Post Hoc, Ergo, Propter Hoc‏

Once again, here is Phil Chell with another article for the blog. 

For anyone reading this that knows me you will know that my favourite tv program of all time is The West Wing. Now, forgive me for saying that I don't believe the average Wolves fan will know what it is but be that as it may and truer words have never been spoken. The American political system isn't something that appeals to many.

There is an episode when the amiable, likeable and folksy President Bartlett played brilliantly by Martin Sheen, comes out with the saying 'Post Hoc, Ergo, Propter Hoc'. This is Latin and means 'after, therefore, because of it'. Roughly put in lamens terms it means one thing leads to another. However I don't always agree with it.

Case in point; our current league position. As I write this we sit 5th which is our lowest position this season. We have topped the table and held Champions League positions. We have 7 points from 3 games, and are unbeaten. Now even the most optimistic Wolves fan would see this as a good yet somewhat fortuitous start and we will soon find ourselves in the bottom half. Or 'after our little purple patch we will lose key players to injury and we'll slip down the league as usual'. After, therefore, because of it. 

Well I don't think so.

I think our squad at the moment is as good as, or even better than teams like Fulham, Bolton, Stoke and Albion all of whom I'd class as a mid table teams.

Last year we didn't really have a settled line up. This year the same team has started the 3 league games. Also, when Mick made 11 changes for the league cup game, there were 4 or 5 players who were in our best line up last year. I agree that injuries could be a problem, especially if we lose either Johnson, Jarvis, Doyle or Fletcher but I think we have enough strength on depth to survive this campaign easily. 

But there are 35 games to go. In the words of President Bartlett 'what's next?'

Aston Villa 0 Wolves 0

Well done Wolves. Another good away point that takes us to seven points from three games.

It was the type of performance we have lacked since returning to the Premier League. A tight game, where neither side looked like scoring. Last season we were a bit guilty of keeping the game open when maybe we shouldn't have. Against a pacy Villa team we did well to stop them from creating very little openings.

Credit for that goes to the manager. I was annoyed when Mick took Hunt and Jarvis off, for Elokobi and Foley but it was an excellent decision. After twenty minutes of pressure, we finally started to keep the ball better. Ward and Foley as the wide midfielders did that excellently.

Wayne Hennessey put in another confident, solid performance. He made a very good save from Gabby Agbonlahor after he breezed past Roger Johnson. He also made important punches from dangerous crosses, one in particular at the beginning of the game.

It's quite hard to believe, but our best player over the last three games has been our left back. Stephen Ward was assured at the back and intelligent going forward. In fact, I would go as far as saying he was our most dangerous player attacking wise!

It's a good sign that we didn't play particularly well and yet still managed to take a point away from home. In a situation like this last year, we may have crumbled under the pressure and lost the game by two or three goals.

Hennessey - 8

Stearman - 6
Johnson - 7
Berra - 7
Ward - 8

Hunt - 7
Henry - 7
O'Hara - 6
Jarvis - 6

Doyle - 6
Fletcher - 7

We have two home games coming up now, where we have been very strong in the last year or so. Can we maintain our unbeaten run going, it's a scary thought.

Aston Villa v Wolves preview

Until last week, the best all round performance I could think of was Villa away last term.

If Wolves could replicate something like that performance, and the one against Fulham then this is a game we can look forward too.

When Alex McLeish was appointed as Aston Villa's manager, my immediate thought for them was a relegation battle. not only would he be coming from the enemy, but he would also bring a brand of negative football that any fan would find hard to sit through. So far though seems to have escaped criticism from the fans and they have had a pretty decent start, taking four out of a possible six points.

This is a good opportunity for Wolves to turn the fans against him, as anything less than three points in the eyes of Villa fans will be a bad result. If Wolves can frustrate Villa from the start, just like last time,  the fans and then the players will start to get anxious.

We will need our defence to be strong once again, with the likes of Charles N'Zogbia, Gabby Agbonlahor and Darren Bent all likely to start. That is a very quick, and skillful, attack to deal with. So far though, Roger Johnson has had a great impact on our defence, we look twice as solid. he will need to be at his best to give us a chance of getting a clean sheet.

I honestly can't see Mick changing the team from the last two games, I can't see a reason to either!

