Romain Saiss has suggested Wolves’ struggles this season could be down to having lost too many ‘characters’ in the summer.
The Morocco international was one of a host of experienced players to depart Molineux during the last transfer window.
There were many changes at the club in the summer, with most fans not really foreseeing how many exits there would ultimately be
Willy Boly, Fernando Marcal, Conor Coady, Leander Dendoncker, John Ruddy and Saiss himself all departed Molineux.
It was always going to be fascinating to see how Wolves would get on without so many key players.
Fans have been suggesting on social media that this new squad is lacking characters and leaders, and Saiss seemingly thinks the same.
The star sat down with Talking Wolves last week to conduct a superb wide-ranging interview, and Wolves’ current struggles came up.
He said (1:10:50): “Something is going wrong for sure. It looks like we are losing the identity of the club. being a pack, being together.
“You lost how many characters this season? I’m not talking about players, I’m talking just about characters, what the players mean for the club and for the fans.
“You can move on from players but you cannot forget the identity of the club.”
Saiss then pointed to one former Wolves player in particular as a good example of the club losing a top leader and character.
“Trust me, he (John Ruddy) was one of the most important players in the team”, he added. “Because he knows his job. He was pushing Rui Patricio and Jose Sa. They knew he was ready to play because he’s a top goalkeeper. But he was really important in the dressing room. He was one of the captains. Even if he wasn’t playing. He had the same importance as Conor or Ruben.”
Romain Saiss is absolutely spot on, Wolves lost too many characters and leaders
It is very hard to argue against this suggestion from Saiss.
For any squad to do well in the Premier League, there needs to be a good culture in the dressing room.
A good culture in the dressing room comes about when there are lots of characters and good leadership. It’s not just about having quality players.
Wolves got rid of a string of experienced stars.
Losing one or two perhaps might have been OK. But seemingly there are now massively holes left by the likes of Saiss, Coady and Ruddy.