Wolves 2024/25 season review: Success, failures, what's next and more

From a desperate relegation battle to a historic winning run, fans endured plenty of lows and enjoyed a lot of highs throughout the campaign.

Wolves eventually finished 16th in the Premier League - dropping two places due to results elsewhere and their final day draw with Brentford - and we take a look at the key points across the season.

Successes

Wolves' biggest successes in 2024/25 can be boiled down to two things that ultimately helped the club survive relegation.

Stopping the rot and staying up was a success in itself and the six-game winning run that started in March and finished at the end of April secured Wolves' Premier League status.

The win over Southampton started it, while the comeback win over Ipswich and the exciting 4-2 win at home to Spurs were stand-outs.

On top of that, Wolves did the league double over Manchester United for the first time since 1979/80 and this six-game run was mostly done without star man Matheus Cunha.

Wolves found a way to manage without their best player and along the way the team and club rebuilt their relationship with the fan base.

Vitor Pereira's charisma - and ability to turn the team's fortunes around on the pitch - played a vital role in Wolves getting the supporters back on board and despite failing to win any of the final four games of the campaign, they were able to take some positives into the summer.

That winning run and restoring some faith in the fan base stood out as major successes in an otherwise difficult season.

However, a third success can be considered when you look at the goals scored. Cunha's 15 and Jorgen Strand Larsen's 14 were very impressive, while the team scored 54 in total, which is a club record for the Premier League. 

Failures

Wolves' failures began with the defence as Pereira inherited a team sitting 19th in the table having conceded 40 goals from 16 games.

That ultimately led to a relegation battle and Gary O'Neil's sacking - with games such as the 6-2 defeat to Chelsea, 5-3 to Brentford, 4-2 to Bournemouth and 4-0 to Everton all sticking out for the wrong reasons.

Wolves had a remarkably difficult set of fixtures to start the season, but the squad was also left short and O'Neil and the players suffered as a result.

Once the results and performances took a turn for the worst, so did the disciplinary issues.

Jose Sa reacted to alleged criticism from a fan in the South Bank and launched into the crowd at half-time of the terrible home defeat to Bournemouth.

Mario Lemina lost the captaincy after a coming together with team-mates and first team coach Shaun Derry after the loss to West Ham.

Rayan Ait-Nouri lashed out against Ipswich in O'Neil's final game - following a late home defeat - and got himself sent off, while Cunha was given a retrospective ban for his actions in the same game, where he elbowed an Ipswich staff member before ripping glasses off his face and breaking them.

Pereira improved the discipline overall, but Cunha still saw red when he kicked, hit and headbutted Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez in the FA Cup.

These embarrassing moments plagued the early parts of the season.

Managers

O'Neil had a tough fixture list to contend with and a difficult end to the transfer window, but was unable to turn the tide as Wolves sunk into the relegation zone.

His side were being battered by set pieces and struggling defensively, meaning the club's first ever set piece coach Jack Wilson lasted just three months in the job.

O'Neil struggled with his formation in a switch to a back four that did not work, while also struggling to fit his talented midfielders into the team.

As the performances worsoned he also began to publicly distance himself from the players and that spelled the end of his tenure.

Pereira came in and simplified the players' roles, particularly defensively, while also giving them more responsibility.

He was able to unify the fan base and mastermind a route out of the relegation zone, before surviving with ease.

Off the field

Firstly, Wolves did not do enough in the summer to support O'Neil and they left him with an unbalanced side.

Pedro Neto was not replaced properly, while no centre-back came in.

A new defender arrived in January and Wolves did enough in the window to give Pereira the right tools, but they must approach this summer differently.

Changes in hierarchy, with Matt Hobbs' departure, mean it will be fascinating to see how Fosun attack the transfer window.

Wolves may also need to select a new captain again with Nelson Semedo weighing up his options and the new contract on the table.

One of O'Neil's parting gifts was making Semedo skipper and he has brought an impressive professionalism to the role.

What next?

Changes behind the scenes seem to indicate Pereira is being backed to deliver more success and that is the biggest challenge facing Wolves.

Cunha has left for Manchester United and Rayan Ait-Nouri is likely to leave for Manchester City and Wolves have no choice but to replace them properly.

Cunha's goals will be a miss and that must be addressed, while Pereira needs a balanced and competitive squad.

At least two number 10s, with the future of Goncalo Guedes and Hwang Hee-chan uncertain, is essential. More attacking flair and speed is necessary, as well as a back-up striker.

A central midfielder could be useful with Tommy Doyle and Boubacar Traore potentially leaving, while Wolves need another left-sided centre-back to give competition to Toti Gomes, while also offering a replacement if Toti is unavailable.

If that is achieved, Pereira has already proven he can be competitive in the Premier League and Wolves will continue to head in the right direction.

But plenty of lessons need to be learned for that to become a reality.