Just how good were/was/is/are (Wolves Edition)

[sycophantia]

Brighton away. 91ish.

His corners were generally a disgrace :icon_lol:

Cook definitely scored direct from a corner at Molineux, really impressed my 9 year old, can't remember who it was against though

 

[Paul]

He was a piss head, I went to Tranmere away in about 92 when we lost I think 4-3. He went off with about 20 minutes to go with a pull of some sort and was in the Mersey Clipper with his mates before we were.

Do you remember Jay Bothroyd pulling out of a game during the warm up ? word was he was half way down the motorway before half time

 

[Paul]

Marsden allegedly got pissed at Billy Wright's funeral and Sir Jack wanted him gone. No idea if there's any truth in this but it wouldn't surprise me.

I thought it was something to do with Jack Walker ?

 

[Johnny75]

I thought it was something to do with Jack Walker ?

I thought it was his (alleged) liking of disco biscuits and Colombian marching powder?

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I thought it was his (alleged) liking of disco biscuits and Colombian marching powder?

Marsden wasn't with us very long, but i remember him being in the Ash Tree down Staveley road on match days on many occasions.

 

[Donegal Wolf]

Remember meeting Marsden in the Town Hall Tavern one Saturday afternoon so must have been close season or when he was injured and he certainly was full of energy, especially considering according to one of the group he was with, they had been up all night.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

For all the rumours about Marsden, it's possible Taylor just didn't like him. He never really *did* central midfield. Always the lowest priority area in his teams. Look at the two midfielders he bought for reasonable money in his time here - Emblen, who he didn't even buy to play there, he got put there because he had a Weston on debut at centre half, and Atkins, who I don't think we even vaguely scouted, we just saw "PREMIER LEAGUE WINNER" and handed over all our money. He sold Cook, he sold Keen (who should always have been playing centrally) and didn't give either much of a go.

All the attention was on wide areas and getting the ball forward quickly (or as I saw it, lamping it down the pitch for someone to chase).

Whatever you think of McGhee (and it'd take me a while to articulate my own feelings, they aren't very positive), the first thing he did was sign two central midfielders who could actually pass the ball. He tried to sign Mikhailichenko off Rangers too, not sure if he was supposed to be as well as Osborn/Samways or instead of one of them (surely the latter, he was always going to sign the former).

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I loved Kevin Keen, i felt he was really under rated at Wolves, scored around 1 in 5 for us and was a lovely footballer, was gutted when we sold him, and when you look at what we kept! His bow legged running style clearly did it for me.

To back up the point about midfield and Taylor, him repeatedly picking Palmer for England says a lot too.

I remember being really excited about the prospect of Mikhailichenko, he was pretty old when we were looking at him though.

The turn over of players in the Taylor/McGhee era was ridiculous, so many players came in for a season or less!

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Taylor played Venus in central midfield quite a bit for us too. Now I loved Veno and it was a travesty of a deal we got for him when we let him go, but a CM he was not. I genuinely don't see how Chris Marsden would have worked with the way we chose to play under him. Of course it would have been easier just to not appoint him in the first place.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Also with Keen we bought him for 600k, he played 50 games, scored 9 goals, and then we sell for 300k!? Shit business.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Taylor played Venus in central midfield quite a bit for us too. Now I loved Veno and it was a travesty of a deal we got for him when we let him go, but a CM he was not. I genuinely don't see how Chris Marsden would have worked with the way we chose to play under him. Of course it would have been easier just to not appoint him in the first place.

The revisionism about Taylor pisses me off no end, now the work he did on sorting the academy out was great, but we were playing appallingly and i think 20th when he left, he had to go. The idea that he would have got us up the following season comes from no logical basis.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

The revisionism about Taylor pisses me off no end, now the work he did on sorting the academy out was great, but we were playing appallingly and i think 20th when he left, he had to go. The idea that he would have got us up the following season comes from no logical basis.

Won 5 of his final 25 league games here.

We were bloody awful, I think we'd have gone down. We weren't that far off as it was.

 

[Tredman]

We did suffer some appalling injuries during his time, though that might reflect on the signings he made.

Away at Burnley the season before he was booted and when we thought we were going up is one of my best Wolves memories. Shame it didn’t work out.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

3. Stephen Ward

Stephen Robert Ward (born 20 August 1985) is an Irish professional footballer who plays for EFL Championship club Stoke City. He is able to play in a variety of positions, primarily left-back, but also in left midfield and as a striker.

