After Saturday’s loss, Wolves are entering an area one club insider warned about long ago.
The international break allowed Wolves fans a reprieve for worrying about the future of the club, but a poor display against Sunderland is reigniting the flames of discontent around Molineux.
Wolves are matching last season’s horror start and Vitor Pereira is feeling the pressure.
But these struggles, while frustrating, haven’t come out of the blue. In fact, there were signs pointing in this direction for the past couple of seasons.
Wolves struggles not a surprise as old comments resurface
The days of seventh-place finishes feel like a distant memory. Wolves have been on a downward trajectory for some time, and comments from 18 months ago forecasted this sharp decline.
Commentator Sam Matterface appeared on talkSPORT after the weekend’s disappointment, revealing what one source at Molineux said about Wolves well before Pereira’s arrival.
He says: “I remember speaking to someone probably 18 months ago who was at Wolves and they said ‘this team will get relegated, it’s just a matter of time, it will happen eventually’.
“Because they can’t keep doing what they are doing, which is asset stripping, selling talent that they have got and then replacing it with inferior talent.”
Those comments would have been just as relevant at the start of this season, after a painful summer of losing talent. It’s an accurate portrayal of Wolves’ recent conduct, and the prediction threatens to come true this season.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 15 |  LeedsLeeds | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 13 | -6 | 8 |
| 16 |  BrentfordBrentford | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 7 |
| 17 |  BurnleyBurnley | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 15 | -6 | 7 |
| 18 |  Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 5 |
| 19 |  West HamWest Ham | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 | -10 | 4 |
| 20 |  WolvesWolves | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 16 | -11 | 2 |
Wolves’ competition in a relegation scrap
It’s still early in the campaign. A 38-game season isn’t decided in the first eight games.
That being said, all signs point to Wolves battling at the bottom come April.
Sunderland don’t look like slowing down, already on 14 points and flirting with European places. The other two promoted sides have been less convincing. But three must go down.
It’s Brentford, West Ham and Nottingham Forest who have started the season poorly, and you would imagine Wolves need to leap at least one of them in order to stay in the Premier League.
Forest have just hired Sean Dyche, a man notorious for keeping sides up, and their position in the table doesn’t reflect the quality of the side.
But West Ham are looking really poor, and Brentford are still adjusting to life without Mbeumo, Wissa and Frank. It feels like Wolves’ only hope of survival is to outdo one of those sides. Otherwise, this prediction will be a reality by the end of May.