Wolves coast passed Millwall
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 v Millwall 0
What price the soul of a football club? When in the 1990’s Sir Jack Hayward started pouring his millions into the bottomless well that was Wolverhampton Wanderers, diehard supporters thought nothing of it. Sir Jack, afterall, was one of them, a local lad made good who wanted to resurrect a once great football establishment. Had he applied the same due diligence to that which he allocated to his investments in the Bahamas, it is unlikely that he would ever have touched the Old Gold. But for Sir Jack it was more than just about the money. He had great affection for his home town and its famous football club and it was his way of “putting something back”. The Club retained its soul and in the process Sir Jack turned himself into saint.
Following Sir Jack was always going to be a big ask. But when Steve Morgan bought the Club for a nominal £10 in 2007, Wolves fans knew that for the new custodian, Wolverhampton Wanderers was more support than headline act. Some three years earlier Morgan had made an unsuccessful bid to buy Liverpool FC, his first love. That said, given the growing interest from abroad in buying football clubs, he was English and during his ownership Wolves did manage a brief dalliance with the Premier League. But I always had the feeling that he used the Club as a Trojan horse to further his external financial interests, rather than truly investing in the team. The Club retained its soul but it was tainted and there is no doubt that in turning his £10 purchase into a sales price estimated to be £45 million Steve Morgan certainly made a useful return on his investment.
Where its soul had been solidly English, solidly Black Country, Morgan’s sale to the Chinese Corporation, Fosun International, offered up a totally new scenario. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop” said Confucius the great Chinese philosopher. However early actions at the club tended to contradict this lesson as a whirlwind of activity ensued. Out went an established if unfashionable manager in favour of an Italian international goalkeeper who had no idea how to manage a football team. In too came a whole raft of Foreign born players most of whom we had never heard of and had little association with the town. When, by November, Wolves were starting to flirt with relegation, the Molineux faithful began to question the wisdom of Chinese ownership. In times gone by they could at least take solace in venting their ire at Jez Moxey as he sat impassively in the director’s box. But he too had gone and a deficit in Mandarin left them firing blanks. The nightmare of relegation was eventually avoided but the whirlwind of activity continued. As ownership reached the twelve month mark, Fosun engaged its fourth manager, and player spending went on.
So what of the Club’s soul and do the fans care if Wolves is just a means for Chinese businessmen to curry favour with their country’s Premier, Xi Jingping? I would suggest not. Along with so much that occurs these days, money, whatever its hue, rules. But with expectation now sky high, nothing less than promotion will do.
In the short time that he has been here Manager Nuno Espirito Santo has made his mark both with selection and method of play. A lot of dead wood has been moved on two of them – George Savile and Jed Wallace – now plying their trade with Millwall today’s opponents. This is the first time that I have seen Wolves play this season and it is clear that football on the deck is Nuno’s raison d’etre. That is all well and good but there were passages during the game - particularly in the first half - when it all became too soporific and my mind started to drift to the morning round of golf and the number of greens I had hit in regulation. Three if you are wondering.
That said the goal and the chance preceding it did liven proceedings. In minute nine Conor Coady, now reborn as a defensive quarterback, fired a beautiful pass to Matt Doherty on the right wing. Like Coady, Doherty has also been reborn as right wing back, and reaching the bye line he pulled the ball back low to Leo Bonatini whose snap shot was well saved by Jordan Archer. Two minutes later, with Millwall still under the cosh, Diogo Jota collected the ball just inside the visitors half before drifting passed two opponents and hitting a wonder strike from twenty five yards which rifled into the net. The Portuguese midfielder is comfortable on the ball, can beat an opponent and can strike a shot on goal. Amongst the gaggle of new Wolves signings he certainly looks the pick of the crop.
Having scored so early and subsequently dominating possession Wolves should have used it to better effect. But for the remainder of the half they spent more time playing keep ball than injecting pace in the final third. Their second half was better but even then rarely was Archer troubled, a long looping shot by Roman Saiss on 63 minutes and a neat move, again involving Saiss, in the 88th minute being the sum total of their efforts. Down but not out, in the dying minutes Millwall forced two good saves from John Ruddy. Had either gone in Wolves would have rued their lack of ambition.
But it’s all a world away from last season. The personnel is better, they know what each is doing and the side is currently lying third in the Championship. What’s not to like.
Wolves: Ruddy 7, Batth 7, Coady 7, Miranda 7, Doherty 7, Saiss 7, Neves 6 Sub N’Diaye, Vinagre 7, Jota 8 Sub Cavaleiro, Marshall 6 Sub Enobakhari, Bonatini 6
Millwall: Archer 6, McLaughlin 6, Webster 6, Hutchinson 6, Meredith 6, Sub Ferguson, Wallace 5 Sub Onyedinma, Williams 6, Savile 6, O’Brien 5 (Sent off), Morison 6, Gregory 6
Attendance: 24,426
Ref: Robert Madley 8
©Mark Brennand