Wolves: The Exciting Journey To Success

[Travis Comery]

Squad Registration complete as transfer window closes.

Its that time again guys, I can confirm our squad has been completed for the upcoming season. I must add, we have had quite a few hurdles along the way, FFP have given us a bollocking, we are on course to fail FFP and if we do, we will be issued a £6 million fine. This is due to the increase in our wage budget over the 3 years. However, I'm still very happy with our squad.


OUTGOINGS

Ruben Neves - Real Madrid - £86 million

Disappointed to see Ruben go. Massive player for me, loved him, but Real Madrid hit our jackpot, and we couldn't refuse that bid.

Rui Patricio - Zenit - £26.5 Million

Didnt want to do this deal, but Rui is earning £125k per week, and is now 33 years old. We have Mile Svilar, one of the most promising goalkeepers in the world sat on the bench, I am happy with this deal.


Other Departures include:

Jorge Cuenca - Loan - Malaga

Enes Unal - £6 million - Chievo

Romain Saiss - £2.5 million - Lille

Rafa Mir - Rio Ave - £7.25 Million

Ruqui Puig - Loan - Getafe

Quina - Loan - Martimo
Overall, I am content with the transfer business, we refused bids for Pedro (£55 million) Coady (£22 million) Lo Celso (£55 million) and Svilar (£17 million)


INCOMINGS


RODRI - RECORD TRANSFER - £55 Million - Manchester City

What a replacement for Ruben Neves. I noticed City had recently signed Dybala and Rabiot from Juventus for £200 million, so i decided to declare Rodri my top target. After a couple of bids, we came to an agreement with Man City over the permanent deal of £55 million pounds, £8 million less than what they bought him for. Rodri was keen on the move, but I also used Giovanni Lo Celso to endorse his move here. Rodri signs a 6 year deal, on £90k per week, he takes a £50k payout to join. He will be vital for us.



Ellery Balcombe - £4.5 Million (Rising to £6 million) - Brentford

We needed a new number 2, Mile Svilar naturally seps up to be the new first choice GK for us, and who better than England u21's stopper Ellery Balcombe? he has bags of potential, and could be a huge asset moving forward. Like i did with Svilar, Balcombe will be used for all cup competitions. Only 20 years old, he signs a 5 year deal here.



Jonathan Panzo - Loan with option to sign permanently - AS Monaco

Jonathan, a former Chelsea academy player, has joined to offer backup to the first team in the defensive areas, especially Left back. He had a great loan spell at Ausburg last season, playing 24 games in the Bundesliga. A good addition, he can be purchased at the end of the season for £6 million. He is only 19, and very hungry to be successful, also a England u21 international.


Kingsley Coman - Loan with option to buy - Bayern Munich

A huge coup. This one took a lot of work, we had the first 3 attempts knocked back by Kingsley himself, having wanting to compete in Europe. But on deadline day, we struck a deal, for Kingsley Coman to arrive on a season long loan, with the option for us to purchase him for £35 million. James Rodriguez had a huge impact on the deal, having spent 2 years with Kingsley at the Allianz Arena.


We Missed out on the following players:

Eddie Nketiah - Arsenal chose to send him to Torino, in oppose to a divisional rival.

Dani Ceballos - Player strictly not available for loan

Miguel Almiron - Fee Agreed, Player joined Manchester United

Nelson Semedo - Fee Agreed, player joined Tottenham

Marc Cucurella - Player opted to sign a new deal at Real Sociedad after we met his release clause

Diego Lainez - Fee demanded was too high, player wanted to sign, top player


So we did miss out on a lot of players this window, and while I admit i didnt want to sign many players this window, each one of those names would have played a valuable role this season.


We can announce the promotions of:

Taylor Perry
Max Killman
John Kitolano
Emanuel Vignato
Brennan Johnson

To the first team set up, a couple have already made senior debuts, but we be used as back up options for the first team in oppose to u23 regulars.



