The 2007–08 season was the 109th season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. They played the season in the 2nd tier of the English Football system, the Football League Championship. The season saw them finish seventh, narrowly missing out on a play-off place only by virtue of goal difference.
This season was the first under the ownership of Steve Morgan, ending the seventeen-year reign of Sir Jack Hayward. Morgan had bought the club for the nominal sum of £10, with the proviso that he invested £30 million into the club.
Season review The close season saw businessman Steve Morgan take control of the club for a nominal £10 fee in return for a £30 million investment into the club, resulting in the departure of Sir Jack Hayward after 17 years as chairman. The protracted takeover, originally announced in May, was finally completed on 9 August 2007. The announcement of the deal saw the club set out their future ethos:
After last season's unexpected play-off finish, hopes were high for the club to go one step further this time, with manager stating automatic promotion was his aim. The side was strengthened by signing Freddy Eastwood, Stephen Elliott and Michael Gray, but last season's Player of the Year, goalkeeper Matt Murray - who had only just recovered from a broken shoulder - missed the whole campaign after suffering a knee injury in pre-season training.
On the field, the team started the season inconsistently, but a strong October and November saw them push as high as third, just three points from the summit. However, an injury suffered by key player Michael Kightly seemed to severely weaken the team's creativity and preceded a dismal Christmas period that saw them pick up just 4 points from a possible 21, leaving them mid-table and without hopes of an automatic finish.
More players were brought in during the January transfer window, most crucially striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake from Plymouth Argyle, who scored 12 goals in the remainder of the season, finishing the division's top scorer on 23 goals. However, his goals alone could not bring about a second successive play-off finish as the side finished outside the final spot on goal difference, two goals short of Watford. Despite suffering just two defeats in their final 15 games, several crucial late goals that were conceded in the second half of the season ultimately proved costly. Indeed, just two more goals on the final day of the season would have booked them a playoff place.
Results
Preseason
"Wolves XI" pre season results: 0–0 v Brighton & Hove Albion (26 July; home), 7–0 v Holyhead Hotspur (28 July; away)
Football League Championship
A total of 24 teams competed in the Championship in the 2007–08 season. Each team would play 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 14 June 2007, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage.
Final table Team 1 West Bromwich Albion 46 23 12 11 88 55 +33 81 2 Stoke City 46 21 16 9 69 55 +14 79 3 Hull City 46 21 12 13 65 47 +18 75 4 Bristol City 46 20 14 12 54 53 +1 74 5 Crystal Palace 46 18 17 11 58 42 +16 71 6 Watford 46 18 16 12 62 56 +6 70 7 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 18 16 12 53 48 +5 70 Results summary
Source: Statto.com
Results by round
FA Cup
League Cup
Players
Statistics
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Awards AwardWinner Fans' Player of the Season Wayne Hennessey Players' Player of the Season Wayne Hennessey Young Player of the Season Elliott Bennett Academy Player of the Season Ashley Hemmings Goal of the Season Sylvan Ebanks-Blake(Second goal vs Charlton Athletic, 29 March 2008)
Transfers
In DatePlayerFromFee 20 June 2007 Matt Jarvis Gillingham Undisclosed 3 July 2007 Darren Ward Crystal Palace Undisclosed 6 July 2007 Freddy Eastwood Southend United £1.5 million 17 July 2007 Stephen Elliott Sunderland £750,000 25 July 2007 Michael Gray Unattached Free 14 August 2007 Kevin Foley Luton TownUndisclosed 11 January 2008 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake Plymouth Argyle £1.5 million 14 January 2008 David Edwards Luton Town £675,000 31 January 2008 George Elokobi Colchester United Undisclosed
Out DatePlayerToFee 18 May 2007 Jackie McNamara Aberdeen Free 8 June 2007 Carl Cort Leicester City Free June 2007 Michael Oakes Released Free June 2007 Rohan Ricketts Released Free 12 July 2007 Michael McIndoe Bristol City Undisclosed 31 August 2007 Jemal Johnson Milton Keynes Dons Undisclosed 31 August 2007 Tomasz Frankowski Released Free 3 December 2007 Martin Riley Released Free 31 January 2008 Jamie Clapham Leicester City Free
Loans in Start datePlayerFromEnd date 9 August 2007 Graham Stack Reading End of season 19 October 2007 Darron Gibson Manchester United End of season 30 January 2008 Kevin Kyle Coventry City End of season
Loans out Start datePlayerToEnd date 8 June 2007 Keith Lowe Port Vale End of season 3 August 2007 Daniel Jones Northampton Town 26 January 2008 17 August 2007 Jody Craddock Stoke City 19 September 2007 20 August 2007 Jamie Clapham Leeds United 21 November 2007 25 October 2007 Elliott Bennett Crewe Alexandra 3 January 2008 14 November 2007 Lee Collins Hereford United End of season 22 November 2007 Mark Salmon Port Vale 6 January 2008 22 November 2007 Liam Hughes Bury 2 January 2008 10 January 2008 Mark Little Northampton Town 12 March 2008 31 January 2008 Elliott Bennett Bury End of season 31 January 2008 Charlie Mulgrew Southend United End of season 31 January 2008 Matt Bailey Kidderminster Harriers 27 February 2008 21 February 2008 Stephen Gleeson Hereford United 23 March 2008 29 February 2008 Liam Hughes Stafford Rangers 16 March 2008 6 March 2008 Daniel Jones Northampton Town End of season 14 March 2008 Jay Bothroyd Stoke City End of season 27 March 2008 Stephen Gleeson Stockport County End of season
Kit The season saw a new away kit, navy blue with an old gold and white trim. The home kit remained the same as the previous campaign and that season's white away kit was retained as a third kit for this term. The kits were manufactured by Le Coq Sportif, Chaucer Consulting sponsored the club for a fourth season.
References