Flying Kights...

There have not been many bright spots to this desperate season for Wolves,The short but enjoyable loan of Manny Frimpong,the emergence of David Davies and Anthony Forde from the youth ranks and latterly the superb and humourous support the Wolves fans have shown in the face of relegation doom.

However there's another bright spot; The return of Michael Kightly to the first team and the fact that he looks to be getting back to the form that had the football world sitting up and taking notice of him over three years ago.

Near the end of that last Championship winning season Kights was indeed flying high.He'd been the engine around which the team won the title with eight points to spare,had emerged as a regular with England's Under 21 squad with realistic talk of him getting a call up to the International squad proper.Not bad for a player who'd been playing Non-League football barely twelve months earlier...

All Wolves fans are au fait with Kights's story. On the books of Spurs and latterly Southend as a youngster but never made the grade and ended up playing Non League football at Grays Athletic where he started to attract the scouts of various clubs for his displays as a goalscoring winger/midfielder  Happy on either left or right foot.

It was Wolves who took the plunge,on loan at first and then buying him outright for the princely sum of £25,000.Wolves fans took him too their heart straight away.He was an instant hit and one of the biggest bargains in football.

There were rumours that Manchester United tried to scupper our deal with Kights by offering Grays half a Million for the player and when i met the Grays chairman at a pre-season game Wolves played at their ground he confirmed this.

That coming season in the Championship was--until now---Kightly's best at Wolves,he torn teams apart with his skill,intelligence and speed.One game V Forest particulary stands out where he tore the opposition full back a new arsehole.That player,Perch,is now a regular in Newcastle's first team riding high in the Premiership.

But that season was to end badly for Kights when he picked up a knee injury.We still went up quite easily and it was believed our hero would come back from his injury refreshed to show the premiership what he can do.

                                                     Kights picks up his title medal in full kit despite having a plaster cast on his leg.This small gesture told all Wolves fans the measure of the man.

However nobody knew how bad the injury was and it was to be a further eighteen months till he began playing regulary again.A loan spell at Watford helped to get him match fit and re-gain some confidence.

There was a very real fear that the injury had finished his career.The club had just lost the services of Goalkeeper Matt Murray to a similar injury---I'm not overstating it by saying had Murray stayed fit he could have become one of the worlds great keepers---It seemed Kights would go the same way.

But he has come back and is beginning to look like the player we know he can be.He's even appeared to add a bit more aggression to his game.

I'm sure i'm not alone in hoping he not only stays fit but stays at Wolves for a long time.I have no doubt that he will be THE  one great player in the Championship next season if he does.There's also no doubt he deserves the bigger stage of the Premiership and even the England team.Hell if Downing can still get in the squad then a fit Kights should be a shoe-in.

He's also living proof to many young players that don't make it at first then going to a club out of the league structure need not be the end of a top level career.Providing they put the work in.

Welcome back Kights.We've all missed you...