2014–15 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season


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The 2014–15 season was the 116th season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. The club competed in the second tier of the English football system, the Football League Championship, following their return to the second level after being promoted as champions from League One at the first attempt.

Wolverhampton Wanderers
2014–15 season
ChairmanSteve Morgan
Head coachKenny Jackett
Championship7th
FA Cup3rd round
League Cup1st round
Top goalscorerLeague: Bakary Sako (15)
All: Nouha Dicko & Bakary Sako (15)
Highest home attendance28,132
(vs Blackpool,
17 January 2015)
Lowest home attendance6,171
(vs Northampton,
12 August 2014)
Average home league attendance22,419

The club finished the season in seventh position, missing out on a play-off place on goal difference. Their tally of 78 points represented the highest points tally not to earn a play-off place since the system was introduced.[1]

Following their record-breaking promotion from League One, pre-season training began on 26 June with Wolves having already made two of their three summer signings with Tommy Rowe and Rajiv van La Parra arriving on free transfers;[2] Chelsea academy graduate George Saville would join for a fee in late August but fail to make any impact before being loaned out.[3] The transfer window saw deals reached to remove some of the club's transfer listed players from the wage bill with Tongo Doumbia, Jamie O’Hara and Stephen Ward all moving on.

The season began with a 1–0 win over newly relegated Norwich, which was soon followed by two further 1–0 wins against the other two teams to have fallen out of the Premier League, Fulham and Cardiff, respectively. The team lost just twice in their opening 15 league fixtures, bringing them a place in the top 4 of the division. However, a lengthy hamstring injury to striker Nouha Dicko left the team lacking attacking options, with Leon Clarke having scored just once.[4] The loan acquisition of Hull striker Yannick Sagbo failed to solve the issue as the player's lack of fitness became apparent and the deal was cut short.[5][6] A second Premier League striker was loaned in with Sunderland's Danny Graham then having a six-week stay but providing only one goal.[7] During this time Wolves suffered five defeats in a row, their worst run at Championship level since 1991, dropping them into mid-table.[8]

With Dicko regaining fitness by the Christmas period, the team went two months undefeated and bolstered their attacking threat by signing Benik Afobe from Arsenal,[9] who had led the goalscoring charts while on loan at League One side MK Dons.[10] The January window saw the departures of two further transfer listed players, Roger Johnson and Kevin Foley.[11][12] The following months saw the team regain a footing in the promotion race, as they became one of the eight clubs at the top of the division to break clear of the remaining teams.

After sitting in 8th place for several weeks, a run of four consecutive victories in late March/early April allowed them to finally break back into the play-off positions. However, they immediately suffered two consecutive losses - at local rivals Birmingham and promotion contenders Middlesbrough - that dropped them again down to 8th. After a home match against fellow play-off challenger Ipswich, managed by former Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, finished 1–1, Wolves were left needing to hope that teams above them would drop sufficient points in the final two rounds of games to allow them back into the top 6. Although Wolves won their final two games to catch Ipswich on points, their goal difference proved insufficient to overtake either the East Anglian club or Brentford, who had been promoted as runners-up behind Wolves in the previous season. Wolves' tally of 78 points was the highest-achieved to date by a team that did not qualify for the play-offs since their introduction.[1]

A total of 24 teams competed in the Football League Championship in the 2014–15 season. Each team played every other team twice, once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats.

The provisional fixture list was released on 18 June 2014, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage or police concerns.[13]

Matches
Results summary
Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
46 22 12 12 70 56  +14 78 13 6 4 42 23  +19 9 6 8 28 33  −5
Results by round
Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
ResultWLWWWDDWDLDDWWDLLLLLWDWWWWDDLWLWWWLDDWWWWLLDWW
Position7149433433777434691112131210988877888888888878688887

Source: Statto.com
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
5 Brentford 46 23 9 14 78 59 +19 78 Qualification for Championship play-offs[a]
6 Ipswich Town 46 22 12 12 72 54 +18 78
7 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 22 12 12 70 56 +14 78
8 Derby County 46 21 14 11 85 56 +29 77
9 Blackburn Rovers 46 17 16 13 66 59 +7 67

Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 2015. Source: Sky Sports
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
Notes:

  1. ^ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to the Premier League.

