Wolves blog: International break: a help or a hindrance?

As the first international break of the new season draws to a close, Wolves return to preparation for a trip to Bolton...writes Wolves blogger Tom Tracey.

Five first-team players have left their usual Compton surroundings this fortnight to pursue international ambitions.

Kortney Hause and Dominic Iorfa made their England Under-21 debuts which included a well-earned training session with the senior national team for Iorfa.

Sheyi Ojo played and scored in a 3-2 victory away to Germany Under-19s in a friendly.

Carl Ikeme made an impressive debut week in goal for the Nigeria national side, keeping two clean sheets and earning plaudits from many having replaced the absent number one, Vincent Enyeama, who is also the national captain.

Dave Edwards played every minute of Wales' two qualifiers against Cyprus and Israel, leaving them on the brink of Euro 2016 qualification.

It is remarkable to think, despite all of Edwards' detractors, that he is considered good enough to start in a national team placed above England in the world rankings.

Injuries to players such as Joe Ledley and Joe Allen admittedly gave Dave the chance to make his mark for the Wales team and he did not disappoint, getting favourable match ratings after the Israel game for his industriousness.

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But most importantly to Kenny Jackett and his team, these players are set to return injury-free to join the rest of the squad that have not had competitive action since the win over Charlton.

What is interesting to look at is how international breaks have affected Wolves in the past. Do the squad benefit from a break and a rest from league football or does the gap cause them to stagnate and lose form?

There are usually four big international breaks that affect the league season: September, October, November and March are the usual dates for these matches.

In the first international break of last season, Wolves also had five first-team departures on international duty. Kevin McDonald, Bakary Sako, Nouha Dicko, Sam Ricketts and Lee Evans were the first teamers missing whilst Bradley Reid and Kevin Doyle – who was on loan at Crystal Palace – made the total of seven.

Prior to the break, Wolves had beaten Blackburn 3-1 to make it four wins out of five in a return to the Championship. However, after the two week gap had passed, they could only draw 0-0 away to Blackpool who had up to that point lost all five of their first games.

In the October break, Edwards, Ricketts and Sako were the first team players called up to their national teams.

Wolves had just drawn at home to strugglers Wigan with two goals apiece, and returned from the international break at a canter, leading Millwall 3-0, before slumping to a morale-shattering 3-3 draw.

Wolves form took an extremely poor turn in November, losing five matches in a row. The second of these defeats, a 5-0 thrashing away to Derby, was followed by a two week gap.

Ricketts, Evans, Sako and Dicko were called up by their respective nations and alongside injuries within the squad, Jackett's preparations were hindered and a 3-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest followed.

Fast-forward to March 2015, and the reverse of these two fixtures straddled the final international break in the league calendar. Form had improved massively at this point and Wolves were making a march towards the play-off positions.

A thrilling 2-0 victory over Derby meant that the international break came at the wrong time for Wolves who were building momentum.

Iorfa and Hause, who had made their way into the Wolves first team, were away with the England Under-20s whilst Doyle, Edwards and Sako were also away.

However, the international break did not stop Wolves' march as they returned to beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 away from home.

Prior to the international breaks, Wolves had won two, drawn one and lost one of the four games. Returning, they won only once, drawing twice and losing once – a deficit of two points.

However, the only difference in results either side of the international break was drawing to Blackpool having beaten Blackburn beforehand – the other three breaks offered the same result both before and after.

A loss of up to five players alongside any injuries would have severely depleted what was not a huge squad at Wolves. This season is no different. Jackett's squad is far from the largest in the division and so match preparation would surely fall below usual effectiveness.

But this international break could be a blessing. It will give Jackett the chance to adapt his plans based on life without the injured Nouha Dicko and allow Nathan Byrne the chance to bed in properly.

Whilst all five missing players are largely players from the starting eleven, it will give fringe players the chance to stake a claim and impress the head coach.

Besides, Jackett may need the extra preparation time before taking on perennial bogey team Bolton anyway.