Comment: Indispensable Matt Doherty can go places with Wolves
Such is their impressive squad depth, there aren’t many players in the Wolves team that would be noticeably missed if they were absent.
The fulcrum that is Leo Bonatini would certainly be one. Ruben Neves might be another (we’ll find out on Monday), writes Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers.
But with the likes of Will Norris, Danny Batth, Alfred N’Diaye, Jack Price, Ruben Vinagre and Helder Costa next in line to cover a variety of positions, the word ‘indispensable’ can’t really legitimately be applied to anyone else.
Except Matt Doherty.
And while Phil Ofosu-Ayeh’s injury absence leaves a dearth of obvious cover at right wing back, it’s more Doherty’s remarkably consistent performances that make him indispensable.
The 25-year-old has proved himself invaluable in the Nunolution, playing every minute of Wolves' league campaign so far and being one of the star performers in a team that's clear at the top of the Championship.
It's a scenario that would have looked unlikely as recently as a couple of seasons ago, when the Irishman was struggling to nail down a regular starting spot with Dominic Iorfa and Scott Golbourne the preferred choices for Kenny Jackett in late 2015
Then an unlikely door opened at left back when Golbourne was sold to Bristol City – and Doherty hasn't looked back since.
He made his left back debut in a 4-1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in December 2015. Of the 90 league games Wolves have played since then Doherty has started 85, with three of the five he's missed being due to injury.
His form was so good for the rest of that 2015/16 campaign that he scooped the player of the year gong and he continued that consistency last season.
The fact he's one of a dwindling number to survive so many changes of head coach is impressive enough, but to start with such regularity is a commendable feat.
A succession of bosses have come to rely on Doherty and Nuno Espirito Santo is the latest.
Nuno is a man who doesn't dish out praise lightly but he recently picked out Doherty's feverish work rate, saying he's grown into the wing back role and coped with its numerous physical and mental demands.
Mick McCarthy spotted Doherty seven years ago in what was his Bohemians debut in a friendly against Wolves. So taken was McCarthy that he signed Doherty almost immediately, before he could play a senior game for Bohs.
A year later Doherty was Wolves' man of the match on his Premier League debut at Anfield.
"He's steady and does his job," McCarthy said, while also picking out Doherty's maturity for his age at 19. A number of his successors would say the same.
After useful loan spells with Hibs and Bury, Doherty made his first team breakthrough under Dean Saunders who gave him and Danny Batth regular game time.
Jackett, Walter Zenga and Paul Lambert all picked him and praised him.
Lambert described him as one of the most consistent players in the league and likened him to Denis Irwin.
Jackett called for international recognition...in 2014. Almost unfathomably Doherty's wait for a full Ireland cap continues, despite several call-ups and an unquestionably sizeable improvement in the intervening three years.
The man ahead of him in the pecking order, Cyrus Christie, must be some player...
The caps will surely come soon and at this rate Doherty – who is 22 games short of 200 Wolves appearances – could find himself a Premier League regular, should Wolves' meteoric rise continue.
Under Nuno he has taken his performances to a new level, making that right flank his own and becoming a more intelligent player owing to all the extra responsibilities that the wing back role entails.
His positioning is sound and his distribution simple and quick. Time and again you see him bombing down that right wing, often unchecked, either leading to him swinging a cross over or merely making himself a distraction to allow more space for Ivan Cavaleiro and co.
By his own recent admission his end product needs work (he has one goal and three assists to his name this season) but you suspect that under Nuno's tutelage that'll come.
The gloves have been ditched and Doherty's professional and unassuming nature chimes perfectly with the values Nuno is imposing on his squad.
Possessing a dry sense of humour, Doherty is grounded, too, which most likely comes from his father, whom he rarely fails to mention in a post-match interview, be it his advice or his criticism.
For all Wolves' creativity and technical brilliance, the likes of Doherty underpin their initial success, particularly in the 3-4-3 system where the wing back role is so crucial.
Stop the wing backs and you have a much better chance of stopping Wolves. But Doherty – and Barry Douglas – are thriving.
Teams need unsung heroes. Sir Alex Ferguson endlessly extolled the virtues of his quiet, self-effacing players such as Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and yes, Denis Irwin.
"He was not the type to trumpet his achievements," Ferguson said of Irwin.
"It is quite refreshing in the modern game that we have players who can rely on their ability not only by promoting or projecting themselves."
Ferguson labelled Irwin his best ever signing, a perennial '8/10 player' and Doherty is built from the same stock.
After being asked if he was disappointed about an uncharacteristic Irwin error which led to United conceding a goal in an important match at Arsenal, Ferguson replied: "Well, one mistake in 10 years isn’t bad."
Try and recall if you can the latest glaring Matt Doherty error that led to a goal.
Wolves are a club going places. They would be wise to ensure Doherty goes there with them.