Hennessey

Stearman
Johnson
Berra
Ward
Hunt
Henry
O'Hara
Jarvis

Doyle
Fletcher

It's going to be an interesting game. It's one we could definitely get something from, but a tough test for our team no doubt. I'm going for 1-1.

Wolves 2 Fulham 0

What a perfect game.

Two goals, clean sheet and another assured performance.

Whether it is Survival Sunday, the fitness of Jamie O'Hara or installing Roger Johnson as captain, something has really given us that kick up the ass we needed to push upwards and onwards.


While I don't want to get ahead of myself, we really could have a season to remember. We now seem to be an accomplished Premier League side.

Our two wide men caused Fulham problems throughout the game. Stephen Hunt had  the better of John Arne-Riise, and Matty Jarvis was quietly effective. He now has two assists and a goal to his name, and is in fine form. Surely another England call up is due?


Looking through our team, we have a great British and Irish spine, as good (if not better) as any team in the bottom half. If we can keep this as our spine: Hennesey-Johnson/Berra-O'Hara/Henry-Doyle/Fletcher and get as many games out of them as possible then we can't go far wrong.


Karl Henry looks a different player. He had Danny Murphy in his pocket. It was a great moment when he turned four or five times and Murphy, who was clearly affected by the crowd, couldn't get the ball off of him. Henry and O'Hara, look like they have enough about them to control the game in a 4-4-2, which makes life a lot easier.


I was glad to see Kevin Doyle find the back of the net too. After an early miss, it was good for him to a get a goal that he badly needed. Him and Fletcher with the right service will get goals, as well as them being two terrific footballers.


And then there is Stephen Ward. Another top class performance by the Irishman will continue to add to his growing reputation with the fans. His two blocks in quick succession were nothing short of heroic.


Hennesey - 8


Stearman - 7
Johnson - 7.5
Berra - 7.5
Ward - 8


Hunt - 8
O'Hara - 7.5
Henrty - 9
Jarvis - 8


Doyle - 7.5
Fletcher - 8

Villa up next in the league. A tough away match, but it was last time we played them!

The Don

Here's another article by Phil Chell, on a (surely) soon to be new hero at Wolves.

Those of you who read my first piece for this website about Michael Kightly will have noticed that I tend to write with a certain flair or excitement. This is partly due to, being a creative person, the need to be inspired to write something that I will be proud of due to my own high standards. Louie (the website’s editor) asked me fairly quickly after I’d written my first article to contribute another. I said I would but in few weeks or if he gave me something specific to write about. That was about a week ago so I though, leading up to the opening game that I’d wait and see if anything or anyone flicked my switches. 

Someone did; Big time.

Now, if you read any paper over the last few weeks you will have been told that Wolves paid anything from £4 million to £7 million for Roger Johnson (Wolves continuing their dignified transfer policy by not revealing financial details). Being very honest, I didn’t know that much about him. I remember him fouling someone against us last season at Molineux for what was a stonewall penalty that was never given.

So I went to my local pub to watch the game with around 20 other Wolves fans/friends. The start of the season is exciting at anytime but for some reason this season has got me almost salivating at the prospect of the little round ball being kicked around by 22 over-paid men. I wasn’t disappointed either. The first 15-20 minutes were a little edgy and, as is always the way with Wolves, it took the opposition to score to bring us to life. Once we equalised I always knew we’d end up winning; call it arrogance or stupidity, either way I just knew. But that wasn’t what got me so excited. It was Johnson’s performance that did.

First of all, I think MM making him captain was a great move of two accounts; first off it frees up Henry who I still have mixed feelings about but second, it has put the captaincy where I feel it needs to be in any football team, at the back. 

The first thing that got me with Johnson was how vocal he was in terms of organisation at set pieces through to motivating everyone. He also read the game so well, he was always where he needed to be and was never caught out of position. However, it was one particular piece of action that made me realise that we have a very special player. 

It was around 22 minutes in and it was 1-1. Blackburn attacked down the wing and played a short pass inside to Formica. Johnson read it beautifully and took it of Blackburn and broke down the attack. That in its self was a great piece of defending. However, instead of clearing it up field he did something I haven’t seen us do for a long time; he PLAYED his way out of defence, RAN 70 yards and passed it and finally was in the box to attempt a header. We didn’t score obviously but that move alone showed me something our defence hasn’t shown in a long, long, time. Intelligence. 

