A New Low

Last season, Southampton played out one of the worst seasons in recent Premier League memory.

Finishing with only two wins and a pathetic two goals scored, the Saints rivaled the worst of the worst. However, Wolves may well be on their way towards an even more depressing season.

Almost a decade ago, Wolves seemed set up to be one of the better midtable sides. Propelled by super agent Jorge Mendes, the club built its success on various pipelines of talent led by intriguing managers.

One of the worst attacks and backlines continues to drag them towards the relegation zone. The stability that kept the club afloat seems to be fully gone. After flirting with relegation for a few seasons, the bottom has completely fallen out.

Recent relegation battles produced some of the worst sides in Prem history, but there also seems to be a sort of zone forming. One in which the worst of the worst duke it out without any other club appearing ready to enter. This, in turn, identifies the three clubs most at risk of relegation early on and refuses to let them go. 

Wolves are doomed to be relegated by season’s end.

For now, all that remains is to play their weekly game, as the gap between them and 17 becomes like a canyon.

Having only won two points, the next set of points to be won by Wolves seems far on the horizon. Being charitable, the next chance at a win or draw feels the most likely to come in February when their schedule gets, relatively, easier.

Unfortunately for Wolves fans, nothing appears to be salvageable for this side. Despite their defense not being the absolute league worst, they’ve only scored eight goals. Currently on pace to score 20 league goals, their offense offers no salvation.

The club spent the summer refusing to even dream of parting ways with Jørgen Strand Larsen, as they felt that they’d discovered a future gem. The striker, who, at the time of writing, had only scored one goal by mid-December, lost a good amount of transfer value. Shockingly, his one goal score ties him alongside seven other teammates as the club’s top scorer.

Perhaps most of this collapse lies in the fact that the club isn’t last in most shot-creating actions. While barely above Burnley, the club’s statistical profile suggests they should be scoring more. They create enough chances and shots, but just can’t make anything count.

Outside of Larsen, no player seems likely to go on a goal-scoring run. While the defense may find some semblance of stability, nothing is coming to rescue the frontline.

Plenty of relegation-bound clubs salvage their season by turning a profit on players in order to build for the next season in the Championship. Wolves appear unable to do that, as only Larsen likely will draw some attention. Having sold off the last valuable pieces in Matheus Cunha and Rayan Aït-Nouri, the club’s cupboards are bare.

Once having been deemed as the midtable club with the most promising future, no club’s future in the top flight seems as bleak as Wolves’.

Spending the past few seasons kicking the can down the road, the bill is finally due for the club.

Last season’s relegation battle essentially ended by December. Since the pandemic, a trend of disastrous relegation sides continues to grow.

Credit: Southampton FC-Facebook

Leicester City and Southampton last season, and now Wolves this season, headline the crop of former Prem mainstays finding their way down. Each club saw the magic that propelled their success evaporate almost overnight. Unlike other relegated sides, these lack the excuses common to newer sides in the Prem.

All three of these clubs appeared financially stable, lacking the drama often synonymous with the truly disastrous Premier League sides. What tends to pull them towards the bottom of the table is the inability to replicate past success. From managerial mishaps to transfer flops, once clubs run out of ideas, their time in the Prem is over.

The Prem punishes any sort of slide, but some clubs give themselves more of a leeway. Even as Tottenham careened down the standings last season, no one expected them to be true relegation candidates.

Instead, the growing gap between the drop zone lies in clubs being unprepared for what survival entails. Contrast Wolves with Sunderland, who spent the summer finding the players who could give them a puncher’s chance in their first season back in the Prem. Players like Granit Xhaka and Reinildo brought in both experience and stability to a club looking to stay up.

Other examples, such as Luton a few seasons ago, show a pattern of clubs unable to make the next step to ensure their presence for another season. With the amount of money swishing around English football, it should be impossible for the relegation battle to be over so quickly. Instead, clubs overleverage themselves to keep their vision alive, leaving them vulnerable to complete collapses.

A competitive relegation battle, while stressful for fans, shows a healthy league.

One can keep a relatively stable, even level of play.

Wolves’ season from hell has yet to even cross its halfway point, but it feels like it’s dragged on for a decade. Years of success in the Prem stand on the verge of being completely undone in the coming months.

For a team to already be essentially relegated, it can only get worse.