Key:
  ‡ On loan from another club   * First appearance(s) for the club

Correct as of end of season. Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances in parentheses where applicable.

No.PosNamePGPGPGPG     Notes
League FA CupLeague CupTotalDiscipline
1 GK   Carl Ikeme 33 0 2 0 0 0 35 0 0 0
2 DF   Matt Doherty 26(7) 0 2 0 1 0 29(7) 0 4 1
3 DF   Scott Golbourne 23(4) 0 0 0 0 0 23(4) 0 2 0
4 MF   David Edwards 32(9) 6 1(1) 2 0(1) 0 33(11) 8 3 0
5 DF   Richard Stearman 38(4) 0 2 0 1 0 41(4) 0 11 0
6 DF   Danny Batth 44 4 2 0 0 0 46 4 7 0
7 MF   James Henry 23(14) 5 2 0 1 0 26(14) 5 1 0
8 MF   David Davis † 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 MF   George Saville ¤ 5(2) 0 0 0 0 0 5(2) 0 3 0
9 FW   Leon Clarke ¤ 5(11) 2 1(1) 0 1 0 7(12) 2 3 0
10 MF   Bakary Sako 39(2) 15 1 0 0(1) 0 40(3) 15 2 1[a]
11 MF   Kevin McDonald 45(1) 0 1 0 0 0 46(1) 0 8 1
12 FW   Yannick Sagbo ‡ 1(3) 0 0 0 0 0 1(3) 0 0 0
12 FW   Danny Graham ‡ 5 1 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 0
12 FW   Benik Afobe 19(2) 13 0 0 0 0 19(2) 13 1 0
13 GK   Aaron McCarey 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
14 MF   Lee Evans 18(1) 1 2 0 1 0 21(1) 1 6 0
15 MF   Tommy Rowe 7(7) 0 0 0 0 0 7(7) 0 0 0
16 FW   Kevin Doyle ¤ 0(6) 0 0 0 0 0 0(6) 0 0 0
17 MF   Rajiv van La Parra 29(11) 1 1 1 0 0 30(11) 2 2 1[b]
18 DF   Sam Ricketts (c) ¤ 4 0 0 0 1 1 5 1 2 0
19 MF   Jack Price ¤ 20(3) 1 2 0 1 0 22(4) 1 5 0
20 FW   Liam McAlinden ¤ 1(5) 0 1 0 1 0 3(5) 0 0 0
21 MF   Zeli Ismail ¤ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 DF   Ethan Ebanks-Landell 9(5) 2 0 0 1 0 10(5) 2 2 0
27 MF   Michael Jacobs ¤ 3(8) 0 0 0 1 0 4(8) 0 0 0
29 GK   Tomasz Kuszczak 13 0 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 0
30 DF   Kortney Hause ¤ 15(2) 0 0 0 0 0 15(2) 0 1 0
31 GK   Jonathan Flatt ¤ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 DF   Kevin Foley ¤† 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 DF   Dominic Iorfa 20 0 2 0 0 0 22 0 4 0
39 FW   Ibrahim Keita 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
40 FW   Nouha Dicko 30(7) 14 0(2) 0 0(1) 1 30(10) 15 5 0
  1. ^ Rescinded on appeal on 10 March
  2. ^ Rescinded on appeal on 9 December
Award Winner[14]
Fans' Player of the Season Richard Stearman
Players' Player of the Season Richard Stearman
Young Player of the Season Dominic Iorfa
Academy Player of the Season Regan Upton
Goal of the Season James Henry
(vs Bolton, 31 January 2015)
Date Player From Fee
3 June 2014   Tommy Rowe Peterborough United Free[15]
10 June 2014   Rajiv van La Parra   Heerenveen Free[16]
July 2014   Jordan Allan   Airdrieonians Free
July 2014   Christián Herc   Nitra Free
July 2014   Conor Levingston   Gorey Rangers Free
July 2014   Connor Ronan Rochdale Free
21 August 2014   Nicolae Carnat   Hagi Free
26 August 2014   George Saville Chelsea £1,000,000[3]
3 November 2014   Tomasz Kuszczak Unattached Free[17][18]
5 January 2015   Jordan Graham Aston Villa Undisclosed[19]
14 January 2015   Benik Afobe Arsenal £2,000,000[20]
Date Player To Fee
June 2014   Marcus Barnes Released[a] Free
June 2014   Jordan Cranston Released[b] Free[21][22]
June 2014   George Elokobi Released[c] Free[23][24]
June 2014   Tim Jakobsson Released Free[21]
June 2014   Kristián Koštrna Released[d] Free[21]
June 2014   Tyler Lyttle Released[e] Free
June 2014   David Moli Released[f] Free[21]
June 2014   Robbie Parry Released Free[21]
