retired_amyslack

Treat 'em mean and keep 'em keen - I love that style of management sherm - KUTGW :thup:

retired_brianrt

Cheers BobBev. I hate managers that are too soft on players, so if they step out of line they're in trouble

---

Glenn was continuing his winning over of the fans with his charm, making visits into different parts of the city and greeting people. He even opened a new Tesco supermarket in the town centre. The fact that Glenn was the popular one suited me, as it left me free to continue with the management of the side. That management continued, as I prepared the side for our trip to Reading, the team that were sitting top of the table. This gave us a chance to show how serious we were, and boy did we do that. We absolutely ran the show, and absolutely ripped poor Reading to shreds. Once Seol Ki-Hyeon's early brace had put us in front, that was that. unfortunately our South Korean striker picked up a slight knock and had to be replaced at half time, but his replacement put us three clear, Ganea sliding home the rebound of Kenny Miller's shot. Our Romanian striker returned the favour too, sliding in Kenny for our fourth, and the Scottish international grabbed our fifth three minutes later, collecting Ince's pass and turning his man before cracking the ball low past Marcus Hahnemann. Glen Little scored a scant consolation for the home side, but the dominating show we put on surely showed the rest of the league that we were serious contenders for the promotion spots.

...

Miel Mans picked up a training injury, which would rule him out for up to two weeks, while Kenny Miller caught a virus from somewhere and that ruled him out of the next game. I wasn't worried, Ganea had proved to be more than an able replacement at this level of football. Brede Paulsen Hangeland came back into the starting line-up for the visit of Coventry, while Arthur Numan took his place at left back. It was our Romanian striker who took the plaudits, scoring both goals in a comfortable win, his second goal a serious contender for goal of the month, as he beat four men before deftly lofting the ball over the onrushing 'keeper a minute from time. Hangeland was terrific, dominating midfield with biting tackles and accurate passing. The side were really clicking, the fans were enjoying the football we were playing and I was back home in Wolves. What more could I want?

Our final game of the month saw us visit Derby, another former Premiership side, and it was probably our first bad performance so far. We could not find that killer pass in the final third of the pitch, and chances were few and far between. The best of the match fell to Seol Ki-Hyeon, the Korean dragging his shot wide of the right hand post, and the game petered out into a 0-0 draw, which saw us drop to 2nd in the table, albeit still in the early stages of the season

retired_brianrt

August 2004 Summary
(Championship unless stated)

Sunderland 1-1 Wolves
Elliott (75) : Seol (5)

Stoke 1-4 Wolves
Akinbiyi (64) : Ganea (8,12) Cameron (48) Lescott (62)

Wolves 3-1 Plymouth
Craddock (40) Cameron (pen 76) Seol (83) : Milne (61)

Wolves 2-0 West Ham
Cameron (35) Newton (78)

Reading 1-5 Wolves
Little (77) : Seol (3,11) Ganea (59) Miller (70,73)

Wolves 2-0 Coventry
Ganea (36,89)

Derby 0-0 Wolves

retired_brianrt

Our excellent start to the season had not taken me by surprise. What had, however, was the stylish way in which we had destroyed several teams in our path, creating chances galore and punishing any lacklustre defending. Our home form in particular had been sparkling, and we opened up September with a game at Molineux. The visitors were Leicester, who, like ourselves, had been in good form throughout August, so the pundits thought they were in for a good game. Thankfully, they were right, with both Ian Walker and Matt Murray pulling off some high class saves, one in particular from Murray when he changed direction in mid-air and tipped the ball wide. There was one moment though, that neither 'keeper could have stopped, as Seyi Olofinjana drilled a ball across the box and Seol Ki-Hyeon smacked the sweetest half-volley into the top corner of Ian Walker's goal. It was a wonderful strike, and showed just why our South Korean striker was becoming a fan favourite. Both sides carried the second period on from where they left the first, Murray and Walker both called into action, but Kenny Miller and Joleon Lescott both missed good chances to extend our lead. It made no difference though, and we held on for the three points

...

Even with the teams terrific form, I was always sifting through the transfer market for possilble new additions to the squad. I did feel however, that we needed an experienced striker to add to the ranks, even if it was short term, as if either Miller, Ganea or Seol picked up a long-term injury it would leave us rather light. A trial period was duly organised for Jose Luis Prieto, and he had two weeks to impress myself and my coaching staff enough to secure a deal for himself. One deal was secured however, that being the signing of 16 year old striker Enzo Giovanni Scorza, a 16 year old Uruguayan who had taken his league by storm, slamming home 6 goals in 8 starts. With both he and Sanchez Fernandez in the youth ranks, there was plenty of talent available for the future, and both of them could play a part even now. Scorza signed a deal to join up with the team in January, and I was looking forward to having him in my squad

...

