Wolverhampton Wanderers

Dana Malt
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Straight off the bat, expect the classic new manager soundbites.

I know this season has been dire for Wolves fans, so he will no doubt look to generate buy-in from supporters through words first.

The local paper will probably have one of his glittery quotes on the back page. He says the same stuff everywhere he goes, though - "the fans are the most important part of the football club".

It is up to you whether you get reeled in by that. My advice? Let the football do the talking - always.

To give him credit, Middlesbrough's defence this season has tightened up. We defend our box well, no matter the formation (Edwards has alternated between three and four at the back).

If you are a fan of xG, our 'expected goals against' this campaign is the third best in the league. If you don't like xG, ignore what I have just said.

Offensively, however, Boro have struggled. We do not create a lot at all.

Edwards did not have a clue what to do with the attacking options he had. He often overthought it, I feel.

Thankfully, because our defence is good, we have been on the right end of a lot of fine-margin games. Was that sustainable? Boro were trending down before he left.

He has quite the task on his hands at Wolves.

I would not be surprised to see a lift in performances, but expect to encounter problems that Edwards may find hard to fix.

Find more from Dana Malt at The Boro Breakdown, external

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves' new head coach Rob Edwards says he made "one of the toughest decisions" of his managerial career by choosing to leave high-flying Championship side Middlesbrough to join a club currently eight points adrift of Premier League safety.

The 42-year-old previously played for Wolves, making more than 100 appearances between 2004 and 2008, has been a coach at Molineux and also grew up in Telford.

"This has been one of the toughest decisions of my career," Edwards wrote on Instagram. "In truth, I wouldn't have considered leaving Middlesbrough for any other club.

"Wolves is a special club for me. It's where I grew as both a player and a coach. It's still where my family calls home.

"It has always been my dream to come back and these opportunities do not come around too often.

"Middlesbrough is an incredible club with a fantastic owner, staff and passionate supporters. I want to thank everyone at the club for the opportunity to lead this squad.

"It is a great group of players that I genuinely hope and believe will deliver success this season.

"I could not be prouder of the environment we built together and how it all gelled together so quickly - the players, the staff and the fans, who drive it all."

We asked for your views on whether Rob Edwards is the right man for the Wolves job.

Here are some of your replies:

Alan: Edwards brings bags of enthusiasm to a team he loves. His attacking mentality is exactly what we need if we have any chance of escaping relegation. I would far rather us go down giving our all and playing attractive, attacking football. I wish Rob every success. The supporters must get behind the team and save their angst for the board of directors and, specifically, Fosun.

David: Even though he has limited top-flight experience, Edwards is Wolves through and through. It's about time we appointed someone with a passion for the club, instead of just being used as a stepping stone to get a Premier League club on their CV.

Lee: I feel a little sorry for Edwards already. Under the current ownership, this club is a poisoned chalice for any manager. He isn't keeping us up, the owners have made sure of that with poor investment. I hope I'm wrong, but it feels like Edwards has made a poor decision in coming to join us. He should have stayed at Middlesbrough.

Mark: Edwards' appointment sends a very clear message that Wolves are gearing up for a complete reset in the Championship next season. None of the best managers in the world would be able to save the club from relegation this season. The quality within the squad is simply not good enough to compete at this level. The owners, with a total lack of football knowledge, are solely to blame for this.

Ian: One can only assume Wolves must have offered him a huge salary with a large bonus should relegation be avoided. Will it be sufficient recompense for what will, in all probability, be a miserable experience though?

Mike: Definitely the right choice. He is a local lad, a former Wolves player and he will be backed by the fans. If he is backed by the club in January, he can bring in some of the players he wants. As long as the team shows some fighting spirit for the rest of the season, he is in a no-lose situation and will retain the fans' backing even if we go down.

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The gamble for Rob Edwards is that he will need to unite a fractured club where fans' frustrations with the ownership have bubbled over.

Swapping a Premier League promotion challenge for a battle to stay in the top flight is brave enough at the best of times, let alone when the club in question appear to have big issues in the background.

Anger towards owners Fosun and executive chairman Jeff Shi is widespread, even if the fans are unlikely to achieve their ultimate goal of pressuring Fosun to sell.

Wolves are aware of the division and Edwards will be joined by Harry Watling, who takes on the role of assistant head coach and was part of his team at Middlesbrough.

Sources have also told BBC Sport that Paul Trollope, Joleon Lescott and Conor Coady have been sounded out over potential roles in a new-look backroom staff.

