Swain on the Championship title race
Friday 27th March 2009, 3:34PM GMT.
Chief Sports Writer Martin Swain mulls over what it will take for Wolves to reach the promised land as champions.
Six games to go – and the Four F’s are pointing to a promotion that would be a triumph of planning and execution from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Three years on from the carnage of the summer of 2006, Wolves are five points clear of the Championship field with a team choc-full of thrusting Under 25s desperate to make a name for themselves.
The bulk of Steve Morgan’s £30million transfer kitty is still at the club’s disposal to supplement the multi millions on which the club can bank for reaching the world’s richest league. That might be enough to at least give them a chance of staying there this time.
Had you offered Wolves fans this position of high potential three years ago, as they stared at the wreckage of Glenn Hoddle’s resignation, a fatigued owner’s declining interest and both the playing staff and club coffers laid to waste – well, only a foolish optimist would have imagined better.
Now there are just those last few steps to go, riddled as they will be with gut-wrenching tension for all and a heartbreak Wolves fans know only too well for some. But the Four Fs tell me, this time, it will be Molineux’s turn to smile.
FORM: -
Their rivals had their chance but didn’t take it and now the wobble is over.
Wolves gave all the pursuing pack the opportunity to erase the team’s electric start to the season but Birmingham, Reading and even the play-off chasers spurned the opportunity.
Mick McCarthy’s team looked as if they were running through treacle during the first months of this year, as that worrying 11-game sequence reaped just one victory.
But, in one of those curious quirks of football, every time Wolves failed, so did the hunting pack. It became “the Championship nobody wants to win” – until five games ago.
With a mixture of renewed defensive solidity and the team’s undoubted goalscoring ability, Wolves changed course and 13 points from 15 has been their reward.
It is form which meant that the face of every Wolves player was lit up with renewed confidence and belief as they left the City Ground last week.
FIXTURES: -
It’s the game everyone plays this time of year – including managers and players – as the run-ins of the rivals come under fierce scrutiny.
But there is nothing for Wolves to fear here. Reading have a game in hand but the closing sequences of the top three are level in terms of degrees of difficulty.
Other than Wolves’ trip to St Andrew’s, a match they can now lose without disintegrating into panic, it is two Reading home games which leap out.
Their next and then last fixtures at the Madejski against fourth-placed Sheffield United and Blues respectively.
FIGURES: -
The ‘stats’ back Wolves too. Having headed the Championship since the end of August, history suggests they will go on to complete the job.
Fourteen out of the last 16 teams to have led with seven games to go secured automatic promotion with 13 finishing as champions.
In further evidence, 11 out of 11 teams which have held at least a two-point advantage over second place at this stage have finished first.
FANS: -
They are not just backing the team in numbers – the tone of the support is right too.
After all the fretting and grumbling during the stumbling form after Christmas, it’s as if Wolves fans have given themselves a good talking to and returned to the seats with positive, vocal support.
Having taken more than 5,000 to Forest, they have sold out their allocation for the trip to Derby and expect to do the same for Blues.
If Wolves trip up from here, it will not be for want of vocal inspiration from the sidelines.
If my forecast holds water, then that will leave one of Birmingham or Reading to drop into the play-offs, a dispute which could well be settled by their meeting on the last day of the season.
Behind them, Sheffield United are surely play-off bound, Burnley too. It is the enormous strain on Cardiff which throws calculations into the melting pot.
The games in hand mean Dave Jones has to steer his sixth-placed team through a punishing schedule of seven games in 20 days.
How Cardiff cope with that holds the key to the remaining dispute over sixth, with Preston the most likely to benefit from their fatigue.
Swansea and Bristol City should be discounted, because the bookies have worked out that teams in their position have only a 12 per cent and four per cent record respectively for finishing sixth or better.
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Spot on Swain!!! Whos stupid idea was it for international week now! I dont care about international matches. I care about wolves and wanna watch them win the title. Not England in some friendly agaist average joes utd!
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Dead right. Form and history show we should do it.
Now we just need to get out there and do it.