Transfer Summary

Overall I am happy with the business, I didnt want to do too much, as overkill can cause more issues. So we have finished with 2 key signings, 2 key departures, and 2 more backup signings who are both young, hungry, and have the 'home-grown' status.
I still have a hefty £40 million in the bank, but the board will not allow me to use ANY of my wage budget, so recruitment this year may be complete.


PRE SEASON RESULTS

This season we will be changing shape, I will be using the 4-2-3-1 formation, with 2 very deep midfielders, and an attacking 3 behind the point striker.


(Tour of Singapore)

FK Vodvojdina 0 - 2 Wolves - Neves x2

Albriex Niigata 0 - 6 Wolves - James Rodriguez x2, Rodrygo, Pedro x3

Geylang International 0 - 2 Wolves - Lo Celso, Gibbs-White

Bristol City 0 - 3 Wolves - Cutrone, Coady, Brennan Johnson

(Return from tour)

Wolves 2 - 1 Ajax - Joao Moutinho, Adama Traore

Wolves 2 - 1 Barcelona - Rodri, Gibbs-White

Jumilla 0 - 5 Wolves - Cuenca, Kehrer, James Rodriguez, Pedro, Lo Celso


A very aggressive pre season. We returned a week earlier than normal, following our out of sorts campaign last season. But we couldn't have started pre season any better, winning all 7 games, including an exceptional win against Barcelona at home. I was particularly pleased with Morgan Gibbs-White, who was superb all pre season. Maybe this is his time?

PREMIER LEAGUE OPENING GAMES

We start with games against:

West Brom (Home)

Brighton (Away)

West Ham (Home)

Everton (Home)

Southampton (Away)

A very kind draw, to what it could have been, I believe we are capable of taking full points here, but I will be very happy to achieve 12 points from our opening 5 games.
I'll be back with an update, as always, of our first 2 months in my 3rd season in charge, please let me know what you think to the recruitment and our chances this season, I love to hear it ​

 

[Travis Comery]

Poor start, but are things slowly getting back to normal?

August Results


Wolves 1 - 1 West Brom -Cutrone

Starting 11: Svilar, Panzo, Kehrer, Vallejo, Trippier, Llorente, Rodri, Pjaca, Rodriguez, Coman, Cutrone

With Pedro, Rodrygo and Palacios still away on International Duty, we were able to announce 3 youngsters on the bench; Brennan Johnson, Max Killman, Taylor Perry. We were reduced to 10 men as Llorente was dismissed following a poor challenge in the first half. The game was always going to be difficult with 10 men, but we still should have won comfortably.


Brighton 1 - 0 Wolves

Starting 11: Svilar, Vinagre, Kehrer, Vallejo, Trippier, Palacios, Rodri, Rodriguez, Lo Celso, Pjaca, Pedro

Palacios and Pedro return to the team, but there is no difference in performance. Brighton deserved their win, we look like a side with no confidence what so ever. Pedro missed a penalty to put us 1-0 up on the hour mark.


Wolves 1 - 2 West Ham - Adama Traore

Starting 11: Svilar, Vinagre, Kehrer, Vallejo, Trippier, Llorente, Rodri, Rodriguez, Lo Celso, Rodrygo, Pedro

Shocking. This time Kehrer saw red, its like we've lost everything we built initially. Very very disappointing, we look like a side that is so defeated already.


Wolves 0 - 0 Everton

Starting 11: Svilar, Vinagre, Kehrer, Vallejo, Trippier, Llorente, Rodri, Rodriguez, Lo Celso, Rodrygo, Pedro

Unchanged 11, this was better, but still couldn't score, we created much more though, Rodrygo hit the woodwork twice, James Rodriguez was replaced after 11 minutes with a tweak to his groin.


Doncaster 0 - 4 Wolves (Carabao Cup) - Pedro, Rodrygo, Lo Celso,Gibbs-White

Starting 11: Balcombe, Killman, Coady, Vallejo, Maffeo, Gibbs-White, Perry, Johnson, Lo Celso, Adama, Pedro

Better, of course a game we are expected to comfortably win, but thats not important now, its important to gt confidence flowing again. Rodrygo grabbed his first Wolves goal.


