Had fate twisted a fraction either side of the course it’s chosen we could well be viewing August 8th,2023, as a terrible day in Wolves’ recent history.
That was the day, less than a week prior to the West Midlands club opening their season’s account with a challenging trip to Old Trafford, when Julen Lopetegui left Molineux, after just nine months of being at the helm.
His departure was explained away at the time as a ‘difference of opinion’ but we all knew the reasons behind his resignation, and the acrimonious circumstances behind that.
Mired in financial problems, Wolves had watched on helplessly last summer as their captain Ruben Neves left for Saudi Arabia, a substantial loss that was followed soon after by the necessary sales of Nathan Collins and Conor Coady, to Brentford and Leicester respectively.
Later still, in what ultimately was an immensely damaging transfer window, Raul Jimenez was sold for peanuts, and when Matheus Nunes left for Manchester City – for an admittedly hefty sum – it was clear that it all amounted to a fire-sale.
Not in a position to replace any of these pivotal players, Lopetegui believed the club was heading in only one direction, that way being reverse.
He was wrong about that, but in defence of the former Spain manager, it was he who was chiefly responsible for putting Wolves on a firmer footing and moving forward in the first place.
Generally regarded as one of Europe’s top coaches, his initial appointment was considered something of a coup, and almost immediately we witnessed a notable improvement in performances and results from a club that so recently resided in the bottom three.
Orchestrating big wins over Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, a side tipped to drop eventually finished 13th, and with Wolves unquestionably being a team on the up it felt like Lopetegui’s departure would stall that momentum. That he was taking with him their best of chance of realigning as a top ten proposition.
Let’s therefore linger on that day some more.
Here was a club without a manager, just six days away from a new campaign. It was a club that had sold off several of its best players that summer. Furthermore, it was a club that had spent over a third of the previous season in the bottom three.
Understandably their Premier League odds plummeted as they were widely cast as relegation fodder.
In came Gary O’Neil, a coach who had performed small wonders at Bournemouth but who was still unproven at the highest level, and the speed of his appointment tells us that Lopetegui’s leaving was in the pipeline for a while.
To O’Neil’s enormous credit he forged a very decent display from his brand new team at Manchester United, losing in an unfortunate manner.
But the defeats kept on coming, giving credence to the belief that Wolves would struggle. Only then came a rejuvenating victory over Manchester City, a meaningful win that led to five games unbeaten.
Then, after bettering Bournemouth in mid-October, O’Neil greatly impressed by eloquently detailing how the three points were secured in a managerial masterclass given on Sky.
Something was happening at Molineux. Something against all odds.
There have been losses since, of course, but back-to-back wins over Christmas now see Wolves loitering with intent on the shoulder of some serious big-hitters.
They are a mere six points adrift of Manchester United. Just four shy of Newcastle. And crucially it is them who have the momentum.
Indeed, should we take away the usual inhabitants of the Premier League odds outright market – City, Arsenal, and the like – Wolves are among the form sides of recent months, failing to score only twice all season and unbeaten at home since September.
In Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan up front, Mario Lemina impressing on a weekly basis, and the criminally under-rated Jose Sa in nets, they are a team to watch, and whatever happens between now and May, they are surely destined to be one of the success stories of 2023/24.
Who could have possibly predicted this way back on August 8th, a day that no longer has much significance for a club going only one way.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
