Reasons why Wolves are a Yo-Yo club
My yo-yo comment is pertinent to any club in that difficult position of over-achievement in the Championship and underachievement in the Premier. After 19 years in the wilderness, Wolves finally gained promotion, where they stayed for one season. Since promotion in 2009, the McCarthy/Connor era has seen them struggle to maintain a foothold and, from early this season, the writing was on the wall.
Now let’s get this clear. The reason I place them in the yo-yo group is my belief that they will bounce up next season but if they do, how long will they remain there? My question was: is this a good thing? Could such a team make a decent business from parachute payments?
I have since been talking to The Secret Footballer, who tells me that no amount of compensation can match the TV payments of the Premier League clubs. In this respect, my question has been answered and I have been educated.
I visited Molineux this season and was impressed by the stadium and fans, the football was dismal and I reasoned this was probably due to it being a cup match and, even in early January, Wolves had survival in mind. I don’t have an axe to grind here. Wolves have long been my favourite Midlands club and I would love them to succeed. They have the stadium in place and a great fan base but is it enough?
Stoke have proved that life in the Prem can be sustained with a stable management and without over spending, Newcastle’s 55,000 home crowd should provide the money and momentum to keep them in the race. Swansea have had an incredible first season but will they be “found out” next year, the way the last Reading promotion side was?
For teams such as WBA, Blackpool, Birmingham and Wolves, the waters are somewhat muddier, although at least that may be preferable to mid-table bores (Villa?) with little to cheer.
Yo-yo teams over the years have tended to make more money than if they stayed in the premier league constantly but i’m sure that has changed now. Two things occurred during the season that i believe were major factors in seeing wolves relegated. They made a good signing in Roger Johnson which is fine and was seen as the right choice, but then Mcarthy took the armband of Karl Henry who has been the heart beat of that team for so long and had the upmost respect from his peers. If i were captain of my team and had been for as long as Henry then i would have been devastated to see a new signing come in and have the captaincy given to him. Like wise – if i had a captain who i respected and saw him stripped of it i would also feel a bit aggrieved, so i don’t think that will have helped the togetherness of the group before the start of the season.
Later on in the season the Chairman comes into the dressing room and completely undermines the manager and decides to have a dig at the players, in my eyes the Chairman should not be doing that. Could you imagine Mcarthy going up to the boardroom and interrupting a business meeting to tell his chairman how he should run his business. I doubt it very much. Then to sack him when he has seen Wolves through previous relegation battles and been successful and also know his players inside out. That for me was the final nail in wolves relegation battle.