The potential additions of Lescott and Coady are rated as difficult to complete - particularly the latter, who is still playing for Wrexham.

One thing Edwards has to his advantage is his lack of recent involvement at Wolves, this in contrast to other reported candidates.

The potential reappointment of former boss Gary O'Neil, sacked 11 months ago and still being paid by the club under the terms of his severance package, could have widened the divide still further.

Supporters had turned against O'Neil by the end of his reign last December, while Shi said in the summer the club waited too long to sack him.

O'Neil, perhaps shrewdly, ruled himself out of the running last week. He had concerns about what he would be inheriting, especially the structure off the pitch.

That aspect has not put Edwards off.

Former England striker Alan Shearer told BBC Match of the Day: "I get his connection with Wolves but I think Middlesbrough give him a big opportunity and this is a huge risk for him as I don't see them staying up. It is a big gamble."

Where the gamble lies for Wolves is that Edwards' only full-time Premier League managerial experience saw his one season in the top flight with Luton Town in 2023-24 end in relegation.

He guided the Hatters to the Premier League for the first time but was then unable to halt a slide into League One, leaving Kenilworth Road in January of this year.

Two Premier League relegations would not look great on Edwards' record, but he is keen on the job and a return to his roots, and will back himself to lead the team away from danger.

Edwards won the Premier League 2 title with Wolves Under-23s in 2019, describing the moment as the best in his career at that time.

"It was probably one of the best feelings in 20 years of professional football that I've had. It was amazing, I felt so proud of the boys," he said.

Now Edwards is at the helm, another career highlight would come with his first game in official charge - Edwards had a two-game caretaker spell in 2016 - against Crystal Palace at Molineux on 22 November.

Wolves has "a lot of pull" for Rob Edwards and would have made it impossible for him to turn down the job, despite the "huge task" in front of him, says former team-mate Matt Jarvis.

Edwards was confirmed as the club's new head coach on Wednesday, leaving his role at Middlesbrough to return to his former club.

The 42-year-old started his Wolves journey in 2004 and played 111 times for the club, before making his first steps into coaching with the under-18s.

He took charge of two first-team matches on an interim basis in 2016 and also led the under-23s to promotion.

"He's got a lot of affection for Wolves. He spent many, many years there," Jarvis told BBC Sport.

"He started his managerial career in the academies and worked his way through, so it's got a lot of pull for him. Obviously, you never know in football when your next chance is or what you're going to do, so for him this opportunity has come up and I don't think it was ever possible for him to turn it down.

"It's a massive club. It's a huge honour for him to go and manage the club he played for."

Edwards arrives following the dismissal of Vitor Pereira and is now charged with turning the fortunes round of a team yet to pick up three points in the Premier League this season.

"It's a huge task he's got ahead of him, but he obviously feels like he's able to do something," Jarvis added.

"The team looks beat. Whenever they go a goal behind, it looks like that's it - there's an uphill battle. He's got to go in there straight away and change the mentality of the players.

"The one thing he's constantly kept [from playing] is his personality and his genuineness to actually speak to players, supporters and the media. As a player, I think he gives you that affection. He gives you that drive. You can see the players he's managed want to play for him.

"It's a massive opportunity for him to try the impossible and keep Wolves up. And if it isn't successful, maybe he's the perfect person to bring them back up."

Geoff Doyle
BBC Three Counties Radio sports editors editor

Image source, Getty Images

The first thing to say about Rob Edwards is that the players will get on with him. He is a very good man-manager and players enjoy playing for him. He fosters good relationships and builds a rapport with his team.

When Edwards took over at Luton Town, the team were just outside the Championship play-offs and going along quite nicely. Edwards was shrewd enough not to change too much with "tweaks", as he called them, here and there. He gave Luton fans their best experience for decades in the play-off final win and took them into the Premier League for the first time.

In the top flight, Edwards very quickly worked out that playing defensively and passively was not going to work. He switched tactics after a couple of months and went bold, aggressive and attacking. It is why Luton won so many plaudits despite their relegation.

They gave it a real go and gave a fright to Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City along the way.

Their spirit and belief was strong, but Edwards also got Luton playing. You don't score four against Newcastle and Brighton, and three against Arsenal, Bournemouth and Sheffield United, without stepping up.

Under Edwards, Luton played a 3-4-2-1. His wing-backs were super important. Alfie Doughty was on the left, whipping excellent balls into the penalty area. On the right, he had the pace of Chiedozie Ogbene or Issa Kabore.

Balls in the box were very important. Edwards played two big strikers in Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo. They were a real handful and gave world-class defenders major problems. Both hit double-figure goals across the season.

