'The Wolves' Site News Page

Wolves were reported to have had a Ł3 million bid for Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison turned down, but Wolves have denied the claims about this from Crystal Palace and said they haven't placed the bid.
Jez Moxey said: "There is no truth in this at all, it's totally untrue and total rubbish,"
"It's no secret we are looking to sign a striker but we have no idea how this story has come about."

Wolves boss Dave Jones will cut short his family holiday in Florida and return across the Atlantic if it means the difference between signing and missing his man.
"I have done it before and my wife will understand if it has to be done again," he said. "I would rather do that than miss out on someone I really want in the transfer market".
Jones believes he is close to his first signing of the summer as he nears his departure on a family trip based mainly in Florida. His first signing could be Sunderland's Alex Rae, Wolves are waiting on the results of a scan on his injured knee before deciding whether to take a Ł1million gamble on the 31-year-old Scottish midfielder if Rae's tendinitis problem does not require surgery.

Wolves boss Dave Jones is stepping up the fitness of his squad ready to mount a promotion challenge next season. Jones is banning alcohol and taking his former fitness instructor at Stockport, Alex Armstrong on Wolves pre-season tour to boost their stamina
Jones has called on his former Edgeley Park fitness guru as his side gear up for pre-season training, which begins on 2nd July.
The former Army PT instructor has also worked with him at Southampton and will be charged with the task of getting the squad into shape before Wolves fly to Portugal on July 13 for a three-match tour.
Jones said: "Alex will do the runs, the body checks and the heart monitoring. He will work them hard and get them fit and will know who is not up to scratch."
It has been reported in the past that a number of Wolves players have allegedly been involved in drink-related incidents, and Jones wants to eradicate the problem as soon as possible.
Jones has already begun to implement his idea by banning alcohol from the players' bar.
"We have asked the players to be totally alcohol-free because for the training regime we are about to embark on they will need to be at their best,"

Wolves are being linked with lot's of players since the announcement about Sir Jack spending for one last chance of promotion. Although we are still waiting for someone to put pen to paper the latest few linked are:

It was reported in the Scottish Daily Record that Wolves could be ready to make a Ł1.25million bid for Celtic striker Mark Burchill, with the report suggesting that Dave Jones wants to pair the Scot with Adam Proudlock in the Wolves attack next season, Burchill has recently returned to Glasgow after a loan spell at Ipswich.

Crewe winger Mark Rivers, who could be set to leave this summer, Norwich are also interested in signing the 25-year old. It's reported that Rivers could be available for a very modest fee of Ł1million which would be well within Jones summer transfer budget, although it's by no means certain yet that Rivers will be leaving the Alexandra Stadium.

Also Wolves are reported to have made a Ł1million bid for Kidderminster Harriers central defender Craig Hinton.
The 23-year old Wolverhampton-born defender joined Kidderminster in their first season of league football after he was released by Birmingham in 1998. He started off his career as a right-back but was successfully switched to central defence, signing a new deal at Aggborough a year ago.
According to one of the Sunday papers, Wolves have lodged a Ł1million bid for Hinton, with the defender also linked with moves to back to Birmingham, Nottingham Forest and Aberdeen.

Wolves are off to Portugal for a three-match summer tour, after their trip to Canada was cancelled due to the foot and mouth disease.
Final details are not being announced until after the end of the Portuguese season, which has another couple of weeks to go. Wolves depart on Friday 13th July, and are due to be based at a training complex used by Sporting Lisbon around 50 miles from the capital. There matches are on July 17, 19 and 21 and are said to be in close proximity to each other. Wolves then return home on the 22nd.
Wolves are due to play against one top-flight opponent and two matches against sides from a division lower, one of them Albarca, who are set to use the training facilities just before Wolves.

Lee Naylor was called up late for International duty with England's under 21's last night at Filbert Street, he was rated "England's best performer until his half-time substitution" by Skysports.com's Adam Craig. England beet Mexico 3-0.

There is a delay in Andy Sinton signing his new contract, he's been offered a one-year extension to his current deal but Wolves boss Dave Jones has hinted the 35-year-old may only be a bit-part player, Jones wants to keep his senior players at Molineux to pass on their experience to the younger stars coming through the youth system and Sinton's salary will reflect that.
Sinton is expected to make his decision in the next few weeks.