Intelligence to read the move. Intelligence to play out instead of clearing. Intelligence to fill in at the back while he went forward. 

I know that it is early days and I shouldn’t get carried away. But I can’t help but think that, yet again, Mick McCarthy’s initials actually do stand for Merlin the Magician.

Professional: Blackburn 1 Wolves 2

Take one long hard look at the league table. Savour it, 'cause it ain't gonna get much better than that.

Wolves put in a strong, determined performance mixed in with moments of guile and quality. It was very much a professional, Premier League display that gives us reasons to be hopeful this year.

Overall you could say Wolves were 'good value' for their win as Matthew Le Tissier put it. At times we looked ragged but the defence came through the spells of pressure and while the goal we conceded was  a poor one to let in, it was also quite unlucky.

There were several performances to pick out. Matthew Jarvis looks like he has been working hard on the training ground. He looks like a more considered player, still with the pace and trickery to take his man on as shown when he won our penalty.

While in my preview I said (the impressive) Roger Johnson could be the man to take us to the next level, Jamie O'Hara could be every bit as important. With a full pre-season behind him, he looks ready to kick on and his performance today convinced me he is the man to make 4-4-2 work. His all round game is perfect for it, breaking up playing and moving us forward quickly.

Our match winner, Stephen Ward had a solid game at left back. He never really looked troubled by Hoillet, and his goal was a stunning effort. Every year he improves and looks more and more a Premier League footballer. On the opposite side, Kevin Foley had a class game when he came on at half time for the injured Richard Stearman.

Hennessey - 7

Stearman - 6
Johnson - 7
Berra - 7
Ward - 8

Jarvis - 8
Henry - 7
O'Hara - 8
Hunt - 6

Fletcher - 7
Doyle - 7

Subs: Foley - 8, Elokobi - 6, Maierhofer (not enough time to judge)

This time last year we were saying similar things after an excellent performance against Stoke. This time, can we kick on from a good solid start and have a comfortable season. We;ll just have to wait and see.

Are you ready? Blackburn v Wolves preview

Football is back!

Forget pre-season, that doesn't really count. We only have a day until we kick off a new Barclays' Premier League season and I'm getting terribly excited!

We go to Ewood Park hoping to end our poor run of results there and against Blackburn too. We are yet to win against them in six Premier League games, all records have to come to end at some point right?

With Roger Johnson in defence there is a cause for optimism and belief that we will be stronger at the back, that we can hold out when under pressure. Our new captain could be the man to take us to the next level.

It's less than three months since our last game, against tomorrow's opponents and we will hope that it will be an entirely different occasion. The first forty five minutes of that game where we looked down are ones we would like to put behind us, a good performance tomorrow will do that.

With Phil Jones sold and potentially no Christopher Samba and Ryan Nelsen, this is a good chance to get at a usually strong Blackburn defence. There will certainly be some shifting around at the back, which would be to our advantage. If we can press them high up, and get plenty of crosses in it may cause panic and create openings for Kevin Doyle (if fit) and Steven Fletcher.

The partnership of Doyle and Fletcher is something that will be interesting to see. If Doyle passes his fitness test, which it looks like he will, then both will almost certainly start. There were glimpses of an understanding last year in the few times they were both actually on the pitch and a strong partnership between the two could be one of the best outside the top six or seven.

Here is what I reckon Mick will go with:

Hennessey

Remember this goal?

Stearman
Johnson
Berra
Elokobi

Jarvis
Henry
O'Hara
Hunt

Doyle
Fletcher

There are question marks over Doyle and O'Hara's fitness. If we were to lose the two of them, I'd expect us to switch to a 451, with Nenad Milijas and possibly David Davis coming in. There may even be a place for Stephen Ward, who performed particularly well with Fletcher towards the end of the season.

If you are going to the game have a good time, (hopefully) enjoy the game and make sure you get behind the lads.

I'm going for a score draw, which I would take right now. 1-1

Team news, ask the oppo, prediction league

About our opponents
Blackburn Rovers hold an excellent Premier League record a Wolves, undefeated in all our meetings. Ewood Park has proved to be somewhere we dread to play, conceding eleven in three games there and scoring just two. This is a huge season for Rovers. After sacking Sam Allardyce and bringing Steve Kean, form deteriorated and only a late surge kept them up. Kean is yet to win over Rovers fans, along with the Venky's, and needs to get off to a good start to keep the pressure off.

