Wolverhampton Wanderers

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We asked for your views on whether Wolves are ready for the new season as they prepare to start at home to Manchester City on Saturday.

Here are some of your comments:

David: Wolves have been lacklustre, disorganised and creativity-free in all of their hardly challenging friendlies. There is little sign of a team capable of finishing outside the bottom third of the Premier League.

Baz: Unless the sold players are replaced with established, proven ones, I fear the worst. If the pre-season games are any reflection of current squad quality, they will be in a survival battle and yet another decent manager will go because of the lack of support. He will be in demand.

Allen: No! Very poor pre-season - they are not adaptable enough, they can't change from a rigid, five-at-the-back system to counter the opposition and so get overrun in midfield. Yes, fans want more incomings but we need desperately to be able to change our playing style within a match to outplay the opposition. Clearly the loss of Semedo, Ait-Nouri and Cunha place Wolves in an unenviable place this season.

Tod: Light years away from "ready". Embarrassing transfer policy under which we sell some of our best players each year then look around desperately for (inadequate) replacements at the last minute, as if the sales were wholly unexpected. Two points from first 10 games if we're lucky, and manager will have walked out by Christmas. What a complete, recurring fiasco. Get your money on relegation.

Gary: We look OK - if the season was still five weeks away. We just seem to be lacking in all areas of the pitch. We played like it was an end-of-season testimonial. Let's hope there's three terrible teams in the league this season, as that is the only way I can see us not being in the bottom three. Time for Jeff to put his hands in his very deep pockets.

Pre-season is completed and the countdown to the 2025-26 season is on.

It's been a quiet summer at Wolves with three arrivals and six departures.

Wolves start the season at home to Manchester City on Saturday - but are they ready?

Get in touch

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Wolves finished their pre-season friendlies with a 1-0 defeat by Celta Vigo at Molineux on Saturday.

Pablo Duran's volley just before the hour mark was enough to secure the win for the La Liga side.

Before the match, Wolves honoured former player Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in the club's first home match since they both tragically died in a car accident earlier this summer.

You have been sharing your stories and photos about why you love Wolves.

Here is a final selection of your submissions, but do make sure you scroll down this page to see all the best responses from throughout the week:

Stuart: Imagine as an eight-year-old Wolves fan and Wayne Clarke moves into your street. The kids hanging out at the end of his drive, Wolves annuals and copies of Match Weekly in hand ready to sign. Through the highs and many lows of our illustrious club, the support never fades. Wolves is like Bagpuss - ragged at the seams but we love it. It's OUR club. Once a Wolf always a Wolf!

Toni: I grew up in west London. I was four, my brother was six, and we needed PE kit for school. My mother marched us down Portobello Road and into a shop that sold school uniforms... I came out with a Wolves shirt (black round collar) and my brother with an Arsenal shirt. That was it for both of us. I still support the Wolves nearly 60 years later.

Coventry City want £15m for their Dutch right-back Milan van Ewijk. Wolves and Wolfsburg are among the clubs keen on signing the 24-year-old. (Coventry Telegraph)

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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This week, we are asking you to share your stories and photos for why you fell in love with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Here is a selection of your submissions:

Derek: When I was seven we were in the playground at school and I was asked who I supported. This was in 1953. I had no idea - there was no football on television and I didn't know any teams. Then I saw a photo of Wolves and they have obviously got the best kit and a great name. I've supported them ever since, even during the dark days when they were in the Fourth Division. You hear stories about people changing their team, but they aren't real football fans. A team is for life - as Wolves is for me.

Jennie: My father took me when I was able to stand in the kids' enclosure. There weren't many girls so I always got to the front. I had five brothers but none of them liked football. We went on the coach to Molineux with crisps and bottle pop. I was transfixed by the players and crowd reaction and it's the best memory I have of my dad, who died when I was 11 in 1974. I am a Wolves fan through and through and so grateful to have shared that with my dad.

Send us your pictures and stories here

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Wolves will pay tribute to Diogo Jota and brother Andre Silva before Saturday's pre-season friendly against Celta Vigo at Molineux.

