After watching Wolves on television yesterday, I was reminded of a blog entry, titled The Molineux Rollercoaster Is On The Climb, that I posted two years ago. In it, I wrote about the promise that I’d seen in the current ‘project’ (for want of a better word) that I’d never witnessed previously.
Looking back and reading through that post again, nothing has changed. If anything, I was probably too cautious. However, I was aware of that at the time of writing, so it was deliberate in many ways.
Life in general, never mind the football world, is full of people who very foolishly get carried away, when in fact realism – never mind humility – should always be the rock on which we stand.
Back to the Wolves victory against Aston Villa though, and while remaining totally objective, there most definitely is something special in the making at Molineux.
Yes, money has been spent, but it’s been invested wisely. That’s the key word for me, wisely. When you look at the players, the staff and the general infrastructure development at the club, without doubt these are exciting times.
Currently (as I write) the club sits in fifth place in the English Premier League, and if Chelsea hadn’t beaten Manchester City a few days ago, they’d be in an automatic UEFA Champions League place.
Likewise, if just one or two of the draws had been converted into wins. With thirteen to their name, Nuno’s team is equal with Arsenal in terms of games that have resulted in shared points.
Every cloud has a silver lining though, and the flip side is that behind Liverpool – who have lost only once in the league so far this season – Wolves have been beaten just six times.
With half a dozen games to go, Wolverhampton Wanderers is the second-hardest team to beat in the English Premier League. They say that the camera never lies, well neither do the statistics, and that’s very impressive indeed.
These are exciting times for everyone associated with the club. Even the most pessimistic of fans – and indeed they are out there – must surely have warmed by now to the idea that this isn’t a flash in the pan and Wolves really are going places.
The lead image is a selection of my own Wolves’ shirts.
I’m a Yank who discovered the EPL for myself about 15 years ago, and it’s now my favorite league in any sport. Since I didn’t grow up with a particular club, I gravitated toward a couple of the usual moneyed suspects at the top (Liverpool and City), and a club that seems to have a great support base yet struggles to rise, Newcastle. But I also root for the underdog, so I end up liking one or two newly promoted clubs each year. Wolves was one of those clubs 7-8 years ago with those yellow kits, their patchy and muddy pitch, and a stadium that seems to have been refurbished a million times. It’s been great to see them come back and rise up. I hope they finish above MU. Cheers!
That’s a nice story, thanks for sharing. Glad that you found Wolves!