An away trip North beckoned, as we visited Deepdale and Preston. The home side started the brighter, David Healy, who had been making noises that he wasn't happy at Preston, missing two guilt-edged opportunities to give his side the lead. We couldn't capitalise on that, missing some clear cut chances ourselves, both Brege Paulsen Hangeland and Ioan Ganea having decent chances, as well as Kennedy's 30 yard drive rattling the left hand post of the Preston goal. It looked like we were not going to make them pay at all, but twelve minutes from time, Ganea gave us the lead. The big Romanian robbed Callum Davidson in his own half before taking the ball on and sliding underneath the 'keeper. Three minutes from time, his strike partner Kenny Miller secured the win with a clever goal, beating the offside trap and firing across the goal into the far corner to continue our magnificent run of form

retired_brianrt

The League Cup was due next, and on the morning of the game, our Dutch midfielder Richard Witschge had been to see me. He had expressed some concern as to why he hadn't been as regular a starter as he would have liked, so I brought him in and explained the situation to him

"When I signed you Richard, I signed you or your experience, your knowledge of the game and your obvious footballing ability. If I gave you the impression that you would be a regular first team starter, then I apologise"

"No it's not that boss, but I've only played three times. I was hoping for a bit more playing time than that"

"You will get it Richard. Mark has been in terrific form of late, and I haven't seen any reason to drop him. However, the League Cup game is a perfect opportunity to do that, and I assure you, you will play tonight"

"I'd like a few more League games under my belt though boss. I feel I am up to the level still, and I can add something to the team"

"I do too. Other than Mark, you are really our only other left sided option, and you will get more games. All I ask you to do is bide your time, and show me what you can do when you get the chance out there on the pitch"

"OK, thanks boss. You won't regret it, I promise"

---

Our Dutch midfielder was true to his word too, as he completely ran the show against Wycombe. After his sweetly struck free kick had given us a fourth minute lead, he set about pulling the strings from the left hand side. It was his through ball that set up Kevin Cooper for our second after eleven minutes, and Dean Sturridge volleyed home his left hand side cross just after the half hour. Carl Cort broke free and added a fourth goal just a minute before the break to leave the home fans stunned. Our second string continued to impress, and despite the fact no more goals were added, I went straight over to Richard after the final whistle and firmly shook his hand. That is how I like my players to prove me wrong, out on the pitch. Richard deserved his man of the match award, and I had no problem presenting him with his bottle of champagne after the match

Still on a high from his performance just a few days before, Richard kept his place in the side for the visit of second place QPR to Molineux. Mark Kennedy came back in the starting line-up in place of Colin Cameron, while Seol Ki-Hyeon took his place alongside Ioan Viorel Ganea. It was our Korean striker that made the first goal, laying off Kennedy for the Irishman to rifle his shot past the 'keeper into the roof of the net. Jody Craddock doubled our lead ten minutes after the break, heading home Witschge's cross to virtually guarantee the points. If Jody's goal hadn't, then Seol's certainly did, as he delicately lifted the ball over his marker and side footed home in the 74th minute to wrap up yet another magnificent performance by the boys

...

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> PL W D L GD PTS1. WOLVES 10 8 2 0 +19 262. Q.P.R 10 7 2 1 +11 23------------------3. Nott'm Forest 10 6 2 2 +13 204. Leicester 10 6 2 2 +13 205. Burnley 10 5 4 1 +4 196. Reading 10 4 5 1 +6 17</pre>

The Championship table made for good reading the next morning, as we sat three points clear at the top thanks to our previous days win over QPR. Leicester and Reading, two other teams we had beaten, were also in the top 6, which got me thinking. If we can beat three of the top 6 sides as easily as we did, particularly the 5-1 win at the Madejski, then how easy would the rest of our games be? Of course, football never works like this, and it didn't help when I recieved the dreaded Manager of the Month award. Seol Ki-Hyeon earnt himself the player of the month award too, which was nice to see. I like seeing my players get acknowledged for their good play

retired_brianrt

September 2004 Summary
(Championship unless stated)

Wolves 1-0 Leicester
Seol (45)

Preston 0-2 Wolves
Ganea (78) Miller (87)

(League Cup 2nd Round)
Wycombe 0-4 Wolves
Witschge (4) Cooper (11) Sturridge (33) Cort (44)

