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Wolverhampton Wanderers is one of the oldest football clubs in England. It was the founding member of the Football League way back in 1888. Since then, the Wolves have been among the top tiers of English football. This year the club won promotion to the premier league after a long wait of six years. The resurgent wolves under the financial backing from the Chinese investment group, Fosun International and the seasoned UEFA Champions league manager, Nuno Espirito Santo completely dismantled the Championship as they won it by record 99 points.
Taking inspiration from their extraordinary triumph in the second tier, the club decided to stick with the same style of play in the Premier League as well. After first eight games, Wolves are now sitting comfortably at the seventh position with a total of 15 points. The West Midlands club frustrated reigning champions, Manchester City with a 1-1 draw at the Molineux Stadium in the third game week.
Almost a month later, Wolves again proved their mettle when they forced another Manchester club, Manchester United to settle for a draw as well, at the Old Trafford. In this early phase of the 2018-19 Premier League, Wolverhampton as already defeated West Ham, Burnley, Southampton, and Crystal Palace. It is not only the results that catch our eye but there are five other factors as well that makes Wolves more than just an ordinary promoted team.
#5 Back from the ashes
Last time Wolves were in the Premier League was in the 2011-12 season. After earning promotion in 2009, Wolves somehow survived the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. The Club was ultimately relegated after the 2011-12 season finishing at the rock bottom of the Premier League table with just 25 points in 38 matches. The season saw the beginning of the downfall of a vintage club. The Club was further relegated from the second division a year later. Because of this colossal slump, the club was on the verge of coming under administration before things started to get better.
In the 2013-14 season, the Club accumulated a record total of 103 points to earn promotion back to the EFL Championship. Two years later, the Chinese investment company, Fosun International bought the club for an undisclosed fee. The newly formed board of directors convinced former FC Porto Coach, Nuno Espirito Santo to take the position of head coach of the club before the 2017-18 EFL Championship season. Nuno’s transfer policy and coaching methods started yielding some great results. Wolves won the EFL Championship with a record total of 99 points and were promoted to the premier league.
#4 Effect of the Agent
Jorge Mendes who is better renowned as Cristiano Ronaldo's agent had a significant role to play in Wolves’ rise back to the top. As soon as Chinese takeover was complete, the club opted for the services of charismatic Mendes. The team consisting of Mendes, general manager Andrea Butti and sporting director Kevin Thelwel was assigned the task to structure a Wolves team that was capable of competing at the top level.
It was the outcome of their exercise that 12 players were signed by the club in six weeks in the transfer window of 2016. It was Mendes effect only that Wolves were able to attract Manager Nuno to the English second division stepping down from the glamorous job of Champions League manager at FC Porto.
Another instance of Jorge’s persuasive powers is Rafa Mir. The 21 years old is regarded as one of the hottest property in Europe. In the first half of 2017-18 season, Mir scored 15 goals in 19 matches playing for the Valencia B side. Despite offers from Real Madrid, the transfer of Rafa Mir to then English second division side, Wolverhampton raised many eyebrows. Ruben Neves, Jonny Castro, Joao Moutinho, Rui Patricio, Raul Jiminez, Helder Costa, and Diogo Jota are some of the other major signings by the promoted club which wouldn’t have been possible without Jorge Mendes.
#3 The Playing Style
Unlike any promoted football club, Wolverhampton Wanderers have displayed expansive attacking free-flowing style of football. Under the Premier League Manager of the month for September, Nuno, the team has played with supreme confidence against the giant teams like Manchester United, Manchester City, and Everton. The team has played all eight games with the same 3-4-2-1 formation which turns into 5-4-1 when the team is defending.
The most eye-catching feature is the fact that Wolves have placed the same starting lineup in all eight games. Despite shambolic defending against Everton in the first match, not single personnel was altered for over the period of almost three months. Even the club record signing from Middleborough, Adama Traore is made to sit on the bench. This unchanged lineup is the reason for continuously improving the defensive setup. Wolves have now managed to keep clean sheets in 4 out of last 5 matches.
