Berra and Iwelumo stand tallest amongst giants

As a former centre half himself, you'd think Wolves manager Mick McCarthy would be well suited to the task of signing central defenders.

But over the course of his almost three seasons at Molineux, there hasn't been much clear evidence that it's his transfer market speciality.

There would be few complaints from Wolves fans about the service provided by Gary Breen, although his Molineux career coincided with a decline in pace, but question marks have persisted elsewhere.

The £600,000 spent on Darren Ward has proved to be a waste, and the £1 million shelled out on Jason Shackell is completely perplexing.

Most Wolves fans have total admiration for the never-say-die attitude of Neill Collins, but real reservations exist about his ability to defend calmly, and the redoubtable Jody Craddock suffered the ignomany of a loan spell at Stoke when many Wolves fans considered him still worthy of first team contention at Molineux.

Of course Michael Mancienne was completely fantastic on loan from Chelsea, and summer buy Richard Stearman had given sterling service until his recent removal from the firing line.

But questions persisted about McCarthy's defensive transfers, and the queries increased after a difficult start to his Molineux career for £2.3m signing Christophe Berra.

Now of course he signed at a time when Wolves were shockingly low on confidence, and that has to be a massive factor behind his difficult start to life at the top of the Championship.

But with Wolves seemingly now back on track, Berra was quite outstanding at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

Not seemingly blessed with blistering pace, which many fans argue is vital if Wolves are to stand any chance whatsoever in the Premier League next season, Berra was a man mountain at Hillsborough.

And there's a calmness about him too - with or without the ball.

With the always admirable Craddock alongside him, in a back four where Matt Hill also impressed, Berra looked every inch the £2.3m international defender that he is.

It was hard to believe this was the same player who looked so uncomfortable seven days earlier against Plymouth.

And while Berra rose to the occasion, it was Wolves' team spine that stood firm. Wayne Hennessey came for crosses, the recalled David Jones added a touch of authority to central midfield, and Chris Iwelumo and Sylvan ran themselves into the ground.

If Wolves can hang on to Sylvan, he can become a Molineux legend. His goal record is remarkable, and his all round battling centre forward play is a delight.

But it was Big Chris who I was most impressed with - still running his heart out in the dying seconds of a win that was so wildly acclaimed by both fans and players at full time.

He still makes too many fouls, and could do with a goal, but he stood tall on an afternoon when Wolves had so many giants.