Wolverhampton Wanderers are in the midst of a catastrophic, record-breaking collapse that has left them staring at the grim prospect of becoming the worst team in the entire history of English league football.
A Descent into Historic Futility
Saturday's 2-0 home defeat to Brentford marked a new nadir, extending Wolves' winless run in the Premier League. The club has now taken a paltry just two points from their opening 17 matches. This dismal return is officially the worst start ever recorded by any side across all four divisions of the English football pyramid.
The scale of the decline is staggering. Last season, under manager Vitor Pereira, Wolves recovered from a poor start to finish 16th, securing safety with a spring run of six consecutive victories. The drop from averaging nearly a point per game in the latter half of the last campaign to a tenth of that this term is, by any measure, extraordinary.
The Roots of the Collapse: A Squad Stripped Bare
How has a once-resilient side fallen so far, so fast? The exodus of talent over recent transfer windows has reached a critical point. This summer saw key players like Matheus Cunha, Rayan Aït-Nouri, and Fábio Silva depart. They followed a host of other exits, including Pedro Neto, Rúben Neves, and Matheus Nunes in preceding seasons.
The issue is less about the quality of any single departure and more about the cumulative effect and the perception of irreversible decline. As veteran defender Matt Doherty suggested after the Brentford loss, the atmosphere at the club has become toxic, with some players reportedly already eyeing January exits and others perhaps having mentally surrendered to what seems an inevitable relegation.
A Season Unravels and Leadership in Flux
The campaign began with narrow, somewhat respectable defeats, but the spirit has visibly drained from the side. The fight has evaporated, epitomised by Jørgen Strand Larsen's weak penalty miss against Brentford. Since coming from 2-0 down to draw level with Bournemouth, only to concede a 95th-minute winner, Wolves have scored just twice in eight league games.
The turmoil extends to the boardroom. Chairman Jeff Shi unexpectedly stood down on Saturday after almost a decade, amid persistent fan protests against his leadership. He remains chairman and CEO of Fosun, the club's owners, but has been temporarily replaced by Nathan Shi (no relation).
On the pitch, new manager Rob Edwards, a former Wolves player and fan, has been unable to spark a revival. Having previously been relegated with Luton Town, his reputation is now on the line as he attempts a seemingly impossible rescue mission.
With promoted sides Sunderland and Leeds performing well, Wolves find themselves 16 points from safety. Survival is now a forlorn hope. The only tangible goal remaining is to try and avoid the ultimate humiliation: finishing with fewer than the 11 points that Derby County accrued in their infamous 2007-08 Premier League season. For Wolves, even that dismal record now looks like a lofty ambition.
