Reds fan Coady is pulling in the favours
CONOR COADY counts up the number of ticket requests in his head as his family and friends get ready to join the Red invasion of Molineux tonight.
“Tickets? God, yeah! Through the roof,” said the Wolves captain. “I’ve asked for 13 tickets, so a few of the boys are going mad. But I’ve managed to wangle a few from here and there. Family are sorted, kids are coming, so it’s all good.”
This is the game Coady has been looking forward to ever since leading Wolves to promotion to the Premier League.
The 25-year-old was a boyhood Liverpool nut. He signed for them as a seven-year-old and was brought up the Liverpool way.
But it has been Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo who has provided the finishing touches to one of the top flight’s most elegant defenders.
His upbringing is there for all to see as Coady is composed, likes to bring the ball out of defence and has fitted in perfectly at Wolves and their style of play.
Coady is a Liverpool fan and has taken the best parts of his time at Anfield to make him the player and person that he is today.
He will no doubt run into Jamie Carragher, the Sky pundit and Liverpool legend who always offers advice when they see each other.
“It was such a good club to play for growing up, it was a huge club and it helped me so much, not just as a player but as a person too,” said Coady.
“I spent a season or two at Melwood when I was playing for the reserves but training with the first team.
“It was unbelievable to see how they worked, how they trained and how they did things. You can only learn from them.
“It was more Steven Gerrard as a match-winner. Jamie Carragher was someone I looked to when it came to how to organise, how to defend and how composed he was, how good he was at reading the games. He was one I looked up to.
“Whenever I see Jamie at the games he is always full of encouragement and he is brilliant now, isn’t he? You could listen to him all day talking about football.
“We’ve been on Sky a few times. I did a bit at the start of the season for Premier League Productions and we had a bit of a laugh there. I talk to him about being a centrehalf and what it takes. He’s been good for me.”
It was an incredibly difficult decision for Coady to leave Liverpool but it was former boss Brendan Rodgers who helped him choose the path to make sure that he would become a Premier League defender – even if it was not for his boyhood heroes.
He had a loan spell at Sheffield United, a year at Huddersfield and when Wolves came in, there was no hesitation about joining them – a decision that is now reaping rich rewards.
Scouser Coady still sees some similarities between the way Liverpool and Wolves play, even though Jurgen Klopp’s style has transformed Anfield.
“When you’re at a club like Liverpool, it’s always about what you can do with the ball,” he said.
“Playing with the ball, moving with the ball. You can see that now even with Jurgen Klopp and his full-throttle football. It’s always been the same.
“Liverpool helped me develop for that as well. Everything I learned was down to them. But it was so hard for me.
“I had Steven Gerrard in front of me as well as Jordan Henderson, and there were people there who were always going to be tough to get past. But I really wanted to be a part of it at Wolves.
Rocking
“We all know it’s a huge football club, it’s a great football club when everyone comes together – and luckily the last couple of years has been like that.”
The Premier League has been a sharp learning curve for Wolves but Coady insists their current boss is the man to take them to the next level – and hopefully three points against his old club.
“Molineux will be rocking, like it always is, and the atmosphere is amazing,” he said.
“It was the same last year and it doesn’t half help us as a football club.
“Nuno is the best I’ve worked with. It’s everything – the way he’s brought it together. Things become a lot easier, including the supporters and the way Molineux and the training ground is improving. And he’s always got new ideas, each and every week.
“The Premier League is amazing. It’s everything you dream of as a kid.”