The fullbacks Jonny and Matt Doherty have received ample appreciation for their defending discipline, undisputable work rate and attacking gallops. The two have been directly involved in one-third of total Wolverhampton goals. The two have contributed 2 assists and 2 goals in first eight games this season.
#2 – What do the statistics suggest?
As far as attacking stats are concerned, Wolves prefer to attack from the wider areas. With 79% of their attacks coming from either left or right flank, Wolves occupy the second spot among all other premier league teams. Although the club has netted only nine times until now, the club has failed to score in a match only once (against Leicester). Another interesting feature of Wolves is their goals from open play. The West Midlands Club has scored 7 goals (joint sixth highest in the league) from open play which is equal to Liverpool and Manchester United and is more than Tottenham.
The passing percentage of Wolverhampton is 79.2% (ranked 11). Irrespective of being a promoted club, Wolves have tenth highest passing numbers per game. The team averages 458 passes per game which is superior to teams like Everton (437), Bournemouth (431) and Burnley (391). The promoted teams are expected to play direct football but Nuno’s team contradicts this statement. With an average of 377 short passes out of total 458, Wolves impressive 82.31% makes it eleventh best short passing team in the league.
The Club hit an average of 13.8 shots per game and 7.8 dribbles per match which is eighth best among all its compatriots. The team is fifth best in the air as well with an average of 20.6 aerial duels won per match which has a significant contribution towards their 2 set piece goals in eight matches.
Wolves enjoy an average possession of 47.2 in first eight games including matches against both Manchester clubs. It ranks them 12th in the league. In a run of games until now, the team registered a highest 58.9% possession against Burnley. The Club managed to keep the ball relatively less against Manchester United and Manchester City with only 35.5% and 28.9% possession respectively.
The possession stats are expected to improve with easier fixtures lined up next for the team. Another positive data suggests that the team is sixth best in keeping the ball away from their defensive one third. According to stats, the team has 73% touches in middle and opposition one third until now. The team also registers an average of 18 crosses per game which is joint sixth highest in the league. This makes Wolves one of the most exciting teams to watch recently.
#1 The Spine Strength
The backbone of the team consists of Goalkeeper, Center Back, Center Midfielder and Center forward. It is often stated that ”stronger the spine, stronger the team”. The Euro 2016 Winners Goalkeeper Rui Patricio and Midfielder Joao Moutinho along with club captain defender Conor Coady and Mexican forward Raul Jiminez bolster Wolves’ spine. As far as experience in top leagues of Europe is concerned Wolverhampton’s spine is far more experienced than many present teams of the Premier League.
The Euro 2016 Winner Portuguese duo of Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho possesses a collective experience of almost 750 matches in top leagues of Europe. Club captain, defender Conor Coady is a Liverpool academy graduate. Coady is a leader and organizer from the back. He is responsible for Wolves’ defensive solidarity. The loan signing from Benfica, Raul Jiminez has proved that he has the potential to succeed at the biggest stage. The former Atletico Madrid player has a direct contribution in 5 out of total 9 Wolves goals this season.
Author’s take
When Wolves became the first team last season to stop Guardiola’s Manchester City to a goalless stalemate in a cup match, the whole world sniffed something special was coming. Later that season, the West Midlands Club bulldogged EFL Championship and earned promotion to the Premier League. Before the start of this season, it was a doubt whether Wolves will be able to keep up with the standards against the big guns as well.
Many pundits predicted the club to be a dark horse and Nuno’s team didn’t let them down. The Club not only mesmerized football fans with a beautiful brand of football but it also earned some noteworthy results. Draws against both the Manchester clubs and Everton makes Wanderers more than just an ordinary promoted team. The Club in gold and black has proved that it possesses personnel, skills, strategy, and fans to rub shoulders with the established clubs of the Premier League. After a run of first eight games, one thing is clear that is Wolves are here to make a statement- statement as a prominent football club and may be one of the biggest eight clubs in England.