Form
Blackburn last six games: LLWDDW
Wolves last six games: DLDWWL
Blackburn at home last season: 7 wins, 7 draws, 5 defeats
Wolves away last season: 3 wins, 3 draws, 13 defeats

Last six games v each other: Blackburn 4 wins, 2 draws, Wolves 0 wins

What happened last time?
Blackburn came to Molineux on the final day of the season for 'Surival Sunday'. Blackburn stormed into a three nil lead at half time, practically securing their Premier League status. In the second half, they took their foot off the gas and Wolves pulled two back which would ultimately keep us up.

Team news
Steve Kean is hopeful that Chris Samba will be fit, but the defender remains a doubt.
Ryan Nelsen may not feature. 
Kevin Doyle is rated at 70/30 to be fit.
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake could be ready in time, but Kightly is doubtful.
Adlene Guedioura and Dave Edwards are still missing with injury.

Ask the oppo
This week I was grateful to get answers from Blackburn fan Carsten

It's best we start off with 'survival sunday', what was your experience of it like? 

Oh boy what a ride that was! Although Rovers were in danger of going down on the final day, I was always confident we would stay up. Well, almost. When I woke up on Survival Sunday my stomach hurt really bad, and I couldn't relax at all. Had a couple of sandwiches for breakfast, then a couple of beers, finally headed to the pub, where all Rovers fans in Oslo meet up whenever we can. I don't remember too much about the game, but what a relief it was when we got the first goal! From that point on I was sure we were safe. Little did I know that it would be one hell of a roller-coaster towards the end! Luckily we could all walk home safe, and meet again on the opening day of this season!

Manager's popularity out of 10? 

Good question. I think on a scale form 1 to 10, it would be about 5. A lot of fans are still not convinced about the new owners, and certainly not Steve Kean because it is his first job as a manager. Personally I think he is doing a fairly good job, but it's still early days, and it's hard to really judge until the season is well under way. I think we played some decent football after he took charge, and the signings he has made seems to be good, although I never heard of any of them before they were linked with Rovers. I'm staying optimistic.

What should be the aim for Blackburn this season?

Top ten. A lot of experts think we are going down, but I can't see that happening with the squad we have got now. If Samba stays, and we can get one more striker in, I think we are looking ok. Hopefully also another centre half will be coming in this window, and then we should be able to push for a top ten finish.

Who should Wolves watch out for?Hoilett is obviously a threat, but I think also Rochina and Formica are ready to make an impact this season, and could surprise a few people.

What do you think of Wolves signings, and how do you think we will do this season?Looks solid. Roger Johnson and O'Hara if I'm right? Solid players with experience. Not too spectacular, but should make sure you are in a better position than last season.

Finally, prediction for the game?Gotta say we need to win at home, and get off to a good start, and I think the squad knows how important this is, if only to calm down some fans. Could well be the same result as when we last met. Rovers 3 - Wolves 2.

 

You can follow Carsten on twitter! @carsten86

Prediction League

The prediction league is back! Can Bob China keep his crown and or will he have it stolen off him?

Just post your predictions of the 9 Premier league fixtures as a comment to enter.

Blackburn v Wolves
Fulham v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Sunderland
QPR v Bolton
Wigan v Norwich
Newcastle v Arsenal
Stoke v Chelsea
Man Utd v West Brom
Man City v Swansea

It's five points for a correct result, ten for a correct scoreline and three for each correct scorer!

International Farce

Once again, Wolves have been struck by injuries while one of our players is off on international duty. Blackburn and Fulham fans will be delighted to hear that Kevin Doyle has been ruled out for 2-3 weeks with injury, it's almost a disaster for us.

Mick had already aired his concerns about the timing of these friendlies and it's hard to disagree. What purpose do they serve? None of the games actually matter.

Weirdly, this is the third year running that we will start the season without Doyle. He missed the game v West Ham in the first year (due to injury from internationals I believe?!!) and the game against Stoke last year.

Now is the chance for someone else to step up, and grab their chances. The obvious candidate to replace Doyle is Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. He started last season in fine form, his performance against Stoke was brilliant and his partnership with Fletcher worked well. He seems most likely to be the man who comes in.

Unbelievably, the next man in line could be Stefan Maierhofer! 'The neck' was brought on with around 20-30 minutes left on Saturday, and put in a good performance. He looks desperate to impress and maybe he will return to the place where he scored his only Premier League goal?

