A weekend newspaper headline suggested Mick McCarthy was going to pick over the bones of North East football as he builds a team that will hopefully be competitive at Premier League level.
Well this evening, while I listen to a fascinating Radio 5 Live debate involving Chris Waddle, Mark Lawrenson, Mike Ingham and North East expert Ian Dennis, that thought fills me with absolute dread.
Except one player, who I think would be an excellent addition to the Molineux ranks - step forward Middlesbrough central defender David Wheater.
The situation at Newcastle is beyond belief - 15 players earning £50,000 each and every week, and a staggering level of club debt.
And 15 players plus who singularly failed to halt a slide out of the Premier League with hardly a whimper.
It's an unmitigated disaster at St James' - and I want McCarthy to steer completely clear of any player who failed in this season in the black and white stripes.
Damaged goods on mega money - that's not the kind of player we need to add to our thrusting young guns, all desperate to establish our team in the only league that matters.
Middlesbrough don't have the astronomical wage bill, but they do have eye-watering debts. On 5 Live this evening, it was suggested the debt could top £90m - with at least £69m attributed to chairman Steve Gibson's haulage business.
And in a recession, a haulage business is not a sure-fire financial winner.
If ever there was a warning for Steve Morgan and Jez Moxey, it's what I've been hearing on national radio tonight.
But Wolves will be shrewder than that as they take their place in a Premier League that gives me real hope of survival at the very least next season.
Burnley, Blues, Hull, cash-strapped Pompey.... we have to believe that we can properly compete at this level.
And I think Wheater would be an excellent signing, if nothing else for the dignified way he's conducted himself since relegation at the Riverside was confirmed.
This is what Wheater said in the aftermath of the weekend defeat at West Ham: "I've got two more years left here so it is up to the manager.
"I'm happy to stay. I've supported Boro all my life. They are a team I want to play for and try to get them back up."
What an outstandingly loyal attitude from a 22-year-old with England squad experience, and the benefit of a loan spell already under McCarthy at Molineux.
But there's a but, and that but gives Wolves the chink of light to make their move and land a central defender with plenty of Premier League experience.
Wheater went on to say: "I won't ask for a transfer but if the manager accepts another bid then that is a different matter."
Middlesbrough need to sell, Wolves need to buy. And Wheater would be a great signing.
Monday 25 May 2009
Monday 11 May 2009
Were Campbell's ears burning?
After all the exciting transfer rumours following our title-winning promotion to the Premier League, finally a fact.
Mick McCarthy has confirmed he's been talking to Sir Alex Ferguson.
But where does that leave us? In reality, precisely no further forward in trying to second guess the transfer activity of McCarthy, Morgan and Moxey.
However, if you have been sifting through the increasing list of potential Molineux recruits - from the probably fanciful Michael Owen to the fantastically named Oguchi Onyewu - it won't have escaped your notice that Fraizer Campbell's name has figured.
And the young striker who's developing football education has taken him from Old Trafford to White Hart Lane via Hull's KC Stadium might just be the man that McCarthy's inquiring about.
He scored 15 goals in 34 appearances for Hull, but his loan spell at Tottenham would hardly be called a success, with only one Premier League start for Harry Redknapp so far.
So the 21-year-old Campbell, maybe! Or maybe it could be central midfielder Darron Gibson, who's already had one largely unspectacular loan stay at Molineux.
Or maybe another exciting Manchester United midfield prospect, Rodrigo Possebon.
Frankly, none of us have got a definitive clue, so it's probably easier to identify areas where McCarthy would like to strengthen.
He's probably keen on an extra central defender, some more Premier League quality in central midfield, and for all Andy Keogh's excellent end-of-season form, and Chris Iwelumo's prolific autumn run, an extra striker to share the goal burden on Sylvan is probably highest priority.
Which brings me back to Campbell. Even if Carlos Tevez moves on, you would think Sir Alex would be happy to loan Campbell out again - particularly with Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and the emerging Danny Wallbeck and Federico Macheda in his armoury.
And Cristiano Ronaldo is not the worst option you ever saw as a central striker - even if he does sulk when substituted.
So I'm guessing the conversation was about Campbell - although it could have been Sir Alex ringing up to enquire about Sylvan's availability.
Mick McCarthy has confirmed he's been talking to Sir Alex Ferguson.
But where does that leave us? In reality, precisely no further forward in trying to second guess the transfer activity of McCarthy, Morgan and Moxey.
However, if you have been sifting through the increasing list of potential Molineux recruits - from the probably fanciful Michael Owen to the fantastically named Oguchi Onyewu - it won't have escaped your notice that Fraizer Campbell's name has figured.
And the young striker who's developing football education has taken him from Old Trafford to White Hart Lane via Hull's KC Stadium might just be the man that McCarthy's inquiring about.
