Wolves blog: The unsung heroes of promotion
As Wolves regain their place at the top table of English football, it is worth looking back at the key figures in Wolves’ return from that 2013 Championship relegation.
The rot set in after Mick McCarthy’s sacking in the Premier League, following that infamous 5-1 defeat – and followed Wolves through the tenures of Terry Connor, Stale Solbakken and Dean Saunders.
Nobody expected the double relegation – even as Solbakken was sacked in January 2013 you probably wouldn’t have honestly expected it.
Relegation to the third tier brought the chance to flush the club out – and they made a change to the club structure, replacing the traditional manager with the ‘head coach’ role.
The understated Kenny Jackett was chosen for the role ahead of other names being touted, including Owen Coyle and Steve Davis.
If there was a man that could steady the ship more successfully than Jackett, they would be hard to find.
His first task was to clear remnants of Wolves’ failure, and he explained clearly his ‘group three/bomb squad’ method of doing so in the early days.
He brought in young and hungry players already at the club - the likes of Lee Evans, Jack Price and Leigh Griffiths, who had previously not had a look in.
He also managed to retain key players, including Bakary Sako, and built a team that gathered momentum throughout the season in a tough battle for the top spot with Brentford and Leyton Orient.
Teams such as Leeds and Nottingham Forest have floundered in League One after falling into it – but Jackett ensured Wolves went back in style at the first attempt.
His key signing, who has just left his role as under-16s head coach to become the Wrexham boss, was veteran Sam Ricketts.
He became Jackett’s captain and played in almost all of the games in League One – leading a young Wolves team to success and ensuring they stayed on track.
Signing Ricketts was a masterstroke from Jackett, almost like signing Paul Ince and Denis Irwin in the Division One days.
The coach and captain pair were crucial – among many others – in Wolves’ bounce back to the second tier.
In Wolves’ return to the Championship, during their second half of the season they displayed title-winning form with that magical trio of Nouha Dicko, Benik Afobe and Sako.
Afobe completed the trio in the January, which was disbanded when Sako left in the summer and Afobe the following January – who would have thought he’d be the one still here now?
After that attempt at the play-offs in the first season, Wolves lost momentum as owner Steve Morgan began withdrawing financial support for the club.
Jackett and co were left having to count their pennies, balancing the books with the sale of the well-loved Richard Stearman for ‘footballing reasons’.
The way in which Morgan ran the club, although causing first frustration and then apathy, meant that they were prime candidates for Fosun to take over.
He left the club debt-free and, although he was unwilling to take them further himself, it was evidently an appealing option for someone looking to buy a football club.
Hindsight is a great thing, and the likes of Kenny Jackett have always been well appreciated – but perhaps on promotion to the Premier League, we can see what an important effect he actually had.