A minute's silence will be observed before kick-off and floral wreaths laid by senior members of the club.

Wolves' first game of the season, at home to Manchester City on 16 August, is the dedicated match of remembrance and will feature a fan mosaic, a minute's applause and a rendition of Jota's favourite song, Sting's Fields Of Gold.

A commemorative 100-page programme will also be produced for the fixture.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Danielle Sarver Coombs

When it comes to our love for a football club, the answer to why we do lies in "both psychological and societal" reasons.

In the first part of her chat with BBC Sport, researcher and co-writer of the Routledge Handbook of Sport Fans and Fandom Danielle Sarver Coombs spoke about the part that identity and tradition play.

And yet when we are caught up in the emotions of a tough defeat or nerves of an important match, we can often ask why we put ourselves through it.

"There are psychological processes at work and physiological ones in terms of how we respond and engage," Sarver Coombs said.

"An example that I always give is when I take the train to work, I go past Arsenal's stadium and I feel literally nothing other than: 'Oh, that's a big building'. Whereas on a train to Manchester, I went by Villa Park and my heart started pounding. I got all excited and was trying to take pictures out the window.

"I had a visceral reaction to this place. We can't pretend we don't have that sort of physical reaction because we do.

"When someone is talking about a controversial decision and I feel myself getting wound up, even though I intellectually know that I can't control it and that it's just a game, my body doesn't know that.

"My gut doesn't know that and so I have this really emotional response and we can't control that."

A 2023 book titled 'Football on the brain: why minds love sport, external' suggests it comes down to 'an understandable and logical consequence of the human mind's natural inclination to find meaning through beliefs... It's a religion as far as the brain is concerned'.

But it not just about what is going on inside the mind but outside influences too.

"There is a sociological element to it because the community part is such a huge driver and benefit for us," Sarver Coombs explains.

"Sociologically, we are driven to be part of communities. We are driven to find our groups that we can be members of. Sport provides a way to do that - this sense that I was chosen to be part of this community and it's something bigger than I am."

As the game expands, unrest among supporters seems to be increasing, but how does that impact this ingrained love for a club?

"You always go through these cycles when the game is changing," Sarver Coombs said.

"Despite all the changes, the traditions remain so strong and it's such a huge draw that it becomes really hard to actually separate yourself from it. Even if you do, it tends to be a short-term separation. You get sucked back in because something happens.

"People don't want that change, but then we adapt to it and continue moving forward."

Browse this page to see lots of fan stories for how you fell in love with your club.

And check out those from other Premier League teams over here

This week, we are asking you to share your stories and photos for why you fell in love with Wolves.

Here is a selection of your submissions:

Jennie: My father took me when I was able to stand in the kids enclosure. There weren't many girls so I always got to the front. I had five brothers but none liked football. We went on the coach to Molineux with crisps and a bottle of pop. I was transfixed by the players and crowd reaction and it's the best memory I have of my dad, who died when I was 11 in 1974. I am a Wolves fan through and through and so grateful to have shared that with my dad. Derek Dougan, Kenny Hibbitt and John Richards were my era.

Send us your pictures and stories here

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

It was revealed by Wolves a few weeks ago that 94% of season tickets at Molineux were renewed for the 2025-26 season, which means I'll expect to be seeing many of the same faces near the press box when I turn up to cover home games.

Sometimes you can spot the families, and the different generations - parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren. Some stop to talk, at times to share a grumble, but others are defiantly optimistic: "We'll be all right if we win this one!".

Like all communities, there are inevitable changes over time. A group of ladies, obviously friends for decades, used to gather in one corner of the concourse close to the press box, clutching hot drinks. Last season, the group was down to one but she was there early every time, with her coffee cup, cheerfully confident that Wolves would win.

Football clubs rise and fall with their results, week to week and decade to decade, and ultimately that status dictates how they are judged from outside. The game, and the Premier League especially, now has a worldwide audience so there are many who faithfully follow Wolves from thousands of miles away who might never have been to Molineux, or even to England, and never will.

Their form of fandom is entirely valid, and increasingly relevant for the viability of the modern game. The Premier League would be much smaller without it.

