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Planning for the Championship: Assessing the Wolves Squad for Next Year (Part 1)
Wolves look set for relegation, so rebuild must start now. Ben Whitehouse assesses the squad, focusing on goalkeepers and centre-backs: who to keep, move on, and build around.
As we begin the final third of this thoroughly disappointing season, this Wolves side have left themselves inevitably heading towards the Championship next year despite the upturn in performances since the new year (unless there is some level of divine intervention to assist us avoiding the drop!).
Therefore, as a club we must be planning at least a partial rebuild of the squad under Rob Edwards for a side prepared for tough life in one of the most notoriously challenging leagues in the world, which begins by assessing which players ought to stay and are worthy of a place, anticipating who will probably no longer be part of the squad and who it would be best to move on.
Goalkeepers:
Jose Sa
Sa has had an extremely rocky season this year, with some patches of awful form followed by some inexplicable performances with crucial saves such as vs Nottingham Forest only a few weeks ago to salvage a point.
Undeniably, 4 clean sheets from 18 starts and conceding 31 goals in the process is poor but it is tricky to decipher how much is due to his personal shortcomings and how much is down to the sheer quantity of shots he has had to face.
Regarding next season, I personally would hope to keep Jose as I think at his best, he can be a quality shot-stopper and prominent member of the dressing room who has been with Wolves for quite a while now, and I believe having players who know what it means to be a representative of the club is vital to our successes.
Sam Johnstone
Johnstone has also had an odd year, becoming the Number 1 for a period under Pereira before being dropped by Edwards and becoming the cup keeper mainly.
He has had his fair share of poor outings too, only 2 clean sheets from 16 starts and conceding 27 goals (comparatively worse than Sa but coming at a time when the side was playing far worse).
Johnstone has however proven himself as a top-notch Championship proven goalkeeper – with West Bromwich Albion no less – and a homegrown player, suggesting he would be a good choice as Number 1 for a team seeking promotion, but would also presumably be dissatisfied with being second choice keeper in a league in which he has earnt his stripes.
This would boil down to Edwards choosing between the Sa and Johnstone, either of which would be a strong goalkeeper for a Championship side.
Dan Bentley
We haven’t seen anything from Bentley this season, but in previous years his performances have been sufficient for a back-up choice, being quality when called upon in instances such as a 0-1 away win at Old Trafford, meaning that he ought to be in a more prominent role next year and be a great second-choice goalkeeper behind Sa and Johnstone.
Centre-Backs:
Yerson Mosquera
The definition of a chaotic player, Yerson Mosquera has been an incredibly confusing player for me this year, but in probably quite a good way. He always seems to be part of whatever scuffle is going on, sometimes finds himself whipping in crosses from the wing or getting on the end of one and does seem to be growing into his role under Edwards. Defensively (as they all have) he has had his moments this year but overall has been one of the better performers from a lacklustre side, a definite keep for next season.
In the Championship, he may well flourish and become a more hardened player in a league which rewards the sort of passion and heart he puts into matches – once again I stress the importance of keeping hold of players who want to play for the club!
Santiago Bueno
Santi has really grown into his role this season, especially with Edwards consistently playing him at the heart of the defence, arguably being our most consistent player. He has had some excellent games and chipped in with 3 goals – which is more than can be said for most of our attackers – providing a degree of calm on the ball and being more willing to play forwards than other centre-backs. Santi should definitely be an integral part of next years squad and hopefully maintain his place in the squad.
Toti Gomes
Completing the backline, Toti has been injured for a large portion of the year and hasn’t had the opportunity to play under Edwards much yet in this more solid looking Wolves side, meaning to adjudge him based on this would be harsh.
During his tenure at the club coming through the ranks culminating in him being named captain, he has shown that at his best he is crucial to the successes of the team with his defensive solidity but also ability to bring the ball out from defence. I believe that under Edwards in the Championship, a back 3 of Bueno, Mosquera and Toti would grow in confidence and become quite the backline, provided they are given some competition and backup options.
Ladislav Krejci
Since joining in the summer, Krejci has been great for Wolves and proving to be one of few good recruitments in recent years.
He has provided warrior spirit, progressive play, authority on the ball and determination which had been lacking from the side for months whilst also chipping in with two goals, one on his debut and another for our first point of the season against Manchester United.
Assuming he is signed permanently by the end of the season, Krejci you would assume would be one of the star men of next season’s side either in defence or midfield. I personally would hope to see him starring in midfield to allow him more license than he is currently afforded and get him showing more of what he is clearly capable of.
Keep you eye out for the next instalment assessing wolves squad ahead of the championship season
I’ve been a fan of Wolves all my life, based in the South-East, making for some fairly awkward school football conversations trying to argue that Kevin McDonald was better than Bruno Fernandes with the endless supply of Big 6 fans around here, just for the fun of it! Hoping to offer a insightful view into the performances, transfers, decisions and everything else our beloved Wanderers throw at us, good, bad and ugly (but preferably good!)
Planning for the Championship: Assessing the Wolves Squad for Next Year (Part 1)
Pukka