Raul Jimenez and Romain Saiss must have wondered whether they were in the right place.
The pair, who were at Molineux when Wolverhampton Wanderers returned to the Premier League in August 2018, were back almost eight years later, as the stadium said farewell to the top flight.
But Saiss, the former Morocco international who returned for a visit and was welcomed onto the pitch before the 1-1 draw against Fulham on Sunday, and Jimenez, who featured for the visitors as a second-half substitute, must barely have recognised the place.
While eight years ago there was fervour and enthusiasm, on Sunday there was apathy and deflation at an adventure that has unravelled in dispiriting fashion.
The game itself could barely have felt less consequential in its vibe if it had been played in the first week of June in front of 60,000 neutrals in Manchester United shirts in an overseas stadium.
And the mood in the stands could not have been less connected with events on the pitch. After a season of almost unbroken misery, it was impossible to blame fans for their indifference.
Raul Jimenez celebrates scoring for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Everton in August 2018, but the mood could not feel more different now (Geoff Caddick/AFP via Getty Images)
Due to a knee injury, Matt Doherty, who was in the Wolves team for that 2-2 draw with Everton in August 2018, did not even get in the squad on Sunday on what might have been his final day at Molineux as a Wolves player.
A pre-match banner featuring the player’s name and the Guinness logo — a nod to his Irish nationality — was the only acknowledgement that one of the most solid Wolves careers of the 21st century might have been coming to an end for the second time, after Doherty initially left for Tottenham Hotspur in 2023.
Joao Gomes, one of the few current players to escape the wrath of disgruntled supporters, lingered on the pitch after his team-mates had left following a brief, post-match lap of appreciation. The Brazil international received warm applause from the few thousands of fans still in place, as he helped his young son score a goal in front of the North Bank.
His departure in the summer is not yet confirmed, but everyone at Wolves knows he will not be around in the Championship. As the only regular starter to enjoy a genuinely warm rapport with fans, he deserved his heartfelt send-off.
Andre and Hugo Bueno had their names sung briefly as they applauded the South Bank after the game. Defensive midfielder Andre will almost certainly be gone, too, and left-back Bueno is not guaranteed to stay.
Goalkeeper Jose Sa, another player expected to leave before the Championship campaign kicks off, was applauded too, as he gave a wave to fans on his way off in recognition of a five-year stint that started superbly and which, for the most part, has been solid.
Every other Wolves player went down the tunnel with no reaction whatsoever from supporters.
Some have performed better than others, but not one aside from Gomes would be missed if they departed. The connection between fans and the team has broken, and a huge summer lies ahead if Wolves are to repair it.
It was all very different eight years ago, when Saiss sat on the bench as an unused substitute and Doherty and Jimenez started in the first game of this latest Premier League stint.
Fans thought they were witnessing a special team. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo and his squad went on to prove them right in the next couple of years with successive seventh-place finishes, a European quarter-final and an FA Cup semi-final appearance.
Fans serenaded Saiss, who now plays for Qatari side Al Sadd, and showed their appreciation for Jimenez throughout the game on Sunday, even when the Mexico international was simply warming up before his second-half introduction.
Jimenez’s ‘Si Senor’ song was belted out at regular intervals and fans would have been encouraged to hear the Mexican, speaking after the game, open up the prospect of a return to Wolves when his Fulham contract expires this summer.
He told the Express & Star: “Why not? There is always a possibility. Let’s see. It would be nice, more after today, let’s see.”
Otherwise, the final day of Premier League football at Molineux was a story of empty seats and almost complete disconnection.
Beach balls appeared among fans in the South Bank within six minutes of kick-off. And the biggest cheer for a Wolves player came after a superb goal scored by Mateus Mane, the 18-year-old forward who has a chance of developing a bond with supporters if he sticks around for long enough.
Mateus Mane celebrates his goal (Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)
The second biggest cheer came for novelty value when, in the second half, Andre cleared the ball with such ferocity and lack of direction that it found the television gantry beneath the roof of the Billy Wright Stand.
Aside from that, the only warmth shown towards players in Wolves colours came at half-time, when the club’s promotion-winning women’s side paraded the trophy they won for reaching WSL2.
Most other acts by those of a Wolves persuasion barely generated a murmur, and the lap of appreciation by head coach Rob Edwards brought more than a smattering of boos.
It was a predictably flat ending to an otherwise largely positive week in which Edwards, chairman Nathan Shi and sporting director Matt Jackson acquitted themselves well at a frosty and at times hostile fans’ forum hosted by local station BBC Radio WM.
Shi spoke of the need to sign players determined to become Wolves legends. Edwards acknowledged he would only win over his doubters by creating a brand new team underpinned by endeavour and aggression.
The trio largely made the right noises. But only their actions over the next couple of months will determine whether they can get a disillusioned fanbase back on board.
They have one more assignment remaining this season — an away game at also-relegated Burnley on Sunday. But the group of players who have taken the club to this humiliating end to a wretched season will not have to face Molineux again.
Now, the challenge is to rectify mistakes and give fans something to buy into.
The contrast between the love for Jimenez and the indifference towards almost everyone else underlined the scale of the task.
