Wolves Banter

28 Jul 2026 22:16:38
Aston Villa put out a strong side against Real Sociedad at home tonight but still lost 4-2.

The Wolves result doesn't look so bad now.

28 Jul 2026 16:51:16
Starting to think we will have many of the players still with us for next season, we have to hope the new manager can inspire them to better performances.
Will a back 4 of Bueno, Santi, Krejci and Trippier be good enough for the Championship.
Midfield of Andre, presumably Mane, R.

Gomes, not sure who else, maybe Bellegarde, new fella injured so need a replacement, Doyle and Raul.
Where do we finish with this team or something similar?
Still think we need a couple more in and probably a few more out, realise we linked with a new midfielder but not seen any other links.

28 Jul 2026 17:09:50
Wolves will be top 8, that's about as good as it's going to get.

Too many substandard players, too reliant on players who have been poor for too long, too many injuries, not enough quality backup players.

If I was a gambler, I would be in betting shops lumping on Middlesbrough each way.

10/1 with most bookies. Top three for them is a near certainty.

Someone please enlighten me as to where the real quality is in that Wolves team. I see Trippier, Jimenez and Mane. Maybe on a good day, Andre and Rodrigo Gomes.

Wolves are going to lose a lot of games this season.

28 Jul 2026 17:36:01
If he stays, Krejci is top quality in the Champ, as are Andre (and, unless their legs go/have gone), Trippier and Raul.
After that, maybe Mane and Rodrigo, as you hope, develop into high-level Champ players.
DMW or Hugo in the Champ are more than adequate for LB.
Armstrong is proven at this level, and I am hopeful for Yerson.

Thus, a new GK and CM are def needed, then some depth, because the fall away from these players is far too high.



However, even a couple of new players is surely dependent on shipping out some of the deadwood, which won't be/hasn't been easy.

I know lots of people rate Lopez (don't think he will be here), and Santi (don't think he can cope with the physicality and will be better off in a less physical league and might even raise a modest fee!), but for me, Unscrupulous, that is about it.

28 Jul 2026 16:22:52
Rafiki Said out with a pretty bad knee injury. Could be months before he's fully fit.

That's Mane at LW for a while.

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde also carrying an injury. Wolves need to move him on asap. The club has never found the right position for him — it won't be any different under Hans Gruber.

28 Jul 2026 18:27:51
What price now for back Three.

Bennett. Coady. Douglas.

28 Jul 2026 08:45:58
Greyleg, It was John Holsgrove played for Wolves 1965-71. Remember him well.

28 Jul 2026 10:41:58
Some team:
Stewart Ross
John Holsgrove
Dave Woodfield
Phil Parkes
Les Wilson
Squeaky Parkin
Mike Bailey
Waggie
Mike Kenning
Knocker Knowles
The Doog
Frank Wignall

Image available on Alamy.com.

Worrying thing, I remember them all.

28 Jul 2026 14:32:48
That was a good team. I really enjoyed watching them, starting in the 67 season. I remember John Holsgrove, very tall, and a good partnership with Dave 'Duggie' Woodfield. We have had some great central defenders over the years.

The next one to arrive was Frank Munro, what a clever player he was. My uncle and I met Hughie Curran in Waterloo Road after one game. He was good to chat to. Those early days were good.

28 Jul 2026 14:58:45
The only one I don't remember is Stewart Ross.

28 Jul 2026 15:02:24
'Longjohn' replaced Legend Ron Flowers in our 66/67 promotion team. Halcyon days.
Fred Davies/Phil Parkes
Joe Wilson/Gerry Taylor
Mike Bailey (capt)
Dave Woodfield
John Holsgrove
Terry Wharton/John Farrington
Ernie Hunt
Hugh McIlmoyle/Bob Hatton/Derek Dougan
Peter Knowles/Dave Burnside
Dave Wagstaffe
Les Wilson, occasional sub.
And that's from memory! Not bad for 79 eh?

28 Jul 2026 15:21:28
You're Vintage, Vintage. John Farrington, I forgot about him. Ernie Hunt soon to be swopped with Willie Carr. Hughie Curran, faster than lightning, followed by my all time favourite, and such a genuine bloke - King John (Richards). No disrespect to Steve Bull, who was a legend after Jr.

28 Jul 2026 16:17:05
Lord, where have the years gone? Ross doesn't hold any memories with me either, Lostcity.
Hughie Curran ran a pub not far from my digs in Oxford for a while, always a decent guy, but got his memories a bit 'muddled' about when we played Juventus away, but told some good stories, tho.
It was exciting, realistic but hopeful times, now it's money, money, money first.

28 Jul 2026 16:22:18
I know Stuart Ross, having played tennis with him a number of times, and he'd be flattered to be included, as he hardly turned out, although famously he was named as substitute against Man Utd while still at the Grammar School, and came on against Best, Law, Charlton, etc. He mainly played amateur football, as accountancy became his chosen career.