I’m starting to believe!
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Your right! 3 years ago it looked so bleak, but now with a very young squad the hunger is there and I really do believe the future is so bright. Has anything been mentioned about increasing the capacity to over 30k lately?
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WE SHALL NOT WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!!!
At the very least a draw at St Andrews should be the breathing space we need to hopefully go on an unbeaten run. I would not be surprised to see SEB get a further 5 goals.
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Now doubt the title is coming. Lets take the championships best players with us, exchanging a few of ours:
Ledley
Roger Johnson
Jason Scotland
Chris Eagles
Seb Larsson
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i would cry if we botteled it now we av to do this . if we dont i dont thinck we ever will cmon wolves i belive
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Cannot decide if the author is having a pop at Hoddle or not.
If he is it should be remembered that Hoddle never had the luxury (bar his very last game in charge) of a Murray or Hennessey available to him.
He had seen Lescott sold without getting the money to reinverst and finally threw in the towel once Seol was sold and the funds again denied to him.
MM has indeed got us near to the finishing line but how painful it has been watching players out of position and favourites getting a game ahead of better players.
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Just what we need feed the confidence and play one game at a time.
Still to play for and proggression is on the cards as well.
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i reckon two more wins for promotion and three for champions, come on me babbys
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i’m forever the optimist but it’s not over till the fat one sings, forever wolves
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give our team the support the stoke fans give there lads.with our help the title is ours no faint hearts now
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Mr Swain – Another “F” – it FEELS right.
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top report! I have spent a frustrating week working out all the permatations and I reckon avoiding defeat to the blues and clocking up 9 points from the remaining six should see us right!
Come on me babbies you can smell it now!
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Good article Martin, lets hope we not only go up but finish top of the pile too. No doubt there will be some people short of memory, temper and brain cells, who will be slagging off MM, Moxey and fringe players on here in a minute, but I remember much leaner times and can’t wait for the doubters to go quiet in the next few weeks…
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Let’s hope Wolves’ nerve holds out.In the past they have a history of losing their nerve at the all important time.
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I like the four ‘F’s. I think the fans made a conscious decision during the Plymouth game that it was now or never.
“Stand up and support your team” was the shout….and that’s exactly what happened.
We didn’t play great in that game, but the fans sung, got behind the players and made it clear they were singing up for the lads.
We then went on our crucial run of 4 wins and a draw from 5.
The fans responded well, the team responded well.
Now for the crucial game against the Blues.
Up the Wolves.
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Spot On. Also, if they pick up a point at B-Ham (three would be great)they will start playing with
less pressure which usually means good footie and good results for all and “the Wolves will be back in the pack”.
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We are going up and Moxey will sing
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How good it is that Wolves promotion , if achieved , as I´m confident it will , willbe with an extremely talented and young bunch of players . I think too the attacking Wolves of earlier in the season will surprise quite a number in the Premier league . What a difference from that team previosly promoted which was , contrary to Dave Jones Wolves programme notes , not at all ready to compete . In fact the overated bungler Jones set Wolves back many years with his short sighted , innane , policy of signing over the hill players , a policy being repeated at Cardiff and again guaranteed to fail .
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19. Paul 02 said:
” In fact the overated bungler Jones set Wolves back many years with his short sighted , innane , policy of signing over the hill players”
As I’ve pointed out on here before, Paul, blame SJH, NOT Dave Jones for the ‘mature’ side that entered the Premier League.
Dave gave old Jack a WELL PUBLICISED straight choice concerning a promotion strategy: build SLOWLY with kids (but takes patience and time) OR build QUICKLY by acquiring seasoned, experienced professionals.
JACK HIMSELF CHOSE THE LATTER STRATEGY, SO BLAME HIM AND HIM ALONE.
Once promoted, SJH also reneged on his boastful PROMISE “to do a Birmingham”. So, instead of receiving multi-millions to fund a survival campaign (as Dave rightly expected), Jonah received ABSOLUTE PEANUTS. And you know what that buys: monkeys.
