Premier League news: Rob Edwards joins Wolves, needs to make immediate impact at Molineux
Rob Edwards has been announced as the new manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers and will look to keep his former club from dropping down to the Championship.
Wolves ended their managerial search on Wednesday, announcing that Edwards would be joining them on a four-year deal.
The pressure is now on Edwards to get things right at Wolves, who are currently bottom of the Premier League on only two points, writes Sports News Blitz’s Mosaddek Abu.
Relegation clouds gather
Wolves have experienced a steady decline of late, having had four different managers in the past three seasons.
They have also sold key players without effectively replacing them.
This summer, the Wanderers sold Matheus Cunha and Rayan Aït-Nouri, two players who were key to the team’s attacking threat.
However, despite the club spending nearly £100 million, the players brought in do not have extensive Premier League experience.
Only Jørgen Strand Larsen, who converted to a permanent deal after a successful loan spell, has offered any sort of goal threat.
Wolves are moreover winless in 11 games this season, with their latest result being a 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Two weeks earlier, they succumbed to newly promoted Burnley at home, with post-match scenes seeing the Molineux crowd chant: “You’ve sold the team, now sell the club” and “Sacked in the morning”, the latter aimed at then-manager Vítor Pereira.
It was the sound of fans who had run out of patience with the bad decisions of the club’s ownership group, Fosun, and chairman Jeff Shi.
Fans, quite rightly, felt a real fear that their time in the Premier League was coming to an end.
Return of Edwards
Edwards is a former Wolves player, having made over 100 appearances for the club from 2004 to 2008.
He has also been part of the club’s coaching staff, working with the under-18s in 2014 before being promoted to a first-team coaching role in 2015.
In 2019, he became the head coach of the under-23s before moving on to manage Forest Green Rovers in 2021.
Despite the historical connection, Edwards will need to make an immediate impact as the Wolves board have shown they aren’t hesitant to make a change.
Before Pereira, there was Gary O’Neil, who finished 14th with Wolves in his first season, but after a slow start and a 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town, he was sacked with the club in 19th place.
Wolves have had a few near misses in recent seasons, mostly surviving due to the three promoted teams routinely being worse than them.
However, that isn’t the case this term – they are 20th in the league, while Burnley, Leeds, and especially Sunderland are finding stability.
Additionally, it is worth noting that West Ham and Nottingham Forest are showing few signs of improvement under their new managers.
There is thus no safety guarantee for Wolves, and it is down to Edwards to try to steady the ship.
He has to make an impact right from the start if the club is to stand any chance at survival.
Wolves will also have to make a few signings come the January transfer window, but Edwards must still get his existing team to improve, otherwise the very future of the club is in question.
And for what it’s worth, Edwards’ future as a football manager is likely riding on this job too.