28 Jul 2026 16:41:42
Why didn't anyone pick up on my error? I omitted the great England international Bobby Thomson! Apologies. I do remember Stewart Ross playing against Man U in a Christmas fixture. If I'm right, he came from Woking in Surrey.

28 Jul 2026 16:52:17
Some good solid old style pros in that side.

28 Jul 2026 17:18:22
He did indeed come up from Surrey, Vintage. His family moved when he was around 10. As mentioned above, he went to Wolverhampton Grammar School.

28 Jul 2026 18:24:59
Pleased Stewart is remembered by a few of us Old Wolf. Very happy memories of those times.

27 Jul 2026 13:12:50
Now that Tolu looks to be on his way, hopefully Wolves might start signing some players.

27 Jul 2026 17:45:26
Hope you correct DMac, more rumours today I think as well. 🤞👍

27 Jul 2026 20:56:18
Liverpool looking for a cb, Toti, if you're reading this, I'd be sitting by the phone if I were you.

27 Jul 2026 21:12:24
Have we started a trend for older players? Chelsea after Henderson and Welbeck!

27 Jul 2026 22:44:07
I think Brighton started the trend years ago, to be honest. What seems to be happening is clubs who have had an entirely flawed approach to transfers (such as us and Chelsea) are now trying to copy the idea of having two old pros to lead the way on the training ground. Great in theory, but it's just one of the many reasons Brighton are successful!

28 Jul 2026 09:41:13
Paul Ince and Dennis Irwin were great signings for us 25 years ago.

28 Jul 2026 11:42:24
Hopefully Raul and Trippier will have the same impact, but still need more quality signings to complement them.

27 Jul 2026 09:30:43
This person who insists on playing Hwang is he related to Edwards or what?
If he was any good, someone would of snatched him from us now.
I seen Sunday morning league players better.

27 Jul 2026 10:58:56
Wolves could have sold Hwang to Marseille for £20 million, but he is worth too much commercially.

Hwang can play in several forward positions, and he has pace. He should be very useful in the Championship.

He's happy at Wolves. As stated, he also has that very valuable commercial value.

Raul wearing his shirt on holiday might be a clue as to Hwang's future at Wolves. Personally, I would be stunned if Wolves sold him.

27 Jul 2026 12:32:56
Here we go again, so how much is Hwang worth commercially then? Because someone should tell our accountants as we seem to be losing money left right and centre! Then of course there's the fact that he is one of our highest earners, so once you discount his £2-3m a year in wages how much do you honestly think he pulls into this club? All I hear is about how much he's worth commercially, you'd think the guy is Ronaldo yet no one ever seems to have an figures/proof to back it up?!

27 Jul 2026 13:04:03
If he doesn't cut it in the Championship, then he is a lost cause. Can all but give him a shot, see how it goes.

27 Jul 2026 13:25:22
Here we go again, Bully. Calm down, dear.

Wolves have a commercial deal with KOCOWA+. Aside from monetary gain in the short term, Wolves get valuable exposure in South Korea and further afield.

Football has changed, and Wolves can't grow as a club if they field a team of UK players. They need players from areas that can help Wolves to increase revenues. This is why Fosun is so desperate to unearth a brilliant Chinese player.



One of the reasons Man Utd is such a huge club is because they had the intelligence to tap into foreign markets years before other clubs. They were doing pre season tours in Asia decades before many of their rivals.

What Wolves should have done, to keep a few shortsighted Wolves fans happy, is partner up with KOCOWA+ and other South Korean sponsors (if they exist) and then immediately sell Hee-chan Hwang because he is s***.

27 Jul 2026 14:28:06
Don't care what they say about Hwang, he is overpaid and a non-league player at best. When he is in the team, it's like playing with 10 men. Get a grip, Wolves, and get him sold on if possible.

27 Jul 2026 14:35:52
Well, Matron, Wolves were active in Europe in the 1950s. Probably the first floodlit football was at the Mol against top European sides. I also remember Wolves playing at home and away against Russian sides. For a few years, Wolves were probably the most well-known club in the world.

27 Jul 2026 14:48:41
Hwang is poor, Ray, but if you think he's non-league at best then your judgement is on a par with Fosun's.

27 Jul 2026 16:06:21
Wolves would have earned £109m for finishing 20th last season. This season, the club will earn £49m, so unless Hwang is bringing in the extra £60m, I think it's time we got rid of him.

27 Jul 2026 16:29:07
Because it was just Hwang's fault we were relegated?

27 Jul 2026 16:30:17
For better or for worse, we are stuck with Hwang. He scored some good goals for us in the PL. If CP gets him going again, he might prove crucial in the Championship with his pace. If he also pays his way financially from our Asian-linked businesses, so much the better.

