Wolves season ticket holder Mike Donnelly was kind enough to give us the latest from Molineux ahead of QPR’s daunting Wednesday night trip to the Midlands.
What caused you to plummet quite so far quite so quickly in the first place?
MD: The reason for the alarming fall of Wolves can really be traced back to our second and third years in the Premier League. We bought plenty of players but only one or two of them actually improved the starting XI. After our survival on the final day of the second season we should've replaced Mick McCarthy. It would have been a harsh decision but, in hindsight, it would have been the correct one.
When things were going badly in that third season McCarthy was sacked at the wrong time. If the board were so sure we would be relegated, who better to help us bounce back? Also the fact that no replacement was lined up meant our assistant manager taking over which provided no alteration to what had gone before.
We then brought in our first foreign manager, Stale Solbakken, which seemed to be an inspired choice after the work he had done with Copenhagen but he was too "laid back" and didn't seem to inspire much. A couple of his signings, however, were very good with Bakary Sako the stand out.
We then sacked Solbakken after only six months and replaced him with a total car crash in Dean Saunders! So many mistakes by one board...
Quite a turnaround since Kenny Jackett came to the club, how has he done it?
MD: Our owner, Steve Morgan, finally went for a safe pair of hands and appointed Kenny Jackett and what a fantastic appointment he has turned out to be. He knew exactly what was needed to get out of League One and brought in a leader in Sam Ricketts. Kenny also realised the talent we had coming through our youth system and chose to integrate the ones he felt were ready.
Assess last season for us, reasonably pleased first season back at this level?
MD: There was some feeling within the fan base that we had a real chance of doing a Southampton and shoot straight through the division but most would be content with a play-off spot. We had seen our team develop into a well balanced team with a young average age. To be honest, despite the fantastic end to the season our promotion hopes were dashed by an awful November when the injury to Nouah Dicko coincided with a run of one draw and five defeats, scoring two and conceding 16...We missed out on the play offs on goal difference by four goals.
Who came in and who left during this summer?
MD: This summer we have "lost" Jake Cassidy, a forward who has failed to progress as we had hoped and Sam Ricketts who has joined Coventry. Every fan would like to thank Sam for coming in and being a leader on and off the pitch. He was exactly what we needed and is a true professional.
I feel Wolves have been very clever with their transfer dealings and have struck a good balance between permanent and loan signings. We are generally a team who only loan with a view to buy but I think Kenny has realised that to get out of this division, sometimes you have to use whatever quality is available eave if it is just a season loan. To this end our signings are as follows... Jed Wallace has come to us from Portsmouth for an undisclosed fee, Connor Coady from Huddersfield for £2m and 18 year old left sided defender Sylvain Deslandes has signed from French side Caen.
Then we have made, what I feel are, three inspired loan signings: Sheyi Ojo from Liverpool, a young, promising and exciting left winger; Adam Le Fondre from Cardiff, a forward with an eye for goal at this level; and Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal, a very highly rated goalkeeper. All three loans are for the season and Le Fondre is with a view to a permanent move if things go well.
Again, Kenny Jackett has seen where the weaknesses were and has acted accordingly to address them. Martinez will keep our number one Carl Ikeme on his toes while Ojo and Le Fondre give us other options in the attacking areas. Deslandes is only young but, I'm sure, will be give his chance when needed while Coady and Wallace will give our midfield much needed balance.
Who are the star men and the weak links in this Wolves side?
MD: Dominic Iorfa is a defender who burst into the team at the end of our horror run last November and he became an instant crowd favourite. He has pace and power which he uses in charging forward as well as in his defensive duties. Connor Coady seems to have settled in to his role very easily and just seems to ooze class while quietly going about his work. However it is the front two of Benik Afobe and Nouah Dicko who give the Wolves fans so much confidence of a good season ahead. Their pace, power and work rate along with their lethal finishing is what we hope will fire us to glory.
Is a promotion push a realistic prospect this year?
MD: Wolves should be looking to make the play-offs as a bare minimum this season. This is the most exciting team we have put together since the promotion team of 2008/09 and we cannot afford to fail as, if we do, the Premier League vultures will start to circle around our young stars ready to snap them up.
Short, medium and long term aims for the club?
MD: The short term aim MUST be promotion. I know at least eight teams in this Division (and maybe more) believe they are good enough to gain promotion, they are all probably right, but that must be Wolves’ aim and I feel that the signings we have made show intent from the club. Long term is obviously to become an established Premier League team. The likes of Southampton, Swansea and, to a lesser extent Norwich have shown that clubs run on a relatively tight budget can achieve this aim utilising the players the club develops through its academy.
I would like to wish QPR and their fans all the best for the coming season but just not on Wednesday evening.
Pictures — Action Images