The statistics and tactics that explain how Wolves won the Championship
The race for the final automatic promotion spot in the Championship took another intriguing turn on Tuesday night when Cardiff lost to Derby, but Wolves no longer have to concern themselves with the teams below them in the league table. Having secured promotion with a 2-0 win against Birmingham a fortnight ago, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side wrapped up the title in style at the weekend by beating Bolton 4-0.
Wolves have been spoken about as the best team in Championship history in recent weeks and there is some merit to those claims. They have won the title with two games to spare and will overtake the points tally of 102 set by Newcastle in 2009-10 and Leicester in 2013-14 if they win their final two matches. However, even if Wolves pick up six more points over the next fortnight, they will fall short of the remarkable total set by Steve Coppell’s Reading side in the 2005-06 season, when they won 106 points and lost just two of their 46 matches (one of which was on the opening day of the season).
Wolves still have one record to play for though. If they beat Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland, they will set a record number of victories (32 in 46 games) for a Championship season. Regardless of records, there is still good reason to think this Wolves side is quite special.
They have not been utterly dominant from a statistical standpoint this season – they rank second for pass accuracy, fifth for possession and eighth for shots – but, like the top sides in any league, they bide their time before creating the best chances possible. Nuno doesn’t encourage a shoot-on-site policy – even if Rúben Neves’ stunning collection of goals have all come from outside the box. The champions have created 89 “big chances” as defined by Opta, which is 24 more than their closest challengers, Aston Villa, who have created 65. To put that figure in context, it’s worth considering that the gap from first to second is the same as the gap from second to 20th (QPR on 41), which highlights just how often Wolves have carved through their opponents.
Their style of play may be the worst kept secret in the Championship but, like Manchester City in their Premier League, they carry it out so effectively that they remain incredibly hard to stop. Wolves impose themselves on matches in a way that instantly puts their challengers on the back foot and eases the pressure on their own defence. Their wing-backs, Matt Doherty and Barry Douglas, play so high up field when they have the ball that opposition wingers are pinned back and cannot pose a threat on the counter. As a result, Nuno’s side have conceded the fewest shots in the league (9.8 per game) even though they boast more possession from deep than any other team.
That is where Neves and Conor Coady, the midfielder-turned-centreback, have been so key. Their composure and willingness to take the ball from goalkeeper John Ruddy draws markers out, which enables them to use their range of passing to switch play and inject urgency into attacks to catch teams off guard. The Portuguese midfielder has been the star, averaging the most accurate long balls of any outfielder in the league (8.6 per game) – Coady ranks third. They pick out the attacking wing-backs or drop balls over the defence for the infield runs of the wide forwards.
When it comes to hitting accurate long passes, Wolves are different to the 23 other teams in the division. While every other team has their first choice goalkeeper at the top of the long passing rankings, Wolves have three players above Ruddy (Neves, Coady and Romain Saïss). That goes a long way to explaining why they have a higher percentage of possession in their own third than any other club (25%). They rely on the passing ability of their defensive players, who have the ability to keep the ball at the back and wait for the right moment to launch those crucial vertical or diagonal passes.
The team is so comfortable in their way of thinking that it would be a surprise if they struggle in the Premier League next season. Their current crop of players is more than capable of standing up to the fight, so it will be interesting to see just how active the club are in the summer. They have the means to spend big should they choose to but a measured approach may serve them better than a disruptive and unnecessary overhaul. One of the most impressive features of Nuno’s coaching has been his ability to bring together a dressing room that could easily have developed an obvious divide.
From early on in the campaign it was clear that the entire squad were pulling in the same direction. The high-profile arrivals have not only stepped up to the physical and psychological demands of a challenging league, but they have largely integrated into the squad seamlessly. Wolves will enhance their strength in depth in the transfer window, and rightly so, but they should be wary of disturbing the team’s harmony and identity.
If they can get the blend right and add four or five new faces to improve an already strong squad, Wolves will return to the top flight without fear, confident of continuing with an approach that has proved so effective in a superb title-winning campaign.
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