He was bold with man-for-man defending, which did leave them open at the back. But Hatters fans didn't mind that, preferring to see the team on the front foot rather than sitting back. The side revolved around Ross Barkley and Edwards just let him dictate.

If he goes attacking with Wolves, the fans will not be bored.

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Dazzling Dave
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

Crikey, where do we start? It is a mammoth task.

Rob Edwards must set clear requirements with owners Fosun: be firm, direct and specific about club structure and the transfer window. The priority is a solid spine that can rescue poor performances.

Next, restore confidence and belief. The team look at rock bottom, but there is still faith they can turn it around.

The errors are not about talent, they stem from a lack of confidence, direction and belief. That must change.

Don't concede and you won't lose. It sounds basic, but it has been forgotten. Pick a backline and live with it through the bumps.

Stop shunting Ladislav Krejci into midfield, then dragging him back. He needs a settled role. He is a £30m central defender; when you are leaking goals, use that ability. Or play him in a Conor Coady-style sweeper role to distribute and get the team moving upfield.

Up front, it is about belief and habits. There is little creativity, it is all too static.

Use Jackson Tchatchoua's pace. Release some players from heavy defensive duties and provide cover so they can attack and create.

Goals do not come from sideways and backward passing, they come from chaos in the box. Get crosses in and look like you are not afraid to score.

Stability is essential. Edwards must find his best XI quickly and keep it. There has been too much chopping and changing.

The team needs consistency to gel. Play footballers in their preferred roles where they are most comfortable if results are to come in the short term. Stop forcing square pegs into round holes.

Leadership is non-negotiable. Great teams have great leaders and Wolves are short. Five captains already this season tells its own story. Choose a captain, stick with them and demand standards on and off the pitch.

Make Molineux a fortress. Getting a despondent fanbase on side is key. If the faithful turn, Wolves are doomed.

Above all, the ownership question looms. Fosun talks prudence, supporters want ambition.

Wolves need a clear plan and a manager empowered to execute it. Without that, they are not flirting with the drop - they are packing their bags for it.

Find more from Dazzling Dave at Always Wolves, external

A version of this post first ran on 5 November.

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves chairman Jeff Shi says he needs "to refresh the whole club" after the club confirmed the appointment of their former defender Rob Edwards as manager.

Edwards has signed a three and a half year deal at Molineux just five months after starting work as Middlesbrough manager.

"I know Rob very well and I have seen his growth in different jobs," said Shi. "He's a very good person, knows the club very well, knows the city, the fans and he is very talented.

"When he was a youth coach here, he showed his tactical awareness, but after he took first-team jobs he started to grow his own identity, character and leadership."

With Wolves currently bottom of the Premier League table after picking up just two points from their opening 11 games, Shi said: "We need to refresh the whole club with a new coach's philosophy, bringing his own identity and ideas.

"We are at a new chapter for the club and Rob will be a key piece of that."

Director of player recruitment and development Matt Jackson added: "The energy that [Edwards] brings off the field, we have to get on to the pitch.

"We have to be realistic about where we are and we definitely need to be held accountable.

"We now need to get that belief into the players quickly and we think Rob will be great culturally for the whole football club."

Image source, Getty Images

So it's official. Rob Edwards is Wolves' new head coach, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract at Molineux to succeed Vitor Pereira - and we want your reaction.

The 42-year-old has joined from Middlesbrough, who he was with for just over five months and leaves second in the Championship.

Edwards arrives at Wolves - a club he played 111 times for - with the side bottom of the Premier League, eight points from safety and still awaiting their first league win of the season.

He has also coached Wanderers at under-18 and under-23 level, as well as taking interim charge of the first team twice in the wake of Walter Zenga's departure in 2016.

Edwards' assistant head coach will be Harry Watling, who was also at Boro. Wolves says more backroom staff will be confirmed soon.

Edwards has previous experience managing in the top flight, having been in charge of Luton Town during the 2023-24 campaign, but he was unable to keep them up.

His first match in charge will be against Crystal Palace at Molineux on Saturday, 22 November, following the international break.

How do you feel about the appointment? Is Edwards the right man and can he turn Wolves' fortunes around? What are his priorities?

Get in touch with your views here

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Who would take a job like this? Outside Wolves and their supporters, at least, it seems most people have written the Molineux side's chances of survival off already.

A few of the Wolves fans calling BBC Radio WM over the past couple of weeks have railed against this sense of defeatism, and that is the spirit Rob Edwards will need to have with him to ensure that, within the club at least, heads stay up.

