WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF FOOTBALL
Roger Johnson offered his shirt to the travelling supporters, but no one wanted it. The date was May 4, 2013, and Wolverhampton Wanderers had just been relegated to League One after a 2-0 defeat at Brighton’s Amex Stadium. It was Wolves’ second relegation in two seasons. Fans were too angry to accept souvenirs of the occasion.
Back then, the players couldn’t give their shirts away. This season, however, Wolves expect to sell a club record 100,000 replica jerseys. Around 4,000 were snapped up on the very first day of pre-order.
Once a toxic, broken club suffering a complete disconnect from its fanbase, now they’re in the group stages of the Europa League after finishing 7th upon their return to the Premier League last season – and they were FA Cup semi-finalists to boot. In Wolverhampton, they hope it’s just the start.
Molineux remains much the same from the outside, but the club and its staff have altered almost beyond recognition over the last six years. A huge rebuilding job was needed on and off the pitch.
Kevin Thelwell has been at Wolves for 11-and-a-half years. In that time, he has seen a lot of changes.
Having served as the academy manager, head of development and recruitment, and now sporting director, the 45-year-old is also on the club’s board, so he is perfectly placed to assess the huge transition that has taken place.
Under the ownership of Steve Morgan, Mick McCarthy’s departure as manager in February 2012 had been followed by short-lived reigns for Terry Connor (three months), Stale Solbakken (six months) and Dean Saunders (four months). Thelwell and chief executive Jez Moxey embarked on an exhaustive process to find the right man to lead the rebuild. The best candidate stood out a mile: Kenny Jackett.
“The mood was absolutely horrendous,” Thelwell tells . “Disconnect is a good word for it – there was a complete disconnect between players and supporters, who wanted the team to show what