Jack’s decision was, I suspect, partly due to Wolves beating high-flying Newcastle in the FA Cup. Old Jack obviously thought we were much better equipped than we actually were. The lack of investment was also partly due to old Jack having become sick of spending…but that’s because he failed to realise just how much it costs to run a top flight club (and because the likes of McGee had wasted millions, don’t forget).
SO, TAKING EVERYTHING INTO ACCOUNT, THE BLAME LAY WITH SJH AND HIM ALONE. PENNY-PINCHING AT SUCH A CRUCIAL TIME IN WOLVES’ HISTORY RESULTED IN IMMEDIATE RELEGATION FOR A CLUB THAT HAD WAITED 19 LONG, LONG YEARS FOR PROMOTION. IT ALSO UNDID EVERYTHING GOOD THAT SJH HAD PREVIOUSLY DONE IN ONE FELL SWOOP.
As I said, Dave Jones cannot be blamed for financial decisions that were out of his hands. HE KNEW -as I did- that we were doomed before we’d even kicked off at Blackburn. Would you expect our manager to admit defeat before a ball was even kicked? What message would that send to the team, club AND supporters.
Dave Jones had his hands tied and paid for it. As Jonah once said: “You build one side to get out of the Championship, then you have to build another once just to survive the Premier League”.
Dave was never afforded the luxury of doing that. That’s why we’re still waiting for a second shot at promotion to this very day, isn’t it, Jack?
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Article 20 slagging off Sir Jack may have some truth in it BUT…. I don’t know which stand you sit in my friend but while you watch Wolves play in the top two divisions or wait for Steve Morgan to spend Sir Jacks Millions in the Pem, given as a gift to the club, think about Molineux pre 1993 or Division 4 or the debt we would be in or the training ground or the pride that he has put back into Wolverhampton and the team that still exists because of the man you can’t even be bothered to type the name of – Sir Jack Hayward.
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19. Paul 02 read the wise words of 20.
On good authority DJ was asked to present his plans to the board to 1. Survive, 2. Get into Europe, 3. Win the the title, which he estimated roughly 80M at the time. He got none of them – in particular the survival fund.
And by the way Ilkeston wolf – have you forgotten just how bad the football was under Hoddle, ask the ticket office how many chose not to renew that season.
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3. Golden Balls
The £30M that everybody is presuming is going to support new signings is the the money that has already been allocated to expanding the stadium.
Stop dreaming you silly billies, get real with the economies of the Premiership.
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Reidmail (post 21), I’ll clear up a few points:
Firstly, regarding my post, you say that “there may be some truth in it”. With respect, there’s no “some” about it: IT IS the truth. I repeat:
SJH himself chose the strategy employed by Jonah to win promotion, and SJH subsequently reneged on his promise follow Blues’ example. Wolves’ investment upon promotion was derisory compared to what needed to be spent, hence our immediate relegation. Those are FACTS, unpalatable as they may be.
SJH may be held in high esteem in Wolverhampton because of his enormous contribution to Wolves (and rightly so, too, I would add), but this doesn’t mean that he was flawless, and it certainly doesn’t mean that he is immune from criticism, either. Jack made some serious errors of judgement during his tenureship and, just because everyone loves him to bits, it doesn’t change that fact one jot. That’s not criticism of the old fellah for the sake of it…it’s part of Wolves history purely because it happened, simple as that. So, if a manager’s hands are tied (and Dave’s hands definitely WERE), then it’s daft to blame him for our subsequent failure in the top flight. Dave was the fall guy for Jack’s pulling-in of the purse strings, not because he was incompetent. On the contrary, I think Jonah was the best boss we’d had in years, and I believe we’d still be in the Premiership (and flourishing) had he been given PROPER BACKING as promised.
I’m very grateful for what SJH did, despite my apparent moans (‘facts’, that is). I recognise the magnificent ‘new’ Molineux and I applaud the superb training centre provided by SJH. And no, I haven’t forgotten the crumbling dump SJH inherited: how could I seeing as I had to take my little boys there, all those years ago, in the 4th Division? Yes, I’m grateful to SJH…but gratitude alone does not change facts, nor indeed should sentiment be allowed to hide them.
