Wolverhampton Wanderers: The Impact of Club Ownership

Wolverhampton Wanderers currently languish in 19th place in the Premier League Table after 17 games. A side, who know struggle with financial constraints and relegation to League One. At the same time, a club who have tasted the heights of football with fast promotions back to the Premier League and European football. Yet, Wolves find themselves back in a struggling situation.

This article looks into the runnings of Wolverhampton Wanderers under the current ownership Fosun International and how there is a direct correlation with their influence on team performance. With many "armchair pundits" nowadays, fans who are quick to criticise the manager and the players, does the responsibility for downfalls also lie with the owners up above?

Fosun International: Restoring Wolves to Golden Glory

After years under the previous ownership of financial turmoil and instability of league status which saw Wolves drop down to League One, Fosun International bought the club in 2016. Their approach was cut-throat, removing managers swiftly if they did not meet objectives quickly. Exemplified by the short appointments of Walter Zenga and Paul Lambert, Wolves then swooped in for a legendary figure at the club: Nuno Espírito Santo.

The former FC Porto and Valencia manager, who helped these clubs to excellent finishes despite no silverware, was a shrewd appointment by the new ownership. In his first season in charge, Nuno was heavily backed by the club, receiving an injection of sensational signings to boost Wolves' chances of promotion to the Premier League.

Signings included outrageous talent at that level such as Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota, Willy Boly and others. The core of these players, on winning the 2017/18 Championship title, stayed with the club or were made permanent transfers. The shrewdness of the club can be exhibited by their transfer spendings. Spending only €24.61m to secure some phenomenal players, Nuno was being backed for a long-term plan.

Recognising the importance of investment into the squad to ensure they maintain their Premier League status, Fosun International injected a whopping €117.50m into the club. This included permanently signing the loan stars from the title-winning Championship campaign as well as bringing in a mixture of experienced top-flight talent and young exciting prospects for the future. To name a few, Rui Patricio and João Moutinho complemented Raúl Jimenez Max Kilman, establishing balance within the squad.

The results matched the investment. Wolves secured a 7th place finish in the 2018/19 season, securing UEFA Europa League Football in their first season. In the 2019/20 COVID interrupted season, despite losing to eventual winners Sevilla in the Europa League, Wolves replicated their 7th place finish. Again, strong investment helped secure their European status with €116.70m spent across the campaign.

Impatience and Complacency

Indeed, the extra funds from European football helped Wolves be able to afford their transfer policy. However, the squad was beginning to become light in some areas. In the 2020/21 campaign, star striker Jimenez suffered a near career-threatening head injury, his replacement €40m Fabio Silva was nowhere near the calibre of player to score the goals for Wolves. His struggles also impacted Wolves' struggles as the side finished 13th in the table. Additionally, the exits of crucial players Diogo Jota and Matt Doherty did not aid Wolves' final league position.

At the end of the 2020/21 season, Nuno left by mutual consent. In my opinion, this was a huge blow for the club. Clearly there had been a disagreement between Nuno and the ownership. Despite the Portuguese having his first below-par season after over-performing for the past two seasons, it was an erroneous decision which would then be catalyst in a change in approach for the club.

His replacement Bruno Lage did little to change the club's prospects as he finished 10th in the 2021/22 campaign, receiving little investment due to the club's failings to secure European football the season before.

Lage was then replaced by Julen Lopetegui just 8 games into the 2022/23 season, despite receiving a whopping €179.51m to bring in many new names into the club. This included the exciting talent of Matheus Nunes, Gonçalo Guedes, João Gomes, Hwang Hee-Chan and Matheus Cunha. Indicating, perhaps, the ownership had seen the error of their ways and wanted to return to building a long-term project with youth in mind.

Lopetegui took Wolves from 20th to a 13th at the end of the season, giving him a full summer to work with his squad and aim to reach new heights the following season. This was not to be the case as Lopetegui and the ownership disputed over the summer's transfer budget, seeing an end to his short reign. With 2 days before the start of the season, Wolves brought in Gary O'Neil.