Former Wolves stadium manager Colin Mountford has dropped his claim of unfair dismissal from Molineux.
Mountford was sacked back in September following an internal inquiry conducted by the Wolves board.
He has also agreed to pay towards Wolves legal costs which the club had paid for the April tribunal concerning the matter.
Chief executive Jez Moxey said on www.wolves.co.uk "His claim for unfair dismissal should never have been brought and this view is substantiated by Mr Mountford's withdrawal of the action and contribution towards our costs,"

Sunderland have turned down a Ł1 million bid for Scottish midfielder Alex Rae from Wolves.
The 31-year-old has been identified by Wolves boss Dave Jones as the type of experienced, combative player that his relatively young squad is lacking, but Sunderland boss Peter Reid id believed to value him at closer to Ł2 million.
Rae signed for the Wearsiders from Millwall in June 1996 and has subsequently made over 100 appearances, scoring 15 goals.
This season has been forgettable for Rae, however, as he was sent off in the home defeat against Manchester United and picked up a tendon injury that sidelined him for three months.
Peter Reid's decision not to release the midfielder may prompt Wolves to up the level of their reported interest in Stoke's Graham Kavanagh.

Another player has left Molineux, Seamus Crowe has been told his contract will not be renewed at Molineux.
The young Irishman, ended last season with a period on loan at Hereford where Steve Bull is coach, but he didn't make the break-through into Wolves first team, although was a regular in the reserves. He made four appearances for The Bulls.

I'm in the process of updating some pages ready for the new season and archiving the ones from last season. So if any pages are unavailable or links that take you somewhere else, please email and let me know. Many thanks to everyone that has visited my site throughout last season, I hope you will be coming back for next season and throughout the summer for all the transfer news.

Dave Jones is going back to Eastern Europe this week, anxious to start his team rebuilding programme and sign a new player before he leaves for a family holiday at the start of June.
He's planning to have his first new signing in the bag inside the next seven days. It's still not clear how much Jones has been given to spend during the summer, but he has the full backing of the club.

Wolves boss Dave Jones has denied speculation linking Port Vale's midfielder Dave Brammer with a move to Molineux.
The 25-year-old was thought to be the favourite of a number of stars from Vale's LDV Vans Trophy-winning team to leave the cash-strapped club in the summer, and strong rumours linked him to Wolves. But Jones has forcefully denied the rumour.
He said: "It is absolutely not true about Brammer. I am not making a move for him and have never shown any interest in bringing him to Wolves."

Wolves veteran keeper Mike Stowell has been released on a free-transfer after more than a decade at Molineux, but Stowell has even been contacted by a Premiership club with regard to the possibility of joining them as cover for next season. The 36-year-old keeper lost his first team place at Wolves two years ago to Michael Oakes during an injury-hit spell.
Stowell has now received a number of offers to carry on playing and one for coaching from all four leagues.
Dave Jones is reported to be targeting a goalkeeper from Eastern Europe as competition for Oakes.

Two Wolves players have been called-up to represent there country's, Lee Naylor to the England under 21 squad to play Mexico on Thursday 24th May at Leicester City's Filbert Street (kick-off 7.45)and Greece in a UEFA European under 21 Championship qualifier on Tuesday 5th June at Panathinaikos in Athens (kick-off 8pm).
Temuri Ketsbaia has also been called-up by his country, the Georgian will join his squad to play two World Cup qualifiers, both at home, against Italy on 2nd June and Hungary on 6th June.

Sean Connelly could be offered a permanent contract at Molineux after Wolves boss Dave Jones confirmed he wants to keep the on-loan Stockport County defender, if he does it could mean Kevin Muscat's Wolves career is over. Connelly joined Wolves on loan for the final games of the season as cover for Muscat while he served a suspension and a spell of international duty with the Australian national squad.
Wolves would be seeking a sizeable fee for Muscat, and money from any possible deal could be used to help fund Jones summer rebuild.

Dave Jones has also announced the majority of targets he has in mind are forwards, Wolves only managed to score 45 goals in 46 league matches. Rumours have started linking Ade Akinbiyi with a move back to Molineux after he has failed to make a impact in the Premiership with Leicester City, also 22-year-old Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison.

Dave Jones summer clear out has started with Wolves confirming that Havard Flo and Scott Taylor have not had their contracts renewed and have left Molineux.
The next to go is thought to be veteran Goalkeeper Mike Stowell when he returns from Spain tomorrow, he was brought on for the last 15 minutes of Wolves final game agaisnt QPR which was thought to enable him to say his goodbyes to the fans.
Speculation about which other players the Wolves boss is likely to offload is mounting with Temuri Ketsbaia, Neil Emblen and Kevin Muscat being top of the list, but Jones claims he will not make that public knowledge just yet.

Wolves could be going to Europe for the pre-season tour after the trip to Canada was cancelled, chief executive Jez Moxey said "There's an option to play a couple of games in France and one that takes in three matches in Holland".
The Canadian trip was cancelled due to fears of the Foot and Mouth disease and if the European tour doesn't happen Wolves could arrange some friendlies in Scotland.

