If there was an award for the most underperforming side in the 2020/21 English Premier League (EPL) campaign, you could argue a strong case for Wolves. Having challenged the elite for European qualification in the last two seasons, this term has been something of a head-scratcher for the Wanderers faithful. After 34 league games, the Gold and Blacks find themselves in the bottom half of the table, almost equidistant between third bottom Fulham and sixth-placed Tottenham.
For the first time in the Portuguese’ tenure, Nuno Espirito Santo is starting to feel the heat and the new weight of expectation from the Molineux masses. There has been a real sense of lethargy on and off the field compared with the last two seasons, with Wolves scratching around and battling for mid-table supremacy with the likes of Southampton and Crystal Palace. As the 2020/21 EPL season looks set to peter out without so much as a whimper for Wolves, we look back at the root causes of this indifferent year.
Can Wanderers and Nuno blame a lack of pre-season?
Some may point to the season being at least a month shorter for the Gold and Blacks. However, a recent study into elite football performance revealed that fixture congestion has no bearing on the amount of ground that players cover. However, it’s worth noting that the same research did suggest that the number of ‘high intensity’ movements and sprints was impacted by heavy fixture schedules. When you think back to the last two seasons in the EPL under Nuno, this swashbuckling, high-energy squad has been a shadow of itself in the last nine months.
The study’s feedback on high intensity movements would also explain why so many teams that should be performing well have tailed off in 2020/21. Reigning champions Liverpool, whose Gegenpress system has captured global plaudits, have been equally off the pace. Teams that rely on swarming and strangling their opponents have simply lacked the zip and energy in their play.
The elephant in the room – the absence of Jimenez
It’s no secret that goals have been Wanderers’ major undoing in 2020/21. After 34 league games, Wolves have averaged less than a goal per game, with 33 in 34 matches. The horrifying season-ending skull injury to Mexican star striker Raul Jimenez blunted Wolves’ cutting edge overnight. Jimenez’ fractured skull occurred in Game Week 10, which left Wanderers with three-quarters of a season to play without their talismanic focal point.
Willian Jose and Fabio Silva have ploughed a lone furrow in attack for much of the campaign, with Jose proving a particular disappointment, mustering just one goal in his loan spell from Real Sociedad. It’s not all on the strikers however. The wide players have also lacked the spark from recent seasons, with Neto’s five goals the only positive from the flanks. The lack of firepower meant that Wanderers once again failed to recently secure a local derby victory at The Hawthorns in their 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened rivals West Brom.
Caught between formations
One area that Nuno has been guilty of is tinkering with his formations and systems. Nuno was keen to evolve this squad from being one that was defensively safe to one that could dominate possession more freely and play more front-foot football. To this end, Nuno has often removed one of his triumvirate of centre backs in favour of an additional midfielder. However, instead of controlling the ball, this has often led to Wanderers leaking goals left, right and centre.
It was recently revealed that Wolves’ win percentage with five at the back is roughly 41%, compared with just 27% when playing with four at the back. That’s largely because Wanderers have averaged 1.8 goals against per game with four at the back, compared with just one goal against per game with an extra body.
The defence has a lot to answer for – at both ends of the pitch
Largely due to the tinkering in defensive systems, the Wolves rear-guard has certainly been more porous this season. After 34 EPL fixtures, Wanderers have conceded 46 goals which is the same as they shipped during the entire 2018/19 campaign. At the other end of the pitch, Wolves have lacked goals scored from their defensively minded players. They have desperately missed the presence of wing back Matt Doherty, who departed for Spurs after scoring eight and creating 15 goals in his first two seasons at EPL level.
Nuno will hope and pray that he has enough credit in the bank with the club’s owners to be given another season to get things right and challenge in the top half once again. The above mitigating circumstances should be enough to convince Fosun.
