Ten Years Gone...My Wolves team 2002-2012

As Wolves enter a new exciting era in time honoured fashion i decided to clog together what i feel would be our best team to represent us over the last ten years.This allows me to become all misty eyed nostalgic for the recent past and also allows me to pad out this Blog with lots of cool You Tube footage...

Goalkeeper) Matt Murray: I have been watching Wolves since i was eight and have seen many goalkeepers turn out for my team.Some excellent, like Stowell,Parkes & Hennessey.Some absolutely bloody terrible.like Boswell,Lange & Hansbury but Murray is not only the best i have seen for Wolves but quite possibly  one of the best i have ever seen.There's no denying that had he remained injury free he'd have been England's first choice for many a year.Like Buffon but without the dodgy political ideology.Retired far too young.Unfortunately his body just gave up on his career.

Right Back)Kevin Foley: To be honest the full back positions have been a problem for Wolves for many a year and there's a paucity of stand out choices,especially at Right Back.So Irishman Foley wins the spot just for being consistent  and also can fill in at Right Midfield if needed.

Centre Back) Ludovic Pollet; The French defender quickly became a favourite of the Wolves fans with his classy displays and bravery.I can't actually recall a game where he was'nt being patched up after yet another brave defensive challenge.He should have started each game with his head bandaged to save time...

Centre Back)Joleon Lescott:No prizes for guessing who partners Ludo in the centre of defence.Like Murray he came through the youth ranks at Wolves.Like Murray was unfit for all of our debut Premiership season in 03/04.Many feel had they been fit Wolves may well have survived and the recent history of the club would have been very different.Has since gone on to win the Title & FA Cup with Man City as well as 20 England caps.

Left Back) Denis Irwin; Like the Right Back position there are'nt many decent candidates for this spot.However even if there was it's doubtful if any of them would match Denis Irwin for sheer class and Professionalism.After a career of winning everything at Old Trafford it was an honour to see him at Molineux.He only played 75 games for us.God how i wish we had a Left Back half as good now...

Right Midfield)Michael Kightly; This was a close call between Kights and Scotsman Alex Rae.However Kightly is a genuine two footed player who gives better and more varied options,be it taking on the full back and getting to the by-line or cutting inside to unleash a left footer into the top corner.Even though he left the club under a cloud recently i think once the dust has settled many Wolves fans will remember him fondly.Not bad for a player plucked from obscurity for £25,000.

Centre Midfield)Karl Henry: Many people will probably argue that Henry does'nt deserve a place but i believe every team needs a good destructive defensive midfielder and Henry is just that man.Only ever realise how much he brings to the team when not playing.Although he does do some stupid things at times...

Centre Midfield)Paul Ince; Karl Henry would normally be first choice captain but not with this fella anywhere near the team.Ince was magnificent for Wolves.A natural leader and driving force who always gave his all and expected nothing less from everyone else around him.Even when he could barely walk his talent shone through.It was an honour to see him play for my team.

Left Midfield)Matty Jarvis; Another player plucked from the lower leagues for a small sum who grew into a fine player at Wolves.Before his departure he was probably Wolves most consistent player for five years.A constant threat on the wing who assisted in many of the goals scored,plus getting a fair few himself.Jarvis was also not adverse to doing the unglamorous side of the game by tracking back to help the defence.Supplied many of the crosses for fletcher...

Forward)Stephen Fletcher; Just been sold to Sunderland for £14/15 Million.Goalscorers are hard to come by hence the inflated fee.In three seasons he's grabbed over 34 goals in teams that were struggling.An Impressive haul.Especially as many were against the top teams in England.Not especially tall but brilliant with his head...

Forward)George Ndah: Probably a bit of a surprise choice but for six glorious injury free months was one of the most exciting players i have seen in Wolves colours for many a year.He could pick the ball up from deep and run at defenders with speed allayed with skill thus making space for his team mates.Would be an ideal foil for a player such as Fletcher much as he was for Kenny Miller.

So that's my Wolves team from 2002 to 2012;

                                                                           Murray
                                                         Foley    Pollet     Lescott     Irwin
                                                    Kightly   Henry     Ince(Capt)     Jarvis
                                                                   Fletcher     Ndah
Subs) Hennesey  Craddock  Rae  Cameron  Kennedy  Miller  Ebanks Blake

Manager) Me of course!

Wolves join the International Brigade...

Over the last twenty years it has become de rigueur for British clubs to employ footballers from all over the World with varying decrees of success...Before that our arrogance allayed with myopic insularity fostered the belief that British players were the best and therefore we had no need to look abroad for talent.