June 2014   Jamie Reckord Released[g] Free[25][26]
June 2014   Peter Smith Released[h] Free
June 2014   Jack Storer Released[i] Free
June 2014   Jamie Tank Released[j] Free[21][27]
June 2014   Sam Whittall Released[k] Free[21][28]
18 June 2014   Michael Ihiekwe Tranmere Rovers Free[29]
11 August 2014   David Davis Birmingham City £150,000[30]
12 August 2014   Anthony Forde Walsall Undisclosed[31]
15 August 2014   Stephen Ward Burnley Undisclosed[32]
28 August 2014   Jamie O'Hara Released[l] Free[33][34]
29 August 2014   Tongo Doumbia   Toulouse Undisclosed[33]
January 2015   Victor Wagner Released[m] Free
12 January 2015   Kevin Foley Released[n] Free[35]
2 February 2015   Roger Johnson Released[o] Free[36]
2 February 2015   Ben Priest   Dundee Free
  1. ^ Following his release, Barnes joined Southampton.
  2. ^ Following his release, Cranston joined Notts County on 1 September.
  3. ^ Following his release, Elokobi joined Oldham Athletic on 8 August.
  4. ^ Following his release, Koštrna joined Boleráz on 28 September.
  5. ^ Following his release, Lyttle joined Bristol Rovers.
  6. ^ Following his release, Moli joined Boreham Wood on 14 September.
  7. ^ Following his release, Reckord joined Ross County on 17 September.
  8. ^ Following his release, Smith joined Ytterhogdals in 2018.
  9. ^ Following his release, Storer joined Paget Rangers.
  10. ^ Following his release, Tank joined Leamington on 1 August.
  11. ^ Following his release, Whittall joined Cambridge United on 14 August.
  12. ^ Following his release, O'Hara joined Blackpool on 5 November.
  13. ^ Following his release, Wagner joined Esbjerg.
  14. ^ Following his release, Foley joined Copenhagen on 12 January.
  15. ^ Following his release, Johnson joined Charlton Athletic on 3 February.
Date Player From End Date
30 September 2014   Yannick Sagbo Hull City 13 November 2014[37][6]
14 November 2014   Danny Graham Sunderland 31 December 2014[38]
27 November 2014   Jordan Graham Aston Villa 4 January 2015[39]
27 November 2014   Donovan Wilson Bristol Rovers 4 January 2015[39]
Date Player To End Date
18 July 2014   Zeli Ismail Notts County 4 January 2015[40]
25 July 2014   Jake Cassidy Notts County 4 January 2015[41]
28 July 2014   Kortney Hause Gillingham 24 November 2014[42][43]
1 September 2014   Jack Price Yeovil Town 4 October 2014[44]
1 September 2014   Kevin Doyle Crystal Palace 1 January 2015[45]
11 September 2014   Georg Margreitter Chesterfield 13 December 2014[46]
2 October 2014   Liam McAlinden Fleetwood Town 30 October 2014[47][48]
7 October 2014   Jack Price Leyton Orient 3 December 2014[49][50]
9 October 2014   Eusébio Bancessi Cheltenham Town 6 November 2014[51]
20 November 2014   Jonathan Flatt   Wrexham 5 January 2015[52]
27 November 2014   Kevin Foley Blackpool 3 January 2015[53]
13 January 2015   Björn Sigurðarson   Copenhagen 30 June 2015[54]
15 January 2015   Liam McAlinden Fleetwood Town End of season[55]
15 January 2015   Jake Cassidy Southend United End of season[56]
15 January 2015   George Saville Bristol City 20 April 2015[57]
23 January 2015   Scott Dutton Crawley Town 21 February 2015[58]
2 February 2015   Ashley Carter Chesterfield End of season[59][60]
2 February 2015   Leon Clarke Wigan Athletic End of season[61]
12 March 2015   Michael Jacobs Blackpool 9 April 2015[62][63]
21 March 2015   Sam Ricketts Swindon Town End of season[64]
26 March 2015   Jonathan Flatt Chesterfield 24 April 2015[65][66]