Wolves 3-0 QPR
Kennedy (33) Craddock (55) Seol (74)

retired_brianrt

Two months without a defeat was a very promising start for myself and Glenn, and the team were showing signs of getting stronger all the time. Certain areas of the squad were still looking thin, and I was still working hard to try and bring other options in. The need for this was made much clearer when Arthur Numan fell awkwardly in training and ended up in Wolverhampton Royal Infirmary with a broken arm, leaving Lee Naylor as the only left sided defender in the squad. I moved quickly, and tied up a three month loan deal for Man Utd's young full back Lee Lawrence, who joined up with his new team-mates as we prepared to travel to Yorkshire. Prieto was soon on his way back to the free transfer market, his trial peiod somewhat uneventful and my coaches informing me he was way past his best, still leaving me in need of a striker

Our next opponents, Leeds, had been inconsistent all season, and the rumour mill was rife with speculation that Kevin Blackwell had X amount of games to save his job. All I was focused on was picking up points, and if that meant another manager got the sack, well then so be it. It seemed that Kevin had other ideas though, and it was the home side that took the lead, Michael Ricketts latching on to a loose ball and firing past Matt Murray. We were level within a minute, Mark Kennedy's cross finding Shaun Newton, who calmly slid the ball home past Scott Carson. At this stage, I would happily have taken a point, but we were starting to take a stranglehold in the match. Miller, Newton, and Hangeland all missed good opportunities to put us in front, and Ricketts made us rue those misses. The former Bolton man (and a man with an England cap) headed home Eddie Lewis' cross to give his side the win and condemn us to our first league defest of the season

...

We had to bounce back from the defeat in the White Rose by travelling up to the Red Rose County and getting back on the winning trail. There were, however, three weeks until that came around, leaving me ample time to try and bring in a striker as cover. No matter what I tried, my endeavours proved useless, as no striker seemed to want to come down to the 'Black Country' and ply his craft for a while. I sent my scouts out everywhere to find a suitable candidate, and with many names brought back to me, they were crossed off the list one by one as they turned their nose up at a move to Molineux.

This still left me a striker short for the away trip to Burnley, who were perhaps the surprise package of the season so far. Having been tipped by many to struggle, they currently lay in fifth place, a position that surely even the most avid Burnley fan could not imagine them occupying come the end of the campaign. They wanted to show that they were capable of doing just that, and certainly put the wind up us in the opening exchanges, Andy Gray in particular putting himself about, clattering both our centre backs and Richard Witschge in the opening 7 minutes. To top that off, the striker had the audacity to put his side in front after ten minutes, albeit with a good goal, and that stunned our travelling 487 fans. Still, it startled the boys into action, and Richard Witschge pulled us back level fifteen minutes later, curling home past the 'keeper into the far corner. The game changed soon after that, Graham Branch's moment of madness seeing him lash out at Miller and earn a straight red card. That gave us the platform for victory, and second half goals from substitute Dean Sturridge and Witschge's second secured us three points, in a game which, quite frankly, I was glad to see the back of

retired_brianrt

Following the Burnley win, I received news that Richard Witschge would be out for up to ten days with a hamstring strain, not something I wanted to hear, especially after his sparklingly good form of late. I was also wrestling with the idea of putting my best team out in the Carling Cup game, a competition which, at this moment in time, was of no interest to me. I was focused on getting promotion, not winning the League Cup. In the end, I went with my instincts and rested many first team players, making a total of eight changes to the side which beat Burnley. To many fans, this may have seemed like suicide, especially considering our opponents were Premiership side Blackburn, but I still felt we could put up a good fight

Come the end of the game, I didn't think we had been embarassed, despite being on the receiving end of a 3-0 scoreline. Paul Dickov had put his side ahead in the 11th minute, and even though to my untrained eye he looked offside, he slotted underneath Michael Oakes. The rest of the half however, was fairly even, and the best two chances fell our way, with Dean Sturridge and Miel Mans the guilty parties, Mans in particular missind a glorious one-on-one chance. As it was, we paid for missing those chances, as a brace from Jonathan Stead inside a minute in the second half was enough to send the Premiership side through to the next round

...

I was still trying desperately to find a striker to join up with the squad, but my endeavors were yet to prove fruitful enough that I had found one. My trips round the country had seen me have a very eventful one in Liverpool, as I ended up at Anfield having an interesting chat with Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool manager. I saw it as a chance to learn from one of the greatest managers in history, a man who has won Spanish league titles, been in European finals and could take Liverpool as far as he wanted to. We spent three hours chatting in his office, a chat which proved prosperous as I managed to secure the loan deal of Neil Mellor till the end of the season, once he had finished his current loan spell at Wrexham. Neil was valued highly at Anfield, and I felt he could add some real depth to the squad, and his ability was undoubted. I headed back to Wolves as a very happy man, knowing I had a striker on the way and that I had learnt off a real legend of the game

...

