Express & Star

Wolves Fans' Verdict v Sheffield Wednesday: An unforgettable day

Our fans sum up another special day in a wonderful season.

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Rob Cartwright

What's your verdict on the match? Let’s be clear about this. The actual match was not the main event at Molineux, on this occasion. This was about celebrating the tremendous season we’ve had and thanking the players and those behind the scenes for making it happen.

It’s been a remarkable achievement, when you consider what we were doing just 12 months ago, under Lambert.

This is why Nuno deserves all the plaudits he gets. He is a genius. Especially, as the national press would like to have you believe that the club has lost its soul.

LONDON JOURNALISTS - HOLD YOUR HEADS IN SHAME.

Wolves, as always, put on a superb show for fans and players to celebrate together. I was especially pleased to see many of the backroom staff were also invited to join in on the pitch. They deserve it. Class from Wolves.

Here’s my alternative ‘Magic Moments’ from Saturday...

1) The gold flares smoke engulfing the Billy Statue, as the teams arrived.

2) Jeff Shi walking the trophy onto the pitch.

3) The ovation for Nuno as he walked to pick up his medal. Awesome.

4) The players changing into Ikeme tops for their lap of honour. Class.

5) Nuno running half the pitch, with trophy held aloft, to salute the South Bank.

6) Saiss going through on Forestieri towards the end. I’d been willing someone to do that all game.

7) “Tango” playing to both the South Bank and the North Bank, complete with his bottle of, you guessed it, Tango. An unlikely legend on the day. Fair play to him.

8) The Sheffield Wed dancer who strutted his stuff for song after song, long after most away fans had left. Hats off to those who stayed. There were a lot, maybe they were wolves in owls clothing?

As for the actual game. Sheffield had a lot of possession, but did very little with it. They had no shots on target to trouble Ruddy and I can hardly remember any at all.

Wolves were totally in control and created chance after chance. They really should have at least put one away.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Everyone did just enough, without breaking sweat. Saving their energy for the celebrations and who can blame them for that.

My man of the match is Saiss for going through Forestieri and taking a yellow.

Special mention too for John Ruddy. Yet another clean sheet and winner of the EFL Golden Glove award. Also to Graham Hughes, who carefully put the trophy into the cabinet at the end of the night. No one more deserving.

Wolves. Thank you. You were class, right up until the last moment of the day.

Russ Cockburn

What's your verdict on the match? I think yesterday was best summed up by a photograph taken by my mate Tim Lewis. You’ve probably seen it if you’re on social media, it is the one of Billy Wright being enveloped in orange smoke.

Arguably our best ever player overlooking the next generation of stars and that’s what each and every one of them are. This season has been nothing short of sensational for performance, results and the style we have played. There also been more drama than the EastEnders Christmas special with the last minute win at Bristol City eclipsed by the penalties saga in the Welsh capital.

You can list probably six players who all would have been player of the season in years gone by - that’s how consistent we’ve been. You would be forgiven for thinking Doherty and Douglas are on steroids the amount of running they do, Neves the artisan playmaker, Cav adding an end product to his flair and Jota managing to gracefully survive 45 assassination attempts.

Then we have Conor Coady, my player of the year. Seeing him sing the Nuno song in the tunnel brought tears to my eyes…sorry Lorraine Kelly, I’ve got a new guilty pleasure.

His performances have merited the honour in its own right, but it’s his personality that has really shone this season and brought together the great team spirit we see in the squad. Apparently, his voice is more aggravating than a dose of Owen Jones though!

Yesterday he effortlessly pinged balls left and right and mopped up the rare threat a competent Sheffield Wednesday offered. Talk of a national call-up are not as ridiculous as they would have been 12 months ago and if Jake Livermore can get in the squad we all can.

The only other thing to take out of the game yesterday was the enigma Bright returning. In a 25-minute spell he showed exactly how infuriating he can be, with some clever touches and movement only to be ruined by a shanked shot across the box. I’m sure his teammates call him jigsaw, because he goes to pieces in the box.

The 90 minutes were just a distraction to the main events and the post-game celebrations on the pitch and in the pubs were something I’ll remember for ever. It was great to have the players celebrate in front of the ‘main end’ and even more surprising to see the North Bank still full after 85 minutes.

