It was going to be a season of change with Nuno gone, but change can manifest itself in different ways. This season is pivotal for the short, mid and even long-term future of the club. They took the league by storm, two 7th places in their first two seasons, but now is the time when they need to either push on and firmly establish themselves as a top 8, even top 6 club, or otherwise there is the real danger of stagnating.
They are currently sat comfortably in midtable, but as a club they should be looking up not down, despite some heavyweights currently sat below them. The sports betting app in Pennsylvania has Wolves as ending up with a position just outside the top ten, which would be progress from last season, but should we as fans and as a club be aiming higher? The next six games will give a very good indication of just where we will end up.
The Must Wins
The first game of the six is against bottom club Norwich. New manager effect aside, Norwich are without doubt the poorest side in the league. Anything less than the full three points will be a huge blow. To be one of the top sides in the division, you have to take full advantage of those games where you are fully expected to win, games where man for man you have better quality throughout the pitch. You have to be able to bully the so-called lesser teams. Burnley on the following Wednesday will be a far tougher side to bully, but even so, they really should be sent packing from Molineux with nothing.
The Big Three
To be one of the biggest and best sides in the division yes you should be beating the teams scrapping it out at the bottom of the league, but you are ultimately judged on how you perform against those sides fighting for the title. Wolves face Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea in the space of a little over two weeks. Liverpool and Man City have both showed that they can be got at, as long as you take the game to them. For too long clubs outside the top six would go into games against the league’s elite with damage limitation as the main aim. That only leads one way. These games will be the first real test of Bruno Lage’s tenure, the first time he has gone up against genuine world class opposition and it would be disappointing if they approach it like they are second-class citizens. It is a real chance to put a line in the sand and show the league that Wolves are not just a club making up the numbers in mid table but one knocking firmly and repeatedly on the door of the top six.
Brighton
With two games against sides they really should beat, and three against sides where a draw would be deemed a point well won, it is the Brighton game, midweek on the south coast that will perhaps be the most telling. Along with West Ham, Graham Potter’s Brighton have had the best season of anyone so far. They are in a very similar position to Wolves, with the games running up to the festive period ones which will set them up for the remainder of the season. What Wolves cannot do is approach it like they did the Palace game, or the result will be the same. Losing to Brighton – and no disrespect, but to teams like Brighton who like Wolves, people will see as punching above their weight – would be a body blow to the fans and players. A win on the other hand will make not just for a great Christmas but also a successful season.
