*This content was translated by AI.
As Hwang Hee-chan's (30) club, Wolverhampton Wanderers, is set to leave the English Premier League (EPL) stage, local fans' patience has finally snapped. Particularly, the intensity of criticism directed at Pushing Group, the club's operating entity, appears to be escalating.
On the 21st (Korean time), Wolverhampton's relegation to the second division was confirmed after West Ham United and Crystal Palace drew 0-0 in the 33rd round of the 2025-2026 EPL match held at Selhurst Park in London, UK, completely eliminating any chance of staying in the top flight.
Currently sitting at the bottom of the table with 17 points (3 wins, 8 draws, 22 losses), Wolverhampton added one point today, widening the gap to 16 points behind 17th-place West Ham, who now have 33 points. This means Wolverhampton cannot reach the safety zone even if they win all five remaining matches.
On this day, the UK's influential newspaper 'BBC' focused intensely on the extreme anger of fans directed at Wolverhampton's owner, the Chinese Pushing Group.
The media stated, "Wolverhampton's relegation was something predicted long ago," pointing out serious fractures within the club. According to the report, since last October when the team's poor performance accelerated, fans have been pouring criticism at Pushing Group at their home ground, Molineux Stadium. At that time, fans shouted, "You sold the team. Now sell the club and leave," demanding the club be sold.
The reason for such intense fan anger lies in Pushing Group's short-sighted management. In recent years, Wolverhampton has sold key players such as Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota, and Ruben Neves, and last summer, they also sent Mateus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri to Manchester United and Manchester City, respectively.
In response, 'BBC' analyzed that "selling core players without securing proper replacements was the key cause of this downfall." Indeed, investments totaling approximately 45 million pounds (about 90 billion won) in players like David Moller Wolfe and Tolou Arokodare turned out to be complete failures.
Furthermore, the irresponsible attitude of former chairman Jeff Shi (China) fueled the fire. In an interview last December, he showed a dismissive attitude toward the relegation crisis, drawing fan backlash, and eventually left the club along with the dismissal of the manager. Although Chairman Nathan Shi took over the club's operations afterward, the team ultimately suffered the humiliation of relegation without any turnaround.
The possibility of rebuilding the team remains uncertain. According to 'BBC', Wolverhampton is attempting a rebuild under manager Rob Edwards, but remaining key resources such as Joao Gomes and Andre are confirmed to be leaving.
As a result, Wolverhampton, which entered the EPL after winning the 2017-2018 Championship and earning promotion, will return to the second division after nine seasons. Previously, Wolverhampton had plummeted to the third division in the 2013-2014 season but successfully regained promotion, enjoying a golden era with a 7th-place finish in their first EPL season and reaching the UEFA Europa League (UEL) quarterfinals. However, their nine-season survival record has now come to an end with this relegation.
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*This content was translated by AI.
