Wolves’ 3-2 defeat to Burnley didn’t just extend a winless run to 13 league games, it once again exposed just how far this club has fallen under Fosun. This isn’t poor form, management, or bad luck. It is a product of Fosun’s complete negligent ownership. A project that once promised to push Wolves among the elite of English football with clever investment and ambition has swiftly turned into a mess of disastrous recruitment, disappearing investment, and, most damningly, fans being left behind.
When Fosun first arrived, recruitment was our biggest strength. Smart and calculated signings like Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota, and Joao Moutinho, to name just a few, formed the backbone of the team that broke into Europe. There was a plan, a clear identity, and a squad brimming with quality that allowed us to go toe to toe with the very best in the Premier League under Nuno Espirito Santo. This feels like a lifetime ago.
In recent seasons, recruitment has become confused and sluggish. Instead of strengthening early or planning ahead, Wolves always scramble late for cheap, unproven replacements after losing key players. Star players are allowed to leave far too easily, and the players brought in are nowhere near the level needed to compete or generate a future return on investment. It is no secret Fosun want the club to be self-sustaining, but the standard of signings makes that impossible and will ultimately cost our place in the Premier League.
This summer provides the clearest example. Wolves lost three key players – Matheus Cunha, Nelson Semedo, and Rayan Ait-Nouri – only to replace them with budget options who, so far, have failed to make any impact, let alone improve the team. For Chairman Jeff Shi to call it a “very good window” shows just how disconnected the ownership has become from the reality on the pitch.
Yes, these players are difficult to replace and some of the new signings still need time, but the frustration comes from the fact that improvements were needed before anyone even left. Fans were led to believe the “penny had finally dropped” and that Fosun were ready to invest instead of sleepwalking through another season. Instead, Wolves ended the window with a net profit of £13.5 million – unacceptable for a squad that barely survived relegation last year. Sunderland have impressively shown how far a club can go with genuine investment and planning, whereas we, a team established in the Premier League for seven seasons, have lost 14 players and only brought in seven.
Combine that with a neglected academy, which seems to have no clear pathway into the first team. Young players are sent on endless loans, sold too early, or simply fail to develop, leaving Wolves without a sustainable pipeline of talent. This is a recipe for disaster and highlights the pure incompetence of those running the club.
Recruitment isn’t the only failure. The clear neglect of fans and the infrastructure of the club has been an issue for years. Under Fosun, Wolves have expected fans to accept mediocrity on the pitch while charging more and more to even watch it. Ticket prices have climbed season after season, with many fans being priced out or simply losing interest, suffocating the famous Molineux atmosphere.
The stadium is no better. Investment in Molineux has stalled for years, with the outdated Steve Bull stand in particular crying out for improvements. Instead of maintaining the core of the ground, Jeff Shi seems focused on hospitality lounges and corporate upgrades – “serving the clients” rather than the supporters who built this club. It’s genuinely embarrassing. Wolves are being benchmarked against clubs competing for European places, while Fosun seem to believe survival is good enough.
Ultimately, Fosun’s once exciting project promising to challenge the elite has ended up turning Wolves into a club with no direction or ambition, leaving us in a losing fight against relegation. The decline hasn’t been sudden. It’s a product of years of missed opportunities, terrible planning, and a growing disconnect with the Molineux faithful.
Wolves fans don’t expect miracles. We expect effort, vision, honesty, and genuine pride in the badge. Fosun have failed to deliver that, and it’s clear for all to see that the project has run its course. Wolves fans are tired, and real change is needed – not a new manager, not a fresh set of random, cut price players. Something has to change at the very top. Unfortunately, knowing Jeff Shi and Fosun as we do, with them in control, that change feels painfully out of reach.