Southampton 0-2 Wolves - Rodri, Llorente

Starting 11: Svilar, Panzo, Coady, Kehrer, Trippier, Llorente, Rodri, Coman, Lo Celso, Rodriguez, Pedro

Get in! much better, great win, against a side that have started their Premier league return well. Two unreal goals. Rodri showing his quality, and Llorente stepping up when it matters.


Player Of The Month

Rodri is the only plater to have picked up MOM award (2) so is a clear candidate for this award. His passing is unreal, and he dictates games. I'm hoping once we get playing, we will really make good use of his ability, like we did with Ruben Neves.


August Performance Review

Its pointless me sitting hear saying how bad it was, because thats just stating the obvious. The players clearly lack confidence and are up against it. We have an extremely tough february, with Liverpool and Man Utd amongst those we will face, so I want us to build on this month and get some points on the board.
Must see more from Coman, Rodriguez, Pedro.


September Results


Wolves 0 - 2 Manchester United

Starting 11: Svilar, Panzo, Coady, Kehrer, Trippier, Llorente, Rodri, Rodriguez, Lo Celso, Coman, Pedro

If Cutrone wasn't out for 2 months, he wouldn't 100% be starting, Pedro can't hit a barn door at the minute. Despite the result, we ****** battered them. 22 shots, 12 on target, no goals?! Man Utd scored two headers from corners, gutting.


Bournemouth 0 - 2 Wolves - Lo Celso, Coman

Starting 11: Svilar, Panzo, Coady, Kehrer, Trippier, Gibbs-White, Rodri, Lo Celso, Palacios, Coman, Rodrygo

Loads better, taken the performance from Man Utd into this game and were too much for Bournemouth, Lo Celso running the show, Coman showed what he can do!

Grimsby 0 - 1 Wolves - Gibbs-White

Starting 11: Balcombe, Vinagre, Diallo, Coady, Maffeo, Watt, Gibbs-White, Terry Taylor. Vignato, Adama, Cutrone (4-3-3)

Starts for several youngsters, we grabbed a well earned win on a tough surface against a very aggressive opposition. All our 3 substations were forced due to injuries. Through to the next round! Future skipper Gibbs-White breaking the deadlock.


Liverpool 1-1 Wolves - Coman

Starting 11: Svilar, Killman, Kehrer, Vallejo, Trippier, Llorente, Rodri, Gibbs-White, Rodriguez, Rodrygo, Pedro

Great result, we were so close to winning the game, but for a Sadio Mane goal 10 minutes from time. I'm seeing so many improvements!! Things are hopefully falling together again.


Player of the Month

The French International is starting to show his abilities for us now, after a slow start, he scored two great goals this month, and is a real handful for opposition. Quick, strong, powerful, he has so many good attributes. Glad to see him finally scoring and performing well for me.


September Performance Review

Much happier, only 1 defeat this month, in a game we could have won against Manchester United. Are our fortunes finally turning around? and are we starting to live up to the expectations of our squad? I really hope so. I need a positive October and November. Currently sat 10th.

​

 

[001PDG]

Nice read, great transfers!

There are some similarities with NotSoSpecialOne's Everton story: great results in first season, big transfers, but a stuttering second season.
I hope the board is more patient with you!

That squad did seem a bit top-heavy, but with the arrivals of Trippier, Llorente & Rodri you seem to have more balance.
Still, it must be tempting to play with 5-6 up front if you look at the talent at your disposal: James, Rodrygo, Coman, Pjaca, Pedro, Cutrone, and the talents in the u23's.

Good luck!

 

[djs1]

nice story mate ive been following with interest.Am going to start a norwich city save shortly inspired by yours but am going to focus mainly on homegrown/british talent with a few foreign players here and there.Tough start to the season after losing neves,a really hard player to replace isnt he

 

[Brane_Orsou]

How are things with the board after a less than fantastic start. Hopefully just hangover from season before. I'm sure once the new signings settle things will be fine