There’s a wealth of data highlighting Vitor Pereira’s struggles at Wolves, but one particular detail stands out. During the 3-2 loss to Burnley at home on October 26, Jorgen Strand Larsen became the team’s fifth captain of the season. By that point, Wolves had seen more players don the captain’s armband than they had earned Premier League points.

Strand Larsen took on the captaincy because usual leaders like Toti Gomes, Jose Sa, Matt Doherty, and Joao Gomes were all absent from the starting lineup against Burnley.

Pereira had lost faith in his goalkeeper’s ability to inspire the team on the field. However, with Pereira’s dismissal following a dismal 3-0 defeat at Fulham, Sa may have a chance to reclaim his role. The writing was on the wall for Pereira: avoiding close contact with angry fans, he appeared visibly defeated when addressing the media after the game.

In the previous season, Pereira was known to celebrate victories by joining fans at the pub, creating the catchphrase, ‘first the points, then the pints.’ This season, however, the 57-year-old endured a difficult two-and-a-half months without a win, leading to his job search after executive chairman Jeff Shi reluctantly decided to part ways with the manager he believed could restore the team’s fortunes.

As recently as September, Shi had shown faith in Pereira by granting him a new three-year contract, despite the team still searching for their first point of the season.

Only in September, Shi gave Pereira a new three-year deal even though Wolves had still to pick up a point.

Ever since he sacked Nuno Espirito Santo more than four years ago, Shi has been searching desperately for the manager who could be a similarly effective ‘frontman’ for Wolves. Based on less than six months’ work, Shi became convinced Pereira was that guy. How wrong he was.

Vitor Pereira is gone after his promising start turned sour, with Wolves suffering yet another slump in the first half of a season

Jorgen Strand Larsen, such a beacon of promise last season, became the fifth Wolves player to wear the armband this term inside nine games

Goalkeeper Jose Sa got into a heated row with fans in the car park after the recent Burnley defeat

After Pereira had kept Wolves up impressively last season, Shi decided to reshape the football operation as Pereira wished.

Out went sporting director Matt Hobbs, to be replaced by a five-man football leadership team, with Pereira’s ally Domenico Teti at its heart. Hobbs is not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea and his record at Wolves was mixed, yet replacing him with Teti, who had never worked in English football, was a gamble.

Pereira was given the final say over recruitment decisions and had clear instructions on what he wanted: tall, strong, athletic players who suited his 3-4-2-1 system. The one problem? Pereira abandoned that set-up after only five games and has been playing 4-3-3 ever since, with no improvement in results, even if performances have been slightly better.

So players were bought to fit a plan that Pereira then stopped following, a handful of weeks into the season. Such are the risks that come with an all-powerful manager or head coach. Pereira returned to the back five at Fulham but it was too late.

When Pereira replaced Gary O’Neil last December, he realised quickly that he needed to strip back O’Neil’s complex, ultra-tactical approach that left players scratching their heads.

Simplifying matters is an effective strategy when a manager takes control of a struggling team during the season yet when that manager is in charge for a whole campaign, a little more depth is needed. Pereira looked at the increasingly physical nature of the Premier League and decided this must be Wolves’ priority when signing players this summer – apparently forgetting that many of the powerhouses in England’s top flight are also impressive technicians.

Any footballer who reaches Europe’s top-five leagues deserves huge respect. Yet even Marshall Munetsi’s most devoted supporters would accept that the midfielder is a little scruffy on the ball. David Moller Wolfe might be 6ft 1ins but is apparently not ready for the Premier League. Tolu Arokodare is… a work in progress, let’s say.

Even Marshall Munetsi’s most devoted supporters would accept that the midfielder is a little scruffy on the ball

Tolu Arokodare, who cost £24million from Genk, is… a work in progress, let’s say

Much has been made of the focus on set pieces this season, with Brentford held up as an example. But take a look at their attacking talent – Dango Ouattara, Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago. All four of those players would improve most Premier League teams at a stroke. Hardly any of Wolves’ would expect to start for a top-flight rival.

Much of Pereira’s focus in training has been to get the ball wide and return it to the middle. In the first nine games of the season, only Nottingham Forest had crossed the ball more times than Wolves’ 208. Teams need other strings to their bow, though.

Pereira knew from a long way out that game-breakers Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri would be sold and his answer was Jhon Arias, a player who had shone in South American football but who had never been summoned to Europe, even though he was 27 when Wolves bought him. That would have been a red flag to many other clubs. Again, though, with a head coach driving recruitment, such matters are overlooked.

Alone, some of these details do not damage a season. Taken together, however, they lead to situations where Pereira is heading for Molineux’s South Bank and appearing to shout angrily at the die-hard Wolves fans stationed behind the goal. Where those same supporters chant ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ as Pereira walks back to the dressing room.

In those situations, many clubs would have put the manager out of his misery before the evening was out and Pereira survived on Sunday only because Shi had gone all in on the Portuguese. A few days later, these fans have their wish, and once more Wolves are back in that familiar cycle.

Jhon Arias was another big-money summer signing, but is still yet to hit the net for Wolves

Tensions boiled over after the defeat at home by Burnley when Pereira confronted Wolves fans in the stands

In 2022, Wolves replaced Bruno Lage with Julen Lopetegui, who was given a huge contract and money to spend in January. They duly stayed up – as they did last season when O’Neil was ditched and Pereira was appointed, with similar backing.

Will it be third time lucky? It seems unlikely. There are no mavericks like Cunha anymore, who would be capable of dragging Wolves out of a hole with their artistry. And even if Wolves do release funds in January, how many players would be willing to join a club if they look nailed-on for relegation?

There are still plenty of games left to turn the situation around. And if Pereira successor does so, he will deserve a statue in front of Molineux.