But, looking and listening on the concourses, you are reminded that football clubs are so much more than scores and numbers. They are a community, drawn apparently at random from all classes and generations, united by one devotion. Like all relationships, it goes through times of strain - and faith can be tested - but the love remains. And when it matters most, at times of real trouble and personal loss, that community finds strength together.

A lady sometimes emails me during games at Molineux to tell me she is listening to find out whether her husband and son, both season-ticket holders, will be in a good mood when they get home. I'm sure there were some quiet evenings in their house last season.

But, I'm also sure they will be in the 94%, always hoping the result will send them home happy, but really there because it's Wolves - and that's where they belong.

Join the conversation and tell your story about why you love Wolves

Opta's Supercomputer has once again predicted the upcoming 2025-26 Premier League season by using a model to simulate every match 10,000 times.

Image source, Opta

After only happening once in Premier League history beforehand, and not since 1997-98, all three promoted teams have gone straight back down in each of the past two seasons.

Unsurprisingly then, Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland are ranked as the likeliest trio to be relegated by the Supercomputer's model next year - with the Black Cats the only team notto win the title in any of the supercomputer's 10,000 simulations.

Championship play-off winners Sunderland are also relegated the most often of all 20 teams, going down in 66.4% of simulations.

Their fellow Premier League newboys are actually deemed to survive slightly more often than not, with Daniel Farke's side going down in 48.1% of sims, while Scott Parker's Clarets doing so in 45.9%.

As for Wolves, they had a dismal start to last season but improved significantly once Vitor Pereira arrived. Losing Matheus Cunha is a big blow however, and the Old Gold are fourth favourites to go down according to the supercomputer - doing so in 26.4% of sims.

Similarly, Graham Potter's West Ham have sold a key player this summer after Mohammed Kudus switched to Tottenham.

Potter will back himself to get a better tune out of his side after his first pre-season with them, but West Ham are still relegated in 22% of simulations.

Read Opta's full Supercomputer breakdown here, external

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Wolves are in talks with Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund over the sale of striker Fabio Silva.

The 23-year-old is surplus to requirements at Molineux, with Wolves looking for over £17m.

Silva has not played for the club since November 2023 and was training away from the squad before joining Las Palmas on loan last season.

He scored 10 goals in 26 games in Spain and has also had loan spells at PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Belgian side Anderlecht and Scottish giants Rangers.

Silva was Wolves' record signing at the time when he arrived from Porto in a deal worth £35m in 2020 but has scored just five goals in 72 appearances.

This week, we are asking you to share your stories and photos for why you fell in love with Wolves.

Here is a selection of your submissions:

Stephen: I come from a West Brom family so I am the black sheep. Willing or not, Dad sacrificed himself on the Molineux altar to please his youngest son. My favourite player was Hughie Curran, who scored two goals in the away leg of the Texaco Cup final win.

I travelled with Dad to his beloved Hawthorns. West Brom had just scored, Curran was substituted and John Richards came on. Kick-off. "Pass to Waggy [Dave Wagstaffe]," I shouted - totally ignored. Then, Richards went past one, past two and scored. The King is dead, long live King John. Thanks Dad!

Send us your pictures and stories here

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

'Why did you fall in love with your club?'

This week, we have asked hundreds of football fans across the world that very question and got hundreds of different answers.

Yes, the themes might be similar - born near a ground; family supported the team; watched a certain player - but the individual story will be unique to each supporter.

The relationship between a fan and their club should not be underestimated, with people ploughing uncountable amounts of money, time and emotional energy into their support for their team.

But what is that makes us love our clubs the way we do?

"A lot of it comes down to our identity," researcher and co-writer of the Routledge Handbook of Sport Fans and Fandom Danielle Sarver Coombs told BBC Sport.

"We become part of this group that means so much to us. It becomes a way to find a community that you're a part of and to find a group of people that, no matter where you are, you could find a pub with other fans of your team. You have that kinship.

"In a world that's increasingly quite lonely, this provides one of the ways that we can have connections so we can have the feeling that we're part of something bigger."

Connection and identity plays a big role in someone's love for their club - particularly when it is a family link.

