Season Preview: Wolves

Overall Outlook - One of the teams that I saw live and in person last season and I have to say I went from being a little down on them to really appreciating the effort and commitment that they got from limited talent last season.  There were some numbers (Fletcher, Mouyokolo, van Damme) as well as some proven quality added over the Summer in an attempt to consolidate their place in the Prem.  The quality comes in the form of Stephen Hunt arriving from Hull to reunite with Kevin Doyle and Marcus Hahnemann to see if they can recreate the Reading-in-2006/2007 magic that shocked the Premier League with an 8th place finish.  The big question is whether the talent exists on the current Wolves roster to fill the roles that players like Dave Kitson, Sidwell, etc. filled on that Reading squad to push them towards the top half.  I think that Wolves will indeed consolidate their place and survive.  That said, there is one thing worth mentioning at this point, I'm pretty sure those two exact players - Sidwell and Kitson - are extremely available if Mick wants to get Stevie Coppell's band back together.  In fact, I guess Coppell himself is pretty available at this point as well - perhaps a first team manager in waiting?  Just saying...


Projected Starters - Hahnemann, Berra, Craddock, Elikobi, Zubar, Jarvis, Henry, Hunt, Jones, Doyle, Fletcher

In the Rotation - van Damme, Stearman, Kightly, Ebanks-Blake, Ward, Mouyokolo, Milijas, Kough

Kicks - The guess here is that Jarvis and Hunt will get most of the kicks that are available with Milijas joining in the fun when he is rotated in.

Newcomers

• Hunt, M - an excellent veteran addition to a largely young team that is clearly preparing for the potential that they may not survive in the Premier League for long.  If Hunt stays healthy he should have a slightly more productive season than he did for Hull because there seems to be more talent around him.  That said, at this point we really should know what to expect from Hunt and, sadly, the game has priced him accordingly;
• van Damme, D - Sort of a head-scratcher but everyone needs depth.  That said, this particular form of left-sided depth has washed out in both England (Southampton) and Germany (Werder Bremen) only to find success in a smaller pond upon returning home to Anderlecht.  Maybe Mick knows something no one else does about his maturation and new-found ability to compete at a higher level but I wouldn't bet my fantasy fortunes on that fact even if he does get a run of starts;
• Mouyokolo, D - Whereas I don't understand the van Damme acquisition, I do get this one.  Mouyokolo seems to have some upside in front of him and showed reasonably well in the opportunities he got last season.  He certainly isn't a superstar or anything like that but he's certainly solid young depth that could mature into being an above average starter at center back with a little seasoning.  That isn't a guarantee but when you're Wolves, a chance of getting an above average starter at center back comes along, you take it and they did;
• Fletcher, F - Another nice acquisition from a now-relegated foe.  Fletcher is young and had a decent run with Burnley last season before they went down.  With Ebanks-Blake finding the Premier League a little more than he's ready to handle the acquisition of Fletcher should give Wolves two legitimate first team forwards for defenders to consider rather than everyone just collapsing around Doyle.  I doubt Fletcher will improve greatly on last season's total of 8 goals but considering that Jody Craddock was second on the team with 5 goals from Center Back adding even an 8 goal striker has to be seen as a step (ahem) forward;

Rising Youth

• Honestly, there is so much youth on this team that I can't really give all of them their due in the allotted space.  Michael Kightly has a great deal of potential but struggled with fitness and the adjustment to the Premier League last season (and now may find himself blocked from the line-up by Hunt).  David Jones was out for much of the early going last season but could mature into a solid attacking midfielder if he can keep Milijas out of the line-up.  Stearman is a versatile defender and former England U-21 who can play anywhere along the back line and could be ready to make "the leap" if given the chance.  Ward, Elokobi, Jarvis, and Mouyokolo are also all 25 or under and on the upsides of their careers.  With all this depth the biggest questions are not related to "who has upside?" but rather "who will get a chance" with Jarvis, Jones, and Elokobi the most likely;

Fantasy Breakdown

• Best - Hunt comes into the team as easily the most consistent fantasy player when he is healthy and not losing his temper (which happens a little bit more often than fantasy managers would probably like);
• Best Value (non-newcomer) - There is actually a lot of value to be had in this roster assuming that McCarthy doesn't engage in too much rotation now that he has a larger squad to keep happy.  Hunt heads the list with Hahnemann, Doyle, and Jarvis following quickly behind him;
• Best Projected Value - Of the new guys, the only one you can really project being significantly better than last year's performance is Fletcher who could find himself with more opportunities with defenders having to split their focus on him, Doyle, and Hunt as Wolves move forward.  Not a great chance of that happening but there is some chance which is good;
• Worth Considering With Good Match-ups - Hunt, Doyle, Fletcher, Hahnemann, Jarvis, Jones;
• Worth Knowing If He's Starting -Kightly, Milijas