Gary O'Neil: Early Hope, Future Pain

The appointment of O'Neil was a late and intriguing one. The season before, O'Neil had taken over from Scott Parker after his winless opening to the season following promotion back to the top flight. O'Neil performed a miracle, helping Bournemouth escape relegation, finishing 15th, despite this role being his first full-time managerial job.

Initially, O'Neil had to deal with difficulty in his tenure. Not only did he join the side just days before the start of the 2023/24 season, but he had to cope with huge changes to his squad. Wolves sold over €150m across the campaign to combat financial problems, with only the permanent signing of Matheus Cunha for €50m being the only strengthening signing. Exits of core players Matheus Nunes, Ruben Neves, Nathan Collins, João Moutinho, Conor Coady, Adama Traore and Raúl Jimenez gave the squad little hope to do well in the Premier League.

As he did at Bournemouth, Gary O'Neil's appointment proved to be an excellent choice. Given the position the club was in at the start of the season, O'Neil ensured the club stayed in the top flight, finishing 14th. This season saw notable wins over Manchester City, Spurs (twice) and Chelsea (twice), contributing to maintaining their Premier League status. Surely, the initial hope O'Neil demonstrated would be backed up by serious investment?

Not to be the case. Due to having around a reported £70m debt, the ownership employed a damaging tactic of selling key players to reap the funds to solve their debt. This included the sales of Pedro Neto for €60m to Chelsea. Indeed, an injury prone player, the sale could be used to replace him with a talented winger. Instead, no replacement was found.

Out of the signings made in the summer, only Strand Larsen has made an impact. The rest are yet to be seen. Due to lack of investment and poor recruitment, Wolves embarked on an awful run at the start of the campaign. Indeed, bad fixtures did compound this but, sitting 19th in the table, the poor tactics of the superiors put O'Neil in a desperate situation - leading to his eventual sacking.

Jeff Shi: An Unpopular Chairman

An unpopular figure is Jeff Shi, the current Executive Chairman at Wolves. As has been seen across the footballing world, the club's Chairman tends to be an individual with lots of bargaining power in how a club operates. Daniel Levy at Spurs is a prime example as a man who put profit before anything else, affecting transfer policies and having key influence on personnel.

Jeff Shi is another one of these superiors who has been making names for all the wrong reasons. Of note, his decision to raise season ticket prices for the 2024/25 campaign without notifying Wolves fans sparked uproar from the Wolves faithful. For instance, in the Steve Bull Stand, prices have gone up by £113 - quite ludicrous. Especially during a cost-of-living crisis, this decision is not popular at all.

It appears that the Wolves board is putting profit before anything else. The squad is lacking investment and quality in various positions, the club in financial difficulties and fans are not being heard, the ownership risk running Wolves into the ground, potentially relegation pending this season.

The Future for Wolves

Under Vitor Pereira, the Portuguese has a big task on his hands. A 3-0 away win against Leicester will calm the nerves but greater tests are to come. Some have made comparisons with Nuno, yet the squad Pereira has inherited has a huge disparity in quality. His task will be huge, yet, for a manager who rarely spends more than two seasons at the club, is this just another short-termist approach by the ownership to turn a quick buck?

Wolves fans will continue to reminisce about the glory days under Nuno, who himself is performing wonders at Nottingham Forest who are now sitting high in the table. Yet, many forget the importance of a long-term project and how it can deliver success in the future. Clubs such as Newcastle, Spurs, Bournemouth, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are all setting themselves up for success in the future. Indeed, the beginning will be tough, but club owners must be patience if they want their business (the club) to succeed and be profitable.

I fear for Wolves if they don't receive investment in the usually tricky January transfer window. Established clubs in the Premier League cannot become complacent and must continually keep investing to ensure the club pursues its vision. Manchester City is a prime example of a team who is witnessing the consequences of becoming to comfortable with the team/position you have.

Fosun International need to be carefully coordinated in their approach for the rest of the season, or otherwise risk Wolves' relegation back to the Premier League, only disillusioning the fans even more.