Wolves showing the (controversial) way forward for Premier League’s also-rans
Wolves have proven themselves to be the best of the rest in the Premier League this season, but their approach raises questions.
It might have slipped under the radar, but last season saw quite a remarkable feat marked across English soccer’s top five leagues. For the first time in a generation, since the dawn of the Premier League era, all 16 promoted teams managed to stay up in their respective divisions. That achievement almost certainly won’t be repeated this season (see: Fulham), but Wolves were never in any relegation danger.
Never before has a promoted team been tipped for such greatness immediately after their elevation to the Premier League. The season hadn’t even started before predictions of a top six challenge were made of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side. Indeed, it seemed highly unlikely that Wolves would be involved in this season’s relegation scrap and with 30 games of the 2018-19 campaign played, and the West Midlands outfit in seventh place, things have panned out as expected.
Even in the context of one of the most compelling Premier League seasons for years, Wolves have provided a defining storyline. Nuno’s team have beaten Tottenham and Chelsea, also taking points off Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City, this season, establishing themselves as the best of the rest.
Now, Wolves stand a good chance of making the FA Cup semifinals, with Manchester United set to visit Molineux in the FA Cup fifth round this Saturday. Victory over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s resurgent side would underline the progress Wolves have made, bolstering them as English soccer’s seventh force.
How sustainable is their rise, though? Many clubs have targeted the “best of the rest” title in recent years, and few, perhaps with the exception of Everton under David Moyes, have managed to make that stick. Leicester, Southampton, Portsmouth, Burnley and Bournemouth have all, at one point or another, soared only to fall dramatically soon after.
To understand Wolves’ rise, though, it’s important to understand the role Jorge Mendes, the super agent who represents the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel di Maria, James Rodriguez and Diego Costa, holds at Molineux and how that could not only sustain the West Midlands club, but change English soccer as a whole.
Nuno is a Mendes client, as are many in the Wolves dressing room. The Portuguese agent has used Molineux as a footballing stable, but from that has come controversy, with the EFL even investigating the relationship between Wolves and Mendes. Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani called the arrangement “not legal and fair,” but the EFL found no wrongdoing.
Mendes doesn’t hold an official role at Molineux, with Wolves denying that the Portuguese agent has any genuine influence over the club’s recruitment. Wolves’ managing director, Laurie Dalrymple, has, however, recognized Mendes as a “known associate” and a friend of the club’s owners, Chinese conglomerate Fosun.
Nonetheless, the precedent set by Mendes at Wolves could have quite the ripple effect across the sport as other clubs look to replicate the success of the West Midlands outfit by getting into bed with super agents. In years to come, the lines between the Director of Football role and that of an agent could become blurred.
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This isn’t to say that Wolves’ progression is solely down to Mendes. In Nuno, they boast one of the brightest young coaches in the sport right now working with a largely young squad of players who will only get better. The gap between the best and the rest, usually found between six and seventh place, in the Premier League is a wide one, but Wolves may well, in time, stand a good chance of bridging it.
A few years ago, Southampton were the club seen to be setting the precedent for the rest of the English game. Their shrewd recruitment and scouting policy, coupled with their commitment to dynamic, modern soccer, made the Saints something of a model club, until desperation led them to replace Claude Puel with Mauricio Pellegrino and then Mark Hughes after that. Wolves are now that model club, even if some have a problem with how they have built themselves up.