Relegation statement – and what the Trust will do now

Relegation hurts, even if we’ve all known for a while that it was coming.

Only one in four clubs who drop from the Premier League bounce straight back up again. Many never have. Wolves fans won’t be under any illusion – the future is not bright or clear.

If Wolves are to get promoted, the club needs to be run very differently. The mistakes and misjudgments that supporters have pointed to time and time again, and which the Trust has communicated at the very top levels of the club, must not be repeated. Fans must not be ignored – there is wisdom in the crowd.

Now back in the Championship, the club has returned to where it started under Fosun ownership – but in some ways is worse off than when the cycle began. The ground has seen ten years of dilapidation, relationships with fans are at rock bottom and key stakeholders in our future success, like the council, have been made to feel marginalised.

More than anything trust in Fosun’s ownership has, for some, completely eroded. While many fans believe they deserve a second chance, others understandably want them to sell up. So what will the Trust focus on now?

Threat of double relegation is real

While it is the Trust’s role now to turn to the future, the first thing we must do is look to the past. Most Wolves fans will remember with horror the double drop that began in 2012. If you think things are bad now, just recall how much worse they got back then.

A double relegation must be avoided at all costs. We recommend that those inside the club who experienced that double relegation are consulted and the club reminds itself of that period’s painful lessons so that we don’t repeat them.

Changes to secure the club’s future

Looking to the future, the club must take steps to ensure that a rock-solid foundation is built for 2026/27. That means having a good governance structure, where decision-making is done in the long-term interests of the club and is informed by people who genuinely know what they are doing.

No more appointing senior football people with no experience of English football. No more contract renewals to failing managers. No more shipping out every star and replacing them with ‘potential’.

No more losing players with domestic experience and replacing them entirely with people who have never even set foot in the country, let alone played the game here. No more transfer windows where fatal imbalances in the squad are overlooked. As fans, we recognise these patterns and it is important that the club does too.

The club has said it is reviewing its strategy and structure. The Trust will be holding them to that promise. We want transparency about the course the club will now take and how it will be structured to achieve success.

Ticketing

Away from the pitch things must change too. Molineux is not full enough, regularly enough. In many cases that’s not because people don’t want to come (despite the dire football) – it’s because Jeff Shi chose to price supporters out. In the balance between atmosphere, loyalty, infecting future generations with the Wolves-supporting virus and revenue, revenue had won.

As a result, Molineux is not full, tickets are not prized like they once were and the atmosphere is too flat, too often. While we can expect attendances to fall in the Championship, it would be good to welcome back some of those who have been unable to support the team in the Premier League. Who knows? A full Molineux might even have made a difference. Regrettably, we’ll never find out.

Following a forceful campaign by the Trust, alongside other fan groups, Nathan Shi has promised a significant reduction in ticket prices for next season. The Trust will be working hard to ensure that those promises are kept.

Fan engagement

Trust between fans and the club has been materially harmed by the actions of the previous leadership at Wolves. Some fans no longer have any trust in what the club says or does. It’s a shame it’s got to this point and we need to fix it.

Success on the pitch will patch it up again – it always does – but that success is by no means guaranteed.  In the meantime, Wolves must get better at communicating openly and transparently with supporters, listening to and acting on our views.

Following our campaign around the ‘Manifesto for Change’, Wolves have agreed to review the fan engagement process. We are now working with the club to ensure that there is a better dialogue between fans and decision-makers at Wolves – and, to be fair, the signs have been positive recently. Our voice has already been heard – a new leadership team, the promise on ticket pricing and the fans forum scheduled for May all reflect that – but there is still much more to be done.

Finally, it is worth pointing out a ray of sunshine – Wolves Women have a shot at the WNL Northern Premier Division title this weekend. If they win and rivals Burnley don’t, Wolves will secure promotion to WSL2. Success would be a much-needed shot in the arm for Wolves fans. Hopefully, this weekend’s trip to Halifax will be the only one Wolves men or women will need to make in the next few seasons and this club can be on the up again. The Trust will be working hard on behalf of fans to achieve that.