Management and coaching staff

edit

Position Name
Head coach Kenny Jackett
Assistant head coach Joe Gallen
First Team Fitness and Conditioning coach Tony Daley
Goalkeeping coach Pat Mountain
Head of Football Development and Recruitment Kevin Thelwell
Head of Recruitment Stuart Webber
Academy Manager Gareth Prosser
Club Doctor Dr Matthew Perry
Club Physio Carl Howarth

The season brought both new home and away kits again manufactured by supplier PUMA.[67] The new home kit featured the club's traditional gold and black colours with black arms, which had been worn on the final day of the previous season,[68] while the away kit was an all white design with black collar.[69] Both shirts featured sponsor What House? for a second and final season.[70]

  1. ^ a b "High 'n Dry; Wolves hit record points total but miss play-off party". The People. 3 May 2015.
  2. ^ "The work starts now!". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 26 June 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b "George Saville: Wolves sign young Chelsea midfielder". BBC Sport. 26 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Fresh injury blow for Wolves' Nouha Dicko". Express & Star. 18 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Wolves expected more from Yannick Sagbo". Express & Star. 21 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Sagbo returns to Hull". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 13 November 2014. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Danny Graham: Sunderland striker joins Wolves on loan". BBC Sport. 14 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Analysis: Wolves on worst second tier losing streak since 1991". Birmingham Mail. 9 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Afobe deal done!". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 14 January 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Harry Kane? Wolves' Benik Afobe leads country's scoring charts". BBC Sport. 20 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Roger Johnson: Wolves terminate former skipper's contract". BBC Sport. 2 February 2015.
  12. ^ "Foley's contract cancelled". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 12 January 2015. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  13. ^ "Wolves host Norwich in season opener". BBC Sport. 18 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Stears lands a double". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Peterborough captain Tommy Rowe moves to Molineux". BBC Sport. 3 June 2014.
  16. ^ "Wolves sign Heerenveen winger Rajiv van La Parra". BBC Sport. 10 June 2014.
  17. ^ "Tomasz Kuszczak: Wolves sign former Manchester United keeper". BBC Sport. 3 November 2014.
  18. ^ "Tomasz Kuszczak: Wolves goalkeeper signs longer-term contract". BBC Sport. 16 January 2015.
  19. ^ "Jordan Graham completes move". BBC Sport. 5 January 2015.
  20. ^ "Afobe deal done!". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 14 January 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g "Young player contract news". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 30 April 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  22. ^ "Jordan Cranston joins Notts County". BBC Sport. 1 September 2014.
  23. ^ "Wolves to release defender George Elokobi". BBC Sport. 1 May 2014.
  24. ^ "Oldham Athletic sign ex-Wolves defender". BBC Sport. 8 August 2014.
  25. ^ "Young defenders to leave". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 7 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  26. ^ "Ross County sign Jamie Reckord". SkySports. 17 September 2014.
  27. ^ "Jamie Tank Signs". The Banter. 1 August 2014. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  28. ^ "Cambridge United: Sam Whittall given short contract". BBC Sport. 14 August 2014.
  29. ^ "Michael Ihiekwe signs after Wolves departure". BBC Sport. 18 June 2014.
  30. ^ "David Davis: Birmingham City sign midfielder on a two-year deal". BBC Sport. 11 August 2014.
  31. ^ "Anthony Forde: Walsall sign Wolves winger on two-year deal". BBC Sport. 12 August 2014.
  32. ^ "Stephen Ward: Burnley sign long-serving Wolves defender". BBC Sport. 15 August 2014.
  33. ^ a b "Wolves part company with Jamie O'Hara and Tongo Doumbia". BBC Sport. 29 August 2014.
