General Wolves News

[The Bear]

Why the eff is Batth getting No. 6?

 

[YoungWolf]

He's always had it hasn't he?

 

[The Bear]

Patricio
Ruddy
Norris

Boly
Coady
Dendoncker
Bennett
Batth
Hause

Jonny
Doherty

Moutinho
Saiss

Jota
Costa
Cavaleiro
Traore

Jimenez
Bonatini

19 there, Neves, MGW, Vinagre and Bright are all too young to count.

We won't bother naming any of the leper squad.

Neves is over 21 now. Or is it start of the calender year?

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Neves is over 21 now. Or is it start of the calender year?

Last year anyone born on 1 Jan 1996 or later was below the limit. So you would assume this year it's 1 Jan 1997 and he was born in March 1997.

As for Batth, some might say that demoting the club captain miles down the list for no real reason would probably not be the best look. He isn't going to play anyway, I don't know why people get worked up about him to the degree that they do.

Out of interest here's a list of every centre half to play at least one league game for us since 1 January 2010 (so we're not even going back through 80s/90s/00s muck):

Elokobi
Stearman
Craddock
Berra
Batth
Mancienne
Mouyokolo
Ebanks-Landell
Johnson
Bassong
Gorkss
Margreitter
Ricketts
Hause
Iorfa
Williamson
Deslandes
Boly
Coady
Bennett
Miranda

He isn't even in the bottom half of that lot, not even close.

 

[b3h]

Well no, he's nearer the top

/Paul

 

[Jinky]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...2018-19-definitive-club-by-club-guide-likely/

The Telegraph have done their season preview and they have us down as finishing 7th! For those of you only interested in reading the Wolves section, allow me to save you some time -

WOLVES
Title odds: 250/1
Last five seasons: 1st (League One), 7th (Championship), 14th, 15th, 1st (promoted)
Likely starting XI (new players in caps): 3-4-1-2; PATRICIO; Bennett, Coady, Boly; Doherty, MOUTINHO, Neves, JONNY; Jota; JIMENEZ, Cavaleiro
Ins: Benik Afobe (Bournemouth, £10m), Willy Boly (Porto, £10m), Raul Jimenez (Benfica, loan), Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon, £16m), Leo Bonatini (Al-Hilal, undisclosed), Ruben Vinagre (Monaco, undisclosed), Joao Moutinho (Monaco, £5m), Jonny (Atletico Madrid, loan), Adama Traore (Middlesbrough, £18m)
Outs: Benik Afobe (Stoke, loan), Barry Douglas (Leeds, £3m)
Net spend: £56m

What’s new?
Their well-documented Jorge Mendes connection has, of course, followed them in the step up to the Premier League and that also means a change of gear for their transfer activity. While a raft of loanees from last season have become permanent signings, Wolves have also secured eye-catching deals for Portugal’s No1 Rui Patricio, seasoned midfield schemer Joao Moutinho and swift-footed Adama Traore. Bold statements all round.

Most exciting signing
Rui Patricio was arguably more of a coup, but since no goalkeeper would want to be described as ‘exciting’ that leaves Joao Moutinho. A league title winner in two countries, European champion with Portugal in 2016, and an accomplished playmaker, the 31-year-old has as good a midfield CV as anyone.

How will they play?
In the Championship, they were a front-foot, imposing proposition, pushing their wing-backs high up the pitch to pin the opposition into their own half. Whether manager Nuno will rein that in a little to cope with the top flight remains to be seen, but the summer acquisitions suggest they will still show plenty of attacking endeavour.

Who has it all to prove?
Among all the exciting foreign imports, there is a former Premier League youngster with a point to prove at the highest level. Conor Coady made just one league appearance for Liverpool, his hometown club, before taking the step down to the Championship. He returns as a ball-playing defender, central to the Wolves gameplan.

Who will be player of the year?
Ruben Neves swept the board last season - player of the year, players’ player and goal of the season - and, despite the arrival of Rui Patricio and Moutinho, the 21-year-old’s eye for the spectacular could make him stand out again. It remains slightly incredible that he is playing in the Old Gold.

