute garbage - nothing in his short career up to then had remotely suggested he was anything special, and this signing would haunt Wolves.
Matt Doherty was transferred to Tottenham Hotspur for just over £13M, which seemed about right given his bespoke role needed adjusting and his replacement in Nelson Semedo for £30M was an instant upgrade in terms of defensive capabilities.
But this meant, with the loss of Jota and Doherty (the team’s 2nd and 3rd top goalscorer from 2019/20), that there was an unhealthy reliance on Raúl Jiménez to score the necessary goals.
Wolves campaign started reasonably well, although a 4-0 defeat at West Ham United in the 3rd league game of the season, highlighted concerns over the team’s tactical approach.
By the 10th league game of the season at Arsenal Wolves were sitting in their familiar position of around 6th to 7th, but the fallout from that game would prove to be disastrous for the club.
Wolves won the game 2-1 (their first win at the Emirates) but the result paled into insignificance, as Raúl Jiménez was knocked unconscious after a clash of heads with David Luiz. Jiménez could well have been killed, and Luiz’s challenge (although not deliberate) was reckless in the extreme. Jiménez had to be stretchered off and was immediately taken to a hospital for severe trauma, where he was eventually deemed conscious. It was confirmed the following morning that he had fractured his skull in the clash with Luiz and had required surgery soon after hospitalisation, effectively ending his season.
So Wolves had now lost THE one player they could not afford to lose for the rest of season. Fábio Silva was now effectively the club’s main striker and the man-child soon proved to be ineffective in the role, showing no flashes of any generational talent and was soon replaced by loan signing Willian José from Real Socieded who was disinterested and impotent.
For 2020/21 Wolves only managed to score 36 goals in the Premier League (versus 51 in the previous season); with the seasons top scorers being Pedro Neto and Rúben Neves with 5 goals each. Note Raúl Jiménez had scored 4 goals in his 10 games.
With Raúl Jiménez absent for the remainder of the campaign, Wolves eventually finished in 13th place, representing a decline compared to the previous two seventh-place finishes. Two days prior to the end of the league season, the club had announced that head coach Nuno Espirito Santo would be "leaving by mutual consent" after the final game against Manchester United following four years at the helm.
The entire 2020/21 season had taken place against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated the players' compliance with strict restrictions on contact as well as no fans at any games until the final day of the campaign.
IMO watching the games without any fan involvement robbed the game of its heart and soul. The whole experience of the season was something I hope never to experience again; in fact I won’t as I simply would not bother with something so contrived, artificial and passionless.
For me, I detest season 2020/21 with a passion, more than any season I have experienced supporting Wolves.
The empty experience of no fans at the games was bad enough, but the clubs dismissal, sorry “leaving by mutual consent” of Nuno, was IMO, the single worst decision the club has made since the sacking of Stan Cullis in 1964.
Notwithstanding Nuno did make some uncharacteristic mistakes i.e. prioritising the Premier League game against Southampton instead of the FA Cup 5th Round tie at home to them only 3 days prior. I was, however, disappointed to see that a fair number of Wolves supporters had been clamouring for Nuno’s removal saying that his time was up - for me this was unfair as there was numerous unique circumstance in 2020/21 that should have been taken into account.
- The lack of an off season and an exhausted squad (including Nuno and his assistants) which meant Wolves effectively played 2 seasons straight.
- The woeful transfer activity, which did not appear to be sanctioned by Nuno - leaving him with inadequate goal scoring options.
- Raúl Jiménez’s serious injury and the impact it had, not just on the team, but also on Nuno personally.
- Nuno spending an inordinate amount of time away from his family for close on 2 years.
- Nuno falling out with his highly valued assistant Rui Pedro Silva - something I’m sure was due to the unique conditions at the time.
All of which should have been taken into account by Jeff Shi; in which a smart, professional and compassionate chairman would have told Nuno to take a total break from Wolves for 1-2 months and then return to the club when he was rejuvenated. Then see how things would pan out in 2021/22.
But no, Jeff Shi, in his infinite wisdom knew best. Now if he had Pep Guardiola lined up . . . oh wait Wolves got Bruno Lage. Although I suspect, it was a relief for Nuno, given his payout and not having to deal with Jeff Shi anymore.
So for the following 4 seasons the club has been on a steady decline where relegation looks inevitable, probably in 2024/25.
Coupled with a transfer policy over this period that has been all over the shop, a club hierarchy that is totally divorced from its local fanbase and an ownership that appears to have lost interest in developing the club. The club is now meandering through various levels of mediocrity that is soul destroying for its loyal fanbase.
All of which, compares starkly, with what Nuno had achieved during his 4 years at the club which had Wolves on the edge of reaching the top 6 and establishing themselves as a football force; whilst having a unique connection with the fans.
As per Roy Batty’s last words from Blade Runner . . . “All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain”.
