The Championship has been nothing if not a strange division this season. For long periods of the year, it seemed as though every club was doing their utmost not to achieve promotion to the Premier League, but only one club has sustained any kind of form and they are the ones who this afternoon celebrate their promotion to the promised land. That team are Mick McCarthy’s Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Ebanks-Blake’s solitary strike against Queens Park Rangers this afternoon means that Wolves have been officially promoted back to the top division, having dropped down to the Championship in 2004. It is testament to Mick McCarthy’s good work at the club that they find themselves back their, after a large restructuring to their club following relegation.
Thier position at the summit of the league this season disguises the fact that Wolves, like a number of their rivals, suffered a mid-season wobble. In January they won only once in the league. In February, they failed to win a single game, gaining only two points from a possible 15 and it looked increasingly as though the chasing pack of Birmingham and Reading could and probably should have caught them. McCarthy though was fortunate that his competition were finding the second half of the season just as difficult as themselves.
It is to the former Republic of Ireland managers credit then that he managed to turn his team’s fortunes around as successfully as he did. Since the beginning of March, Wolves have gained 21 out of a total of 27 possible points, which represents title-winning form in any division, especially one as inconsistent as the Championship.
Wolves fans have seen a lot of action this season too. Their team are the leagues top scorers, both home and away, and their strikers are a major factor behind the position that they find themselves in. Championship player of the year, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake has found the back of the net 25 times this season, more than anybody else in the league. His strike partner, Chris Iwelumo, may have provided the miss of the season for Scotland, where he missed the target from less than two yards out, but has hit the target 14 times in the league.
Their form on the road too has been impressive. Although they have beaten seven times on their travels, they have come out on top thirteen times, more than any other team. Their unwillingness to draw suggests that McCarthy would rather go for the win away from home than settle for a point and it is a dangerous strategy that has served them well. Their recent away form has seen them win 4 games out of 6. The remaining pair of games, unsurprisingly, resulted in Wolves being beaten.
This is why Wolves deserve their place in the top division. They have simply been the best team in the division and I say this as a Reading fan, the only team to have done the double over them this season. Wolves have not been unbeatable by any means this season, but their overall consistency means that their promotion is well-deserved.
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