Why Wolves' relegation had been coming after slow decline

Wolves have won three of 22 Premier League games under Rob Edwards (right) The front doors at Compton broke one Friday afternoon. For a few minutes a number of people at Wolves ' training ground were locked out before the problem was fixed. It feels like an appropriate metaphor for the club's season.

Wolves were broken and manager Rob Edwards has been trying to piece them back together since November. Handed a near impossible task, he has been unable to save them. Relegation from the Premier League was confirmed by West Ham 's 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday.

The club has been anchored to the bottom of the table since week three of the campaign with just three wins but, despite a wretched season, there is positivity within the club and an expectation of better times ahead. That may jar against the slow downward spiral which has led the club to this point. Protests against owners Fosun and former executive chairman Jeff Shi underlined the fractures at the club which have been festering for a number of years and spread on to the terraces during Wolves ' awful start to the season.

Wolves have been circling the drain and have now been pulled under as they prepare to play in the Championship for the first time since 2018. Failure to replace their best players after selling Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota, Ruben Neves, Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri over the past few years has been central to Wolves ' downfall. None of the summer 2024 signings is a regular, with only Rodrigo Gomes and Sam Johnstone part of the matchday squad.