Incidentally, I’m NOT “waiting” for Steve Morgan to spend millions, as you put it. Yes, I’m HOPING he will, but I EXPECT nothing, just as I didn’t from SJH. That said, Mr. Morgan has a duty to progress the club and that naturally involves substantial funding as and when necessary. It goes with the territory and he knows it. Furthermore, Steve will, presumably, have noted the error of judgement SJH made in this respect, and will not repeat it.
Again, at the risk of sounding ungrateful (which I genuinely am NOT), I think one other thing is worth bearing in mind:
It is reputed that SJH spent anywhere between £60m and £70m of his own money on Wolves. That’s an astronomical figure and probably lends weight to the “we cannot criticise Sir Jack” argument because we all feel indebted. I’m taking absolutely NOTHING away from him, but let’s see it another way:
As SJH was allegedly worth around £250m (according to the publicised ‘Rich List’ at the time), his investment accounted for, maybe, 25% of his wealth. Pro rata, that’s probably the SAME as every other Wolves fan spends, as a percentage of THEIR income. In short, therefore, each and every one of us contributes on an equal footing to that of Sir Jack. So, much as I respect and admire him, I respect my fellow fans just as much. It also means that I won’t place SJH on an untouchable pedastal. As I said, he’s just as open to scrutiny and, if necessary, criticism (as WE all are -ask McCarthy, he’s always been quick enough to have a pop when it suits him, lol!). It’s as Sir Jack always said: “I’m just a fan like the rest of you”. Quite correct, too.
Finally, a comment about the last thing you said you said: “…the man you can’t even be bothered to type the name of – Sir Jack Hayward”.
Actually, I CAN be bothered. My term ‘Old Jack’ was used flippantly and because I see him as ‘one of the lads’ (meaning an ordinary fan, which is a compliment), and not used disparagingly.
Having re-read my previous post, however, I must admit that I can see why you’d view it as disrespectful -so accept my genuine apologies. Certainly, no offence was meant to our much-loved benefactor.
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I missed a bit out. My last line should have said:
“Certainly, no offence was meant to our much-loved benefactor. I was merely defending the position of Dave Jones”.
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Ye Olde South Bank
Blogs r supposed to be short and sweet, not
bleeding war & peace.
Prem here we come.
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Ye Olde South Bank
Blogs r supposed to be short & sweet,not
war & peace
Numpty
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YE OLD SOUTH BANK : I admit I´ve always found Dave Jones an overated manager at all his clubs . Never the less I do recall DJ´s PROGRAMME NOTES in which he stated ¨the team that is promoted willbe the team ready to compete in the Premier League , ¨or words to that effect . DJ is doing the same at Cardiff , signing old players that maybe can compete at the lower level but not at the higher . Were people like Ince , Rae , Kennedy , Blake etc able to compete in the PL they would not have signed for Wolves in the first place .Its only they were over the hill and unable to compete that they did sign . Anyway Wolves were hardly outstanding in their promotion year , except perhaps in the play offs . I think Sir Jack realised , perhaps later than me , that DJ´s was not up to the job . Mind you I do think the Board under Sir Jack was not up to the job either . The present board seem far more clear sighted and consistent . In this I mean NO criticism of Sir Jack . For me he is beyond reproach .
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JONNERS 22 .Ofcourse the Board and manager will discuss strategic requirements prior to the coming season . But do you think it wise for Wolves especially , bearing in mind its history ,to sanction huge spending ? Even now , with a smashing team , good manager , sound Board , I would be very careful . I even think it might be better to be a yo yo club for a few seasons , much like WBA , in order to finally stabilise in the PL before spending large sums . Build gradually , with a bigger stadium .
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No 13, I think your spreadsheet must be wrong then :-)
Quote “I reckon avoiding defeat to the blues and clocking up 9 points from the remaining six should see us right!”
We’ve only got 6 games left INCLUDING the blouses – Mind I agree that 9 points should be enough for auto maybe 12 for the title
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