Edwards did not manage Middlesbrough yesterday as the club faced Birmingham<\/a>, with an agreement in place for him to become the new Wolves manager.<\/p>\n It is now only a question of when, and not if.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, Wolves couldn\u2019t get Edwards in in time for the game with Chelsea, which meant U21s manager James Collins had to take the team.<\/p>\n Collins included youngsters Mateus Mane and Tawanda Chirewa in his squad, but there was no Fer Lopez<\/a>.<\/p>\n After the game, Collins explained the Spaniard\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n Why Fer Lopez missed out on Wolves\u2019 squad vs Chelsea Lopez has had a tough start at Wolves.<\/p>\n Under Vitor Pereira<\/a>, he barely featured despite clamour from fans for him to play amid an ongoing creativity issue.<\/p>\n Those creative issues were on display again yesterday, but Lopez was nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n And after the game, Collins confirmed there was no injury, and that it was simply a tactical decision.<\/p>\n He said (via E&S): \u201cIt was a difficult call.<\/p>\n \u201cI take the U21s at the club on a day-to-day basis and I think we have three or four players in that group that are highly talented boys.<\/p>\n \u201cThey happen to play around Fer Lopez\u2019s position, so having too many of that type of player on the bench probably wasn\u2019t the right call.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt it was right for me to give Mane and Tawanda that place on the bench tonight because if I don\u2019t do that, what does that say about our academy?<\/p>\n \u201cI work for our academy and I want our academy players to progress. <\/p>\n \u201cThey are terrific players, as is Fer, and I\u2019m sure the new manager will make his decision when he comes in, but I felt that was my opportunity to give our academy boys a chance. That\u2019s why I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rob Edwards has work to do with Fer Lopez<\/p>\n It was understandable that Collins would call on a couple of youngsters for yesterday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n He has obviously been working with Mane and Chirewa closely, and felt they were both deserving of places on the bench.<\/p>\n It will have been disappointing for Lopez to miss out, but he needs to use it as motivation to improve.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a tough start for him at Molineux<\/a> and Rob Edwards seemingly has work to do to get him out of his current rut.<\/p>\n His confidence has probably taken a hit following his management by Pereira, so it will be important for Edwards to get his arm around him to help him improve.<\/p>\n![\"Fer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2244061423-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Malcolm Couzens\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Fer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2243677917-1024x699.jpg\")
Photo by Visionhaus\/Getty Images<\/p>\n