Shi has made 'good start' repairing 'fractured relationship'
[Getty Images] "We are changing the way we do things at Wolves. It must always be football first and around that we are building greater clarity, accountability and longer-term thinking to create a better future" - Nathan Shi, who is still officially interim executive chairman, said in a recent statement. You, like me, might have grown up thinking that being "football first" ought to be so intrinsic to a football club that there would be no need to actually state it, let alone revert to it, but perhaps we are products of a simpler age.
However, starting from a "football first" standpoint sounds like a good lodestar - and this is no time to be churlish. Many Wolves fans ran through the stages of grief for their Premier League status quite early. Though the moment will still hurt when it comes - let us also make room for the possibility, however slim, that it won't come - the most intense anger associated with relegation may have already passed.
But there is a moment of opportunity here. Like every other aspect of Wolves' probable demotion, the fracturing of the relationship between the owners Fosun and the supporters is not a product of this season alone. Fans revered Fosun's name in the early years after the takeover; now they take it in vain.
Much of the anger was directed personally at previous chairman Jeff Shi, and the appointment of Nathan Shi as his replacement in December was greeted with a lot of eye-rolling. But the relationship is not beyond repair and Fosun continue to insist their interest remains long-term. Nathan Shi's statement spoke of a "responsibility to them to put the right structures in place at Wolves so we can build something we are proud of again".
His lack of previous football experience need not prevent him from succeeding. Organising the right people into key positions, and taking care to ensure supporters feel invested in and respected by the club, matter more. Announcing an average 25% cut in season-ticket prices and committing to regular meetings with the club's Fan Advisory Board and wider support forums are a good start.