Many fans talk of being born into who they support - that the connection is so strong there was no other team they could, or would, have chosen.

"The great thing with football is that there's such a strong heritage component to it," Sarver Coombs said. "Often, your grandfather, father, mother or whomever was a fan of the team, so it's part of your family's tradition.

"It's handed down from generation to generation."

The uniqueness of football fandom is something researchers are increasingly investigating.

An article, external published earlier this year in psychology journal Frontiers discusses how football fans often follow follow teams with 'significant attachment and commitment, sometimes to the bewilderment of those outside of the game'.

"With football clubs, you have decades of tradition that you can tap into and it's going to keep coming," Sarver Coombs added.

"Players come and go, managers come and go, shirts change, badges change, but the club itself - the heart and soul of it remains constant. You always have that piece that you're tied to, so the longevity of clubs is a really important part.

"But also, that constant in-person opportunity to be present in a community space really sets football apart from other passions that may be transient or do not have that constant engagement."

Share your story in our My Club My Passion campaign

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New Wolves left-back David Moller Wolfe says it was "meant to be" that he joined the club.

The 23-year-old became Vitor Pereira's third signing of the summer over the weekend when he completed his £10m move from AZ Alkmaar, with his moving following the arrivals of Jhon Arias and Fer Lopez.

Not only is Wolfe sharing a name with the symbol on the club's badge, he also has an image of the animal tattooed on his arm.

"I felt incredibly wanted from the second I talked to Domenico [Teti] and the second I talked to the coach. Obviously, the Premier League is a big, big league, especially also in Norway," he told club media after signing.

"It's the biggest league that people watch, so when a Premier League club came in, and Wolverhampton came in for me, I was extremely keen on joining.

"Personally, I think it's pretty cool to have that surname and then to play for Wolverhampton.

"Me and my brothers have actually joked a little bit about it a couple of years ago, and now it is turning into a reality. I think it was meant to be."

Wolfe made 92 appearances for AZ Alkmaar, scoring four times and providing 10 assists, and when asked what he will bring to the team, he said: "I'm an extremely hard-working player that can run up and down the left side for 90 minutes straight.

"I give a lot of energy to the team, and I always do my best to help the team.

"I'm very confident. I think I have the qualities to play in the Premier League and to deliver and to perform. Also here, I will play as a wing-back, so that means I can have even more freedom to go on offensive runs, so I can't wait."

We know the relationship between a football fan and their club is a special one so, as we gear up for the new season, we asked you to share why you fell in love with Wolves and some of your favourite moments supporting them.

Here are a selection of your submissions:

Robert: My dad came from Ironbridge, the same town as Billy Wright. He followed Wolves through the 40s and 50s before moving to London, meeting my mum and starting a family in the 60s. He took my older brother (Chelsea supporter) and I to Stamford Bridge in 1974 as Wolves were visiting. I was seven and really didn't have an allegiance at that time, so decided to support whoever won the match. Wolves did 1-0 thanks to John Richards. So that was it, followed them ever since. Through the dark times and brighter times.

Send your pictures and stories here

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New signing Jhon Arias scored on his debut for Wolves on Sunday as Vitor Pereira's men slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Girona.

The friendly, which took place against the La Liga side in north Spain, was Wolves' third of pre-season.

Yangel Herrera and Joel Roca scored for the home side before Arias came on from the bench on the hour mark and found the back of the net.

Centre-back Yerson Mosquera featured for the first time since September when he suffered a serious knee injury.

Wolves conclude their pre-season against Celta Vigo at Molineux on Saturday, 9 August.

On Monday, we asked you to tell us why you fell in love with Wolves and some of your favourite moments supporting them.

You have already been getting in touch with your photos and stories and here is just a taste from Alex:

"In 1990, I was five years old and I went to my first game: Wolves v Plymouth. I was on my dad's shoulders in the old South Bank. A huge old-fashioned terrace, one of only two stands. The stadium, like the club, was unloved and struggling.

"I grew up in Wolverhampton and could see the ground from my house. As a city it was, and probably still is, in decline. It hasn't recovered from the loss of major manufacturing in the city. The city, like its football team, had little to be proud of in those days.