There will be some goodwill towards him from supporters as he is a former Wolves player, and more positive energy from within the club from his early coaching career there, even if only Matt Doherty among the players will remember him.

Those good vibes will help.

Elsewhere, much of the discussion around Edwards this week has mused on why he would have left a good job at a club that might go up to take this one. Family and personal connections may well explain that.

The idea is also in circulation that Edwards has been recruited as a good candidate to lead Wolves to a rebound promotion next season if they do drop, therefore making the next few months a kind of 'free hit' for him.

That does sound logical.

You can imagine the club thinking this way and meaning it, even though it would not be reasonable to expect them to say so, for fear of sounding like they had given up on this season.

But not all relegations are the same.

If Edwards makes Wolves competitive, addresses some of the clear problems, and they still go down with, say, 33 points, that plan sounds fine.

And if not? No doubt, Wolves will have appointed Edwards with the intention of him being their coach for the long term - just as they envisaged for both Gary O'Neil and Vitor Pereira.

Sacking and replacing a manager is a traumatic process for a club, and often an expensive one, best avoided unless absolutely necessary.

Still, with so much of the season left, it should not be taken for granted that any new coach would be judged to have clean hands if Wolves are relegated in a heap, even if many of the causes of failure predate his arrival.

It might not be fair or sensible if it comes to it, but when emotions are high and a scapegoat is deemed necessary, as we have seen, it is invariably the same one.

Being a Premier League head coach is never a free hit.

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It's international break so let's have a bit of fun to pass the time.

Now we know football existed before 1992 but for the purposes of this little exercise, keep it Premier League please.

So tell us, who would be in your dream Wolves Premier League XI?

The debate starts here.

Send your suggestions

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On Tuersday, Wolves Under-21s were eliminated from the EFL Trophy after a 4-2 defeat at League Two side Salford City.

Fletcher Holman had given James Collins' side the advantage, but the Ammies comeback included three second-half goals, two of which were scored by Ruben Butt, the son of the former England midfielder and Salford chief executive, Nicky.

The defeat ensured Wolves finished third in the EFL group stage behind Salford and Stockport County.

Sin bins? Bonus points? Two goals if you score from distance?

Imagine a world in which you could reinvent football.

It's a dream, of course. Just a bit of fun. But stick with us.

What if you had the power to change any of the game's laws and potentially bring to an end countless hours of discussion about handball, offside, video assistant referees, or anything else you want to?

Some of BBC Sport's familiar football faces have offered their own potential rule changes.

Watch them above or read more here

Dazzling Dave
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

History is brutal here. It has been about 75 years since a team survived in the top flight with just two points after 11 games. That said, there are still 27 games and 81 points to play for. Survival is not gone, many are already writing Wolves off but miracles can happen.

The truth is the owners and club leadership put us in this mess. Year after year, we sold our best players and failed to replace them properly. The club is in managed decline and Jeff Shi has spun the roulette wheel too many times.

There has been no honest acknowledgement from the top that a series of catastrophic decisions has left us staring at the Championship after only 11 games. Fans deserve better.

Rob Edwards should not shoulder that blame if he eventually falls short. He is one of our own, a Shropshire lad who played 111 times for Wolves and coached in our academy. He wants this job more than anyone who has come and gone in recent years.

The squad is depleted, the fans feel alienated, and managers have not been properly backed. He will inherit chaos.

If we limp on like this, we could threaten Derby's lowest points record and even the fewest goals scored in a Premier League season, which stands at 20. That is how stark it is.

But there is still a path: restore belief and intensity, pick a settled core, get Joao Gomes central to everything, give Matheus Mane and Tolu Arokodare real minutes, and add two or three quality starters in January. The owners must prove they still care and that they have real ambition.

Edwards deserves and will get our full backing to the end. He did not create the crisis, but he will face it head on.

If belief returns in the stands and identity returns on the pitch, there is still time to make this fight real.

If not, the failure will belong to the boardroom, not the dugout.

Find more from Dazzling Dave at Always Wolves, external

Former Wolves midfielder Dave Edwards says the club's Premier League survival is "of course unlikely", after only taking two points from their opening 11 games, but he believes Rob Edwards would be a "really good" appointment moving forward.

"If they can win two games on the bounce then all of a sudden their season might look very different," Edwards told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "But it is going to be a long shot because pretty much everyone has written Wolves off.

"Getting Rob Edwards is the best-case scenario for them. He is somebody who really cares about this football club, who works really hard and who is absolutely obsessed with football."

