What if they bugger off? The recent success does almost seem to good to be true.
So.… What if Fosun get bored? What if Nuno gets a better offer? What if Mendes cooks himself to a burnt crisp on the sunbed?
If like me you have endured the Bhatti brother’s era, then you probably fear we could return to a time when Neves is training on the Stan Cullis car park.
And although preferable to the deplorable Money Shop sponsorship, let us not forget that there was a time when Staw paid a measly £22k to have their logo adorn the shirts from that iconic Sherpa Van Trophy image from 1988. £22k well spent you would say.
Before I get all misty eyed and start singing Mary Hopkins, it is always worth remembering where we came from and perhaps fans shouldn’t worry so much about what the future holds.
Last season was the best football I’ve seen at Wolves for 30 years. And as we embark on another adventure, we should just enjoy the ride of what lies ahead.
Yes, we probably don’t have quite enough depth at the moment in the squad, certainly across the back, in the middle of midfield and up front. Oh hold on, that’s nearly every position. PANIC!!!
And yes, the Barry Douglas departure was a little hard to stomach. But trust in Nuno we must. He has a plan.
I mean, Joao Moutinho is playing for Wolves. Joao blummin Moutinho. And Rui Patrício?
That formative five managers, Paul Gladon Fosun starter season of 2016/17 was seemingly a necessary pain to help us arrive at where we are today.
Fast forward to the start of the 2018/19 campaign and we have a mad scramble for football shirts, a season-ticket waiting list for the time in the club’s history and genuine expectation that we are not joining the top flight greed league simply to play a bit part in proceedings.
9th August and the closure of the transfer window is looming large though. We won’t get everybody we want and we probably won’t have the depth of the squad many of us think is necessary for success.
I’d like to see three players come in, most notably a left wing back, unless Nuno is confident that Jonny Castro is ready to fill that void, which from what I’ve seen, I’m not sure he is.
And we definitely need a plan B in the middle. Neves will obviously sit deeper than Moutinho, but neither are defensively minded. If the plan is to deploy Saiss at CB, then we may want to shore things up with an Alfred N’Diaye type, maybe just a tad better with the ball at his feet.
And up top? Well we know that Costa, Cav and Jota are interchangeable, but a pre-Christmas Bonatini was that focal-point in attack that brought us great early season success. Jimenez could be the one to play this role, but a little more depth in this department wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Exciting isn’t it? Exciting that we are not bringing in the miserable Leon Clarke to fill that void anyway.
The World Cup was a great hors-d’oeuvre, but my belly has been rumbling for the main course ever since a rain-soaked Lloris held up that poor replacement for the Jules Rimet.
And if you are worried about our transfer dealings up to this point, spare a thought for our first EPL visitors Everton. Just a couple of significant signings thus far for the Toffees in Digne and Richarlison and a really underwhelming signing of Ashley Williams, who despite being a Wulfrunian, hasn’t really got the quality at this level anymore.
Knowing our luck Everton could surprise us all with some magnificent signings before the game. Unlikely though. And we should have enough to grab the win.
Thanks for the taking the time to read this diatribe.
Connect with me on Twitter (@wolvesblogger) if you would like to take me to task on any of the above!
Cheers. UTW.
@Wolvesblogger 