The change was'nt due to a mind opening realisation that we were wrong all along but  one of economics.Clubs discovered that players of equal,or better standard were about three times cheaper abroad ---As is the case today---and as a bonus were also better prepared for a life in the game by not eating rubbish as well as not boozing like a sailor on shore leave...Basically they were usually better Professionals than their homegrown counterparts...

At Wolves we have had our fair share of foreign imports and it's safe to say many have been an abject failure...I don't think they have been particularly bad players but have been bought in by a bevvy of different managers who did'nt know how to blend them into the team once they had arrived.

The usual scenario would consist of a big fanfare for an exciting talent coming to the club.The fans would normally become thrilled at the prospect whilst asking how the hell their name is pronounced before giving up and settling for calling them "The---------* fella"...*Insert Nationality here.

Usually we have'nt seen them in the team for months after joining.The only glimpse being them warming up from the subs bench only to be sat down after twenty minutes exercise.The usual reason given by the manager was that they were having trouble settling in...In reality i think it was more of a case of the manager having trouble knowing what to do with them...

Then they would invariably disappear from the club never to be seen again...I have lost count of how many of our foreign players have made less than ten appearances for Wolves before succumbing to the Bermuda Triangle that is Wolverhampton...

I even learned how to pronounce some of their names...

Over all the years i can only think of two players from outside of these Isles who've been successful at the club.French Centre back Ludovic Pollet and American Keeper Marcus Hahnemann---From exotic Le Harve & Seattle respectively---There might be more.I stand to be corrected.

There have been a few i had high hopes for who never made it for whatever reason...Nenad Milijas  and Fernando Gomez are two that stand out.Classy midfielders who it's my belief have not fitted in because once here the coaching team have'nt know how to utilise their talent properly...

Under previous boss Mick McCarthy the vast majority of the squad were British & Irish.I think MM felt more comfortable working with a more "Local" bunch of players to be honest.Nothing wrong with that per se.MM had his critics but nobody can argue that on his leaving the club was in a better position than when he joined.

But now we have Stale Solbakken in charge,our first manager not from these shores.With it not only has he been given the task of creating a new playing style throughout Molineux but he's also been given Carte Blanc to bring in his own players.This naturally means we're now more than likely to be getting in players from the Continent who he knows well...

So far we have invested in five non British/Irish players;Tongo Doumbia,Slawomir Peszko,Bjorn Sigurdsson,Razak Boukari & Georg Margreitter...With many more to add i presume...

Only time will tell whether these imports are successful or not.The big wish is that our abject record of assimilating foreign players into the club is a thing of the past.At least we now have a manager who understands what's needed to get the best out of them...Hopefully.

So to our new players:
Bienvenue
Willkommen
Velkominn
Mile Widziany


Welcome.

New season.Wolves shuffle the pack...

The coming season is just over one day away and Wolves are in a state of flux...The much vaunted tight dressing room appears to be a thing of the past.Unrest seems to rule at the moment within a squad relegated from the Premiership last term...Ironically this may not be a bad thing for new manager Stale Solbakken. As he has the remit to change the whole club's playing style and ethos this will be more easily achieved by bringing in his own players rather than attempt to re-programme existing incumbents schooled in the previous managers image...

Partly this will be by design and partly by necessity.SS(As he'll have to be know despite the unfortunate connotation those letters have) Has already placed the popular but largely ineffective Hammil & Guedioura on the list with Guedioura leaving for Nottingham Forest.He's also put ex Serbian Captain Nenad Milijas on the transfer list...

I'm sad Milijas will be leaving as i think he's the most naturally gifted player at the club.His ability to spot a pass and also execute said pass is second to none.Also superb from set pieces.Unfortunately he has been used wrongly since being here,being asked to track back and tackle--He's useless at tackling---He should have had others win the ball,give it to him and let him do his stuff.Personally i would have built the team around him.I hope he goes abroad and not to another English club...

Top goalscorer Stephen Fletcher and winger Matt Jarvis have put in transfer requests.These two are our most saleable assets and many Wolves fans knew they'd move but what sticks in the craw is them leaving it very late in the day to make their desire to leave official.There have been bids for both but neither reach the club's valuation...

We're lucky at Wolves that we can play hardball with any prospective buyers of our players---Our CEO Jez Moxey comes in for a lot of abuse but nobody gets the better of him when it comes to negotiation---We are a well run club who're in the black financially.That gives us the luxury of dictating the terms of an outgoing transfer.Nobody pushes us around on that front...

Scottish centre back Christophe Berra has also put in a transfer request,citing his desire to play in a higher league.As yet there have been no offers,not even from WWF where his grappling skills would seem more appropriate...

