Wolves for sale: Five important questions
There was silence from Molineux today as the fallout from Steve Morgan's shock decision to sell the club continued.
Speculation has been rife as to why Morgan has stepped down as chairman with immediate effect.
Today we pose five questions that Morgan and Wolves need to answer.
Why now?
Morgan's timing, with fans already growing increasingly concerned at the team's indifferent start to the season, is questionable.
It leaves the club in limbo off the field – and if the poor results continue it creates a perfect storm.
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Wolves legend and club vice-president Steve Bull has known Morgan for many years.
"I know there was a confrontation on Saturday and whether that's flipped him I don't know," Bull said.
"Im a bit gutted, we were just started to get the club built around youth team development and the poker has gone in the fire.
"I think he's done absolutely brilliant for Wolves. He's a genuine man who's give his all – it must have taken something big for him to make this decision."
What reason?
Personal reasons, a lack of support from fans, exasperation at Wolves' long term underachievement, an unprofitable club, a split in the boardroom, ill health – all reasons suggested for Morgan's departure.
Ex-Wolves player and radio commentator Andy Thompson thinks Morgan may simply have had enough.
"I think everybody's surprised at the announcement," Thompson added. "You don't know if he's lost a bit of heart in the club, I don't think anybody knows, people in the club are just as surprised.
"It's a big responsibility that he took on. He was after a club when he did buy Wolves, maybe it's taken its toll, he's just thought 'enough is enough'.
"Maybe he's thought, 'do I really need this?"
What price?
Morgan spent a tenner to buy Wolves from Sir Jack, on the promise of investing £30m in the club.
Off the field he has bankrolled the Compton Park academy complex and a new £18m Stan Cullis stand – the first phase of a planned £40m redevelopment of Molineux.
On the field Morgan has been criticised for not spending enough money on players, with fans eager for more investment in the team.
But what price will Morgan command for his 100 per cent stake? Just down the road Albion were close to a recent £150m takeover.
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Rob Wilson, football finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University put an 'in the air' figure of between £35m and £30m on the purchase price of the club
"Simply because of the historic value of Wolverhampton Wanderers," he said.
"They have been in the Premier League once or twice, they have been a fairly well established Championship club, although they have flirted with with promotion and relegation, they have a strong following, a huge amount of market value because of its history.
"As a purchase price, something around £25-30m but that's just the purchase, that doesn't include investment which is why you tend to see clubs coming up for sale.
"There are probably a number of football clubs in the West Midlands that are available, the difference with Wolves is that historic value, the potential value of really stabilising the football club and taking them back to [the] success they have seen in the past and they are a big, well followed football club, so if we compared them to other teams we would consider them to be one of the bigger teams.
"I think they've got everything going for them as a potential acquisition, assuming that their losses are not too significant."
Mr Wilson said a true value depends on how much the club owes.
"I would expect an owner to try and make some return on an investment from a business point of view," he added.
"It is difficult to put a figure on the true value."
What assurances for fans?
"Steve would like to relay to all concerned that his ongoing commitment and financial support to Wolves will continue until a new owner can be found," Wolves' bombshell statement said.
Other than that? No assurances at all regarding the club's long-term future.
Thompson believes Morgan is not the kind of man to risk putting Wolves in any financial trouble.
"He's still going to be supporting the club financially for now, which is good to hear – you've seen it in the past where chairman leave the club in all kinds of bother," he said.
"To be fair, Jez Moxey was probably running the day-to-day anyway, Morgan's got someone there he can trust whose heart is with the club.
"I don't think he's going to sell it to just anybody
"He made that promise to Sir Jack when he bought the club, that he would take care of it. I'm sure he'll honour that and leave the club in good hands."
Bull said it could be years before the new owner was found.
"It could be months, it could be years, we don't know, and the fans will be wondering who it's going to be," he said.
"We'll be in a bit bit of limbo for a while, but the important thing is everyone rallies round and sticks together, the staff, the players and the fans."
What next?
The search for a new owner is likely to be long and protracted.
Wolves fan John Lalley suggested Morgan would find it 'very hard' to sell Wolves.
He said: "It's difficult to make a football club work and he's going to find it very hard to sell in my eyes.
"Villa have been up for sale for months, not to mention West Brom. Unless you are a very inviting proposal and in the Premier League, the odds are against you.
"I feel we're in the same position now as were when he took over eight years ago.
"When Steve Morgan first took over at the Wolves I was convinced he had their best interests at heart, as were thousands of other supporters.
"It all seemed to start going wrong when he tore into the players after the 3-0 Liverpool defeat back in 2012.
"He seemed to lose the plot after that with the appointments of Terry O'Connor and Stale Solbakken."
There is sure to be uncertainty for weeks and months to come. Will Wolves end up with a British businessman, a foreign oligarch, a consortium?
Bull said of a prospective new owner: "Apart from putting money in the playing side I don't know what else a new owner should change.
"We're one of very few clubs in a good financial position."
Thompson added: "The new owner, whoever it ends up being, has got to come in, assess what the strengths and weaknesses are and, at the end of the day they need to be looking at promotion to the Premier League."