  34. ^ "Jamie O'Hara: Blackpool sign former Wolves midfielder". BBC Sport. 5 November 2014.
  35. ^ "Foley's contract cancelled". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 12 January 2015. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  36. ^ "Roger Johnson: Wolves terminate former skipper's contract". BBC Sport. 2 February 2015.
  37. ^ "Yannick Sagbo: Wolves sign Hull City striker on three-month loan". BBC Sport. 30 September 2014.
  38. ^ "Danny Graham: Sunderland striker joins Wolves on loan". BBC Sport. 14 November 2014.
  39. ^ a b "Graham and Wilson Join Wolves". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 27 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  40. ^ "Notts County sign Wolves winger on loan". BBC Sport. 18 July 2014.
  41. ^ "Notts County sign Wolves striker on loan". BBC Sport. 25 July 2014.
  42. ^ "Kortney Hause: Gillingham sign Wolves defender on loan". BBC Sport. 28 July 2014.
  43. ^ "Hause coming home". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 28 November 2014. Archived from the original on 25 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  44. ^ "Jack Price: Yeovil sign midfielder on one-month loan from Wolves". BBC Sport. 1 September 2014.
  45. ^ "Crystal Palace: James McArthur, Kevin Doyle & Zeki Fryers sign". BBC Sport. 1 September 2014.
  46. ^ "Chesterfield sign Wolves defender Georg Margreitter on loan". BBC Sport. 11 September 2014.
  47. ^ "Liam McAlinden: Fleetwood Town bring in Wolves striker". BBC Sport. 2 October 2014.
  48. ^ "Return of the Mac". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 30 October 2014. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  49. ^ "Jack Price: Leyton Orient sign Wolves midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 7 October 2014.
  50. ^ "Jack Price: Wolves recall midfielder from Leyton Orient loan". BBC Sport. 3 December 2014.
  51. ^ "Cheltenham: Terry Gornell set to exit as Eusebio Bancessi arrives". BBC Sport. 9 October 2014.
  52. ^ "Wrexham sign Wolves goalkeeper Jonathan Flatt on loan". BBC Sport. 20 November 2014.
  53. ^ "Kevin Foley: Wolves defender returns to Blackpool on loan". BBC Sport. 27 November 2014.
  54. ^ "Sigurdarson Loan Completed". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 13 January 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  55. ^ "Liam McAlinden: Wolves striker returns to Fleetwood Town on loan". BBC Sport. 15 January 2015.
  56. ^ "Jake Cassidy: Wolves striker joins Southend United on loan". BBC Sport. 15 January 2015.
  57. ^ "George Saville: Bristol City sign Wolves midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 15 January 2015.
  58. ^ "Dutton loaned to Crawley". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 23 January 2015. Archived from the original on 25 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  59. ^ "Spireites get Carter". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 2 February 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  60. ^ "Ashley Carter extends loan stay". Chesterfield F.C. 2 March 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  61. ^ "Transfer Deadline Day: Wigan sign Ojo, Bong & Clarke". BBC Sport. 2 February 2015.
  62. ^ "Michael Jacobs: Blackpool sign Wolves winger on loan". BBC Sport. 12 March 2015.
  63. ^ "Jacobs recalled from Blackpool". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 9 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  64. ^ "Sam Ricketts: Swindon sign Wolves defender on loan". BBC Sport. 21 March 2015.
  65. ^ "Spireites Sign 'Keeper on Loan". Chesterfield F.C. 26 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  66. ^ "Carter's loan extended". Chesterfield F.C. 1 May 2015.
  67. ^ "Wolves sign with Puma". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 14 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  68. ^ "New Wolves 2014/15 home kit launched". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  69. ^ "PUMA Away Kit Launched". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 8 July 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  70. ^ "Wolves sign What House? as main sponsor". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 10 April 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2015.