Probably the biggest talking point so far has been the sale of Michael Kightly to local rivals Stoke City.He has just come back from two years injury and was our best player near the end of last season and even stated he wanted to stay to help the club after relegation, but he went up the road last week.Many Wolves fans were understandably upset at this but if we take a step back and see it from the point of SS the sale makes sense...

What SS will have seen is a player who'd spent two years on the treatment table who had only a year to go on his contract.He was also the previous manager's golden boy,which may not be important but could've lead to divided loyalty...SS was offered £3Million for a player that cost £25,000.He also had a ready made replacement waiting in the wings once the deal was done...When it's put that way it's not a bad bit of business...

So who's coming in?

The first two players bought were a bit of a surprise.  Jamie Tank, a young defender from Walsall who i imagine our scouts had been tracking for a while.Nothing is known about him apart from him being a local lad with a great name...

Frank Nouble is a striker we got from West Ham.Again this was a bit left field but he's made himself popular with the fans already both on the pitch and via his Twitter account.He spent five years at Chelsea before going East to join the Hammers.He never really got much of a run there so hopefully he'll do better at Wolves.Still only about twenty two so got time to learn too...

Bjorn Sigurdsson. This was the longest protected incoming transfer so far of the season for us.SS clearly made Sigurdsson his first priority.We had to fight off some higher placed clubs to secure his services.Looks like SS has pulled off a bit of a coup with this one...

Tongo Doumbia. Potentially another great signing.An all action box to box midfielder.A sort of Karl Henry with knobs on...Could be our hit of the season,even sweeter that he turned down a move to hated rivals WBA barely a week before joining us...

Slawomir "Hey" Peszko. A Polish winger and the immediate replacement for Kightly.Supposedly very fast with good ability.Also his surname is a sub editors dream...

I doubt if that is the end of the coming and going as SS tries to make his mark on the club.Hopefully a few of the youth team players will also get a better chance to shine too...

As for the season ahead a lot of fans are now having a reality check after all the upheaval at the club and many are thinking securing a Play Off place would be a good showing...I can't argue with that assessment...

Up The Wolves!

/\_/\ /\_/\

The Olympic bandwagon leaves town...Time to reflect.

Back to life...Back to reality...

...But...What a glorious two weeks we have had in my adopted city.Like the most exciting,liberating holiday romance imaginable...Of course like all holiday romances it had to end.Despite heartfelt promises to stay in touch both parties know that two weeks is enough and it's best just to have all those wonderful memories...

These games have gone better than anyone dared hoped.Pre games all the talk was of security failure,traffic chaos and trouble with ticket allocation.Even Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney got in on the act saying we were nowhere near ready to host the Olympics...Well Mr Romney,not only were we ready but we delivered arguably the greatest Olympics ever seen...

I don't normally do jingoism but in this case i feel it's entirely justified.Right from the magnificently irreverent opening ceremony we sort of knew we were on the cusp of something special.That set the tone and the (mostly British) spectators took their cue from that and carried the baton forward--Unlike the GB 4x100 relay team---with merry abandon...Seeing us Brits lose their inhibitions without having a belly full of beer may well have surprised the rest of the World more than anything.

Of course it helped that the GB Olympians had such a glorious Games with regards medalling---sorry but we have all started making up new verbs these last two weeks."Do you think she'll podium?" Don't worry this mangling of the English language will fade with time.Hopefully---Did the crowd spur on the Olympians to ever greater deeds or was it the Olympians who ignited such fervent support? Who knows? It was probably a happy combination of both.

There can be no doubt that for the two weeks of these Games the reality of everyday life was put on the back burner for many Brits.Talk was'nt of the Economy,War,the neighbours dogs etc but of Farah,Bolt and whether Charlotte Dujardin's horse would preform a medal winning Piaffe in the Dressage.It did...

Yes it's escapism,yes no matter how good the Olympics are your own personal problems don't automatically dissolve into the ether...But they gave the entire nation a much needed lift in morale.There's no way of measuring the benefits of such an uplift in national mood but in general being upbeat is better than the opposite...The Olympics made us feel good about ourselves and there's nothing wrong with that.

There were many memorable moments,not just for the locals but for many other nations too; Michael Phelps becoming the most medalled(Urrgghh)Olympian ever in the pool.The GB cycling team destroying all and sundry in the sauna like Velodrome.David Rudisha breaking the 800m World record with consummate ease,The two 4x100 World records set by Jamaica & USA women respectively---Loved their interview where they said all they wanted to do was "Get the stick round"---The Saudi women being left far behind in her race but getting one of the biggest cheers on her lonesome trawl down the final straight long after her fellow competitors had showered and changed.