Wolves defender Kevin Muscat has been called up for Australia's senior squad for the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup which takes place in Korea and Japan.
The tournament will see the Soceeroos taking on Mexico on 30th May, France on 1st June and Korea on 3rd June.
The competition then moves to a semi-final stage with the losers taking part in a third place play-off and the winners fighting it out for the cup at Yokohama, Japan, on the 10th June.
There has been speculation about Muscat's Molineux future when Dave Jones starts his clear out today.

Wolves legend Steve Bull is looking for a full-time coaching role, he has been working for ten hours a week at Molineux this season, performing PR duties as well as coaching part-time at Hereford Utd and when Hereford had a injury crisis he was back in his goal scoring boots playing for them usually coming on as a substitute.
If he is successful in getting a full-time coaching job he may have to leave Molineux.
Bull told The Shropshire Star: "Ideally, it's time I was just doing one permanent job."

Congratulations to young Wolves striker Adam Proudlock who has been voted, 'The Wolves' Site Player of the Season. 139 votes were registered and Proudlock recieved 37 of them, closely followed by Joleon Lescott with 20 votes.

2001/2002 season tickets go on sale from Monday, 21st May with current season ticket holders having until Saturday, 23rd June to retain their present seat.
There's no price increase and there will be a reduction on all family, junior and senior citizen tickets.
The cheapest junior season ticket will now be just Ł69 (previous cheapest Ł162). The lowest priced family ticket will be Ł329 (previously Ł370).
Both these newly named 'Rover' tickets will see fans located in either the John Ireland Stand lower tier or the Jack Harris Stand wing, depending on where visiting supporters are being accommodated.
Also, existing season ticket holders renewing in an equivalent or higher priced area before June 23 will receive a Ł10 club shop voucher.
All prices from www.wolves.co.uk

Wolves defender Ryan Green who has been on loan at Torquay, has said again he wants to leave Molineux this summer for a move to his home town Cardiff.
Newly promoted Cardiff enquired about the Welsh Under-21 skipper earlier in the season when he asked Wolves to put him on the transfer list in January, but failed to firm up their interest.
Green Said "If I'm at Molineux in July and August, of course I will do my best to fight for a way back into the first-team picture,"
"But I'm still hoping for a permanent move as soon as possible because I don't think Dave Jones fancies me as a first-team player. That's why I have been keen to go."

The Soccer Development Agency of Canada organisers of the Toronto Soccer festival that Wolves were due to play in, have cancelled the event because of the Foot and Mouth. They released the following statement:

'It is with great regret that we have to inform you of the cancellation of the Toronto Soccer Festival 2001. A series of insurmountable events have occurred over the past month that have made this tournament impossible to stage.
The majority of the event was due to be held at Guelph University. However, on the 17th April, Guelph withdrew their offer due to the risk of bringing Foot and Mouth Disease into Canada from the UK. With the aid of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency we tried at length to allay their fears without success. Subsequently, we have spent the last few weeks trying to locate an alternative venue that could fulfil our requirements but have been unsuccessful in this bid.
We would like to give thanks to the numerous people behind the scenes who tried to help us under these sensitive and exceptional circumstances. We hope that everyone understands this situation and would like to wish the three UK clubs; Wolverhampton Wanderers, Hibernian and Watford every success in next season's campaign. We hope it is not too late for them to arrange an alternative pre-season schedule.
With heartfelt regret,
The soccer Development Agency of Canada.'

Fans who have already booked and paid for there tickets should call Sunshare Vacations on Tele: 0208 254 8001 if they want to cancel any other problems call Wolves on 01902 655000

It's been reported that Sir Jack was ploughing Ł15 million into Molineux over the summer for new players but chief executive Jez Moxey says that the figure is incorrect, he said
"I can assure you that it's not that amount of money. Wolves already have a history of being a wealthy club and it's in the public domain how much Sir Jack has invested into Wolves to try and take us into the Premier League."
"But, as we've said before, it's not all about money. We've got a very shrewd manager who is very good at buying and selling players."
The transfers could start very soon as Dave Jones and his backroom staff fly to Europe this week to watch some of there top transfer targets.

A dads Xl turned up to play a team of parents from another school, and found it packed with top-flight internationals.
The dads, one playing his first game in 21 years, faced Wolves trio Temuri Ketsbaia, Havard Flo and Andy Sinton also playing with them was Aston Villa's Gareth Southgate.
The stars all have children at Highclare School in Sutton Coldfield, and turned out against Wylde Green College to raise cash for local schoolboy soccer. Highclare's team won 7-3.

