Wolverhampton Wanderers have appointed Rob Edwards as manager on a three-year deal, bringing the 42-year-old back to the club where he played more than 100 games. The move comes as Wolves sit bottom of the Premier League without a win this season, eight points from safety and facing a 90.15 percent predicted chance of relegation according to Opta.
Edwards left Middlesbrough after less than six months in charge, prompting fury from the Championship club. Wolves paid around £3 million in compensation to secure his release. Middlesbrough cancelled Edwards' pre-match press conference and stood him down from matchday duties, accusing Wolves of breaking Premier League rules over the approach.
Desperate situation at Molineux
Wolves have lost nine of their 11 league games this season, scoring the fewest goals and conceding the most in the division. The club sacked Vitor Pereira last week, just weeks after he signed a new three-year contract. Edwards takes over a squad that has been beaten by all three promoted clubs and five of the seven teams immediately above them in the table.
His decision to leave second-placed Middlesbrough for a relegation battle was driven by personal factors. Edwards lives in the West Midlands with his wife and young son, and saw the opportunity to manage a Premier League club he knows intimately from his playing days between 2004 and 2008.
Return of a familiar face
Edwards previously served as Wolves' interim manager in 2016 after Walter Zenga's sacking, though he failed to win either of his two matches in charge. He also worked as a youth coach at the club before managing Luton to Premier League promotion in 2023. Most recently, he won seven of 15 matches at Middlesbrough.
Wolves chairman Jeff Shi said: «I know Rob very well and I have seen his growth in different jobs. He's a very good person, he knows the club very well, he knows the city, the fans and he is very talented.» Shi emphasized the need to «refresh the whole club with a new coach's philosophy, bringing his own identity and ideas.»
Matt Jackson, Wolves' head of football development, highlighted Edwards' proven ability to shift culture. He said: «We have to be realistic about where we are, and we definitely need to be held accountable. We now need to get that belief into the players quickly and think Rob will be great culturally for the whole football club.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