Indeed this was the Games where Women's sport came out of the shadows.For many years in Britain Womens sport has been derided somewhat and largely not given due respect.However that has hopefully changed now with their fantastic showing in these games.It's probably the same worldwide too...

As for the much talked about legacy of the games it seems to me that  the main benefit could well be that my country is viewed in a more positive light by the rest of the world.There's talk of turning the stadium into a football ground for one of the local clubs but i can't see why it can't be kept as an International Athletics venue in the heart of London.Just a thought...

Personal highlights for me were these; Mo Farah winning two long distant Golds in the 10,000 & 5,000 m .Not only is he a tremendous Athlete but comes across as a decent fella.To win these races in normal circumstances is hard enough but Mo--as we all know him now---also had his heavily pregnant wife in the stand watching.Surely that must've been in the back of his mind too?

Jessica Ennis in the Heptathlon;For a number of years Ennis had been the poster image of the Games and her event was one of the first up.Imagine the pressure on her to preform and win? but not only did she come though,she smashed her opponents into the ground.

Usain Bolt; I honestly thought he may get bettered by his training partner Blake---who i feel a little sorry for,at any other time he'd be the sprint king but alas he's in Bolt's era---But he came to the fore...

Finally the real reason these games were such a success was not the Olympians,not the (thankfully) security problems but i feel the main reason was the superb support from the British public to the Games & the 70,000 volunteers who helped these Games go so smoothly...We can all be proud to have played our part in the greatest Olympics ever...

So the wonderful two weeks holiday romance has come to an end as they all must.We will all have our happy memories...As it is though now it's...

...Back to life...Back to reality.

Olympicland...A land like no other...

I was lucky enough to nab a ticket for the Women's Hockey yesterday--Japan V China & Korea V Belgium---I am not a big Hockey fan but to gain access to the Olympic Park a ticket for an event happening in the park is required...Hell i'd have gone to watch snail racing to get the "Olympic Vibe"

My ticket was £35 which included a free travel pass to and from the Games.An excellent idea which not only saves the ticket holder money but also means no elongated queues of folk not au fait with the vagaries of London travel...Saving them time but also saving them the chagrin of fellow travellers not going to Olympicland...

As i live a short bus ride away from St Pancras station i decided to take the Javelin Train direct to Stratford International.A journey that usually takes between half hour & forty five minutes was reduced to seven minutes...I arrived at Stratford at 8-10am,by 8-20am i was through security and in the Olympic Park...Incredibly efficient...

The day in Olympicland is cut into three distinct phases,Morning,Afternoon and Evening sessions.Each ticket gives access to one session of whichever event you're going to.Meaning that at the end of both morning and afternoon sessions the sell out crowds at each event have to be replaced by another sell out crowd.This is done within an hour.Remarkable...

However any ticket holder is welcome to stay within the confines of Olympicland from opening to closing and many do( I was there for over eight hours) which means that as the day wears on the attendance within the park grows steadily...Probably between 250,000/500,000 people daily.

From the moment you get to the Javelin train there are livery clad  volunteers there to point you the way,This continues all the way to Olympicland and beyond.They are helpful and cheery.Normally i baulk at this kind of herding and forced holiday camp bonhomie but 1) i had no reason to explore Stratford having lived in the area in my early days in London 2)I really wanted to get to the Olympic site with speed and little fuss.

Although security is understandably tight it is'nt notably intrusive.As it's airport like security there's no need to open up every individual bag which speeds things up no end...as you walk through Olympicland opens up before you and the first noticeable thing is the sheer size.The site is 2.5 square Kilometers comprising of eight separate venues...It's takes a little while to familiarise yourself with the layout but you get there eventually.

The Athletics Stadium.Holds approx 80,000 and has been full for every session...

Other things that hit you pretty quickly in Olympicland is the reaction of the largely British crowd to being corralled into what is essentially a very large fenced in camp.Albeit a very well appointed one...As i said in another blog we're basically a cynical people who love nothing more than a good old moan.Frankly the thought of spending a whole day with thousands of my fellow Brits whining filled me with dread.But all day i only overheard one minor whinge...surely a World record?

Infact the crowd showed signs of a very un-British metamorphosis into a mass of unbridled joie de vivre...I would'nt say it was like a revivalist religious convention as such Outside of the sporting stadiums.More like a contented hum of folk who've paid off their mortgage and have a decent pension...However once they are inside we have all witnessed the passion they(we?) have shown in supporting our Olympians.TV Evangelists Worldwide must be looking on in a jealous rage...

