Breaking
The news…
Wolves set to sign Darren Ward from Crystal Palace, while in talks with Billy Sharp.
I’m all excited.
A sad day
What a turn up
So, yesterday brought this. How brilliant is that? Not only is he an Englishman with a true love of football – one of Jack Hayward’s criteria remember – but he’s putting his money where his mouth is. He has previously been a benefactor to Wrexham, and fought hard to get involved with
Liverpool. He is a Reds fan at heart, but then maybe a little objectivity is what we need from Wolves – it has certainly shown the difference between Jez Moxey (eternally under-appreciated) and John Richards (charming, but with lesser business sense).
Anyway, the ramifications are likely to be huge. Wolves have operated on a shoestring for two or three years now. Gone are the days when we’d blow wads on Tony Daley, Geoff Hurst, Steve Froggatt or John de Wolf. When McArthy came into Wolves, we had barely a first team to put together, and his wheeling-and-dealing has been second to none. Kightly for £25,000 was possibly the best business since Bull, while Keogh also looks like a snip at a little over half a million.
However, given our relative ability to live within our means, this announcement gives us a platform to compete financially with the biggest in the division. Look at what
Birmingham achieved with £9m last year – Wolves should have less than that amount, but enough to compete with that amount, this year. So, to the fun stuff – who to go for. Here are my choices:
Goalkeeper – if there’s one position where we’re more than happy, it’s in nets. Murray is the best keeper
England have never called up, and his injury record ensures he should be with us for at least another year. Hennessy has proven his worth on loan at
Stockport, and showed glimpses of huge potential against the Baggies. Ikeme as third backup is riches at this level.
Left back – Jackie McNamara’s exit has left Wolves a little short at left back. While Charlie Mulgrew has come in, injuries have curtailed any impact, and I don’t think Daniel Jones is up to it yet. Sources have been talking about Ashley Williams from
Stockport, but I’m unsure of his pedigree. While left back’s are pretty few and far between, I would be pleased if McArthy took a leaf out of the Keane book and loan in a youth player from the big 4, namely Armand Traore. He’s young, quick, and will overlap in the Cole/Clichy mould. He’s had little chance under Wenger so far and if, as expected, Arsenal strengthen their back line again, he might be further from the pecking order. Whether he’d come to Wolves is a point in question, but Aliadiaire did previously and to good effect.
Centre Half – Between Craddock and Collins, we’ve got two pretty good, reliable defenders. Breen started to creak towards the end of the season, and many onlookers have been publicly demanding a centreback with some pace. Paletta at
Liverpool could be an option on loan, but I think he’d be roughed up far too easily in the Championship. Having seen his two barnstorming displays against us in the playoffs, I’d love us to make a concerted effort to get Sam Sodje in the door. He’s not tall, but his aerial presence was magnificent in the away leg, and
Reading would surely let him go. Whether
West Brom will take him on permanently will depend on their status, so a good alternative could be Antony Gardner.
Centre Half – Craddock or Collins, as above.
Right Back – We have Rob Edwards, who is competent, and Mark Little, who will improve. Collins can cover and hopefully a youth player will come through again, so we should be ok here.
Left Wing – McIndoe hasn’t had nearly the impact on the left that Kightly has on the right. I think he’s definitely worth keeping and letting him compete for his place, especially with Gobern likely to move on, but I’d love to see Scott Sinclair have a season in the gold and black. He was by far-and-away
Plymouth’s shining light and, with Cole and Robben likely to regain fitness, he should be surplus to requirements at the Bridge. A truly exciting player who would light up Molineux. If not, loan deals for Chris Eagles or Wayne Routledge would also make my week.
Defensive Midfield – Karl Henry and Darren Potter have both made positive impressions this year. I’d be tempted to stick with Henry for the moment – he bleeds gold.
Offensive Midfield – Mark Ward and George Olofinjana both have massive potential, with both yet to fully achieve it. I’m uncertain as to where else to go, that would keep the balance of the team and underpin McArthy’s young, hungry and British mantra. I’ve always liked Claus Jensen at both Fulham and Charlton, but injuries and attitude would probably get in the way, despite the fact he’s on a free. I would bank on Big Mick making no changes in this area.
Right Wing – The best signing we could possibly make is putting Michael Kightly on a long-term contract. The boy is a class above the Championship, no doubt, and his attitude and commitment has mirrored his play. Signing of the season.
Up front – Andy Keogh has made the support striker role his own. He’s young, full of running, and has touch – something Wolves fans haven’t seen in a striker since, ooh, Robbie Keane. If he gets selfish, he’s one hell of a prospect.
Up front – Here’s the problem. Jay Bothroyd has buckled down for precisely five games, and Craig Davies and Carl Cort have both been moved quickly and efficiently on. That leaves our Jay the only senior option for this berth, and unlikely to score 20 a season even then. Billy Sharp is the obvious choice. He linked up with Keogh to devastating effect for Scunny, seems to be available, and has scored 30 goals for the past two years. He’ll be expensive, but he’d repay us with goals. He’d be the Frankowski we wanted. Two other options I like are Aliadiare and Derbyshire, though the latter is likely to be unavailable.
