WHAT'S the point of football? Why do we watch it? Why do we love it? At some level, even now in a world obsessed by the bottom line, it’s about the chance of winning something or at least for the memories we gather along the way. Winning trophies is hard. There are a lot of clubs and there aren’t many cups to go around but, if the thought, however distant, of maybe one day winning one isn’t what keeps you going back, then the chances are you’re probably a club executive.
This is one of the tragedies of the super-club era, that the romantic ideal of winning, of adding your name to the list of champions, is swept away. If you are a fan of one of the super-rich, if you have every advantage in the world, winning silverware begins to look like an obligation, not a distant dream – which perhaps explains why so many fans of the biggest clubs seem so perpetually angry.
Which brings us to Wolves, who are not one of the elite, but are in a better position now than they’ve been in for half a century. They lie sixth in the Premier League table. They’re just five points off fourth and two points off fifth, which might be enough to secure Champions League football depending whether Manchester City’s Champions League ban is upheld. But even more exciting than that, they’re in the last 16 of the Europa League, a competition they have embraced.
Confirmation of Wolves' second behind closed doors game of their Europa journey (but an actual proper one this time).
Absolutely gutting news for the many who've already bought tickets and travel.
— Tim Spiers (@TimSpiers) March 9, 2020
Attitudes to the lesser European competition in England are often a little baffling. Clubs strive with everything to finish sixth or seventh in the Premier League and then seem to resent the prize it offers then, which is the glamour of European football. Perhaps that makes sense for clubs used to being in the Champions League but for a Bolton or a Stoke it seems absurd. If football is about fun, and about the accretion of memories, why would you not relish the opportunity to go abroad and see your team play a side they would never otherwise play? Better that, surely, than the endless round of Manchester or Liverpool or London?
Wolves have been fortunate in that regard. The draw has been kind – Belfast, Yerevan, Braga, Turin, Istanbul, Bratislava, Barcelona… these are attractive, interesting trips. So too would Piraeus have been on Thursday had coronavirus not forced the game against Olympiakos to be played behind closed doors. Whatever happens from here, even if Wolves establish themselves as Champions League regulars, these are the days Wolves will remember, when it was all fresh and new, before playing exotic opposition became familiar.
Olympiakos, as they have shown against both Tottenham and Arsenal this season, are a decent side. But Wolves shouldn’t fear them. Given their counter-attacking style, in fact, Wolves look ideally set up for European competition, justifiably third favourites to win the competition. Given that one of the two sides more fancied than them is Manchester United, against whom they’ve drawn three of their four matches this season, and the other an Inter side beginning to fray, Wolves can genuinely dream of a possible final in Gdansk.
There will be those who ask whether they should prioritise the Europa League, or whether it makes more sense for them to try to hunt down United domestically. Nuno Espirito Santo, to his credit, seems disinclined to favour one competition over another (he has even, slightly oddly, been talking of working with a slimmer squad next season).
Wolves’ good fortune is that they have two potential routes into the Champions League next season. Clearly qualification for the Champions League would bring a huge uplift in terms of prestige and revenue. It would be a very positive thing. But even then, would it mean as much as, say, playing a final against Inter in Gdansk, even if they lost and, as a result, missed out on qualification for the competition next year?
For most Fulham fans, the run to the Europa League final in 2010 seems to have been the highlight of their footballing lives. Wolves are on firmer financial footing, are less of a minnow in European waters, and may have further chances in the near future, but still, for fans who have been starved of success for so long to dream of a European final is not something to be underestimated (and hopefully it will be played with a crowd). Yes, keep going in the league, but the Europa League now is a glorious priority.