The Water sports venues...Gloriana in the foreground.

The Velodrome(aka the Pringle) Where British Cyclists have dominated winning countless medals and breaking several world records.

@bbc5Live Nicky Campbell with British long jump gold medalist Greg Ruderford.

The Basketball Arena.Site of my former abode.Looks a bit different now...

Part of the Olympic Village.The German team clearly believe it pays to advertise...Looking to take advantage of some of the free 15,000 condoms given to Olympians...

Looks like my taxi's arrived...

The Orbit.

Japan and China Women's Hockey teams line up before their game.

Ouch!

Goal! Japan 1 China 0. A result that helped GB into the Semi-Finals...

Three North Korean Olympians off to MacDonalds?

The people have helped to make this possibly the greatest Games ever...Every event a mass of noise and colour...Britons justified in feeling proud of their Olympics...


So that was my day in Olympicland...A wonderful experience all round.One final word must go to the thousands of volunteers who are helping out with cheerful abandon and also keeping the place amazingly clean & tidy...

The reason i headlined this blog the way i did was coming out of Olympicland everyone was still on a happy high...I got on a bus at Kings Cross and a row broke out between two commuters.After a day of being in the company of thousands of well mannered,polite and thoughtful people it came as a shock to realise things are different outside of Olympicland...

@London2012...Welcome to the Twitter Olympics.

There is something distinctly different about these Olympics than any others that have preceded it...

It's not just that these will be the best supported Games ever in terms of attendance---despite misgivings about some empty seats,blamed on either corporate sponsors not taking up their allocation or the "Olympic Family" not doing so---To see stadiums full to the brim on qualifying days makes me very proud of my fellow Brits.It's easy to pitch up when gold medals are at stake but we are filling up every event before that,and making noise...

Boy are we making some noise! Every competitor in every event,from the Swimming to the Rowing,to the Hockey,Cycling,Gymnastics,Boxing and Athletics has remarked on the support given by the crowd.Even Andy Murray, who has played in some of the biggest Tennis games on Earth, has remarked on this being the best atmosphere he's encountered.

The World view of the British as a coldly reserved people may have to be revised...

But this is also the first Olympics where social media outlets--most notably Twitter & Facebook---have taken on a prominent role.Yes these were around during the Bejing games but it's safe to say the popularity of them,especially Twitter,has risen tenfold since then...

Suddenly we all have instant access to what is happening and we can all put our tupp'ence worth in too.It's as if we are all now an integral part of the games...Many of Britain's top athletes have been Tweeting,thereby giving us a direct route to them without having to wait for official press interviews...Obviously they have been advised not to say anything outrageous but that would be the same with a mic stuck in their face.

I know that  BBC radio & tv Olympic presenters all have Twitter as i am following many of them.This is where you get the real feel for the games both good and bad.Indeed the power of Twitter was evident yesterday when the wonderful Claire Balding issued and apology on air from the swimming pool when she made slightly disparaging remarks about Becky Adlington missing out on gold...Personally i had no problem with what she said as it was an honest assessment from a journalist.But she felt the need to issue a statement on air after her Twitter account exploded with indignation from many who follow her...

Twitter/Facebook also gives us in the UK a chance to see how the rest of the world are reacting to our efforts in hosting the games.Not just from worldwide media outlets but form normal sports fans who're on Twitter/Facebook.We all like to see how the rest of the world see us,especially if it's favourable!

There's also outlets like Instagram where we can instantly view punters pics from inside stadiums.

Now that the Pandora's box of social media outlets has been opened it cannot be closed,it will just continue to grow and with it the relationship between these massive worldwide events and the world of Twitter will become much more important.Bring it on i say...

As for the Olympics themselves highlights for me so far have been..In no particular order---The British Cycling team who've not only won numerous golds but smashed many world records.

Gabby Douglas the Afro-American Gymnast who won gold.Her displays have been amazing.Also the British Gymnastic team have surpassed expectation...

Katarina Johnson Thompson in the Heptathlon.She's understudy to Jessica Ennis but for me stole the show.Before her opening discipline she looked around the full and very noisy Olympic stadium and mouthed "Oh my god wow!" she went on to record three personal best's...A massive star in the making.

Michael Phelps.The swimmer supreme.21 medals now in Olympics and also comes across as professional and likeable...

Chad's Dad...If you're not aware of this fella look him up on You Tube.He's the dad of South African swimmer &  gold medalist Chad Le Clos.Got interviewed by BBC and became an instant cult hero...

Finally the biggest highlight ha been the British crowd...One word; Awesome!