Half Season Review – The Story So Far

By: Toby | December 22nd, 2008

So here we are, with the first half of the season coming to a close, I think it would be a prudent time (That and the fact that I’m finally leaving for home now and have got more Christmassy things to be doing at the time of this post) to look at our fortunes and assess the possibilities of the next few months, either way I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a massively interesting time to be involved with the Wolves. To start with, let’s just have a moment to pat ourselves on the back for the fantastic start we’ve made to the campaign. From the barnstorming August and September; to the tricky October where we managed to very nearly self destruct. Leading on to the battling November Wolves were winning; and winning well, grinding out wins where necessary, moving to the December which has seen Wolves consolidate their position at the top of the league. We’ve got reserve in our play, guts and determination to call upon. After the demoralising 5-2 hammering at the hands of Norwich we picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves down and went on to win SEVEN on the bounce, for the second time this season, our consistency and form is something which we’ve not seen in a Wolves side for a very, very long time. We now rarely fear opponents; we’ve got a different mindset I’m sure rather than wondering if we can take points from teams, we wonder if a team can take points from us, we’re positive and pro-active.

That is of course helped by having two strikers who’ve been on top of their game since the get go this season. Iwelumo has particularly impressed me on a personal level, I must admit he came up from under the radar for me, never really drawing my attention. However Mick saw something in the big target man, and thank goodness he did. He’s been just that, the big target man rising up and picking up every cross Jarvis, Kightly and Jones have been throwing at him. And it seems that this tactic either ends in a goal or an assist for Ebanks Blake. Blake himself has followed on the fine form from last year and is tonking in the goals from all quarters. Both front men have found their efforts rewarded with International and International U21 call ups. The former sadly ending in “that miss”, I’m sure that’s not the end of Iwelumo’s Scotland caps, and although Blake didn’t make the field in his call ups I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. And with the duo weighing in with 27 goals this season so far, they’re onto something good.

Another area which has impressed me at the start of the season is the defence. Foley has been in a class of his own this season there’s no doubt about it. The defence has really had to step up after a disastrous August for injuries with Big George Elekobi and Craddock ruled out for long spells. It’s been Stearman and Foley who’ve stepped up and filled their boots fantastically. Collins too, has been a truly valuable defensive utility man, despite his lack of fans in certain inebriated sections of the ground. The arrival of Mancienne has given Wolves stability and calmness in defence, retaining his services for the rest of the season will surely be a top priority. Behind them, it’s been duties shared between Ikeme and Hennessey. Each have their flaws, neither is truly that decisive a keeper though each have a great ability to pull off match winning saves, point saving saves the like which I’ve not seen in a Wolves keeper since Murray’s heroics in the play-off triumph season. Murray, sadly sidelined for another season is still waiting for his chance to put on the number one jersey for Wolves again, I’m sure every Wolves fan hopes the same.

A strong midfield has given much cause for comfort this season, we’ve got a great balance of creativity and strength. Jarvis and Kightly (when fit) have utterly terrified defences across the country, swapping wings, driving runs, goals and assists, they’ve been all action and devastating once hitting top form. They’ve been given this freedom by the solid and often unmentioned performances of midfield Superman Karl Henry. The local lad has long been the man who simply puts his head down and works hard for the team, he defends, he man marks, he does all the dirty work allowing the creative elements of the team to shine. David Jones, another summer signing seems to be a great addition to the squad with the former Manchester United youngster finding his role somewhere between the two. He pitches in with the dirty work yet he possesses a brilliant left foot, capable of defence splitting balls.

So, on to the other teams around us. It seems, for the majority of the campaign so far we’ve been running side by side in a three way race with Birmingham and Reading. Firstly, Birmingham. They’ve been strong and scoring goals, however they’ve yet to really hit their top gear you feel and have been labouring at times, yet still getting the three points. As we enter the January transfer window however I’m tempted to suggest that they are about to lose some very important players, or at least are about to get a fair few of them unsettled. One player that I’ll be surprised to see still in the Championship come the close of the transfer window will be James McFadden. I think he’s being courted by the two big Scottish teams as I type and he’ll be tempted by that I’m sure, his performances this season giving the impression of a discontented big fish in a rather inadequate small pool. Another player I think they might lose will be Sebastian Larsson, who did well in his season in the top flight. The ex-Arsenal youth player will have aspirations of the top flight, and if a club come in for him I think player power might win out again. Both of these possible transfers are of course speculation, but with Birmingham’s board, which for the last few years have been a shambles I could really see it happening.

Then we have Reading, another team who’ve been with us the entire way since October onwards. They’ve been banging them in for fun. André Bikey, Kevin Doyle and Stephen Hunt to name but three will be attracting greedy eyes from the Premiership, especially Doyle who’s been in fine form this season, and who proved he could achieve in the Premiership. Of course, it’d be naive to sit back and suggest no interest in Wolves players in the January transfer window; however I do believe the squad we have all want to achieve something this season, and they want to do with Wolves. What Birmingham and Reading have are players who have tasted top flight football, many of them with their first season with the team, they have no ties or real connection to the team and therefore no real allegiances.

Will we add to the squad? I’m not sure, there’s the argument for keeping competition for places by adding to the squad, yet we do have a lot of strength in depth so there’s no need to any emergency knee jerk signings. I think we might pick up a couple of players perhaps, if they’re at the right price or tick the boxes of what’s required at Wolves these days, youth or experience, desire and professionalism.

It’s been a long time since it’s been this good to be a Wolves supporter, let’s revel in it, and have a bostin’ Christmas.

Tarra-a-bit!

To tide you till the boxing day, look at this amazingly interesting graph.