Wolverhampton Wanderers has reached a crucial stage in its history. The unenviable tag of being the only club to be relegated in successive seasons from the top flight to the third division, TWICE in our history hangs not-so-proudly around our necks.

A catalogue of errors lead to our demise. The sacking of Mick McCarthy two seasons ago was the turning point – but not because we should have kept him. The axe should have been wielded well beforehand, with a 5-1 defeat at home to them lot down the road meaning Mick’s position went from insecure to untenable. Give a manager that transfer window and you give them chance and the job itself is a much more attractive proposition. But in the end Wolves were left to plump for the sullen Terry Connor, the managerial equivalent of the usual last pick in five-a-side suddenly being promoted up the order.

Premier League status was lost, but a chance to correct the mistakes of the past two seasons was gained. In came Stale Solbakken. An impressive CV was backed up by the ability to talk a good game – something Wolves fan will appreciate a lot more in hindsight. The idea from Steve Morgan was a good one – here was as intelligent a coach I had seen at Molineux. The European style was catching on in the Premier League and for a fear of being left behind, Messrs Morgan and Moxey went continental. What ensued was a real mish-mash of footballing ideologies. Solbakken’s foreign imports (of which nearly all have made a good impression) were added to the British – formerly young and hungry – contingent from the McCarthy era with strange results. Solbakken’s mantra from early on was that within 3 transfer windows he would have stamped his authority on the club – he wasn’t allowed to see through two. In an Abramovich-like manner, Morgan pulled the plug on what must have been seen as a long-term plan to re-establish the club in the upper echelons of English football. A longing sense of what might have been has lingered around the sacking of Solbakken, who definitely left an impression on the Molineux faithful. Perhaps the likes of Roger Johnson, Karl Henry and Stephen Hunt were too simple for  Stale’s masterplan. Perhaps he tried to introduce it too quickly. All I know is that he’s still the one that got away for me.

No sooner has Stale gone that a new man was at the helm – Dean Saunders. The European style was ditched and a return to a more familiar approach was introduced to try and galvanise a group of players that had begun to stagnate, in a swamp of poor performances and utter carelessness from the fans’ perspective. The chirpy  Saunders was seen as a refreshing change from the sometimes morose and serious Solbakken. By this I mean you could not take the guy seriously as a football manager. The writing was on the wall when Saunders said: “When I used to play I wanted the ball forward as quickly as possible.” Then there was “we can still make the play offs.” And the reference to Ladbrokes not getting it wrong  often because they didn’t have us as favourites to get relegated. And something about Boots which I didn’t quite understand. But my favourite of all was “I know how to get out of this division.” Well you sure did that Deano. Coupled with some of the worst football ever displayed on the Molineux turf and you Saunders’ tenure as boss was nothing short of a disaster. His absence from Steve Morgan’s end of season statement in apology to the fans was a metaphorical gun being cocked. But for all that you may blame the managers and the board for their mistakes there has been one constant throughout this period – poor performances from players we expect a lot more from. After matchday two in the 2011/12 season we were the top team in the entire country. The signings of Jamie O’Hara and Roger Johnson had given us hope that our days as Premier League survival were behind us. Now the two are wholly representative – and responsible for – our demise. I wouldn’t be surprised if we had the biggest wage bill ever to be relegated from the second tier of English football. Rubbish spouted in the media did nothing to dispel the severe disdain the supporters had for a large portion of the squad – they just did not care. But the sad reality of it is that these players will move on to better things than the way they have left our once proud club. Scenes at the Amex Stadium in Brighton on the final day summed the feeling up. Even Brighton fans were berating our shamed clan of former heroes. Jamie O’Hara’s reaction to a brutal but honest assessment of his performances was nothing short of disgraceful. The rebuttal from fans when Roger Johnson offered his short in apology epitomised the ill-feeling toward our seemingly alcoholic centre back (he was spotted out in Birmingham just a day after the club’s relegation was confirmed).

League One and Wolverhampton Wanderers just don’t go together. But this is not to say we don’t deserve to be there because we do. The only people to have come out of this debacle has been the fans. We haven’t been sent on a rollercoaster of a ride – this has been a log flume-like drop. But very much like the beginning of last season, there is a chance to start afresh. Like a troubled-teen that has lost their way in life, the wake-up call has arrived. Morgan and Moxey have humbly decided to take a backseat and allowed Kevin Thelwell to head footballing operations. Having interviewed Kevin once I can tell you he is a very intelligent and well-spoken man, who is well respected in the game. The current influx of youngsters at Derby County are his legacy on that side of the Midlands. Hopefully he can have an even bigger impact with us. People wanting Moxey and Morgan out are slightly misguided though – right now is when we need them most. Moxey especially is unmatched when it comes to getting the best deal possible, and with a truckload of players needing to be rid of he is the perfect man in the perfect position. Once the deadwood has been safely deposited on the Molineux scrapheap, then there is reason to be optimistic. This is an attractive proposition for any manager. If there was one positive from Saunders’ reign it was his introduction of youngsters, with Matt Doherty, David Davis, Danny Batth and Liam McAlinden all honouring the Wolves shirt with respectable performances. The chance to mould this group in your own image would be the dream of many managers and whoever is given the opportunity to do so is in an enviable position. Names being bandied about are the likes of Darren Ferguson, Owen Coyle and Steve Davis. Any of the three would be welcome – especially given their propensity to play attractive football.It’s going to be a long way back to where we ‘enjoyed’ three years of football under Mick McCarthy. Mistakes have been made.

Lessons have been learned. But this may just be exactly what this club needed. We’ll never die, we’ll never die…Gulraj Kular