2016–17 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season explained

The 2016–17 season was the 139th year in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. The club competed in the second tier of the English football system, the Football League Championship for a third consecutive year.

This was the first season for the club under the ownership of the Chinese investment group Fosun which acquired the club on 21 July 2016 for a reported £45 million.^[1] Although head coach Kenny Jackett's position was initially confirmed by the new owners, he was replaced by Walter Zenga before the season proper began.^[2] However, Zenga lasted just 14 league games before being dismissed with the team in 18th place.^[3]

Paul Lambert was appointed on 5 November,^[4] but despite leading the team to two victories away at Premier League opposition in the FA Cup, the club's league form showed only a marginal improvement in the form of a 15th-place finish, one place lower than the previous campaign (although with an identical points tally of 58).

Following an internal review of the season, it was announced on 30 May that the club had decided to relieve Lambert of his position.^[5]

Results

Football League Championship

See also: 2016–17 EFL Championship. A total of 24 teams competed in the Football League Championship in the 2016–17 season. Each team played every other team twice, once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats.

The provisional fixture list was released on 22 June 2016, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage or police concerns.^[6]

League table

FA Cup

See also: 2016–17 FA Cup.

EFL Cup

See also: 2016–17 EFL Cup.

EFL Trophy

See also: 2016–17 EFL Trophy. Wolves were one of the sixteen teams from outside the bottom two divisions of the Football League to be invited to field their academy team in the competition due to it holding Category 1 academy status. They were drawn in Group B in the Northern section.

Players

Statistics

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Awards

Award	Winner[7]
Fans' Player of the Season	Hélder Costa
Players' Player of the Season	Hélder Costa
Young Player of the Season	Connor Ronan
Academy Player of the Season	Morgan Gibbs-White
Goal of the Season	Hélder Costa (vs Cardiff, 1 April 2017)

Transfers

In

Date	Player	From	Fee
1 July 2016	Rory Brown		Free
1 July 2016			Free[8]
1 July 2016			Free
30 July 2016			Free[9]
2 August 2016			£2,700,000[10]
15 August 2016			£2,000,000[11]
26 August 2016			£1,000,000[12]
29 August 2016			Undisclosed[13]
30 August 2016			£3,000,000[14]
31 August 2016			£7,000,000[15]
13 January 2017			Free[16]
28 January 2017			£135,000
30 January 2017			£13,000,000[17]
31 January 2017			£1,500,000[18]
31 January 2017			Free

Out

Date	Player	To	Fee
1 June 2016	Rajiv van La Parra		£750,000[19]
30 June 2016	Razak Boukari		Free
30 June 2016	Zeli Ismail		Free[20]
30 June 2016	Liam McAlinden		Free
30 June 2016	Aaron McCarey		Free
30 June 2016	Tommy Rowe		Free
30 June 2016	Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson		Free
1 July 2016	Eusébio Bancessi		Free
1 July 2016	Rhys Bills	Released	Free
1 July 2016	Jordan Clement		Free
1 July 2016	Joe Delacoe	Released	Free
1 July 2016	Owen Eggington		Free
1 July 2016	Callum Harris		Free
1 July 2016	Bradley Lindsey		Free
1 July 2016	Tendai Matinyadze	Released	Free
1 July 2016	Declan Weeks		Free
1 July 2016	Ashley Carter		Free
5 July 2016	James Kellermann		Free
11 July 2016	Răzvan Oaidă		Undisclosed
22 July 2016	Kevin McDonald		£1,250,000[21]
31 August 2016	Nathan Byrne		£500,000[22]
13 January 2017	Connor Hunte		Free[23]

Loans in

Date from	Player	From	Date until
29 July 2016			30 January 2017[24]
2 August 2016			End of season
22 August 2016			End of season[25]
22 August 2016			End of season
31 August 2016			End of season[26]
19 January 2017			End of season[27]

Loans out

Date from	Player	To	Date until
15 August 2016			7 January 2017[28]
25 August 2016	Bradley Reid		September 2016[29]
31 August 2016			End of season[30] [31]
31 August 2016			9 January 2017[32]
31 August 2016			End of season[33] [34]
2 September 2016	Ben O'Hanlon		October 2016[35]
13 January 2017			End of season
16 January 2017			End of season[36]
19 January 2017			End of season[37]
31 January 2017			End of season
31 January 2017			End of season[38]
31 January 2017			End of season
31 January 2017			End of season
25 February 2017			4 March 2017[39]
23 March 2017			End of season[40]

