Wolves blog: How far we’ve come
Sunderland’s failure to return to the Championship at the first time of asking makes you realise what progress we’ve made in five short years.
Just imagine where we’d be if Kenny Jackett had failed to lead Wolves to League One victory back in 2013/14. We were in a three-horse race for most of the season with Brentford and Leyton Orient, before our quality showed and we stormed ahead, winning the league at a canter.
Sunderland managed 18 points less than Wolves and finished in fifth place, before cruelly losing in the final minute of the play-off final, and now face another year in the third tier.
Last season’s Netflix documentary based on their miserable relegation ended in optimism as they caught Wolves on the beach in the final game, putting our hopes of 100 points to bed with a 3-0 victory.
Conversely, a two-part Sky documentary in the same season showcased the beginning of a rise for Wolves, as Nuno led Wolves back to the Premier League in his first attempt.
Within five years, Wolves have gone from winning League One to securing a Europa League slot by finishing seventh in the Premier League, reaching the last four of the FA Cup to boot. That is a monumental rise by any standard.
When you look at the players in Wolves’ team now, you can’t help but pinch yourself. This summer will be one of tweaks and supplements to an already proficient team - our starting eleven is incredibly strong, we just need to have added firepower to help the squad fight on four fronts.
When you watch a game like the Championship play-off final, you realise how much work either of these teams would have to do to take on the top flight.
Aston Villa, who made harder work of their game than they needed, were in the stronger position and have a number of good players - Jack Grealish, Anwar El Ghazi, John McGinn etc. But there is plenty they need to improve on, with key men only being on loan.
If Derby had managed to win the final, they’d have done well to beat their own worst points record.
When we went up, our team was already one that would have no concerns about relegation. Yes, there is the Jorge Mendes factor, but recruitment still has to be correct, and Wolves signed all the right players last summer, paired with some players improving from the year before (Ivan Cavaleiro, Romain Saiss and Conor Coady most notably stepped it up).
We’re now seeing Wolves now linked with the likes of Gareth Bale - crazy though that may be, this could help attract other players. If we signed Joao Moutinho as a newly-promoted team, who could we sign now?
For two summers in a row now, we have had almost the best satisfaction we could hope for. After many dark days, this is the least Wolves fans deserve.
A trip to China will increase Wolves’ international stature, ahead of a much-anticipated return to European football.
Who else has already booked 25th and 26th July off work?
