How will Wolves fair back in the Championship?…
Wolves
Last Season
Back-to-back relegations had left Wolves a team in freefall last summer as they looked to turn the club around. Their first excellent piece of business was appointing Kenny Jackett as manager. The next excellent decision was to make a clean break away from many of the experienced, tired players that had caused their demise. The results were spectacular as they won the League One title are secured a return to the Championship at the first attempt. Their form was excellent throughout the season as they romped to the title losing only five games, accumulating 103 points and scoring 89 goals. They actually spent the first third of the season outside the automatic promotion places as they chased Leyton Orient and Brentford but their excellent form over the New Year period where they clocked up nine straight wins saw them break into the top two. They secured promotion with a 2-0 win at Crewe Alexandra and a 1-0 victory at Leyton Orient two weeks later secured the League One title.
The Manager
Wolves made an excellent appointment when they chose Kenny Jackett to take the club forward. A playing career which saw him stay at just one club, Watford, and make 31 appearances for Wales ended in 1990 after a serious knee injury. His first managerial experience came at Watford in the old Division Two in 1996 where he spent just one season in charge guiding the club to a disappointing 13th. He then stepped back as Graham Taylor picked up the reigns and kept Jackett on as part of his coaching staff. His second managerial stint was at Swansea before he enjoyed an extremely successful spell at Millwall before joining Wolves last summer.
Transfers
In: Tommy Rowe (Peterborough Utd), Rajiv Van La Parra (Herenveen)
Loans Out: Zeli Ismael, Jake Cassidy (Notts County), George Elokobi (Released)
This Season
Wolves have been limited in what they have been able to do in the transfer market this summer because they still have some of their big earners on their books. That said, their squad was clearly too good for League One last season, and having kept hold of all their players they should have a decent season. Both Norwich and Southampton have won back-to-back promotions in recent years but their lack of investment over the summer might mean mid-table is the best they can achieve.
