A season which promised so much for Wolverhampton Wanderers ended with supporters glad to see the back of it.
Bruno Lage’s maiden Premier League campaign saw the club in Champions League contention in mid-February following a 2-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur. Indeed, Wolves were one point ahead of Spurs in the Premier League table at that time.
Spurs rallied and finished fourth to secure Champions League football next term. Wolves, meanwhile, lost nine of their final 14 matches to freefall down the table. By the end of an arduous 38-game slog, as one Wolves supporter humorously put it, Lage’s team managed to finish 10th in a one horse race for eighth place.
READ: Bruno Lage addresses Hwang form amid Wolves backlash over transfer
READ: Daniel Podence spells trouble as Ruben Neves makes point in final Wolves interview
The inquest has already begun at Wolves and although Lage appears set to be given the chance to resurrect his tenure, the head coach has used up most of the credit he banked in the opening two thirds of last season. John Ruddy and Marcal’s exits have already been confirmed, while Romain Saiss looks set to follow suit.
Joao Moutinho is in talks over a contract extension, but midfield partner Ruben Neves admits he may have played his final match for the club. Wolves are gearing up for a summer of change.
A lot of those changes will be implemented due to the failings of the last three months. Here are BirminghamLive’s ratings for each Wolves player across the course of the 2021/22 campaign…
Jose Sa 9
Where would Wolves be without Jose Sa? He had an extraordinary season and kept Wolves in games that they probably should have lost. It was no surprise to see him win both players’ and supporters’ player of the year.
Conor Coady 8
The Wolves captain enjoyed a very solid season up until Wolves’ collapse in March. His highlights reel includes that miraculous goal-line block to deny Diogo Jota a goal for Liverpool back in December.
Max Kilman 8.5
Kilman was undoubtedly the star of the defence and his injury was one of the main factors behind Wolves’ woeful end to the season. The 24-year-old has made a name for himself in the Premier League after playing a bit-part under Nuno previously.
Romain Saiss 7.5
The man Lage calls the ‘Moroccan Maldini’ was having a superb season before jetting off to represent his country in the Africa Cup of Nations. He lost some rhythm upon his return and ended the season hopelessly out of form. His performances against Leeds United and Chelsea in particular took some of the gloss off what was probably his finest season in old gold.
Willy Boly 6
Boly produced some good performances after finally returning to action in March, but he also looked a yard slower than he was at his imperious best and paid the price at times. Lage will hope Boly can complete a full pre-season after overcoming his chronic injury problems.
Nelson Semedo 8
The Portuguese full-back showed why Wolves paid £30million to sign him from Barcelona with a string of consistent displays. His hamstring injuries played a part in Wolves’ demise.
Jonny Castro Otto 6.5
Like Boly, Jonny stepped in to ease Wolves’ injury concerns and the Spaniard showed his versatility to fill in at right wing-back in Semedo’s absence. Jonny was way more solid than he should have been after two horrific knee injuries in such a short space of time.
Rayan Ait-Nouri 7
Ait-Nouri started the season out of favour, but he eventually convinced Lage that he had more to offer than Marcal at left wing-back. There were some very impressive performances along the way and Ait-Nouri was one of the few Wolves players to emerge from the final two months of the season with credit.
Marcal 6
The Brazilian has been a huge favourite of Lage’s, but Jonny’s return means he has now served his purpose and can move on. He started the season strongly but it soon became apparent that other than the occasional wicked cross from out wide, Marcal offers very little going forward.
Ruben Neves 9
It looks like we have witnessed Neves’ final season in old gold - and what a season it has been. Had it not been for his injury in March, we might be sitting here discussing the prospect of European football. Neves has been the heartbeat of Wolves’ team for five years and deserves to play at the very highest level.
Joao Moutinho 8
Moutinho bagged a couple of brilliant goals in January to help Wolves to crucial wins over Manchester United and Brentford. He lost his way without Neves, but there’s no question that he still has something to offer Wolves.
Leander Dendoncker 6.5
The Belgian frustrates supporters with his wasteful finishing and ended the season by missing a sitter at Anfield. He does have his uses though and dominant displays in wins over Tottenham and Aston Villa justified his regular starting place.
Francisco Trincao 5
Trincao’s talent is undeniable, but the on-loan Barcelona man only treated us to a few glimpses of it during the season. Other than those magical moments against Leeds and Chelsea, Trincao failed to impress.
Pedro Neto 6
Lage used the final three months of the season to build Neto’s fitness up and only restored the Portuguese winger to Wolves’ starting line-up in the last few games. A half fit Neto was more productive than some of Lage’s other forwards though.
Hwang Hee-chan 5
On the face of it, Hwang managed five goals and one assist in his first Premier League campaign. However, four of those goals arrived in his first six outings, meaning Hwang scored just once in his final 24 matches. Other than his ability to score goals, it was difficult to see what else he contributed to the team in those early days. Once the goals and confidence dried up, Hwang’s selection started to baffle regular watchers of Wolves.
Daniel Podence 7
Podence was unquestionably the best and most consistent Wolves attacker across the season. He had to wait patiently to force his way into the team, but Wolves’ best football invariably arrived when Podence was pulling the strings in the pockets of space behind Jimenez. If he upped his numbers - five goals and four assists in all competitions last term - Podence’s talents would grab a wider audience.
Raul Jimenez 6
There was a two-month period between September, when Jimenez scored his first goal against Southampton, and late November when the Mexican seemed to be back to his best. But aside from the occasional glimpse, such as his superb goal in the win at Spurs, Jimenez hasn’t offered a great deal in the second half of the season. He is no longer undroppable.
Fabio Silva 5
Silva had a fraction of Jimenez’s game time, but the fact of the matter is that Wolves’ £35m record signing failed to score a single goal in 2021/22, Strides have been made in the way Silva plays, but that deal leaves those who made it open to scrutiny.
Players who played fewer than 10 Premier League games:
John Ruddy, Yerson Mosquera, Toti Gomes, Ki-Jana Hoever, Luke Cundle, Chiquinho, Chem Campbell
