Here's why I think Wolves' seventh-placed #PL finish is actually very, very disappointing.

I think if you offered Wolves fans seventh at the start of the season, they'd have gladly taken it. But it could have been much better than that.

[THREAD]

#WWFC

Wolves also finished seventh last year. Here's how their two seasons back in the #PL compare:

2018/19 2019/20

Played: 38/38
Points: 57/59
Wins: 16/15
Draws: 9/14
Losses: 13/9

Failing to convert draws into wins is the main reason why we are here.

Why did that happen? First, I think it's because the squad is too small. Nuno's substitutes this season didn't have the impact they did last season, or compared to their rivals this year.

Look at the comparison between last season and this season:

Direct goal involvements by substitutes in 2018/19:

WHU (A) - Traore goal x Bonatini assist
SOU (H) - Cavaleiro assist
BOU (H) - Cavaleiro goal
TOT (A) - Costa goal
NEW (H) - Traore assist

These goals earned Wolves five points. They would've finished 11th without them.

Direct goal involvements by substitutes in 2019/20:

CHE (H) - Cutrone goal
WHU (H) - Cutrone goal x Neto assist
WHU (A) - Neto goal

So, two less involvements and Cutrone left in January but, very, very significantly, none of these goals actually earned Wolves more points.

Compare that to the teams in fifth and sixth, who are guaranteed Europa League football irrespective of the FA Cup final:

Leicester: 13 involvements, six points earned
Spurs: Four involvements, three points earned

The squad depth was a problem. Wolves were very poor in the second half of the season, as the below table shows, which suggests - contrary to what Nuno has always said - these players did burn out and do need a rest or wholesale changes. https://twitter.com/SocanalysisHQ/status/1287479626244161536

Wolves were also not as strong in the dying minutes as they were last season, which I argue was directly caused by the subs not having an impact.

2018/19 2019/20

Points won in the 75th minute or later: 20/9
Points lost in the 75th minute or later: 5/6
Net: 15/3

And some of Nuno's tried and tested players were objectively not as good as last season. And that's a problem when only 12 players got over 1,000 minutes in 2019/20, and only Burnley made fewer changes to the starting XI.

These statistics are via WhoScored:

And then there's the last two transfer windows

2019/20 new signings in the #PL:

Jesus Vallejo: Two matches (left)
Patrick Cutrone: 12 matches, two goals (left)
Bruno Jordao: One match
Pedro Neto: 29 matches, three goals
Daniel Podence: Nine matches, one goal

A team in its second #PL season, still in the Europa League and again fighting for Europe should never, ever have a bench that looks like this.

Ryan Bennett was - and still would be - the only one to have scored a top-flight goal. https://twitter.com/Wolves/status/1215996785425965058

Of course, there have been positives. Adama Traore has been sensational, and Rui Patricio, Romain Saiss, Ruben Neves and Raul Jimenez I think improved on last season.

And don't forget - there's still the Europa League up for grabs!

But if Wolves are to finish next season in sixth or higher, they absolutely have to get decent reinforcements in during the transfer window.

As has been shown, a small squad, no impact off the bench, fixture congestion and strong rivals have pushed them down to seventh.

Thank you for reading!

@TimSpiers, @TimNash_1, @JoeEdwards_Star, @PeteLansley, @JacquiOatley, @stevewollaston