"That would change when a former bricklayer from the Black Country, bought for a pittance from our fierce local rivals, burst on the scene. Like many, I idolised Steve Bull. The word 'hero' doesn't cover it. He played how every fan wanted him to. Chased every lost cause, never pulled out of a challenge and scored for fun.

"Being a Wolves fan, you get used to modest success but it's ours. No tourist fans, VAR goes against us and the press barely pay attention. But it's our club. A one-club city."

So join the conversation and send your best photos about why you love Wolves.

Your first visit to the stadium? A special kit? An amazing away trip?

Send us your pictures and stories

Dazzling Dave
Fan writer

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Nelson Semedo's departure from Wolves is finally official, but it's been shrouded in uncertainty for far too long. For weeks, fans waited for clarity, knowing the end was coming but not exactly when or how. That drawn-out farewell overshadowed what should have been a straightforward and fitting goodbye for a player who gave so much.

Semedo arrived from Barcelona in 2020, and while he faced adjustment periods, he soon built a reputation for reliability, commitment, and professionalism.

On the pitch, his overlapping runs, defensive reliability, and adaptability through several managerial changes stood out. Off the pitch, his work ethic and leadership - especially as captain - won genuine respect.

Through turbulent seasons and changing squads, Semedo's consistency anchored Wolves' right side. He quietly put in the work, handled media and club business with dignity, and never allowed contract speculation to affect his game.

Time and again, he left every ounce of effort on the pitch, week in and week out, embodying what fans expected of the Old Gold.

But the drawn-out uncertainty around his contract did the club and supporters no favours. Everyone knew a decision was looming, yet weeks passed without answers - turning a proud exit into a long goodbye that dragged on.

Fans, and likely Semedo himself, deserved better.

Now as he moves on, Wolves are left without a trusted, steady presence in defence and the dressing room. The club faces another rebuilding phase, having lost not just a player, but a leader and symbol of resilience during tough seasons.

Semedo departs with the respect and thanks of fans who watched him give his all, and with hope that his next chapter brings deserved fulfilment. His presence will be missed, but his professionalism and commitment set an example that future Wolves signings should emulate.

Now, Wolves face a real gap - not just in terms of a right-back, but also in overall squad depth and experience. As things stand, there's no obvious successor in place. Losing key players and not signing strong replacements is a recipe for trouble in the Premier League, where every weak link is punished.

Fans know that with the current squad, the club risks being outplayed and outmatched.

Wolves must act fast and smart in the transfer market. The time for hesitation is over. If the club doesn't invest and bring in quality signings, the threat of a tough season - and another relegation battle - grows more real. The fans want ambition, not just survival, and that means planning better for departures like Semedo's.

Find more from Dazzling Dave at Always Wolves, external

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on captain Nelson Semedo leaving Molineux after a five-season stint, making 182 appearances and playing under five different managers.

Here are some of your replies:

John: Losing Semedo was inevitable. I know the club had put a decent contract offer in front of the lad, but it was always more in hope than expectation. All the very best, Nelson. You will always be a Wolf.

Tom: A big blow to lose a player of this calibre. At times he slipped under the radar, unfairly, and he didn't always get the credit he deserved. However, his consistent performances made him a key member of the squad. He will be very difficult to replace. It's a shame to see him go, but I wish him all the best. Obrigado.

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Richard: Typical that he leaves after his best season for Wolves. Prior to that, he wasn't great. He made lots of mistakes defensively and he had no threat going forward, despite getting into good positions. I think he has proved to be a costly signing.

James: You can't blame him for coining it at the end of his contract.

Ken: You have to judge people on what they do, not what they say. Semedo just hung on, hoping to get a better offer. If he had any real regard for the club, he would have made a decision at the end of last season. Instead, by delaying so long, he has put the club in a difficult situation in terms of getting a replacement. The club should not have given him so much time.

Philip: Very unhappy with how he has handled his departure.

AS Roma are considering a move for 23-year-old Wolves and Portugal forward Fabio Silva. (Sky Sports), external

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