Former Wolves player Rob Edwards has made a controversial move from Middlesbrough, but it will take some sort of footballing miracle to keep the club in the Premier League.
There are many ways to look at Rob Edwards’ move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, both positive and negative. The personal allowances were well known, with Edwards returning full-time to a club with deep ties to his family, and receiving a significant salary increase in the process.
After his fortunes at Luton Town plummeted, Edwards walked away from one of the most respected owners in football who gave him a chance, and the damage to his reputation has been highlighted. But no matter how you look at Edwards’ defection from Middlesbrough to Molineux, one thing is for sure: it would be a monumental miracle if he managed to keep Wolves in the Premier League.
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Did Edwards watch the game against Chelsea over the weekend? Not a single shot on target, not one corner kick, not three disastrous shots on goal, but not even a moment’s shock for a very average Chelsea side.
Did Edwards not watch the Wolves all season? Their nine losses in the Premier League include losses to three promoted teams.
Fosun and chairman Jeff Sea’s Wolves have owners and guardians who just want to exist in the Premier League to finish 17th while selling their best players. And that mission statement ultimately screams demotion.
That’s what’s going to happen to the Wolves this season. Given this, some may wonder if Edwards was called up to do what he has proven to be his forte: to get the team promoted from the Championship.
One wonders if the owners have already resigned themselves to the very real possibility of relegation from the Premier League. In the end, Edwards’ only Premier League experience ended in relegation.
But what Edwards has achieved with Luton is truly remarkable and he is clearly a very talented coach, not to mention a very likeable character. But the many Middlesbrough supporters who are angry about his departure are probably more angry about the way it was played than the result.
Their club looks healthy in second place in the table, but have only won three of their last nine games in the Championship. Owner Steve Gibson will be embarrassed and even offended by Edwards’s move just months into his three-year contract, but if the fee for Middlesbrough is close to £3m, it may be seen as decent business.
And needless to say, loyalty seems to have no place in professional football. Being sacked by Watford after winning three of 10 league games will be an experience Edwards remembers all too well.
However, it is hard to imagine that this move has much logic in the world of football, apart from the desire to be close to the club, be closer to family, and increase wages. When Julen Lopegui and Vitor Pereira completed a commendable rescue operation, they had more quality at their disposal in terms of playing options.
That quality has been lost and not adequately replaced. And it’s not even up for debate. Take a look at this Wolves team and pick the match winner within the ranks. It may be natural to argue that it simply cannot be done.
The teams that have come up in the Premier League have looked a little better than the teams that have come up recently (one of them certainly is), and that’s one of the reasons Wolves are destined to go to the Championship. And if another scenario were to occur, Edwards would truly be a huge miracle worker.
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