What now for Wolverhampton Wanderers?

Wolverhampton Wanderers were the first team to be relegated from the Premier League, after Sundays 2-0 home defeat  to title-chasing Manchester City.

The defeat just confirmed the fact that Wolves will be playing their football in the Championship next season.

Awful

Wolves have been awful this season, having won just five games in the top flight all season.

Interim Wolves boss Terry Connor has yet to manage a win in ten games in charge of the Midlands club.

The players have proved this season that they were not good enough for the Premier League.

Mistake

When Wolves sacked Mick McCarthy earlier this season I thought it was a mistake. The team had just dropped into the relegation zone when the former-Republic of Ireland boss was dismissed. However they were by no means cut-adrift.

Wolves were on a bad run of form when McCarthy was sacked but the club still had time to save themselves from the drop. The club dispensed with McCarthy’s services after a home defeat to local rivals West Brom. The decision to sack the Yorkshireman was a very hasty one.

At the time a lot of Wolves fans agreed with the decision to sack McCarthy because they thought they might be getting an experienced boss in that could have given the team a kick-start. Some fresh impetus that may have been enough to keep them in the league.

The positive sort of affect that a manager can have when he first goes into a club. Unfortunately the club struggled to find an experienced replacement for McCarthy and ended up turning to assistant boss Terry Connor. Wolves sacked McCarthy without having somebody lined up to replace him.

Connor’s appointment wasn’t one that brought fresh impetus, because he wasn’t a new voice or somebody with new ideas. He was part of the Mick McCarthy regime and it seemed he had no fresh inspiration for the players.

Coach

By all accounts Terry Connor is an excellent coach, well liked within the game. It seems though that he is not ready to be a manager. He got thrown in at the deep end at Wolves and ended up sinking. Connor never really seemed comfortable with the press conferences or the attention on him.

Some people are bosses and some people are coaches. Unfortunately for Terry Connor I think he may only ever be a coach, which is no bad thing at all.

Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey has stated that Terry Connor could still have a future at Wolves, I just hope he means on the coaching staff and not remaining as boss, because he just isn’t up to it at the moment.

Exits

Wolves relegation will invariably lead to a mass exodus of players. Ironically a lot of the players who got the club relegated may well find themselves back in the top flight next season with other clubs. Moxey has been very local about the fact that the club is under no pressure to sell players.

However there are some players that won’t be happy playing their football in England’s second tier next season. The likes of Matt Jarvis, Steven Fletcher and Kevin Doyle are likely to attract attention from Premier League teams and it will be hard for Wolves to hold onto their better players.

Future

I think Wolves really do need to start from scratch next season. The first thing that needs to happen is for a new boss to be appointed. Somebody that can bring in fresh ideas that can move the club forward.

The sort of appointment that should have been made when Mick McCarthy was sacked. Wolves seems like a great football club but at the moment they are a club in a real mess.

If they are to compete for promotion next season their hierarchy needs to get some key decisions right. Failure to do so could result in Wolves sticking around in the Championship for along time to come.

Who should be the next Wolves manager?