Wolves chairman Sir Jack Hayward has handed Wolves boss Dave Jones a Ł15million transfer kitty to help fulfill his dreams of premiership football being played at Molineux.
'The Golden Tit' as Hayward call's himself, said "We had an excellent board meeting in which Dave Jones impressed us with his ideas, and we back him 100 per cent."
"I'm 77-years-old now, and this is my last roll of the dice to make cash available. There's no time to waste, I want to see us promoted to the Premiership in 12 months."
The Ł15 million cash pledge will take his Molineux spending to around Ł60 million and the chairman is desperate to see success return to Molineux soon.

These are the new teams that will Wolves will be facing next season
Joining Div 1: Bradford, Coventry, Man City all relegated from the Premiership, Millwall and Rotherham are promoted to from Div 2. Reading, Walsall, Stoke and Wigan in play-offs for last promotion place.
Leaving Div 1: Tranmere, QPR, Huddersfield all relegated to Div 2, Fulham and Blackburn promoted to Premiership. Bolton, Preston, Birmingham and WBA in play-offs for last promotion place.

Wolves are being linked with 28-year-old Sunderland winger John Oster. The former Everton man would be available for around Ł600,000, but with Dave Jones getting substantial financial backing from his chairman he might be setting his sights higher and I'm sure there will be many more players linked over the next few weeks.

Wolves reserves have been relegated to Division one after Port Vale won 5-2 away to Oldham, Wolves drew there last match with Barnsley with an injury time equaliser from Sammy Clinganwhich but one point wasn't enough to keep them in the Avon Insurance Premier League.

Joleon Lescott headed Wolves into the lead 9 minutes before half-time, with Wolves first goal scoring chance. Paul Bruce equalised in the 62 minute from a 30 yard free kick which he curled round the wall.

WOLVES: 1

OAKES, CONNELLY, NAYLOR, EMBLEN, LESCOTT, DINNING, ANDREWS, KETSBAIA, BRANCH, PROUDLOCK, SINTON

SUBS: ROBINSON, R TAYLOR, LARKIN (46), STOWELL (75), CAMARA

CARDS: Yellow: Branch, Proudlock Red: None

QPR: 1

HARPER, BARACLOUGH, KNIGHT, PLUMMER, READY, DARLINGTON, BRUCE, WARDLEY, THOMSON, CROUCH, McFLYNN

SUBS: WEARE, PERRY (53), BUBB (81), BULL, HIGGINS (81)

CARDS: Yellow: Bruce, Ready Red: None

Wolves chairman Sir Jack Hayward has promised to back Dave Jones "one hundred percent" with money to spend on new players this summer after the Wolves boss spoke for two hours at the board meeting, and Chief executive Jez Moxey has set Wolves the target of going up as champions. No one is saying how much Dave Jones will have to spend, but it could run to several million probably part-financed by sales of surplus-to-requirements players.
Sir Jack said "It is costing a lot of money, but, by the end of next season, it will all be worth it. I love the club, I love the city and I will love it when we go up!"

Congratulations to Laura Howell who has won the Spot the Ball competition, the Ball has now moved to somewhere in the Cyber Wolves section

Wolves: Ludo Pollet, Paul Butler and George Ndah are all out injured, but Sean Connelly is available again after suspension.

QPR: Peter Crouch and Karl Ready return from suspension and should take their places in the Rangers side at Molineux.
Manager Ian Holloway continues to look to the future and is expected to include youngsters Ben Walshe, Richard Pacquette and Terry McFlynn once again.

Wolves have there will be no rise for season ticket prices for next season, instead the price will be frozen. Sir Jack Hayward said the club have to repay the fans loyalty. The club are also offering reductions on all junior, family and OAP tickets. Junior tickets which cost Ł160 last season will now cost Ł69, while family tickets can be bought for Ł370, a saving of Ł41 on last season.
Sir Jack issued the following statement:
"The board thought they had to repay their loyalty despite the ever rising costs. It has not been a good season but we want to put it all behind us
"We now have a new manager and we have seen a good crop of young players come through and we are planning to bring in new faces to add to the team.

Wolves are thought to be watching Hearts keeper Antti Niemi with veteran keeper Mike Stowell not being offered a new contract at Molineux in the summer. Hearts reportedly want around Ł2.5million for the Finnish international keeper, although Wolves may offer them cash plus striker Temuri Ketsbaia, but they face competition signing him from Charlton, Hearts boss Craig Levein doesn't want to sell this season's player of the year under any circumstances, but, if the price is right then Hearts would find it difficult to turn down.

