How The Tide Turned In The Past

We can find no instances of Wolves ever having started a season slower than this one, scoring-wise, so what else can we offer from the past by way of encouragement that 2022-23 will turn out fine?

Along with the head coach appointment that we hope might still be imminent, we offer these examples of how and when the club recovered from unpromising beginnings like the one we have been witnessing these last few weeks.

1891-92: Wolves lost seven of their first 11 League matches but still finished sixth in a 14-team First Division.

1926-27: Fred Scotchbrook’s side were beaten in seven of their first eight Second Division fixtures and won none of their opening ten but still finished well clear of the relegation places.

1936-37: Another tough start containing seven defeats in the first 11 games, the last at Albion in mid-October, did not prevent a rally that led to a finish of fifth in the top flight.

1946-47: Wolves followed up the slamming in of six goals at home to Arsenal on the first day by managing only another two goals across the next five games but they still lost the League title only on the last afternoon.

1958-59: The defending champions backed up a 5-1 opening-day home victory over Nottingham Forest by losing in successive games at West Ham (2-0) and Chelsea (6-2) and then drawing at home to the Hammers. The backward steps didn’t stop them retaining the title by six points.

1966-67: Wolves lost their opening two matches (at home to Birmingham and away to Ipswich) but still secured promotion very comfortably with three matches to play.

1970-71: Bill McGarry’s Wanderers lost their first three fixtures and four of their opening five but qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing fourth in the table.

1972-73: Again there were two initial defeats (at Newcastle and Arsenal) before things clicked and the side finished fifth in the table to qualify for Europe once more.

The goal output in the first two and a bit months of this season matches that from 2003-04, when Dave Jones’s side followed up their promotion to the Premier League by managing to hit the target only three times in their first nine League games. But how they then woke up in their tenth Premier League fixture as they scored four in the second half of their spectacular win over Leicester.