This promotion feels different, it feels like we’re not going up just to make up the numbers…Fosun want and need us to be competitive and Nuno will settle for nothing less.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Roman Saiss was the pick of the bunch yesterday in what was a rather average performance.

Our couscous superstar is used to being the back-up act to the Neves masterclass, but yesterday he proved that he’s about much more than just sticking his foot in. In fact, he was the most likely scorer, having a point-blank header saved in the first half.

The other heroes yesterday were Richard Wild for crafting the Going Up Cup, Olav for serenading McGhees with Sweet Caroline and the boys and girls who lined Waterloo Road to create a sea of orange and black to greet the team coach. It looked far better than the Scouse version, not a single perm or shellsuit in sight!

Russ Evers (Hatherton Wolves)

What's your verdict on the match? All a bit "after the Lord Mayor's show" but hats off to Sheffield Wednesday who proved to be as good a team as we have faced for months.

We didn't quite have the extra spark to match recent performances but still created the game's best openings and kept another clean sheet.

The post match celebrations were great to see but Nuno will desperately want to focus the team for next weekend to see us over the 100 point mark and to achieve the feat of beating every team in the division. Bring it on.

Adam Virgo

What's your verdict on the match? Two teams with nothing to play for anymore and the scoreline certainly showed that. Didn’t matter to us in the slightest considering we were already champions, although it would have been nice to win but we’ve won the Championship and I’m sure no one wants this season to end.

The game was quite open early on, with both teams looking to attack quickly. Sheffield Wednesday did cause some problems on the counter in the first 15 minutes or so but without really threatening us.

We had some good chances to win the game though, Afobe who could have done better after being gifted the ball and rounding the goalkeeper but the angle was always against him. Saiss was unlucky with his header, their keeper making a very smart save.

In the second half we had complete control, Sheffield Wednesday didn’t even have a shot in the second 45 and we had plenty of chances to get a goal. Enobakhare who was back after a few months out with injury had our best opportunity and he smashed it horribly wide, no surprise though. He’s never really had the finishing touch, for me he strikes the ball weirdly and next season he needs a loan out to a stable Championship side.

In the end, the result meant nothing. It was our chance to celebrate with the players, staff and everyone involved with Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. The video that Ikeme did was very touching and I imagine it brought a tear to many, such a shame he couldn’t be there celebrating with us as all of this has been for him, a very nice touch from the players to wear shirts with Ikeme on as well.

The job Nuno has done in such a short amount of time is incredible and I like many others, cannot wait for next season. Next weekend should be class for all of us travelling up to Newcastle/Sunderland for the weekend where it’s going to be a party atmosphere and plenty of sore heads on the Monday morning that’s for sure.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Conor Coady once again was absolutely fantastic like he has been all season. He puts his body on the line and his heart and soul into every game. There was a time in the second half when Sheffield Wednesday had a two-on-one but Coady recovered so quickly and dispossessed the player on the ball, which was vital otherwise they could have easily scored.

I really hope he is our main captain next season regardless of whether Batth stays or is sold because he’s shown this season how much of a leader he is and that he is our best captain.

Defensively we were sound, another clean sheet and Sheffield Wednesday didn’t really pose much threat in terms of chances.

I wouldn’t really say anyone had a bad game, a few players were off the pace compared to usual but that’s expected when the game doesn’t have much significance.

Clive Smith

What's your verdict on the match? Not until the final whistle did everyone start enjoying the day. The game itself will not make the season's DVD highlights.

The fireworks, flags and razzmatazz were in stark contrast to the thought provoking pre-match video message from Ikeme.

Sheff Wed were not going through the motions, they were here to play. Despite having plenty of the ball it rarely got into our box and a Ruddy clean sheet always looked a good bet.

We started sluggishly and despite improving as the game wore on we were far from our best. That is not to say we did not create chances, with plenty of shots on goal, but too many were straight at the keeper or blocked.

Afobe did beat the keeper by going round him but from the angle he failed to put the ball in the open net. Just before the interval their keeper made a magnificent save when a far post corner found Saiss heading from close range.

Jota and Costa looked lively throughout, but Jota's finishing let him down. The most surprising thing was seeing Neves give the ball away three times. The whole team passed poorly which is uncharacteristic as we gave away possession cheaply and over played at times near goal.

Hardly the end of the world though was it? After the final whistle the celebrations began and the trophy was received. Smiles all round.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? A quiet game for Ruddy, with little to do.