Manager's survival rating
High. Any manager who restored Wolves’ top-flight status was going to go down well with the Molineux faithful, but the manner of Nuno’s promotion campaign turned him into a cast-iron local hero. It would take something calamitous to tear down that reputation within a few months. 7/10

If they were a World Cup side they would be…
Nigeria. Resurgent, exciting, and back among the big boys just like the (not quite so) old days.

Our prediction
7th.

 

[Sniffer]

McNumpty has us finishing 7th on the BBC website too.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45111234

 

[BGreenWolf]

The Guardian have followed suit with a full article on us, predicting 10th.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/10/preview-wolves-wolverhampton-wanderers-2018-2019

This summer Wolves were sued. A local man took them to court at the start of August because he claimed a drawing he entered into an art competition in 1961 bears a striking resemblance to the angular wolf’s head logo the team wear on their shirt. He recently found the sketches – apparent proof of that someone must have seen them and nicked the idea – and lodged proceedings, searching for a cut of the money they have made since introducing the logo in 1979.

This is worth mentioning, because it seems to be one of the only things going wrong at Molineux these days. After riding Jorge Mendes’s contacts, Fosun’s money and Nuno Espírito Santo’s management to a brilliant Championship season, they are back in the big time, and with a squad who can look beyond mere survival, towards the top 10. Optimism is high and probably with good reason.

Also...

Traoré, who will presumably play at right wing-back

 

[Boozad]

Out of interest here's a list of every centre half to play at least one league game for us since 1 January 2010 (so we're not even going back through 80s/90s/00s muck):

Did Mouyokolo even get a game? I thought he was fucked from day one to day gone.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Four league games, three cup games.

Elmander made him look a right mug when he scored at Molineux. Spider on acid was my description of him I believe.

 

[Deano]

Hull fans loved him the season before we signed him.

Only made 60 odd total league appearances in his career, pretty shocking.

 

[Boozad]

Four league games, three cup games.

Elmander made him look a right mug when he scored at Molineux. Spider on acid was my description of him I believe.

Fucking hell I really don't remember him playing. Mind you, I'd forgot we even owned Kubicki until you jogged my fucking memory.

 

[Premier Quality]

The guardians predictions for the season, and their review of us (someone posted the table below the line)

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/10/preview-wolves-wolverhampton-wanderers-2018-2019

Here’s the full Guardian Prediction List:

1. Manchester City
2. Liverpool
3. Manchester United
4. Tottenham Hotspur
5. Arsenal
6. Chelsea
7. Everton
8. West Ham United
9. Leicester City
10. Wolverhampton Wanderers
11. Burnley
12. Southampton
13. Newcastle United
14. Brighton & Hove Albion
15. Fulham
16. Crystal Palace
17. Bournemouth
18. Watford
19. Huddersfield Town
20. Cardiff City

 

[YoungWolf]

Did Zubar not ever play a league game at centre back? I know he did in the league cup but couldn't remember if we tried him in the league there (hopefully not)

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Pretty sure we didn't. I would probably remember if we did. I'd probably still be getting therapy for it if we did.

 

[YoungWolf]

Good point :icon_lol:

Mouyokolo was a strange one though, Hull fans loved him as Deano said but he was just completely broken his entire time with us and when he did play he league pretty awful. Only half decent game I remember him having was City away when we put him on at right back and we nearly came back from 4-1 down.

 

[BGreenWolf]

I have wanted this a long time. For many years I have dreamed about working in the Premier League and we are here, Wolves are in the Premier League. We made it in year one and now this is year two. It was one of the things I wanted and last season I embraced it, we all embraced it. Now we must work hard in what is the best competition. We must be better than we were last season. Dreaming is wishing. Working is making things happen. I don’t call it excitement, I call it motivation and determination and willingness to work.

Ah, bless him.

 

[Parkins left foot]

Sky Saturday pundits showing up their complete lack of knowledge of us - picking our players for their Fantasy Football Team & shoving them into positions that they never have (or will) play

 

[slink]

Sky Saturday pundits showing up their complete lack of knowledge of us - picking our players for their Fantasy Football Team & shoving them into positions that they never have (or will) play

A lot of them don’t know about us but it is just a case of the fantasy football putting them in to those positions rather than the pundits.

 

[Tony Towner]

You don't play FF do you Parkin?