Ward began his senior career with Bohemians in his native Ireland, before moving to English Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2007. Featuring regularly, he was part of their promotion to the Premier League two years later and played over 230 times for the club. Following consecutive relegation's though he was transfer listed and after spending the 2013–14 season on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion he eventually left to return to the Premier League with Burnley in 2014. He spent five seasons at Turf Moor making 113 appearances for the Clarets before joining Stoke City in June 2019.

From 2011 until his retirement from international football in March 2019, he had been a regular member of the Republic of Ireland's international squads, and played at UEFA Euro 2012 and UEFA Euro 2016.

After a successful trial, Ward joined English Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2007 on a two-and-a-half-year deal. The fee, although undisclosed, was reported to be £100,000.

Ward had a bright start to English football scoring three times in his first six games, earning him the Championship Player of the Month Award for February 2007; his first goal came against Plymouth Argyle on 3 February. He featured in all of Wolves remaining 2006–07 fixtures as they reached the play-offs where they lost 4–2 on aggregate to Black Country rivals West Bromwich Albion. The next season was less successful for Ward as he was mostly used in an unfamiliar left midfield role, covering for the injured Matt Jarvis, but announced he was happy to play anywhere. Later on in the season, Ward himself also suffered injury woes as he was struck down with patellar tendinitis that ruled him out for four months. He played 31 times in 2007–08 as the team narrowly missed a second successive play-off spot finishing in 7th position.

The 2008–09 season again saw Ward adopt a new position as he was converted to a makeshift left-back, after George Elokobi sustained knee damage in only the third game of the campaign. Despite the emergency purchase of natural full back Matt Hill, Ward was often preferred in the spot anyway. Ward only missed four Championship matches helping Wolves win the title and earn promotion to the Premier League.

Ward began the club's return to the top flight in the left-back role, but he soon suffered a cartilage injury that kept him out of action for two months. Returning in December 2009 he was sent-off by Andre Marriner against Liverpool a decision which angered manager Mick McCarthy. Ward made a total of 22 league appearances in 2009–10 as the club managed to avoid an immediate return to the second tier, finishing in 15th. At the end of the campaign Ward signed a contract extension with Wolves.

During the 2010–11 season, Ward filled a variety of roles, playing left-back, left midfield and as a striker. One game up front saw him net his first Premier League goal, when he scored the only goal of the game against Liverpool at Anfield on 29 December 2010. He was part of the team that avoided relegation on the final day of the season as results went their way after a 3–2 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers. Ward played 41 times in 2011–12 as Wolves suffered relegation to the Championship, finishing bottom of the table. Ward scored Wolves' first goal back in the Championship a 3–1 win against Barnsley on 20 August 2012. However Wolves would go on to have another poor campaign in 2012–13, suffering a second successive relegation.

 

[Paul]

Yep, Liverpool goal, and for that I will love him forever

 

[Sniffer]

Stephen Ward is another player I liked. Did a job for the team wherever he played and though not the most naturally gifted made the most of the talent that he did have. The fact that he was so well liked by the Brighton fan on here and went onto to over 100 games for Burnley showed that he was good enough for the levels that he played. Personally I hated the Micks love child comments and thought that he deserved far more credit from our wider fan base.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

He was a pretty good striker. Would have been interesting to see how his career developed if he'd stayed there.

I thought he was unfortunate to be lumped in with gimps like Johnson, Henry and O'Hara in 2013. I never questioned his attitude, not once.

It's not his fault we refused to ever buy a better LB than him. Like it or lump it, he was our best option there.

 

[BGreenWolf]

Good servant to the club tbh- never the most gifted player, but gave his all and did what was asked of him without complaint.

Perfect player for a McCarthy team.

 

[Sniffer]

He was a pretty good striker. Would have been interesting to see how his career developed if he'd stayed there.

I thought he was unfortunate to be lumped in with gimps like Johnson, Henry and O'Hara in 2013. I never questioned his attitude, not once.

It's not his fault we refused to ever buy a better LB than him. Like it or lump it, he was our best option there.

I'd like to know behind the scenes if he was involved in any trouble at the time. Foley was in there to wasn't he so I'd see it more of a case of getting the highest earners out of the club on top of getting rid of the knobs.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

I liked Ward, summed up the team ethos under Mick and wound up the thick 'get your chequebook out' morons who never forgave Mick for Freddy not being that good.

A solid player who worked hard and made the most of his opportunities in life.