There is no beating around the bush. This season has been horrific for Wolverhampton Wanderers.It has been so miserable that most fans would rather just forget it and move on. But convention dictates that we review the mess before we consign it to the history books. So, take some deep breaths, and let’s get this over with…Wolves’ grade for 2025-26 is….E-. It was tempting to award a U (unclassified), but that would have been letting them off the hook.Goal of the seasonThere have not been a vast array of goals to choose from, let alone a plethora of world-class strikes, but there are a few contenders.So, honourable mentions go to Hwang Hee-chan for his effort in the 3-2 home defeat to Everton, largely for the quality of Marshall Munetsi’s assist. And Mateus Mane’s excellent first Premier League goal in the 3-0 home win over West Ham United, as well as Adam Armstrong’s emphatic finish in the 2-2 comeback draw at Brentford in March.But the outstanding strike this season came from Hugo Bueno in a memorable evening at home to Arsenal, when Wolves came back from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 draw against Mikel Arteta’s champions.A curling, long-range strike that nestled firmly in the top corner past the league’s best goalkeeper, David Raya. Outstanding.Game of the seasonThe aforementioned draw against Arsenal is tough to top. And, to be frank, Wolves have not been close to coming anywhere close on so many occasions.For sheer drama, shock value and the merit of fighting back to claim a hugely unlikely point against the team who would go on to become Premier League champions, that was the game that will stand out as an oasis in a desert of disappointment.Surprise of the seasonThe departure of Jeff Shi. The news in December that the long-standing chairman was leaving, to be replaced by namesake and fellow Fosun executive Nathan Shi, was widely welcomed by fans who held Jeff Shi responsible for the club’s tortuous last few seasons.But very few saw it coming. He has kept his position through so many difficult times in recent years, it was generally expected that this season would be no different.Jeff Shi’s departure from Wolves was a surprise (David Rogers/Getty Images)Mistake of the seasonSadly for Rob Edwards, it is beginning to look like his decision to leave Middlesbrough in November to move to Molineux was a big misjudgement.It would be wrong to overanalyse the personal decision that Edwards made to swap Teesside to return to the West Midlands. Who among us would have turned down a pay increase, the status of being one of 20 Premier League managers and, most crucially of all, the opportunity to move back home and see your young family every day rather than once or twice each week when training schedules allowed?But in terms of football and career building, midway through this horrific season was always the wrong time for Edwards to take the job he had long coveted and, predictably, he is now in a situation where he will start next season under huge pressure — assuming he even stays in his role that long.Quote of the season“I think it’s a good window.”OK, so it’s not a funny quip, unless you’re a fan of toe-curling comedy, but Jeff Shi’s assessment of the club’s summer transfer activity will go down in recent Wolves history as the comment that angered fans more than any other.“The key purpose of the window is to help the coach,” he went on. Well, arguably one of last summer’s signings — Ladislav Krejci — has provided any real assistance to either Vitor Pereira, who played a pivotal role in the window, or Edwards, his successor.The others — David Moller Wolfe, Jackson Tchatchoua, Jhon Arias, Fer Lopez and Tolu Arokodare — have all been failures to a lesser or greater extent.Ladislav Krejci was one of the few successes in last summer’s transfer market (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)Edwards’ claim that “this is not my fault” a couple of weeks ago was a late contender to challenge Shi.While the wider message of Edwards’ press conference — ahead of the trip to Brighton — actually made complete sense as he put in context the situation he inherited with his excitement about what lies ahead, but those five words and his decision to use them will haunt him unless the summer and the start of next season go well.Funniest moment of the seasonNot applicable! Really. Just don’t go there.Opposition player of the seasonTijjani Reijnders. The Manchester City midfielder has not, perhaps, gone on to have quite the impact that might have been expected in his first season in England but, on the opening day of the season as City won 4-0 at Molineux, the Dutchman looked outstanding on Premier League debut.He scored a goal, had a key hand in another two and looked like the best player on the pitch by some distance in a City side that featured a host of other world-class stars.Manchester City’s Tijjani Reijnders was outstanding on the opening weekend of the season at Molineux (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)The issue that will dominate this summer is…Squad building. There is little doubt that a host of players will leave Molineux this summer, and as far as Edwards and many fans are concerned, the more the better.But Nathan Shi and sporting director Matt Jackson then face the huge challenge of building almost an entirely new squad capable of competing for promotion from the Championship.With that in mind, the news that Andre — arguably the squad’s best technical player — has signed a new contract and will feature in the Championship next season was promising. “If your best players, the people that you want to keep around, are willing to stay and to fight, then it shows we’re serious,” said Edwards. “It shows the players we want to keep here that that we’re serious, and, of course, for people looking in from the outside, and people that we will be keen on, it shows them that we’re serious as well, because we’re retaining good players.“Continuity is important, but we want people to want to be here as well. I’m not going to be begging, what Andre is showing is a real commitment, and there’s a number of players, of course, that we would love to follow suit, and hopefully they do, but of course change is required and needed as well, so that’s equally as important.”Andre has signed a new contract and will lead Wolves’ attempt to return from the Championship (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)This time next year we’ll all be saying…“That really was a massive summer.”It is impossible to know yet how Wolves will fare next season but what is clear is that their success, or lack thereof, between now and August will dictate how the next phase of the club’s history will go.