It seemed that everything had gone as wrongly as it could for Wolves last season, didn't it? Following a fantastic start to the 2011/12 Premier League season that actually saw them topping the table at a very early juncture of the season, the results began to go from bad to worse, Mick McCarthy was inevitably sacked, and longtime assistant coach Terry Connor could do nothing to stop the bleeding as Wolves finished at the foot of the table and exited the Premier League with little more than a whimper.
And yet, even with the sour taste of a dreadful season still in the mouths of the fans, there was plenty of reason to think that this season back down in the Championship might re-instill some hope. After all, Wolves had been able to hang on to the likes of Karl Henry, Kevin Doyle, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, and Roger Johnson, and Bakary Sako looked to be just the signing new manager Ståle Solbakken needed to inject a bit of flair into a side that, on paper at least, looked poised to have a season at the sharp end of the table. These ambitions would soon subside, and the familiar despair of last season would return.
If things seemed to have been at their worst in the season prior in the Premier League, the fans would be reminded that things can always get even worse than once feared. Following a decent start to life in the Championship that saw Wolves come away with 16 points from their first eight games, the same old rot would begin to take hold, the performances became increasing abject, and the goals were being leaked at a troubling rate. The script was being repeated, and much like his predecessor, Solbakken would not survive the season as Wolves spiraled towards the bottom three.
Dean Saunders, much like Terry Connor, tried and tried to right the ship, but to no avail. In finishing 23rd and dropping down to England's third tier, Saunders lost his job, and once again, Wolves fans are left to wonder just what fate is in store for their club. If relegation from the Premier League was merely disappointing, relegation from the Championship has to be seen as downright detrimental.
While Wolves were at least able to keep a reasonably talented squad together for this season in an attempt to get back up, that same squad could conceivably prove to be the club's undoing in sliding down to League One. As reported earlier in the season, Wolves are paying out astronomical wages to many players, and with no relegation clauses in these contracts, Wolves can only be saved from financial ruin by somehow selling off these high-earners in order to balance the books and invest in suitable players for next season. Given what Wolves fans saw out this side, one could certainly imagine that they'd be happy for most of them to go. However, one also has to wonder exactly who would come in for many of these players who looked like they could hardly be bothered as Wolves fell into the abyss.
It was only a couple of years ago that Wolves fans felt some encouragement about a club that looked to be on the verge of solidifying their place as a decent mid-table side in the English top flight. Those same fans now must ask how their club can stay afloat unless something drastic happens over the summer. Bad business has ruined several clubs in recent years, and the math suggests that Wolves are on their way to joining this rather unfortunate fraternity.
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