Former Liverpool, Stoke City and Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam also gave his thoughts on Wolves trying to tempt Edwards away from high-flying Championship side Middlesbrough: "Ultimately, both parties have agreed this clause within his contract.

"There was a figure and while a figure is in a contract, there is always the opportunity for another club to take your manager.

"If it wasn't for Wolves, I don't think he would be leaving Middlesbrough. It doesn't look great but, for Rob Edwards, this is his dream job."

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Chelsea and Wolves.

Here are some of your comments:

Chelsea fans

Mark: Still not good enough with teams which lie deep. Estevao Willian is consistently dangerous so he needs to start. Enzo Maresca needs to decide his strongest team and rotate just a few players every game, not half the team.

Tristan: In the first half, I was bemused as to how we didn't score and that concerned me. But luckily for the Blues, we got the win.

Lee: Typical game from this Chelsea team. Played for 45 minutes against a definite relegation side and eventually broke them down. Good three points, but it plasters over cracks.

James: Bit on the slow side first half but second 45 much better. Will do Joao Pedro the world of good to get a goal and the international break arrives at a good time for anyone injured to hopefully recover. Clean sheet was a nice bonus too.

Wolves fans

Simon: Really hard to watch. There seems to be a disconnect between the team and this is showing with the amount of goals we are letting in and the attempted shots on goal. It is going to be a tough number for the next manager, but we still have a tiny bit of time to turn it around.

Rick: They were just going through the motions. No threat. Mistakes. Sloppy. Once again, it was like watching two teams from different leagues. Particularly frustrated to see Hwang Hee-chan and Jorgen Strand Larsen given yet more chances. Tolu Arokodare is quicker, more skilful and can score. Staggering.

Steve: In the first half we dug in and showed some fight, but created nothing. Once the first goal went in, you knew that was it. Even Pep Guardiola or Arne Slot wouldn't keep this lot up. Good luck to the next coach, be it Rob Edwards or whoever. Let's get behind him and the team and at least go down fighting.

Kieron: The players cannot hide behind Vitor Pereira with that performance. They showed little fight and even less attacking threat! Too many players strolling around, jogging instead of sprinting. I can accept losing but performances like that boil my blood! Embarrassing and shameful.

Jason: Lack of quality and lack of strategy. They would struggle in the Championship. Dismal.

Match of the Day pundits Wayne Rooney and Danny Murphy believe Rob Edwards faces a big struggle to keep Wolves in the Premier League, with the Middlesbrough manager set to take over at the club he spent four years at as a player.

Speaking on the show, Rooney said: "I wouldn't say it's impossible [they avoid relegation], but it's unlikely.

"Their form this season has been horrendous really.

"That's why they've changed manager, and it's a tough job for Edwards."

Wolves will back prospective new manager Rob Edwards in the transfer market in January, with an ambition to sign young, domestic-based players. (NBC), external

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Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The Wolves job is seen as a dream role for incoming manager Rob Edwards as he arranges his departure from Middlesbrough.

The 42-year-old made more than 100 appearances for Wolves between 2004 and 2008, and his family still live in the Midlands.

But this is a tough time to join a bottom-of-the-table club who have not won since April.

They lack quality in the squad and only stayed competitive at Stamford Bridge until Chelsea scored.

Wolves took 61 minutes to register a shot on goal. They managed just three shots in the match - none on target - and had only 35.5% possession.

However, they showed resilience until conceding in the 51st minute.

That could give Edwards a foundation to build on, but the challenge is huge. No club has survived with as few as two points after 11 games in Premier League history.

Their spirit could help, but Wolves face major problems and potentially lack that underlying quality from their players to survive.

Wolves interim boss James Collins speaking to BBC Sport after the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea: "I felt we showed real spirit in the first half. We did a lot of work on being tight, connected and hard to beat. The boys really focused on that and maybe didn't do as well in possession as we planned.

"The early goal rocked us a bit because then you're chasing the game. We chased the game - we were doing better on the ball - but then we were too much out of structure and open at back and they took advantage.

"The boys have got a real togetherness and spirit. They are willing to work from a gameplan. That's a good basis to work on. There's a real base of players willing to have a right go, work on the game and get better.

"The spirit in the dressing room, I've seen this week. There's 27 games left, plenty of football. Our season won't be decided on Chelsea away. The players have shown drive and determination. If we can add a bit of quality who knows?"

Listen to more from Collins on BBC Sounds

Pundits Alan Shearer and Theo Walcott join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

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Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Chelsea's performance

What did you make of Wolves' display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies