I'm not a religious man.In fact i am an atheist,or maybe agnostic,or quite possibly a deathbed Christian.Only time will tell...The one thing i am is a Wolves fan.That's a close as i ever get to a religious experience and by Christ it's been a test of faith sometimes...
Football fans are meant to be a miserable lot.Happiness does'nt sit well with us.Speak to any fan and it's not long till the moans & groans surface about their club.Usually it's justified but even fans of the top teams find a cloud hiding out among all the silver.Turn on any radio football phone in and mostly you'll hear barely articulate supporters saying something like " well for my sins i'm a Real Madrid fan and i have to say Ronaldo's gotta go.he's only scored twenty goals in twelve games,living on past glories.Lazy sod..."Ok i exaggerate but i have heard Man Utd fans moaning about Mourinho in the last week so it's not far off...
We've had our trials and tribulations at Wolves these last ten years or so.Lots of promotions and relegations and to be truthful it's been fun,even the bad times have given me a perverse pleasure.What's not been fun is the last two seasons.We have meandered along in the middle lane doing nothing,getting nowhere.Becoming a footnote to the story of the season...like going to church every sunday,hearing a bland uninspiring sermon from an uninterested,complacent clergyman and trooping off to the DIY store afterwards..Doing your duty to no purpose other than turning up...Then we got Nuno Herlander Simoes Espirit Santo up in the pulpit...
This is no fire & brimstone preacher but don't be fooled by the calm exterior.There's steel behind the eyes.No soft touch this high priest...His first job was to get the deadwood who would'nt,or could'nt, co-opt into what he wanted from the team,out of the club.Which he did with ruthless efficincy.Next was to get the defence organised.We'd been guilty of shipping stupid goals,especially at Molineux.He bought in a couple of players but also reinvigorated established lads like Doherty & Batth whilst making Coady a centre back of note.he knew that wins come from solidity at the back but not in a "park the bus" way,not in a "hold out for nil nil and nick a win " way.But in a positive way.Positive defence.Who'd have thought it ? Not us,Not on your nelly...He's got the defenders to actually stay calm under pressure,look for the pass out to midfielders comfortable on the ball.Comfortable with opponents surrounding them,snapping at their heels,knowing they always have the innate ability to sidestep their clumsy lunges or comfortable that a teamate was free to pass to...
Nuno introduced a novel new approach to a moribund team.Pass,move,pass and keep moving...create space all the time.Keep it fluid.Keep that damn ball moving.The opponents may well keep up with you for an hour or so but for the last quarter of the game they'll be blowing out of their arses.There for the taking...the result of young,fit,skillful players and six weeks of double training sessions in pre season is there for all to see.
Much has been made of Wolves getting the services of players like Neves,Jota,Miranda etc.Nuno knew that he needed to get players in who were at least the equal of Helder Costa & Ivan Cavaleiro.No point having a Formula 1 racing car if your going to have it serviced by Gary's Garage of Tividale and driven by Noddy...But it's one thing wanting these players,quite another getting them...Never mind talk of agents etc,if a player don't wanna move he don't move.They all believe in the church of Nuno Herlander Simoes Espirit Santo.You only have to watch them play to see this...and now us fans believe too.
We are all converts.We have all signed up and if you don't believe me check out how many Black Country new borns are named Nuno,Ruben & Diogo in the next year...
I may not go down to the river to pray but i'll gladly go to the Molineux to worship...
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