He scored 15 goals in 34 appearances for Hull, but his loan spell at Tottenham would hardly be called a success, with only one Premier League start for Harry Redknapp so far.
So the 21-year-old Campbell, maybe! Or maybe it could be central midfielder Darron Gibson, who's already had one largely unspectacular loan stay at Molineux.
Or maybe another exciting Manchester United midfield prospect, Rodrigo Possebon.
Frankly, none of us have got a definitive clue, so it's probably easier to identify areas where McCarthy would like to strengthen.
He's probably keen on an extra central defender, some more Premier League quality in central midfield, and for all Andy Keogh's excellent end-of-season form, and Chris Iwelumo's prolific autumn run, an extra striker to share the goal burden on Sylvan is probably highest priority.
Which brings me back to Campbell. Even if Carlos Tevez moves on, you would think Sir Alex would be happy to loan Campbell out again - particularly with Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and the emerging Danny Wallbeck and Federico Macheda in his armoury.
And Cristiano Ronaldo is not the worst option you ever saw as a central striker - even if he does sulk when substituted.
So I'm guessing the conversation was about Campbell - although it could have been Sir Alex ringing up to enquire about Sylvan's availability.
Friday 1 May 2009
Fabulous Foley deserves fans' plaudits
So much has changed at Molineux since Wolves won their last Premier League game, exactly five years ago today.
But one thing remains exactly the same from the team that beat Wayne Rooney's Everton 2-1 to the team that will line-up to receive the Championship trophy on Sunday.
The 2003/4 team had a fantastic right back, and the 2008/9 team has a fantastic right back.
For Denis Irwin read Kevin Foley - and that fact has been wonderfully acknowledged by the Molineux masses.
Even speaking as a fan who voted for Sylvan (with my decision based on his sheer weight of goals), the victory by Foley in the player of the year award sums Mick McCarthy's Molineux ethos up perfectly.
Good teams need stars like Sylvan and Michael Kightly, but promotion-winning teams need stars and unsung heroes.
And the beauty of Foley's accolade is that unsung heroes are massively appreciated, and unsung heroes can become star names.
The 24-year-old former Luton man is a star performer, and it's heartening to see that 51 per cent of 6,000 Wolves season ticket holders wrote his name on their voting slips.
How Foley, the most consistent signing of the McCarthy era, was not worth a place in the PFA Championship team of the year is beyond my comprehension.
He's so cool, so calm, so intelligent on the ball, so solid....so like Irwin, a rare hero of the Premiership season.
Foley admitted to being "gobsmacked" after landing the award, but he had no need to be.
Now he will bring his undoubted defensive talents to the Premier League - and a regular starting berth in the Republic of Ireland team could become a reality over the next 12 months.
McCarthy has made some great signings at Molineux, and much of the spotlight has so rightly been shone on Sylvan and Kightly for their spectacular achievements.
But suggesting Foley could prove to be McCarthy's best-ever Molineux signing is no act of folly - and committing him to a new long-term contract could be a very sensible bit of summer business.
But one thing remains exactly the same from the team that beat Wayne Rooney's Everton 2-1 to the team that will line-up to receive the Championship trophy on Sunday.
The 2003/4 team had a fantastic right back, and the 2008/9 team has a fantastic right back.
For Denis Irwin read Kevin Foley - and that fact has been wonderfully acknowledged by the Molineux masses.
Even speaking as a fan who voted for Sylvan (with my decision based on his sheer weight of goals), the victory by Foley in the player of the year award sums Mick McCarthy's Molineux ethos up perfectly.
Good teams need stars like Sylvan and Michael Kightly, but promotion-winning teams need stars and unsung heroes.
And the beauty of Foley's accolade is that unsung heroes are massively appreciated, and unsung heroes can become star names.
The 24-year-old former Luton man is a star performer, and it's heartening to see that 51 per cent of 6,000 Wolves season ticket holders wrote his name on their voting slips.
How Foley, the most consistent signing of the McCarthy era, was not worth a place in the PFA Championship team of the year is beyond my comprehension.
He's so cool, so calm, so intelligent on the ball, so solid....so like Irwin, a rare hero of the Premiership season.
Foley admitted to being "gobsmacked" after landing the award, but he had no need to be.
Now he will bring his undoubted defensive talents to the Premier League - and a regular starting berth in the Republic of Ireland team could become a reality over the next 12 months.
McCarthy has made some great signings at Molineux, and much of the spotlight has so rightly been shone on Sylvan and Kightly for their spectacular achievements.
But suggesting Foley could prove to be McCarthy's best-ever Molineux signing is no act of folly - and committing him to a new long-term contract could be a very sensible bit of summer business.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)