Finding themselves bottom at Christmas need not mean relegation. A few seasons back, Wolves found themselves similarly placed, with the key distinction that they kicked off on Boxing Day with 10 points rather than a mere two. The current plight is one of historical underperformance, the worst losing run in club history. Keane Lewis-Potter’s second-half double, compounded by Caoimhín Kelleher’s save of Jørgen Strand Larsen’s penalty rubbing salt in the wound, left them fourteen points behind of safety. Only three teams have previously suffered ten consecutive top-flight games on the bounce. Each of them ended the campaign rock-bottom come May.
Seven Days of Upheaval and Sorrow at Molineux
The preceding days had seen a period of transition and loss at Wolves' home ground. Jeff Shi, an unpopular club chair who recently described relegation as a “technicality”, stepped down at the week's end, succeeded by an interim appointee, a temporary successor sharing a surname but with no familial connection. Prior to kick-off, a minute’s silence was held in memory of Ethan McLeod, the Wolves trainee and Macclesfield forward who died in a car accident. A sibling, Conor McLeod, presently in the under-21 setup, was among extended family on the sidelines.
Deprived of key players and sinking to unprecedented depths, a miraculous survival appears impossible.
Brentford's Imperative Task
While Wolves' situation looks almost hopeless, Brentford’s run of form has given rise to worries about the drop. Winning at Wolves was imperative. Keith Andrews had omitted the scorer from the previous match, the experienced midfielder, in favor of the youthful energy of Yehor Yarmolyuk as he pursued a much-needed victory after a winless run. The side began in the usual fashion, with a lengthy throw-in from the full-back.
Andrews’ team were having, though not necessarily enjoying, a large portion of the ball. Where 44% is their average it rose close to 70%. This is not their customary approach.
The Home Side's Survival Approach
To achieve mission impossible, initial objective the 11 points recorded by Derby County in 2008, Wolves' boss is digging in, tactics less three at the back than five. Often seven. As attacking spectacle was scarce, the paying public turned their focus toward the club's ownership, with chants of “Fosun out” and banners declaring “our club” brandished.
Although the visitors dominated the ball, the first stop came from the Brentford keeper, when David Møller Wolfe’s cross nearly took a deflection past him, providing only a momentary break from the gloom among the home fans. A first shot on goal was not registered until the 31st minute, with André blasting a set-piece straight at the defensive barrier. That represented the longest wait for a opening attempt in the Premier League for six years. Kayode’s arms remained Brentford’s chief creator until, finally, Lewis-Potter jinked into the box to elicit a stop from the Wolves goalkeeper.
A Second Half of Limited Improvement
Would the latter period offer more than such low-level ambition and application? A Wolves player's aimless clatter of the ball into the Jack Hayward Stand indicated otherwise, though almost immediately Sá made a fine reflex save from Kevin Schade’s header, then produced a less convincing fumble of a shot from the same Brentford forward.
Spirits and volume rose during a spell of home-team attacking that was full of running though lacking in precision. Complete frustration came once Lewis-Potter scored his first, after Vitaly Janelt’s chip and a communication breakdown between Ladislav Krejci and Santiago Bueno handed a golden opportunity.
Before that, Wolves fans, long resigned to their fate, looked to the past for comfort, as they had been singing of past heroes, stars from happier, less hopeless times.
Sealing the Victory and Inflicting Final Insult
Brentford have an unfortunate tendency of conceding points from winning positions, and hopes were momentarily raised when Møller Wolfe’s header stayed too high. The Danish midfielder, on as a substitute as Andrews sought control of midfield, could have wrapped up the points from a cross-field pass. Instead, he, from the left, supplied the second goal, a crisp volley.
After Kelleher saved on Strand Larsen’s late spot-kick, awarded for a challenge on the Wolves defender, chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” increased in volume. Stripped of assets, plunging to historic lows, there will be no great escapes here.