Douglas and Doherty didn't get forward as often as usual but were steady defending.

Batth / Coady / Boly all looked as tight and organised as ever. Coady in particular looked alive and sharp. He is playing with a spring in his step.

Saiss was competitive and worked hard. He looked odds on to score with his header.

Neves had a mixed performance with some poor passes, but also some defence splitting ones. His touch and control were as good as ever.

Jota seems to have shaken off his recent injury and looks back to his best on the ball. Too often he wanted an extra touch before shooting. Better decision making at the vital moment and he could easily have scored two or three.

Afobe was not as sharp as at Bolton. He should have scored after doing the hard work controlling the ball and rounding the keeper.

Costa was full of running and showed some impressive dribbling leaving defenders well beaten. Man of the match.

Nuno brought Bonatini and Enobakhare on to try and break the deadlock. Bright had a good opportunity but pushed his shot wide. Gibbs-White also had a few minutes.

Heather Large

What's your verdict on the match? What a day. What a season. What a club.

When we set off on this rollercoaster back in August, never did I think we would be celebrating being Champions at the last home game of the season. It seemed like we were very much venturing into the unknown.

But Nuno had a vision (or should we say dream) of the kind of team he wanted us to be and here we are - league winners with 99 points and one game still to go.

It’s been a season we’ll all remember for a very long time and we can look forward to starting our Premier League campaign in a strong position.

Everything about the club seems so positive at the moment, so different to this time last year.

The atmosphere in the ground was fantastic and it was such a touching moment to see the video from Carl Ikeme before kick-off.

He’s still very much in everyone’s thoughts as the players proved with their tribute shirts after lifting the trophy. Carl, we’re still with you.

As for the match itself, it was watchable, certainly not among the most exciting we’ve seen and didn’t live up to everyone’s expectations but we really can’t complain about a 0-0 draw given what we’ve already achieved. Hopefully we can go to Sunderland and make the 100-point target.

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Conor Coady was excellent as he has been all season. He kept the side focused especially during spells when we were being sloppy with the ball.

Helder Costa was another stand-out. His creativity gave us a bit of spark.

Natalie Wood

What's your verdict on the match? As games go it won’t go down as a classic...in fact it will probably be forgotten about by next week but to be let’s be honest the match was just a small part of a special day.

With both teams having nothing to play for it always had the possibility of being a quite dull affair and it did certainly live up to that possibility. To be perfectly honest bar a couple of nice moves from Wolves I can’t really recollect any real chances in the first half.

Second half did see some improvement from wolves, they came out looking a little bit more like our Championship winning side. Jota was probably the stand out man for me, creating a number of good chances but we were just missing that killer edge.

A nice positive was the return of Bright Enobakare, as I’ve said many times before he has such talent and really has the chance to be up there with some of the best, yesterday would have been the perfect moment to find his shooting boots....but alas the wait continues. Yet again he did all the hard work, getting himself into a great position before dragging his shot wide. His time will come I’m sure!

Down the other end it is worth noting yesterday was our 24th clean sheet of the season – an incredible feat to say the least.

Now the game is out the way a few words on what yesterday was all about...the crowning of our champions! Driving through Wolverhampton in the morning and seeing families all in gold and black and groups already heading to the ground at lunchtime was so lovely to see.

The entrance of the team coach to the ground was amazing and really got the party started well before the game. Wolves getting a well deserved guard of honour entrance to the pitch was a nice touch by Sheffield Wednesday. Then after the game saw the big moment, the trophy coming home! The noise of the crowd, the elation of the players and staff was a really special moment...we do have such a special family club and moments like that just showed it!

Moment of the day for me though was Carl Ikeme’s message. All throughout this season a game doesn’t go when he isn’t mentioned by the fans, he is always in our thoughts. While of course we all wished he could have been there with the boys yesterday to lift the trophy it was lovely he could still be part of the day.

Next week sees the end of the most incredible season....a day that for us and sadly for Sunderland means nothing but hopefully we can push through the 100point barrier and then to just to put the icing on the cake...Fulham can pip Cardiff to the post to join us in the Premier!

Who played well – and who didn't impress? Yesterday was yet another solid performance from the back, Ruddy again dominant when he needed to be, Coady flawless as always, Boly an absolute man mountain and a way better performance from Danny Batth. For me our first signing of the summer needs to be Boly – fantastic all season and a really big reason for our success.