27 Jul 2026 16:27:45
I'm perfectly calm cheers Matron and thank you for making my point perfectly! As I've pointed out on here before the Kowoca deal is with a streaming platform, so essentially it's a firm that agree to market Wolves games. We triggered an extension to the contract, so in essence we are the customer in that scenario. All you've proven to be honest Matron is that it's the fans lacking a general understanding of how business contracts work rather than proving any genuine revenue raised by having Hwang. 🤣
Also What is absolutely spot on here, how much is Prem footy worth compared to having a player the manager doesn't want starting in the team? Ironically I actually agree with others that the guy might be useful as we might finally be playing at his level, time will tell.

But if he's in the team it's for one reason and that's because the manager picks him, now you can argue agaisnt that selection but all the conspiracy theories are genuinely hilarious! Almost as funny as comparing playing one fairly minor South Korean player to the international marketing power house which is Man United, keep um coming Matron buddy! 😂

27 Jul 2026 17:54:45
Looking at Jordan Holsgrove.
May be too far back, but wasn't there a Holsgrove playing for us alongside Mike Bailey?

27 Jul 2026 18:05:42
Evening all, it's been a while. But I thought I would throw my 10 pence worth in. If, and it's a big if, we retain the players we currently have, we should be very strong in the Championship. I know we want to see fresh blood come in, but it's a case where we're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't, whether we sell or we buy.
The biggest issue we had last year was the lack of leadership and shape. That came from 2 things, bad management and no proper captain. We also lost a big figure around the dressing room in Cuhna.
Raul and Trippier will add a bit of the bite and quality we missed. Traore and Doyle can add fresh blood again, maybe Sasa.

We have the players if we look deeper, so unless we sell a few more we are going to struggle to bring new players in. The new coach may just be happy enough with what he has. Do we play Johnstone as the number #1 if, and most likely when, Sa goes?
At worst, a new keeper and maybe an attacking MF would do me.
Right now, if we keep what we have, we have plenty to get the season going and be strong enough to win games.

On the positive side, we have been missing quite a few so far in pre season, and we have been positive in our play, which is a lot different from last years efforts.

27 Jul 2026 18:35:13
Read the thread below, Greyleg. That should answer your query.

27 Jul 2026 19:45:27
Cheers, Old Wolf.
That's amazing to know. 👍

27 Jul 2026 22:32:12
BB, I think that there are less than 50 Koreans at most games.
Even if they are spending £250 each on tickets, merchandise, food, etc. (and this seems incredibly optimistic), then the gross revenue from them - not profit of course, as the pie and pint have to be bought, as does the shirt - is roughly 250k assuming 20 games.
This is less than a month of Hwang's wages.
Of course, there could be other commercial deals with Koreans/Korean firms generating revenues other than from fans attending games (online merchandising sales, advertising, Wolves TV subscriptions, sponsorship, etc.), but when you look at Wolves' total revenues from these areas, to cover Hwang's wages you would need a ludicrously high percentage of all revenue to be Korean-based.


Is it likely that this is the case?
Is it, especially when you note Wolves employed Mr Mexico and several high-profile Portuguese players during this period as well?

28 Jul 2026 00:06:29
Exactly, TFG. Also, the main difference is that no one's suggesting that we are only signing Raul for the marketing (despite the fact he has a far greater online presence than Hwang). If we keep Hwang, it's cause the manager wants him or (more likely) a suitable buyer/price couldn't be found, and it really is that simple.

I think the funniest thing I find about the Hwang conspiracy theory is that it suggests our transfer business is well considered/thought out. Who can honestly look at our last 12 months of business and honestly say this club is up to planning transfers properly?!. 👍

28 Jul 2026 17:10:24
Bully's, I agree with most of your posts, but whilst I can't quantify it, the Korean presence at home games and revenue on Hwang memorabilia is undeniable. His biggest fault is he ideally wants a free role which he had at Salzburg and flourished (he ran prime Van Dijk ragged in one Champions League game - so a lot better than non-league level Ray). His issues at Wolves have been the expected restraint and sticking to a structure that's expected from him when he just wants free rein rather than being on a metaphorical leash.

If used to his strengths, and assuming he still has the desire and fitness levels required, he could absolutely storm the Championship, but sadly I suspect he's at least 2 yards slower mentally and physically than he used to be.

28 Jul 2026 20:06:09
Flea, it is indeed undeniable, but at what level?
Ticket sales from 40/50 Koreans are de minimis, and in the Prem they would almost certainly have been sold anyway.
With respect to other commercial revenues, I would, as detailed above, be very surprised if it were £0.5m.
That would still be a large percentage of total commercial revenues, circa 2%.

This is particularly relevant when you note none of the 4 or 5 major commercial partners are Korean, and they probably make up well over 50% of the total, circa £25m, of commercial revenues.
However, even if they reach £0.5m, which I highly doubt, that is still less than 2 months of Hwang's wages?