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.