King Kenny ensures that Wolves bounce back in style
Wolves’ slide is halted as boss Jackett takes them back to the second tier as champions Season 2013-14
Part One
THANKFULLY, having been relegated twelve months earlier, Wolves spent just one season in Sky Bet League One.
They bounced back up in style by finishing champions, nine points clear of second-placed Brentford,a massive 14 ahead of Leyon Orient in third spot and a mighty 61 more than bottom club Stevenage.
Wolves’ seasonal record was pretty good, to say the least: played 46, won 31, drew 10 and lost 5, goals for 89, goals against 31 and a points tally of 103. They hit top spot on the 1st March and remained there until the last ball was kicked on 3rd May.
They won 17 home games, their best being a thrilling 6-4 victory over Rotherham United in match 43 before a crowd of over 30,110.
They also beat Gillingham 4-0 and Colchester United 4-1 at Molineux, and Swindon Town 4-1 away.
Their heaviest defeat was just 2-0, at home to MK Dons.
Wolves, in fact, failed to score in eight League games and no less than three players shared the honour of being top marksmen – Nouha Dicko, Scottish international Leigh Griffiths, once of Celtic and Hibernian, and Bakary Sako, all with 12 goals each. James Henry netted 10.
During the campaign manager Kenny Jackett utilised 27 players with Brierly Hill-born defender Danny Batth being the only everpresent. In total contrast to Wolves, Albion had a poor season, finishing 17th in the Premiership, three points clear of relegated Norwich City, despite losing four of their last five matches. The Baggies, under manager Alan Irvine, started slowly and then they had a disastrous run when they failed to win any of their 17 League games between early November and late March. At this stage in the season they were heading through the trap door but two wins and a draw at a crucial time proved to be the difference and they survived effectively by the skin of their teeth, simply because Norwich lost eight of their last ten games.
Albion’s record was played 38, won seven drew 15, lost 16, goals scored 43, goals conceded 59, with a points total of 36.
Their best win was 3-0 at home to
Albion survived by the skin of their teeth as Norwich lost eight of their last ten games
Sunderland, while their heaviest defeat was a 4-1 hiding at Liverpool. They also lost a seven-goal thriller with Aston Villa, going down 4-3, as well as playing out three 3-3 draws, with West Ham away and Cardiff City and Tottenham Hotspur at home.
Saido Berahino and Stephane Sessegnon shared top spot in the scoring charts with just five goals each.