Nottingham Forest provided our final opponents of the month, and they had shocked everybody with their consistent form and good results, reaping their rewards by sitting in second place in the table. They made the visit to Molineux on the back of a 7 game winning run, but come the final whistle that had been ended by two first half goals. Kenny Miller grabbed the first, converting Ashley Young's cross in the 17th minute, and the points were secured just on half time, Ganea winning and scoring the penalty after Andy Reid's reckless tackle. Reid earned himself a booking for the tackle, and his second yellow card came in the 76th minute, but three minutes later Forest were reduced to nine men, Craig Westcarr's two footed tackle earning him a straight red and an early bath. A good win over a side close behind us saw us extend our lead further to 7 points

retired_brianrt

October 2004 Summary
(Championship unless stated)

Leeds 2-1 Wolves
Ricketts (33,46) : Newton (34)

Burnley 1-3 Wolves
Blake (10) : Witschge (25,83) Sturridge (58)

(League Cup 3rd Round)
Blackburn 3-0 Wolves
Dickov (11) Stead (62,63)

Wolves 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Miller (17) Ganea (pen 45)

retired_brianrt

Despite a loss to Leeds last month, we still sat at the head of the table quite comfortably. We had been eliminated from the League Cup, a fact I wasn't all that upset about, as I wanted us to concentrate on winning promotion, something I really felt we were capable of doing, especially if we kept up the run of form we had been showing. Our opening game of the month saw us entertain struggling Crewe, a side I fully expected us to beat with ease, but their one threat was star striker Dean Ashton, who had many big clubs sniffing around to acquire his talents. Sure enough, Ashton was the man who broke our defensive resisitance, heading home Kenny Lunt's cross five minutes from time, but as we had been 2-0 up at the time, it made no difference. We had taken the lead through Dean Sturridge's clever finish, sliding the ball underneath the onrushing 'keeper. We had many chances to double that lead in the first 45 minutes, but we had to wait until nine minutes after the break, Tuomas Aho heading home not only his first goal for the club, but his first professional goal. That was enough to guarantee us another three points, something which I was getting used to, as were the fans. Three points were all that mattered now, and with the Christmas and New Year period fast approaching, it was vital we didn't have many slip-ups.

---

Just three days later, we travelled down to Yorkshire for our visit to Bramall Lane, and Sheffield Utd. They were a good side, with some good players, and they should have been sitting higher than the 12th place they currently occupied. I was determined that we wouldn't be the start of the revival, but I needn't have worried, Colin Cameron's penalty and Kenny Miller's second half brace enough to give us our fourth successive win. Even Andy Gray's 66th minute goal didn't dampen the mood, and Glenn and myself allowed ourselves a little celebratory game of Texas Hold 'em on the coach on the way back

...

Checking my messages the following day, I had been interested to learn that Wigan had put together a £600,000 bid for our central defender Jody Craddock. I had no intention of letting Jody go anywhere, especially at this stage of the season, and politely declined the offer from the JJB. I also had to prepare myself for an interview that I had forgotten about, with the local paper that I had given my first interview to before the start of the season. I was expecting the same interviewer again, but I was surprised, not to say rather impressed, with the interviewer that walked in. She had long, tanned legs with flowing brown hair, and I have to say, she caught my attention immediately. She probably noticed the grin on my face too, as she sat down opposite me and took her pen from behind her ear

"Simon, Selina Scott from the Wolverhampton Daily Record. I'm sorry I didn't inform you of my replacing Andrew, he came down with a virus this morning"

"Oh that's quite alright. I don't mind. Shall we get down to business?"

"Certainly. Some of the fans were sceptical of your appointment, despite your rather successful playing career with the club. Do you think you have proved yourself to them?"

"Well I think it is still too early to say that, but I would like to think that they are beginning to warm to me. It's not about me anyway, it's all about how the team performs"

"They seem to be doing that quite well. Sitting top of the league by a fair margin, do you believe you should be taken seriously as promotion contenders?"

"Yes I do, I think we have shown that we mean business, having beaten four of our fellow top six sides, so I think we have to be taken seriously"

The interview went on for ten more minutes, until Selina finally decided she had all she needed for her story. As she got up to leave, Dutch courage suddenly hit me and I decided to be brave

"Selina, are you fixed up for Saturday night? I was just wondering if you wanted to come out for a drink?"

"Well I wasn't planning anything. Don't you have a game on Saturday?"

"Yes, but I'll be back in good time"

"I don't know, I've only just met you..."

"Come for a drink, get to know me better. I'm not married or anything like that, I swear"

That seemed to sway it in my favour, as a smile formed across her face. It almost lit up the room

"Yes, I will come for that drink. That's all it is, just a drink?"

"Absolutely. I wont be trying anything. It's a friendly drink, that's all"

"OK. Well my number is on there. Call me, and we can arrange it"

I held the piece of paper in my hand, a cheeky expression on my face

"I will, don't worry"