Another alternative may be switching to 4-5-1. It has served us well in the past couple of years, and this could be a good opportunity for Nenad Milijas to stake his claim for a regular place in the team. I'm a big fan or the Serbian, it seems a great shame that such talent could be wasted on the bench. Changing formations may leave us thin on back u pin the midfield area, David Davis would be the only other centre midfielder left unless Mick thinks of Kevin Foley as a midfielder now

What do you make of Doyle's injury and who would you replace him with?

Wolves 2 Real Zaragoza 0

Wolves finish their pre-season preparations with a comfortable two nil victory over Spanish side Real Zaragoza.

Overall, it was an impressive performance with some standout players.

In general, our midfield was strong and coped well with only two centre midfielders. Henry and O'Hara both did well, putting in strong tackles and linking up well. On the wings, we started with Jarvis and Hunt who were both contenders for man of the match. Hunt was his usual self, getting into the opposition and also putting in quality crossing. Jarvis, my man of the match looks a new player. He remains a player who can take on his marker, but he also showed intelligence on the ball and neat bits of skill. Another England call up is not far away.

Our new captain gave a good account of himself, displaying all the qualities we have lacked at the back for some time. Relentless talking (screaming), comfortable on the ball and excellent in the air. He looks a bargain at £4m (if that is true). Rather strangely, we went with Stearman at right back and Zubar at centre back. It gives me the idea that Stearman will start the season as first choice right back. He did well in the game, but looked uncomfortable at times, likewise with Zubar at centre half. At left back, Stephen Ward linked up excellently with Jarvis and Hunt down the left creating openings time and time again. When George Elokobi came on for him, he did a similar job and got our opener with a scrappy effort.

Kevin Doyle and Steven Fletcher are yet to strike a real partnership, but individually we saw what good players we have up front. Fletcher was a menace in the air, while Doyle won the ball back countless times and opened up the defence with his movement.

The team we started with, except with Berra in for Zubar and Elokobi in for Ward, is the team I expect to start at Ewood Park next week. It's a solid looking team, which may put us in good stead against a physical Blackburn side. It would be great for us to finally get a result there and start the season with a bang.

My favourite player: #3 Frank Munro

Here's an article sent to me by Steve Gelder, on Frank Munro.

Not as easy as it sounds picking a favourite player as I enter my 47th year as a Wolves fan.

I was too young to appreciate the latter stages of players like Peter Broadbent or Ron Flowers but I was fortunate to witness the genius of Peter Knowles who left the game when I was 14: Knocker's antics on the pitch were pure theatre combined with flair, arrogance and a likeability factor (not dissimilar to George Best - my favourite all time player and a Wolves fan!). The 70's are where my fondest memories lie, not just because of the relative success achieved but it also accorded with a period in my life where I had the resources: time and money - to follow the Wolves all over the country. This was a fertile period to select a favourite player from (Kenny Hibbitt, Waggy, John Richards the Doog), all forward thinking players you notice. It is therefore surprising that my choice for favourite player is the mercurial Frank Munro.

Big Frank was signed as an inside forward from Aberdeen having scored a hat trick against Wolves in the final of a cup competition in America and was regarded as one of the most skillful players in that position. His move to centre back was genius, his ball control, dribbling ability and creative thinking, aligned to the natural qualities required of a 'brick wall stopper' created a player that was…….well……… like an e-type jaguar inside a Sherpa tank. People talk of Beckenbaur, or Rio Ferdinand as the ultimate footballing centre half but Frank was much better. Maybe not as lean……………………….ok…… numerous pints in the Mermaid would suggest “solid” but any player possessed with that type of audacious talent and confidence creates more time and space than most “run of the mills” This was even more impressive in a centre back position, we never knew what to expect (that included John Mcalle and Phil Parkes).

As indicated earlier, Frank was Scottish and liked a wee dram or two, he also possessed toughness as Peter Osgood found out once at Molineux. Frank had done his trademark dummy to let the ball run out for a goal kick, Ossie, so frustrated, pushed Frank into the moat that used to surround the pitch. It was about the centre circle when Frank caught up with Ossie and gave him one of those Glasgow kisses. Such was my appreciation for this entertainer I remember drawing, in black felt pen, a number 5 on the back of my Wolves shirt.

