Comment: Wolves are too good for the Championship

Yes, we’re at that stage now. No more pussyfooting around the subject, no more downplaying how good this team is, or questioning whether there’s the slightest chance they won’t go up.

In terms of technical ability, style, panache and obscenely good football this is one of the greatest football teams ever produced by Wolverhampton Wanderers.

And they will be playing in the Premier League next year.

With 16 games to go, they need to win just half to reach 92 points. No team has ever failed to win automatic promotion with such a total (Sunderland finished third in 1998 with 90) and it’s unthinkable to imagine Wolves won’t win eight more matches from here.

It’s not just the exquisite football they magically conjure up and their devastating ability to savagely rip a team apart piece by piece.

It’s not just the fact they’re incredibly hard to play against, with their robotic, meticulous organisation leading to 17 clean sheets in 30 matches.

It’s not just the fact they have in their midst a gifted head coach whose fastidious and exhaustive attention to detail, wily tactical prowess and energising man management deserves the bigger stage it will soon get.

It’s all those things and so, so much more. Wolves are just too good for this league.

And after a ropey couple of weeks – by their lofty standards – they’ve now gloriously returned to their enchanting best. It’s an ominous sign for the chasing pack, who will soon give up all hope of catching Wolves if they haven’t already.

Indeed, Derby are currently sat in second place and their coach Kevin Phillips stated today in his weekly Express & Star column that the Rams aren't looking any higher than that.

"I think it’s only a matter of time before (Wolves) wrap up the league...they’re walking away with it." Phillips said.

"That organisation all comes from having a good leader and you have to say they look faultless.

"If they do have a bad run then ourselves at Derby, Villa or Cardiff are well placed to challenge and of course it would be great to challenge for top spot, that’s what everyone wants.

"But we have to concentrate on second place and also on securing a play-off spot as soon as possible."

Saturday's win was right up there with the most spellbinding performances they've produced in this most glorious of seasons so far.

Sheffield United are one of only four teams to have beaten Wolves this season, back in September, when an early Conor Coady red derailed Nuno's side.

But there was to be no repeat. This time they glared at United like a worthless piece of meat and gorged on their helpless carcass like the ravenous, insatiable wolf pack they are.

Jota, Costa and Cavaleiro intertwined like Cirque du Soleil performers, Coady raised the bar ahead of the superbowl with inch-perfect 70-yard quarterback-style rakes, Boly, Bennett and N'Diaye were no-nonsense sergeant majors, Doherty and Douglas were the Red Arrows down the flanks and John Ruddy...well he had nothing to do. As usual.

And then there was Neves. Ruben Neves. What more can be said about this man?

Technically and aesthetically there are very few players in Wolves' recent history who can shine this guy's shoes.

The vision, the touch, the awareness, the vision, the goals...oh my, the goals. Four strikes, four stunners...he doesn't do average. Neves does things with a football that are banned in 48 American states.

He, like this Wolves team, should be savoured. Benik Afobe was welcomed back as a returning hero but even he faces a job to get into the XI.

When they’re in this mood there’s probably only a fairly small number of teams in the country who are better to watch...Wolves are that good. Their desire, their will to win, their lust for goals – it’s relentless.

And Molineux lauded its heroes, singing from minute one to 90. Supporters have been debating why the atmosphere has felt a little flat of late...well that certainly wasn’t the case here. Loud, incessant noise emanated from the South Bank in particular all evening. They lifted the roof off for Afobe too.

It must be stated again just how important the week-long trip to Marbella has already proved to be; Wolves left for Spain jaded and returned refreshed and revitalised, producing two of the best performances of the season in successive weeks.

It’s a privilege to watch this Wolves side and at this rate the final three months of the season will be a procession.

In what's become a season-long long trumps game of which opposition manager can say the nicest thing about Wolves, Chris Wilder laid down another gauntlet.

Towards the start of the season managers were calling Wolves the best team they'd played against, then they were certs for promotion, then they were the best Championship team of the past three years (said Carlos Carvalhal) and now, from Wilder: "They are at a different level to anything we have experienced in the Championship."

Every question posed of them has been answered.

Could they mix it with physical teams in the Championship? Yes.

Could they find a way to break down obdurately defensive-minded sides? Yes.

Could they do it on a cold, wet night in Wolverhampton? Yes.

Could they overcome the mental and physical fatigue of the relentless Championship schedule? With the help of some Vitamin D, yes.

There are some tough fixtures ahead – Villa away, Fulham away, Cardiff away, etc. But Wolves will, as they always do, find a way through it.

The only question that remains is when – not if – will promotion be confirmed?