Wolves chairman Sir Jack Hayward led the tributes with 400 guests at the celebration of the life of Stan Cullis in St Peter's Church.
Some of the greatest names in Wolves history attended from the Wolves' Former Players' Association including Ron Flowers, Peter Broadbent, Steve Bull, Bill Shorthouse and Eddie Stuart, the current squad and Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis and Birmingham City manager Trevor Francis.
Pupils and staff from Stan Cullis' former school, the Cambridge Road School, Ellesmere Port, also made the trip to pay their respects.

Wolves boss Dave Jones could be looking for more experienced players when he starts rebuilding the squad in the summer, he has already extended some of the Molineux youngsters contracts and will be looking to add at least 3 experienced players to help them develop.
Jones also say's that Pollet being absent from the Wolves defence against Bolton was a big blow and is hoping to have the experienced French defender back for the final game of the season.

Later this week Wolves will be announcing the season ticket prices for the 2001-02 season and prices are expected to go up even though Wolves arn't.
"We appreciate that this campaign has hurt," said chief executive Jez Moxey. "Sir Jack Hayward and the board share the same feelings as the fans."
"However," he added, "getting the right balance between the need to generate revenues from ticket sales and rewarding loyalty is never easy."
"We hope the prices for next season will be fair and that they will sensibly balance last season's disappointment against future ambitions."

Wolves manager Dave Jones is threatening a massive Molineux overhaul in the summer after failing to be able to name one player that could fight for victory after the home defeat by Bolton last night. Jones was unhappy with the commitment of his players and said that they deserved his 'scathing attack'.

He said: "All they've done is give me ammunition, because I'll go out and I'll get players."
"There's no-one in the side who, when we have a dip and struggle, will get us out of it."
He accused his players of wanting to be sold, and of failing to offer leadership on the pitch.
"Do they want me to shift them out and bring players in? That's what it looked like and that's what I've told them.
"In the whole of the second half, we were trying to raise them. That was all coming from the sideline, and it needs to come from out on the pitch.
"The ethos of this football club needs to change. Ability alone will not get us out of the division - grit and determination will.
"We have to be totally focused on one thing - football. I won't accept anything else. I want to see full commitment and I won't accept anything else."
Jones was obviously livid - and had to lay down the law to his players.
"We've got to be strong enough mentally, and I don't think we are. I want every pro in this club to give their best every time they pull on a shirt.
"The whole mentality of this club has to change, and it will because I'll bring players in.
"Yes it is a scathing attack on them the players, but they deserve it. It's not down to ability - it's down to attitude."
Interview from www.skysports.com

Wolves 0-2 Bolton

WOLVES: 0

OAKES, MUSCAT, NAYLOR, ROBINSON, LESCOTT, DINNING, ANDREWS, KETSBAIA, BRANCH, PROUDLOCK, SINTON

SUBS: ROUSSEL (64), TAYLOR, EMBLEN (74), STOWELL, CAMARA

CARDS: Yellow: Muscat Red: None

BOLTON: 2

CLARKE, BERGSSON, WHITLOW, BARNESS, FARRELLY, HANSEN, HOLDSWORTH, ELLIOTT, GARDNER, RICKETTS, CHARLTON

SUBS: MARSHALL (86), BANKS, NOLAN, FRANDSEN (86), RICHARDSON

CARDS: Yellow: None Red: None

Young Wolves striker Adam Proudlock is set to sign a new contract that will keep him at Molineux until the summer of 2005.
Proudlock scored his 11th goal of the season to secure victory at Crystal Palace over the weekend and is Wolves leading scorer this season.
Although Proudlock only signed his existing three-year contract at the start of the season, the club have decided to award him a new deal after his impressive progress.

Wolves: Ludovic Pollet is out of tonights match with Bolton, he tweaked a hamstring in training. Andy Sinton faces a late fitness test after picking up a knock against Crystal Palace. Temuri Ketsbaia may be left out after his angry display at Crystal Palace.
Keith Andrews is likely to keep his place in the side despite his sending off, with Jones keen for the rising young star to learn from his mistake.

Bolton: Manager Sam Allardyce must contend with a number of injury problems as the Trotters look for the win which would keep alive their hopes of automatic promotion.
Colin Hendry is still struggling to overcome the viral infection which kept him out of the weekend win at Barnsley while his replacement at Oakwell, Paul Warhurst, collected a hamstring injury ten minutes from time.
Nicky Summerbee was also injured at Barnsley, suffering a shoulder problem, which forced Dean Holdsworth into action despite his troublesome groin.
None of the injured players have been ruled out as yet, but Allardyce knows he could well be without all four.