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

[Elephant Pyjamas]

His passing range in the Prem was far better than he was able to express, watch the Championship winning season review and you can see him involved in many goals often assisting the assistor, clearly told to keep it VERY simple in the Prem.

As DW said exactly what we needed at the time.

His goal at Charlton was brilliant, and his tackle at OT that made Mick go mental.

The hard man thing was bollocks too, how many times was he sent off for us? 4? In 250+ games? A lot of that was borne out of his tackle on Zamora which was unlucky rather than intentional.

Will always remember him fondly, felt he got far too much stick and disproves the myth that local/youth lads get looked after by Wolves fans - Naylor, Batth, Andrews, Robinson, Henry all in my opinion treated badly by the fans at some points in their Wolves careers.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

in 09-10, the way he stepped up to the PL was exceptional imo. He adapted his game to how Mick wanted to play so well, and he was so consistent, yet never got much praise. He was pretty essential for us at that time. He'd looked good, but not exceptional in the championship, but very tidy. The only player I was confident would be able to make the step up was SEB. Everyone else I had doubts about. Henry proved me completely wrong.

It all went downhill after we were relegated, and I have avoided his politics since. However, for a period of time he was essential to us, and was a very good captain too.

He got in a 30 man England squad around that point i think too.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Will always remember him fondly, felt he got far too much stick and disproves the myth that local/youth lads get looked after by Wolves fans - Naylor, Batth, Andrews, Robinson, Henry all in my opinion treated badly by the fans at some points in their Wolves careers.

Aye, we absolutely do not look after our own, that's nonsense.

 

[Tony Towner]

On top of what’s been said, it sounds like he was the ring leader to get Stale sacked and there was a few similar sort of instances. Apparently in the huddle told the players to forget the tactics and play our own way.

That was after we'd gone 2 months without a win and they won that game 4-1. Stale's arrogance and inability to work with the squad he had and transition over time to his way of playing was what got him sacked, nothing else. Epic fail on the man management level.

Spending your largest amount on a player who doesn't like playing football wasn't the sharpest move either

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

That was after we'd gone 2 months without a win and they won that game 4-1. Stale's arrogance and inability to work with the squad he had and transition over time to his way of playing was what got him sacked, nothing else. Epic fail on the man management level.

Spending your largest amount on a player who doesn't like playing football wasn't the sharpest move either

Wondered if you meant Doumbia or Boukari then, but the same could be said for both!

 

[Tony Towner]

Wondered if you meant Doumbia or Boukari then, but the same could be said for both!

Sigurdsson actually [emoji2]

 

[Deano]

That was after we'd gone 2 months without a win and they won that game 4-1. Stale's arrogance and inability to work with the squad he had and transition over time to his way of playing was what got him sacked, nothing else. Epic fail on the man management level.

Spending your largest amount on a player who doesn't like playing football wasn't the sharpest move either

From the old gold podcasts though a lot of players from that McCarthy era such as Henry, Kightly, Edwards and more allude to not liking Stales ideas from the beginning. They said they didn't think the way he wanted to play would work in the Championship. If that was their attitude and chat got round the dressing room, he probably didn't stand much chance as some of the old guard just didn't buy in from the get go.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Ah, Siggy. We'll have him in here soon enough.

The "pashun" notion really annoys me but Henry did actually care (he's not a Wolves fan though). We needed that. We'd had a season where pretty much only Miller cared. So he helped engender a spirit which enabled us to massively overperform in 06/07.

I'm not having this shite about him being a brilliant finisher in training though, must be some kind of in-joke. Like fuck he was.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Sigurdsson actually [emoji2]

:icon_lol:

 

[Tony Towner]

From the old gold podcasts though a lot of players from that McCarthy era such as Henry, Kightly, Edwards and more allude to not liking Stales ideas from the beginning. They said they didn't think the way he wanted to play would work in the Championship. If that was their attitude and chat got round the dressing room, he probably didn't stand much chance as some of the old guard just didn't buy in from the get go.

That's where his man management was a failure though. He knew what he had to work with and knew he couldn't replace all those players in one window. He needed to find a style that married where he'd like it to be eventually with the players he had. He failed to manage that evolution. Those podcast interviews also say he came in telling them he's not interested in watching past games, this is what it's going to be like now. Not exactly the way to win hearts and minds.

 

[Deano]

That's where his man management was a failure though. He knew what he had to work with and knew he couldn't replace all those players in one window. He needed to find a style that married where he'd like it to be eventually with the players he had. He failed to manage that evolution. Those podcast interviews also say he came in telling them he's not interested in watching past games, this is what it's going to be like now. Not exactly the way to win hearts and minds.

I agree, he had to go when he did for me, a long term project is fine but not at the complete detriment to the short term results. He had enough funds afforded to him to have been doing much better too, It just made me have a bit more sympathy than I maybe had at the time.

 

[Kenny]

We also had stuff at board level under Stale that didn't help, such as Jez signing Pennant

 

[PuntsWolf]

That was after we'd gone 2 months without a win and they won that game 4-1. Stale's arrogance and inability to work with the squad he had and transition over time to his way of playing was what got him sacked, nothing else. Epic fail on the man management level.

Spending your largest amount on a player who doesn't like playing football wasn't the sharpest move either

Well yes, Stale didn’t cover himself with glory on various levels, but if the team weren’t willing to give him a chance then he had no hope. The fact that MM felt he had to remove the captaincy from him is more the point. He was clearly a massive disrupting influence (more so than Rog and JOH apparently), and this played a big part in the double relegation. I mean, we actually got worse after Ståle left

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I'm not sure that MM made that decision because of KH, i thought he made it more because of Johnson.

It was probably Mick's most crucial bad decision.

 

[Tony Towner]

Henry lost the captaincy because MM felt he'd gone from being a bridge between the players and the manager to being more of a shop steward character arguing with him on behalf of the players. He would have lost it irrespective of signing Jonhson as per MM

 

[PuntsWolf]

Yeah and Johnson says he didn’t want it

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

If Johnson were chocolate he'd eat himself. Fuck that guy. I don't believe a word he says.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Henry lost the captaincy because MM felt he'd gone from being a bridge between the players and the manager to being more of a shop steward character arguing with him on behalf of the players. He would have lost it irrespective of signing Jonhson as per MM

I haven't heard that from Mick? Was that on a recent podcast?

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Yeah and Johnson says he didn’t want it

I don't believe a word that prick says.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

If Johnson were chocolate he'd eat himself. Fuck that guy. I don't believe a word he says.

Beat me!