Notes and References

1. News: Wolves bought by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International for £45m. BBC Sport. 31 July 2016.
2. News: Kenny Jackett: Wolves sack head coach after three seasons in charge . BBC Sport . 29 July 2016.
3. News: Walter Zenga: Wolves name former Italy international as head coach. BBC Sport. 30 July 2016.
4. News: Paul Lambert: Wolves name ex-Aston Villa, Norwich and Blackburn boss as head coach . BBC Sport . 5 November 2016.
5. Web site: Paul Lambert departs Wolves . Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C . 30 May 2017.
6. News: Championship fixtures 2016-17: Newcastle United start at Fulham on a Friday. BBC Sport. 22 June 2016.
7. News: Four-Midable Costa! . Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C . 10 May 2017.
8. News: Keeper checks in . Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C . 8 June 2016 . 8 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160920083150/http://www.wolves.co.uk/news/article/news-keeper-checks-in-3138464.aspx . 20 September 2016 . dead . dmy-all .
9. Web site: Silvio's delight at Wolves move. Express & Star. 31 July 2016. 21 March 2018. 6 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161106075448/http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2016/07/31/silvios-delight-at-wolves-move/. dead.
10. Web site: Wolves: Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Joao Teixeira join Championship club . 2 August 2016. BBC Sport.
11. Web site: Prince Oniangue: Wolves sign Congo midfielder from Reims. 16 August 2016. BBC Sport.
12. Web site: Paul Gladon: Wolves sign Dutch striker from Heracles Almelo. 26 August 2016. BBC Sport.
13. Web site: Wolves sign highly-rated goalkeeper Jack Ruddy from Bury. 29 August 2016. Sky Sports.
14. Web site: Romain Saiss: Wolves sign Angers midfielder for undisclosed fee. 30 August 2016. BBC Sport.
15. News: Ivan Cavaleiro: Wolves sign Monaco winger in record deal on five-year contract. BBC Sport. 31 August 2016.
16. News: Promising Striker Snapped Up . Wolverhampton Wanderers Official Site . 13 January 2017 . 13 January 2017.
17. News: Helder Costa: Wolves sign on-loan Benfica winger for club-record fee. BBC Sport. 30 January 2017.
18. News: Ben Marshall: Wolves sign Blackburn Rovers midfielder for undisclosed fee. BBC Sport. 31 January 2017.
19. News: Rajiv van La Parra: Huddersfield Town sign Wolves winger on loan. BBC Sport. 11 March 2016.
20. News: Contract decisions revealed. Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 9 May 2016. 9 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160509220844/http://www.wolves.co.uk/news/article/news-contract-decisions-revealed-3105709.aspx. 9 May 2016. dead. dmy-all.
21. News: Kevin McDonald: Fulham sign Wolves midfielder as Fernando Amorebieta leaves. BBC Sport . 22 July 2016.
22. News: Cardiff's Adam Le Fondre and Wolves' Nathan Byrne join Wigan Athletic. BBC Sport . 31 August 2016.
23. News: Double departure. 13 January 2017 . Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
24. Web site: Helder Costa: Wolves sign Benfica winger on season-long loan . 29 July 2016 . BBC Sport.
25. News: Manchester United defender Cameron Borthwick-Jackson joins Walter Zenga’s Wolves on loan . BBC Sport . 22 August 2016.
26. Web site: Richard Stearman: Wolves re-sign former defender on season-long loan from Fulham . 31 August 2016. BBC Sport.
27. Web site: Andreas Weimann joins Wolves on loan . 19 January 2017 . Derby County F.C. . 19 January 2017 . 31 January 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170131192621/http://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/andreas-weimann-joins-wolves-on-loan-3526758.aspx . dead .
28. Web site: Connor Hunte: Wolves winger joins Stevenage on loan until January. 15 August 2016 . BBC Sport.
29. Web site: Bradley Reid: Wolves striker returns to Wrexham on loan. 25 August 2016 . BBC Sport.
30. Web site: Ethan Ebanks-Landell: Wolves centre-back joins Sheffield United. 31 August 2016. BBC Sport.
31. Web site: Ethan Ebanks-Landell: Wolves defender signs new deal. 9 January 2017 . BBC Sport.
32. Web site: Aaron Collins: Notts County sign Wolves forward on loan. 31 August 2016 . BBC Sport.
33. Web site: Bolton Wanderers: Ben Alnwick, Sammy Ameobi, James Henry and Keshi Anderson sign. 31 August 2016 . BBC Sport.
34. Web site: Wanderers extend James Henry loan deal. 6 January 2017 . Bolton Wanderers F.C.
35. Web site: Left Back Signs. 2 September 2016. Nuneaton Town F.C.. 2 September 2016. 13 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160913113629/http://www.nuneatontownfc.com/news/left-back-signs-1677459.html. dead.
36. News: Prince Joins Bastia On Loan . Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C . 16 January 2017 . 16 January 2017.
37. News: Wallace joins Millwall . Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C . 19 January 2017 . 19 January 2017.
38. News: NEWS: Teixeira And Randall Loaned Out . Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C . 31 January 2017.
39. News: Harry the bee keeper . Wolverhampton Wanderers Official Site . 25 February 2017.
40. Web site: Collins joins Tranmere. 23 March 2017 . Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.