Johnny Phillips: Wind of change at Wolves a hurricane

Looking back a mere five years through the archives reveals a club unrecognisable from the current one. The Wolves of March 2013 were on a completely different path both on and off the field.

The corresponding fixture on this weekend five years back saw Wolves beat Bristol City 2-1 in the Championship. It was a rare chink of light in a horrendous season, but even in victory there was a slapstick moment that summed up the direction the club was heading.

Goalkeeper Carl Ikeme – the team’s most solid and dependable player that season – was involved in a half-time altercation with manager Dean Saunders following the part he played in David Davis’s farcical first-half own goal. The normally cool keeper was pushed over the edge and thumped a tactics board, resulting in a broken hand.

Wolves rallied to win the game in the second half, with goals from Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Kevin Doyle. Both strikers played their part in the good times, with Ebanks-Blake helping Wolves to the Premier League and Doyle doing his bit to keep them there for a couple more seasons. But their career trajectory was turning at this point. They were fading forces.

But theirs was a slower decline than the plummet of Jamie O’Hara and Roger Johnson, the side’s famously flash recruits. Like those pub posers that Sunday League football throws up once in a while, huffing and puffing their way around the pitch telling their team-mates they are too good for all this.

Then there were those just passing through – the lucky ones. Loanees Jack Robinson and Kaspars Gorkss gave it their best, failing to plug the gaps in a dishevelled defence, but were probably quite relieved to leave it all behind once relegation was confirmed with that final day surrender at Brighton. Only Matt Doherty and Danny Batth can be still be found in today’s squad, although of course Ikeme should be with them too.

Saunders was castigated for taking the team down but, while undoubtedly a failure, history should judge his four months with the club less harshly. The rot had set in over the previous 18 months. It was not Saunders’ mess. He could not arrest a decline that had begun under Mick McCarthy.

Steve Morgan’s ownership was characterised by solid foundations, frugal transfer activity and off-field growth. But it will also be remembered for three successive pieces of catastrophic decision-making when it came to the most important matter of all.

The manager. The badly-timed dismissal of McCarthy – too early or too late, take your pick – which led to Terry Connor being chucked under the bus. The left field appointment of Stale Solbakken and then the last desperate throw of the dice with Saunders.

The supporters had fallen out with their team. After a 5-0 defeat at Fulham towards the end of the Premier League relegation campaign, Johnson was sent home from training after turning up the worse for wear on Monday morning. That was followed by protests against the board at the end of the next game, a home defeat to Blackburn.

Morgan headed out of the main entrance at Molineux and spoke to fans in an attempt to reassure them. Meanwhile, O’Hara and his partner Danielle Lloyd took to Twitter to vent their spleen after being involved in a confrontation with fans further up the road.

Respect on all sides had gone. Reputations were left in tatters. That anger had turned to despair as the Championship season took its shambolic course. Wolves went down to League One without a fight, meekly losing five of their last six games. Not for decades had the mood been so sour. The love was lost.

Morgan finally got it right with Kenny Jackett – a perfect fit for a squad that needed rebuilding in League One. Jackett is owed a debt of gratitude for the way he went about turning the team’s fortunes around, instilling some much-needed discipline in the ranks and making the club fit for purpose going forward.

Jackett not only restored the team to their current level, but he brought some pride back for the supporters. Damaged relationships were repaired as the Premier League has-beens were ushered out and new players emerged.

New ownership brought fresh hope too. Since Jackett’s departure, the team has evolved again. Now, in the heat of a Championship title push, the club are on a different path again. The atmosphere couldn’t be further removed to that of five years ago. Supporters bounce into the ground in eager anticipation of what lies ahead for the next 90 minutes. Not just the younger ones. There are plenty of old timers out there with a spring in their step too.

If supporters feared for the future during the short-lived Saunders era, the talk now is of fulfilling aspirations and dreams. What can be achieved with this crop of players under the current management and ownership?

Football has a habit of throwing up the unexpected, twists and turns when least expected, but fans can be forgiven for looking ahead.

The landscape has changed so much in the past five years.

What will the Wolves of 2023 look like?