An old friend of mine: Robbie Kennedy Bennett has written a series of successful poems that reflect his Scottish ancestry and his love of the Black Country one of them relates to his visit to Broughty Ferry (birthplace of Frank Munro) and his own appreciation of this cultured wolves icon.

“Munro o’ Broughty Ferry,
He made the faithful merry,
Th’ Dons o’Pittodrie to Molineux
Francis, your service I am thanking you\"

Me too

If you would like to get involved, get in touch through the 'contact me' page.

FAO: Greg Halford

‘It’s funny, Wolves wanted to get some money in from me to go and sign Roger Johnson, which is baffling.
‘Obviously he had an outstanding season with Birmingham last year but I still don’t see him as a better player than I am."

 Shut it, you were crap you plank.

My favourite player: #2 Michael Kightly

Here is the second of the 'my favourite player' series written by Phil Chell.

First off, can I just say that I’ve always fancied myself as a modern-day Oscar Wilde, maybe even a 21^st Century Thomas De Quincey but I never thought I’d commit my cerebral ramblings to paper (or Word 97,2001,et al as it turns out to be in this modern world). Yet, here I am on a Friday night doing just so. You may be wondering what my semi-inebriated thoughts have to do with the beautiful game or, more to the point, how I got involved? Well, here goes.

I was minding my own, watching TV with the wife whilst simultaneously checking my Twitter feed. I follow the guy that started this website and he tweeted asking for Wolves fans to write a piece about their favourite player. As soon as I saw this I had to reply. Now, most of you will be thinking I am about to write about Doyle, or Jarvis, or perhaps even Craddock based on his last season’s performance? Well, in a word, no. My musings are about Mr. Michael Kightly. 

 

I am the ripe old age of 31 so I am lucky/unlucky enough to remember watching Wolves when only 2 sides of the ground were open. My first match was watching Bully stick 3 past a team beginning with ‘M’ (Macclesfield or Mansfield, I can’t remember to be honest!) and watching us go on to win 6-2. I was hooked. Instantly. One of the main reasons for this was the great man himself, Steve Bull. 

 

Back in the day he had the chance to move several times to several clubs which would have not only increased his personal wealth exponentially but also improved his chances with England. He decided to stay with us and is now a cult hero for these amongst many other reasons. In this day and age of 200k plus weekly wages, I fear we will never see this type of commitment again, which leads me on to ‘Kights’.

As you will all know we signed him for the cost of a BMW and over the course of the next few seasons he began to pay us back 10 fold. His ability in relation to his cost was amazing. He scored important goals, set more up than I can remember and also did what MM wanted; he ‘put a shift in’. For me, at that time he was the complete Wolves player. 

 

At the end of the 07/08 league when we finished 7^th and missed out on the play-offs by 1 goal, Kightly was hot property. He was at the peak of his career with Wolves and, as rumours had it, Sir Alex wanted him and was willing to give us a tidy 8million for him. He could have gone and no one would have batted an eyelid because, in this modern game, it is expected that commitment is a commodity that players no longer have. Money talks, as the saying goes. But he stayed and the following season, helped us to win the Championship.

 

I remember going to watch us play Forrest towards the end of the season with my Dad at the City Ground. I’d never actually been to an away game (shame on me) and I’ll never forget it. He scored the winner in a 1-0 scrappy game. I’ll never forget my Dad turning to me and saying ‘That’s, it, that’s the goal that’s won us the league.’ 

 

Fast forward a few years and it’s a different story. He has been plagued by injuries that have kept him frustratingly out of the side. I say frustratingly as I always thought he was a better player than Jarvis. Imagine how well we would have done with them both fit? Anyway, I digress. 

 

Wolves had another player of similar promise that was injured for a very long time. The difference was, as soon as he was fit, he ran out the door quicker than I thought was possible to Bolton. I don’t blame payers that move on for whatever reason be it money, opportunity, etc. The reason I think us ‘normal folk’ would be pretty annoyed if we were told we couldn’t even apply for a new job which paid more money if we were under contract with our current employer wouldn’t we? My point is this; players of this character are few and far between and we should hope he stays at our wonderful club.

Only time will tell if Kightly will return to former glory, move on, or, God forbid have to retire early. I sincerely hope it’s the first option.

If you would like to get involved in the series, use the 'contact me' form to get in touch!